Dr. Newton's broken hopes

After chatting with Miss Yun and Ruby, Marshall moved on to meet with Dr. Newton.

"Dr. Newton, explain to me why you have been sitting here on the island for over a week instead of helping Messrs. Schoenfeld and Gottlieb with their project?"

Marshal, entering the room with the improvised laboratory, asked a question that bothered him. He clearly ordered these three scientists to lead the development of the drift computer. But instead of working on the project, Dr. Newton is sitting here doing nothing.

Mr. Newton was confused by the quick question, which he could not answer in one word. He stood up from his seat to say hello and extended his hand to the Marshal for a handshake, but first wiped it on the white robe he was wearing.

Unfortunately for him, the Marshal wasn't going to reciprocate. He looked sternly at Mr. Newton and waited for an answer. The marshal was surprised to see that the scientist was wearing a large piece of metal as a pendant.

"Sir! After helping Ruby, I decided to study her and that's the reason why I'm here now."

"It is very important for me that the project be ready on time. Our lives depend on it. You should have understood a long time ago that I don't do useless things, so your absence there bothers me a lot." The marshal did not want to see Mr. Newton on the island. He was going to return it to the new drift project.

"I understand, but these mathematicians say that my biology is of no use. They are sure that they will manage without me. They think that mathematics can tell them how to read information from the human brain. What miserable dreams. Mr. Schoenfeld invented the drift technology, so he assures me he can do it."

"You don't understand. Creating a computer for drifting with a human is only the first stage. And the sooner we pass it, the sooner we will start working on the second stage."

"The second stage is…?" Newton asked a question and paused. He was interested, but then he himself understood what was the matter.

"O God! Do you want to drift with Kaiju? I told you to do this a long time ago! You actually listened to my idea! I am very happy Mr. Pentecost that you supported my idea. You even decided to invest tens of billions of dollars for it! Why didn't you immediately say that I was the author of the idea?" Newton was happy that his idea was implemented and kept talking.

"If Kaiju is really the goal of this project, then I will definitely get back to work… When I'm done with this project." Newton continued.

Marshall didn't want to destroy Newton's dreams and say it was Torterra's idea. Newton had long suggested drifting with Kaiju, but Marshal forbade him. He strictly guarded the equipment, not allowing anyone to conduct such experiments. Marshal was warned and he knew about the consequences of such experiments.

"What kind of project is this, for the sake of which you are ready to risk humanity?" Marshal was interested. He did not understand anything in science, but he went to Newton's desk and looked at his notes. There were many papers with pictures of Ruby and human body structure. Various formulas and calculations.

"Sir! What I am about to tell you is very important. I don't know if this kind of research is being done anywhere else in the world, but if I don't do it, then in 10 years someone else will!" Newton decided to prepare Marshall for this, so he spoke cryptically.

"More to the point, Mr. Newton. I also have a matter in which I need your help, so tell me everything at once. What is the point of your new research?"

"The idea came to me after Ruby's treatment. This turtle is a Titan, just like Torterra, but it is also a normal turtle. It was strange to me. She wasn't that cool clone, she's just a big turtle. This means that it is a normal animal that has Torterra genes. And I checked it! This is true! Her DNA is similar to Torterra's."

"We've been thinking about this for a long time. There's nothing special about it. Just another experiment on Titan blood." Marshal had long suspected that humans had somehow mixed Torterra's DNA with normal animals to create more stable monsters.

"That's the point! It's not something mundane and insignificant! It's a breakthrough in science. And if I don't make my own move in this field, I'll lose the chance to go down in history!"

"What do you want to do with it?"

"If they could combine Titan DNA with an animal, we can do it with a human!" Newton's eyes lit up with the exciting idea he shared with Marshall. But the answer quickly disappointed him.

"No way! NO! No way! Titans, Kaiju, Clones, demi-titans, the evolutionary effect of metal on humans: from humanity enough of these problems!" Marshall abruptly turned and walked away from Newton, denying the idea. He was so tired of all this mess, and now he had to deal with mutant humans.

"But there's no stopping it. Sooner or later, someone will. We didn't have Torterra before with his ability to absorb radiation. He's stronger, bigger, and smarter just like us. Even half-titan Ruby exhibits the intelligence of a 10-year-old. If Torterra's DNA does that to an animal, so imagine how that would affect humans. They'd be giants that could survive a nuclear war, walk on the moon without a space suit, and be immune to disease! That's worth researching!"

"I have said everything, Dr. Newton. You will immediately return to work on the drift improvement project."

There was silence in the room. Marshall walked around the room thinking about all these things. He really couldn't stop it. Ever since humans made the Clone, he already knew it would never stop.

Looking at Newton, who sat dejectedly at his desk and looked at the monitors, Marshal decided to give him hope.

"Okay, Mr. Newton. You are right that it cannot be stopped. I am willing to support you in reasonable research, but after the current affairs are over."

"Thank you," replied Newton, but his voice was no longer as enthusiastic as before.

"I have another matter for you. I need your advice. Something strange is happening at the base in Alaska."

Dr. Newton raised his head and looked at Marshall. If such a great person came to talk about something strange, it means that something really interesting is happening there.

Marshal took 10 minutes to explain everything. During this story, Dr. Newton's eyes lit up again. He agreed that the situation was not simple and only one conclusion could be correct - it was an outside intervention.

"You are right. Since the hallucinations stopped as soon as you left the base, and the fact that you weren't the only one affected, suggests a psychic attack. Considering all this political situation in the world, I'm surprised that you haven't been killed yet," Newton smiled at the Marshal. That was his conclusion.

"This is not a joke. I need to know how to deal with it and find out who is doing it. You have experience in the study of the brain. Do humans already have such technology, or is this the work of the Kaiju?"

"I don't know how to deal with it, and people don't have such technologies. Only the Kaiju remain. But if you stopped feeling the influence on the mind when you arrived here, it means that the area of action is local, and therefore the enemy is close. If there was a Kaiju in that region, then we would know about it. So?"

Marshall spent the entire evening discussing this problem with Dr. Newton. Unfortunately, they did not have a solution to the problem. The only thing Dr. Newton suggested was to create an AI that would monitor everyone on the base and report any abnormal behavior. It was not difficult to do, but it will take several months to convert the base.

The idea was that the AI would not be affected and would be able to help when a human loses concentration and could cause an accident. Also, AI will be able to collect data about all the people in the base and determine who or what is causing this problem. One way or another, they came to the conclusion that this problem cannot be solved without AI analysis. If a person cannot understand whether he has drunk coffee or not, then he will not understand who is standing in front of him.

Marshall told Newton the theory that politicians from the World Council were under the influence, but he had no proof. Facing this theoretical influence in reality reinforced Marshall's suspicions. Only now, talking to Dr. Newton, he remembered it. But unfortunately, this information did not change anything for them. They were also limited in their abilities.

Having stayed overnight in the laboratory with Newton, Marshall decided to deal with the documents. He found a free room and got to work. He had until one in the morning, and then he would finally be able to sleep.

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