Change Agent

by Daniel Suarez

Durand asked, “How far to the border, Thet?” Thet smiled. “Just a couple kilometers.” “Will we cross in the night?” “Oh, no. Darkness has no advantage. Machines see better than we at night. We like day. Rain like this during the day, perfect weather against fighting machines. Worse for them. You should rest.” He mimed sleep. “We leave just before dawn.” Soldiers strung up thick, black netting between the trees around the camp. Frey noticed them working and turned to Thet. “If those are mosquito nets, I’d hate to see the mosquitoes.” Thet laughed good-naturedly. “Anti-drone netting. Snares surveillance units. Sets off alarm.” Men behind him laid out bamboo mats, and soon the group huddled in several different spots under camouflaged tarpaulins in the rain, while others kept watch. Durand recognized the tarp material as a thermal insulator. It would conceal their heat signature from the air. Likewise, he’d seen motion and acoustic sensors set up on their perimeter, scanning the jungle around them for threats, interpreting movement and myriad sounds. Even here, out on the Thai-Burmese border, algorithms ran the show. He considered this as he watched a stream of rainwater rush a foot past his head in the semidarkness. Durand drifted off to sleep.