The Record of Unusual Creatures

After fiddling with the "personal computer" on the table for a moment, Hao Ren finally figured out its basic operation. It was similar to a laptop, but its keyboard's function and system's architecture were very different. If not for his inbuilt translation plug-in and vast experience, he would have taken a long time to suss things out.     

He opened many programs by mistake before he thought he finally found a browser-like feature. And to his surprise, the "computer" was connected to the Internet!     

"I have no idea how this world maintains its Internet." Hao Ren, staring at the screen that slowly refreshed its text, muttered, "Is someone coming to collect the Internet fee?"     

The MDT could see the computer screen through Hao Ren's eyes and began to gab, "The service provider crew rolled up in an armored car with a light machine gun, don't you think that's unusual?"     

"Help me think of a few keywords if you are free." Hao Ren rubbed his fingers. "It's so much easier to get information from this thing than from the locals."     

The MDT casually said, "Natural, first-generation Evolved, second-generation Evolved, the war, the world's situation—these should be enough."     

Hao Ren entered the keywords. He was not familiar with the operation of the computer, but he had gotten what he wanted.     

The global war had been raging on for three generations.     

Humans of that world called the planet Zorm, which meant Earth in the Surface World. But for differentiation purposes, the transliteration of local language was applied. The last peaceful period of the planet Zorm ended more than 60 years ago.     

Some old people used to refer to the period as the Garden Era, which was a peaceful and prosperous world and probably the glorious human history. During that time, the development of science and technology was phenomenal. Two technologies were seen as a panacea to all problems and hidden dangers on the planet: One was the nanotechnology, which originated from the national consortium in the northern hemisphere. Scientists believed that the newly-emerging Nanomachine Swarm would tackle problems including environmental pollution, human diseases, natural transformation, and even spearhead extra-terrestrial colonization. The other technology was the evolutionary, biochemical plug-in-- a mechanical device that could coexist with human tissues. The mechanical device could also grow synchronously with the host's congenital organs by relying on cell energy for life-long operation.     

The original intention of the Nanomachine Swarm development was to answer environmental and medical problems. Scientists had bet on these new advances to decompose pollutants and treat human tissue damage. Biochemical plug-ins were the basis for the transformation of human bodies. With the aid of modern medicine, the human race had defeated the natural law of survival of the fittest. Evolution had long stopped. But science and technology had progressed so tremendously that while the human body seemed primitive, scientists believed that biochemical plug-ins would bring humanity to the forefront of evolution again. The ultimate form of the plug-in would be a part of the human body to change human life fundamentally.     

Undoubtedly, during the last peaceful period of Zorm, the world started to immerse itself in euphoria and self-confidence. Although cautious conservatives were questioning the new technologies, those cherishing the arrival of technology had drowned out the voice of the minority.     

As the technology matured, the Evolved officially emerged. They were the new type of humans implanted with various plug-ins. Devices such as nerve-enhancing strands, auxiliary memory chips, and neuro-computer interface enabled humans to acquire capabilities that no one had never seen before. The new humans were known as the Modified, but due to the biological and evolutionary nature of the plug-ins with the hosts, the first humans who received plug-in transplants described themselves as the Evolved.     

Like in many stories, the purebred Naturals and the Evolved conflicted with each other from the beginning. The Evolved who had an innate advantage occupied the living space of the Naturals. So, the Naturals with their large population and control of social resources were imposing harsh restrictions on the Evolved. However, such conflict was expected. Sociologists and scientists believed that this was a typical "labor pain of social changes." Hence, human society carried on living as usual.     

It was not until 65 years later that disaster broke out in the northern hemisphere and triggered the war, which raged on until the present, wiping out the prosperity on Zorm.     

The disaster certainly caught Hao Ren's attention. But there were many contradictions. The war had distorted the truth. All parties in the conflict recorded and publicized their version of history, which painted a good picture of themselves. Hao Ren was able to figure out a few clues though. The causes of the war were manifold and included food pollution, financial crisis, as well as a riot of the Evolved. The fatal reason was the Nanomachine Swarm accident.     

Sixty-five years ago, there was an attack on the largest Nanomachine Swarm command center in the northern hemisphere, and three giant computers called Masters shut down as a result. The shutdown led to the loss of control of Nanomachine Swarm surrounding the command center. Some unknown reasons had caused the failure of the safety mechanism in the fleet. The microrobots, which were initially used to decompose chemical waste and purify water, had flowed to surrounding cities and dissolved the three largest cities in the world at that time—including the capital of a country.     

The 65-year war started against this backdrop. It had been very confusing since the beginning.     

The investigation results of the incident were never revealed. But, there were many rumors on the Internet that there was evidence to prove that the Evolved radicals initiated the attack. They used the brain chip function of the Evolved to gain direct control of some of the Nanomachine Swarm. The purpose was to release the runaway Nanomachine Swarm to massacre the Naturals. After destroying the Naturals' demographic and social advantages, they used the Nanomachine Swarm to build a nation of new humans across the ruins. However, the Evolved who started the attack had all died from brain overload in the Masters' room, because the computing power required to control the fleet was too high. Other rumors spoke of a particular country in the southern hemisphere or an extremist religious group that initiated the attack. In short, there were many kinds of theories but only one conclusion: The loss of control of the Nanomachine Swarm destroyed the balance of powers in the northern hemisphere, resulting in a large number of second-tier countries taking advantage of the situation to exert their influence. As a result, the conflict between the Naturals and the Evolved intensified. With subsequent series of events, the war spread out everywhere in an uncontrollable manner.     

No one thought the war would have lasted for 65 years. It almost destroyed the natural order of the planet. A deformed human civilization still survived, but its original form had long gone.     

After learning the cause and current situation of the planet, Hao Ren began to delve into details on the Evolved. And he finally figured out what happened to the first and second-generation Evolved.     

The difference between the two generations of Evolved did not lie in the "generational gap," but somewhat in the transformation techniques that they each used. The technological basis of the Evolved was their biochemical plug-ins. Early biochemical plug-ins could only work on mature individuals. Implantation surgery usually occurred after the age of 14, or even later, at 18 years of age. Therefore, the degree of transformation was limited, generally involving topical limb strengthening, and the \bvious surgical marks were visible on the body. The socket on the back of Nolan's neck was an example. The transformation technique was primitive, and people who adopted this transformation were the first-generation Evolved.     

Today, there were still new first-generation Evolved who were usually mercenaries who had to get enhancements to survive on the battlefield or repair fatal disabilities in their bodies.     

The second-generation Evolved were humans who used more advanced implantation techniques. They emerged after the outbreak of the war and were a "high-tech achievement" the extremist Evolved developed after they swept into power. Unlike the first generation, these people transformed during the embryo stage.     

The human had assumed the role of a creator. They developed a "mechanical core" with "genetic information" and implanted the bean-sized mechanical cores into human embryos. New-borns were cyborgs. The enhanced strands grown in the center of the machine would coexist with the human body. The process was so harmonious as if the mechanical system was part of the human body.     

These people were the second-generation Evolved.     

Hao Ren looked at the blonde girl, who laid quietly on the bed. The cables in her body, weird but were had wholly fused with her flesh and blood.     

"You are now a second-generation Evolved." Hao Ren poked the MDT's face (tentative version). "Because there are no mechanical plug-ins on me, I look like a purebred Natural to the locals. No wonder they were so surprised to see us together. We are an unlikely couple."     

"The level of your body enhancement is higher than anyone else here," the MDT muttered. "Yet, I'm still stuck in a lifeless, tattered shell with a goddamn hole!"     

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "Please respect the deceased and stop complaining. The death of the girl is already tragic enough, and you're now occupying her body…"     

The MDT yelled, "Then should I try it on you?"     

Hao Ren was speechless.