Dream Guide

Under a million-magnification electron microscope, you can see gray-white translucent bean-like things neatly connected together to form a strip like a pearl necklace, and each two necklaces are twisted into a white twist. , the twists are placed side by side, like an old piece of linen cloth that has been used for a long time.

Mei Yiqiu was wearing a white coat and holding a pipe. He stood in front of the big screen and looked at the virus sample analysis pictures. His hair was blown out, as if the energy from his brain were constantly radiating outward.

Aoki and Mei Ziqing sat below like primary school students waiting for the teacher to teach.

"This is a virus that has never been seen before. Maybe it is not very accurate to call it a virus now, because it has some characteristics of both viruses and virus-like microorganisms, but it is closer to viruses. I will call it a virus for the time being. And gave it a name - gray brain virus."

Mei Yiqiu finally spoke, and the slide pictures on the wall kept changing.

"Come and see." The picture on the big screen was frozen and enlarged, and some individual bean-shaped particles could be clearly seen. "These are virus particles."

The image was then reduced to a linen pattern and moved to the right. A chaotic arrangement of gray-white translucent beans appeared on the left, contrasting with the original image.

Mei Yiqiu pointed to the picture and said: "On the left is Neisseria meningitidis, and on the right is gray brain virus. Regardless of their arrangement, just looking at the shape of the virus particles, the two viruses are very similar, but the size is much different." Neisseria meningitidis is about 0.6 microns in diameter, which is a full fifty times larger than gray brain virus."

"Previously, the world's smallest virus was an artificial virus synthesized in the British National Laboratory. Because the large and complex proteins that make up the virus shell were abandoned, very short protein fragments were designed, so The diameter of the virus is only 12 nanometers. But the gray brain virus you see now has an average diameter of less than 10 nanometers, and the smallest one is only 7 nanometers."

"The hospital does not have this virus sample, so it is impossible to screen it out, and it is difficult for ordinary laboratories to separate such small virions from damaged brain gray matter cells. If someone hadn't given me enough tips, I thought there was a good chance that I wouldn't have discovered it, no one would have thought that a virus that small could exist and that it could play dead."

"Playing dead?"

"That's right. It attacks our cerebral cortex, causing brain cells to gradually die. Since the virus is neatly arranged according to hinges, the dead brain cells look like weathered fibers. Generally speaking, the virus will multiply in large numbers and then infect Peripheral cells, or invading other tissues of the body through the blood, and viruses in dead brain cells will also die because they have lost their living environment. But this virus is special. Its target of damage seems to be very clear. It only infects the cerebral cortex. , even a specific area, without entering the blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid. The virions on the dead brain cells also looked dead, but after being isolated, they showed activity again, which shows that they are not Rather than being a pure virion, they have characteristics of virion-like microorganisms."

"Is this the reason why Mr. Xia and Aunt Yao have brain lesions?"

"Yes. Coupled with the sampling examination of Mr. Lester at Hopkins Medical Center and the brain cell sample testing provided by William Wolfe in Peter's laboratory in Chicago, there is already four sample evidence, which can be very The existence of this virion is definitely the main cause of their brain lesions, but the current research on it is still at a very preliminary stage, and the hope of curing this disease in the short term is extremely slim."

Aoki asked: "So is there any relationship between the virus and the parasitic consciousness of invasion?"

Mei Yiqiu said: "There is currently no way to prove that theoretically, there is no direct relationship between them."

Mei Ziqing interjected: "But everyone currently infected with the virus happens to have their consciousness invaded. There can't be such a coincidence, right?"

"This is what is puzzling, and our research is in trouble." Mei Yiqiu took a puff of cigarette, and the smoke puffed out and drifted through the light of the projector, projecting a picture on the slide on the wall. The ever-changing shadows.

"Whether it is Mr. Lester's analysis or our recent research, it can be determined that the intruder is a pure consciousness, and their purpose is to find a suitable host to parasitize. From this perspective, their invasion It is at the level of consciousness and has nothing to do with the material itself. No matter how small the virus is, it is still composed of material, and the structure and genetic composition of the virus are in line with the biological order of our world, and it is unlikely to be brought from outer space."

"What's more, they invade human consciousness in order to occupy our brains, but this virus can destroy the brain, which contradicts their purpose!"

Mei Ziqing said: "Is it possible that it is a self-resistance-like consequence of rejection after the human brain is invaded, just like inflammation and fever?"

Mei Yiqiu nodded and said: "It's not impossible. The premise is that our body can recognize its own consciousness. That is another research field. If this is the case, then the gray brain virus may have been as early as some bacteria. It is latent in the human body, or it can be actively produced by cells under certain circumstances like biological enzymes, but our multiple experimental results show that neither of these two possibilities exists."

Aoki asked: "If the virus is not controlled, what will be the final consequences?"

Mei Yiqiu said: "Theoretically, it should be a vegetative state. This is because the virus only infects a specific cerebral cortex and affects the nerve center without damaging the brain stem."

"Vegetative person? Brain? Vegetative person's brain..." Aoki seemed to remember something.

Mei Ziqing suddenly asked: "Professor, you just said that someone reminded you that you discovered this virus?"

Mei Yiqiu said: "Yes, someone sent me a super-secret email, suggesting that there may be an undiscovered directed parasitic virus, and said that if I find it, I will be provided with more materials to help Study the origin and characteristics of this virus."

"So, he knows more than us?" Mei Ziqing was a little curious about who it was, "Then why didn't he do the research himself, but did it through you?"

"I'm afraid only he knows this." Mei Yiqiu said with a shrug.

"Could it be a trap?" Mei Ziqing warned vigilantly.

"Even if it is a trap, we have no choice but to jump in. I have already informed him of the progress here via email. I received a reply from him last night saying that the subsequent information must be submitted in person, so we agreed to meet in my laboratory today." Mei Yiqiu looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time. If he is a punctual person, it should be almost here now."

Not long after he finished speaking, the intelligent AI prompt "We have a visitor" sounded, and the scene at the entrance of the laboratory appeared on the large screen on the wall. A woman with an outstanding appearance and temperament was holding a cute little girl. hand, looking at the access control camera and smiling at them.

"Ah, I recognize her!" Mei Ziqing exclaimed in surprise, "She came to see the professor before, but professor you were locking yourself up and no one was there!"

However, it was Aoki who was more surprised than Mei Ziqing at this time.