Chapter 88: Cloning and Intelligence

The mechanical body carries the consciousness, memories, and thought logic of its previous life, but lacks a soul—this is the essence of a space necron.

Only nobles and elite soldiers retain consciousness; those transformed from commoners do not actively think, their former personalities gone, turning them into true... mechanical zombies.

How they ended up in such a state is something Samuel Young does not want to dwell on. However, the cloning experiments conducted by the Biological Department on D-class personnel involuntarily remind Samuel of soulless yet conscious "shells."

Then there is the consciousness of Eva on Pandora.

In the movie *Avatar*, the protagonist, Jake Sully, abandons his human body and transfers his consciousness entirely into his avatar through the Tree of Souls.

So, was his "soul" also transferred? To verify this, in May of this year (1996), after confirming that matters in New Los Angeles were on track, Samuel returned to Pandora.

Upon passing through the space gate, Samuel, now with stronger psychic abilities, clearly sensed various feedbacks outside the gate's shielding range.

Among these was the absolute "rationality" and "coldness" from Eva.

The Na'vi emphasize that they can reunite with their deceased loved ones through the Tree of Souls, but in reality, these loved ones are nothing more than "data."

So, in Samuel's eyes, Eva is more like a super artificial intelligence than a planetary consciousness.

Because it stores the consciousness and memories of all life on Pandora, Eva's thought logic leans more towards biological "instincts," such as reflexes, avoiding danger, seeking food, and reproduction.

The instincts of "avoiding danger" and "reproduction" also explain Eva's behavior of assimilating the consciousness of avatar pilots, breaking down the enemy's internal unity, and seeking opportunities to spread the seeds of the Tree of Souls to other planets.

At the same time, Samuel's psychic feedback also confirmed that Eva does not possess the ability to transfer "souls."

As for how to eliminate Eva, this super AI could either be "burned" along with the surface of Pandora or be destroyed by an absolute psychic shock.

While Samuel's psychic abilities have indeed surged, he is not yet capable of directly eliminating Eva.

Returning to the topic of consciousness transfer.

Wang Zhaofeng could not accept a body lacking a "soul," and the current nanorobot project, jointly developed by the Research and Biological Departments, aims to completely revolutionize the human medical system, potentially reducing cancer to the level of a "common cold."

This is also a method of extending life.

However, the progress of the nano project is extremely slow, and Samuel is unsure whether the overworked Wang Zhaofeng will survive until the project's testing phase.

But Samuel has long been accustomed to death and farewells, so he did not try too hard to persuade his old friend, instead choosing to respect his decision.

Regarding the copying of consciousness and memories, Wang Zhaofeng did not object because it is merely a "backup."

Not only Wang Zhaofeng, but the Biological Department is also gradually carrying out the copying process.

The targets for copying are the company's core members, especially those who know the secrets of the relic base and the space gate.

The current technology of the Biological Department can completely cultivate a young and healthy exclusive body, with costs and material consumption only slightly more expensive than that of a tyrant.

The cost of storing and maintaining consciousness and memory is also within the company's acceptable range.

However, no matter how mature the technology or how low the costs, the company will never apply this on a large scale due to extremely serious "ethical" issues.

When executing the copying process, the Biological Department clearly states that this technology is not "resurrection" and requires employees to sign a new confidentiality agreement. This includes an agreement on whether, in the event of accidental death, the clone can inherit their previous position, benefits, and even sever their original social ties.

However, every employee who accepts the copying has the right to modify their intentions annually, given the complex nature of these "ethical" issues.

(Note: The stored consciousness and memories have no "activity," so there will be no situation where one feels trapped in a "hard drive." Consciousness and memory are only officially activated when transmitted to a matching body, as seen with the Colonel's first awakening in *Avatar 2*.)

But a derivative of this technology, developed specifically for the company's armed forces, is a "cannon fodder" biological weapon, making the "ethical" issues irrelevant.

Faced with the needs of the armed forces, the Biological Department must control costs while ensuring a reasonable level of practicality.

Additionally, the Biological Department is gradually phasing out the Rebuilt Soldier project, simply because the cost and actual combat effectiveness of Rebuilt Soldiers are disproportionate.

While the individual combat power of Rebuilt Soldiers far exceeds that of normal humans, they cannot compete with the much cheaper tyrants.

Moreover, Rebuilt Soldiers were initially an experimental project for Atlas, which also provided valuable practical theories and experience.

Since early 1995, the Biological Department has been forcefully copying the consciousness and memories of D-class personnel involved in biological weapon (BOW) combat tests.

Through these actual combat tests, they evaluate which D-class personnel perform well and retain their corresponding consciousness and memories, while all unqualified ones are destroyed.

The Biological Department then uses the samples of well-performing D-class personnel to conduct mass cloning in the most cost-effective way and performs brain surgery on the clones using robotic arms to remove specific parts such as the amygdala, hypothalamus, and prefrontal cortex.

Afterward, the Biological Department transfers consciousness and memory in bulk into the clones that have undergone brain surgery.

However, the resulting clones appear indistinguishable from a vegetative state.

This is because the removed parts of the brain are responsible for regulating emotions, memories, social behavior, and more. Even with the consciousness transferred, it maintains only the basic reflexes, akin to "false death."

This state of the brain actually provides great convenience for reprogramming.

The reprogrammed clones retain the original's excellent reflexes but lack self-awareness and any memories, becoming BOWs that only follow orders.

In summary, D-class clones are akin to a low-end version of Rebuilt Soldiers, but the two differ significantly.

Rebuilt Soldiers retain their entire brain and, after programming, have the ability to socialize and can independently carry out infiltration and penetration missions.

In terms of strength, regeneration, and reflexes, Rebuilt Soldiers are at a crushing level.

In contrast, D-class clones cannot even speak and can only follow pre-set commands such as "assist," "defend," or "attack."

However, when equipped with UDF mass-produced mechanical exoskeletons, D-class clones become qualified "cannon fodder," capable of assisting ARS infantry companies and AECS reinforced battalions in large-scale assaults.

In terms of cost, the materials and reagents required for D-class clones are comparable to those needed for two hellhounds.

After passing various tests, the Biological Department officially named them "Atlas Deployable and Disposable Clone Troops" (ADDCT).

But the armed personnel involved in the testing phase prefer to call them "clones," which is much more catchy than ADDCT.

On July 20, 1996, the underground base of the Accra District opened its first semi-automated clone troop production line, with an estimated annual output of 1,600 units.

At this moment...

"..."

Pulling his thoughts away from his old friend's decision, which had drifted somewhat far, Samuel stopped gazing out the window at the night scene and turned to leave the stairwell.

Walking through the dimly lit corridor, he reached the lobby area of this floor.

There, Samuel saw hunters in black uniforms and wearing holographic glasses, along with two children sitting on a bench.

One was a black-haired boy with a buzz cut, leaning back in his seat with his legs stretched out, nearly slipping to the floor, engrossed in playing a handheld console.

The other was a red-haired boy with slightly longer hair, sitting upright and intently reading a paper book titled *Mind Miracles*.

Step, step.

The sound of the hunters regrouping echoed through the lobby.

?

The black-haired boy noticed the commotion and glanced to his right.

!

Seeing Samuel approaching, the black-haired boy put away his handheld console, tapped his companion on the head, and said:

"Nerd, stop reading. Father is back."

"Huh...?"

The red-haired boy, referred to as a nerd, looked up in confusion but quickly closed his book and stood up when he saw their father standing before them.

"Let's go."

"Yes, Father."

The two children flanked Samuel, following him and the hunters into a panoramic elevator that descended to the underground garage.

These two children were Samuel's biological sons from Universe 03.

The black-haired one was Horus, and the red-haired one was Magnus. They were just a few days shy of their first birthday but were already over a meter tall, with physiques far more robust than ordinary children.

In Samuel's eyes, Horus was his most lively and carefree son, who got along well with Sanguinius and Magnus but was somewhat intimidated by the cold-faced Lion.

Magnus, on the other hand, was more introverted, enjoying reading in quiet environments. He often followed Samuel around, asking questions like, "Father, what is self-efficacy?" or "Father, I learned the word 'sh*t' today; it seems to express surprise and amazement," with a rather rigid tone.

No wonder Horus called him a nerd.

"Father," Magnus said, tugging at Samuel's right hand. "Are we going back to the district?"

"Yes, we're going back. But from the look on your face, it seems you want to go somewhere else first

?" Samuel smiled, then reached over to ruffle Magnus' hair.

"Mm-hmm, I don't want to sleep yet," Magnus nodded eagerly, his face full of expectation as he continued, "I want to go to the cinema to watch the newly released *The Nutty Professor*!"

"*The Nutty Professor*? That's a comedy, right? Sure, we'll go watch it." Samuel didn't forget about Horus, placing his left hand on Horus' shoulder and asking:

"And you? Is there anything you want to watch or do?"

"I..."

Horus was still pondering why his father hadn't asked for his opinion earlier when he heard the question, leaving him momentarily unsure how to respond.

His original plan was to continue playing the newly released *The Witcher* after returning to the district until he was too tired, then sleep soundly.

However, watching a comedy movie with his father and brother also seemed like a great choice.

So, Horus nodded and replied, "Let's watch *The Nutty Professor*, Father."

"Good," Samuel said with a smile, suggesting, "Afterward, we can visit a snack street or a beach stall for some seafood barbecue. How does that sound?"

"Of course!"

Horus and Magnus's eyes lit up with excitement.

After all, kids this age love lively environments, and Dr. Ashford (Alexia) had been strict about their diet, not allowing them to eat anything too greasy.

But now that their father was leading the way, they could use the excuse, "Father said so!" if Dr. Ashford scolded them later.

"Ding~ Basement level two, please watch your step."

With the chime, the elevator doors slid open, and the group stepped into the underground garage.

The two Primarchs dashed ahead, running towards three black SUVs parked nearby, leaving Samuel and the silent hunters behind.

"…"

Watching his sons enjoy their brief "childhood" moments, Samuel seemed a bit sentimental.

Due to their rapid physical growth and mental maturity, Primarchs would reach their full height of around two meters by the age of two and continue to grow taller as their strength increased.

Because of this, a Primarch's true childhood lasts only "one year," making Samuel especially cherish this period.

Next.

The group got into the vehicles, with the hunters, who doubled as drivers, starting the engines of the black SUVs, forming a small convoy.

They exited the underground garage and merged into the still-busy main road, heading toward the coast.

——

...

Inside a run-down bar:

Most people were sitting at the bar, buying a cheap drink from the bartender and then chatting with friends or strangers.

Their conversations seemed to revolve around current hot topics like "Texas Secession," "UDF," and "French Reconstruction."

But at a corner table, where no one was paying attention.

A middle-aged man picked up his glass, took a symbolic sip, and asked in a low voice, "Did you bring the money?"

In response, the man sitting across from him slid a thick envelope under the table.

This man, despite looking no older than 24 or 25, sported a full beard, giving him a mature appearance.

The middle-aged man quickly took the envelope, stuffed it into his jacket, and continued in a hushed tone, "I've got solid information. The Pannonia Organization urgently needs a large supply of weapons, so their second-in-command will personally go to the black market in Brno tomorrow afternoon to seek supplies."

After finishing his drink, the middle-aged man got up and left the bar.

The bearded man, after finishing the rest of his sandwich, also left. As soon as he stepped outside, he naturally pulled out his phone and single-handedly typed a message:

"This is Redfield, critical intel acquired."

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