Chapter 27
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Chapter 27: The Truth of the World Is All About Equivalent Exchange (Not Really)
December 24, 2076, Planet Nico, Hospital
Lin Shenhe was pacing back and forth in the corridor like a chili-coated cat on a chrysanthemum, with huge dark circles under his eyes. His elder brother was chewing on wood sorrel in the corner, looking like he was about to transcend, while his mother-in-law, who looked to be around thirty, appeared calm and confident that the surgery would go smoothly.
Inside the operating room, in the sterile chamber to minimize risks, robotic arms delicately cut through the young woman’s distended abdomen along the laser-marked path. An automatic anesthesia needle intermittently dropped down to numb the nearby nerves, and multiple hemostatic arms swiftly sealed off the blood vessels, with only a few blood threads slipping smoothly down the skin.
"Stop! Okay, continue!"
"Watch for bleeding!"
"Take out the baby, the baby’s external breathing circulation starts normally, and the heartbeat is normal."
"Cut the umbilical cord and tie it tightly."
"The mother’s breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure are normal."
"Reduce the pressure of the blood pump and start stitching."
The automatic stitching device quickly pulls layers of skin together, synthetic material glues the muscles and skin back together. Although this stitching product, manufactured in 2055, is expensive, it leaves fewer scars than traditional stitching methods, greatly reducing the pain and speeding up the recovery of the patient after the operation.
Performing a cesarean section is not a very complicated surgery, especially when it is carried out by the most skilled medical experts and with the best equipment. However, performing this surgery for the first time on an alien life form caused the experienced surgeon to sweat profusely. The video and process of this surgery will be recorded as future medical standard reference material. Any accidents that may occur will also be recorded as examples and lessons learned.
In the field of medicine, every bit of progress is built upon piles of bodies and lives sacrificed. No one can guarantee that they will not get sick or need medical treatment, nor can any doctor claim to cure all diseases without making any mistakes. Therefore, in the process of treatment, it is essential to learn from mistakes, experiment with different approaches, and through theory, animal testing, and clinical trials, summarize them into the final treatment plan, which is a common practice in medicine.
(PS: Essentially, Western and traditional Chinese medicine are similar. From the seemingly mystical theories and seemingly baseless herbal formulas in traditional Chinese medicine, doctors analyze the symptoms, summarize treatment plans, and the treatment process. Removing the mystical or superstitious elements, and focusing on the medical aspects is the future development and standardization of traditional Chinese medicine.)
What actually happens in reality?
For people who are not experts, the mysterious parts about the "witches" actually attract them more. That’s why it becomes the most common way for scammers to deceive them. However, not many people care about the medical aspects of it. So, it’s like a tax on intelligence, paid in the form of blood.
PS2: The treatment theory of traditional Chinese medicine is like this: I think, maybe if I put a needle here, it will help. After putting the needle, then imagine why it helps… And the scariest part is: after putting the needle, it actually helps. So, the doctor’s experience and judgment have high requirements, needing a long time of study and enough practice samples, like a nerve boy transforming into a crazy doctor.
After about 1 hour of observation, two babies who looked like a pink ball of flesh were moved into a warm incubator. At this point, the anxious family members were finally allowed to visit the new mother and babies. Lilu seemed to be doing fine, in good spirits and color. Though various body indicators had decreased to some extent during the check-up, there was no immediate danger to her life. With postpartum exercise, she should be able to recover partially.
However, the two mixed-race babies had some issues, especially concerning the tail part. In fact, humans also have tails, but during the long evolution process, this body part regressed, leaving only a small segment of bone at the end (coccyx). This gene was transferred to a recessive gene, no longer expressed. But due to atavism, sometimes it can express and grow a tail, hence, this part is the biggest issue.
The slightly older one as a sister had no tail, just a small bump, possibly because the expression was closer to human, but the human tail gene didn’t participate in the expression. Although it might seem like a deformity to Nico people, it doesn’t actually affect life much and physiologically doesn’t have many adverse effects. The problem lies with the younger sister. Scans showed that what she grew was not a feline tail of Nico people but had more muscle fibers, stronger, resembling a whip-like and agile primate tail.
"What’s this? A monkey-tailed cat?"
It’s the type that can use its tail to suspend and move rapidly through trees. Inheriting more white muscle fibers from Nico people, with red muscle fibers mainly for explosive power and short endurance, when she reaches adulthood, theoretically, the force of her tail swing can reach the heavy punches of a professional boxer. She could hang herself by her tail, swinging out forcefully.
"If it were just that, it could be seen as a pleasant surprise, but the issue is, during her development, the expression of DNA from both parents is quite chaotic. Currently, there aren’t significant problems, but as she ages, there’s a high likelihood of sudden abnormal tumor formation, organ failure, and other issues due to errors in cell DNA replication."
"Comparatively, the genetic traits of the sister are more stable, inheriting some traits from the mother and most from the father. Digestive organs and endocrine systems are mostly human-like. In other words, she, like us, is an omnivore. The main difference is in the composition of muscle fibers compared to humans – lower endurance, higher explosive power, and very fast lactic acid breakdown, indicating a short recovery cycle from fatigue. It’s not yet clear which side her brain development leans towards, but she’s almost a standard offspring with mixed-race advantages."
"And what about the small one?"
"The small one is quite tricky. Her internal organs are mismatched, creating a patched-together life system that miraculously functions relatively stable without dying. If she survives without any complications, she could possibly be the strongest individual in the history of Nico people and Earthlings."
Humans have endurance and recovery abilities, while Nico people have explosive force and absolute strength. They can digest almost all types of fibers, starches, and animal proteins. They produce anti-microbial substances that can ignore most decomposing microbes, so they do not get sick even if they eat rotten meat or drink filthy water. With the combination of high brain features inherited from humans and rapid growth from Nico people, along with all the strengths from both sides, they are essentially a living, true superhuman.
However, the chances of this happening are very low. It is more likely to inherit all the advantages and disadvantages from both sides, possibly creating new weaknesses and genetic defects, becoming the weakest superhuman in history…
"If the situation stabilizes, big sister, you can take care of them yourselves after 1 year. But for the little one, as you have seen, taking her home by yourselves will definitely not allow her to survive past a week."
"What do you plan to do?"
"We will do our best to treat her. Rest assured, we care more about her life than you, who can have more children after death. For us, such individuals are likely special cases that may never occur again after death. We are the ones who truly wish for her to live a long, healthy, and happy life."
This is an example that seems to completely inherit the strengths and characteristics of both sides, which is like a gift from heaven in science. Maybe special genetic segments that can stably pass down in human bodies can be found from it. Then these segments can be grafted into human DNA through genetic modification, thus enhancing the innate abilities and potentials of the whole human race.
This is not just for the benefit of one or two generations, but for the descendants for generations and generations, of course. Currently, this is still a very distant matter. Just conducting genetic experiments on humans is very difficult to pass internationally, not to mention some social and traditional ethical issues. However, ethics and traditions are not fixed. Just like how many things considered common by modern people would be seen as unethical by ancient people. (In contrast, ancient practices like sibling marriage, if done now, would be seen as abnormal and inhumane.)
Lin Shenhe still has many regrets and grievances about this outcome. However, he can only choose to accept it. In this world, gaining something means giving something in return. Perhaps they are not necessarily equivalent (because value is determined by people), just like how some may feel spending money on in-game items in a game fulfills a fair exchange, but older generations may see it as a waste of money. Nonetheless, nothing exists where you can gain benefits without paying a price. If that were possible, it would only mean one thing: you will eventually pay a more terrible price (like "free" games that require in-game purchases).
Comparing the situation where even cute boys on Earth may struggle to find a partner, to having at least one beautiful wife from an enhanced planet like Earth, or a cat lady, along with two lovely daughters (although newborn babies are not always cute), one might feel like they hit the jackpot…
Speaking of the challenges faced by single men on Earth, after strict quarantine and microbiological checks, Earth agreed to a small number of Nico cat people entering the planet. After all, the exploration team from Nico Star only consists of a few thousand people, even when including follow-up personnel. In case of a large-scale epidemic outbreak, at most a few people might die, but if it were on Earth, it would be a different story. As for the former Imperial people, it doesn’t matter much. Firstly, they are based in Africa, not a densely populated area, and secondly, they do not live together for long periods, which prevents cross-infections.
(Every time the topic of microbiological infections comes up, I can’t help but say: Where did you all come up with these weird conclusions?)
The infectivity, pathogenicity, lethality, and drug resistance of microorganisms are fundamentally different things. Infectivity refers to its transmission capability; some microorganisms have amazing infectivity but do not necessarily cause diseases, let alone death. Because as hosts, you are their means of existence, so why would they harm you?
Some microorganisms have strong pathogenicity and infectivity but lack drug resistance and lethality, such as the common cold. Regarding microorganisms with all four factors at high levels, let’s not even discuss whether the natural environment can evolve such dominant types. If they did evolve, the only outcome would be wiping out all hosts in a short time, leading to their own extinction!
Animals that live a long time in nature are usually strong in some way. Different types of microbes need to live together for a long time in large numbers to infect each other and eventually infect two hosts together. Whether this infection will cause illness or be treatable is a different matter.
These Nico people mainly serve as bodyguards for iron ship security and their primary job on Earth and Mars is to deal with troublemakers who hinder progress in this upcoming cosmic era. In the past, people lived crowded together in a village where conflicts arose easily, giving these groups the opportunity to grow and spread.
Now, with power in hand, some are resorting to more violent means, like incidents in Washington Square. The focus is on grabbing opportunities for power and success, rather than worrying about saving face in a small village. Those who refuse to flatter are already considered honorable. In the worst case scenario, if things turn chaotic, with the increasing capacity for space travel, finding a new planet to rule is not impossible.
For example, the Japanese reacted faster in this aspect, perhaps due to their unique islander mindset. With a population of around 380 million, approximately 110 million have already moved to their new colony, the farthest place from human civilization.
This immigration rate continues to increase. It is estimated that by the year 2110, 90% of Japan’s island residents will be evacuated, leaving only a small number of workers to handle United Nations matters and take care of ancient buildings and immovable artifacts, serving tourists in the future.
On the other hand, those reacting slower are people still wrapped in the illusions of freedom and democracy. They fail to realize that in this abrupt entry into the space age, what countries need is unity and centralization due to the vastness of outer space. If the same democratic and freedom games played to ease social conflicts and tension on Earth continue, in less than 50 years, human civilization might crumble into scattered pieces. At this point, major countries have reached a consensus that anyone inciting separatist ideas will be crushed immediately.
Thus, certain groups who thrive on causing chaos (including but not limited to online trolls and extreme animal rights activists) have finally faced the first global unified crackdown. If any difference were to be noted, it would be something like:
"The tracks of the American Mk.22 electromagnetic tank are wider than the T276" or "Iron Fist Security’s rubber baton hurts more than PMC’s rifle stock."
"Chinese water cannons are not as cold as Russia’s Ross, as they have added ice."
"If France’s Foch tank runs over too many people, it tends to get stuck."
"The bayonet from England, after many years, still tastes the same as it did in India."
These are some of the differences.