Preface

The story takes place in a future year. At that time, the highly developed technology has been different from the past, but also changed the environment of human life and their hearts. The earth turned grey, and so did people's hearts. I hope this story will make readers think about what technology has brought us and what it has taken away from us. Maybe the inspiration for this work came from a science fiction TV show I watched recently, or maybe it came from a lot of science fiction novels I've read. To be honest, I'm not so sure. But it's really the bits and pieces of science fiction that I leave behind and my own imagination that make up the story. In the process of creating my works, it is a big problem for me to imagine the future advanced world without contradicting the current scientific laws. But I'm doing my best to overcome it. I hope this is an enlightening story for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story takes place in a future year. George opened his eyes slowly, but the glare of the light soon forced him to close them again. "Come quickly, he's awake." It was the voice of a young man. When he had finished speaking, he turned off the blinding light and suddenly George was surrounded by people, none of whom he knew.

It all goes back nearly a hundred years. George is a rich and famous man. Like other rich people, they care more about time than money, because George is very old. He had little time to enjoy the money he had bought with his youth. So he found his longtime friend Steve, a leading scientist in the field of human research. He asked Steve to help him live. George had funded Steve's research project when he was down and out, so it was about time Steve paid him back. Because the technology was not yet mature, the two agreed that George would need to be placed in the freezer in life, to stay until some day in the future.In the future, he would be reawakened, in a strong body like a young man, no longer need to worry about death.

Now the day had finally come to wake George up. George opened his eyes again. He didn't know what he was seeing. "Hey brother, don't you recognise me?" The young man smiled. "I'm Steve." George was too shocked to say a word. His eyes widened as a lump in his throat. Steve held the mirror out in front of George's eyes. What? George didn't recognise himself! No, it was not his face at all. It was not even his body. It was like he was in someone else's body. He felt that his body was so light, and the old man's body was far from the state.Steve calmly explained, "This technology is called consciousness immortality. As we all know, the human body is like a machine.If it is used for a long time, it will inevitably break down. Therefore, we cannot achieve physical immortality. But the exterior is secondary, it is the consciousness of each person and the memories of what they have experienced that make the difference between people. Scientists have taken advantage of this and made immortality possible. We have already understood the mechanism of brain operation and found out the main brain area of consciousness and memory. As long as the cells of the conscious brain area of the replacement are transformed into aggressive cells, and they are implanted in the conscious brain area of the replacement, consciousness can be replaced. In this way, if you find the young body and replace it with your own consciousness, you can take possession of his body. Just keep cycling like this, and you can achieve eternal consciousness." As for where that youthful body came from, the plutocrats had a plan.They find people who need a lot of money for a seriously ill relative in their family, and promise them that if they are willing to donate their body, they can pay the huge medical bills. "So, you've already used this technology on yourself?" "Yes." Steve replied.

George got up from his observation bed and stretched. He was so curious about everything around him. Robotic arms are everywhere working methodically, and countless screens on the walls monitor the entire data in real time.Another showed a bunch of strange symbols that he didn't understand at all, but he didn't care.After sleeping for so many years, it's time for him to go out and get used to this changing world. "I'd be happy to be your guide." Steve laughed. Before leaving, he grabbed a smart wristband and told George to follow him. As soon as he stepped out of the gate, George was surprised again. The sun struggled through the thick dust to shine on his face.They're not on the ground at all, they're in the air. In other words, they are so high up that it is like the top floor of the whole earth. It's a new type of material, small in weight and strong in strength. It's the perfect high-altitude building material. They used it to build another layer of habitat on top of many huge load-bearing columns. The population is increasing too fast, the original living space of human beings is far from enough. But don't get cocky, not everyone can get on this floor. To stay here, you need money, power, or prestige.Passers-by on the road look straight ahead and never look at the person next to them. "I want to go back and see my descendants." said George with emotion. Steve didn't say anything, just pressed the identification zone on his wristband. Within a minute, a flying car was in front of them.The shape of the flying car is similar to that of a car. But to reduce air resistance, its body is flatter and easier to fly in the air. "The recognition area on the wristband analyses the user's brain waves to complete the user's instructions, and the handy drone that Steve has called in can transport them to their destination." Steve still took the time to explain to George. Looking down from the flying car, it was a grey, depressing scene. There was little greenery on the ground, replaced by dust and mountains of rubbish.They were stacked on top of each other and smelled bad. Humans already produce so much waste that the least expensive landfills can no longer handle it. Even though there are better ways to use chemicals to dispose of waste in bulk, most companies choose to simply pile it up for convenience and cost savings.

Soon they arrived at the house of George's grandson and his family. His grandson was a very old man. And, as you can guess, he was about to undergo surgery for immortality. The family was not surprised by his arrival because they had received the news for a long time. George pushed open the door of the long-lost house, which was filled with cold air. It's more like an abandoned house than a house with a family living in it.Their indifference, however, took George by surprise. The grandson feared that George's return would deprive him of his status as the leader of the family and the business. Rather than George reappearing as a young man, he wanted George never to wake up. But what he didn't know was that George was hiding a fortune that would astonish everyone, something that no one but Steve knew about, or his family wouldn't have treated him as if he were almost a stranger. "OK, they've forgotten me. They'll be contrite, Steve, you know that."Steve just nodded and said nothing. There was an unfathomable expression on his face. For George, Steve had become the closest and most trusted person to him. George was so distressed by his family that he decided to go with Steve to the storage facility where his possessions were kept.

Before he had left the house, George heard a loud roar outside. Lightning and thunder were mixed with huge hail, the sky was black as night, and the sound was the sound of the river crashing on its banks.The flood water mixed with a lot of mud made a loud noise on the fence, causing the water to rise high and then rain down. It's like the end of the world. But Steve's cool eyes contrasted with George's panic. George had been cut off from the world for too long, but it was no surprise to Steve. Extreme weather events like disasters happen almost every day, just like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west every day. In order to prevent and cope with the flood water on the banks, people built a variety of flood walls. George was struck by one of the flood walls. It's a built-up metal barrier flood wall. Steve said: "The wall was originally designed to be easy to dismantle and flexible to use. It is installed in the flood season when the water level is high, and removed when the river level drops to a stable level, so that it can effectively flood control without affecting the landscape along the river. The flood wall was modified on the basis of the original guardrail along the river. After the engineers reinforced the original guardrail with concrete, they installed a column clamp on the outside of it, and the water level detector automatically activated the baffle when the water level reached a certain height. However, things are getting worse and floods are happening more and more frequently. So now, those barriers are no longer being put down." George was stunned. His hand rested on the window and his mind went blank. He felt the hairs on his body stand up. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Indeed, human monitoring has now reached an unprecedented level. Not just water levels, but earthquakes can be predicted early and accurately.

But none of this has eased the anxiety of the people living on Earth. George and Steve saw something touching as they passed through the ground. It was an old woman who was holding George at the side of the road. She has a lot of white hair, and the wrinkles around his eyes were visible. She was wearing a washed, faded dress, and she was holding George's brand new suit with her calloused hands. The habitat and quality resources needed to avoid disaster are in the hands of the rich. There are too many people in the world, and the prices of various resources are getting higher and higher, and ordinary people can hardly afford to live. This old woman has just been fired from her company because her company has completely replaced human beings with artificial intelligence. The company no longer needs inefficient, error-prone humans to serve it. Plus, machines don't need to be paid. The old woman looked at George with begging eyes, hoping that the successful man would help her. George looked at the poor man with pity and left.

People respond to natural disasters with materials that are not environmentally friendly; People take resources from nature in ways that harm the environment, and then make them into materials to solve natural problems; People is constantly improving technology to cope with the deteriorating nature, and nature is expressing its discontent in his own way, and they will rebel in more and more powerful ways. Such a vicious cycle. Few people realise that coping with what's in front of them can be overwhelming. They boarded the airship again, and George was in shock. Everything in the world has changed so much. Extreme weather occurred frequently, hydrological characteristics are variable, a large number of species became extinct, biodiversity was greatly reduced, and a number of mutated species were produced. They look strange and behave horribly. The transportation network is extensive, and all kinds of transportation can be found everywhere, but they are overwhelming. The convenient transportation does not bring people pleasure, but makes people feel depressed. With pedestrians barely visible on the road, George was mesmerised by the delivery robots on the street. "Hey brother, here we are." Steve patted him on the shoulder, and George came to himself. The two of them enter the storage facility and verify George's identity by entering a password. After all, he can no longer authenticate himself with fingerprints or facial recognition. Later,George doesn't remember anything after the password.

When George's eyes opened, the harsh light shook them again. He went to the mirror, smiled at himself in the mirror and said to himself, "Hi, Steve." George no longer exists, he has been wiped out without a trace, and Steve is now George.

Steve had already told George's family that George had woken up long before he returned to his home. Of course, he didn't stop there, he added a few words. He needs George's family to be cold enough for him to be the only person in the world George can trust. Soon, everything was just as he had expected. George has spent decades working on consciousness immortality technology for this day.

The story goes back more than a hundred years. With a cry in the delivery room, Steve was born. However, his mother did not feel happy because of the birth of this child, but all day long with tears, and finally died. He could not understand why other children could be loved by their mothers, while his mother died because he was born. This incident planted a seed of confusion in his mind. Therefore, George studied hard since childhood, determined to study the human brain, in order to make people like his mother's disease can be explained, understood, and cured, and one day can answer the hidden secrets of the human brain and master the cutting-edge technology of human science. At the age of thirty, he approached George in search of research grants. With George's help, he successfully completed a human scientific achievement, and has since become famous. Since then, the two have maintained a working relationship and have grown close personally. Steve had already made a partial breakthrough in the field when George approached him and asked him to help him achieve immortality.

After they reached an agreement, George slowly lay down in the freezer. George's hands trembled a little, perhaps because he was so old by then, perhaps because he was nervous about the unknown, and he looked up at Steve. Steve put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, we can do it." George closed his eyes, and the door of the freezer closed slowly. The technique works by first injecting the participant with a variety of chemicals to reduce blood clotting and ensure blood flow in the body; After it is injected with glycerin-polyol compounds to "glass" the human body, so that the temperature is quickly reduced to the temperature of liquid nitrogen in a short time, and the most vulnerable to avoid the range of zero to minus 60 degrees Celsius to prevent the formation of ice crystals; Finally, the body is cooled to minus 130 degrees Celsius and then stored in a tank of liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius. Scientists use nitrogen to keep the body cold, so that its metabolism slows down as the temperature drops, thereby inhibiting life processes and putting the participant in a state of "suspended animation." Nanoscale molecular robots are then recruited to repair damaged cells in frozen human bodies. These molecular robots are placed in frozen human bodies to automatically collect data, analyse and repair and treat damaged cells. In this way, it is possible to wake up after a long time.

After awakening George again, Steve offered to accompany George out, is to take this opportunity to find out the password of George's huge wealth. He was guided by his fellow Angus from another planet. Orders, to be precise. George possessed great wealth, and at the same time he had great popularity on Earth. Therefore, the Angus wanted to use George's identity to help them rule the Earth more smoothly. However, George was a stubborn old man and he would not approve, so they went to Stephen. The Angus wanted Stephen to replace him, mentally. Now, just as they had hoped, Stephen had succeeded. George passed out at just the right time. "Come here, man, just do what I told you before." Steve beckoned to an employee at the storage facility. "When I finish this, you will gain richly rewarded." Steve looked so cool and calm, as if a stranger had collapsed instead of his longtime friend. They picked up George, and still no one else was paying attention to them.They moved George back to the research center. A bright light hit George in the face again, but he did not wake up, and he would never wake up again. Steve, who was lying on the operating bed next to him, did not look at him. He just closed his eyes and said, "Go ahead, Dr. James, just do what I told you before." Steve also offered James a generous reward, as long as they kept their mouths shut.

James picked up the anaesthetic mask and put it on Steve. One, two, three... The operation begins. It was not James who picked up the milling cutter, but a smart robotic arm with long arms that were far more reliable than humans. The robotic arm cut a U-shaped mouth through Steve's scalp, then cut holes in the skull, removed the corresponding skull, and began extracting cells from Steve's conscious brain region. James takes the cell culture dish from the robotic arm and he carefully carries it to the lab. Next, he introduced a set of genes into the cells. It's taken from cancer cells and modified, and when introduced into ordinary cells it gives them the ability to invade and destroy specific cells. The specific cells in this case are cells in other memory brain regions. Therefore, memory replacement can be realised by introducing the genetically modified memory brain cells into the host conscious brain. In this way, the host's original consciousness is completely erased. It's an almost silent way of killing people, and no one will ever notice. James followed through with Steve's memory cells and introduced them into George.

Before the surgery, Steve transferred his research patents, transferring all of his research patents to Autocratic George, now himself. Since then, Steve has gained fame and fortune. Everything was done flawlessly, which all the years he had planned. He was almost mad with joy and shouted at the window. Unfortunately, he has no family around him anymore, and he doesn't know who to share his joy with. Moreover, his unusual behaviour soon aroused the suspicion of the Angus. They need to do something about it. They understood that Stephen was being selfish, that he might no longer be willing to be under their control. They need to get rid of him and find a new puppet.Steve held the wristband in his hand and walked aimlessly out. He used no means of transport, but kept walking, and the rain fell on his head, and he did not react; His foot broke but he was still unresponsive. It was not until he reached his mother's grave that he came to himself. Raindrops in his hair ran down his cheeks, and he blinked his tired red eyes, eyes, and he knelt at his mother's grave, as if he had a lot to say but nothing to say. Gradually, his head felt heavier and his consciousness grew dimmer. He closed his eyes at his mother's grave. "Mom, I'm now the most successful and famous scientist in the world, and I've replaced that old guy George. I don't lack for anything now." "Really? "His mother's voice remembered, "In my eyes, you have nothing. You have lost the original intention to devote yourself to scientific research, you have lost the trust of your friends for many years, and the popularity and money you have now will soon no longer belong to you. You have lost your conscience as a human being, you have nothing left." Steve shuddered and woke from his dream. He opened his eyes slowly, but the glare of the light soon forced him to close them again. In a trance, he heard James's voice on the operating bed next to him. "Go ahead, Dr. Kepler, do as I told you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue

Steve died unaware that her walk to his mother's grave was not an accident, but a guide to his wristband. He thought he was using his brain waves to control the wristband, but he didn't realise that the wristband was also manipulating him by influencing his brain waves; He thought that he had mastered cutting-edge technology and could use it for his own convenience, but he did not expect that this technology would be used against him. The surroundings of human life are darkened, and the human heart is smeared with ash as well. It's all a vicious cycle, like George and Steve, Steve and James, James and Kepler... Steve was just the second George, and Kepler won't be the last. Similarly, the Angus think they're in control, but maybe they're in control of other planets, too.

As stated in the preface, I hope this is an enlightening work.