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Nanites
Chapter Seven
Story by Leslie Moore, edited by Dee Sylvan, formatting by Dawn Natelle
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Comments
Now evil comes to the
Now evil comes to the forefront in Arnold.
Arnold
He is clearly infected by the nanites, but they are also supposed to cure mental illness. Is greed/jealousy a mental illness?
Entertaining...
(Lost my whole message when I got disconnected from the 'Net. Let's try it again.)
Entertaining, but curious. This doesn't seem to be the way the nanites worked at first on Rodney's mind.
We're told the nanites made Rodney more intelligent (and able to sleep-learn), but we're seeing none of that here. One would have thought that Arnold would have realized that the extortion shoe is on the other foot now: he should be able to get whatever he wants from Rodney simply by threatening to expose him to the government or the media as the test subject here, whether it's money, company stock to share in his success (though if he's planning to disappear that's probably not the way to go), or even sex.
Having given his name to the doorman, if anything comes of his chloroforming Jillian, he'll be the sole suspect unless he kills the doorman on his way out and obliterates the paper or computer record that the guy undoubtedly updated when he let Arnold in.
I guess his plan could be rape (more to demonstrate power over Jillian than sexual need -- what happens when he finds out she's on her period is another question), kidnapping (a spectacularly bad idea, since his arrival was no secret; there's probably even video evidence in the corridor, if this is an upscale building) or torture (which if the nanites can repair damage quickly and efficiently may actually be the best way to go, except that it'd be worrisome for him to leave her alive unless Arnold is willing to disappear and change his identity before he sells his next batch. We've been told that he doesn't want to kill Jillian unless he has to).
One question that comes to mind: do the nanites make you selfish? Arnold seems to have forgotten about his wife and children in formulating his disappearance plans, even though trying to save his son from a critical illness is what put this whole situation in motion. Rodney didn't have any family other than his sister; we know she's devoted to him but I'm not sure we've really been told whether she's more than the means to an end from his standpoint.
(Another more idle question: if the experimental procedure doesn't help Arnold's son and he gives the kid the nanites as a last resort, will they turn him into a girl his own age or a mature woman? They know from animal tests that the nanites reverse the aging process in older subjects, but did they test it on juveniles?)
Anyway, we ought to know some of the answers soon. Looking forward to it.
Eric
It Was the Nanites What Made Me Do It
This is a very interesting story. I'm really liking it.
I'm thinking that Arnold is being affected differently by the nanites because he's had such a low dosage. That's my take on the different behavior.
Adding Arnold's downward slide adds a nice bit of tension to what might otherwise devolve into a sappy, happy story.
Anyway, please keep up the good work and I'll keep reading.
Thanks and kudos (number 93).
- Terry
Poor Jillian, she needs a soft shoulder to cry on.
Now you've done it! You added a cliffhanger. Will Jillian survive what Arnold has in store for her? It seems the nanites are effecting Arnold's mind.
Love this story, just think friends, no more trips to Bangkok, Montreal, or waiting for public health surgery.
Karen
Blaming others
Julian seems bound to deceive people by saying Rodney has moved to Arizona. Why? She's gone to the trouble of changing her identity, even gone so far to verify she was Rodney. With the verification and identity change, she could access Rodney's accounts without trouble.
Arnold was an employee of the company, not its owners. Owners are not obligated to share what wealth they gain from their company. If they do pass along the wealth then it's at their discretion.
Arnold didn't have to follow Sarah's orders and give Rodney the nanites, he had a choice. And he isn't to blame for deciding to give Rodney the nanites, that's on Sarah's head.
He is responsible, though, for stealing the nanites from the company. That falls solely on his shoulders.
His main claim to everything he's done is because of his son being ill. Others have had children who've been I'll and they didn't break the law to provide for them.
Others have worked for companies which have made great wealth but they didn't seek revenge because the wealth wasn't shared.
Arnold is showing his true self by the thefts he's committed. And by the money he's trying to hide from his family and the Government. He has always had this attitude but its emergence was triggered by Sarah's orders.
Arnold doesn't realize what's happening to him, but Julian would if Arnold would tell her what he's experiencing. Arnold will soon have to change his name and buy new clothing. Wonder what her wife is going to say?
Arnold has really crossed the line by kidnapping Julian. But to what end? What does he hope to gain? Both Sarah and Julian will want to fire him but he could spill the beans about Rodney taking the nanites. And they couldn't prosecute him for stealing the nanites for the same reason.
Regardless what Sarah and Julian eventually do to Arnold, the nanites will change him into a woman.
Others have feelings too.
Yep
That train derailed going around the bend. Wonder if the nanites will put it back on track?