Chapter 32 (Replica 2): Insulin

April 2030, Rocket City, Brightland

Daphne Braun had been pregnant for several months now, and the discomfort she’d felt earlier was gradually subsiding. Her belly was beginning to swell, and like most women experiencing motherhood for the first time, she looked forward with longing to the happiness of holding her child in her arms.

Michael was busy with work, often flying all over the world, but whenever he found some spare time, he would return to Daphne’s side, keep her company, and even carefully select light music for her to listen to. Michael said that early exposure to music was beneficial for the baby’s development.

Among Michael’s musical recommendations, Daphne was most fond of violin concertos, especially Fritz Kreisler’s works “Liebesfreud” and “Liebesleid.”

This year marked a solar minimum, and April in South State was colder than usual. Yet in the afternoons, the sun still shone brightly and the temperature was pleasantly mild.

The two sat together on a bench outside, the moist, warm air drifting among the dappled shadows cast by palm trees. South State’s rare cornflowers dotted the grass, releasing a faint fragrance.

Leaning in the crook of Michael’s arm, Daphne gently caressed her belly and asked him softly, “Do you hope the baby will be a boy or a girl?”

“Either would be wonderful. If it’s a boy, he’ll be as clever as I am. If it’s a girl, she’ll be as beautiful as you,” Michael replied.

Daphne feigned indignation. “So you’re saying I’m not smart enough?”

“Oh, my dear princess, will you let me finish? I’m only sending our child my best wishes. Who would ever dare say you’re not smart?” Michael hurried to explain.

It was clear Daphne wasn’t truly upset. She seemed to be musing aloud as she said, “Clever? Where do you think human wisdom comes from? Why are humans so much more intelligent and spiritually aware than other animals?”

“It really is a mystery,” Michael said, following her train of thought. “How can the human brain, using only a few dozen watts of bioelectricity, efficiently perform such incredibly complex computations and storage? That’s actually one of the main focuses of my current work—replicating the human brain.”

Michael Max had been researching artificial intelligence for over a decade. While others busied themselves layering mathematical formulas and constructing chains of logical reasoning, he had chosen another path.

Michael firmly believed that the most powerful artificial intelligence would come from replicating the human brain. The network of billions of neurons in the brain does not operate on mathematical logic alone. In many cases, the brain makes judgments by drawing on contextual experience.

Merging and connecting computers with the human brain was Michael’s main direction and ultimate goal in AI.

At the same time, he was using superluminal waves to transform Mars: heating its core, reigniting its magnetic field, creating new oceans and an atmosphere with optimal oxygen levels, turning Mars into a second Earth.

But that wasn’t all. Michael also hoped to use AI technology to fully unlock the mysteries of the human brain, allowing consciousness to break free from the confines of the body, to be freely copied and stored within silicon-based drives and networks.

Michael’s imagination and courage were unmatched. He had implanted chips in the skulls of volunteer patients, successfully curing their related ailments. Later, he upgraded these contact-based implants to safer, more universal non-contact brain-computer interfaces.

Michael’s own VESSEL design was the most successful case. He was already able to upload segments of his own memories and experiences to a supercomputer via VESSEL. When engaged in brain-computer fusion thinking, his external brain provided him with faster and more precise “thinking power.”

Yet a perplexing problem remained: human consciousness was like a vast ocean, while Michael’s technology seemed only able to extract a few drops. Could human consciousness ever be fully or nearly fully replicated and uploaded to the cloud?

Michael’s team included not only computer and AI experts, but also specialists in life sciences and brain sciences. The latter had told Michael that the brain’s astonishing efficiency and low power consumption came from the fact that each module could instantly switch between dormancy and high-speed operation.

Biologists told Michael that uploading all the brain’s memory, computational processing, and input/output conversion functions to the cloud was virtually impossible—unless all the brain’s functional modules could be activated and kept in a state of excitation simultaneously.

There were, in fact, drugs that could stimulate the brain to such a state, but most of them were hallucinogens—illegal narcotics that would cause direct harm to the volunteers’ bodies and were clearly not an option.

Was there a substance that could stimulate the brain, induce excitement, yet was not a narcotic and would not harm volunteers?

Sugar! The body’s metabolic energy cycle is essentially the metabolism and circulation of various sugars. Michael shared this simple, intriguing conclusion with Daphne, piquing her curiosity.

“So, if you give volunteers a large amount of sugar, their brains will become more excitable. But wouldn’t that have side effects—like diabetes?” Daphne asked.

“See? Who could say you’re not smart? That’s exactly my dilemma, which is why my brain-computer fusion experiments have stalled,” Michael replied.

“You could consult Irene—she’s a molecular biologist and one of the world’s leading diabetes experts. There’s gossip that media tycoon Anderke married Irene, the diabetes specialist, because he himself suffers from severe diabetes.”

They decided to contact Irene and arranged to meet her the next day.

Irene truly was one of the top diabetes experts. Diabetes, she explained, is a chronic accumulation of glucose in the blood that cannot be metabolized properly.

This disease arises because the body’s secretion of a natural hormone decreases. This hormone is the only one capable of promoting glucose conversion and metabolism—insulin.

Once Irene understood the couple’s concerns, she said to Michael, “What a coincidence. Since my retirement, I’ve stopped researching synthetic insulin and instead have started some interesting new projects.”

“Interesting projects? That’s exactly what I love to do!” Michael said excitedly, his gaze urging Irene to share her idea.

“One promising direction involves focusing on the sugars we consume—finding healthy sugars. For example, in Mayan villages, I’ve told you about the wild corn.” Irene explained.

Suddenly it dawned on Michael. Just days ago, when he met Irene in a Mayan village, he’d wondered why a molecular biologist would travel to southern Mexico to study ancient wild corn towering ten meters high.

“Your research on corn is precisely what I need. I hope you’ll join our brain-computer fusion project and share your findings,” Michael said. “If we can extract healthy sugars from wild corn—sugars that allow subjects to ingest large amounts, excite the brain, yet cause no harm—that would be perfect.”

Irene was quite interested in brain-computer fusion, and her admiration and trust in Michael made her happily accept his invitation.

Daphne, curious, asked, “Besides wild corn, are there any other interesting directions in diabetes research?”

“Insulin’s role is to metabolize glucose, and glucose in the blood is what provides nutrition to the human body. The more sugar, the more nourishment. If there’s too much sugar for insulin to process, you get diabetes.” Irene went on, “Besides the type and quantity of sugar intake and insulin levels, there’s yet another factor affecting diabetes.”

Quick-witted Daphne ticked off her fingers, guessing, “Glucose in the blood, metabolized by insulin—we’re not talking about sugar, we’re not talking about insulin, so the other factor must be the blood itself, right?”

Irene and Michael exchanged glances; Michael grinned mischievously, as if to show off his girlfriend’s intelligence.

Images of Bharat, the Indian boy, and his grandmother Vanita floated before Irene’s eyes. She had once analyzed blood samples from this indigenous village.

By custom, they refused to use modern synthetic drugs, so the blood flowing in their veins was both unique and remarkable.

The red blood cells in their blood could carry more glucose and metabolize it with greater efficiency than normal, resulting in an exceptionally low diabetes rate among the tribe.

Michael greatly admired Irene’s work, feeling that her imaginative research was akin to his own bold pursuits. “Ancient wild corn, ancient tribal villagers, miraculous blood—have you given this blood a name?” he asked.

“Original Blood,” Irene replied.

&

Selected Poetic Lines:

I know your spirit is untouched by harm. (Song, Song Xiang)
Rising from illness, my strength is not yet restored. (Song, Han Qi)
When my heart’s essence is all but spent, I still hope for a small remedy. (Ming, Zhou Mengzhong)
Chilled by threads of frost, I sip sugar from the tip of a sugarcane. (Qing, Bian Yuli)