Cyber Heroes

After talking a lot, Jing Hongtu also became a little depressed. He seemed to be aging quickly, and his energy was not as good as before.

He put the books in Xiangshan's hand one by one, as if he wanted to give him the entire study.

He suddenly sighed: "I seem to have put too much pressure on you. For me, letting you take over the position of head of the research department may be the greatest achievement of my life. It is no exaggeration to say that that's it. .As a person who develops technology, you have done more beautifully than I had ever daydreamed about. You have eliminated war, brought development, and are about to eliminate famine. Maybe poverty will become a thing of the past... The most corrupt thing in the world When I was young, I never dreamed that such a good thing would happen."

"In the rest of my life, I may not be able to achieve anything greater than this. I really hope that you can win, Xiaoxiang. In the constant battle, you can win the final victory."

Xiangshan felt the weight of the book in his hand. Paper is denser than bricks and even heavier than some rocks. Xiangshan put down the book, lowered his head and said, "Although I have never taught formally, I have learned a lot from you. You are my teacher."

Jing Hongtu shook his head: "I am just an external cause. The elements for you to awaken and become a self-made person were already in place before we went to Rama Project."

Xiangshan smiled: "Don't say it's impossible to make greater achievements... I see you are still writing something? Maybe there are some shocking academic achievements?"

"Ah? That? Science fiction." Jing Hongtu smiled: "After all, I didn't catch this bus. In the past few years, I still want to pick up the dream of my youth. Do you want to see it?"

Xiangshan picked up the unfinished manuscript.

Xiangshan fell into the white paper.

——This is my penultimate visit...

——Why...would I want to visit at that time...

The white of the paper turned into another kind of white.

The air is filled with the smell of disinfectant and a faint scent of incense.

Xiang Shan shuddered.

Late summer of 2043. The leaves of the landscape trees outside the window have begun to turn yellow.

Xiang Shan sat on a chair, holding an old hand.

That's an old woman. She babbled: "Shan, now you are a great scientist and a big boss. You should be busy with your work, and you don't have to come to see me all the time."

"How can that be possible?" Xiang Shan held the woman's hand tightly: "You are the only mother I have in this life."

His nose is a little sore.

"This kid..." The mother pulled her hand back and patted him with a smile, "Your eldest cousin came to see me two days ago. His son's college entrance examination this year, the essay topic is all about your speech at Peking University."

Xiangshan smiled shyly: "That's a small matter..."

"You are still young. Our ancestors have never done such a big thing in our eight lifetimes. The whole family benefits from you. In the past few days, distant relatives have come all the way to see me." Mother smiled and said: "What a mountain. , you are a person who does big things, so it’s not my old lady’s turn to worry about it. But mom, there are still a few things that I can’t let go of.”

"Mom..." Xiang Shan held his mother's hand again: "Your son is capable now. There is nothing he can't do. Tell me what you have to say."

"Your grandma passed away early, and I don't know if it was due to this disease. Your aunt also died of this disease." Mother said: "You have the ability now, and you have the most professional... that thing. Give it to your family. Those cousins ​​should also do some screening. Maybe they can be detected and treated early...and you yourself too."

Xiang Shan lowered his head: "This kind of disease will never happen again. Really. It doesn't matter to them. It doesn't matter to me either."

"Yes, yes, I know you are capable." The mother smiled: "Let's not talk about it. Tell me something about you. Xiao Zhu is a good boy... You two have been together for so many years, why don't you What about getting married? The little girl has never had a status, so she doesn’t want to be laughed at."

He lowered his head to the mountain. He actually has a lot to say, because he considers himself innovative and progressive. But he said nothing.

"When you brought the girl home, oh, your dad and I were so happy. He happily drank three glasses of white wine the next day...it was clear that his liver was not good. We both thought you would be fine soon. We are getting married, and we have grandsons to hold. But what about you... Mom is not talking about you. You are all very capable people, and you are all busy. But no matter how busy you are, you still have to have a family, right? You don’t have time to have children. Okay. You are not the only one in Lao Xiang’s family, but Xiao Zhu has been with you for so many years, so you have to give them a status, right?"

"Yes, yes..." Xiang Shan lowered his head, tears falling on the ground: "I will... prepare... the wedding... when I get back..."

"Hey, don't. It's unlucky that your wedding anniversary will be followed by the anniversary of my death." Mother's hand covered Xiang Shan's head: "Mom is not forcing you... You kid, don't cry. I'll see you below. It's your father, how do you tell him? My son is crying. Mountain...Mom still hopes that you can live a happy life."

Falling forward towards the mountain, the white sheets were shattered by him, and then reorganized into white elegiac couplets.

In the memory space more than two hundred years later, the son's cry came.

Zhu Xinyu was sitting opposite Xiangshan. This is the edge of the mourning hall. In recent years, the country has promoted frugality and new funeral customs. However, the deceased did not like to make grand arrangements during his lifetime, so there is no money for wreaths, paper, or complicated ceremonies. The body was surrounded by white chrysanthemums sent by people from all walks of life. Under several large bamboo flower baskets, there are elegiac couplets signed by leaders or embassies of various countries.

Zhu Xinyu looked at the latest one: "A lifetime of good character will lead to generations of virtuous people."

Extremely sad and glorious.

The brief ceremony was over. Only immediate family members and a few close friends are left here. Xiangshan rarely wears formal clothes. He was wearing AR glasses and moved his hand feebly above his forehead, as if he was reading something.

Zhu Xinyu felt sad and wiped away her tears.

This is the autumn of 1943.

David and Yawgmoth were standing nearby. David is wearing a black suit with white paper flowers on his chest. Yawgmoth was wearing a thick black down jacket. It's still autumn. Considering the climate in Beiping, Yawgmoth's attire was a bit too exaggerated.

He said dullly: "I'm sorry... I couldn't help."

David also lowered his head: "It didn't work out, I'm sorry..."

"When I read a similar industry report a few years ago, it was said that cryonics technology would only be commercially available in fifteen years. If I look at it this year, it will be twenty years. If I look at it next time, it may not take twenty-five years. ”

The tone was strange and depressing.

If there is anything that can slightly save the elderly who cannot accept the genetic modification surgery of the baseline human, it should be "cryonics".

Today's technology is too late, but future technology may be.

"There's no way..." David's voice was very low.

"I don't blame you." Xiang Shan put his hand on his forehead, "Both NASA and CNSA have cut the funding for the Homo sapiens cryonics project and switched it to baseline human cryonics. This technology is for colonizing outer space. It will not be used anymore in the future. There will be Homo sapiens astronauts. Baseline Homo is better suited than Homo sapiens to conquer space.”

"In the medical field... the complications of 'species renewal' are what the medical field is focusing on now. With a breakthrough in this aspect, it will be even easier for Homo sapiens to become a baseline human. As long as they become a baseline human, 80% All the diseases of Homo sapiens are no longer a concern... add in prosthetics. We can conquer diseases and disabilities."

"However, if we have accomplished something as sci-fi as 'changing species', why can't we achieve 'cryonics of Homo sapiens'..."

David was speechless.

The cryonics agency he contacted did not dare to exaggerate their propaganda to these monster-sized superhuman corporate controllers. They gave correct technical information. According to the judgment of Chen Feng and other experts... existing technology cannot guarantee that Homo sapiens can be revived after being frozen. In addition, even if resuscitation is possible, irreversible brain damage is inevitable.

Moreover, in 20 to 30 years, research in the medical field will fully turn to benchmark humans.

Yawgmoth kicked the ground with his toes: "You can hate me if you want."

Xiang Yatou covered his eyes: "We want to save the world. Seventy percent of the people can enjoy a life span of four hundred years and get rid of famine. The merits are immeasurable. Why do I hate you?"

"There are obvious biological differences between baseline humans and Homo sapiens. The medical technology required by baseline humans is different from that of Homo sapiens. The cryonics solution that works for baseline humans cannot be applied to Homo sapiens."

The biggest difficulty with cryonics is that after the water in the human body turns into ice crystals, it will destroy body tissues at the cellular level. There are only two ways to solve this problem. First, it is instant freezing, so that water molecules have no time to form ice crystals and are fixed in their original positions. The second is to replace the water with protective fluid.

The former is impossible. The level of human physics and engineering has not yet reached the level of freezing the human body instantly and uniformly. The damage resistance of Homo sapiens is too weak, and it is impossible to "remove the brain for quick freezing without injury."

Protective fluid is more likely the way to go.

However, existing protective fluids are not safe.

The process of replacing blood with protective fluid may cause a series of chemical damage.

According to the timetable launched by Superman Enterprises, baseline human genetic modification surgery will be implemented on everyone within ten years. With luck, people born after the 1990s can enjoy this treatment.

The cryonics technology for Homo sapiens will take at least more than ten years to produce results - this is a technology destined to have a narrow range of applications.

Zhu Xinyu couldn't help but say: "There are so many rich old men. Are they willing to..."

"It's meaningless." Xiang Shan breathed out, "Their money belongs to capital. They can't let the capital increase in value, otherwise the capital will be stolen by others. They can't unlimitedly allocate the funds of the companies under their names, otherwise the market rules will let them They were kicked out. They can only invest in this project with the funds they can personally use... How much money can they have?"

"But what about the country... If nothing else, among all the congressmen and electors in the United States, none of them have promised to prepare cryonics technology for the elderly?"

Yawgmoth sneered: "There are a few. But for conservatives, it is much cheaper to contract out to religious institutions."

David held Xiang Shan's hand: "Shan... as long as you are willing... as long as you give the order, we can set up a project."

"There are only so many resources." Xiang Shan put down his hand covering his eyes and stared at David - it was a look that Zhu Xinyu had never seen before. He asked back: "If the technology here is breakthrough one day late, about 300,000 people will lose the qualification for surgery. If breakthrough is made one day early, it will be a blessing for 300,000 people... What should I do?"

Zhu Xinyu walked to Xiangshan and hugged his head: "Manpower sometimes runs out...resources are limited. This is not your fault."

Xiang Shan leaned on Zhu Xinyu's chest: "Xinyu..."

"Um?"

"I know you don't like your father... but he is also an old man. Go see him when you have time." Xiang Shan looked around: "Everyone, please go see the old man more often when you have time."