Small Miracles (2009) is a standalone SF novel. It is set in the near future when nanotechnology development is blooming.
In this novel, Brent Cleary is a sale engineer for Garner Nanotech. He has been riding on police patrols to demonstrate the new nanosuits and to get ideas for improvements.
Kimberley O'Donnell is a programming section leader at Garner Nanotech. Kim is a close friend of Brent.
Daniel Gardner is the founder of Gardner Nanotech. Dan is a believer in nanotech and his company.
Charles Walczak is director of the Biology Department at Gardner Nanotech. He is ambitious and prideful.
In this story, Brent is riding with Sargeant Korn in Angleton. It is his first night patrol. Korn soon learns about the stiffening effect and Brent tells him more.
Then Korn gets a domestic disturbance call. They drive to a large apartment building. Korn turns off the ignition and leaves Brent in the car as he goes into the building. Brent notices some locals stealing gasoline from a pipeline and gets out of the car to scare them away.
When Brent recovers consciousness, he is hospitalized with major wounds. The pipeline was gone and so was the apartment building. The car was wrapped around a utility pole and Brent was trapped inside.
The nanosuit had kept him alive, but bones were broken and organs were damaged or destroyed. After months of treatment, Brent returned to the Garner Nanotech headquarters in Utica. Dan had sent the company plane to fly him back and fellow employees meet him at the airport.
Kim rides home with him and spends the night watching over him. When he wakes the next morning, she warms muffins for breakfast. She answers some of his questions about the incident, but he has many more.
When he returns to work, Brent asks more questions of his fellow workers, Most change the subject, but Charles tells him all the bad news. Brent asks about the possibility of nanites within his brain and Charles tells him about nanobot destruct and the blood-brain barrier.
Brent is having dreams about the accident. He tries therapists, but they only talk about the incident. Then he finds a therapist that uses self-hypnosis.
Kim is also noticing changes in Brent. Charles and others tell her that such changes are to be expected after a traumatic event. Kim keeps on asking about the nanites.
This tale awakes a nanite web within Brent's brain. It communicates using messenger RNA. Then it intercepts blank messengers from brain synapses. It starts growing new synaptic junctions within his brain.
This story has an emerging intelligence developing within Brent's brain. It has full access to the human's sensory system and memory as well as some access to the internet. The EI can also trigger hormone changes within his body, but it is not affected by such hormones. It is without any emotion except a desire to survive.
The
WWW
series presents an emerging intelligence that adopts human style emotions. In that story, the EI has access to the internet as well as to the human visual system. It is not limited by human faculties.
In Asimov's
robot tales
, the positronic brains were impressed with Three Laws. Since emerging intelligences can change their own programming, such laws may well be overwritten. So this story is probably a more reasonable portrayal of such an EI.
Recommended for Lerner fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and persistent friendships. Read and enjoy!
-Arthur W. Jordin
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
