"Schrödinger pointed out in his classic work What is Life, 'The central problem of biology and physics is not whether organisms defy thermodynamics by producing energy.'" Yi Kai did not seem to mind. He leaned forward slightly. "Obviously, they do not. If life were defined by whether it could defy thermodynamics, then the sun would count as a living organism too."
"Human cognition is forever object-bound and limited, and thus forever satisfies the wonder of not knowing, spurring continuous exploration. The need to break through those object-bound limitations has given rise to and developed all kinds of desires that transcend those of animals, and the pursuit of knowledge is one of them."
"As science advanced, people increasingly came to accept that living organisms arose naturally. But how could a material-energy system without life in nature become a living organism? Why would inorganic matter evolve into life with informational functions? Where did the spirituality of living beings come from? What drove it? Was it born only to die? Was feeding on Negative Entropy driven by instinct? What role did intelligence play in this process?"
Hearing this, Yue Yuan could not help interrupting. "Wait, Doctor Yi. Just tell me what you discovered."
What the hell is all this? I asked what progress you'd made—why are you giving me a lecture? Yue Yuan grumbled inwardly.
"Isn't this so the Chief can understand it more thoroughly?" Yi Kai said leisurely.
"Fine, fine. Go on."
Yi Kai nodded, but he did not continue in his lecturing tone. "Here is how we see it: life is guided by information and directed by instinct. Through the object-bound input, processing, transmission, and materialization of information, it engages in holistic exchanges of matter, energy, and information with the outside world, thereby acquiring Negative Entropy and evolving.
"In this way, life not only maintains reproductive stability through the transmission of information, but can also absorb and accumulate information through feedback, changing the genetic information from gradual change into sudden mutation."
"Applied to humanity, that means producing and raising the next generation. This is an instinctive imprint forged over hundreds of millions of years, deeply etched into our genetic information. It has only one purpose: for that set of information, which has persisted for hundreds of millions or even billions of years—in plain terms, the genetic factors—to pursue eternal continuation."
"Generation after generation, continuing forever. There was nothing wrong with that, until at some unknown point it took a wrong turn, or perhaps inevitably gave rise to intelligence."
Yue Yuan gestured for Yi Kai to pause, then voiced his question. "Humanity has possessed intelligence for millions of years, and haven't we continued from generation to generation until now? What is the problem with that?"
"Of course there is a problem." Yi Kai raised a hand and tapped his head. "Life's selfishness is inherited through DNA, or rather, through the informational factors inscribed in DNA. But the intelligence—or consciousness—born from life is even more selfish than life's instincts.
"Life's instincts only require genetic information to persist indefinitely. But intelligent consciousness is different. It wants itself to continue existing forever.
"Yet the information of 'born toward death' has been deeply engraved in our DNA, refined over billions of years. No matter how unwilling consciousness may be, it is merely a youngster only a few million years old. Generation after generation, it can only perish helplessly as the DNA of its own generation withers away.
"Thus, throughout the long years, intelligent consciousness has always fought against this process. Two paths lie before it. One is to have the genetic factors carry it into the next generation as well, allowing it to endure for all eternity. The other is to suppress the mechanism the genetic factors have used for billions of years, so that they no longer wither away through inheritance."
"Clearly, that Red Gas played a role in the second path. It helped intelligent self-consciousness successfully suppress the life instinct that had been passed down for billions of years. And what we know now is that it deceived the genetic factors."
"What do you mean?" Yue Yuan asked with a frown.
He had roughly understood what Yi Kai meant, and an ominous premonition now rose within him.
Yi Kai glanced at Yue Yuan. Seeing that he still seemed confused, he considered his words for a moment before continuing. "Put it this way: we believe the Red Gas essentially seeks to completely alter that biological instinctive mechanism, so that genetic factors no longer aim to perpetuate themselves through the next generation, but instead make the continual renewal of themselves their means of self-perpetuation."
"But judging from the serum research results, that goal has not truly been achieved. That is why I said 'deceived.' Consciousness only temporarily deceived the genetic factors' mechanism. Once enough time passed and the deception was exposed, that mechanism would activate again. The life-form would return to its original path—having the next generation continue the genetic information's mission, while the original body died along with the old generation's genetic factors, which had completed their mission. Hmm. Saying they died together is somewhat inaccurate, because the genetic factors never considered intelligent self-consciousness in the first place."
Having said that, Yi Kai lifted his eyes to Yue Yuan and simply stared at him in silence.
Yue Yuan felt his scalp prickle under that stare. He coughed to break the awkward atmosphere and said, "I understand. Doctor Yi, you mean that the Red Gas is an inhibitor—an inhibitor of the biological instinct to blindly perpetuate the next generation. It acts upon the information governing life's continuation. So long as a life-form keeps taking in that gas, it can keep deceiving the mechanism and achieve the long-term existence of self-consciousness."
"You could put it that way, but biological instinct is not blind. It is only self-consciousness that considers it blind," Yi Kai corrected.
Yue Yuan thought it over. "If that is the case, then this alien spaceship was likely not a transport vessel at all, but merely an ordinary Probe Spaceship. The Red Gas aboard was simply a life-extension drug provided by that Alien Civilization so its crew could adapt to long voyages through space."
"Yes." Yi Kai nodded.
This counted as progress, at least, Yue Yuan thought.
Honestly, he had not expected Yi Kai's biological research to unlock the spaceship's secrets. It could only be said that all sciences were interconnected.
The amount of information this discovery brought was truly enormous.
From the function of the Red Gas and the fact that the spaceship carried it to extend its crew's lifespan, it was clear that this civilization's technology had not yet reached the point of immortality.
From another angle, perhaps they could glimpse something of the broader cosmic landscape.
Setting aside distant matters, by ordinary reasoning, this Red Gas—or liquid—had to be an important resource in the universe, because Sentient Life needed it.
At least, it was still needed at the civilizational level of the alien spaceship that had carried it.
And now humanity knew that.
A single serum research project had given humanity such understanding. That was the true importance of scientific research.
Before you continue