In the Company of Killers by Bryan Christy (ebook reader for pc and android .txt) 📕

We are proud to include The Sovereign in the Perseus Group family. Together, we will uncover secrets of the natural world and use them to protect this planet for all of us. Thank you.”

A smattering of applause filled the room. Sharon returned to center stage and said there was time for a few questions.

The Sovereign’s chief ornithologist pointed out that sparrows hovering was not natural at all and asked what testing had been done to determine its effect on community bird behavior. Someone from television said if drone birds could follow an elephant herd, like bodyguards, with park rangers wearing GoPro cameras, The Sovereign might want to do a film about it, “Through the Eyes of Sparrows” or something.

“What’s in it for you?” someone shouted, causing some uncomfortable laughter.

“Let’s keep this civil,” Sharon said.

“No,” Krieger said. “It’s the right question. What’s in it for me? A lot. How many times have we heard, ‘We should protect a rainforest or a coral reef because we don’t know what benefits might lie hidden inside’? The technology you witnessed this morning was brought to you by hummingbirds. We attached sensors to hummingbird wings and let machine learning algorithms train our drones how to move. Among elephants, our drones fly like the sparrows they resemble. Other environments require the mobility of hummingbirds. We have built a UAV capable of both. By flying naturally we can get closer to wildlife, and protect it better. By flying faster we can protect it more quickly.

“Nature is full of dual-use secrets,” he continued. “Hypertension medicine hidden in the poison of a Brazilian viper. Anticancer drugs locked inside Madagascar’s rosy periwinkle. Blood thinners coursing through Brazil’s tike uba tree. Adhesives under gecko pads. To unlock nature’s secrets, we first need to protect them. Not through charity, which demeans the recipient, but through markets, which enable nature to earn her keep. At Perseus Group we are disrupting legacy conservation to deliver the world a highly profitable conservation dividend.”

A young woman in the middle of the room raised her hand.

“The new hottie,” Fox whispered to Klay. “Tanya Something. Grantee. Works on sharks.”

The shark expert asked why, based on his history, they should trust Krieger to continue The Sovereign’s mission—“Not just your history in Iraq as Raptor Systems,” she said, “but your more recent history, as Perseus Group Media, buying up newspaper and television stations and either closing them down or turning them into platforms for racist, misogynistic demagogues . . .”

“Ouch.” Fox snapped at the air with his teeth. “Girl bites shark.” He shook his head gloomily. “I loved her, Tom. I really did.”

“You don’t have to trust me,” Krieger responded. “Trust your own eyes. Trust the communities we’ve already supported. A year from now I’ll be back here on this stage and we can look at our results together.”

Porfle got to his feet. “Terry, you stated in your presentation that your company is empowering the natural world to protect itself. Beyond teaching drones to flap like hummingbirds, could you provide us further examples?”

“Certainly, Alex. You’ve just witnessed our drones’ flocking response to crowd movement using transition algorithms inspired by starling murmuration. Does anyone know what proctodeal trophallaxis is?”

“EAT SHIT!” someone yelled out.

Sharon scowled.

“Exactly right,” Krieger said. “Termites exchange food and information anus to mouth, enabling them to move forward relentlessly without asking their queen for directions, inspiring our people to develop an information-exchange algorithm that enables our surveillance devices to respond autonomously while staying on mission. Our drones communicate using these markers, digital pheromones, if you like, and work as a unit.

“These are just a couple of the nature-based technologies that together offer us a force multiplier and enable us to follow poachers to their homes, study them, and take them down as a network.”

The screen behind Krieger filled with a final image of armed Perseus Group rangers frisking a row of shirtless black African men, the prisoners’ chests pressed against a concrete block wall, their hands zip-cuffed behind their backs. One of the prisoners had his face turned to the camera.

Klay raised his hand.

“That’s all we have time for,” Sharon said. “Let’s give Terry a warm round of applause. I’m sure we can agree we have much to do and many fresh stories to tell as a result of this fabulous new relationship. Thank you!”

Krieger’s hologram dissolved into the stage.

“Well, he seems committed,” Fox said. He turned to Klay. “What were you going to ask?”

Klay turned and made his way up the aisle into the lobby.

“Tom?” Fox repeated.

The auditorium emptied around them.

“Tom Klay,” a voice said.

Klay turned and Raynor McPhee emerged from the crowd.

“Raynor,” Klay said.

The two men shook hands.

“Sorry about Kenya,” McPhee said. “You doing okay?”

“Thanks,” Klay said.

Fox put out his hand. “Mitchell Fox. I respect your work very much, Raynor.”

McPhee shook Fox’s hand without noticing him. His attention was with Klay. “You know why he’s doing this wildlife shit, right?”

Klay didn’t answer.

“Are you leaving the Times?” Fox asked.

“You think you’re not part of a strategy?” The crowd jostled McPhee, and he had to work to stay in front of Klay. “This glimpse today,” McPhee continued. “You know what he’s doing with these drones. They’re already in western China. The technology they’re using to imprison Uighurs is coming here next. You see that, right?”

“I see it,” Klay said. “I don’t see what to do about it.”

Porfle appeared at McPhee’s side and clapped the Times reporter on the shoulder. “Ah. Good. You know Tom already. Excellent.”

For an uncomfortable moment no one spoke.

“Well. Raynor,” Porfle said, leading McPhee toward the elevators, “shall we continue our conversation upstairs in my office?”

McPhee left with Porfle, but after a few steps the Times reporter shrugged off Porfle’s hand and returned to Klay. He pointed toward the auditorium and said, “Our job is to recognize when history is about to repeat itself and sound the alarm. It’s not enough just to expose bad actors among us. We have to force the public to respond. You know what he is.”

Klay was only half listening. He was thinking about