Global Evolution

by Steffen Schmidt

  “How does research relate to socialism? His speech was so weird!” Chang was lost in their conversation.

  “He was trying to say his group is superior to others; and he wanted me to consider hopping to their group,” said Qing Shui, expressionlessly.

  “Then what is your decision?” Chen asked, looking sideways at Qing Shui’s face.

  “I am already at your side by what I’ve just said,” Qing Shui implied.

  “If you don’t mind, can I ask for your reason behind the desicion?”

  “It was intuition that told me to do so,” Qing Shui said, gazing at Chen. “By any chance, can you tell me the number of the EM index test that you just performed on me?”

  “167.”

  “What about Zhuo, the young researcher?”

  “134, his was slightly lower than yours.”

  “Understood. He’s been here for a few days, hasn’t he?”

  “Yes, eight days to be exact. He impressed me with his learning skills as he had a thorough grasp of genetic engineering which takes decades to establish. He even joined the research group which studies the red fog today.” He drew a USB key from his pocket as he spoke. “This is what he learned from; it contains more than a gigabyte of research papers. I hope you can read them in a week.”

  “I really appreciate this, Dr. Chen.” Qing Shui bowed again to show gratitude.

  “Let’s call it a day then. You must be tired from the arduous travelling. I’ll ask someone to arrange a suite for you and your family.” Chen directed his attention to Chang and Jing “You are all wounded, and the little girl seems too pale… it must be shock from an excessive blood loss. We have military doctors stationed in the institute, I’ll get one of them to take care of you guys. We’ll talk more if you have any other inquiries, but for now, just rest.”

  Chen turned around and left to make the arrangements for Qing Shui.

  The rest of the day went by quickly. The doctor that Chen asked for arrived before they got to their suite. They received proper treatment and then went to have a good rest in their beds.

  At dusk, Chang woke up and saw Qing Shui buried in the blue light of the computer. The room became darker as the clock ticked by, but Qing Shui didn’t turn on the light in considerion of Jing who was still asleep.

  “Electricity! This makes me feel like I am back in the civilized world,” Chang said. His finger hovered over the sensor of the desk lamp, the yellow light shedding warmth on Qing Shui’s face. The calm atmosphere in the suite made him feel like the apocalypse had never happened.

  Nailed to the desk, Qing Shui commented without turning his head, “Sad to say, civilized world is not necessarily any safer than the jungle.” Every page he read stayed less than three seconds on his retina, such pace of page turning made his eyes seem like they were flickering.

  “I don’t really understand the political stir in here. I thought humans would be united at this moment to fight the crisis ahead, instead of fighting with each other.” Chang slowly sunk into the sofa beside Qing Shui’s desk, sighing in comfort. “They are so smart yet so dumb at the same time.”

  “Politicking doesn’t mean they are dumb, but they may just be arguing over beliefs.” Multitasking was well-handled by Qing Shui, he kept the pace of reading while talking with Chang. “To elaborate, all of us are facing the same world sunk into the red fog, but how everyone approaches it could be very different. Some might be extremists who would advocate to transform the nature using nuclear power and biochemicals, so as to defend the inherent dominance of humanity. Others might be much softer, holding an idea of immersing civilization in nature without changing it. You can’t really say which side is right or wrong, and it doesn’t mean one is more evil than the other. They are simply factions which strive for the future of humanity with different approaches.”

  “Therefore, you declined the invitation from Group Alpha. Does that mean you do not agree with their ideas and approach?” Chang asked, standing up and coming to stand behind Qing Shui.

  “You are correct. They are aggressive enough for me to know they are the left wing. The three of them are immersed in the fantasy of invincibility of mankind. They also view nature with contempt shown by their arrogant attitude. Their values and beliefs conflict with mine.” Qing Shui heaved a sigh, and his fingers stopped pressing on the mouse. His index finger fumbled over the screen. “Just as the person who discovered the red fog said in this comment, ‘Humanity cannot simply outcompete nature, like humanity cannot defeat its Creator. I never believed in theology, but I do believe this magical red fog is the waters of the Creator.’”

  _____________________________________________________________

  NOTE:

  Hello,

  To allow better understanding of the novel, the translator and the editor have worked together and decided to address the meaning of MCs’ Chinese names as many of you may not have a chance to see the link between MCs’ personalities and implication from their names. We hope this explanation can make your reading experience more enjoyable. ;)

  Best,

  Letty & Monika

  _____________________________________________________________

  Chang Liu - Chang means fast, fluent, carefree.

  Qing Shui Li - Qing Shui is his first name although it was often typed separately, it means clear and pure water. The name resembles how resilient, calm and unperturbed Qing Shui is.

  Zhuo Zhao - Zhuo usually means excellent.

  Jing - Jing means quiet and stable.

  Ming Yi Shen - Ming Yi is his first name that typed separately. It is a kind of names that often associated with the political environment when he was borned. It fits his background if you recall that he was borned and raised in a small village, which is usually isolated from big cities like Beijing, Shanghai. The impact of Mao, the 1st Chairman of PRC isn’t completely vanished in this small town and newborn babies are usually named patriotically. Therefore, Ming usually means bright, honesty, integrity and Yi can mean “be the number one” or just simply because he is the first kid in the family.

  Pangzi (Shiyu Li) - Pangzi is often a nickname for those who are chubby, it is named after a person’s physical appearance. It is a common practice to name after a chubby person in a Chinese novel as Pangzi as Chubbiness is their most noticeable feature. Pangzi’s real name Shiyu, means rain that comes in time.

  Chapter 78: Unlimited Possibilities

  Qing Shui resumed his routine-like reading. “The material in this USB drive is not only extensive but complete; I am really impressed by how far they have gone with the research on the red fog. Look, they mentioned some countries are even able to purify the red fog.”

  “Purification? What elements does the red fog have?”

  “They haven’t figured it out in detail yet. Modern science has not evolved enough to identify each compound. The only thing they know is that the red fog contains an unknown number of unidentified radiations, and a variety of chemical compounds that they’ve never seen before.” Qing Shui stopped at a page where there were photographs of scientists occupied with collecting the fog and purifying it with a series of compressors and solvents in the tube.

  “The American scientist who had named the red fog “The Creator’s Water” had discoverd its function two years ago. Since then, there was a sharp increase in funding of genetic engineering researches. The red fog seemed to be extremely useful for life extension, genetic engineering and weapon research.”

  “This is where Russia, which had successfully refined the red fog, had concentrated a year ago. It performed medical trials on animals, and then humans. At that time, they created a number of super soldiers.”

  “Super soldiers?” Chang developed a strong interest out of a sudden. Although he knew nothing about genetic engineering, which seemed to be a field far out of his reach, he still displayed great curiosity toward it. This was since it was tightly related to physical modifications and had a direct benefit to him.

  “
They can inject the concentrate to a human body?”

  Qing Shui nodded silently and scrolled down the page, where the images were replaced by a miserable scene. “Unfortunately, the concentrate malfunctioned their gene, and they died in less than a week.”

  Chang became heavy-hearted as he saw the pictures, his head drooping. “So, we don’t have any chance?”

  “I can’t come to that conclusion right now. Those were ordinary people who hadn’t adapted to the red fog yet. Also, it sounds to me like they had overdosed the concentrate. But you are much different compared to those deceased, especially since you are an EM altered by the red fog. Your physical strength and reflexes are ameliorated. Even ordinary people nowadays acclimate to the mysterious red fog, look here…” Qing Shui said as he kept scrolling down. The architecture in the image looked familiar to Chang. It was standard Chinese style architecture, which was highly similar to their institute.

  “In fact, none of the countries stopped their research on the red fog. They even improved the purification method in these two years. You must have recognized where this picture was taken. In this paper, a research group in another Chinese research institute made momentous progress, a lab rat had survived from the injection, and the red fog modified its gene! Even though the chance for such luck was only 0.03%.”

  “That means the death rate was 99.97%... This is scary, I would never risk my life for such a rare success,” Chang said, his enthusiasm doused and the light in his eyes extinguished.

  “No need to be frustrated, buddy. This is just a potential direction; I have no idea what kind of progress they have made until I join them tomorrow.” Qing Shui leaned back to release the tension on his back muscles. He rubbed his sore eyes and yawned. “I am just a newcomer to this institute, so the path is unimaginably long to what we desire. Even though this material covers bits of everything, it isn’t updated to the latest news. But keep in mind that the future is ours, and the institute is our stage. I need to read through the material and papers as soon as possible, and I hope I can finish an essay for the preliminary theory of food web in time. That way I can get attention from the top level and enter the core research.

  “And you, you need to go further on the Encephalon Mutation of your category.” His bloodshot eyes disclosed his tiredness, but Qing Shui gazed at Chang with seriousness. He said, “It won’t be peaceful here. No, to be honest, this place is full of menace. When the fragile equilibrium in the institute breaks, I can guarantee you that this will end up solved by force. This is exactly when you need to turn up.”

  “From your words, it sounds like I am a big deal in this political stir. However…” Chang gazed back at him and confessed without blinking his eyes, “I just simply don’t think that a higher degree Encephalon mutation can make me bulletproof. This is most important in this institute, where military stations and guards surround the place day and night.”

  “No, no, you are wrong. You have to understand that the evolution of lives is unpredictable and full of potential. Remember the Willow…”

  “Are you saying that I can evolve as far as it?” Chang asked, straightening his back. He was finally seeing the light of hope.

  “Possible in theory, unachievable in reality.”

  Qing Shui interrupted Chang’s excitement with his tranquil tone, and added, “I didn’t mean to frustrate you. We all know that human evolution has come to a dead end. Our physiological structure is sophisticated and we are also far ahead of other species in intelligence, making the evolution for us much more difficult. I also think that this is the reason why humanity became vulnerable to the other species so quickly after the red fog apocalypse.”

  “But that doesn’t mean we will be in a disadvantage forever. Indeed, humans are always one step slower in evolution. However, the capability of intervening with nature gives us the ability to slow down others’ evolution by scientific methodology. We humans have a clear division of labor. We also have a long history of uniting in front of a crisis. This is the last fight and we are not allowed to fail. Don’t worry, humanity won’t get eliminated so soon. At least not in the foreseeable future,” Qing Shui explained. His craziness slipped out through his shining eyes, as if he knew humanity would triumph in this battle with the nature magnificently.

  “Therefore, trust me! I will make you into a super life, blessed by the nature and the technology. But before that happens, I need to eradicate any obstacles in front of us.”

  Chang’s chest filled with motivation.

  “Never underestimate your potential; starting from tomorrow, you should start training systematically. There is much more in you that haven’t yet been revealed. Before I enter the core research, keep up the work to prepare for the genetic alteration.”

  “Understood,” Chang concurred.

  “Great! You should go back to sleep now, I need to read more before I’m exhausted.”

  Patting Qing Shui’s shoulder, Chang turned away from the dim light and let the darkness in the room softly wrap itself around him. The bed was almost too spongy, and he fell asleep immediately after settling on it.

  In the next three days, the injuries on Chang gradually reduced in size and were eventually replaced by patches of delicate pink skin. On the other side of the room, Qing Shui got attached to the computer, reading the rest of the papers day and night without rest. Jing was also improving, her breath was strong and smooth again, when compared to her condition in the jungle.

  This morning, someone knocked on the door when Chang had just gotten up and was planning his workout routine.

  He opened the door with suspicion and saw Mingyi, an acquaintance who Chang had not seen for the past three days.

  “Long time no see,” greeted Mingyi. In his hands was a tray with a plate of salad placed on it as well as two glasses of strange sticky juice.

  “Mingyi! They changed the personnel to deliver our meals! Why you though?” Seeing his comrade made Chang feel extra light-hearted and he stepped aside to let Mingyi into the suite. “I haven’t seen you since we got here, how did you find us?”

  “A long story. The superiors were happy that I sent Mr. Li here safely. They awarded me with a higher ranking. Can you even believe that they made me a captain?” Mingyi asked, while placing the tray on the coffee table. He glanced at Qing Shui, who was still robotically turning page after page with a straight face. It was as if he didn’t even notice that Mingyi came over for a visit.

  “Leave him alone, he has been like that for the last three days, he can’t even hear me talking to him sometimes.” Chang was concerned that Mingyi may interrupt Qing Shui, so nervously, he repeated himself, “Please don’t mind him, I want to hear more about your story.”

  “Sure. Do you remember Colonel Xie who we met when we got here? He treated me well when they heard that I am an EM with a high degree of evolution. They even asked me to train the domesticated animals that are held in this institute.” Mingyi heaved a sigh, showing his frustration. “Although I get three meals a day, which keep me energetic and happy, the evolved animals are undeniably impossible to train, even if they were domesticated a thousand years ago. We all know dogs were loyal and obedient most of the time. But they changed completely. None of them listen to me, even if they can’t defeat me. I just can’t make them obey me even once no matter how hard I try.”

  “I feel bad for you… but maybe they will get better when you spend more time with them?” Chang suggested, as Mingyi’s emotions affected him. “But you haven’t told me how you found us.”

  “Well, Colonel Xie asked me to take care of you guys as you might feel uneasy here. Therefore, they switched me to deliver meals to you.”

  “I see,” Chang said, taking in the information. “By any chance, do you know where I can go and workout? I am almost healed now and, to be honest, I have nothing to do at this moment. It’d be great if you could tell me that since I desperately need some exercise.”

  “Ah-ha! You asked the right person here.” Mingyi w
as an unassuming man, so he guessed no further and just told Chang, “The military has selected a few soldiers who are stronger and faster compared to their peers. They gather together and workout in a training room. I think you can get in as you are much better than those guys.”

  “They are training soldiers who are stronger and faster…?” Mingyi’s words created a stirring in Chang’s mind. Somehow this reminded him about what he and Qing Shui discussed three days ago – the medical trial with the red fog concentrate. “What do they do in that room?” Chang asked, unable to loosen the tension in his fist.

  Chapter 79: Radar and Food

  “I am not sure what they do either. They are well-fed, and their only duty is body training,” Mingyi said, throwing his hands in the air. “I really don’t get what the military is thinking. A lot of the researchers only get two meals per day, since the genetically modified crops are still in research. The shortage of food is a serious problem, and yet they ensure that these soldiers’ meals are well-balanced and nutritious.”

  “Perhaps they have their own plans.”

  Jing woke up while they were talking, Chang waved for her to come over. “Have some breakfast here, you should get some nutrition as you lost too much blood in the previous days.”

  Jing jumped off the bed and walked over to the coffee table bare footed. She quietly drank the white sticky juice and chewed a few leaves from the plate. Finished eating, she sat beside Chang without uttering a single word.

  In fact, Jing had not spoken since she found out Pangzi went missing. But she didn’t ask where Pangzi had left, and Chang never found a good chance to tell the prepared explanation.

  The atmosphere in the room becaming almost depressing once Jing woke up.

  Chang glanced at Jing’s face, while the latter remained silent. He reached out for the glass that Jing just drank from and finished the rest of the mixture. He stood up and changed his tone when addressing Mingyi.

  “Let’s go, man. Show me the training room.”