strange village

In the stillness of midnight, when people are sleeping soundly, time flows like a quiet river in the darkness and among the stars.Those touching or ordinary moments are gone, and usually only some invisible traces are left-memories.People are largely composed of memory, and memory is largely composed of forgetting, which is precious and perishable.

So people invented the most beautiful and fascinating concept in the world, called eternity, which not only includes the past that can’t be traced back to when, everything in the present, but also the future that has not yet appeared and I don’t know where it leads. The moment when various moments miraculously come together, the fleeting present, the fleeting memory and the imagination of hopes and worries.

Using the most advanced technology to prolong life as much as possible is undoubtedly a means to bring human beings closer to eternity.Some people's attachment to eternity is unimaginable. The reason may be that life is too short, but there are too many love desires that cannot be given up.

More than 30 years ago, the reduction of newborns worldwide has been going on for a long time, the labor force is seriously scarce, people are experiencing a global depression, and after the depression, there is no baby boom as usual, naturally Disasters continued to break out, local wars broke out frequently, disputes continued to brew, and then a terrible epidemic came.

Unlike Ebola virus and HIV virus, which appeared in remote Africa, and do not need to be transmitted through drugs, this new virus comes from a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean, Sipar, with a long coastline and tall coconut trees, The comfortable climate and the bright blue sea like a Paraiba tourmaline make this a popular holiday destination. The original source and mode of transmission of the virus cannot be determined. It is speculated that it resides in some kind of local animal. Cross-species transmission, once infected, it can spread quickly through the air and through the human respiratory system, just like the flu, but the fatality rate is as high as 90.00%, and its lethality is even worse than that of the Black Death in the Middle Ages .The virus enters the human body through the respiratory tract, and then rapidly mutates within two weeks to two months, causing degenerative changes in the central nervous system and leading to death.

The scary thing is that because the virus cannot be killed by conventional disinfection methods, and the serology cannot be detected after infection, and the tissue is already contagious during the incubation period, so once this disease is brought back to all parts of the world by a large number of tourists via international flights , becomes extremely difficult to control.Young travelers brought the virus back to their hometowns, and it spread rapidly in public transportation, office buildings, shopping malls, bars and all crowded places. As long as they have close contact with infected people, they may be infected.

Different from general malignant diseases, this virus spreads quickly, but it will not kill in a short time. At first, the symptoms are similar to allergies, and the infected person will feel itchy all over the body, and then they will have symptoms similar to flu, such as headache, eye pain and fear. Light, accompanied by fever, these symptoms are easily overlooked or misdiagnosed.Then patients began to suffer from neurasthenia, blurred vision, and balance disorders. During the course of the disease, their memories would be gradually erased, and gradually they would not even recognize their familiar lovers and family members. Then the symptoms developed to trembling limbs, body pain, and slurred speech Unclear, involuntary laughter, which will become more and more serious over time, eventually leading to loss of muscle coordination, difficulty swallowing, complete loss of bodily autonomy, and eventually death.The symptoms are somewhat like a more contagious version of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The virus quickly spread and spread like a fire igniting straw. After raging on land for several years, the strange disease killed half of the world's population.

However, what is puzzling is that some infected people will not die in a short period of time. Most people will quickly get sick and die within two days to two months after the onset of symptoms, while a small number of people can survive for four to six years. This situation gave people hope.At first people thought that these people might have antibodies themselves, and even believed that the disease had hope of being cured, but things were not that simple, and soon the only glimmer of hope burst like soap bubbles, and the extra few months Life only prolongs the suffering of patients and their families. Although their bodies are still alive, their souls have long since died. Their brains are as if they have been cooked at high temperatures. Epilepsy often occurs, and the patients completely lose their will to be human.They often die in pain, their eyes seem to burst from their eye sockets, and brain tissue fluid flows out of their nostrils.

Almost everyone, every family has suffered from this epidemic. Almost every survivor has seen family members and loved ones lose consciousness. Those loved ones are still alive, but they are no longer familiar. Lost his soul and memory, only his body remained, and he became a stranger behaving strangely.

However, just as the Black Death impacted the feudal system and the status of the Roman Catholic Church that dominated Europe, changed the social structure, ushered in the Renaissance, and gave birth to modern human civilization, this catastrophe also brought huge changes to human beings .

Although a small number of patients survived, the damage to the brain caused by Sibal virus is permanent and irreversible. These surviving patients basically died of various complications within five years.

But actually, there is one exception.

One patient survived with an intact memory, or rather, his memory was stored.

Before the outbreak of the epidemic, this patient became a volunteer of a medical experiment program. After being diagnosed, he was immediately isolated into the No.14 research institute where the experiment program was located.

"Can I really see Dad?" A little girl in a goose-yellow dress tilted her neck and raised her head, asking the woman beside her.

The woman looked pale and worried. She looked down at the little girl and didn't answer.

A black car was parked not far behind them. A man in a black suit was sitting in the passenger seat. The window was half open. He was talking to someone, and his eyes flicked to The mother and daughter not far away.

On the white sign in front of them, there are several big black characters written in italics: No.14 Research Institute.

The gate is heavily guarded, with anti-terrorism and anti-collision roadblocks equipped with spikes. Four guards with live ammunition stand straight at the gate, and there are two camouflage-painted military robots beside them. The camera is facing them. direction, moving mechanically from time to time.

The little girl seemed frightened by the weird shape of the robot. She reached out to grab the woman's hand, but was in vain. She had to shake it in the air twice, and then grabbed her skirt.

The woman took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

After explaining his identity and purpose of coming, the guard nodded expressionlessly, then Gard's camera moved quickly a few times, the green warning light on the simulated eyes flickered twice, and the door opened with a click.

The woman pulled up the dazed little girl and walked towards the door.

In the reception hall of the institute, a man and a woman were sitting on a black leather sofa waiting for them.

"Ms. Jin?" The short-haired woman got up and walked towards the worried and helpless mother and daughter.

The woman obviously saw them and stopped in place and nodded.

"I'm Zhu Muning who contacted you before. It's the first time I met you." As she spoke, the short-haired woman smiled and walked up to shake hands with her.

"Hello. This is my daughter Mumu."

The little girl said obediently: "Hello, Auntie." Then she bowed and bowed. The two ponytails hung down from her shoulders and swung twice.

Seeing the little girl's appearance, Zhu Muning smiled knowingly: "Hi, Mu Mu. Please sit down, both of you."

As soon as the two sat down, the service robot turned the pulley and moved to the coffee table next to it, stretched out its mechanical arm, and put two glasses of water on the table.

"Let me introduce, this is Zhou Yaping, the person in charge of our experimental project." Zhu Muning pointed to the man beside him wearing silver-rimmed glasses and wearing white overalls.

Zhou Yaping stretched out his hand: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The woman stretched out her pale hand and gently shook hands with the other party.As if affected by the warmth of that hand, she looked up at the man's face.

His face is very handsome, with deep contours and firm lines. The corners of his eyes are slightly wrinkled, but it makes him look more attractive. His gray hair is mixed with some silver threads, and it is very neatly groomed. the exact age of the person.

"Your husband should have informed you about participating in this experiment. You know about it, right?" Zhou Yaping asked.

The woman looked sad and nodded: "Yes, he discussed it with me, but I didn't expect this day to come so soon."

"According to the contract, we have been monitoring his vital signs for a long time, which should have helped save his life." Zhou Yaping paused, and then said: "But you know the current situation is also of great importance to us. challenge."

The woman nodded mechanically as if she had lost her soul, as if it wasn't her husband who was sick, but herself.

"From the moment the experiment started, we kept tracking and stored all his memory data. Of course, the data before the experiment started can also be extracted, but according to his brain function, there will be a certain degree of distortion and omission."

"I know."

"Do you want to see him now?" Zhou Yaping asked.

The woman's worried and sad face suddenly showed a look of extreme horror, and she was a little at a loss, and she didn't speak for a long time.

"Is it Dad? Can I see Dad? I want to see him! Mom, I want Dad!"

The child's voice was clear and loud, full of longing. The woman seemed to be crushed by Mu Mu's begging voice, and she answered her daughter in great pain: "Stop talking, your father has already..."

Zhou Yaping interrupted her directly: "He is already waiting for you." Although abrupt, he was gentle and did not mean to offend.

The woman froze, not knowing what to think.Mu Mu danced happily, and couldn't wait to hold the woman's hand.

"Come with me." Zhou Yaping stood up and walked out the door.