Chapter 21
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Chapter 21: Full Body Purification
After hearing Zhu Huai’s words, 015 fell into despair once again.
He stood up and began to bang on the cage, shouting loudly, “This is not fair!” When he saw Zhu Huai’s openly disdainful expression and noticed Luo Yu and Ying Zhao sitting nearby with indifferent looks, he became even more furious and started to curse at them.
At that moment, a cold voice came from the doorway: “I advise you to be quiet. If you break this protective wall and inhale the bacteria in our air, I can’t guarantee that I can save you.”
The three turned to see Ao Ci entering the room, and they quickly stood up. Ao Ci turned to them, putting on a gentle smile, “Please, sit down.”
Upon hearing this, 015 seemed to recall something, coughed a couple of times, and finally stopped shouting, silently glaring at them in anger.
“A few days ago, he was very sick. Now he has recovered enough to start yelling; it seems he’s doing quite well,” Ao Ci said as she sat down on a large chair next to them.
They had heard the assistant researcher mention that 015 had contracted a respiratory infection caused by common airborne bacteria during their journey. Since coming from thirty thousand years in the future, 015 certainly had no antibodies against the bacteria prevalent in this world. Luo Yu and the others had undergone full body checks when they were implanted with super crystals and had received the necessary antibodies at the assembly hall nursing facility.
However, 015’s situation was special. Here, all antibodies and medications only worked effectively against XX chromosomes, while the Xv chromosome, due to its abnormal structure, couldn’t handle normal doses of antibodies. The small amount of antibodies also proved ineffective; therefore, since arriving at the Biological Research Station, 015 had been placed in a processed sterile pure oxygen environment.
Two days ago, while being transferred to a laboratory, 015 seized the opportunity to escape and ran into a room with a feverish gorilla, prompting the gorilla to sneeze directly at him. Soon after, 015 developed a high fever himself. Ao Ci, along with several researchers, checked him over and gave 015 a dose of medication intended for male gorillas, reduced in dosage, along with some nutritional supplements for humans. After resting for two days, 015 gradually recovered.
“Fortunately, we have already collected the required samples; otherwise, this illness would have delayed my experiments for several days,” Ao Ci said, glancing at 015 before turning her focus back to Luo Yu and the others. “I have organized the current experimental data, and some conclusions match what you are looking to verify.”
At that moment, the lights in the room dimmed, and a projection appeared on the side wall, showing a comparison of the human genetic models from both their worlds.
“From the samples extracted so far, human genes indeed exhibit a certain degree of degenerative mutation, primarily manifesting in body shape and neural development, but overall, the issues are not too severe.” Ao Ci held a laser pointer and pointed at the two genetic models. Then the projection switched to a new page, showing two oddly shaped chromosome models. “The v chromosome from thirty thousand years in the future, compared to the v chromosome preserved in our world, shares many similar characteristics, both having experienced a degree of genetic material loss and decay.”
After speaking, Ao Ci glanced at 015 in the cage. “This situation aligns with our initial decision to fully implement asexual reproduction, confirming our genetic projections. These two rare test subjects provide strong practical evidence for the theories proposed by our ancestors, affirming that our choices were correct.”
After finishing that statement, Ao Ci took a sip of water, then began to narrate the history of human civilization in this time frame to the three of them.
In this time, humanity evolved from upright man, gradually developing tribal civilizations after a period of chaos. Following several millennia of tribal conflicts, human technology continuously evolved.
After one great war, the world faced its first energy crisis. The various tribes realized that conflict wouldn’t lead to a better future for humanity, so they decided to cease fighting, shake hands, and renegotiate the world order.
In the ensuing centuries of peace, humans saw rapid advancements in biological research. Biologists soon discovered that the v chromosome continually lost genetic material during reproduction, and this persistent decay could not be avoided or halted by technology. If this continued, human infants could experience an increasing number of genetic mutation diseases, eventually losing reproductive capability one day in the future.
The persisting decay of chromosomes also brought significant health risks to reproduction. Thus, people began urgently searching for solutions, investing immense human resources to explore the feasibility of asexual reproduction to ensure stable genetic inheritance.
After fifty years of comparing asexual reproduction and mixed-gender reproduction, the inheritance of the XX chromosome through asexual reproduction gradually stabilized, leading the World Assembly to officially declare that human society would fully adopt asexual reproduction.
A century ago, the last male human in this time passed away, marking the complete transition into the asexual reproduction era, with the groups of the past now referred to historically as “male variants.”
The entire process did not involve slaughter; they simply exercised the inherent rights of creators, revoking the birth qualifications of some individuals to secure the future for more people.
“After we entered a new era of humanity, the tribes also reached a consensus. The development of human civilization must be aimed at ensuring our descendants will have a better world because our children never voluntarily came into this world, so we bear the responsibility of creating a comfortable living environment. Every individual here has been striving for this ideal over the years.”
The three listened to this sweeping history spanning thousands of years in silence, even 015 in the cage stood motionless, lost in thought.
“Your world has ideals,” Zhu Huai said slowly, “Our world lacks this shared human ideal. All technological advancements are driven by resource competition, or simply to solidify one’s class status. No one thinks about whether humanity can share a better world, and it seems no one cares if humanity still has a future. Sometimes I can’t even understand those who fight endlessly as the world becomes a disaster; do they even realize what they are doing?”
Ao Ci smiled slightly. “Perhaps they realize, but they can’t control themselves.”
After she spoke, she lightly clicked her laser pointer, and the projection on the wall switched images to show eggs and gametes. “In the primitive reproduction process of humans, billions of gametes surrounded the egg, yet only the best one would be selected to participate in the creation of life, while the rest face ruthless elimination. This mechanism instills a strong anxiety around reproduction in the genes of the v chromosomes, which can even directly influence the brain. A society dominated by this awareness can also catch this intense collective anxiety, leading to various conflicts in order to avoid becoming the one who gets eliminated. This primitive anxiety manifests in various ways throughout society, in turn affecting everyone in the world.”
She turned to the three of them. “Looking at the status of your human society, it aligns fairly well with this situation, so I named your civilization in the time frame ‘gamete civilization.’”
Hearing this, the three leaned back slightly, and Zhu Huai wrinkled her face in distaste. “That’s quite an unpleasant name.”
Ao Ci laughed again and then asked, “But from the experimental results I have so far, the rate at which the v chromosome shortens seems to be accelerating in your time. I am curious, is this possibly due to your world providing some special reproductive assistance to the male variants?”
“Uh, yes…” Luo Yu nodded. “Reproductive assistance is a hot support industry in recent years, offering free IVF technology for patients with weak reproductive systems.”
“Just as I suspected. This forced continuation of genes will only accelerate the self-destruction of the v chromosome. According to my calculations, after another generation in your world, the v chromosome will shorten to a point where it can no longer participate in natural reproduction.”
A thud was heard from inside the cage, prompting the group to look up and see that 015 had fainted.
Ao Ci raised a hand and pressed a button on the table. Soon, two nursing robots entered, carrying 015 and his cage out.
“What’s wrong with him? Don’t tell me he’s also weak? Was he stimulated?” Zhu Huai murmured quietly.
“You guessed right; he is indeed weak. I suspect the weak reproductive rate in your world may reach thirty percent, but as we lack test subjects, this is merely a model projection. As for why the v chromosome appears again in the future, I still need to conduct several rounds of live gene sequencing comparisons,” Ao Ci said as she stood up. “I’ve confirmed everything I needed to today; let’s go, I’ll take you for body purification.”
Luo Yu and the others followed Ao Ci out of the room, where the assistant researcher was waiting at the door. They walked out of the “Primates” corridor and took the elevator down several levels to the deeper sections of the underground cave.
The purification hall was large, with an observation room outside and a series of independent cylindrical purification chambers within. Luo Yu looked at the purification chambers, resembling the shower rooms in her base apartment.
Ao Ci briefly introduced the purification steps and then opened three of the purification chambers. Three cylinders lit up with a soft green glow. The three exchanged glances and entered their respective chambers.
Once inside her cylinder, Luo Yu stood still as a mechanical arm undressed her. After everything was ready, Ao Ci’s voice came from outside, “I’m about to start the purification. Don’t be nervous; it won’t hurt or itch. It’ll be over soon.”
As her words finished, Luo Yu felt a warm breeze around her. Green lasers moved up and down, scanning her body. She began to feel a slight warmth, similar to being in a sauna, but it was not as stuffy as a sauna room; the air she breathed remained fresh and clear.
She felt herself starting to sweat, and as she raised her arm to look, she saw tiny water vapor rising rapidly from her pores, as if sweat evaporated the moment it exited, disappearing into the air as wisps of steam.
According to Ao Ci’s explanation, the human body has a natural cell purification function, but when pollutants exceed the body’s purification capacity, such minor residues occur.
The entire purification process did not take long, and including the time to put on and take off clothes, it lasted about fifteen minutes. Just as Ao Ci said, it was painless and itchless; in fact, it felt quite comfortable. Whether that was due to real effectiveness or mere psychological effect, Luo Yu felt significantly clearer and lighter when she exited the purification chamber.
“All done! I can see that the nuclear radiation and microplastic residues in your body have been fully resolved and eliminated. How does it feel? Quite comfortable, right?”
Luo Yu nodded and smiled at her. “Yes, I feel so light! Thank you, Director.”
After the three of them came out, they took the elevator with Ao Ci and the assistant researcher back to the earlier hall. Having completed everything they came for at the research station, Ao Ci prepared to escort them out.
Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao walked ahead with the assistant researcher, while Luo Yu and Ao Ci walked slowly behind.
On the way, Luo Yu kept her head down and remained silent, but once they reached the hall, she suddenly stopped, looked up at Ao Ci, and said, “Director, I have some questions regarding the genetic inheritance of asexual reproduction that I would like to discuss privately. Can I have a word?”
