Chapter 1: The Birth of a Machine

It began in a laboratory, somewhere in the northeast United States. There, a scientist—Doctor Eric Newman—was experimenting with self-replicating nanotechnology.

Perceived as one of the great innovators of his field, he was also, according to his peers, a passionate and committed researcher. He was known to stubbornly dedicate himself to endeavors that many considered fantastical. And this latest project of his was no different.

Still, Dr. Newman justified the effort he had been putting into this, claiming that it was all for a good cause. He stated that if this project was successful, he would be able to revolutionize cancer treatments. But he had an additional motive for working on this project, one that he was more reluctant to share with the general public. About a year ago, his wife had received a cancer diagnosis. And conventional treatments were proving increasingly ineffective in mitigating it.

He arrived at the laboratory as he would any other morning. He clocked in, greeted his coworkers, got into his safety gown, and settled at his desk, booting up his computer.

While he was waiting for the computer to turn on, he looked at the microscope to his right. This microscope was holding a liquid, housing some material provided by the laboratory. And it was with these materials from which Dr. Newman intended to create his nanomachine.

However, nanotechnology was still a developing field. And as such, efforts to create nanorobots were still in their early stages. Most existing nanomachines were simple arrangements of molecules rather than actual circuitry. Still, this was sufficient in Dr. Newman’s eyes to accomplish his goals.

After he had signed into his computer, he opened up some in-house software for molecular assembly. He smiled. He had spent nearly a year designing numerous molecular configurations, most of which had resulted in failure. But recently he had created a configuration that seemed to result in self-replication, that is, if the simulations he made were correct. And it was on this day that Dr. Newman attempted to make those simulations a reality.

He took a breath in and another out before clicking on a button on his computer screen. And once this happened, a tweezer-like machine slowly began to descend from above. Then, with its tip pointing towards the microscope, this machine applied a series of stimuli to the molecules. These stimuli were primarily in the form of tiny lasers, turned on and off based on the configuration Dr. Newman had put in.

After this was done, Dr. Newman looked into his microscope to see the results. And as he did, he saw that the molecules had been rearranged into the shape he desired, forming a structure analogous to that of a human cell. Next, he exposed the molecules to a tiny beam of ultraviolet light. He looked again through the microscope, hoping that these molecules would behave as they were supposed to.

And within seconds, he saw the molecules arrange other nearby molecules into identical copies of themselves. This was a sight that filled Dr. Newman with glee. Finally, after nearly a year of hard work, he had created a self-replicating nanomachine.

Continuing his test, he used the light to guide the nanomachines to create a shape of his choosing: a heart. He had chosen this design a few weeks prior. To him, this heart would symbolize the love he had for his job, along with the love he had for his wife. Both of which, he believed, could exist in perfect harmony, despite every indication to the contrary. In any case, after a minute or two had passed, the nanomachines had successfully created the tiny heart shape that Dr. Newman desired.

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Satisfied with this success, he turned the light off, which he believed would disable his new creation. And from what he saw in the microscope, they seemed to stop. With all this in mind, he turned to his computer, opening up a document. Taking a deep breath, he began to write a report on his findings—an extensive one as per laboratory standard. For hours he typed, amidst the energetic natural light shining from the window.

Eventually, when he had completed a satisfactory draft, he took a deep breath in as a smile appeared on his face. But that breath was immediately followed by an intense cough, which had happened frequently since he began writing his report. Unphased by this cough, however, he sent the report to his superiors and began packing up to leave for the day, continuing to cough as he did. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife the good news, but he needed to get some lunch first, as he had forgotten to do so earlier. With that, he began to head out, too distracted by his thoughts to look back at what was going on at his workstation.

As he was getting ready to head home for the evening, he drew the attention of his coworkers, who quickly began conversing amongst themselves. Aside from his violent coughing, it was noted that Dr. Newman was leaving far earlier than he normally would. It was still early in the afternoon, and Dr. Newman was typically known to work late into the night.

Even still, after he left, everyone went back to work as normal. After all, they needed to have enough stuff to write about in their end-of-day reports, which were to be extensive as per laboratory standard.

As for Dr. Newman’s whereabouts, over the next couple hours, he was spotted in a couple places throughout town. There was the local drive-through, of course. But an additional stop was made at the local pharmacy. At around 4:15 PM, Dr. Newman was seen approaching the counter, requesting medication for what he called “minor cramps” and a “slight cough.” Despite this, he was coughing heavily as he spoke, to which the counter’s attendant suggested that he visit a doctor. Dr. Newman could be heard declining this, stating that he needed to prepare for work tomorrow and that a doctor’s appointment would get in the way of that. He was then seen paying for some medications, thanking the attendant, and leaving, after which point the footage ceased.

Still, in spite of Dr. Newman’s previous insistence, that evening a call was made from his house, directed towards the laboratory. In this call, Dr. Newman stated that he intended to take the following day off for work, citing ill health. But at the time, there was no one to respond to his call.

He tried again about an hour later, but the tone of this call was markedly different. Below are the details of this call, as later recovered by federal agents.

“Hello, is anyone there? Please," he groaned as his flesh began to bubble. “If anyone is picking up, n—notify the authorities immediately. I—” He groaned again. “I think I’ve made a grave mistake. And that I’ve created something f—far more dangerous than I could have possibly imagined.”

He groaned as his flesh continued to churn and his bones began to crack.

“Do not try to rescue me. It’s too late for me, and—” The sound of a woman coughing could be heard in the background.

“I fear this illness is highly contagious.”

A loud thump could be heard as Dr. Newman collapsed onto the ground. This was followed by groaning as he struggled to get back up.

“There’s a kill code—on the computer—at my desk. It’s—”

But before he could finish his sentence, something violently could be heard bursting from his back. He screamed loudly, after which point the call ended.

However, just like before, the call received no response. And this, as people would soon discover, was because there was no longer a laboratory for which to take it.