Chapter 43-44

Chapter 43: A 0.42% Chance

No wonder Judith was so angry. As Hawking's assistant, she spent almost every day with the master, taking care of his every need, and was thus acutely aware of the terrible toll the disease took on its patients.

"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis," is a disease universally recognized as incurable and potentially fatal.

To date, modern medicine still does not know the exact cause of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and has found no effective way to halt its progression. Even early diagnosis remains challenging, with misdiagnoses being common.

This involves the pathogenesis of ALS, which generally starts with gradual neuronal dysfunction, leading to attacks on motor neurons in the patient's brain, brainstem, and spinal cord. The patient's muscles gradually weaken and atrophy, but since the sensory nerves are not affected, the disease does not impact the patient's intelligence, memory, or sensation. However, as the muscles atrophy, paralysis slowly sets in, making the body feel like it's being slowly frozen, hence the widely known name "Frozen Person Disease."

The very popular "Ice Bucket Challenge" of recent years was initiated by friends and relatives of Pete Frates, a famous baseball player from Boston College who suffers from ALS, in hopes of raising awareness and funds for this rare disease.

However, the earliest to bring widespread attention to this disease was Steve Hawking, leading some to even name it "Hawking's Disease." Occasionally, research institutions would seek out Hawking in Cambridge, claiming progress in hopes that the world-renowned figure would accept their treatment.

Unfortunately, their often fame-seeking behavior usually only added burdens to Hawking's already frail body, which is precisely why Judith was so enraged—the cruelest thing in the world is to give a dying man hope, only to tell him it's just an illusion.

Clearly, in her eyes, Bruce was just another one of these contemptible characters.

However, Bruce wasn't scared like Trista. He remained unaffected by Judith's fierce demeanor, not even changing his posture or expression: "Judith, please believe that I hold Mr. Hawking in as high regard as you do, and would never joke about such a matter."

Judith was not convinced. She had lost any initial good impression of the young man in front of her. "If you insist on this, I will have to ask security to escort you out."

This made Trista panic. She was confident in the research of Solar Corona Company and truly respected Steve Hawking, fearing that their good intentions might backfire. "Judith, could you give Bruce a moment to explain? We are not here to seek attention through Mr. Hawking's fame!"

Bruce's eyes never left Hawking. The "King of the Universe," though nearly immobile and hardly able to express himself, was not deprived of his genius. His gaze stayed fixed on Bruce, and after a long while, he spoke through his voice synthesizer:

"0.42%."

Trista looked at Judith, puzzled. She didn't understand what this meant. Judith, still furious, explained coldly: "Steve believes the chance of him receiving effective treatment in his lifetime doesn't exceed this number. So I implore you, do not burden him with futile hope. He needs proper care and rest, not another disappointment."

Bruce remained unmoved, smiling lightly: "Sir, the odds you've given are greater than I imagined. But that's good, isn't it? It's not completely hopeless."

Judith found the handsome face before her increasingly detestable, wishing she could splash the tea she'd spilled earlier right into his face. Despite her clear message, he continued to make breezy, disgraceful comments.

Hawking's eyes moved rapidly, and his voice synthesizer spoke again: "Synthetic genomics?"

Bruce's smile widened, sensing Hawking's interest. He never acted rashly and had thoroughly researched all available information about Hawking before coming. Despite his physical vulnerabilities, Hawking's immense nerve and indomitable spirit were beyond ordinary, remaining a staunch optimist even after surviving numerous near-death experiences throughout his life.

Once, a cartoon movie showed a couple looking at Hawking, connected to a life-support system, and the wife suggested turning it off and back on to see what would happen. This scene greatly upset Hawking's family, but Hawking himself found it humorous and creative.

He never feared exposure or cared about others' strange looks, even willing to take photos with fans in clubs. In 2008, media reported Hawking expressed in a voice synthesizer at an adult club that discussing the universe there was less appealing than watching women.

So, Bruce kept smiling, his expression relaxing even as Judith was about to explode, finally saying:

"As long as there's life, there's hope."

This seemingly nonsensical and vague comfort somehow held a magical power over Judith and the others, leaving her at a loss for words.

Hawking's mouth

 twitched into an ugly yet endearing smile, saying through his synthesizer, "Bruce makes a good point. In 1962, they gave me two years to live, and yet I've outlived several of those doctors, and even Jane couldn't stand leaving me."

He even cracked a joke, but no one but Bruce laughed. Judith, moved to tears, covered her mouth. Hawking was referring to his first wife, Jane Wilde, a remarkable woman who chose to marry and care for him for over 30 years despite knowing his condition, defying the doctors' grim prognosis.

Their separation was not due to Jane's abandonment but because Hawking devoted all his energy to his research. After the publication of "A Brief History of Time" in 1988, which was translated into over 40 languages and sold 10 million copies, a multitude of admirers surrounded Hawking, and the pressure of fame drove Jane away, though they remained close.

The hardships and trials embedded in these words were incomprehensible to others, but Judith understood. This was the first time in years she heard Hawking speak such a long sentence, indicating he was moved by Bruce's words.

Bruce knew, too, because every word he spoke was carefully considered, so he believed Hawking at least had an interest in trying.

He succeeded, as Hawking then said, "Bruce seems sincere, and he understands me well. Maybe we should let this young genius have a try."

Bruce stood up, "Steve, may I call you that? It seems you know a bit about me, too. You can probably tell I'm not one for trivial pursuits."

Judith, realizing Hawking had made his decision, wiped her tears, "Steve, are you sure about this?"

"it's ok. I'm not that fragile. I want to see if the miracle of probability will happen with Bruce," Hawking blinked, speaking again.

Judith also stood up, approached Bruce, and despite their height difference of over 20 centimeters, looked him in the eye, "Bruce, look into my eyes and tell me, how confident are you?"

Bruce looked down, his hands gently on her shoulders, conveying his determination and confidence through his touch, "I'll prove it to you, Judith."

Chapter 44: Common Sense and Prejudice

Convincing Hawking himself did not mean the invitation had succeeded—his influence was too vast, every move he made attracted attention from all quarters.

By four in the afternoon, the conference room at Gonville and Caius College was packed with over twenty people, including the Chancellor of Cambridge, deans of the college, the Mayor of Cambridge, and Steve's daughter, Lucy Hawking. Some even brought in chairs to sit in the corners—they were all here to hear Bruce explain the treatment plan.

The significant turnout once again highlighted Hawking's influence, something Bruce had anticipated. Since the publication of "A Brief History of Time," any news about Hawking attracted global media attention. Once, a power outage at a hotel in Cyprus where Hawking was staying even prompted the President of the country to come in a helicopter to oversee the repairs.

Compared to that, this was a small gathering. Just before, the Mayor had told Bruce that the Prime Minister's office had called, closely monitoring the situation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. We all understand the importance of Mr. Hawking to humanity and the academic world. Therefore, I ask you all to listen carefully and consider what I'm about to say," Bruce had already gone through a detailed discussion with Gilbert. Gilbert, being more of a researcher than a public speaker, hadn't come along. Bruce chose to speak on his own.

"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis affects both the upper motor neurons (the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord) and the lower motor neurons (cranial nerve nuclei and anterior horn cells), along with the muscles they control in the trunk, limbs, and face. It's a chronic progressive degenerative disease. As we know, the most terrifying aspect of this disease is that the damage it causes is irreversible. Even with correct treatment that regenerates damaged nerves, only a minor improvement in function is usually possible…"

The room fell silent. Everyone focused intently on Bruce, listening to his speech. Bruce, of course, felt no nervousness, but he paused briefly to let the audience digest the information. Scanning the room and seeing no objections, he continued:

"But Mr. Hawking has been ill for a very long time. Frankly, the damaged neurons have lost most of their function, and even the most effective targeted treatments and repairs cannot significantly improve his condition. However, the approach taken by Solar Corona's CoBIS1 lab is entirely different. We will use gene editing technology to replace Mr. Hawking's existing genes with specially cultivated artificial genomes. These genomes mainly include two functions: the generation and strengthening of motor neurons and the development of muscle tissue. Simply put, the new genome will produce a completely different effect, gradually growing new and more powerful, stable motor neurons under stimulation, along with the secondary development of muscle tissue."

At this point, an elderly man with thick glasses slowly raised his hand. It was Hawking's current chief physician, Rosetti Walker, a leading authority in neurology in the UK.

"Mr. Walker," Bruce nodded, allowing him to ask his question.

"Mr. Lee, I roughly understand the treatment method of your laboratory. Theoretically, it seems feasible, but the only problem is—can the synthetic genome really achieve the effects you've described? I have my doubts."

Rosetti Walker's skepticism wasn't due to thinking Bruce's treatment method lacked merit. On the contrary, he found the young man's described effects too good to be true, reminiscent of a statement by an Italian neuro-modulation group claiming they could make Hawking stand again through a head transplant, which caused a stir but was ultimately dismissed as a publicity stunt. To him, Bruce's proposal seemed only slightly more credible.

All eyes turned back to Bruce. Rosetti's question hit the nail on the head, akin to everyone knowing new energy sources will bring change, yet to date, no company or research institution has been able to make it a reality. Mere talk was meaningless, and they weren't about to cast their votes of confidence on that basis.

"We wouldn't waste everyone's time with false concepts, especially not for someone as respected as Mr. Hawking," Bruce nodded slightly to Hawking, then gestured for Trista to play the video they'd brought. "This technology has already been successfully tested on dogs and gorillas. Moreover, we've already had volunteers undergo gene replacement at our research institute."

The room erupted into murmurs, shaking heads, yet eyes were glued to the screen behind Bruce.

From the footage, they saw the significant changes in the test subjects, and more importantly, the volunteer Bruce mentioned—a 30-year-old former football player who had become very weak and fully paralyzed, able to move only his eyes, a typical symptom of peripheral paralysis in the upper limbs and central paralysis in the lower limbs. However, ten days after undergoing gene replacement, he was already able to make facial expressions and even move his fingers!

This seemingly minor

 change struck them like thunder. Anyone familiar with ALS could recognize the magnitude of this breakthrough!

Rosetti Walker's mouth hung open wide enough to swallow an egg. He even took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on before unconsciously standing up, moving closer to the screen to get a better look at the volunteer's facial muscle activity. "Incredible... incredible..."

After repeating this several times, Rosetti finally turned back to Bruce, grabbing his arm excitedly: "Mr. Lee, is this real? What template did you use to construct your synthetic genome? What kind of blueprint could lead to such astonishing effects?"

Suppressing the urge to snap the old man's neck, Bruce smiled and patted his arm: "Let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we, Mr. Walker?"

"Oh! Yes, of course, sorry, Mr. Lee," realizing his overstep, Rosetti chuckled awkwardly, reluctantly returning to his seat. He understood Bruce's laboratory's secrets wouldn't be shared lightly. Yet, his overwhelming curiosity was hard to contain, making him fidgety and restless.

At this point, the audience gathered to hear the report had descended into chaos, moving around and engaging in heated debates.

Bruce cleared his throat loudly: "I want to remind everyone that the reason we invited Mr. Hawking to participate in this experimental artificial genome project is solely due to his tremendous contributions. We cannot bear to see him suffer from this disease any longer. This research by Solar Corona Company is still in absolute secrecy and has not been made public in any way. This means that all of you here are the first outsiders to learn of this information, and I hope you can keep it confidential. Do not disclose any information to anyone—I believe this will also help alleviate some of your concerns. We are not looking to gain attention through this."

Everyone showed a look of surprised solemnity, and after some discussion, they all promised not to disclose this news before Solar Corona Company does.

"I have another question," Rosetti Walker spoke again, his tone much more polite this time, his expression showing a bit of worry. "Mr. Lee, this experiment has not yet been validated by sufficient human cases. The athlete, being in his prime, could withstand the changes brought by gene replacement and respond positively, but that doesn't mean Steve can, especially given..."

Although he didn't finish his sentence, everyone immediately understood his point. Hawking's age and physical condition were far from ideal, and whether he could survive the replacement phase and achieve the same positive effects was an unknown.

At this moment, Hawking, who had been silently focusing on Bruce's speech, finally spoke: "I am very grateful for everyone's concern. I never thought I would have such an opportunity in my lifetime. Many years have passed, time seems long, yet sometimes it flies by, too long for me to even remember what it was like to move freely. Throughout my life, I've always faced the possibility of an early death, which made me realize—life is incredibly precious, with so much important work left for me to do."

His daughter Lucy, anxiously moving forward to gently touch his shoulder, worried he couldn't sustain speaking for so long, was quickly interrupted by Steve: "It's okay, Lucy, I've always wanted to touch your face again."

His eyeballs and facial muscles kept moving, organizing new words to be transmitted through the voice synthesizer: "Life is unfair, but that doesn't mean we should just accept it. On the contrary, I believe that no matter your circumstances, you must give it your all. Bruce has been the biggest surprise I've encountered. At first, I also worried he was too young. But now, I don't think so anymore, and I'm glad he has once again proven my point—common sense is important, but it can also bind our thoughts, often becoming synonymous with prejudice."

Lucy was in tears, kneeling by his side, her shoulders shaking from emotion. The others also stood up and moved closer, looking at Hawking with various expressions.

Steve continued: "Even if this attempt fails, we will not be left with nothing. Then at least I've fulfilled another wish—contributing to my fellow patients, which is much better than my initial plan to become a research specimen. Bruce, you are an outstanding individual, you shouldn't fall in the same place twice, right?"

Bruce smiled without hesitation: "I never fall."

Then, scanning the room and addressing everyone, he said: "Ladies and gentlemen, Steve is a true genius who deserves better."

Whether it was Bruce's final remark that moved the audience, or because they all knew Steve Hawking well enough to understand he had made his decision, the room fell silent, with no more objections.

After consulting with Bruce, the Mayor made a ten-minute phone call to the Prime Minister's office. When he returned to the conference room, he walked straight to Steve, leaned down, and gently patted his shoulder: "Bless you, sir."

Following his lead, everyone came forward in line, touching his shoulder in turn to offer the same blessing, a process that resembled a devout ritual, clearly spontaneous and unplanned.

The significance of this moment made Trista's eyes moist again; she realized that, somehow, after meeting Bruce, her tear ducts seemed to have developed quite a bit.

In the end, only Judith and Lucy remained in the conference room. Bruce walked up to Steve, knelt in front of him, and gently patted his hand, swollen from long-term intravenous infusions: "Steve, I have a really nice swimming pool at my house in Los Angeles. Wanna give it a try?"

Steve Hawking blinked: "I'm quite the swimmer."