65 million years ago, Earth, New Tethys Ocean, Tower Island
The cloned babies, Little Brahma and Little Vinu, grew bigger by the day.
For ten months, Maria and her team had carefully cared for the cloned babies. From the culture dishes to sterile incubators and finally to warm, comfortable cribs in a natural environment, their vital signs were exactly the same as those of children born naturally to Venusians.
Maria and her team's cloning experiment had succeeded, and the ethical crisis she had feared most seemed not to have occurred.
How did the Brahma couple feel about the babies cloned from their own bodies? They naturally regarded them as their children—the younger brother and sister of their daughter, Cynthia.
Cynthia loved her younger siblings. Her little brother was a bit mischievous, always clenching his tiny fists as he crawled back and forth across the bed. Her little sister seemed to be developing faster; she could already hold Cynthia's hand and toddle along.
The Brahma couple were most concerned about the children's ability to learn language. Would their son and daughter learn to speak the Venusian language like ordinary people, or, like Cynthia, would they only be able to communicate through song?
So every day, Vinu tirelessly repeated simple words to the children, over and over again—"Daddy," "Mommy," and the like.
Both children seemed to respond. When the little girl first managed to utter "Mommy," Vinu shed tears of joy. Brahma dashed outside to fetch Maria.
"It's wonderful that the children can learn our language. We don't know how to thank you, Dr. Maria," Vinu told her.
"The physical examinations show that these children don't have the same impairment as Little Cynthia. We've always believed they would be able to learn the Venusian language." As Maria spoke, she looked at Little Cynthia, her expression complicated, touched by both guilt and pride.
Cynthia had grown into a twenty-year-old young woman. She was tall and slender, with graceful curves and a pair of clear, lively eyes. She showed none of the shyness typical of girls her age.
Cynthia loved to hold her little brother or sister in her arms and rock them gently, singing cheerful songs in her beautiful soprano voice. Vinu hadn't realized that Cynthia was actually trying to teach her younger siblings to "speak."
Nikola Tesla walked in and was instinctively swept up in the joyful atmosphere. Looking at the two innocent children and the roomful of delighted adults, he felt a trace of worry rise in his heart.
As volunteers, the Brahma couple each had the right, under the latest Venus Alliance laws, to upload their consciousness and extract their genetic material once, regardless of their participation in this volunteer program.
Tesla knew that they had both clearly stated they would give up those rights. They wanted to stay beside Cynthia, who couldn't upload her consciousness, and raise her younger siblings together.
Under Venus Alliance law, even if the little boy and girl were physically eligible, they wouldn't be allowed to be cloned again. When Mars exploded, this family before him would have no way to escape destruction.
Brahma seemed to see what Tesla was thinking. He walked over of his own accord and said with a smile, his voice low:
"Mr. Tesla, don't worry about us. I've been a soldier and a driver. I don't have all the worries and hang-ups you scientists do. Being with my family is the greatest happiness I could ask for."
Tesla thought, That's what human beings are like. Sometimes they feel that being with their family is the greatest happiness, and sometimes their desires know no bounds. Curiosity drives them to want to know everything; possessiveness drives them to want to own it all.
After weathering the storms, no matter how bitter the wind and snow outside, food simmering on the hearth and children gathered around your knees can bring a person the greatest happiness and contentment.
The excited cries of the women nearby interrupted the two men's conversation. Tesla turned toward the sound. Maria looked puzzled as she hurried over to him and said:
"Listen. These two children can sing, just like Cynthia."
Led by Cynthia's soprano, the little brother and sister were babbling along with the tune. They couldn't quite keep up, and their pitches weren't as harmonious, but it was clear that the children were communicating with Cynthia through song.
Cynthia was so delighted that she danced with excitement. Then she started a new tune, and the melody she sang turned out to be the Venus Alliance anthem.
Matching the children's and Cynthia's notes and melody, Maria and the Brahma couple joined in and sang aloud.
The Venus Alliance Anthem: "Ode to Joy."
That day would eventually come.
May we face it with tranquil hearts.
Set free the spirit,
And let no one be alone.
Reach out your hands to Him,
And let them have all that you possess.
With love, forever,
Let us sing a song for all eternity.
May we understand one another and honor love,
Come, tell that story and sing of freedom.
Praise to joy,
Glory to humankind!
After the rain, the palm trees along Tower Island's shore stood in neat rows, like youngsters freshly washed of the dust, letting the breeze inspect them.
A few dark specks appeared over the sea, drawing nearer. The growing roar of electric, self-piloting helicopters shook the raindrops still clinging to the leaves.
Tesla and Maria went to the outdoor landing pad to welcome the Venus Alliance Council inspection team. Led by Maria, Speaker Kent, Dean Abbott, and the others toured the cloning lab, including the cloned children who were growing up healthy.
"Maria, congratulations to you and your team on the successful experiment. I can say without exaggeration that your work has opened the door to the rebirth of the Venusians," Speaker Kent said warmly.
Tesla was happy and proud for Maria, then turned to Dean Abbott and asked, "Maria's cloning experiment succeeded. How is the consciousness-uploading work you're overseeing on Venus going?"
Dean Abbott said that Venusian Artificial Intelligence technology had become highly advanced. Connecting to the neural networks in Venusian brains to upload memories and thinking patterns to the cloud was no longer a problem.
The unfortunate part was that although uploading an individual's entire consciousness to the cloud was technically possible, the brain would stop functioning afterward, and the person would die.
"Nikola, the consciousness-uploading work got off to a very rough start. We scholars have too few ways to solve problems," Dean Abbott said.
"What do you mean by 'too few'?" Nikola Tesla asked, puzzled.
Dean Abbott gave his old friend a mildly surprised look. Tesla was absorbed in science and a little lacking in social awareness. "Have you thought about it? Anyone who completely uploads their consciousness will die immediately. Who would agree to that? What if the so-called end of the world we scientists are predicting turns out to be false, or we're wrong?"
Only then did Tesla realize, thanks to Dean Abbott's reminder, that he had oversimplified the problem.
He knew the destruction of the habitable zone in the Solar System, including Venus, was inevitable. But persuading ordinary people to upload their consciousness, give up their lives, and hope to be reborn afterward would indeed be extremely difficult.
Speaker Kent and Maria came over to join the discussion. "When people are backed into a corner, they're always reluctant to give up hope. Even when they're certain there's none, they still wait until the very last moment," Speaker Kent said.
"Are you saying that with twelve years left before Mars explodes, everyone will want to wait until the very last second before destruction to upload their consciousness?" Maria asked.
Dean Abbott gave a bitter smile. "The difference between day and night temperatures on Venus is growing, and food production is plummeting. Things will only get worse over the next decade or so. With resources running short, we objectively need to complete the consciousness uploads in batches as soon as possible."
Tesla still didn't understand what Dean Abbott had meant about scientists having too few solutions. He asked:
"What can we do to persuade everyone to cooperate in an orderly fashion with the only plan that can save us Venusians?"
Dean Abbott glanced at the weather-beaten Speaker Kent, then turned to Tesla and said:
"Speaker Kent is pushing a bill through the council. It's also called the 'first come, first served' bill."
After Mars exploded, Earth would become the Venusians' new home. The bill stipulated that people would be reborn in batches according to Earth's capacity. The order of rebirth would depend on the order in which they uploaded their consciousness—that is, those who "died" first would have the right to be reborn first.
Tesla was surprised once again. It seemed like a good idea, both fair and simple, but an indescribable sadness welled up inside him.
Speaker Kent's next words made Tesla even more uneasy.
"A popular video blogger on a short-video platform has declared that he refuses to believe in doomsday. He also refuses to upload his consciousness or extract his genetic material. Thousands of people have already voiced their support for him," Speaker Kent said.
"If people oppose the rebirth plan after Mars explodes, will we have no choice but to stop?" Tesla asked urgently.
"Of course we won't stop. The Venus Alliance Council has already passed the rescue plan and made it law. Everyone must obey it." Speaker Kent continued, "What worries me is that once the vast majority who support the rescue plan have 'died' in batches, the few thousand opponents left at the end may become saboteurs."
"Then how do we 'deal with' those who refuse to upload their consciousness?" Tesla murmured, at a loss.
A poem composed from lines:
Now I change my raiment and descend from the Ninth Heaven. —Xia Yuanji, Ming dynasty
To keep one's kin from sorrow is no small thing. —Zhang Zhi, Song dynasty
A guest's sorrow finds no companion but a young boy. —Zhang Yu, Ming dynasty
A little gold leaf brings comfort to those gathered at the knees. —Deng Tingzhen, Qing dynasty
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