Chapter 227: Rosaline (2) |
“W… What are you talking about?” Young-Joon asked in confusion. “Rosaline is a virus? Rosaline Syndrome? A disease like that doesn’t exist.”
“I never said it was a disease. In medicine, a syndrome is defined as a set of symptoms that occur together, but genetics defines it as any combination of genetic expression,” Elsie said. “Your intelligence grew to transcend human limits as Rosaline’s intelligence genes were expressed, and you were able to look down on the biological world with her power. I named this phenomenon the Rosaline Syndrome, a name I arbitrarily chose when I first discovered her.”
“...”
There was a moment of silence. Young-Joon glanced at Rosaline, and she looked at Elsie, slightly surprised.
“Elsie, Rosaline is not a virus,” Young-Joon said.
“Well, not compared to the viruses we know. Rosaline is much more complex than that,” Elsie said. “But think about it, Doctor Ryu. An organism that can’t survive outside of its host, uses its host’s nutrition and energy sources for its reproduction, is smaller than a single cell, and is bordering between living and nonliving things: what kind of organisms fit these criteria?”
“...”
“If we were to put Rosaline into the taxonomy of living things on Earth right now, the category she would fit in is viruses.”
“But you know she’s not a virus.”
Humans were 99.9 percent similar to other humans in terms of DNA. They were ninety-eight percent similar to chimpanzees and ninety percent similar to cats. Humans were sixty percent similar to fruit flies and bananas, and they even shared genes with bacteria, which were classified in a completely different kingdom.
This was because all living things on Earth were related. They were common descendants of a primordial cell that first arose on Earth. They were distant relatives, having evolved differently over billions of years, but every living thing on Earth was a blood relative.
But Rosaline was different. She was the next generation of life—a completely new, primordial cell.
“What the first cell—the first form of life—looked like has been a great mystery to many biologists,” Elsie said. “Some people thought it was a peptide with self-replicating properties, others believed it was RNA. it was speculated that the electron transport chain in the cell membrane might have acquired its biological properties as it naturally occurred in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean.”
“...”
“But Doctor Ryu, some people think that the first life forms may have been viruses. As we all know, viruses are strange creatures that are in between living and nonliving things.”
“But a virus can only survive if it has a host, so the first life form can’t be a virus because it requires a living host,” Young-Joon said.
“Perhaps there was one back when our common ancestor was first born.”
“...”
Elsie took another sip of her Sprite.
“Doctor Ryu, you are infected with a next-generation life form—a next-generation virus— called Rosaline. And Rosaline is superior to humans in every way; she is not just better, but superior. Rosaline can look down on all life on Earth because she is a more complex life form.’
“So, Doctor Ref believes we should give Rosaline to everyone?”
“It’s a little different. It’s not about people sharing Rosaline, it’s about Rosaline monopolizing human science.”
“Rosaline monopolizing human science?”
“I don’t know if Rosaline is only able to survive in your body right now, but that’s not how viruses work. Doctor Ref’s idea is for her to infect every human on the planet and then watch what they do.”
“What…”
“Rosaline is like a god. Doctor Ref wants Rosaline to monopolize science and only give the necessary information to people like you, who are researching with good intentions while keeping the rest of science under control. She thinks she can keep humans from misusing science that way.”
Elsie took a sip of her Sprite.
“That way, the problems that you’ve witnessed before getting Rosaline won’t happen again. People trying to get rid of Cellicure, people trying to grow a tumor in someone’s eyeball to bury a glaucoma treatment, and people trying to harvest organs from living people for transplantation: all of that can be prevented.”
“... Wiat, this doesn’t make sense. Doctor Ref herself is a prime example of science being misused, right? Doctor Ref is the one who terrorized the GSC conference and released a virus in Xinjiang.”
“Is that a problem? What happened after she released the virus in Xinjiang? Did things get worse than it was before?” Elsie asked.
“...”
“Doctor Ref did the best she could with what she had, because one terrorist organization can’t stop the Chinese president and the massive conspiracy in Xinjiang, which holds a million people.”
“Well, let’s say that’s true. What about the GSC?”
“The GSC is a dangerous enemy to Doctor Ref, Doctor Ryu. The GSC isn’t that great of an organization, either, but you probably don’t know that because you’ve only been a member for a short period of time. Now that I think about it, who encouraged you to join the GSC?”
“...”
“Was he a good person?”
“It was Jamie Anderson.”
“Haha, look,” Elsie said, laughing. “The GSC is a place where someone like him is celebrated as the greatest biologist in the world, Doctor Ryu. And what about He Jiankui, a GSC member? Who do you think is misusing science more: He Jiankui or Doctor Ref?” Elsie asked.
“Sigh… Elsie, there’s bound to be a bully in every neighborhood. Jamie Anderson and He Jiankui are certainly terrible people, but there are also great people like Doctor Messelson.”
“There are good people like you in the GSC, just like how a broken clock is right twice a day. But the GSC as an organization is dangerous.”
“The GSC is dangerous?”
“Yes, the very existence of such an organization is problematic.”
“Why?”
“As you know, the GSC makes recommendations and organizes projects in underdeveloped countries, like water supply projects, vaccine projects, and nuclear power plant construction projects. They provide scientific advice.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“But those projects aren’t based on sufficient research and discussion, they’re based on unilateral recommendations from the GSC. Can you imagine the difference in the level of science between a poor country in Africa and the GSC?”
“So policymakers in underdeveloped countries don’t adopt the policies because they fully understand, they just blindly trust the GSC?”
“That’s right. And a hierarchical relationship like that isn’t scientific. The GSC is a prime example of the appeal to authority fallacy in Western science. But the GSC is not omnipotent because humans are not perfect,” Elsie said. “The only thing that is perfect is Rosaline.”
“...”
After some thought, Young-Joon said, “But Elsie, even so, I don’t think the GSC is doing anything wrong. It’s true they have more knowledge and science, and there’s nothing wrong with giving it away to underdeveloped countries, who need it as soon as possible. Even if there are problems with the process, it’s not a crime that they deserve to be terrorized and die for.”
“That would be correct if they were sharing it,” Elsie said.
“Then what?”
“What they’re doing is a form of extortion against underdeveloped countries and poor people. Look at He Jiankui. He was taking lower-class individuals in China and doing human experiments, right? Not that I’m in a position to say anything, but…”
“...”
“For example, the GSC once wrote a business plan to install water systems in poor cities in countries like Uganda. However, the technology was beyond what the country could afford, so a construction company run by GSC members came in and installed it. The cost was so high that it was beyond what an underdeveloped country could afford, so they did other things instead of taking the money.”
Elsie went on.
“For example, they got access to the biological resources of a certain jungle in Uganda, created an HIV drug from the extracts of bacteria and plants in the environment, did clinical trials in Uganda, and then sold it to them. But Uganda doesn’t have money again, right? So this time, they take oil rights, then underground resources, and then land. That’s how they take everything.”
“...”
“I’m not talking about the usual resource looting. I’m talking about taking away the power of those underdeveloped countries to advance science and be technologically independent,” Elsie said. “They’re not going to spend the money to do research on water systems because they already have one, right? As a result, they are dependent on the GSC and live off the pieces of technology that the GSC gives them. They go find the GSC when they have a problem with the water system.”
Elsie continued.
“Now, let’s think from Doctor Ref’s perspective. How dare the GSC’s third-rate scientists, who are probably less intelligent than her, monopolize science and dictate the science of an underdeveloped country with such arrogance while claiming to be the authority figure?”
“...”
“The appeal to authority fallacy is bound to cause an accident at some point. What He Jiankui did will look like child’s play; it could lead to serious catastrophes, like a poorly designed nuclear power plant exploding, land erosion, or desertification. Doctor Ref is trying to destroy the GSC and remove the person at the top of the hierarchy,” Elsie said. “Because the only person who is fit for that kind of position isn’t an organization of Western scientists like the GSC, but Rosaline, who is truly superior.”
“Phew…”
Young-Joon stood up and walked over to the window. He had a bit of a headache. He pulled up the blinds and stared outside.
“What do you think, Elsie?” Young-Joon asked.
“What do I think?”
“Everything you just told me was from Doctor Ref’s perspective. What do you think? Do you agree with Doctor Ref’s perspective that the GSC should disappear and Rosaline should infect every human to monopolize science?”
“I don’t know.”
Elsie shrugged.
“The reason I let everything go and lived on drugs was because I couldn’t find the answer to that, and I don’t want to,” she said. “But I believe in you, Doctor Ryu.”
Elsie stood up and walked over.
“I’ve been watching you for the past year, and you’ve been destroying every kind of unethical behavior in the scientific community without any hesitation. You’re like a runaway train that never stops. You’ve come this far, destroying all unethical behavior in your path, even against the Chinese president, one of the most powerful men on Earth.”
“...’
“You have a bizarrely perfect obsession with bioethics, and you also have a compassion for humanity,” Elsie said. “Like I said, I think creating life is something that only certain people who were carefully selected by some unknown criteria can do, but maybe that’s the criteria.”
Elsie smiled.
“That’s why I have faith in you. And in the end, you will resolve the conflict between Doctor Ref and the GSC wisely, because you are the only owner of Rosaline.”