Chapter 398: The Future of Humanity: Genes, Energy, and Transformation

However, this kind of induced hibernation only lasts for about 10 years—a far too short period. Currently, no one at Dream Technology is willing to undergo it.

At present, everyone has just undergone genetic modification, extending their natural lifespan. With no major illnesses, people now typically have over two hundred years ahead of them.

Understandably, a meager 10-year hibernation holds no appeal. Still, the technology is under further investigation as an auxiliary method for achieving human longevity in the future.

Speaking of severe diseases, with Dream Technology’s advanced nano-medical treatments, nearly every illness is treatable.

Cancers, AIDS, leukemia, super viruses—conditions that once plagued humanity can now be effectively managed.

Before even leaving our Solar System, apart from Heaven Realm-class spacecraft, the top purchase from Dream Technology on Earth was medical equipment for various ailments.

These days, the diseases that truly baffle doctors are mostly those linked to genetics.

Every gain comes with a loss; while genetic modification extends human lifespan, it also tends to trigger latent genetic defects.

Such defect-induced diseases often leave doctors at a loss.

Yet for biologists, provoking these genetic defects provides the ultimate insight into human genetic mutations.

In effect, every person who develops a genetic defect is helping humanity uncover errors in its own genetic evolution.

Once these mutation errors are identified, biologists lay the groundwork for future refined gene modifications.

Many biologists firmly believe that, over time, humans will perfect their genes to evolve into an ideal species.

The Biological Research Institute has already initiated a Perfect Human Project, with the ultimate goal of ushering in a new era for mankind.

Du Qiu holds great expectations for this project. He has joined the research focusing on whether genetics can enhance brain consciousness, and has already seen some promising results.

This branch of research is led by Kawanohoroharu. After discovering that genetically modified East Asians exhibit increased brain capacity, he has thrown himself into studying these mutations.

Meanwhile, Hao Ren has been tasked by Du Qiu to explore whether consciousness can be split into a primary and a subsidiary aspect.

This study is currently under the Dominant’s banner. Du Qiu felt compelled to participate after awakening to the issue involving Hao Ren, effectively assigning him a role that also served as a form of atonement.

It’s rare to see this young man so dedicated—having once been implanted with a Biological Chip by Watanabe Minghui, he immersed himself in brain research and achieved notable results.

Du Qiu wouldn’t let him resort to suicide easily; he must be pushed to study hard and become a great biologist.

Du Qiu believes that a perfect human will be a being with powerful consciousness, capable of conquering the universe by controlling intelligent machinery through sheer will.

It’s rather amusing to recall that back in Shanghai University, aside from the self-sacrificing Kim Zhenan for his country, both Rein Leinar and Hao Ren became experts in their respective fields.

I remember Rein Leinar mentioning a few days ago that his research had shown promising preliminary results, though it still needed refinement, and he hoped Du Qiu could help him perfect it.

So Du Qiu visited Rein Leinar’s lab, where the latter showcased an innovative robot design. Although it wasn’t fully refined yet—mainly due to energy supply issues—the concept was groundbreaking.

After laying eyes on this ultra-flexible robotic framework, Du Qiu blurted out four words.

“Transformers!”

Rein Leinar nodded. “Exactly. I was inspired by that film series. Now, although the structure is built, none of its parts are flexible enough; each component requires a powerful energy source to function properly.”

Du Qiu’s eyes gleamed as he admired the design. “This is impressive. The joints use force fields and magnetic levitation to ensure mobility, though the precise control of these fields demands enormous energy. Plus, you can’t use a single, unified power source—each segment must be able to separate at any time.”

Rein Leinar’s face fell. “True. Metallic Hydrogen batteries can’t support the force fields, and miniaturized nuclear fusion batteries are simply too bulky.”

Currently, the smallest nuclear fusion battery already expands the transformer’s size tenfold, which completely ruins my design.

Du Qiu patted Rein Leinar’s shoulder and said, “Batty, don’t worry. I can solve your energy problem.”

Rein Leinar’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Of course,” Du Qiu replied.

“What kind of energy?”

“Antimatter.”

“Ah?! Antimatter… isn’t that too dangerous? It might just blow up the transformer,” Rein Leinar said with a worried look.

Du Qiu laughed. “Metallic Hydrogen is explosive too, and you’re already using it for batteries!”

Rein Leinar scratched his head. “That’s true. Can you really provide such a compact antimatter battery?”

Du Qiu shook his head. “Not right now. We don’t have antimatter energy yet, and miniaturizing it is even further off.”

Rein Leinar nearly blurted, “Are you messing with me?”

Du Qiu patted his shoulder once more. “Patience, my friend. Once I’ve undergone a few more hibernation cycles, I just might crack the antimatter energy challenge and help us leap into Level Five Civilization.”

Energy technology is the key metric for gauging a civilization’s level. Once it makes a breakthrough, that civilization is essentially stepping into a new era.

According to Du Qiu’s information, Level One Civilization relies on nuclear fission—the kind capable of blowing up a planet.

Level Two revolves around Metallic Hydrogen, which lets you traverse an entire star system with ease.

Level Three depends on nuclear fusion, enabling starships to journey between solar systems.

Level Four harnesses elemental decay, powering ships to venture far—this is the foundation for dominating an entire galaxy.

Levels Five to mid-Six are fueled by antimatter, the key to transforming a galaxy, a planet, even an entire city.

From the pinnacle of Level Six to Level Seven, energy technology relies on spatial energy—making the universe as interconnected as a small village.

For Levels Eight and Nine, Du Qiu isn’t quite sure.

In his Dreamland, Du Qiu attempted to replicate the Flagship of the Dominant Civilization. The most challenging part was the space energy engine, whose principles remain completely mysterious.

None of the engine’s components can be manufactured accurately—even five-level 3D printing techniques fall short of producing its bizarre design.

Du Qiu once resorted to a clunky method: disassembling the complex design into many manageable parts, fabricating them one by one, and then reassembling.

However, the resulting engine exploded several times during assembly, causing significant losses.

Left with no other option, Du Qiu abandoned the approach. That’s why the replicated flagship’s top speed maxes out at 300 times the speed of light—essentially the limit of what an elemental decay engine can achieve.

In simpler terms, a Level Four civilization’s starship can only reach 300 times the speed of light—provided all supporting systems, like force field rings, are up to par.

Currently, Dream Technology’s Starship Research Institute is striving to boost the superluminal speed of its warships to 200 times the speed of light, a fivefold increase over previous models.

However, Du Qiu hasn’t approved a mass upgrade of these warships because he plans to jump directly to antimatter energy—that is, Level Five energy.

With antimatter energy, warships built up to mid-Level Six won’t require any further energy or circuit upgrades; they’ll have much longer service lives.

Du Qiu is confident that he will soon master antimatter energy technology and build warship engines powered by it.

That way, there’s no need to construct fleets destined to become obsolete in short order.