Chapter 158: Chimera_1

```

Next, the PDC member nations discussed how to quickly set foot on Mars.

Unexpectedly to the nations, there were still "anti-escape" protesters claiming that the intelligent signals from Mars were the Wallfacers' lies and urging everyone not to believe them.

Jiang Yu personally called the rotating chairman of the PDC, emphasizing that the reactions of these people were overly abnormal and an immediate investigation should take place.

This suggestion hit right home for the nations; during the previous protests, everyone had already harbored a lot of anger, and therefore they immediately initiated investigations and arrests of some protesters.

These actions didn't attract much public attention as everyone was pondering how to get to Mars and receive aid from an advanced civilization.

The related meetings were very frequent, mainly held among China, the US, and Russia.

Jiang Yu only chose to attend some of these meetings, just keeping up with the progress of the agenda.

So he passed the week leisurely, having just finished auditing a conference in Hangzhou.

As he left the venue, Di Fengyi reported to him that Bo Xiangdong was also in Hangzhou for a meeting and wished to meet with Jiang Yu.

In the past three years, only the biology group had made an unexpected breakthrough due to a fluke, and the other groups had made little progress, so Jiang Yu did not go on a tour of inspection as he had last time.

Jiang Yu glanced at his watch, "It's about time for dinner, you book a restaurant and we can have a meal with Bo Xiangdong."

So Di Fengyi chose a restaurant known for its delicate dishes with local flavors and booked a private room.

Bo Xiangdong appeared somewhat weary, and upon seeing Jiang Yu, he said, "The genetic fortress of Earthlings might not hold up much longer!"

After the waiter served the dishes, Jiang Yu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Bo Xiangdong, not minding the informality, drank some tea and wolfed down a couple of mouthfuls of food before saying, "The meeting we held in Hangzhou was to discuss the Genetic Technologies from the 'Poison Apple Project'!

"As far as I know, over a hundred thousand families have already used the Trisolarans' Genetic Technologies on their offspring!"

Jiang Yu shook his head, "You can't stop someone who wants to find death!"

He sighed, "But the children are innocent. Can you initiate a campaign to boycott it?"

Bo Xiangdong replied with difficulty, "Several of my colleagues and I have researched the Trisolarans' Genetic Modification Technology, and embarrassingly, we haven't found a single issue with it!

"But we firmly believe that the Trisolarans would not be so generous as to provide us with technology for nothing!"

Di Fengyi poured an impassioned Bo Xiangdong a glass of beer, urging him to moisten his throat.

Bo Xiangdong took a sip of beer and continued, "There must be something wrong with the technology the Trisolarans have given us!

"Unfortunately, so far, we have no means to directly prove our speculation.

"So even though we have repeatedly advocated caution against this technology, there are still plenty of people who choose to genetically modify their progeny."

Di Fengyi chimed in, "I have seen children who have been genetically modified, and indeed, they are smarter and more beautiful.

"What parents wouldn't want their child to be healthy and intelligent? The ETO must have seized on this parental mindset, which is why the 'Poison Apple Project' found fertile ground."

Bo Xiangdong's face was filled with sorrow, "It's predictable that once the first generation of genetically modified children grows up and people see that this technology has no side effects, any family with the means will definitely opt for Genetic Modification for their descendants.

"Some unscrupulous lobbying groups are already persuading some national governments to legislate in support of genetic modification, even suggesting genetic modification for the entire population!

"And so, Humanity's genetic lines will be breached by our very own hands!"

The private room fell into silence for a moment, and after pondering, Jiang Yu asked Bo Xiangdong, "If I give you my full support, do you have the confidence to win this genetic war?"

```

Bo Xiangdong shook his head, "Do you remember, three years ago, I studied the genetics of Jiang Shiliu?"

Jiang Yu nodded.

"The technology of the Trisolarans is a whole level above ours!" Pinching his temples, Bo Xiangdong said, "They've already made their move. The deadly part is, we don't even know where they're going to strike us."

It gave Jiang Yu something to think about. "Perhaps the gap isn't as wide as we think, we may just be blinded by the details."

At this juncture, he suddenly asked, "Didn't you think about asking for help from the intelligence signals on Mars?"

Bo Xiangdong took a sip of his drink before replying, "I've always said the same thing, genes are the foundation of our life, we can borrow any technology from others! But we must keep control over such fundamental elements ourselves.

"It's fine to research it slowly, but we shouldn't depend on others."

Jiang Yu smiled with satisfaction and said to Di Fengyi, "Tell him about the new discovery from the biology group."

Hearing that animal cells could actually divide to produce plant cells, Bo Xiangdong sat in silence for a long time!

Jiang Yu reminded him, "It's that same old saying, perhaps under Sophon's blockade, biology might be our only chance for a breakthrough."

Bo Xiangdong also smiled, "Perhaps there really will be a turn of events in the future!"

The atmosphere in the room finally relaxed. Jiang Yu poured himself a beer:

"Since we have time today, tell me about the Trisolarans' genetic technologies. How far have they come? And our own genetic technologies, where are they?"

As the three of them ate, Bo Xiangdong said, "Based on humanity's understanding and use of genetic technologies, there are roughly three stages that we know of.

"The first stage is the era of artificial selection, back then, there wasn't even a concept of genes, because agricultural methods and animal breeding changed the genes of many species.

"For example, long ago, wheat and maize were just types of grasses, especially maize, which was thinner than a frankfurter at first.

"Or take carrots and watermelons, etcetera. During the Yuan Dynasty, carrots were much like the roots of some plants, thin and branchy.

"I still remember being shocked when I saw a picture of a wild carrot in school!"

Jiang Yu and Di Fengyi found the examples Bo Xiangdong gave quite interesting and listened even more attentively.

Bo Xiangdong continued, "The second stage came with the Atomic Age, when we found that the genes of plants and animals could change under moderate radiation.

"However, these changes were random; some good, some bad.

"In agriculture, we would select the favorable mutations and cultivate them for several seasons to stabilize their genes.

"Technologies in this area include early ripening of crops, dwarfing of plants, enhanced disease resistance, and so on."

A few drinks in, Bo Xiangdong's face was rosy, "The third stage is the chimeric stage!

"Using two sets of genes spliced together to produce a new species that's more useful for us.

"Before Sophon came to Earth, we were already stepping into this stage.

"The most significant achievement was using genetically engineered E.coli to produce insulin!"

Bo Xiangdong then spoke seriously, "But the Trisolarans have already entered the fourth stage, starting directly with genes, they can control changes in their descendants' genes!

"And furthermore, if humanity wants to achieve artificial evolution, we must at least reach the level of the fourth stage!"