Continuance Read Online Free Page B

‘Individually
definitive.’ Now, what do we mean by that? There are many biological patterns
in each of us that might be considered unique.” She held up an index finger. “Fingerprints,
for example. With an accurate fingerprint, we can identify anyone in the world.
But even though your fingerprints can tell us who you are, we wouldn’t
say your fingerprints define who you are, would we?” She raised an
eyebrow. “So individually unique is not the same as individually definitive .
In this class, we’re interested in those patterns of information which not only describe us, but which also define us.” She let her gaze pan the
class for a moment. “Can anyone tell me what they are?”
    “DNA?” offered an
auburn-haired girl sitting at the table next to them.
    “DNA, yes. Your
complete genome. But that’s…”
    As Professor
Fairchild continued, Stuart nudged Jason, nodding toward the girl who had
answered the question. What about her? She’s not bad, the look said. If
he hadn’t already known this introductory material backward and forward, he
might have responded with his own look for, Shut up and pay attention .
But the distraction was welcome, so he gave the girl an appraising glance. She
had tan skin, with auburn hair swept over to cascade down a shoulder. The
overall effect was a sort of understated attractiveness that, along with her presence
here, meant she was just the type of girl he’d be interested in. So he offered
Stuart a disinterested shrug and turned his attention back to the lecture.
    “…skills, and
ultimately, what we call personality,” Professor Fairchild was saying. “If we could
create an accurate map of every neuron in your brain, along with every one of
the connections that neuron has with other neurons, we would have documented you .
We call such a detailed map of the brain a neuromap .
    “And there you
have them – our two individually definitive patterns of information. The genome
and the neuromap. Your own personal blueprint.
    “Fortunately, genomes
are easy to work with, as you’ll see later on today. On the other hand, the
neuromap is a little more challenging, for two reasons. One: whereas your
genome consists of only a few million base pairs of DNA, your neuromap consists
of about a hundred billion neurons and a hundred trillion synaptic
connections – seven orders of magnitude more complex than the genome.”
    A few murmurs rose
around the classroom.
    “If you find
this intimidating,” Professor Fairchild said, “consider the fact that by the
end of this semester, each of you will be expected to identify all the genetic
markers for any of several hundred physical traits, to be able to model…”
    “Told you she
was a ball buster,” Stuart whispered, leaning close. He slipped his hands
underneath the table and cupped them over his groin in a meaningful gesture,
putting a pained look on his face. Jason couldn’t help chuckling under his
breath.
    The
auburn-haired girl must have been a lip reader, because she pierced Stuart with
a glare. Her brows furrowed in disapproval as she let her gaze linger, and he responded
by holding up his hands in mock surrender. Jason allowed himself to smile at
Stuart’s gaffe – typical of him – but then she shifted her glare from Stuart to
him. Frost radiated from her pale blue eyes, and Jason felt his smile vanish.
    Someone on the other
side of the room raised a hand. “Professor, you said there were two reasons
neuromaps are difficult to work with. What’s the other one?”
    “Right,”
Professor Fairchild said. “The other reason is simple. Neurons are small, and
most of them are deep inside your brain. We do have scanning devices with the
penetration and resolution required to create an accurate neuromap – gamma ray
laser encephalographs, the older nano-MRIs – but they also have the unfortunate
side effect of destroying the neurons they document. So while you might be able
to make a neuromap of yourself once, don’t