We're in the Amazon rainforest where action adventure meets biochemistry, genetics and computer technology- vintage Greg Egan compressed in a short story of 25-pages.
If you're like me, a non-science, liberal arts type and want to tap into Greg Egan's fertile, explosive imagination, let me assure you, the Aussie author's short stories are the way to go. Sure, there's futuristic science and technology aplenty, but since his tales are in the 20-40 page range, you can wrap your mind around all the technical details without getting overwhelmed.
Chaff is a terrific story, the first in Greg Egan's short story collection Luminous. Spoiler Alert: in order to explore the key philosophical questions posed, I'm obliged to give away the tale's concluding scene.
The tale's unnamed narrator, a gent I'll call Brett, outlines a major world problem : El Nido de Ladrones - the Nest of Thieves - spanning twenty thousand square miles in the Amazon jungle, is the location for producers of not only a powerful new, high-quality recreational drug but also cutting edge tools that alter the very foundation of biochemistry on our planet (keep in mind this is science fiction set in the near future).
Attacking the huge Nest of Thieves would be next to impossible since those nefarious drug barons modified the entire ecosystem in their segment of the rainforest to the point where it has become a one of a kind, artificial jungle, a jungle where any outsiders would be completely lost ergo vulnerable ergo killed on the spot.
Nuclear weapons have been proposed (and strongly supported by "The Company," an unidentified, ultraconservative biotech company that contracts Brett, an undercover agent for DEA, for a secret mission), but world leaders fear possible consequences in other parts of the globe. Damn those wishy-washy liberals!
And now there's an additional problem: Peruvian born, US and British educated biochemist Guillermo Largo, PhD, a brilliant scientist who has spent a career spanning three decades conducting biotech research and last employed by The Company, has made off with highly classified information and groundbreaking genetic tools. Any guesses where Largo is hiding out? That's right - El Nido de Ladrones.
The aforementioned ultraconservative Company sends Brett on his top secret mission: travel down to South American, penetrate the Nest of Thieves, find Guillermo Largo and, critically important, bring Largo back alive.
Brett's action-packed, daredevil adventure is for Greg Egan to tell. I'll make a quick cut to the concluding scene where Brett is now a prisoner behind bars at Largo's jungle hideout. Here's a batch of juicy bits via direct quotes and my synopsizing:
Brett attempts to persuade Largo to return with him to the US, tells him he could have his old job back and resume his career with The Company. Largo scoffs at the suggestion, informs Brett what he was working on at the time of his departure: developing viral weapons that would rewrite parts of the human brain - to, in effect, make people more docile, more passive.
Largo goes on to explain he current project in scientific terms concluding with: "For most people, navigating their own psyche is like wandering in circles through a maze. That's what evolution has bequeathed us: a miserable confusing prison. And the only thing crude drugs like cocaine or heroin or alcohol ever did was build short cuts to a few dead ends - or, like LSD, coat the walls of the maze with mirrors."
Nope, none of those crude alternatives for Guillermo Largo. The scientist speaks with pride about his new discovery, a drug he calls Grey Knights, a drug even more powerful and personality enhancing then the cartel's current White Knights. "Grey Knights allow you to reshape the entire maze, at will. They don't confine you to some shrunken emotional repertoire; they empower you completely. They let you control exactly who you are."
In the world of drugs, a qualitative leap for humankind: with Largo's Grey Knights, each one of us will have the opportunity to change identities. Remarkable! With Grey Knights, you too can rewire your memories and information inputs and, like magic, become a new ideal you, the person of your dreams, the person you always wanted to be.
Largo's revelation prompts a lively philosophic interchange but deep into the evening, as Brett becomes woozy and is about to pass out, words cease and Largo turns to action: he injects Brett with a dose of Grey Knights.
Brett becomes alert and instantly comprehends the drug's phenomenal potency: he can become whoever he wants to become. So the question poses itself: does he want to change or remain exactly as he is, a hunter and a killer (after all, he had to kill a young woman and a young pilot on his way to the Nest of Thieves, both deaths deemed necessary according to The Company, deaths serving the ultimate end: finding Guillermo Largo).
What would you do if you were Brett? What would you do if you were offered Grey Knights? Is there one or more things in yourself you would permanently change?
Prior to flying to the Amazon, Brett roams the streets of Washington, D.C. on a summer's evening, taking a gander at the effects of the new Nest of Thieves superdrug - White Knights, currently the drug of choice in the US. "Teenagers, sported bioluminescent symbionts, the veins in their temples, necks, and pumped-up forearm muscles glowing electric blue, walking circulation diagrams who cultivated hypertension to improve the effect. Others used retinal symbionts to translate IR into visible light, their eyes flashing vampire red in the shadows."
Australian author Greg Egan, born 1961 - Greg takes pride in not having any photos of himself available on the web. This photo is the way I picture the outstanding SF novelist writing at his computer.
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