Chapter 537: Hypothesis

Inside a certain level-five biosafety laboratory in the Spire Experimental Base.

Dozens of researchers were gathered in the command room. They silently observed two Delta-level subjects who were lying on the experiment table through the observation window.

Both of these subjects were injected with a rich amount of tranquilizers and had fallen into a deep slumber. Both of them did not wear any form of protective clothing and were fully exposed to the environment in the laboratory.

Of these two subjects, one had already been infected with the protoplasmic liquid and the other one was not infected, and had only just entered the laboratory for the first time.

It was X-111 who called for this experiment. The request was issued by none other than the person with the highest authority in the Spire laboratory – Chen Chen.

Although they were uncertain of what Chen Chen’s motives were, the supervisor of the laboratory was not going to disobey Chen Chen’s instructions any time soon. They faithfully did as they were instructed.

“The instructions are to put the infected person in the isolation chamber.”

The main supervisor instructed in the command room and soon after that, the Androids did as they were told. They obediently carried the infected Delta-level subject into the isolation chamber.

The isolation chamber was a structure shaped like a sleeping bag made of plastic mold that could house a regular person. An oxygen supply device was installed into one of its compartments which supplied oxygen to the person inside.

After this was done, the supervisor further instructed, “Now, bring another conscious, infected subject into the laboratory. Instruct the Androids to evacuate the research space.”

The Androids performed their task obediently. Shortly after that, a nervous-looking Delta-level subject who was an Owambian was brought into the laboratory. He first surveyed his surroundings cautiously and when he saw that the Androids had left the laboratory, he began pacing around.

The subject saw the vast amount of equipment set up in the laboratory as well as two stretchers placed in the middle. However, he could not see the crew of researchers observing him from the second floor.

From where he stood, he could only see a panel of reflective glass on the second floor.

After that, he noted two of his fellow Delta-level subjects in the laboratory with him. One was lying on a stretcher while the other was inside an isolation chamber.

The subject that was not infected but exposed to the environment in the laboratory was labeled as subject one while the other subject who was already infected and put into the isolation chamber was labeled subject two.

When he saw subject two who was inside the isolation chamber, there was a sudden twitch in his stiff expression. He seemed to be troubled by something.

This only lasted for a split second and soon after that, his expression returned to normal. After that, he started to slowly approach the two subjects that were laying near each other, one in the isolation chamber and another on a regular stretcher.

The researchers in the command room took this as an indication that the infected subject’s fusion state was triggered.

As expected, the infected subject completely ignored subject one. He went to subject two who was lying inside the isolation chamber and viciously tore the covers open. He seemed pleased to see subject two lying bare in front of him. A faint smile slowly formed on his lips as he threw himself onto the subject...

“Crunch crunch...”

The sound of flesh and bones mashing together. The two infected individuals fused as the host of researchers observed this eerie process...

“Alright. Next up, take care of the fused corpse and leave subject one be. Bring in a replacement for subject two!”

Following the supervisor’s order, another infected subject who was shot with a dose of tranquilizer was brought into the laboratory and put inside a new isolation chamber.

This time, they had injected an approximately ten-millimeter dosage of protoplasmic liquid into the original subject one.

Based on what they know of the alien substance thus far, subject one should be infected now as well.

The research crew waited for nearly three hours to account for the duration it may take for the protoplasmic liquid to integrate itself into subject one’s body. After that, another conscious and infected subject was brought to the laboratory again.

They hypothesized that now that another conscious and infected subject had entered the laboratory, the infected subject should choose to fuse into subject one. Although subject one was not infected previously, he should be infected now since he had the protoplasmic liquid injected.

However, the infected subject chose the newly appointed subject two instead.

“What’s going on? Isn’t subject one infected as well?”

The supervisor was baffled by this observation. “Did we not inject enough protoplasmic liquid into him?”

They waited another three hours and repeated the same experiment.

There was no difference. The new infected subject brought into the laboratory chose the replacement for subject two again. It was as if subject one did not even exist...

“Could it be because subject one isn’t infected?”

They were not sure what to make of this. “How could this be...”

...

Sometime later.

They repeated the same experiment more than ten times by now, suspecting that the first few times were mere coincidences. However, the experiment still turned out the same way every time, where the infected would rather fuse into subject two instead of subject one who was lying out in the open.

In the end, they decided that it was no longer necessary to let the infected choose between two subjects. This time, a new conscious, infected subject was brought into the laboratory where there was only the unconscious subject lying on the stretcher. The infected person would not fuse with subject one.

“What’s going on, could it be that the subject isn’t infected by the protoplasmic liquid because he wasn’t conscious during the injection process?”

They began to speculate.

“How could this be...”

They started debating amongst themselves.

Unbeknownst to them, while they were conducting this experiment, Chen Chen was also observing them from somewhere deep underground. He seemed fascinated by the result of this experiment and started pacing around excitedly. “Is this how it is? I can’t believe I never thought of this...”

“Sir Godfather?”

Little X asked, “Unless something went wrong with the experiment, doesn’t this conclude that unconscious people cannot be infected by protoplasmic fluid?”

“Yes, the infected subjects want a suitable fusing partner, but they would much rather tear through the isolation chamber to get to subject two instead of fusing with the completely defenseless subject one. What does this imply?”

Chen Chen asked, “Doesn’t this mean that the unconscious person cannot be infected? Because there’s no infection, the infected person will not choose the unconscious person as the target of integration?

“That leads us to another question, why is it that the subject didn’t come to be infected by the protoplasmic fluid when unconscious? It seems clear to me now that the deciding factor is consciousness!”

Chen Chen rambled on and on then took a deep breath. He could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. There was no telling if this was fear or excitement. “After you discard all unlikely possibilities, no matter how ridiculous the final possibility is, it’s undoubtedly the correct answer... This means that this alien protoplasmic fluid doesn’t infect our body, but our consciousness instead!

“It’s an infection of the consciousness!’

“Consciousness infection?”

Little X muttered, “That explains why the dead, plants, and animals cannot be infected. This is why the subjects drugged with tranquilizers aren’t infected, but people in protective suits can be infected...”

Everything had come to light now. This was the only way to explain why the infected subjects chose the person inside the isolation chamber who was already infected instead of the subject who was injected with protoplasmic fluid while unconscious.

As Little X mentioned this, she became appalled. “If this is a consciousness infection, doesn’t this mean that everyone in the Spire Experimental Base is infected as well?”

“No, I don’t think that’s likely.”

Chen Chen shook his head and sounded very confident. “This isn’t a memetic effect, why would someone be infected by merely watching? There’s no way that this fusion death phenomenon transmits using a simple line of sight. Only something nonsensical like memetic effects transmits itself using senses such as sight or hearing. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I deduce that the protoplasmic liquid requires two conditions to pass on its effects!

“The first condition is a connection of consciousness.

“The second condition is distance!”

Chen Chen summarized. “No matter how powerful the infection medium is, there has to be a certain distance limitation. The same factor that applies to viruses and bacteria must apply to this protoplasmic fluid that infects human consciousness as well... You get what I mean? This means that seeing, touching or any form of contact with the infected corpses or even the protoplasmic fluid isn’t the cause of infection. The real cause of infection is consciousness and distance. The infection of this protoplasmic liquid requires these two conditions to be met to transmit its effects!”

“All this time, it was just distance?”

Little X saw the connection and ruminated on the idea. “If your deduction is correct, I suspect that its range should be rather short, perhaps no more than a two-meter radius. If it exceeded a two-meter radius, everyone in the command room and the Spire Experimental Base would’ve long been infected by now!”

“That’s right, the reason I deduced that it had a specific range is that units like consciousness are very arbitrary.”

Chen Chen nodded and reflected. “There’s no sure measure for human consciousness. Everything ranging from what we see, what we hear, and what we touch counts as an interaction at a conscious level. If this substance isn’t limited by a certain range, a lot more people would’ve been infected by now. I agree with you that its range should only be somewhere between one to two meters.”

After having arrived at this conclusion, everything became much easier. Chen Chen ordered the Spire to conduct more experiments with more Delta-level subjects. After dozens of experiments and hundreds of Delta-level subjects sacrificed for the greater good, it was finally determined that the infection radius of the protoplasmic liquid was 118.36 centimeters!

This meant that observing the corpses beyond this radius was safe!

“But how is it that a virus that affects the human consciousness alters the nature of their body as well?”

Little X still found it bizarre. “It would’ve more memetic effects, but we have concluded that this isn’t memetic but only a protoplasmic substance.”

“Are you suggesting that it’s supernatural?”

Chen Chen broke out of his thoughts. “No, this isn’t a supernatural phenomenon, I’d say it’s closer to the Field in my mind. Although the Field is an invisible entity, it can affect matter and transcend above Newton’s laws.

“If my theory proves correct, the protoplasmic liquid should equip force similar to Field. Even if we were to argue that it’s supernatural, it’s only because it has surpassed humans’ current scope of understanding of science.

“Since the beginning of time, humans have always described things that they don’t understand as being supernatural or divine. If you think about it, does this truly transcend science? Even something like the memetic effect can be boiled down to science. I doubt this fusion death effect would be any different.”

Chen Chen concluded. “What I’m saying is that the protoplasmic liquid is merely an unexplored territory of science. What we need to do now is to figure out its principles and end it at its source! X, forward what we’ve discovered to the Blacklight Foundation and ensure all the continents receive word of this as well. With this aspect figured out, we may have a chance at curbing the advance of this crisis.”

“Understood, I’ve forwarded the message.”

Little X replied, “But the situation doesn’t look good. The fusion death phenomenon hasn’t reached the end of its outbreak period yet. It’s been a week since the meteorite fell and there have been more than a hundred thousand deaths. Although the protoplasmic liquid loses its potency after around three to five days, every human it manages to infect in that duration becomes a new source of infection.

“So far, the world has suspended all shipping routes, closed down ports, and shut down forums discussing these events on the Internet. However, the common people have noticed that something was happening, especially with many cities and regions closed off. Based on the simulated models established by the investigation team, human society may face collapse within half a month. We’re in an urgent race against time.

“Besides, even you are...”

Little X stopped suddenly, her tone defeated.

Chen Chen could only shake his head wordlessly in response. He was infected by this cursed substance as well. It was only dormant because he had not seen another infected nearby. Once he left this place, there was a chance that he may lose control and fuse with others. Then, there would be no way to save him.

Was the alternative to stay in this place for the rest of his life?

Furthermore, whenever he went to sleep, he would find himself having those strange dreams again. There was a voice deep inside him that urged him, again and again, to fuse with the other infected. Chen Chen was only able to overcome these thoughts because of his mental strength.

However, as time went on, he noticed those voices growing louder and it was getting harder to overcome them.

Chen Chen suspected that with every new casualty, the deceased became a fuel for this voice in his head and made it stronger...

Although this was a ridiculous assumption, so much that Chen Chen had a hard time believing it, he was beginning to have an inkling suspicion that his worst nightmares were about to become reality.

It was something that could not be comprehended by modern science, slowly awakening from its slumber by using human life to supplement itself...