Clone (Silicon Carbide 1)

65 million years ago, Solar System

Dean Abbott led a massive fleet from Venus and flew to Earth's geostationary orbit. One of the spacecraft docked with a space tug hovering above the Victoria region.

Abbott entered the space capsule, where he was greeted by Brahma, who was stationed there. The two already knew each other, and their reunion after tens of thousands of miles felt particularly warm.

"Brahma, why has your face turned so pale? Is it because you can't get sunlight in this claustrophobic space?" Abbott asked.

Brahma chuckled unnaturally and said warmly, "Dean Abbott, welcome to Earth. Tesla and Maria are waiting for you below."

Abbott put on his specialized equipment and was about to step into the elevator when he suddenly noticed a transparent incubator in a corner of the cramped cabin, with an infant sleeping soundly inside.

Abbott thought to himself that Brahma might be stationed here for decades, and Maria must have cloned a baby for him because she was afraid he would be too lonely.

Abbott suppressed his curiosity and didn't ask about the baby's origin. After all, it had come to this, and there was no need to consider legal and ethical issues anymore.

Nikola Tesla and Abbott, two old friends, embraced tightly. Maria, standing beside them, had surprise in her eyes but couldn't hide her nervousness before the momentous occasion.

Tesla said to Abbott, "Preparations on Earth are complete as planned. The two Superlight Wave Power Stations located on Tower Island and in Victoria are operating normally. The magma and tectonic plates beneath the crust are accelerating their movement, and the surface reshaping plan is expected to succeed."

"Did you see Brahma just now?" Maria said meaningfully, "We arranged for him to guard the space capsule to prevent Troy and others from occupying Earth decades from now."

Tesla pointed to a nearby computer and a cryogenic preservation unit and said, "Apart from the two of us and the relevant staff, everyone else stationed on Earth has completed gene extraction and consciousness upload."

"My experimental clones from back then and Cynthia's mother, Vinu, have entered safe underground caves with ample food, water, and oxygen. They will be waiting for us to return," Maria added.

The spaceship fleet set sail again. Tesla and Abbott reviewed the flight path and flight plan in the central control room of the spaceship. Maria, facing the monitor screen, watched the gradually receding Earth with mixed emotions.

This blue planet was covered by faint white clouds. Two Superlight Wave Power Stations, 180,000 kilometers high, pierced the clouds and stretched into space.

Maria envisioned the future appearance of Earth. To the north of the Tower Island region, the tallest mountains on Earth would "grow," and the Victoria Wetlands would rise into a plateau.

The curved rifts on both sides would become the longest rift valleys in the Solar System, collecting rainwater, with barrier lakes distributed within, converging into the longest rivers on Earth.

The spaceship fleet arrived at Mars. Tesla and Abbott inspected the final preparations on Mars, with Maria accompanying them. Colonel Feynman, the head of the Mars base, received the group.

The Superlight Wave Power Station on Mars was built within the Olympus Mons crater. Although this massive volcano was dormant, its underground mantle layer was the thinnest.

The mantle-enclosed metallic core, under high temperature and pressure, formed scorching lava. It churned and rotated with Mars's spin, like hot oil in a pressure cooker.

The scheduled Mars explosion was a year away, but at the beginning of the planning, Tesla and Abbott faced a tricky problem. Mars was a natural planet, not a machine.

In theory, as the Superluminal waves continuously heated the core, Mars's explosion was inevitable, but the timing of the explosion was difficult to pinpoint precisely.

The problem was that the timing of the explosion had to be precise to ensure that the debris flying towards Earth would impact the MAYA region on the far side of Tower Island, rather than directly hitting the Superlight Wave Power Stations on Tower Island and in Victoria.

At the same time, Titan had to be precisely behind Saturn to ensure the safety of Tesla, his team, and the equipment.

How to solve this problem? The solution was that someone had to stay on Mars to precisely control and adjust the energy being fed into Mars's interior in a timely manner. Intelligent robots could not handle the critical point of a planetary explosion without prior experience.

As a soldier, Colonel Feynman had already volunteered to take on this "suicidal" mission.

According to the plan, Feynman would lead the intelligent robots and stay until the last moment before the Mars explosion. He would be unable to upload his consciousness and, of course, would not survive.

Colonel Feynman, in his military uniform, was handsome and upright. He warmly welcomed Abbott and his entourage. There was no trace of despair or fear on his face, only determination and pride.

Tesla took an electric helicopter to circle Olympus Mons, observing the geological changes over an area of hundreds of kilometers.

The rock structure in the plateau region was stable, interspersed with reinforcement piles like "expansion bolts" driven nearly ten kilometers deep into the ground. Above the crater, the 180,000-kilometer-high Superlight Wave Power Station soared into space. Because its length was greater than the wavelength of the Superluminal waves, it was illuminated by the Superluminal waves, and immense energy was continuously fed into Mars's core.

Returning to the base's office area, Colonel Feynman said to Abbott and Tesla, "The progress at our Mars base has been relatively smooth. The energy injection into the Superlight Wave Power Station is stable, and it is expected to reach the critical point in a year."

"The time window for the Mars explosion is very small, with a maximum error of no more than 2 hours. For over a decade, as the person in charge of constructing and operating the Superlight Wave Power Station, you have become the person who knows Mars best. The success or failure of the entire plan rests on you," Abbott said, shaking Colonel Feynman's hand.

Tesla added, "The period leading up to the explosion is the most critical, and you will need to make on-the-spot decisions. The program we have preset for you can only serve as an aid, as no one has ever exploded Mars before, and there are too many uncertain variables."

"A year from now, before the Mars explosion, the spaceship fleet will reach Saturn's vicinity, 1.2 billion kilometers from Mars. Communication will take over an hour one way. In the final moments, the Titan base where we are located will be separated from you by Saturn, and communication will be completely cut off. Therefore, you will have to operate alone."

Colonel Feynman showed no fear; in fact, he said with a relaxed expression, "Now I truly understand why you suggested to the Alliance ten years ago to train a soldier to become an engineer. Because this job requires courage more than just professional skills."

Colonel Feynman had never met Maria. When he learned that this petite, slightly plump woman was the renowned cloning expert, he felt both honored and curious.

The last batch of staff at the Mars base had all completed gene extraction and consciousness upload. Maria should have been on the spaceship guarding the gene samples, so why was she at the Mars base?

Nikola Tesla seemed to read Colonel Feynman's thoughts and explained, "Colonel, your spirit of sacrifice has moved all of us. After ten years of effort, Maria and I have achieved new research breakthroughs that can help you, giving you the same chance of rebirth as everyone else."

Colonel Feynman was taken aback. After a moment of thought, he asked, "You mean, I upload my consciousness, and only robots are left on the Mars base?"

Tesla shook his head and said, "The decision-making and operational work before the Mars explosion are full of uncertainties. Traditional intelligent robots cannot handle it, which is why I proposed that at least one person, namely you, the brave one, must stay."

"It's not possible to rely solely on robots. And after I upload my consciousness, my body will lose its ability to act, as if dead," Colonel Feynman asked, confused. "You mentioned traditional robots earlier. Have you created non-traditional robots?"

Tesla looked at Maria, and Maria took over the conversation, "Yes, we have created non-traditional robots, also known as living robots. They have human brain tissue connected to chips, forming a carbon-silicon fusion brain."

The process for Tesla and Maria's living robot solution applied to Colonel Feynman was as follows: First, like everyone else, his genes would be extracted, and his consciousness uploaded. After the Colonel "died," a portion of his brain tissue would be connected to a chip, creating a biological intelligent computer to serve as the robot's brain. Finally, a part of Colonel Feynman's consciousness would be downloaded back into the biological robot's brain.

Traditional robots could also receive downloaded consciousness. The problem was that when the entire consciousness of an ordinary human brain was downloaded into a computer, that computer would consume enormous memory resources. Running it would require immense power. Even more critically, its size would inevitably be very large, making it impossible to form into a human shape or move nimbly.

The living intelligent computer, made from human brain tissue connected to chips, is small in size and consumes low energy. A living robot can both think and move. Although it cannot carry Colonel Feynman's entire consciousness and emotions, it is sufficient to download the thought modules and sensory-operational capabilities related to the mission.

Colonel Feynman heard about living intelligent robots for the first time and realized it was a perfect solution. He could upload his consciousness and await rebirth while using his "clone" to complete the mission.

However, he was still a bit uneasy and asked, "Living robots sound really cool, but is this technology reliable? Have verification experiments been conducted?"

"Yes, I have successfully created living intelligent robots on Earth. In that case, the robot needed to survive for a much longer time than you. Your brain tissue only needs to survive for over a year, which should be fine."

Colonel Feynman was finally reassured. He hugged Abbott and Tesla, bidding them a final farewell.

Maria and her assistants entered the sterile operating room with Colonel Feynman. His genes were extracted, his consciousness uploaded, and a portion of his brain tissue was integrated with a custom-made computer the size of a human brain.

Abbott and Tesla had been waiting outside the door. After an unknown amount of time, the operating room door opened.

Colonel Feynman, dressed in a military uniform, wearing leather shoes, and with white gloves on his hands, walked out with Maria.

Tesla understood in his heart that before him was a living robot, Colonel Feynman's "clone." Abbott carefully examined the Colonel, seemingly checking Maria's "handiwork."

The living robot's face clearly used highly realistic skin material. Abbott noticed that the robot's limb movements and facial expressions were indistinguishable from the real thing. Only the skin on its face was a little unnatural, lacking color and appearing somewhat pale.

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Poem:

Subterranean descent, eternal and deep, My remaining life follows the world's cause. I have not forgotten myself today, To revive and transform into a new form.