Dream Guide

Everyone took a breath. If what Situ Yuli said was true, it would be simply terrible.

"How does the Internet... control those people?" Mei Yiqiu asked in disbelief. Although it seems that this matter has nothing to do with him, every scientist is concerned about the big scientific issue of whether the Internet itself has intelligence. If this is true, it will subvert the existing understanding of computers and the world view.

Situ Yuli said: "Almost all those equipped with chips are crazy, much like paranoid schizophrenia, but there are many unexplained common behaviors that can be distinguished from other similar mental patients. In the end, the laboratory compared a large amount of data And signal source analysis concluded that they are controlled by the Internet, which is equivalent to injecting a second consciousness, so their behavior is very similar to schizophrenia."

"Second consciousness?" This is something that both Aoki and Mei Yiqiu are interested in.

"Yes." Situ Yuli said, "Although it is impossible to prove its existence, all the people involved in the project at that time were very sure of this conclusion."

"How many experimenters are there in total?"

"A total of more than 3,000 people around the world have been secretly planted with chips. When I participated in this project, the chips had already reached the fourth generation."

"The project is still ongoing?"

"No, I said the project has been stopped because of inhumanity."

"I'm afraid it's not just because of inhumane reasons!" Mei Yiqiu looked at Situ Yuli and said.

Situ Yuli was silent for a while and said: "Professor has a keen eye and cannot hide anything from you. It was originally because so many experimenters became madmen, and someone suggested that the experiment should be terminated out of humanitarianism before a better method was found. After that, The laboratory did not expand the scope of experiments, but the data monitoring of experimenters who had been equipped with chips did not stop, and the chips were not recycled. Until five years ago, Laboratory 19 was suddenly attacked..."

"Attack? Whose attack?"

"I don't know." Situ Yuli took a long breath, "At that time, almost all the projects in Laboratory 19 had problems. Many staff members died inexplicably, and the laboratory was paralyzed for a time. That's when I left. Yes, it was my husband who saved me."

"What happened next? What happened to the people and projects in the laboratory?" Mei Ziqing couldn't help but ask.

Situ Yuli shook his head: "I don't know. Laboratory 19 was originally isolated from the outside world. After I left, I never got any news from there. I don't know if LBNL still has Laboratory 19, but I One thing is for sure – that project has been discontinued.”

"How did you know?"

"Because when the laboratory was attacked, all the members of the project team I was in were dead, and the equipment was severely damaged. I only managed to grab a little bit of information." Situ Yuli pointed at the hand he handed to Mei "One more thing, although the list of people with chips installed has been destroyed together with the equipment in the laboratory, I still remember some of them. I have tried to track down the information of these people over the years." , and found that they were all dead."

"All dead?"

"Yes, they are all dead! Most are suicides, and very few are accidental deaths. Of course, my sample is not large, less than one-thirtieth of the total number, but since there is no survivor, I have reason to believe , all the experimenters are dead."

"Who would do this? Could it be...the Internet!" Mei Ziqing couldn't help but shudder when she thought of this question.

Mei Yiqiu lit up a pot of cigarettes, took a few puffs, then held the USB flash drive and rubbed it with his thumbs. While blowing out the smoke, he muttered to himself: "The Internet... AI...second consciousness...consciousness invasion..."

As he was thinking about it, he suddenly turned around, looked at Situ Yuli and said, "This experimental data is indeed very precious! However, it seems to have nothing to do with the virus mentioned in our email, right?"

Situ Yuli smiled and said: "You are the real discoverer of gray brain virus. I have no more information to give you, but I can remind you that the origin of gray brain virus is probably Toxoplasma gondii."

"Toxoplasma gondii?" Mei Yiqiu felt a little incredible.

Aoki touched his head and said, "What is Toxoplasma gondii?"

Mei Ziqing explained: “It is a parasite called protozoa with the smallest size and simple structure. In 1908, French scholar Nicol discovered it in the mononuclear cells of the liver and spleen of the comb-toed mouse in the North African Gangland. Toxoplasma gondii, so it is named Toxoplasma gondii. It parasitizes the nucleated cells of humans and many kinds of animals, causing toxoplasmosis, destroying the brain, heart, and fundus of the eyes, especially when the host's immune function is low, and it is an opportunistic disease. Protozoa. More than half of the world's humans are infected with this parasite, and the infection rate in some countries is as high as more than 90%. However, humans are only their intermediate hosts, and cats and other felines are the final hosts of Toxoplasma gondii."

Aoki nodded and said, "Oh, it's something similar to roundworms."

"Um..." Mei Ziqing didn't understand why this person who could discuss quantum mechanics, high-dimensional space and non-material theory with the professor had as simple an understanding of parasites as a primary school student, "It's worse... more or less, it's just roundworms. A little bigger.”

Aoki said: "So what does it have to do with the virus?"

Situ Yuli said: "Parasites can sometimes control the behavior of their hosts. So far, scientists have discovered thousands of such parasites. For example, after iron worms infect a mantis, they will first grow in the body and gradually control its body. Behavior. When the wireworm grows into an adult, it controls the mantis to have a strong desire for water. Eventually, the mantis will jump into the water and drown, and the wireworm enters its own breeding paradise."

"American biologist Kevin Rafferty has proposed that Toxoplasma gondii can change people's feelings and personality, and may change human culture on a huge scale. Dr. Gary Wink pointed out that Toxoplasma gondii can cause a large number of changes in the brain. Secreting the neurotransmitter dopamine, men will become suspicious and stubborn, and their aggression will increase after infection; women are more likely to have suicidal tendencies after infection."

Mei Ziqing retorted: "These theories are not accepted by mainstream academic circles. They can only be said to be speculations. There is no evidence to prove them yet!"

"I have heard of these theories. Zi Qing is right. They are all speculation. Except for irresponsible quotes from third-rate magazines and online editors for the sake of sensationalism, no responsible scientific worker will say these things casually. "Yes." Mei Yiqiu looked at Situ Yuli and seemed a little disappointed.

Situ Yuli smiled slightly, without arguing, and continued: "Regardless of size, strength, nerve reaction speed and brain IQ, cats are the most perfect species on the earth. If there were no existence like humans with bugs in IQ, , maybe they are already the rulers of this planet. From a domestication point of view, cats are not suitable as pets, but humans are increasingly partial to cats."

"You want to say that Toxoplasma gondii has influenced humans and made us like to keep cats so that it can more easily find its final host?"

Mei Ziqing thought it was ridiculous, but Qingmu thought it sounded reasonable, while Mei Yiqiu was lost in thought with his pipe in his mouth.

Situ Yuli looked at them and smiled: "Maybe it's a bit absurd, unlike a rigorous scientific researcher, but isn't science the truth that is often found in absurdity?"

"The final host of Toxoplasma gondii is cats, and human society is the most unsuitable place for cats to live. Toxoplasma gondii chooses humans as its intermediate host, which does not comply with the law of natural selection. So this parasite must be evolving in the process What went wrong in the process and they are currently correcting it."

"My husband and I have a guess that when those parasitic consciousnesses first came to the earth, they were not humans, but cats, because from a biological point of view, cats are the perfect example of evolution. Until They discovered the existence of this human bug..."