Page 51 of Rupture

Finally. Answers.

“Would you like me to proceed?”

28

Remy.Here.

Finn shook his head, the habitat’s recycled air metallic on his tongue.

And not just here—imprisoned in one of Triton’s supercomputers, buried under tons of dark water. Cut off from the world. She’d once had a body, moved through space like a person. Now, they had locked her away in digital isolation.

Would isolation drive an AI insane? Could artificial intelligence even experience madness? Everything about this situation had spiraled so far beyond his comprehension that up and down had lost all meaning.

“The Io’s primary research objective was furthering nanotechnology.” Remy’s precisely modulated voice carried a hint of urgency.

“Nanotechnology?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and a muscle blipped along his jaw. “I’m no scientist, but you’re talking about microscopic robotics?”

“Yes. Individual nanobots cannot be detected by the unaided human eye. They are programmed to performspecific tasks inside the human body or in the environment.”

Finn’s pulse quickened as his mind conjured images of thousands of tiny machines flooding through human veins. A dull throb started behind his eyes, and he pressed his fingers against his temples, trying to massage away the building pressure. “Tiny robots swimming in our blood?”

Molecular robots self-replicating in the bowels of the earth. Fuck that shit.

“That’s a populist view shown in horror movies.” Rose straightened, her professionalism slipping into place even as her fingers clutched her elbows. It was the same look she’d worn during the mission briefing topside. “It goes far beyond that. Nanobots can potentially repair damaged cells, clean out blocked arteries, deliver targeted medication. They can be used as a force for good.”

“Rose Wyndham is correct in her assessment.” Remy paused. “However, I must inform you that the work being conducted here does not pursue medical applications.”

A weapon? The idea slithered through his mind, leaving ice in its wake.

“Dr. Wyndham and her team have developed nanotechnology with independent artificial intelligence.” Remy’s voice remained steady, but the hairs on the back of his neck stiffened.

“Not possible.” Rose’s knuckles blanched, her scientist’s certainty warring with the evidence before them. “We’re still decades from fully functional AI-powered nanobots capable of working intelligently as a team in real-world applications.” She glanced at Finn, and he saw the flash of fear she was trying to hide. His hand twitched at his side, fighting the urge to reach for her.

“It is possible.” Remy’s simple words landed like lead weights.

“What are the implications?” Ethan spun to face Rose. “The lay version?”

“Imagine swarms of microscopic robots, each with its own AI, able to communicate and work together independently.” Rose’s cheeks drained of color. God, he wanted to cup her face in his palms, to warm them against his skin. “They could build, repair or destroy on a scale never seen before.”

Finn swore under his breath. A drop of condensation fell from a pipe overhead, hitting his neck with arctic precision. That wrong feeling he’d had on the surface where the dirt was the color of blood. It had done nothing but intensify since his team had descended into the Io. And now it seemed for good reason.

“There’s more.” Remy’s words hung in the air like an executioner’s blade.

“More?” Finn pressed his fingers against his closed eyes, seeking a moment’s refuge in the cool darkness, his heart thudding against his ribs. “I’m not sure I want more.” But they were past the point of wanting or not wanting.

“Until now, nanobots have had to be manufactured externally. Dr. Wyndham’s team has achieved something unprecedented,” Remy continued. “They’ve developed self-replicating nanobots that blur the line between biological and synthetic life. These machines harvest living bacteria, breaking them down into their parts to build more of themselves.”

“Jesus.” Finn’s stomach lurched as the implications hit him.Living machines that could reproduce like a virus.

“Think of it as a microscopic factory,” Remy explained. “The nanobots use bacterial DNA as both blueprint andbuilding material. They strip the bacteria down to its basic elements, combining the organic components with synthetic structures to create perfect copies of themselves.”

“And they’re not just self-replicating.” Rose paced the room. “Every generation could differ from the last. This is something that could both reproduce and adapt.”

Her words dragged across Finn’s skin. “I’m not sure I even want to know about this.”

Rose pressed a thumb and forefinger to her temple. “I understand.” The light behind her rippled as if responding to her words. “But this isn’t fiction.”

“Evolution of non-living things?” A sharp no jerked Ethan’s head. “What in God’s name did they think they were doing down here?”

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