Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 581 - 225 Species Change

Chapter 581: Chapter 225 Species Change

March in Beiping, and the wind still carried a bone-chilling bite.

Lu Xuanyu sat in a wheelchair, and together with his wife, arrived at a medical center belonging to Superman Enterprise.

He didn’t stubbornly refuse his wife’s kindness to move the wheelchair by himself but let her push him instead.

Lu Xuanyu looked at the snow-white building under the sunlight, somewhat silent.

His wife was a bit puzzled, "What’s wrong, Xuanyu? Why are you nervous now?"

"Hmm, how can I not be nervous?" Lu Xuanyu said, "This is about changing species... after this, I won’t even be human anymore."

His wife sighed, "What do you mean ’not human’? Do you know Mr. Vigette? The greatest scientist of this century. A big scientist, yeah. He was the first to transform into... um... a New Human? Anyway, he’s definitely still considered human."

"There are plenty of things online saying he’s not human anymore."

"If you go online, those people could anger you to death," his wife shook her head, "Spend less time online."

Lu Xuanyu nodded.

But indeed, he was rather nervous.

Last month, Xiang Shan, the chairman of Superman Enterprise, had come to his home and personally offered him "a job," providing conditions that he found hard to refuse.

At the same time, Xiang Shan also outlined all sorts of potential downsides.

Last month, Xiang Shan had said, "Your sperm cannot maintain viability at thirty-seven degrees. You cannot leave descendants with Homo sapiens."

At that time, Lu Xuanyu pointed to his lower half, between laughter and tears, and asked, "Does that make any difference to me?"

He had lost half of his body, and didn’t even have that organ anymore.

But Xiang Shan shook his head seriously, "That’s not the point. You can’t say it like that. Biology defines ’species’ as ’a group of individuals who can mate and reproduce offspring, and these individuals cannot interbreed with individuals from other groups, either failing to copulate, or if they do, their hybrids cannot reproduce.’ The gametes of Benchmark Man are very similar in form to those of Homo sapiens, and in theory, there shouldn’t be any immune reactions. But they can never combine. The gametes of Homo sapiens deactivate at temperatures in the forties. But for the gametes of Benchmark Man, that temperature is simply too low."

"This means that once you accept the surgery, you will no longer be a Homo sapien. If you retain your Homo sapiens identity, then the continuously updating human assisted reproduction technology can still help you produce offspring. But once you choose to accept it, you can only breed the next generation with Benchmark Man."

Lu Xuanyu’s mind stalled for a moment. He suddenly realized that this matter was indeed not so simple.

"Because this kind of thing is happening for the first time in history, we do not know what sort of impact ’species change’ will actually have," Xiang Shan continued, "For example, in the worst-case scenario, the first group to complete the Benchmark Man transformation might develop an extreme xenophobia and consider themselves and ’Homo sapiens’ as two distinct groups..."

Lu Xuanyu exclaimed, "How could that be possible..."

"Why couldn’t it be possible?" Xiang Shan retorted, "There’s no reproductive isolation between Europeans, Africans, and Asians, but we all know the result of the past several hundred years of history. Benchmark Man, however, does indeed possess reproductive isolation from Homo sapiens. Just this fact alone is enough to cause a social tidal wave. Even changing your nationality would prompt you to rethink your stance, wouldn’t it?"

"Based on this, the UN Security Council specifically passed a resolution, forbidding heads of state from undergoing gene modification surgery until 2055, and recipients of the first phase of the surgery cannot become elected officials of any official institution. The propaganda departments of various countries are also preparing, to prevent the birth of things like a ’new nazi movement’."

Lu Xuanyu was startled for a moment.

The major powers had also considered, if a hereditary King of a country underwent this surgery, whether they could use it as an opportunity to create a "state that belongs only to Benchmark Man" or something like that.

Xiang Shan crossed his hands, "And based on this resolution, you’ll face another risk. If in the future, this kind of modification surgery has not been widely promoted, or it’s proven that the costs of human Metal-based Genetic Modification Surgery cannot be reduced, then you will have to face ostracism from the Homo sapiens group. Until 2055, it will be hard for Benchmark Man to get a spokesperson to speak up for themselves."

Lu Xuanyu thought deeply for a long time.

"Moreover, people who place great importance on passing on their legacy will not like someone messing with their genetic heritage. I hope you will seriously consider this point," Xiang Shan added.

"In fact, the current population of Benchmark Man is only several dozen at most. With such a small sample size, we can’t infer how this will actually affect your psychology."

Lu Xuanyu seriously contemplated for a while, admitting that Xiang Shan made some good points.

But he still had one question, "But you were just saying, ’after a few years the price will surely fall’ and stuff like that..."

"I must show you all the worst possibilities," Xiang Shan said, "’The technology is not perfect at its inception, so the surgery comes with a steep price and high risks now, but in a few years, you could undergo a cheaper and safer surgery’ is one of the worst possibilities. This is tantamount to you taking the risks for nothing. And ’the costs of Metal-based Genetic Modification Surgery can’t be reduced, impeding mass implementation, leading to early surgery adopters being purged by conservatives’ is another possibility. I have an obligation to inform you of all of these."

Lu Xuanyu was a bit curious, "Mr. Xiang, aren’t you afraid that after hearing all this, I won’t want to cooperate with you?"

Xiang Shan raised his eyebrows, "Do you know how gene therapy, this very promising medical technology, got held back for decades? Because a few idiots skipped this process, then there were accidents, and the public lost all trust in the related research. This was back in the late last century."

"Mr. Lu, frankly speaking, you are indeed the first choice, but not the only choice. Martial Artists who’ve lost limbs are indeed rare, but still can be found if one looks. There are plenty of athletes who have become disabled due to severe injuries. But if I skip this necessary process... If an accident really happens, Superman Enterprise would disappear from the world immediately."

"That’s a risk I absolutely cannot take."

After calming down, Lu Xuanyu pondered carefully and realized that Xiang Shan’s thoughts were indeed chilling. To the older generation, like his parents, this would be considered evil.

However, Xiang Shan’s forthright attitude made it hard to harbor any animosity.

"If you think about it, when I was younger, ’geneticists’ seemed to have a really bad reputation. But after that Vigette settled in the Republic, the direction of social sentiment actually turned around completely," Lu Xuanyu mused.

His wife, not understanding, lowered her head and said, "What are you talking about?"

Lu Xuanyu shook his head, "Once I go in there, I’ll not only be no longer human but I could also become an outcast of the Martial World."

His wife got a bit angry, "Do you care that much about those... those vain things?"

Lu Xuanyu shook his head, "It’s nothing, since we’ve come this far, I won’t regret it. Let’s go."