The Mechanic [BL]

[62]

Chapter 62 Doom (8)

"The human body is actually extremely fragile. If the temperature is slightly higher, or slightly lower, if the pH is a little off, if the composition of the air wasn't just right and the ultraviolet rays are slightly stronger, life would not emerge. "

In the laboratory of the Department of Life Sciences, Adam was observing the viruses they extracted from the people infected with the Honey Plague through an electron microscope, watching them go through birth and death at a rapid speed and evolve from generation to generation, as if watching a universe that kept emerging and dying.

Zhang Xun, whose face had begun to heal, sat on a chair with gauze wrapped around his head and read the observation records of the infection symptoms submitted by each hospital. Those heavy records were piled up and covering the whole table like a mountain. Hearing Adam's words as if talking to himself, he raised his head.

Adam turned and looked at him with a smile, "Life, whether it's the most complex human being or the simplest single-celled organism, actually has only one true mission - to keep replicating its own DNA. Everything else, including your body, your so-called consciousness and 'soul', are just by-products to ensure that DNA can reproduce more."

Zhang Xun chuckled, "If you say this to others I'm afraid you will offend the entire Lost Paradise people."

"But this is fact." Adam tilted his head slightly and looked at him curiously, "Aren't you all afraid? So many rich and heavy consciousness are carried by such fragile and unreliable bodies. With the smallest bit of trouble the red fluid in the body could be slightly reduced, and every now and then an uncontrolled mass will appear among the countless cells that are dying of cancer, then all those beautiful consciousness and memories will disappear. Although your DNA can be replicated, your consciousness cannot. Once it disappears, it's gone forever."

Zhang Xun lowered his eyes.

Adam was right. He remembered that when he was very young, when he first learned the concept of death, he was so afraid that he couldn't sleep all night. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to not exist anymore, what the concept of eternal nothingness was. He was scared, if every human was going to die, no matter how distant that day may seem, it would eventually come.

When you live every day within the trivial matters of life, when you eat with your loved ones, when you laugh with your friends, it could seem like death was an impossible thing, but it would happen, it would certainly happen. And when it happened, that would be the end of you and the world would go on, you would be completely forgotten, as if you never existed.

Therefore, he had always been somewhat envious of artificial intelligence. As long as they had the right servers and enough power, they could last forever.

Zhang Xun sighed, put down the record in his hand and asked, "Are you afraid, Adam?"

Adam shrugged and said, "I'm also partly influenced by human instinct now, so naturally I would be."

"If you're afraid, why did you choose to fight against Eden alone?" Zhang Xun stared at Adam, carefully observing all the subtle expressions on his face, "You just got your arms, you know Eden's abilities best and you knew that you might be killed. Why did you still go? Was it because..."

Zhang Xun stopped, because he saw the disappearing smile on Adam's face and something in his eyes like... heart break?

"Because of what? Because I know I wouldn't die? Because I have some evil plan with Eden?" Adam's tone was surprisingly calm.

Zhang Xun felt a knot in his stomach and he was speechless for a while. Adam's expression made him regret what he asked.

Maybe he should have approached it another way...