It took Hao Ren a while to figure out the basic operation of the 'personal computer' on the table. It looked similar to a laptop on Earth, but the keyboard function and system architecture were very different. If it were not for the translation plug-in in his brain and his past experience, it would have taken him a long time to figure out how to get some information from this device.
After opening a bunch of programs by mistake, he thought he had found a browser-like function and was surprised to find that it was connected to the Internet.
"I really don't know how they maintain the smooth flow of the global Internet in this world," Hao Ren muttered curiously as he looked at the slowly refreshing images and text on the screen. "Could it be that someone comes here to collect the Internet fees?"
The MDT looked at the computer screen through Hao Ren's eyes and said, "Telecommunications personnel in armored vehicles with light machine guns to repair optical cables. Don't you think it's a cool setting?"
"If you have the time to talk nonsense, help me think of a few search keywords," Hao Ren said, rubbing his fingers. "This stuff is much more convenient than asking the locals."
The MDT replied casually, "Natural person, first-generation Evolved, second-generation Evolved, war, world situation — these keywords must be right."
Hao Ren operated the computer of this world with some difficulty. What he wanted to know was finally presented in front of him.
The global war had lasted for three generations.
Humans in this world called the planet under their feet 'Zorm', which had the same meaning as' Earth 'in the Surface World. But to show the difference, the transliteration of the local common language was chosen here. The last peaceful time of Zorm ended more than 60 years ago.
Some old people used to call the last period of peace the Pastoral Era. It was the last period of peace enjoyed by humans on this planet, and probably the last glory of the entire human history. Mankind ushered in the explosive development of science and technology in that era. The emergence of two technologies seemed to solve all the problems and hidden dangers on the planet. One was the reliable nanotechnology, which came from the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists believed that the newly emerged Nanomachine Swarm would completely solve all problems including environmental pollution, human diseases, natural transformation, and even alien colonization. The other technology was the evolvable biochemical plug-in, a mechanical device that could be implanted into the human body and could coexist with biological tissues. This mechanical device could even develop synchronously like the host's innate organs, relying on cell energy to maintain lifelong operation.
The original intention of the development of Nanomachine Swarm was to solve environmental and medical problems. Scientists hoped that these cutting-edge robots could be used to decompose pollutants and treat human injuries. The biochemical plug-in was the basis of leap-forward transformation of the human body. Due to the assistance of modern medicine, the human race was no longer under the supervision of the natural law of survival of the fittest. Therefore, the process of evolution had long been stagnant. Technology was increasingly advanced, but the human body was extremely primitive in nature. Scientists believed that biochemical plug-ins would once again push the human race to the forefront of the path of evolution. Because the ultimate form of these plug-ins was to become a part of the human body, fundamentally changing the human life form.
There was no doubt that in the last peaceful era of Zorm, the whole world was immersed in an atmosphere of joy and confidence. Although there were always conservatives who were skeptical and wary of the new technology, the voices of these conservatives were soon drowned out by the cheers of people all over the world.
As the technology matured, a group of people called the Evolved officially emerged. They were a new type of human beings with various modified plug-ins implanted in their bodies, such as nerve-strengthening strands, auxiliary memory chips, neuro-computer interfaces, and other devices, which gave them various abilities different from ordinary human beings. Originally, this group of people should be called the Modified. But because of the biological characteristics of the plug-ins and the nature of co-growth and evolution with the host, the first group of people who received plug-in implants called themselves the Evolved.
Just like in many stories, there had been friction between the evolved and the purebred Naturals from the very beginning. The innate advantages of the evolved had occupied the living space of the Naturals, while the Naturals relied on their huge population base and occupied social resources to impose various harsh restrictions on the evolved. But in any case, this friction was expected from the beginning. Sociologists and scientists believed that this was a normal "pain of social change," so human society was still running normally.
Until sixty-five years ago, a disaster broke out in the northern hemisphere, starting the "war" that lasted until today, and wiping out the prosperity of Zorm.
Of course, Hao Ren was very concerned about the disaster. But after searching for a lot of information, he found that it was full of loopholes and contradictions. The truth of 65 years ago had been destroyed by the flames of war, and all forces in the war were desperately trying to record and publicize the beginning of the war in a way that was beneficial to themselves. In the end, Hao Ren only sorted out a few useful clues: the beginning of the disaster seemed to be multiple, including food pollution, financial crisis, and an Evolved riot. The most fatal direct cause was an out-of-control accident of the Nanomachine Swarm.
Sixty-five years ago, the largest Nanomachine Swarm command center in the northern hemisphere of the planet was suddenly attacked. Three giant computers called "Masters" crashed at the same time, directly causing the sea of Nanomachine Swarm around the command center to lose control. After the safety devices of the Nanomachine Swarm failed for unknown reasons, these micro-robots, which were originally used to decompose inorganic waste and purify water, flowed to the surrounding cities and directly dissolved the three largest cities in the world at that time, including the capital of a country.
This was the beginning of the war that lasted for sixty-five years, and it was chaotic from the beginning.
At that time, the investigation results of the incident had been sealed by history, but there were many rumors on the Internet. It was said that there was solid evidence that the attack was carried out by radicals among the Evolved. They gained direct control of part of the Nanomachine Swarm with the special brain chip function of the Evolved. Their purpose was to release the rampaging Nanomachine Swarm to massacre the Naturals on a large scale. After destroying the Naturals' population and social resources advantage, they used the Nanomachine Swarm to build a nation of new humans on the ruins. But because the computing power required to control the Nanomachine Swarm was too large, all the Evolved who launched the attack died of brain overload in the Master's computer room. Other rumors said that the attack was carried out by a country or an extremist religious group in the southern hemisphere. There were many theories, but there was only one conclusion: the out-of-control Nanomachine Swarm had destroyed the international balance of power in the northern hemisphere, causing a large number of second-tier countries to take advantage of the situation and compete to be the leader. The conflict between the Naturals and the Evolved had completely intensified. Driven by a series of subsequent events, the war spread uncontrollably across the planet.
No one could have imagined that the war had lasted for sixty-five years. Until now, it had almost destroyed all the order of the planet. A deformed, lingering human civilization lived here, and the original appearance of this civilization had long disappeared.
After learning the cause and the current situation of the planet, Hao Ren entered the detailed entry about the Evolved. He finally figured out what was going on between the first and second generation of Evolved.
The relationship between the two generations of Evolved was not literal "seniority" but referred to their respective modification technology. The technical basis of the Evolved was biochemical plug-ins. The early biochemical plug-ins could only be applied to more mature individuals. The implantation usually took place after the age of fourteen, or later, eighteen. This implantation was performed on mature human bodies, so the degree of modification was limited. It was usually some partial limb strengthening, and there were obvious surgical traces on the outside of the body. The slot behind Nolan's head was an example. Because this kind of modification technology was relatively primitive, people who adopted this kind of modification were called the "first generation of Evolved."
Until today, there were still new "first generation of Evolved" appearing. They were usually mercenaries who had to undergo modification in order to survive on the battlefield or to repair fatal injuries.
The second generation of Evolved were humans who used more advanced implantation technology. They only appeared after the outbreak of the war. They were the "high-tech results" of the Evolved after the extremist faction of the Evolved successfully established a regime. Unlike the first generation, these people were modified when they were still embryos.
Humans seemed to play the role of the Creator, developing the "mechanical core" with "genetic information." They implanted these bean-sized mechanical cores into human embryos, and the newborn was already a superhuman who was born with a fusion of flesh and machinery. The strengthening beam that grew out of the mechanical core would grow along with the human body. It was almost as if the human body was growing another body at the same time.
These people were the "second generation of Evolved."
Hao Ren glanced at the blonde girl lying quietly on the bed. He thought of the heterogeneous but completely integrated tubes in her body.
"Your body now belongs to the second generation of Evolved." Hao Ren poked the face of the MDT (temporary version). "And I don't have any mechanical plug-ins, so in the eyes of the locals, I'm a purebred, natural person. No wonder they were so surprised to see the two of us together. The two camps are now fighting each other. "
"In fact, the degree of modification of your body is higher than anyone else," the MDT muttered. "And now I'm using a broken shell that can't even open my eyes … and there's a hole in it!"
Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "The dead should be respected. Can you stop complaining? This girl died so tragically, and you're still occupying her body …"
The MDT yelled, "Then why don't you try?"
Hao Ren was speechless.
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