“Are scramblers even alive?” I asked. “What kind of question is that?” “You think Rorschach grows them on some kind of assembly line. You can’t find any genes. Maybe they’re just biomechanical machines.” “That’s what life is, Keeton. That’s what you are.” Another hit of nicotine, another storm of numbers, another sample. “Life isn’t either/or. It’s a matter of degree.” “What I’m asking is, are they natural? Could they be constructs?” “Is a termite mound a construct? Beaver dam? Spaceship? Of course. Were they built by naturally evolved organisms, acting naturally? They were. So tell me how
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