A group of large and small tents were set up outside the camp. Although they were simple, they were enough to protect them from wind and rain. These tents were all brought from the Fishbone Base. Before the apartment buildings at Camp 27 were built, the residents who were forcibly relocated to the surface could only live here temporarily.
The rows of simple tents formed a sharp contrast with the one hundred tin houses in the middle of the camp, just like a slum and a wealthy area.
It's funny to say that they had previously laughed at the immigrants who entered the surface in two batches, saying that they would not live a comfortable life and had to go to the surface to endure hardships. But now the situation seems to be reversed. Those they once laughed at have now become people they envy.
After passing through several simple tents, Jiang Chen walked to a tent located in the corner of the camp and saw a white-haired old man sitting at the door, seemingly waiting for him.
"Are you Academician Qin?"
Looking at Jiang Chen standing in front of him, the old man smiled kindly and stood up.
"Yes, you must be that Jiang Chen?"
Jiang Chen nodded.
"You don't seem to be in good health."
Hearing this, the old man waved his hands and said something that surprised Jiang Chen.
"It's okay, I'm a cyborg."
Cyborg? Do cyborgs also age
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, but soon returned to normal.
"I heard that you came to me with something important. Is that why?"
"Of course not." Academician Qin shook his head, "There is just something I want to give to you."
As he spoke, he took out a black ball the size of a baseball from his pocket.
Looking at that thing, Jiang Chen frowned. He always felt that he had seen this thing somewhere.
Suddenly, his pupils narrowed.
"Golden apple?" Jiang Chen said softly.
Academician Qin was stunned, then shook his head and said, "Is that what you call this thing? But I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. This is just a communicator. It's based on Dr. Crane's special properties of Crane particles. The communication device is used as a 'mobile phone' for interstellar communication. Of course, the energy of this thing has been exhausted, and all it can provide you is a coordinate."
Jiang Chen took the black ball. He held it in his hand and looked at it carefully. It looks similar to the one he picked up from the U-235 submarine, but this one is obviously lighter.
Moreover, this thing must be a real "golden apple", not a copycat version of the "golden apple" created by the Third Reich. It's just that this thing is not used for disorderly broadcast to other timelines, but for cross-distance communication.
"Can this thing... speak to the past?"
Hear Jiang Chen's question. Academician Qin smiled and said, "Theoretically it is possible, but just like Schrödinger's cat, even if you shout a sentence to the past, you cannot verify whether anyone heard the sentence, let alone whether the person who heard it can Understand."
"Is that so? I heard that this thing is made from brain extract—" Jiang Chen said to himself thoughtfully.
"That's a myth," Academician Qin said with a smile. "It is true that the activity of Crane particles can be observed in the brain extract, but how is it possible to actually use human brains to do this?"
Some parallel world. Someone has really done this before... Jiang Chen complained silently in his heart.
After a pause, Academician Qin looked serious, looked at Jiang Chen and continued, "To be honest, this thing has lost its effect. The reason why I gave it to you is just to explain a fact to you."
"What fact?" Jiang Chen asked casually while observing the metal ball in his hand.
"This is an experiment."
Jiang Chen stopped moving his hands and looked at Academician Qin.
"experiment?"
"Yes, the experimental subject is to study the regular evolution of human social structure under conditions of extreme scarcity of resources." Academician Qin calmly stated the astonishing fact.
Jiang Chen's expression was slightly surprised. Or unbelievable.
But he soon noticed something was wrong.
What a coincidence. Is the AC government such a fool? This is a civil air defense project, and it was built during a period when the international situation was extremely deteriorating. It shouldn't be difficult to put in more spare nuclear fusion batteries, right? It was set for 50 years, but it was forced to start in 20 years. And that Han Junhua. Obviously not just a politician.
However, he never imagined that the entire shelter was just a laboratory, and everyone in the shelter was a guinea pig.
"In fact, the energy was not enough from the beginning. They even chose the kind Zhang Qiming as the first shelter director and the ruthless Han Junhua as the second shelter director. Neither of them are suitable candidates for the director, but But it can be studied as a typical personality."
"The experimental results will be sent to the Zheng He colony ship several light years away through this device."
What the experiment discusses is typical. Eliminate distracting items and discuss the salient parts of the sample.
However, it is too cruel for such an experiment to happen to humans.
"Although it's just a small shelter, don't you think it's a microcosm of society?"
"Why are you telling me this?" Jiang Chen stuffed the metal ball into his pocket and asked with a smile.
He is not from AC and has nothing to do with the defunct United World Organization. He is not free enough to worry about people several light years away.
"I just want to give you an idea. If you are lucky enough to face that choice, I believe you will understand something."
Ideas? That choice
"Things?" Jiang Chen asked puzzledly.
"Yes, I have lived in the shelter as a researcher for 20 years. In addition to the topics I am responsible for, I have been thinking about another issue."
"what is the problem?"
"You should have heard of reproductive isolation."
This is not an arcane concept, even biology textbooks in the 21st century will mention it. Jiang Chen just recalled it briefly and nodded.
"Due to geographical isolation and other factors, different groups of the same organism breed in different habitats. Due to the inability to carry out genetic exchange, they undergo natural selection in different environments, eventually leading to the formation of two completely different species."
Looking at Jiang Chen, Academician Qin nodded approvingly.
"Although there are still some flaws in the theory, this is generally the case. In the case of geographical isolation, after tens of thousands of years of evolution, the same species will evolve into two completely different species. Geographic isolation is the prerequisite for reproductive isolation. , then I don’t know if you have considered this possibility. If there is geographical isolation between people due to some factors, what kind of consequences will there be? "
"Reproductive isolation?" Jiang Chen was stunned.
"No, it's ideological isolation." Academician Qin shook his head and came up with a concept that Jiang Chen had never heard of before.
"Have you noticed that after only 20 years, people living underground and people living on the surface have been separated into two types of people. What if it takes 50 years? Or longer."
Jiang Chen had a thoughtful expression on his face, waiting for his explanation.
"Under different circumstances, civilization makes changes to its own carrier and environment, which is sociologically called civilization evolution. Just like although ancient people and modern people do not have reproductive isolation, they have indispensable ideological differences. A chasm to cross.”
"Looking towards the deep space several light-years away, are there some kind of gap between those colonial ships flying into space and us?"
"The moment the colony ship accelerated to the third cosmic speed and escaped outside the solar system, they were no longer Earthlings. In other words, they have gathered the entire elite of human civilization and they have evolved into some kind of advanced being. ."
"So what? No matter what they evolved into, they are no longer on earth." Jiang Chen said nonchalantly.
After hearing Jiang Chen's words, Academician Qin just smiled.
"What did European colonists bring to the American continent in the 16th century?"
"Kill?"
"No, it's civilization."
Does it make a difference? Jiang Chen was about to ask this, but was suddenly stunned.
Yes, precisely because there is no difference...
"The rebirth of civilization will be accompanied by bloody barbarism." Academician Qin said softly.
"You mean... they'll come back?"
"Whether they come back or not, what they will do is certain. And for us 'indigenous' people, this process will be accompanied by pain. Bloodshed? Sacrifice? However, what is truly chilling is that these actions are in their It seems that it may be more than justifiable.” (.)