Hot Wavelength

Chapter 39 (Baby 1): Ode to Joy

6500 million years ago, in the Neo-Tethys Ocean, on the island of Tasmania.
The clones, Brahma Jr. and Vinu Jr., are growing up.

For ten months, Maria and her team have been taking meticulous care of the cloned babies, from petri dishes to sterile boxes, and then to warm and comfortable cribs in a natural environment. Their vital signs are exactly the same as those of children born naturally to humans on Venus.

Maria and her team's cloning experiment was successful, and the ethical crisis she was most worried about did not seem to have occurred.

How did the Brahmers view the babies they cloned themselves? They naturally assumed they were their own children, the younger brother and sister of their daughter Cynthia.

Cynthia adores her younger brother and sister. Her brother is a bit mischievous, always clenching his little fists as he crawls and rolls around on the bed. Her sister seems to be developing faster; she's already able to hold Cynthia's hand and toddle around as she learns to walk.

The Brama couple were most concerned about their two children's language learning abilities. Would the younger brother and sister be able to learn the language of Venusians like normal people, or would they, like Cynthia, only be able to communicate through singing?

So every day, Vinu would tirelessly repeat monosyllabic phrases like "daddy" and "mommy" to his two children.

Both children seemed to respond, and when the younger sister uttered "Mama" for the first time, barely audibly, Vinu shed tears of joy. Brahma, meanwhile, ran out to fetch Maria.

“It’s wonderful that the children can learn our language. We don’t know how to thank you enough, Dr. Maria,” Vinu said to Maria.

“Through the physical examination, these children do not have the same physiological defects as little Cynthia. We have always believed that they can learn the language of Venusian humans.” Maria said, looking at little Cynthia with a complex expression, a mixture of guilt and pride.

Cynthia has grown into a 20-year-old girl with a slender figure, graceful curves, and a pair of large, clear, and lively eyes, showing none of the shyness that ordinary girls have during puberty.

Cynthia loved to hold her younger brother or sister in her arms and gently rock them while singing cheerful songs in her beautiful soprano voice. Vinu didn't realize that Cynthia was also trying to teach her younger siblings to "speak."

Nikola Tesla walked in and was involuntarily immersed in the pleasant environment. Looking at the two innocent children and the room full of happy adults, a trace of worry welled up in his heart.

As volunteers, the Bramars each have the right to upload consciousness and extract genetic tissue once, according to the latest laws of the Venus Union, and are not affected by this volunteer project.

Tesla knew that the couple had made it clear that they were giving up their rights because they wanted to stay by Cynthia's side, who was unable to upload her consciousness, and to take care of her younger brother and sister together.

According to the laws of the Venusian Union, even if the younger brother and sister are physiologically capable, they are not eligible to be cloned again. When Mars explodes, this family will be doomed.

Brahma seemed to have read Tesla's mind. He walked over and said in a low voice with a smile:

“Mr. Tesla, don’t worry about us. I’ve been a soldier and a driver. I don’t have as many worries and anxieties as you scientists. Being with my family is my greatest happiness.”

Tesla thought to himself, "That's just the kind of animal humans are. Sometimes they feel that being with their family is the greatest happiness, and other times they are insatiable, driven by curiosity to know everything and possessiveness to want to have everything."

After weathering storms, no matter how cold and snowy it is outside the window, having food cooking on the stove and children gathered around you can bring you the greatest happiness and satisfaction.

The two men's conversation was interrupted by the excited shouts of the women nearby. Tesla looked in the direction of the sound and saw Maria looking puzzled. She quickly walked to Tesla's side and said:

“Listen, these two children can sing just like Cynthia.”

Led by soprano Cynthia, the younger siblings were humming along. Although they couldn't keep up completely, and the pitch wasn't quite harmonious, the two children were clearly communicating with Cynthia through their singing.

Cynthia was overjoyed and started singing a new tune, the melody of which turned out to be the anthem of the Venus Alliance.

In response to Cynthia and the children's scales and melodies, Maria and Brahma joined in singing.

The anthem of the Venus Federation: "Ode to Joy".

That day will eventually come.
View this with a peaceful mind.

To set free the soul
No one is lonely.

He stretched out his hands in front of him.

Let them have everything you have.

With love, forever.
Let us sing a joyful song for a thousand autumns.

Mutual understanding, a tribute to love, come on, tell the story and sing of freedom.

Joyful Ode,

Glory to humanity!

After the rain, the palm trees along the shore of Tasmania stand in rows like young people who have just been washed clean of the dust of the world, allowing the gentle breeze to inspect them.

Several black dots on the horizon approached from afar, and the increasingly loud roar of the electric unmanned helicopter shook the raindrops remaining on the leaves.

Tesla and Maria arrived at the outdoor helipad to welcome the Venusian Alliance Parliament delegation. Speaker Kent and Dean Abbott, led by Maria, toured the cloning laboratory, including the healthy cloned children.

"Maria, congratulations on your and your team's successful experiment. It's no exaggeration to say that your work has opened the door to a new life for the people of Venus," Speaker Kent said enthusiastically.

Tesla was also happy and proud for Maria. He then turned to Dean Abbott and asked, "Maria's cloning experiment was a success. How is the consciousness uploading work you were overseeing on Venus going?"

Dean Abbott said that Venus's artificial intelligence technology has become very mature. By connecting with the neural networks in the Venusian human brain, it is no longer a problem to store memories and thinking habits in the cloud.

Unfortunately, while it is technically feasible to upload an individual's entire consciousness to the cloud, the consequence would be that the brain would cease to function after the upload, leading to the person's death.

“Nikolai, the work of uploading consciousness has started off very poorly. We academics still have too few solutions to this problem,” Dean Abbott said.

"What do you mean by too little?" Nikola Tesla asked, puzzled.

Dean Abbott looked at his old friend Tesla, who was obsessed with science but not so much with human relationships, with a hint of surprise, and said, "Have you thought about it? Anyone who fully uploads their consciousness will die immediately. Who would want that? What if what we scientists call the end of the world is fake or wrong?"

After being reminded by Dean Abbott, Tesla realized that it had oversimplified the problem.

He knew that the destruction of the habitable zone of the solar system, including Venus, was inevitable. But convincing ordinary people to upload their consciousness, give up their lives, and look forward to rebirth or resurrection was indeed too difficult.

Speaker Kent and Maria also came over and joined the discussion. Speaker Kent said, "People are always unwilling to give up hope when they are in dire straits. Even after they are sure that there is no hope, they will wait until the last moment."

"You mean, with 12 years until Mars explodes, everyone is so eager to upload their consciousness in the last second before destruction?" Maria asked.

Abbott said with a wry smile, "The temperature difference between day and night on Venus is increasing, food production is declining sharply, and this will only worsen over the next decade or so. Due to insufficient resources, it is objectively necessary to complete the consciousness upload in batches as soon as possible."

Tesla still didn't understand what Abbott meant by the lack of solutions among scientists, and he asked:
"Is there any way to persuade everyone to cooperate in an orderly manner to complete this plan, the only one that can save humanity on Venus?"

Abbott looked at the weathered old speaker, then turned to Tesla and said:

"Speaker Kent is pushing a bill in Parliament, also known as the First-Come, First-Served Bill."

Earth, shattered by Mars, will become the new home of Venusian humans. The bill stipulates that the resurrection and rebirth process will be carried out in batches according to Earth's resource carrying capacity, and the order of resurrection will be linked to the order of consciousness upload, meaning that those who "die" first have the right to be resurrected first.

Tesla was surprised once again. The idea seemed good, fair and simple, but an indescribable sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

Speaker Kent's next words made Tesla even more uneasy.

Speaker Kent said, "A popular influencer on a short video platform claims that he refuses to believe in doomsday prophecies and refuses to upload his consciousness or extract his genetic material. This influencer has already gained the support of tens of thousands of people."

"If someone opposes the plan to regenerate Mars, we'll be forced to stop, won't we?" Tesla asked eagerly.

“Of course it won’t stop. The Venusian Alliance Council has already passed the rescue plan, which has formed new laws that everyone must abide by,” Speaker Kent continued. “What I’m worried about is that after the vast majority of people who support the rescue plan ‘die’ in batches, the tens of thousands of people who are left who oppose the plan will become the vandals.”

"So how do we 'solve' these people who refuse to upload their consciousness?" Tesla muttered to himself, looking lost.

&
The poem composed of collected verses at the end of the chapter:
Today, adorned in new attire, descending from the heavens; tomorrow, Xia Yuanji...

To be able to remain undisturbed even by the loss of one's own flesh and blood. (Song Dynasty, Zhang Zhi)

A traveler, lonely and without companion, leans on a young boy. (Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yu)
A slight pleasure at the sight of the gold-painted decoration resting on my knees. (Qing Dynasty, Deng Tingzhen)
(End of this chapter)