New Continent

65 million years ago, Earth, Victoria Wetlands

Nikola Tesla remained in the Victoria Wetlands, awaiting the Venus Alliance's decision on whether to support his lunar gravity experiment and updates on the transport ship preparations.

He didn't find it agonizing. With Maria's company, Tesla's mind and body felt soothed and relaxed, savoring a long-lost happy time.

Cynthia gradually became familiar with Tesla. She turned out to be a lively and energetic little girl.

Cynthia introduced Tesla to her friends. They gathered around Tesla, sometimes jumping up and down joyfully, other times diving into the pond one after another, popping their heads out of the water and waving their arms at Tesla, inviting him to join.

Regrettably, Nikola Tesla couldn't understand Cynthia and her companions' "language." They communicated with each other using various high and low-pitched sounds of different lengths, as if singing.

Maria had tried to decipher their language system with little success. Later, she discovered that Cynthia's mother, Vinu, could actually understand their singing and translate it. Perhaps it was because the mother and daughter shared the same genes and bloodline.

Nikola Tesla finally received the Venus Alliance's decision. From the lineup participating in the video conference, Tesla sensed that the situation might not be as he had anticipated.

Attending the video conference were Director Diston of the Venus Alliance Office, Dean Abbott, and Colonel Feynman. Director Diston got straight to the point with the conclusion:

"Mr. Tesla, after careful evaluation by the Alliance's Academy of Sciences and relevant government departments, your plan for a gravity experiment on the Moon has been rejected."

"Why? The lunar experiment is to test my gravity theory. If it is correct, then in three years, the massive ice clusters around Saturn will block the superluminal waves, pushing Jupiter towards the Sun. This will then destroy Mars, Earth, and Venus in a very short period, leaving Venusians with no place to stand in the Solar System," Tesla argued anxiously.

"Nikola, time and transportation resources are too precious for us. Scientists unanimously agree that verifying the gravity theory on the Moon is not the most urgent task right now."

Dean Abbott spread his hands with regret and added, "Even if your theory is correct, so what? We Venusians are powerless to change the Sun, Jupiter, and the massive ice clusters of Saturn. What is bound to happen will happen. We can only do what is within our power."

"Mr. Tesla, I am currently overseeing the construction of the Mars base. The number of transport ships is already insufficient; there are truly no spare ships for your experiment," Colonel Feynman said sincerely.

Nikola Tesla remained silent for a long time. He recalled how, years ago, after his paper "The Dynamic Principle of Gravity" was submitted to the Alliance's Academy of Sciences, the scientists had almost unanimously questioned and opposed his theory. Labels like absurd and unbelievable were attached to him.

Nikola Tesla understood that if he proposed the solution to the crisis three years later at this moment, the scientists, government officials, and even the general public of the Venus Alliance would unanimously oppose it.

Director Diston, true to his leadership, consoled Tesla in a gentle voice, saying:

"Mr. Tesla, the Alliance government appreciates and thanks you for your proposal to immigrate to Mars and Earth. We hope that you and Dean Abbott will focus your main efforts on the transformation and construction of Mars and Earth. The Alliance will mobilize all resources to support this project."

The video conference ended. Tesla felt lost and bewildered. He never had the chance, nor the courage, to propose his radical plan.

Maria brought him a homemade drink, gently stroked his head, and asked:

"Is the crisis you mentioned three years from now really that serious? You always find a way to solve any difficulty. If you can't tell them, can you tell me? It will feel better to speak it out than to keep it bottled up."

Nikola Tesla stood up, gently pulled Maria into his arms, and sighed deeply, saying:

"Alas! My so-called plan is a last resort. It's not their fault; to be honest, I myself am not sure if it's truly feasible."

The sun began to set, and the sunset glow illuminated the vast Victoria Wetlands, with scattered lakes and ponds shimmering with golden light.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying a faint fragrance in the warm, humid air – the fine particles of pine trees or some conifer seeds drifting from afar.

Cynthia and her companions were playing and ran cheerfully to the window of Maria's house, followed by several small golden deer.

Cynthia pressed her little face against the windowpane, making playful faces. Her mother, Vinu, pulled her away and turned back towards Tesla and Maria, offering a helpless, wry smile of apology.

Maria warmly called out to Vinu, inviting her in for a chat. Cynthia and the others then dashed towards a nearby pond like a gust of wind. The small deer behind them leaped along, their short, close-fitting fur shimmering golden.

Nikola Tesla's gaze followed the cheerful group. As he watched them jump into the pond again, several small deer actually followed them in.

After a long while, the children and deer did not surface. Tesla turned to look at Maria and Vinu and found them seemingly unfazed. He asked curiously, with a hint of worry:

"Can deer also dive? Maria, did you clone them too?"

Maria answered Tesla's question. When she conducted animal cloning experiments on Venus, she had succeeded in cloning mice, sheep, and cattle.

Before Maria decided to clone humans, she meticulously reviewed the cloning plan. To ensure foolproof results, she moved away from the city and confined herself to a small building near the village where Brahma and Vinu lived, dedicating herself to research day and night.

Cloning humans could be considered a complex super-gene engineering project. Maria discovered that artificially synthesized amino acids and proteins might cause rejection reactions with human stem cells.

After repeated trials, she finally found a natural gene. This gene was extracted from the milk that a female humpback whale released into the seawater.

Cynthia, the daughter of Brahma and Vinu, had tragically died in a shipwreck. The couple pleaded with Maria to use gene cloning technology to help their little Cynthia return to life.

So, Maria used Cynthia's stem cells and the natural gene extracted from the humpback whale's milk to clone a "new" little Cynthia. Maria used the same engineering method to clone a batch of Venusians and several small deer concurrently.

The cloning work could be considered a complete success. One minor regret, which Tesla already knew, was that the cloned humans' language system seemed abnormal. They couldn't learn the Venusians' language but communicated with each other through an innate ability, by singing.

Another aspect, which was hard to call a regret or how to describe it, was that Maria discovered an abnormality in the respiratory system of the cloned humans and small deer.

Besides having two lungs like the Venusians, they had an extra tissue structure resembling gills at the connection between the upper respiratory tract and the windpipe.

The disadvantage of this structure was that it compressed and reduced the volume of the alveoli, leading to insufficient oxygen supply during strenuous exercise. The advantage, however, was that compared to Venusians, they could stay submerged underwater for longer periods.

Vinu picked up the conversation, saying, "Cynthia loved the sea since she was little. Humpback whales were her best friends. The current Cynthia also loves playing in the water. Alas! It's a pity she hasn't seen the real sea yet."

Vinu's words reminded Tesla. He thought of the task assigned to him during the video conference. Building a Superlight Wave Power Station in the New Tethys Ocean and altering Earth's topography was exactly what he was about to undertake. Clearly, he would need a lot of help, like the mother before him and Cynthia, who longed for the sea.

"Vinu, bring Cynthia and come with us to the New Tethys Ocean. There's a beautiful island there called Tower Island. I think Cynthia will really like it," Tesla invited.

Vinu said gratefully, "Cynthia loves the sea the most. If she could see the sea every day, she'd be overjoyed. Can we bring the little deer?"

"Of course. That future New Continent is vast enough. Bring this group of little deer along too," Tesla said.

Cynthia, perhaps tired from playing, sat on the grass by the pond, panting. The little girl blinked her big eyes, gazing at the ripples on the pond. What was she thinking about? Was it the sea from her past life memories?

The moon had risen high. Cynthia and her companions' singing drifted through the air, melodious yet tinged with a hint of sorrowful lament. Maria quickly asked Vinu, "What does their singing mean?"

Vinu listened intently, a smile of happiness and enchantment spreading across her face. Following the melody, she softly translated:

"Yearning for homeland, yearning for homeland,"

My homeland is in dreams.

The sky is clear, the wind is cool, My homesickness is long and deep.

How are the people of my homeland now?

I think of them constantly, never forgetting.

A stranger in a strange land, Even beauty feels desolate.

I long to return home, To relive the old days.

All my loved ones gathered together, Singing joyfully under the sky and sea.

Nikola Tesla was deeply moved by the lyrics. He wasn't sure what homeland Cynthia was referring to in her song—was it the small village on Venus, or the vast, azure ocean she deeply loved in her past life memories?

He felt that this beautiful melody, if performed by a symphony orchestra, could be incorporated as a lyrical adagio movement into a grand symphony.

Tesla closed his eyes. The New Tethys Ocean, spanning between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates of Earth, appeared before him. Once the Tower Island power station was built, and with the passage of time, this ancient ocean would disappear, the land would rise, forming the highest plateaus and mountains on Earth.

Although the impending crisis facing the Solar System lingered, Tesla cast his worries aside, revealing a rare, childlike smile. He gently took Maria's hand and held it tightly.

In his heart, Tesla gave the magnificent symphony that Cynthia had sung a name:

From the New Continent.

&

Chapter-Collecting Poem:

Casually inspired, the soul enters its time, Tang, Ouyang Zhan

People say it's no different from a deer running. Song, Chen Pu

The frost goddess erases her jade traces, Song, Zhang Ni

How many branches remain for the awaited return? Song, Ren Xiyi