Prey is the title of the New York Times number one bestselling novel written by Michael Crichton published on November of 2002. It is a cautionary tale about the horrors of a scientific experiment gone wrong, that nanotechnology, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence is something that fires back if not cautiously handled. The protagonist in the novel is Jack Forman, the unemployed software engineer and husband of Julia who works as a high ranking executive at Xymos. The company is engaged in developing a revolutionary imaging technology that develops nanorobotics. Because of the large project that the company undertakes, Julia often spends s most of her time at work. This led to Jacks suspicion that Julia is having an affair. However, the following events led to a heart stopping race to eliminate the swarms of nanobot s that infects and controls its hosts.
Some of the memorable part of the novel is when Jack noticed the changes in his wife, which triggered his suspicion that Julia is having an affair. However, as days went by, Julia started to act weirder. Jack was eventually hired to work for Xymos, but he has a strong feeling that there is something not right about the nanobot project. In addition, Jack is also baffled about the cause of death of a jackrabbit he found, which he and Mae have tried to inspect. However, as a scientist himself Jack is confident about solving the problem together with the help of Mae. It is undeniable that Jacks knowledge about the swarms would help him control them because he was the one that made them to adapt learning, but in a real world such situation would call for a more appropriate action. Being confident that the same person that created the swarm is the same key that will bring fort the solution to the chaos made by his creation is an understatement. Jack could have called the attention of the federal government to help him to resolve the situation.
Although the consequences might appear to be less favorable to Jack and the people that created made the swarm if he called upon for federal aid. It is still something worth compromising than to play hero and do the impossible that in the end would compromise the lives of more people. Normally, when something goes wrong in a facility that would bring about harm to thousands of people, it is the government that should take over and control the situation. In the case of Jack and the swarms, the situation calls for the aid of CDC or the Center for Disease Control. This is because the agency is more equipped and has strategic protocols that can be implemented during threats of epidemics and other disasters that deal with health risks. It is evident from the story that the swarms are dangerous when enters the human body, it made everyone sick including Jack’s kid and even takes control of the brain. That outcome as a result of swarm infection needs adequate preventive mechanism to quarantine the source of the problem and prevent it from spreading. The CDC in particular is well aware of the things to do and the procedures that need to be done in order to contain the spread of the problem. Jack could have collaborated with the agency and brief them of the effects of being exposed to the swarm. Jack could use a help from CDC to work on the people that were already exposed to the swarm by monitoring the symptoms. Jack could have worked together with the agency’s experts to create a battle plan to counter the effects of the swarm in the human body. They could come up with an antidote to kill the nanobots that already entered the infected humans and save lives. At the same Jack would be able to concentrate on finding ways to completely stop the swarm.
