Cyber Terror (24 page)

Looking up from a screen showing Jordan’s enhancements, a delighted Eli said, “You see like an owl and smell like a dog.”

At last Jordan managed a smile. “That’s not very nice – telling me I smell like a dog.”

Eli remained straight-faced. “My meaning was obvious. You can smell as well as a dog.”

Jordan laughed quietly. Working with Unit Red’s newest agent was going to be interesting.

When I want to come up with a new idea for a story, I usually look to science because scientists are always discovering and creating new things. Some exciting advances are
bound to be just around the corner. For a few years, I have been keeping an eye on the coming bionic age. There are so many new developments I’m fascinated by: brain implants that give vision
to the blind and hearing to the deaf, robotic limbs controlled entirely by the mind, touch-sensitive skin for artificial hands, designer DNA, power-enhancing drugs, developing replacement body
parts through stem cells, terahertz technology, a bat-like echolocation device to help the blind, generating electricity from body movement, smart clothing, and drugs to wipe painful memories.
It’s clear that human re-engineering is under way.

Some of these body enhancements are already hitting the news. When soldiers return from war zones with dreadful injuries – often missing a limb after an encounter with a bomb – their
medical treatment can grab the headlines. In writing the Jordan Stryker thriller series, I’ve been inspired not only by what modern medicine and technology can do for people, but also by
their determination to cope.

I have seen today’s artificial arms in action. By the power of thought alone, they can hold food, stir tea and pick up a small key. Whilst this cutting-edge science enables the disabled,
it does not allow them to bust through doors like Jordan does with his bionic arm. In creating Jordan Stryker, I have not limited myself to today’s exact medical technology. I have allowed
myself to imagine where the science of body enhancement might take us in the next twenty years or so. By then, there will be some amazing developments. I’ve simply allowed Jordan to have the
technology right now. I’ve also given him some of the grit shown by real-life victims of serious injury.

I haven’t given Jordan the fantastic powers of a superhero. That would have been interesting and exciting, but not what I wanted to write about. When Jordan walks up a wall, it’s
because super-grip shoes are on the way to becoming practical, not because he’s transforming into a superhero.

At least one expert thinks the first bionic eyes will be developed by 2020. Of all Jordan’s abilities, I have peered into the future most with his artificial eyesight. I suspect that the
power and range of his fictional vision will not become reality for many years.

Several scientists are already talking about a time when people will merge with machines. This would be called the singularity. I don’t know whether it will happen or not, but I wonder if
it is to be welcomed or feared. If a human being and a machine become a single thing at some point, the hybrid will probably be really smart and live for ever. This seems too fanciful for Jordan,
but he’s certainly a step on the way to this awesome and unsettling future.

Malcolm Rose was born in Coventry and began his career as a research scientist. He started writing stories while studying for his DPhil degree in chemistry, as a means of
escape from everyday life. He is now a full-time writer best known for his gripping science-based thrillers and forensic crime series. He has been awarded the Angus Book Award twice and the
Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year. His novel,
Kiss of Death
, was chosen for the national Booked Up reading scheme, and was shortlisted for four prizes, including the Salisbury
Schools’ Book Award.

To find out more about the Jordan Stryker series visit:
www.usborne.com/jordanstryker

A massive explosion destroys the south-east of England. The near lifeless body of Ben Smith is plucked from the carnage…

Can Jordan outwit the evil masterminds and violent gangs who will use any means to destroy their enemies?

epub 9781409531913
Kindle 9781409531920