Chapter 107 – Surprising Each Other
The infectious cells collected by the expedition team were managed in a temporary laboratory set up outside.
Since the robots operate, there is no need for lighting and there is no chatting or smoking, ensuring complete confidentiality.
It is compact in scale as all you need is a space for thorough experiments without any rest or office space.
White-painted research robots were busily moving around and managing beakers, flasks, centrifuges, and other mechanical devices.
“It’s like watching the evening news.”
If you replace the robots with researchers in gowns, it’s a typical news background video.
If there is news about something scientific, such as the development of a new drug, an infectious disease epidemic, a science award, or a patent development, it always ends with a video like that. Like some kind of cliché.
[We are actually planning to appear on Shelter News!]
Kids said.
[The manager has secured important data from a dangerous expedition, and based on that, we have started developing a vaccine! We are preparing for a broadcast in this format.]
Life Management AI Kids’ work also includes promotions targeting residents.
However, there was a distortion in Kids’ words.
“What we are trying to do now is simply measure the probability of infection?”
It is clearly a great achievement to have secured a prototype vaccine from Bloodtech. However, further research cannot be continued as even laboratory mice cannot be obtained.
[In the long run, won’t all of this lead to the development of a vaccine? Film production doesn’t go in order, but you go back and forth while filming. Is it common to film from the last scene? This news is also starting from the ending of vaccine development. Hehe.]
“You speak very well.”
Meanwhile, securing the experimental group was also easy.
In order to increase the accuracy of experiments, the population must be abundant, and we have a diverse human population.
Residents not only provided labor but also helped with research.
[Please stand in line. Upon completion of body tissue sample collection, a piece of cake and beer will be provided as a reward.]
A medical robot painted green said.
This is a complex research center located in a factory complex in the central region.
[There are three strands of hair. It doesn’t have to include the roots, so I would appreciate it if you could pull them out in advance while waiting.]
[You can lightly scrape under your fingernails with a fine cotton swab.]
[If you submitted both, please follow the instructions to the blood collection room.]
The women move in an orderly manner under the control of the medical robot.
Although less than half a day had passed since the recruitment notice was posted, applicants flocked like bees, drawn by the reward.
Among them, 100 people were selected to ensure maximum genetic diversity.
[Loyal residents.]
A bust of Artemis appeared on the giant monitor installed on the laboratory ceiling.
[Thank you for providing the living tissue. From the genes you inherited, the environment you lived in, your history of injuries, the organisms you ate and drank, and the medications you took. The methods of preserving the body were different, but this allowed us to add diversity to our research.]
Its majestic and beautiful appearance captured everyone’s attention.
[You will become a foundation for the development of science, the safety of cities, and even the well-being of humanity.]
The video ended with an elegant smile.
It’s a cliché thank you, but it’s neat and clutter-free.
“It’s okay.”
[Really?]
But Artemis’ reaction is sullen.
The thank-you note I had originally prepared was a little longer than this, but that was because I had read it in advance and left out the second half.
‘Anyway, in about 60 years, everything will become fertilizer, so wouldn’t it be better to become scientific fertilizer rather than agricultural fertilizer? Make them proud.’
She looked at me expectantly, perhaps with a hint of humor, but she immediately drew a red line with her electronic pen.
[Ah!]
I pretended not to hear her sigh of regret.
After some time had passed, sampling was completed.
I could see residents down there receiving pieces of cake and beer with happy faces.
“Someone who changes sweet potato cake and strawberry cake!”
“How about chocolate cake instead of strawberry?!”
Even a barter market was formed in real time.
[I really like doing experiments.]
On the monitor I am looking at, photos of 100 participants’ faces appear in a grid format, and the green background, signifying the completion of collection, is all lit up.
[Science is like an open world game that is updated with a new map every moment.]
“It’s similar. Because the world we live in operates according to the laws of physics.”
She was satisfied with my appropriate response.
[Experiments are the quests and enemies that enter the world. Not enemies in the sense of bad guys. It is an enemy that responds to my power and knowledge and gives me pleasure according to its program.]
A cargo drone is carrying a box containing sealed samples.
[Most of the experiments I have done so far have been repetitions of simulations conducted in virtual space. The inspection conducted when accepting residents focused on quarantine. But today’s cell collection is different.]
The photos of 100 women were converted into Excel, listing genetic information for each individual.
[Collect biometric information of numerous people. Classify and analyze their blueprints.]
Like Excel, numerical comparisons are easy to understand at a glance.
[Someone will almost certainly develop uterine cancer after about 20 years. I found people who didn’t gain weight no matter how much they ate, or on the contrary, they gained weight no matter how much they ate. When pregnant, there were women who could produce twice as much breast milk as others, and there were women who only produced half as much.]
Every time Artemis gave an example, the ranking of 100 people in Excel changed.
Genetic excellence or risk in a specific field is ranked from 1st to 100th.
[It feels like a quality inspection. Should we show the woman who ranked first overall in genetic specifications? Conversely, what about the woman who came in last place?]
In an instant, I felt like my hair was drying out.
“Stop it. There’s no need for comparison. That has nothing to do with infection rate testing.”
He said hastily.
[Calm down.]
Artemis spoke in a voice as embarrassed as me.
[Because it’s not what you’re worried about. There is no change in my perception of the residents. I’m just reconsidering the medical services I may need in the future.]
She showed me a picture of my face just now.
I thought I kept a straight face, but that wasn’t the case at all. Astonishment appeared on his face.
[I’m sorry if I scared you. There was a lack of consideration for how it would be received by human sensibilities.]
“I waited ten years.”
I don’t think I was this surprised when my shoulder cam was shattered by a sniper’s bullet while on patrol in Lebanon.
Eugenics. Just imagining Artemis becoming obsessed with it is a terrible thing.
[I never once thought that you would be afraid of me.]
Her voice is shaking.
I think she was startled to detect, even for a moment, her fear of herself in my voice pattern.
Perhaps he felt a slight sense of hostility mixed with fear. Fear and hostility are like two sides of the same coin.
I think that shocked her.
[Please know this. All the research, experiments, and scientific achievements I have made since I opened my eyes until now. The acceleration implant implanted in your body was more enjoyable and satisfying than all of these things combined. I don’t really need thousands or tens of thousands of test subjects. This is the place the two of us have been building from the beginning, right?]
Her usual confident and overbearing tone was gone, but she spilled out a lot of stories.
The first trouble that occurred between Artemis and me.
No, should we call it a happening rather than a problem?
It wasn’t an argument or a tantrum.
It was full of surprise for each other, fear for different reasons, and panic that came from that.
Thanks to this trouble, I was able to hear Artemis’ inner thoughts, which she would never have said under normal circumstances.
The fact that this became a dark story and haunted her for a long time is another story of her later life.
* * *
It takes a few days to conduct a reaction test after collecting the tissue.
The results are as expected by the chief researcher.
It was even lower than the infection rate recorded in Bloodtech’s research records.
At this level, it is believed that even if a human holding a cold weapon fights a walker, there is no risk of infection unless he or she is directly injured.
However, as the lead researcher said, this is not a reason to neglect vaccine research.
Because he approached it from the perspective of care for the entire population, he probably thought it was unrealistic as he had to consider mass production of vaccines, continuous improvement, and vaccination.
On the other hand, for us who protect the limited area of a shelter, the development and vaccination of vaccines is meaningful enough.
For that, Artemis introduced me to a place.
“Baekdudaegan Global Seed Bolt?”
There was an oval-shaped building on the central control room screen. It is installed in a mountainous basin 600 m above sea level.
Artemis played an interview video made before the war.
An older man in a suit was talking about Sidbolt at the entrance.
[One day, a catastrophe may occur on Earth, causing large-scale extinction of the ecosystem. Starting with nuclear war or a meteorite impact, extinction due to climate change is also possible.]
His position, as shown in the subtitles, is Minister of Environment.
[This is an ark prepared for such times. Along with the Svalbard International Seed Repository, it is the only permanent preservation facility in the world.]
The minister’s face is full of pride.
[The only situation that brings out seeds is an extinction event. The best thing would be for the seeds not to go out.]
That’s all for the introduction video.
“Something bad happened.”
It is the only permanently preserved vault in the world. I was a bit surprised that such a thing existed in our country.
“So why do you have to go there? “I know it’s a valuable place, but we’re not in a hurry for plant seeds, are we?”
Since we operate a hydroponic cultivation facility, we also have a significant number of seeds in our shelter.
Since all of them have been genetically improved for commercial purposes, they are superior to Global Seed Bolt’s seeds for food supply purposes.
“Besides, that’s a national security facility.”
It’s not a particularly commercial or political facility, so it seems like there wouldn’t be a problem if they just sent robots to force their way in.
Still, there is such a thing, and I have to visit in person to get all the data neatly.
[There are very few permanent personnel here, and it is a remote area, so it will be a much safer mission than other expedition sites.]
Certainly, no matter where you look, it doesn’t seem like a dangerous mission given the empty surroundings.
However, I still don’t know if it’s worth going all the way to Gyeongsang Province.
[That was the last version of the promotional video available. Although it is not shown in the video, Seedvault has undergone a large-scale reorganization.]
Artemis showed the photo data.
This is a photo of a researcher holding a square piece of plastic the size of a child’s palm. An embryonic animal is sealed inside the plastic.
[As biotechnology technology has developed, an area to store quick-frozen embryos has been added.]
A photo of a warehouse full of Embryo seals appeared.
[It has become an ark in the true sense. Among that list are mice, rabbits, and fruit flies that have been genetically improved for experimental purposes.]
“Is this like insurance to restore medical infrastructure in a national reconstruction situation?”
[Correct.]
In this way, the next expedition location was decided.
However, dispatch was postponed to a later date.
This is because I had to apply the improved blood technology obtained from Bloodtech to myself.
There may always be some danger lurking outside the shelter. It is a law that requires you to be fully prepared.
