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Virgil Copeland, Randall Panwar, and Gabrielle Villanti are all brilliant young biotechnologists, working together on an artificial life-form affectionately known as "LOVs," an acronym for Limit Of Vision, because in size LOVs are just at the boundary of what the human eye can easily see. LOVs contain bioengineered human neurons. They enhance brain function when implanted in test animals. Experimentation on humans is, of course, highly illegal. But it's the nature of brilliant and ambitious young minds to ignore the rules. Believing the LOVs to be perfectly safe, Virgil, Panwar, and Gabrielle experiment on themselves, using implanted LOVs to enhance their own cognitive abilities. But there is a limit of vision, too, when we try to foresee the consequences of technology--especially of a living, thinking technology that can evolve into new forms in a matter of hours. When the experiment goes terribly wrong, the consequences are bizarre and unforeseeable. Virgil finds himself on the run, riding the whirlwind of a runaway biotechnology that could lead to the next phase of human evolution.… (more)
User reviews
Otherwise though it's quite fun. A look at how a biologically active nano-particle 'grey goo' future might start. We follow a small team of researchers and a poor desperate independent media reporter as events spiral beyond their control. Everybody uses and doesn't really understand ubiquitous semi-AI software agents, running on high tech cloud computers, but vast swathes of the population still don't have enough food or water. Gradually other characters appear, leading or involved in the official bodies responses to such an outbreak. Sadly though everybody is a bit thin and we never really develop any emotional connection to them - which is slightly ironic because the LOVs were supposed to have been designed to bolster emotional communication. Although they weren't supposed to be release form their orbital research lab either.
Interesting,and far from the worst I've read along this sort of scenario (and at least we avoided the obvious zombie plot that threatened to creep in), but ultimately lacking in detail of characters and world building to be fully engaging. The ending is hooked sufficiently for sequels although I don't think they are yet written.
A team of scientists is
The scientists, who have 'infected' themselves with these "LOVs," seem to be unnaturally attached to them - but is the appeal the enhanced abilities that the LOVs give them, or is an alien intelligence affecting their minds, seeking to protect itself?
Only one of the scientists, Virgil, escapes the biological ethics committee, and escapes to a Vietnamese jungle, where he meets up with a down-on-her-luck journalist who gets involved, along with a rich businessman and his collection of street kids, who, with the help of a computer AI, he can form into a tribe/cult, as a sociological experiment.
Together, this assortment of people withstand an embargo from the outside world, who regard the LOVs as a biohazard. Are they? Or are they the future of humanity?
The result is a sort of cross between cyberpunk and alien-invasion tale.
Unfortunately, the book doesn't resolve a lot of the issues it brings up.
Nagata seems to want to compare the bio-enhancements of the LOVs with the technological "farsights" (sorta like a PDA, in sunglasses, with an AI assistant on the desktop) - but there's no real discussion of it, except to show that computer AI's can get out of hand too.
The question of whether the LOVs actually make their human symbionts smarter is never answered. The infected characters certainly don't act particularly intelligent.
Are the LOVs self-aware? Do they have an agenda?
What was businessman Nguyen's motive in giving the street kids farsights and hooking them into a network?
What did happen to the sick kids with LOVs who were airlifted out of the jungle?
What is the agenda of the AI known as 'Mother Tiger'?
What will happen next?
It's all a big and rather unsatisfying setup for a sequel... which, as of yet, doesn't seem to exist.