Date: Year 2319, September
Beep, beep, beep.
At 5:00 a.m., the desktop computer’s Lunar Echo system alarm rang: “You have a new email in your inbox. Scanning for viruses. Running checks. A video — it’s a video concerning Annie.”
Karl got out of bed and dressed while saying, “Mother, play it. It’s been a long time since I heard anything from Annie. I miss my sister.”
“Command received. Playing the video now,” Lunar Echo replied.
“Brother, how have you been lately? It’s Annie. I miss you so much — when will you come see me? I feel much better recently. Dr. Irene Zhang has been very kind to me. My weight has stayed at 110 KG. Also — for some unknown reason I’ve developed some patterns on my skin lately; Dr. Zhang said it’s nothing to worry about.”
…
“Brother, I really miss the days when I used to fall asleep on your lap as a child. Back then, our family was so happy.”
“Brother, please, you must come see me.”
“Also, there is an encrypted information file attached that requires verification of your biometric data to open,” Lunar Echo warned.
“Mother, what biometric data do you need to verify?” Karl was already at the computer.
“Your DNA. There is an 80% probability that the encrypted file contains another video.”
“What do you recommend, Mother?”
“My recommendation is to open it. It should be related to Annie.”
Karl stared at the encrypted file on the screen. … Five minutes later, he placed his finger into a raised white arc on the desk; a micro-probe was inserted into his fingertip.
“Decryption complete. Playing the video content now.”
“Mother, project it in 3D.”
Karl walked to the kitchen, spoke as he pressed the coffee machine button. A rich aroma of coffee drifted out.
“Major Karl von Reiss. I am Dr. Irene Zhang. I know you must be surprised I am contacting you this way…”
Karl carried his coffee to the 3D projection. Irene Zhang stood in her lab; beside her was a computer showing many datasets and graphs.
“After analysis and cross-check, the data on this computer match Annie’s. The indices are extremely abnormal and exceed all the normal human physiological values currently in my database,” Lunar Echo explained.
“Exceed normal human physiological values? Is Annie in danger?” Karl tensed and asked immediately.
“I cannot determine whether Annie is in danger. From the video, she appears to be healthy. But these values do indeed exceed normal human ranges. According to the readings, her body temperature is 41.8°C. Normal human brain tissue would have liquefied at such a temperature, yet in the video, her cognition appears intact.”
“And?” Karl pressed.
“Her metabolic rate is over ~80,000 kcal/day. Her metabolism is extremely high — roughly +4000% of normal human values. This means her body requires a massive energy intake, such as sugars. If energy replenishment is insufficient, she could lapse into unconsciousness at any time.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Continue playing the encrypted video. Mother.”
“Mr. von Reiss, I believe you have just seen Annie’s physiological data. Yes — this is also why she has needed to reside here for so many years. To some degree, she no longer fits within the definitions of human physiology. She is now an Atlantean Chimera.”
Karl’s eyes narrowed.
“When you first brought Annie to me, to keep her alive, I used Atlantean ichor to save her. You signed the consent form, then used any method necessary to save Annie. So Annie was the first human injected with Atlantean ichor. Fortunately, she survived, and all the data over the years indicate her body has reached a stable equilibrium.”
Karl said nothing. He watched the video in silence.
“You’re probably thinking why I did not tell you the specifics of Annie’s condition and these numbers before. I’m sorry — as long as Marcus Drake, Chairman of the Drake Consortium, remained at large in this world, I couldn’t risk telling you the truth. Now he is imprisoned in your Ashen Protectorate of Lethe. This is the only chance I have to contact you.”
“Years ago, I rescued your sister from the brink of death, but she also lost her freedom. Atlantean ichor is not suitable for ordinary humans. After Annie’s condition stabilized, I performed many experiments on other humans with similar conditions and found the survival rate was nearly zero.”
“Most subjects who received Atlantean ichor were literally broken down into a liquid state, or suffered other severe complications.”
Karl could hear regret in Irene Zhang’s voice. By now, his fingernails had sunk deep into the flesh of his own palm.
Irene continued, “I know you want to kill me right now, but let me ask: if you had a choice — watch Annie die painfully, or have her instantaneously break down into a liquid — what would you choose?”
As Irene’s words finished, Karl’s clenched fingers relaxed. A drop of blood fell to the floor.
“Now Annie has passed the immediate danger, and her body has entered territories unknown to human biology. The following videos have never been made public. Only my lab assistants and Mr. Drake have seen them — now you will.”
In the video, Annie closed her eyes; objects around her drifted up into the air after a few motionless minutes, and a faint golden glow seemed to emanate from her body.
In another clip, a small metal sphere about 4 cm across sat in her palm. After several minutes, the sphere dissolved into metallic fragments.
The video continued.
Karl’s expression moved from astonishment to puzzlement to thoughtfulness.
“These are the abilities Annie now possesses. If you must compare, she is like one of the gods from ancient Earth myths,” Irene said.
“This is the real reason Mr. Drake forbade me from revealing this. Apart from your blood, which acts as a stabilizer, she can now almost entirely sustain herself by absorbing light energy.”
“Every time she performs phenomena inexplicable to humans, my experiments show her body can induce resonance in an object’s natural frequency and thereby alter that object’s inherent structure.”
“This, however, consumes enormous amounts of her energy, which is why your blood is regularly administered to her each year to maintain DNA stability. This is her current DNA structure.” A four-helix molecular model appeared in midair.
“Karl, judging by the base-pair composition in my database, her body has formed a complete and closed structure. Each time her body is exposed to light energy, metal ions in her DNA act like a charge — even nuclear radiation would not harm her. It’s astonishing,” Lunar Echo intoned, filled with admiration.
At the center of the spiral Mother projected, Karl saw a thread-fine yet blazing gold filament running through it — like a black hole, it pulled the four helices tight, radiating a divine brilliance in the virtual light.
“Mother — is this really possible? Or is the video a synthetic forgery?” Karl asked, voice edged with doubt.
“Based on the data in the video, I can compute the plausibility of these base-pair combinations and their effects. Probability of the video being synthetic is under 10%.”
“Karl, do you choose to trust this analysis?” Lunar Echo asked.
Karl said nothing. He kept staring at the figures.
“Mr. von Reiss, I have a proposal. If you accept, I will stake my own life as a guarantee for your sister’s safety. She will be fine,” Irene paused.
“I want you to take my family to a safe place. Do not let Drake’s people find them. I believe Drake had his own standards when he was alive; now that he is gone, I cannot be sure my family is safe. If you agree to my proposal, I will send my family details to you separately so they won’t suspect anything.”
“If you agree, I want to see you post proof on the dark web that you are protecting my family. As compensation, 6.66 million credit points. I know that sum is not small for you, but don’t worry: I have the complete formula for ‘Elysium Echo.’ I think you’ll know what to do with it. Awaiting your message.”
The video ended. Lunar Echo: “Karl, based on calculations and predictions, the probability that accepting this proposal will ensure Annie’s safety is under 20%.”
“Mother, I understand.”
------
Twenty-four hours later, on the dark web’s hitman board, a new post appeared:
“Contract: Protect one female subject. Reward: 6.66 million credit points.”
(CH121end)
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