Choices
In the training room, Luo Lan and Qing Chu were training.
Level E physical ability met level B physical ability. There was no suspense at all, it could only end in one side getting a beating.
Qing Chu was afraid of hurting Luo Lan and didn’t dare to go all out in the training[1]. However, after Luo Lan begged and forced her to go all out, she realized that the princess was serious, so she finally let go and gave Luo Lan a beating.
When Luo Lan was beaten for the nth time, her personal terminal rang.
She was lying on the ground in so much pain that she couldn’t move. She could only move her mouth and said, “Answer.”
Feng Lin’s voice came from the phone, “The children from the orphanage will come to visit the Research Institute. Please come and help!”
“Alright, I’ll be there in an hour.”
The children had arrived when Luo Lan reached the Research Institute.
An Na divided them into several groups, one of which was a special group. Those were children who played with Qian Xu before, they were the ones with a disordered immune system caused by genetic instability.
The places they go must be cleaned and disinfected in advance, and they cannot freely move with other children.
Feng Lin called Luo Lan to help, just to ask her to help take care of those children.
Feng Lin was the one responsible for leading the visit, explaining and answering questions, while Luo Lan was watching them and making sure they did not do any dangerous actions.
Amidst the chatter of the children, Luo Lan felt she had also seemed to learn the general knowledge of genetics.
“In the early days of mankind’s move to Interstellar, gene-editors were profitable and highly respected among all occupations. They have mastered various advanced gene-editing techniques and could help everyone edit their genes and realize their wishes to become beautiful, tall, and strong…”
“Can the wish of not getting sick and able to go to the playground freely be realized?”
“At that time, people thought they could realize it, but in fact, it’s couldn’t be realized. The reason why they thought it was possible was because the off-target effect[2] was lagging behind. This lag could appear in one generation, or it could take ten generations to appear.”
“What is the off-target effect?”
“Have you ever played with building blocks?”
“We have!”
“If you use building blocks to build a castle, but you find that there is a building block that is not well placed, can you just remove it? ”
“Can’t! If it was taken out without caution, the castle may collapse.”
“That is the off-target effect! Human genes are like a well-built castle, but the castle is very, very large. The original intention of gene-editors is to modify bad genes, but they didn’t expect that it would affect good genes or even destroy the whole castle.”
Feng Lin then led the children to move to another place, “… With the changes of the times, gene modification is strictly prohibited in all countries. Gene-editors have no value anymore, and they are even regarded as criminals with heinous crimes. They gradually disappeared from the long river of history…”
“… now, humans in the entire interstellar world are plagued by genetic diseases. Gene-repairers have high incomes and are highly respected. Gene repair, as the name suggests, is to repair our mutated and unstable genes by using various methods…”
A boy asked, “Can my genes be repaired?”
Feng Lin gave the boy a gentle smile, “If you listen to the doctor’s words and protect your body. One day, you will meet an excellent gene-repairer who can help you repair your genes.”
“Can you repair my genes?” the boy’s eyes twinkled with hope.
Feng Lin shook her head. She suppressed her sadness, and squeezed out a smile. “I’m not that good yet, but I’m working hard.”
————·————·————
After seeing the children off, Feng Lin and Luo Lan didn’t bother to go to the cafeteria. It was already past lunch. They took two cans of nutrients and sat in the small garden on the terrace.
Luo Lan was emotional, “It turns out what you did was so great!”
Feng Lin laughed with self-mockery, “It seems to be like that, but in fact, I often feel that I am very incompetent. I can’t even cure any of the children who came here today!
“Humans have gone the wrong way in genetic research because of their greed. Now it needs to be corrected. It’s neither a matter of a while, nor a matter of one or two people, but an accumulation of those. A little will make a lot, a drop will make a sea. One day we will succeed![3]
Feng Lin looked at Luo Lan with starry eyes, “How come I suddenly feel that you are more knowledgeable than you look!”
Luo Lan pretended to be shy. She covered her face with her hands. Her sleeves slid down, exposing her bruised arms.
Feng Lin was speechless, “If it weren’t for me knowing Chen Sha, I would suspect that you were domestically abused.”
Luo Lan laughed, “I was beaten by Qing Chu in training.”
“Wow! If you train hard like this, you may have a good chance to become a level A individual.”
“I think so too!” Luo Lan smiled and made a peace sign.
Feng Lin laughed. Luo Lan’s temperament was really pleasant. She left her hometown and became a victim of the struggle between mutant and human beings, but she is neither hateful nor in self-pity. Just like a sunflower, she worked hard to grow brightly towards the sun.
Feng Lin wondered, “Why are you suddenly so interested in physical training?”
“Didn’t Chen Sha tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Chen Sha actually didn’t tell anyone! Compared with Zi Yan that acted ostentatiously everywhere like a butterfly, Chen Sha was like a clam hiding everything in its shell!
Luo Lan organized her thoughts. Carefully, she said, “On the day a beast appeared at the base, I heard some words and guessed that the beast might be human. After Chen Sha knew that I knew it, he hoped I would become a level 3A. And because of your suggestion, I changed my goal to level A physical ability with great self-knowledge instead.”
Feng Lin stared at Luo Lan strangely.
Luo Lan hurriedly explained, “I didn’t mean to dig out your secrets. It’s just that I can’t help but pay attention when I’m part of it. Don’t worry, I’ll never leak it out.”
“I don’t blame you, it’s just…” Feng Lin still couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t expect you to know everything and still dare to stay alone with me. I kept it from you because I was afraid you would be frightened of us. I didn’t want you to hate Alikarta because of fear.”
Luo Lan put her hand on Feng Lin’s shoulder, “Fear of the unknown is the most terrifying thing. When you know the truth, even if you are afraid, you can find a way to overcome it.”
Feng Lin looked at the hand on her shoulder and suddenly smiled, “I want to have a serious talk with you. Let’s go to my office!”
————·————·————
Feng Lin brought Luo Lan to her office. There, she opened her zhi nao[4] and called up a confidential document for Luo Lan to see.
“More than 300 years ago, the first case of sudden gene mutation occurred in Odin Federation. So far, 6,889 cases have been recorded, all of which are among the most outstanding soldiers in the Federation. Among them, 6,888 died, and only one person regained his sanity and changed back to a human. The deaths and injuries caused by sudden mutation were as high as more than 30,000…. “
The Odin Federation was the first country established by “human beings with heterogeneous genes”. All the mutants who suffered unfair treatment all over the world would find ways to settle there. They would marry each other and reproduce, resulting in more and more genetic diseases. Sudden mutation was one of the most terrifying incurable diseases. There was no sign before the outbreak and only resulted in death after the outbreak.
The most terrifying thing was not its mortality rate, but its potential harm.
Sudden mutation destroyed the trust between people and destroyed people’s faith and courage.
Over the past 100 years, the scale of the outbreak was gradually expanding. If news spreads out, it definitely would cause panic and hostility among humans. The “mutants” would fall into crisis again, be questioned by humans about their humanity, and be slaughtered.
“For more than 300 years, we have tried our best to find a cure. Currently, the only conclusion we have is that 15 minutes after mutation is the golden rescue period. If they can’t regain their sanity within 15 minutes, it means they can never recover..”
At the end of the video, close-up images of mutated genes patients were scrolled on the virtual screen. Some of their expressions were fragile and some were strong, but they held the same confusion inside their eyes, “Why is it them? What happened to their bodies?
Luo Lan was in a trance, thinking back to when she was running on the wasteland, moving forward with despair, trying to figure out what happened to her.
So far, no one has given her the answer.
Feng Lin said, “In other countries, it is an extremely proud and happy occasion for a soldier to have a level A physical ability, and everyone will congratulate him. But in Odin Federation, when a soldier has a level A physical ability, he won’t receive congratulations, but a death notice telling him that he may become a man-eating beast at any time. So far, the recovery probability is equal to zero.”
“Isn’t there one person who regained his sanity and changed back to a human?”
“One in 6889, with the probability of 0,000014 and…” Feng Lin’s voice was very sad. “That man still died of sudden mutation later.”
Luo Lan was stunned.
“The only thing the Federation can do for these outstanding soldiers is to kill them fifteen minutes after the mutation and preserve their final dignity!”
Luo Lan remembered the scene of Chen Sha killing the beast with a sword and the sadness hidden in Qian Xu’s eyes when he talked about the mutation. In order to protect Odin Federation, these outstanding soldiers must pursue excellent physical ability, but the better their physical ability, the greater the probability of mutation. They must always be ready to kill and be killed by their comrades in arms at any time.
Feng Lin looked at Luo Lan, “Now that you know the truth, are you still willing to cooperate with our research?”
Luo Lan suddenly made a bold decision. She asked tentatively, “If I don’t cooperate, will it be detrimental to your research?”
“Yes!” Feng Lin smiled bitterly, “Even an apple tree won’t let researchers do as they want to themself, not to mention you are human. If your mood changes, the hormones in your body will also change.”
“I have a request.”
“You say!” Feng Lin is not afraid of Luo Lan’s request, she is more afraid that Luo Lan won’t make a request.
“I want to participate in the entire research process as a researcher.”
Feng Lin blinked. “Gene-research is very boring and hard work. It isn’t a career that young girls will like.”
Luo Lan smiled wryly, “Believe me, I never expected the process of finding the solution would be an easy journey.”
Feng Lin realized that Luo Lan was serious and walked around in distress, “Luo Lan, your request is beyond my authority[5]! You should know that considering your identity is very sensitive and genetic research is a secret of every country.”
“I know. This is my only condition.” Luo Lan put her palms together devoutly and pleaded, “Please help me. I swear that I won’t do anything harmful against Odin Federation.”
Footnotes
畏手畏脚 – Wèi shǒu wèi jiǎo. Lit. afraid of hands and feets. Not daring to be courageous.↵
Off-target refers to adverse effects as a result of modulation of other targets; in this case, it refers to off target effect of human gene because of the modification. Humans though all diseases was cured, but actually it only lagged behind. Not only diseases didn’t completely disappear, those modified gene showed adverse effect that could result in sudden mutation and other symptoms.↵
积少成多 – jī shǎo chéng duō; lit. Many a little make a mickle; From small increments comes abundance;↵
智脑- zhì nǎo; lit. intelligent/wisdom brain. AI. May be an implanted chip, electronic assistant, holographic screen, or virtual watches, etc., etc.↵
强人所难 – qiǎng rén suǒ nán means to force others to do things that they can’t do or don’t want to do; constrain someone to do things that are beyond his power; insist on other’s doing something which is impossible or against his will↵
Amoeba’s Corner
Hello, 啊Moe吧 (A Moe Ba) here.
I’m not gonna say I’m an experienced Chinese translator. My spoken mandarin is mediocre at best. My hànzì also sucks. I’m doing this for fun and because I want to make all of you a Qian Xu supremacist Memory Lost in Space is a good novel. Perhaps most of you won’t like Qian Xu? I was told that it’s weird I prefer Qian Xu over Chen Sha, haha. I have my own reasons, though. It’s not like I hate Chen Sha. He is a good boy and I do like him.
Memory Lost in Space may not suit everyone’s cup of tea considering the tags but trust me when I say Memory Lost in Space is g o o d.
Ah, I also want to tell you that each update only covered one book section. The reason why I do it like that is because if I tried to translate a whole book chapter in one go (around 3-6 sections), it will take me a week or two… or three to release a chapter. So I prefer to release one or two chapters in a week rather than a chapter in more than one week. Waiting for so long will turn you into a dried amoeba, ah _(´ཀ`」 ∠):_
I will update this every Thursday and Sunday!
Currently, we are on Chapter 6 Section One in the Book or Chapter 20!
This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1998
