Universe 25 Experiment

Earth

May 23, 1973

Maryland, United States

"When did it die?"

"Professor Calhoun, just a little while ago..."

The two murmured about the experiment as they jogged toward their laboratory, a converted farm warehouse.

They climbed to the second floor of the farm warehouse and pulled back a black curtain, revealing a large square box, 2.57 meters long and wide and 1.37 meters high.

This was a utopia, a utopia belonging to mice—Universe 25.

Universe 25 had been built by John Calhoun and his research assistants. It was a near-perfect habitat for mice.

The box was evenly divided into sixteen living areas radiating from its center, each with its own water dispenser, food storage, and nesting area.

According to the design calculations, nesting space would not become scarce until the mouse population exceeded 3,840. Water would not run short until there were 6,144 mice, and food would not become a problem until there were 9,500.

Furthermore, the first eight mice introduced into the habitat had all been screened for disease, ensuring that outside illnesses would not interfere with the experiment.

The habitat itself was kept between 20°C and 31°C through fans and heating, ensuring that temperature would not be the cause of any problems in Universe 25. Moreover, Universe 25 had no natural predators for mice.

There were no predators, no disease, no hunger, and no housing problems. Every possible cause of population decline had been eliminated.

John Calhoun wanted to know whether, in this utopian world he had built, that hand of God suppressing the mouse population would still appear as it had in previous experiments.

John Calhoun's hands trembled slightly as he lifted the male mouse's corpse. The answer had already been revealed.

God had appeared!

The Universe 25 experiment lasted 1,780 days. With the death of the