Chapter 123: Entropy Memory Serum

For Human Civilization, the HCC,

after the entire Human Civilization had completed its integration,

the HCC that had integrated the whole civilization was now in a state of ‘facing no enemies or threats from the outside’.

This state was even more complete than ever before.

Human Civilization as a whole had entirely lost points of comparison.

In an event that once caused a Doomsday Crisis for Human Civilization, the Asteroid 2801 impact, a crisis of that level could no longer pose any threat to Human Civilization at that time.

As Human Civilization developed, the only thing it could compare itself to was itself.

Added to the high surplus of productivity, Human Civilization without external pressure largely lost the drive and urgency for fast growth.

Perhaps if Human Civilization could encounter another civilization in the universe,

allowing Human Civilization to feel external pressure again, gaining a clearer understanding of the cosmic environment and wider civilization ecology,

and getting a more accurate position of its own existence in the universe’s civilization ecology,

the current lack of development drive in Human Civilization as a whole would improve greatly.

Qin Yu thought back to that time when he and his former assistant, or rather the assistant of ‘Professor Qin Yu’,

were discussing civilization integration issues. They had mentioned the idea of ‘pretending to be an alien civilization’ to push Human Civilization to integrate.

Of course, by then Human Civilization had already achieved integration,

but it still lacked such a thing as an alien civilization appearing.

After silently thinking for a while, Qin Yu gave up on that idea for the moment.

The phone call from the head of Research Institute 011 had already come through as well.

……

“Director Qin.”

“This is the paper.”

The head of Research Institute 011 in this generation had the surname Teng. His work and research focus was mainly in Life Science, specifically human mechanism studies.

Before becoming the head of Research Institute 011, he was the study lead for the ‘Human Recovery Enhancement’ project in the ongoing main Human Enhancement Project of Research Institute 011.

Receiving this paper from ‘Entropy’ now matched roughly with his expertise.

He quickly saw the value of this paper and the ‘human memory enhancement technology’ mentioned in it.

After giving Qin Yu a phone call, he immediately brought key Researchers in related fields from Research Institute 011.

He took the paper and went to Qin Yu.

This paper was compiled with help from the Strong Artificial Intelligence in the Brain Intelligence Project.

Its name was “Basic Theory of Human Memory Mechanisms and Memory Improvement Technology Based on Memory Mechanism Theory.”

The whole paper was almost as long as a book.

Most of it covered the basic principles, explaining the theory of human memory mechanisms and related experiments, plus research data analysis.

Only a small part was left, dealing with ways to specifically improve human memory.

Or rather, it relied on new understandings of human memory mechanisms. Through various methods and means, it tried to interfere with those mechanisms and the basic logic of people to achieve memory improvement.

Actually, this head of Research Institute 011, Professor Teng, hadn’t had time to finish reading the paper by then.

He had only briefly skimmed the conclusions and some data.

“We can’t say for sure yet whether this technology in the paper can truly improve human memory and affect intelligence level, but the research data it mentions around advanced fields we already know matches our current knowledge and reasoning.”

“Director Qin, the theory in this paper might actually cause a big change in our research here. It could lead to clear improvements in human memory!”

The Researchers from Research Institute 011 who came with Professor Teng each spoke like this to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu listened and noticed the excitement on Professor Teng’s and the others’ faces.

When ‘Entropy’ first appeared during the intervention in the 236 Algae crisis under that name,

after putting the findings and papers directly into place, Qin Yu didn’t witness the reactions of the Researchers who got them.

But this time, as ‘Entropy’ came back,

the head of Research Institute 011 brought the paper and came straight to him.

As an Absolute Immortal, Qin Yu had a somewhat complex feeling.

It seemed time and space overlapped now, and in that overlap, he was different with a changed role in human society.

“…… Let Research Institute 011 handle the experiments. If the data matches and there are no issues with the theory, they can try Clinical Trials to improve human memory.”

Qin Yu paused, then said just that.

Professor Teng’s face was flushed from excitement, but he nodded in agreement at Qin Yu’s words.

“Director Qin, we’ll verify the truth of this paper’s theory and technology as soon as possible.”

After that, Professor Teng looked back at the paper shown on the screen, eyeing the name ‘Entropy’.

Before, caught up in excitement, he hadn’t paid much attention to other things.

Now, with the matter settled and the high emotions fading, many questions about the paper resurfaced.

The fact that ‘Entropy’ existed was something kept secret from most people in Human Civilization even in that age.

But with secrets, someone at the level of head of Negentropy Research Institute 011 Lab couldn’t be kept out of the loop.

Especially since ‘Entropy’ first appeared linked to their Research Institute 011.

Professor Teng from Research Institute 011 knew about ‘Entropy’.

But counting back, over a hundred years had passed since year 236.

Even if ‘Entropy’ was a young person in their forties or fifties at the first appearance,

they should have been old by then, past retirement age.

After surviving the Doomsday Crisis, was this ‘Entropy’ still the same one who’d given the ‘Entropy Algae’?

Professor Teng knew that over a century ago, Negentropy Research Institute had tried to find ‘Entropy’.

They spent time searching but failed to uncover who it was, so they stopped.

So what about now?

“Director Qin, should we use Strong Artificial Intelligence to find out who ‘Entropy’, the author of this paper, really is?”

“Tell the Brain Intelligence Project to do that.”

Qin Yu didn’t object.

Then, after setting up the team at Research Institute 011 to check the paper,

Professor Teng did use Strong Artificial Intelligence

to investigate the mysterious ‘Entropy’.

But soon, the Strong Artificial Intelligence came back with ‘unknown’.

Just like the first time when ‘Entropy’ sent the paper that saved Human Civilization from the 236 Algae crisis,

Negentropy Research Institute still hadn’t caught the true identity of ‘Entropy’ the researcher.

However, unlike before, in this Intelligent Era, society was run by Strong Artificial Intelligence.

This person existed, but couldn’t be found.

That very fact suggested many things.

Professor Teng, the head of Research Institute 011, looked at Academician Qin Yu.

Qin Yu responded with a smile.

Professor Teng didn’t pursue the specific identity of this ‘Entropy’ any further.

After all, there wasn’t a necessity to actually find this ‘Entropy’.

What this mysterious researcher ‘Entropy’ provided were always things beneficial for Human Civilization,

not things that caused harm.

Since this ‘Entropy’ was unwilling to reveal themself, it was better to stop seeking their identity.

There was just one thing puzzling Professor Teng and others.

Unlike ‘Entropy’, who had earlier resolved the 236 Algae crisis and was publicly recognized,

this mysterious researcher ‘Entropy’ seemed unwilling to reveal themself, yet didn’t want to see Human Civilization face a Doomsday Crisis.

They chose to anonymously release a research paper about algae that could solve the crisis to the Negentropy Research Institute.

But this time?

Why was this mysterious researcher ‘Entropy’ still unwilling to show themself?

Were they simply uninterested in fame and fortune? Or was their identity inconvenient to reveal?

What purpose did this mysterious researcher ‘Entropy’ have this time,

when sending this theoretical and technical paper on improving human memory to the Negentropy Research Institute?

Could it purely be to ensure this technology became widespread through the Negentropy Research Institute’s efforts?

But if they published the theory and technology directly, that would achieve the same widespread adoption.

Or perhaps,

this ‘Entropy’ wasn’t a single person, but a research institution even more secretive than the ‘Negentropy Research Institute’?

And from the names, wasn’t ‘Entropy’ and ‘Negentropy Research Institute’ somewhat similar?

The ‘Negentropy Research Institute’ was originally established by Professor Qin Yu with the purpose of countering the apocalypse, as an ‘apocalypse research institute’.

With Academician Qin Yu’s prominence over the years and the changing times, the Negentropy Research Institute moved from the shadows into the public eye.

Could it be that ‘Entropy’ was actually a hidden measure by ‘Professor Qin Yu’,

still holding onto the purest goal of resisting the Doomsday Crisis threatening humanity?

Perhaps,

‘Entropy’ was actually inside the ‘Negentropy Research Institute’, like the Doomsday Gene Bank, part of the institute?

Maybe Academician Qin Yu, as the head of the Negentropy Research Institute, actually knew who ‘Entropy’ was?

Right then,

regardless of what the head of Research Institute 011 was thinking,

in the end, they did not pursue ‘Entropy’s’ true identity any further.

Since the person was unwilling to use their real identity, it was best to let them be.

“Let’s leave it at that.”

Qin Yu said another sentence.

Professor Teng, head of Research Institute 011, nodded.

…

The puzzlement brought by the reappearance of the long-absent name ‘Entropy’ among those who knew was only temporary.

Very soon, inside Research Institute 011,

the Researchers in relevant fields shifted most of their attention back to the content of the paper about human memory itself.

Academician Qin Yu did not participate in Research Institute 011’s verification of the paper’s content.

Speaking of which, although Qin Yu had worked across many fields in this life, on paper he hadn’t really ventured into research involving the biological or Life Sciences Fields yet.

However,

with the experimental procedures and data recorded in the paper being sufficiently detailed and accurate,

Research Institute 011, gathering the top Researchers in relevant fields within Human Civilization at that moment,

was able to replicate several of the experimental research processes from the paper very quickly.

Very quickly,

inside Research Institute 011, the accuracy of the ‘Human Memory Mechanism Theory’ proposed in the paper was confirmed.

What followed naturally was the Clinical Trial on enhancing human memory,

which Qin Yu could have conducted earlier but hadn’t.

Following exactly the relevant technology mentioned in the paper provided by ‘Entropy’ –

the technology based on the Human Memory Mechanism Theory to enhance human memory –

the relevant research team at Research Institute 011 soon synthesized a liquid agent identical to the one Qin Yu had obtained earlier in his experiment.

The Researchers on the relevant team had no intention of claiming authorship belonging to ‘Entropy’, the mysterious researcher.

Imitating the earlier naming of ‘Entropy Algae’,

they called the liquid agent synthesized using this technology ‘Entropy Agent Memory Formulation’,

or ‘Entropy Agent’ for short.

During the first Clinical Trial for the Entropy Agent,

Research Institute 011 called Qin Yu over to witness it.

The emergence of the Entropy Agent didn’t seem as earth-shattering as the birth of Strong Artificial Intelligence.

Even after becoming widespread, its impact would likely be a soft and quiet change.

But its effect, genuinely boosting the overall racial potential of Human Civilization,

was certain to be profound and long-lasting.

The volunteers selected for the first Clinical Trial of the Entropy Agent

were thirty Researchers within Research Institute 011 who volunteered and were all aged over 120.

Unlike the earlier 2611 Longevity Injection,

the Entropy Agent, used to enhance human memory levels,

didn’t show much difference in the magnitude of memory improvement between the elderly and the young due to its different mechanism of action.

But because memory itself declines with age,

in the Clinical Trial, the effect of memory enhancement appeared more noticeable in the elderly.

Also, as improvements in something like memory are hard to quantify unless the increase is very large within a short time,

more people participated in this first Clinical Trial compared to some other research projects.

After multiple animal tests confirmed the safety of the Entropy Agent,

the first Clinical Trial officially began.

“Director Qin, perhaps you would like to announce the start?”

“No need, proceed with the Clinical Trial yourselves.”

For this Clinical Trial, Qin Yu simply observed, getting minimally involved.

Triggered by Intelligent Machinery responding to the Clinical Trial plan designed in advance by the research team,

the thirty volunteer Researchers lay flat on beds and received injections of the Entropy Agent.

A series of monitoring instruments then tracked real-time changes in the physical states of all thirty Researchers.

Unlike Qin Yu who felt nothing after swallowing the liquid,

these thirty Researchers showed clear changes in relevant physiological data quite soon under the effect of the Entropy Agent.

The entire Clinical Trial lasted well over ten days,

mainly monitoring the physical changes in the thirty Researchers after using the Entropy Agent.

Even the improvement in memory levels brought by the Entropy Agent wasn’t instantaneous.

Most Researchers undergoing the trial didn’t feel significantly different during daily memory tests,

but according to the quantified metrics recorded in the trial,

the memory indicators of every participating Researcher showed a daily upward trend.

Only after several days passed

did many participating Researchers suddenly realize their memory seemed to have improved significantly.

“…My brain feels a bit sharper, like I’ve shed ten or twenty years.”

One Researcher couldn’t resist describing the feeling.

For Qin Yu himself,

there was no need to wait for the Clinical Trial to conclude.

After reviewing the corresponding Clinical Trial data from Research Institute 011 gathered in the first day or two,

he knew the Entropy Agent had achieved its expected effect.

He could confirm this because he understood the Entropy Agent most comprehensively and thoroughly.