Chapter 31: Hoped That After All These Years, Someone Would Still Shed Tears For Me
Chapter 31: Hoped That After All These Years, Someone Would Still Shed Tears For Me
“It’s quite heavy.”
“Professor Qin, his birth weight is 6.8 kilograms.”
Different from a newborn delivered naturally, the baby currently held in Qin Yu’s hands looked more like a two-to-three-month-old infant.
His skin was full and smooth, showing healthy color, with ample subcutaneous fat beneath.
His head wasn’t misshapen like those squeezed during natural birth; it was very well-formed instead.
And because he had spent extra time inside the Human Reproduction Device, he weighed significantly more than most naturally born newborns.
Overall, he resembled the plump, rosy-cheeked babies found in old paintings.
Perhaps the ‘delivery’ process from the Human Reproduction Device was too quiet and calm.
Even upon truly entering this world, cradled in Qin Yu’s arms, the baby didn’t cry immediately.
It was probably due to the sudden bright light that his eyes opened. His black, clear pupils moved unconsciously back and forth, as if taking in the sights.
Meanwhile, his hands instinctively clasped together, opening and closing repeatedly even though they couldn’t grasp anything. His legs also moved slowly in a kicking motion.
Only when Qin Yu spoke and the researcher beside him replied did things change.
Perhaps the sound startled the little one, making him realize he had left his familiar surroundings.
For a baby who had spent months inside the Gestation Chamber of the Human Reproduction Device, even faint external sounds felt loud and jarring.
And so,
this baby finally let out a cry.
“Waaah… waaaah…”
The infant wailed loudly, his cries piercing, almost heartbreakingly so.
His kicking legs sped up their motion, squirming in Qin Yu’s hold as if struggling to return to the environment he knew.
The surrounding crowd of researchers, including Academician Shen Yaoguo, all broke into smiles upon hearing the baby’s cries.
“He cries with such strong lungs! A baby should cry at birth! The earlier silence felt wrong somehow,” Academician Shen Yaoguo chuckled.
No matter what the future held, this moment, at least, was worthy of celebration.
A new life had arrived. Simultaneously, a new technology that would transform human society was officially born.
The researcher who had performed the experiment operation glanced at the recorded opening time of the Gestation Chamber on the Human Reproduction Device.
January 1st, Year 30 of the Common Era, 10:21:12 AM.
The first non-naturally born human in the history of Human Civilization entered the world.
…
“Professor Qin, should we give this child a name?”
Qin Yu handed the baby born from the Human Reproduction Device over to the nearby researcher.
At that moment, the researchers responsible for the hands-on procedures were cleaning the residual nutrient solution off the infant’s body and performing his first physical checkup.
Other researchers nearby, not directly involved in the tasks, watched the process while also speaking to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu shook his head, declining the suggestion.
“Let his future parents or guardians name him. We’re just like delivering doctors; best leave it to them.”
Prior to this, within Research Institute 011, this baby had only been known by a code designation: 1101.
It meant the first baby born in the Human Reproduction Device developed by Research Institute 011.
Furthermore,
Research Institute 011 was not a childcare facility. This baby would eventually need to be sent away.
Raised within the walls of Research Institute 011 was impossible.
Considering the relationship between the institute’s researchers and this newborn,
they would also not be granted custody or adoption rights.
The researcher who had asked nodded after hearing Qin Yu’s words.
Everyone then simply waited for the full results of the newborn’s physical examination.
…
For curing illnesses, the researchers of Research Institute 011 weren’t specialists.
But when it came to inspecting and analyzing the human body, hospital doctors couldn’t compare.
A group of Primary Professors, Changjiang Scholars, and Secondary Professors spent considerable time conducting a full series of post-birth examinations on this newborn.
“He’s very healthy. No congenital diseases. The unnatural environment of the Human Reproduction Device has caused no negative effects on his physical development.”
“His current physical development level roughly matches that of a typical 3-month-old baby.”
These two sentences summed up the findings from all the checkups and analysis reports.
Smiles returned to the faces of the researchers.
This was definitely good news.
Moreover, the successful development of the Human Reproduction Device could now essentially be declared.
Although later,
Research Institute 011 might continue to observe and track the baby born from this Human Reproduction Device for some time,
in reality,
the device only altered the environment of his gestation; it hadn’t changed his genes at all.
That meant once the gestation period ended and the baby formally arrived in the world,
as long as he was confirmed healthy at this stage without any congenital physical flaws caused by the Human Reproduction Device,
he was a normal, ordinary newborn.
What happened afterward, his subsequent development and growth, had little to do with the Human Reproduction Device itself.
Because by then, the device could exert no influence.
“Professor Qin, congratulations! You have once again made a tremendous contribution to the technological advancement of Human Civilization, solving another major scientific challenge.”
Academician Shen Yaoguo, representing the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the authorities, extended his hand to shake Qin Yu’s, formally offering congratulations for the success of Research Institute 011’s Human Reproduction Device project.
“Thank you.”
Qin Yu shook hands with Academician Shen Yaoguo and simply offered his thanks.
After the congratulations, Shen Yaoguo and Qin Yu naturally turned their attention back to the baby, who was now dressed.
Compared to an ordinary newborn, this just-born infant seemed remarkably vigorous.
Typically, newborns can’t turn over right away,
but this baby was already trying to flip from side to side, moving his hands about.
Perhaps this was an advantage gained from staying in the gestation environment those extra months?
Newborns are very fragile, but this infant seemed likely to pass through the period of extreme vulnerability quickly.
At his current rate, he’d probably be crawling in another month or two.
“They will arrange a place for this newborn later. As for the specifics, it’ll depend on the situation then.”
Academician Shen Yaoguo spoke again.
Professor Qin Yu nodded without saying anything.
None of the other researchers raised objections either.
They weren’t worried about this baby’s future even though it was born at Research Institute 011.
Higher-ups would make proper arrangements. While they couldn’t guarantee extreme wealth, his life would surely be better than most children’s.
Being the world’s first non-naturally conceived human carried huge symbolic weight anyway—his path wouldn’t be too harsh.
Of course, he’d probably never know the truth,
not even upon his death.
He might learn he came from a Human Reproduction Device but never realize he was the first.
“As for Professor Qin’s future experiments with Human Reproduction Devices,
along with manufacturing and usage approvals,
we’ll likely need to wait longer.”
Academician Shen Yaoguo scratched his head while speaking, looking somewhat troubled.
Professor Qin wasn’t surprised by this.
For any new technology or device,
doing just one test clearly wasn’t safe enough.
But creating one baby through the Human Reproduction Device was one thing—
producing a whole batch?
That was entirely different.
Getting approval for Research Institute 011’s first Human Reproduction Device experiment took endless high-level debates.
Even now,
there were still no conclusions regarding mass production,
large-scale usage,
or how these devices should be implemented.
Continuing experiments meant facing these questions head-on:
Should devices be given to families wanting children?
Or should society collectively raise these children?
However, these issues hardly concerned Qin Yu anymore.
For him,
researching the Human Reproduction Device was essentially complete.
Future problems could be solved by others.
After all,
whenever he needed to use the device himself someday,
he wouldn’t need to consider such barriers.
If batch usage ever became necessary,
humanity would already be screwed by then.
Nobody would supervise cloning or retrieving embryos from the Doomsday Gene Bank anymore.
…
The next month remained peaceful at Research Institute 011.
Some professors and researchers worked on minor projects,
but major initiatives like the 2611 Longevity Injection or Artificial Womb Technology were absent.
Qin Yu sometimes pondered what to research next
but hadn’t decided yet.
Should he explore modifying humans,
as Academician Shen had once joked?
Not to turn people into monsters,
but improving life resilience through Life Science.
Simple logic: humans who survive gunshots to the heart
significantly lower a species’ extinction risk.
Bodies capable of interstellar travel?
Far greater survival odds.
Or pursue insights from Chief Engineer Wei Changguo—
developing plants suited for alien worlds
or even organisms that terraform planets.
Alternatively,
research human diseases and natural viruses.
Though a broad leap, it still fit Life Science.
While the 2611 Longevity Injection prolonged lifespans,
it didn’t eliminate sickness.
Dying at twenty used to be “gone too soon”; now even a century-old death felt premature.
Cancer rates had indirectly dropped somewhat
and progression had significantly slowed
but mechanisms behind other complex diseases
remained essential research targets.
Regardless, Qin Yu delayed choosing a path.
“Assistant Wei, what crisis might humanity face earliest someday?”
Sitting in his office while thinking aloud,
Qin Yu noticed Wei Muyun beside him
had stayed respectfully silent for a while.
Startled by his sudden question, she paused
to seriously consider it.
“Natural disasters, or humans fighting each other?”
Though aware of Qin Yu’s long-standing apocalypse anxiety,
she treated his question thoughtfully.
His past discoveries visibly changed the world;
many believed Professor Qin’s ideas shaped humanity’s future.
Even if her answer wouldn’t shift his views,
she cautiously suggested this possibility.
“Mhm.”
Qin Yu acknowledged but spoke no further.
After a hesitation, Wei Muyun ventured,
“…Professor Qin, sometimes you seem… peculiar.”
“How so?”
Qin Yu smiled, unoffended.
“I just feel… your material desires are minimal. You don’t seek comfort or glory. You barely leave Research Institute 011 unless absolutely needed.”
“My desires may appear small because what I want is huge. Disregarding comfort? Simply because I lack nothing now.”
Truthfully, since developing the 2611 Longevity Injection,
Qin Yu scarcely paid for anything himself.
All needs were managed seamlessly:
private transport,
a life assistant,
Research Institute 011’s full support.
Funding materialized upon request;
his equipment was globally cutting-edge.
Whatever food he craved—short of endangered species—appeared by dinnertime.
As for rarely venturing out?
Appearances deceived.
Just last night, while in an intangibility state,
he’d drifted mid-air stargazing till midnight—
an experience uniquely his own.
“So… what do you truly want?”
“I hope humanity’s name echoes across the universe—
in ten thousand years,
a hundred thousand,
a million.”
“I hope future humans speak my name
with joy, anger, grief, even hatred.”
“I hope humans colonizing Jupiter’s moon Europa
still find steamed buns
like those I ate yesterday morning.”
“I hope distant generations revisit today’s history
and weep over the actions of those long gone.”
“So I’m willing…
to do today what matters for that tomorrow.”
Qin Yu answered casually.
But Wei Muyun stood transfixed,
profoundly shaken by his words.
Minutes later, still struggling to respond,
she finally offered a smile:
“Professor, the future may revere you…
but they’ll struggle greatly to hate you.”
Qin Yu chuckled
without continuing the topic.
This remained merely
a passing conversation.
Even his earlier question
never sought true answers from her.