Age of Cosmic Exploration, 4

by Zhttty

  Regardless of his intentions, as the leader of the biology committee, Ivan’s orders were quickly carried out. However, there were some issues during the transference of information. Since Yao Yuan and other authorities had their focus fully trained on the mother nest that was hurtling towards the sun, they wrongly assumed the update meant Saburo was still working on discovering the alien cell’s weakness, so they didn’t pay it much attention.

  Just like that, Saburo attained all the data from the biology lab. He then received splices of untainted alien cells from the damaged combat jets that returned from war. Since the combat jets hadn’t entered the planet’s atmosphere, the alien cells attached to them hadn’t had contact with the planet’s microbes, viruses, and bacteria. They were, so to speak, pure.

  In the next few hours, Saburo submerged completely into his experiments. Time flew by as he worked on data analysis, observations, and experiments. His whisperer power was activated from time to time, allowing him big and small breakthroughs…

  Several hours later, the mother nest, which had evolved to a super organism, was confirmed to be dead. The Hope breathed a collective sigh of relief. However, no one knew that for one member of the Hope, the battle was still going on…

  When the correct news reached Yao Yuan, it was already 3 hours after the destruction of the mother nest. It was so delayed because there were simply too many things waiting to be done. The steps that needed to be done to ensure that the death of the mother nest was final took up about an hour of his time. The rest was spent doing something incredibly important… that was to clear all the remnants of the alien cells within this solar system!

  Emergency modifications were done on the remaining 80 space jets so that their emissions could release high heat using the interaction between liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Rough estimations put the required time to finish clearing the alien carcasses at 3 months. The monster carcasses littered the solar system, so they had to prioritize the ones that were closest to New Earth.

  Similarly, the clearing had to be done on New Earth. This operation would require lesser time, 1 and a half months to be precise. This was because it was easier to clean the carcasses on Earth due to the presence of natural oxygen. Unlike the space combat jets, the exterminators on New Earth had no need for constant refuels. Furthermore, they could rely on technology, like Fuel Air Explosives, to clear a large space within a short period of time.

  Within the 3 hours, Yao Yuan dropped a newly created Fuel Air Explosive on the spot where the alien monsters landed. After that, a unit with flamethrowers was dispatch to make sure all traces of alien were burned away.

  He finally had some time to take a breather when Guang Zhen led the flamethrower unit of about 2,000 people from the Hope. However, before he could even grab a quick bite, another piece of breaking news fell into his lap.

  "What? You mean Professor Saburo has locked himself up into a laboratory to conduct experiments on the alien cells?" Yao Yuan asked in shock.

  Ivan, who came to update him on the infected, nodded firmly. "That’s right, Captain. We sent this information to you a few hours before the death of the mother nest was confirmed."

  "Are you sure?" Yao Yuan asked, still in shock. "How could it have been reported already? I would have stopped him if I knew. The alien cell can easily mutate to become a supercell capable of digesting everything. How could he be allowed to conduct such a dangerous experiment?! If he is infected, no one will be around to help him because he’s doing this on his own! Stop him immediately! Never mind, I’ll go and stop him myself!" Yao Yuan leaped out of his seat, hailed an electromobile, and sped to the Academy.

  With an agile backflip that was inconspicuous with his scientist identity, Ivan leaped into the seat beside Yao Yuan. He smiled slyly in response to the surprised gaze that Yao Yuan threw him, adding, "Captain, you can’t pin the blame on us. We did inform you of this hours ago; you must have missed it somehow. Because no reply came from you, we assumed you were in support of Saburo’s action."

  Yao Yuan racked his mind and indistinctly remembered someone did come over from the biology lab with an update. The person said that Saburo wanted to commission pre-evolved alien cells for his experiment. Since Saburo was a firm follower of scientific protocol, Yao Yuan didn’t dwell on it. Furthermore, he thought a whole lab would be watching over Saburo’s experiment. Help would be readily available if anything went wrong.

  Lastly, all his focus then was occupied by the mother nest. Now that the mother nest was a problem of the past, Yao Yuan realized he had glossed over an important piece of news due to his haste and Ivan’s careful wordplay.

  However, he found himself unable to punish Ivan or even Saburo. Professor Saburo’s action was ultimately for the goodness of mankind, and his willingness to take on this dangerous experiment alone was admirable.

  "Regardless… Let’s get to the lab first and pray that nothing serious has gone wrong…" Yao Yuan sighed.

  Inside the lab, Saburo held a test tube with his shaking hands. After a few hours of using his Whisperer power, his face was flushed a sickly red. He stared at the thing inside the test tube with pride. That was the purpose of his experiment… It turned out better than how he expected it be.

  The ultimate vaccine’s first prototype!

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  Chapter176 The Past

  Ivan and Yao Yuan arrived at Saburo’s lab with the escort of a military unit and many researchers. With Yao Yuan’s master key, they gained access into Saburo’s locked lab.

  When they entered the lab, they saw Saburo lying on the floor, his hands clutching a sealed test tube.

  Many were petrified witnessing this; some of the young interns even went so far as to cover their noses with their hands. After all, they knew of the alien cell’s hazards. Being infected was a fate worse than death. They had seen such horrible events described in sci-fi, and they had no intention of allowing it to happen to themselves.

  On the contrary, Ivan, Yao Yuan, and most of the senior researchers merely frowned. Yao Yuan, as a Diviner, didn’t pick up any danger warnings, so naturally the alien cells hadn’t leaked.

  On the other hand, the senior researchers were familiar with scientific protocol. The only thing out of the ordinary was a fainted Saburo; the rest of the lab was in perfect condition. They had faith in Saburo that he wouldn’t be careless enough to violate simple protocol.

  "…Get Professor Saburo to the hospital. This is exhaustion from overexerting his superhuman powers. Feed him some nutrients packs," Yao Yuan ordered the group of doctors and nurses that tagged along after he squatted down beside Saburo to inspect his situation.

  Only then did the interns know that there was no danger in the room. After all, if there was any, Yao Yuan as a Diviner would be the first to warn them. They put down their hands awkwardly and moved to help the nurses lift Saburo onto the electromobile.

  By then, Yao Yuan had already taken the test tube from Saburo’s hands. He lifted it to his eyes and tried to train his Diviner power at it. He only felt a tiny tingle of danger. Several seconds later, he passed it over to Ivan, adding, "Now it’s the Academy’s time to shine. Find out what is inside this test tube. Depending on his physical situation, it will take a day to a week for Saburo to regain consciousness, but our men who were flash frozen only have 3 days left. It’s my order that… the Academy continues Professor Saburo’s experiment, first by finding out what is inside test tube!"

  Ivan accepted the test tube, and after some thought, accosted Yao Yuan with a serious expression. "I will take over the experiment, but there is something that I wish to make clear with the Captain."

  Yao Yuan nodded his head, signaling for Ivan to continue.

  Ivan added, "No matter what is inside this test tube, if it has anything to do with the alien cell, I will not conduct any live human experiments. If you force me to do it, I’ll demolish this test tube and all my research
notes."

  Yao Yuan stared into Ivan’s eyes and he saw a firm determination burning within. He nodded and said, "Alright, you have my word. There will be no such orders… By the way, Ivan…"

  Ivan sighed in relief before asking, "Yes, Captain?"

  "I remember… your resume said that before you came on to the Hope, you worked as a biologist for a small Middle Eastern country and hosted the country’s research on bio-weapons, am I correct?" Yao Yuan asked.

  Ivan was shocked as he balled his fists and lowered his head, adding ruefully, "Yes, that’s correct. I was tasked with such a project, and it compelled me to conduct…"

  Stopping Ivan mid-sentence, Yao Yuan patted Ivan on his shoulder to express his understanding. He then led the medical unit out of the lab. It wasn't until his shadow disappeared around the corner that a voice appeared in Ivan’s head.

  "Follow your conscience. To save or to kill, poison or medicine… the difference lies in the user’s intention. Ivan, as one of the 3 Whisperers, I will leave the rest in your hands. The safety of everyone on the Hope, the lives of the 20 plus heroes and the necessity of human experiments… I’m sure you’ll make the right decision."

  Ivan was visibly shaken. His hands that held the test tube grew tighter. Sometime later, he yelled, "Start analyzing Professor Saburo’s data and use it to understand what is inside this test tube… Let’s start moving, people."

  …That year.

  Saburo was a new medical student, training to be a good physician. Other than the prestige of being a doctor, Saburo was more interested in the profession’s lucrative salary and benefits. He needed the money to improve his quality of life so that he could provide a good life for his beloved Hanako.

  Hanako, full name Kosaka Hanaki, was the daughter of a huge corporation. Even though Saburo’s family wasn’t exactly poor since his father was one of the corporation’s smaller shareholders, in comparison, his family wasn’t as wealthy.

  Because of family history, Saburo and Hanako spent their primary and secondary school years first as classmates then as lovers.

  Their families approved of their relationship since their families were of somewhat equal footing. Since it was obvious that the young couple was deeply in love, their parents didn’t have the heart to stand in the way. They actually wished for them to get married after they graduated from university.

  Hanako’s parents only had one requirement, and that was for Saburo to not rely on his parent’s money to throw Hanako her dream wedding. They needed to make sure Saburo had the capability to provide for their precious daughter.

  Since Saburo already had interest in medicine, he decided to focus all his energy to pursue a career in medicine.

  In his second year of university, because he wanted to study for his exams, he missed out on a summer trip between the 2 families. Hanako was accompanied by his and her parents, as well as his 8-year-old brother on the trip to the Mediterranean Sea.

  "Hanako’s plane should arrive at 3 PM today."

  Saburo said to himself as he sat in the arrival lobby. He looked at his watch and the clock that hung in the lobby. Both showed 3 PM. However, the screen didn’t show that her plane was arriving.

  After some asking around, he found out that the plane had to take an emergency pit stop at a small Middle Eastern country due to engine problems. Saburo wasn’t alarmed, because the receptionist told him it was only a routine check. Time swam by slowly and finally the plane arrived, but…

  "What?! A mysterious virus infection?! The whole plane is now a quarantine zone? Are you kidding me? I didn’t hear about such an outbreak on the news!"

  No matter how much Saburo begged and argued, the military wouldn’t allow him access. After about 10 hours, even the researchers who were tasked with sampling died. The military torched the plane because there was no longer a living soul on it…

  Saburo opened his eyes suddenly after a 2-day coma.

  While he was unconscious, the bio team had been working non-stop to finish what he started.

  Ivan, in his tired state, kept having flashbacks to that fateful year…

  Ivan was a child prodigy. He had a natural affinity for the study of biology that was well documented since he was young.

  After his graduation from university, he quickly became his home country’s best biologist. After publishing a few journals on his study, he even gained some fame across the globe.

  In the year 2020, when the oil supplies in the Middle Eastern area started to dry, the continent was thrown into a civil war. It lasted for only 2 years, but it did send an alarm across the many Middle Eastern countries. They were still sitting on money collected from years of exporting oil, but one day, it was going to run out. When that happened, a war for survival much bigger in scale than the one before it was going to happen.

  If Ivan had been born in a wealthier Middle Eastern country, his talent could be used in research for alternative income, like draught-resistant seeds. However, since his was a small country, the best choice of defense was offense…

  That year, Ivan was forced to host a bio-weapon research, and it had unfortunately leaked…

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  Chapter177 A Virus Apocalypse?

  After putting on his lab coat, Saburo left the hospital in a hurry. Under Yao Yuan’s orders, he was escorted by 2 guards, but Saburo paid them no attention. He had been out for 2 whole days. That combined with the experiment he was conducting alone that lasted for 12 hours meant that the flash frozen troopers only had 12 hours left!

  "We must save them! Every single life is important. The government can’t abandon these people simply because it might harm the safety of the majority!"

  Saburo reached the biology lab in a matter of minutes. Along the way, he tried to get information out of his escorts. He learned that the research on the ultimate vaccine had been taken over by Professor Ivan and his team. Of course, they didn’t know much about the details of the experiment since they had been assigned to look after Saburo and not the experiment.

  When Saburo entered the lab, he saw about 100 exhausted scientists. They had bloodshot eyes from 48 hours of nonstop lab work. They only allowed themselves short naps that lasted at most for 30 minutes before forcing themselves awake by splashing their faces with cold water. It was a war!

  And it was not only Saburo’s war, but the Hope’s war!

  When the scientists noticed Saburo, they asked after his health worriedly. Even though Saburo was heavily agitated, he answered them politely. Finally, he arrived at Ivan’s side, who was by then flushed a sickly red from overexerting his superhuman power.

  "Professor Ivan, thank you for your help, but I’ll gladly take over if you need some rest," Saburo said seriously.

  Ivan shook his head. He put down the data he was reading and leveled a straight stare at Saburo, adding, "Professor Saburo, forgive me, but I can’t do that. I won’t give you the opportunity to use these vaccines to conduct human experiments. I’m certain that’s what you’re planning, right?"

  Without waiting for Saburo’s reply, Ivan smiled knowingly as if he already knew the answer, adding, "Based on the data and the vaccine prototype you’ve left behind, we’ve conducted multiple experiments and improvements. What we have now is the third generation vaccine. We’ve used this new set to experiment on about 100 ZH mice. What do you think was the result?"

  "…" Saburo was silent before responding. "If it’s the vaccine prototype, it’ll have a high probability in causing genetic mutation, but since you’re using an improved formula, I suspect the mice’s immune system was destroyed, or there was a serious infection due to cellular collapse and possibly death…"

  "More than 30 percent of the mice were infected to become alien monsters. 20 percent become afraid of light, violent, and dazed. Another 20 percent’s immune system got shut down and they died from air-borne bacterial infection in a mere 10 minutes! The rest showed signs of being pois
oned!" Ivan stared at Saburo as he listed the results one by one.

  Saburo wasn’t fazed. He stared back at Ivan, adding, "However, does this not show that the vaccine is improving? Every scientific breakthrough happens like this! How high could the first plane fly? How many died in the process to create a usable airplane? And look at us now, we’re in space! Can you honestly say all the sacrifices along the way were wasted?! It is the same with this ultimate vaccine. I agree, it looks like a bio-weapons now, but how the end product will be depends completely on us! It is us scientists who decide what trajectory this product shall eventually take. A vaccine that could defend against all kind of viruses, bacteria, and microbes; isn’t that a service for mankind?"

  Ivan shook his head weakly. He started to slump from his standing position before saying, "I believe I’m almost at my limit, so I have to hand the experiment over to you. However, I have to ask, Professor Saburo, what is your next course of action? Do you still plan to conduct human experiments?"

  Saburo replied firmly, "I’m not a mad scientist. The vaccine prototype does contain splices of the alien cells, but that is because I wish to investigate the theory behind the cell’s ability to mutate across generations to eventually create immunity. Then we’ll hopefully be able to replicate this theory in a manmade chemical or biological system. After that we’ll use that system as a basis to create stem cells for injections. I’m unfamiliar with the experiment’s progress, so I’ll need about 1 to 2 hours to familiarize myself before I can decide in detail what we’ll be doing next."

  Ivan sighed in relief. He relaxed his thumb that secretly hovered over a button. With the press of the button, the experiments’ data would be wiped clean. He continued, "Professor Saburo, please promise me you won’t carry any experiments on living human beings. They are innocent, so please don’t involve the innocents, promise me…"

  "…I promise you," Saburo said through gritted teeth.