I saw everything

Chapter 394 Forced
After hearing Jiang Miao's explanation, everyone felt that it was necessary to restrict projects that would place nuclear reactors in near-Earth orbit.

"If it's in space, which is far from Earth, using nuclear reactors and nuclear batteries is probably not a big problem, but it's not suitable for low Earth orbit."

The middle-aged man wearing glasses asked, "Academician Jiang, I have a question."

"Professor Fang, please speak freely."

"Isn't controlled nuclear fusion device already very mature? I've seen internal documents that say StarRing Technology's controlled nuclear fusion device is much safer than a nuclear fission reactor. Even if an accident occurs, there will be no risk of large-scale leakage."

In response to this question, Jiang Miao replied directly: "Professor Fang, StarRing Technology's controlled nuclear fusion device is indeed very safe, but its size and weight are astonishing. The smallest model currently, StarRing K22, has a main unit weight of over 8400 tons. With the auxiliary power generation system and heat dissipation system, the total weight is approximately 24 tons."

Upon hearing the weight, everyone was greatly disappointed.

Is there any way to continue shrinking it?

Jiang Miao replied with a smile: "The second-generation controllable nuclear fusion device that Xinghuan Technology is developing is mainly focused on miniaturization, but I don't think this problem can be solved in a short time."

After a few seconds of pause, he continued, "This is mainly because current controlled nuclear fusion devices are highly dependent on superconducting strong magnetic fields, and as you should know, the main component of the current room-temperature superconducting materials in China is mercury. These two reasons mean that current controlled nuclear fusion devices cannot be made too small."

Everyone present had access to a lot of Asia Alliance's confidential information, so they naturally knew what Jiang Miao was saying and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Although Europe and the United States have deployed nuclear-powered satellites in low Earth orbit, the power generation capacity of nuclear batteries is too small, and the risks are also considerable. After testing, they also sent these nuclear devices to orbital regions more than 1,000 kilometers above the Earth."

"Alright! It seems this project really can't be done casually."

"I agree."

Seeing that the others had reached a consensus, Zhang Shaofeng set the tone: "Then I will submit a dissenting report in the name of the think tank! Academician Jiang, please have a research report ready before the 22nd of this month."

“Okay.” Jiang Miao agreed, as this was one of their duties as core advisors to the Asia Union Think Tank.

"Let's move on to the next topic!"

The group was still undecided about the next topic, as its content was somewhat sensitive.

The slightly sleep-deprived, Mediterranean-looking old man thought for a moment and was the first to speak: "I think we should agree to this type of technological development, but we must do a good job of supervision and restriction."

“Gene-edited babies…what a hassle!” A middle-aged man with a round face rubbed his temples, looking troubled and troubled.

Jiang Miao did not speak immediately. Although he was a leading figure in Asia Union Biotechnology and the field of genetics, he had to consider the potential impact.

The third document is an assessment of the development of technologies related to gene-edited babies.

Clearly, the top management of the Asian Union is also undecided.

This is not a problem that can be completely solved with a one-size-fits-all approach.

This document contains not only the Asian Union's own research reports, but also intelligence obtained by the intelligence agencies from the Northern Union and the Southern Alliance.

Intelligence indicates that while there is no official force in the Confederate States of America conducting research on gene-edited babies, its chaotic internal situation has created a shady space for numerous secret organizations and private companies to operate covertly.

Meanwhile, in the Northern Alliance, the most radical group is Alika. Within their official forces, some individuals are secretly supporting private companies in their research into gene-editing baby technology.

Currently, intelligence agencies have identified 16 institutions explicitly researching gene-edited baby technology, and 53 institutions suspected of doing so.

North America accounts for the majority of these, with more than two-thirds of the institutions concentrated in America.

In other words, foreign countries are conducting secret research in this area, and the scale of it is currently very large; they just don't actively publicize it.

Many people actually view Europe and America through a lens, thinking that they are overwhelmed by a lot of things.

But these things are just appearances.

For example, environmental protection is no longer discussed at all within Beilian. Those environmental organizations that were once highly active have almost disappeared.

The reason is that the capital behind it no longer provides support.

Furthermore, grassroots organizations such as those opposing gene editing, vaccines, and GMOs have become completely obsolete in recent years, with even the slightest related content being blocked on European and American online platforms.

This is the true strength of European and American capital.

Capital controls the means of production, news media, the internet, and parliament.

What strength and resources do NGOs have to stand up to the challenge?

All they need to do is block the relevant content online and stop funding. These NGOs are like trees with their roots cut off; within a few months, they will be unable to operate due to cash flow problems.

And do you really think these non-governmental organizations in Europe and America are truly acting out of ideals? They're just after their own interests.

For example, in one Western European country, Coilcars wanted to build an electric vehicle factory there, but many so-called environmental and animal protection organizations kept obstructing the project's progress, claiming that the factory would affect the surrounding wildlife, all in order to get money.

But these NGOs all have backers behind them, otherwise they would be in jail for questioning at any moment, or even be shot seven times in the back and forced to commit suicide.

Therefore, once the capital forces in Europe and America reached a secret agreement, many dissenting voices from the public disappeared almost overnight.

Of course, these capitalist forces are aware of the ethical and public opinion issues surrounding gene-edited babies. Therefore, although they promote these projects, they do so by using a shell company to establish them, and at the same time, it is almost impossible to find relevant information on the open internet.

For example, a gene-edited baby project located in Florida is publicly named: Research on the application of gene therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

It is very difficult to obtain internal details of this laboratory unless one works inside it or is a high-ranking member of the financial sector.

Faced with the fact that Western powers were secretly researching gene-editing baby technology, the top leadership of the Asian Union, after learning about it through intelligence channels, fell into a state of anxiety and dilemma.

Anxiety and entanglement were the feelings of the vast majority of participants in this video conference.

Further research revealed that gene-edited babies are against human ethics.

If we don't keep up with the research, and Western powers create something like superhumans, new humans, or mutants, it could endanger the security of the Asian Union.

This is the root cause of the anxiety and inner turmoil in everyone's hearts.

Zhang Shaofeng asked Jiang Miao, "Academician Jiang, you are a leading expert in biology and genetics. What are your thoughts on gene-edited baby technology?"

"From an ordinary person's perspective, gene-edited baby technology does indeed violate human ethics and morality." Jiang Miao then changed the subject:
"However, from the perspective of a researcher's rational thinking, gene-edited babies are inevitable."

One scholar frowned: "But if gene-edited babies are produced, there will definitely be many defective products in the early stages of the experiment. These babies have human rights..." Jiang Miao shook his head: "I know that, but we have no other choice. Unless we start a war now and eliminate the Northern Alliance and the Southern Alliance, it will be difficult for us to stop other forces from conducting research in this area."

The elderly man with the receding hairline asked, "Academician Jiang, is there any way to reduce the sacrifices? Could we develop some of the technology through simulation, and then conduct human trials once the technology is mature?"

"..." Jiang Miao was silent for a moment before replying solemnly, "Okay."

"Is that alright?" The Mediterranean-looking old man's eyes lit up. "Academician Jiang, could you tell me the details?"

“In our company’s laboratory, we are researching a human cloning technology. However, after gene editing, these clones will not develop a brain during the cultivation process. Therefore, their situation does not fall under the category of human beings, and human rights do not need to be considered.”

"Your company also has this kind of technology?"

"A clone without a brain?"

"It's a bit of a shortcut, but it's still a viable method."

"Yes, as long as it's not a real baby, it is indeed possible to study human gene editing and modification in this way."

Everyone started discussing it animatedly.

Jiang Miao originally did not intend to make this technology public, but the situation has left him with no choice. If he does not make this technology public within the Asian Alliance, then in order to avoid being surpassed by the Northern Alliance and the Southern Alliance, the Asian Alliance will have no choice but to bite the bullet and follow suit. At that time, a large number of problematic gene-editing experimental subjects will appear in the laboratory, and these experimental subjects will even have consciousness. If this is exposed, it will cause great chaos within the organization.

Based on his understanding of Asia Union's senior management, if a low-risk solution for gene-edited babies cannot be provided within the next year or two, the senior executives will do their utmost to secretly push for the implementation of related projects, even if it means bearing a stain on their reputation.

There was no other way; this research was too important, it could even be said to be related to the life and death of the Asian Union.

Jiang Miao clearly had a way to reduce the risks, and if he didn't use it now, not only would the top management of Asia Union feel betrayed, but he himself would also feel guilty.

After all, for such a project to mature, it would be impossible to fully mature without tens of thousands of experimental subjects.

This also means that before the technology is fully mature, tens of thousands of flawed test subjects will spend their tragic lives nurturing the development of gene-edited baby technology.

Jiang Miao added a small amount of less sensitive technical information, and stated that the technology is still under development and will take about a year to reach the necessary maturity.

The participants in the video conference found the timing acceptable, and even felt it was too fast.

Fortunately, they were aware of Jiang Miao's research capabilities, so they did not inquire further about the technical details.

Instead, they continued to discuss the issue, and ultimately everyone agreed that, under limited and strict supervision, brainless clones could be used as experimental subjects to secretly and vigorously develop gene-edited baby technology.

In fact, after the initial ethical risks were resolved, everyone felt that gene-edited baby technology had a promising future.

One day, humanity will inevitably have to leave Earth and depart from Mother Earth's protection, facing many challenges in the future.

Modifying genes is a viable evolutionary path.

Of course, Jiang Miao's secret Second Brain Project is also a very good approach, and it could even solve the problem of human lifespan.

These two technological approaches are not mutually exclusive; rather, they can be combined to make human evolution more perfect.

A genetically modified body can be transplanted and transferred as a second brain at any time. When the two are combined, they can perform some very special applications.

For example, in the future, humans want to colonize Mars, but the gravity on Mars is too different from that on Earth, and the atmosphere on Mars is extremely thin.

We could use gene editing technology to create a body that is fully adapted to the Martian environment, then transfer a second brain (i.e., a biological computing chip) into this new body and seal the original body away.

In this way, we can acquire bodies adapted to the Martian environment in a short period of time, instead of relying on generations of natural selection to acquire bodies that can adapt to the Martian environment.

The combination of these two technologies will solve the problem that humans find it difficult to adapt to different planetary environments in a short period of time under natural conditions.

Unless the surface environment is extremely harsh like Venus, other terrestrial planets can be conquered by humans.

It's important to know that there are relatively many terrestrial planets and large asteroids in the solar system.

For example, Mars, the Moon, and large satellites of large gas giants such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune could all become human colonies in this way.

Previously, the only exoplanet that humans were able to colonize was Venus.

If the technology envisioned by Jiang Miao is realized, humanity's living space in the solar system will be enhanced on an epic scale.

It's not impossible that it might even fly out of the solar system in the future.

However, Jiang Miao did not disclose the details of the Second Brain project, mainly because other technologies are not yet up to standard, and not everyone can accept the modification of replacing a body.

This is actually due to the rapid pace of technological development, while human social changes and philosophical core have not kept pace, resulting in a mismatch between hardware and software.

The video conference is still ongoing.

The next few issues weren't ones I wanted to dwell on too much. Although they were equally thorny, they were issues that could be resolved through institutional adjustments under the current technological conditions.

The meeting lasted for more than three hours.

Jiang Miao drank several cups of tea, and his eyes became a little dry, before Zhang Shaofeng announced that the video conference was over.

"call…"

Li Zixuan also stopped what he was doing: "Boss, the meals have been arranged at the base. Should we deliver them here, or go to the canteen?"

Jiang Miao glanced at his watch: "Oh? It's almost midnight. Let's eat here then! I'll take a nap here after I finish eating."

"Okay, I'll go get the food."

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

"Please wait a moment, boss."

Li Zixuan hurriedly left the small office.

Jiang Miao stood up, stretched, and drew back the curtains. Outside, the world was covered in snow and ice. He opened the window a crack, and the cold wind blew in, giving his tired brain a slight cooling sensation.

(End of this chapter)