Everyone was stunned. Gong Yiding's gaze was peculiar, "Do you think this is appropriate?"
"What's not appropriate at this point?" Ou Zhanpeng retorted.
Gong Yiding nodded heavily, "The Prophet's physiological functions have ceased. I can try, but I can't guarantee the result."
So far, consciousness transfer had only been attempted on living subjects; never on other experimental materials.
However, logically speaking, after death, the survival time of cells is extremely limited, and brain cells are particularly fragile, with irreversible death occurring after just five minutes of oxygen deprivation.
This meant that consciousness transfer had to be performed within five minutes of death for a chance of success.
And even then, it was only a possibility; no one knew if it would work.
Although the Prophet was dead, the body had been preserved in a stasis pod and cryogenically stored. Strictly speaking, the Prophet's cells were merely in a frozen dormant state, not truly dead.
Therefore, there was a possibility of success, even if only partial memory transfer was achievable.
Note that it was only memory, not consciousness, because after death, only memory remained!
Whether this memory contained the communication technology Ou Zhanpeng desired was not important. What was important was that the Prophet's memory could open the door for humanity to fully control the Starship Base. Regardless of the angle, it held irreplaceable practical significance.
Gong Yiding immediately left the bridge to arrange the experiment. However, the existing equipment was only suitable for humans and could not be used on the Prophet, requiring all equipment to be remade.
Human and Prophet physiology were highly similar, so all experimental procedures could be directly applied. It could be said that everything was ready except for the crucial element.
For this reason, Gong Yiding mobilized personnel to form a new experimental team. In just two days, all necessary equipment was fabricated, and the experiment officially entered the extraction phase!
Direct experimentation on the Prophet's body was impossible. Gong Yiding first found some animals and then some volunteers.
Gong Yiding certainly couldn't kill the volunteers in the experiment. Instead, after cryogenic stasis, their consciousness was read using specialized equipment.
The results were all failures, without exception.
"How could this happen?" Ou Zhanpeng wasn't just a little disappointed; he felt like he had missed out on five million.
Gong Yiding sighed, "It's not surprising. At minus one hundred degrees Celsius, the brain would have long frozen into an ice block. Brain cells would have no means, and there would be no bioelectricity. It would be strange to extract anything useful."
"What about warming up the Prophet? Is that possible?" Ou Zhanpeng asked, clinging to the last shred of hope.
The Prophet created humans. Logically, humans should have preserved the Prophet's body meticulously, refraining from any actions that could damage it. But at this point, Ou Zhanpeng no longer cared.
Weren't living humans more important than a dead Prophet?
Gong Yiding gave a wry smile and shook his head, "Warm it up? Don't be ridiculous. At least the low temperature preserves the brain cells. Once we start warming it up, the brain cells might perish before the temperature even rises!"
"Because of oxygen deprivation, right?" Ou Zhanpeng asked with certainty.
"Yes, oxygen deprivation."
"If we prepare in advance to prevent oxygen deprivation? For example, artificially reconstructing the brain's internal blood circulation... not blood circulation, I mean, using another liquid that can carry a large amount of oxygen and won't freeze to replace the blood, can we ensure the brain cells remain intact?"
Gong Yiding stroked his chin, "Theoretically, there's no problem. How to do it still needs to be determined through experimentation!"
Ou Zhanpeng hesitated for a long time before uttering, "Let's try anything, even if it's a dead horse. Whatever the outcome, I'll take responsibility!"
Gong Yiding gave him a deep look and nodded heavily, "Alright!"
From that day on, the experiment entered a new phase. A large number of experimental animals were sent to the laboratory every day, and the job of the research personnel was to find a solution that could supply oxygen to the brain in a low-temperature environment.
It wasn't difficult to find a low-temperature solution rich in oxygen. However, this solution also needed to possess characteristics similar to blood, and its material properties should not change even when the temperature rose.
Otherwise, once its volume expanded or other properties changed, the fragile brain would burst into a pile of useless碎肉 (pulverized flesh)!
Animal experiments were in full swing, consuming dozens of pigs daily. It was only because the base had a large enough population and strong digestive capabilities that the hard-won meat was not wasted.
Animal experiments alone were not enough. To understand the Prophet's brain structure, Gong Yiding extracted the Prophet's cells and cloned a batch of Prophet brains. Although cloning humans was permitted outside the solar system, based on the most fundamental moral bottom line, Gong Yiding could not use a complete clone for experimentation.
Cloning only the brain was different. It was not a complete life from the beginning, nor did it have a complete growth experience, so there were naturally fewer scruples.
However, cloning was not smooth sailing either.
Humanity knew too little about the Prophet, completely lacking information on the Prophet's physiological data, especially crucial data like blood pressure.
This might seem insignificant, but anyone would know that using human physiological indicators for a direct fit wouldn't work, and extrapolating data was unscientific.
In the end, they had to contact the First Civilization and apply the Giant's physiological information to the Prophet.
This was a last resort and the most likely method to succeed, as the Giant civilization was the closest to the Prophet in terms of physique.
However, many problems still arose during the experiment. The experimental team continuously made micro-adjustments, and after hundreds of failures, they finally found the most suitable blood pressure.
After successful cloning, the next step was various experiments on living tissues.
Although these brains lacked clear logical consciousness, their instincts were still present. After connecting artificial organs to the cloned brains, they exhibited the expected responses to external stimuli.
The experimental group meticulously recorded all experimental data and then carefully froze the experimental brains.
It wasn't that they didn't want to continue, but a substitute for blood had not been found, making further experiments impossible.
To quickly overcome this critical hurdle, the experimental group devised many methods: multi-point penetration, gaseous diffusion, nutritional replacement, temperature elevation replacement, circulation reconstruction, and various other ideas, but few were effective.
Some believed that cloning only the brain had too many limitations and suggested a slight variation: cloning a complete head.
Gong Yiding refused without hesitation.
A brain could be considered an organ, but what about a complete head? Oh, imagine opening the laboratory and seeing a row of brains in glass jars, all opening their eyes and staring at you?
Was this a laboratory or a horror movie set?
"Our experiment has encountered some difficulties, but I believe these difficulties are temporary. As long as we continue to work hard, victory will ultimately belong to us!"
However, the reality proved that researchers had ample imagination. Since cloning a complete head was not feasible, someone proposed cloning a complete Prophet, but only the body without the brain. After the body grew, the frozen Prophet's brain would be transplanted into it.
Although the cause of the Prophet's death was unclear, a healthy body paired with a reasonably healthy brain, along with a normal resuscitation procedure, might have a chance of reviving the Prophet.
At first glance, it seemed illogical, but upon closer consideration, it actually made sense.
The Prophet's death was not determined by anyone's judgment but by the equipment's reading. Yet, the death precisely occurred during the stasis process, and the Prophet's body had been in a frozen state, with no damage.
Theoretically, as long as the Prophet's brain remained intact, revival should be a normal occurrence!
Moreover, for present-day humans, brain transplantation was not an overly difficult surgery. With advanced surgical equipment, humans could restore surgical wounds at the atomic level while in a frozen state, preventing any impact on revival from the transplant site.
This technology had developed in recent years and was formally known as biomolecular suturing, still in its promotion phase.
Previously, patients entered the operating room standing and were wheeled out lying down.
With this technology, patients entered and exited standing, with wounds causing at most a dull ache for a few days.
Those in good condition didn't even need to be hospitalized, recovering with a few days of medication at home. Those in poorer condition would be hospitalized for at most two days.
If Gong Yiding's team successfully conquered low-temperature surgical technology, humanity's medical standards would reach a new, significant level!
No matter how severe the injury, as long as the person was still breathing, it would be manageable. Rescue personnel could freeze the injured on the spot, completing the rescue, and there would be no need to rush the injured to a hospital, as they could be transported collectively after the rescue operations concluded.
Of course, even if the experimental team succeeded, it would only be able to treat organic diseases; conditions like Alzheimer's disease would remain beyond its capabilities.
Therefore, even though Gong Yiding and his team were merely researching the Prophet's brain, they were actually having a significant impact and promoting human medical technology.
It was precisely because of this that the military provided substantial support for this research; otherwise, Gong Yiding wouldn't have been able to find volunteers so easily.
Nevertheless, upon learning that the research team intended to clone a complete Prophet, the Three Leaders couldn't help but be disoriented for a while.
"It's not just about whether to clone or not. There's also the point that must be considered: is the cloned Prophet the same as the original Prophet?" Shan Qiuyu tapped the table with his finger, producing a resonant sound.
Old foxes and cunning spirits understood without explanation. Zhou Guangyi and Mu Xingyu grasped his meaning.
The Starship Base fell into human hands because the Prophet had given Ou Zhanpeng a seed to control the base.
So, with the appearance of a new Prophet, would the control of the base remain with Ou Zhanpeng, or would it automatically transfer to the Prophet?
"That's easy to solve!" Mu Xingyu's mind worked quickly, and he immediately had an idea. "The research can continue, but the transplantation must be completed on Earth, the Moon, or other locations far from the Starship Base. Moreover, the resuscitated Prophet must be strictly forbidden from approaching the base!"
Shan Qiuyu's brow relaxed, "A good method! No matter how powerful the Prophet is, they can't remotely control the base, right?"
"Alright, let's do it this way!" Zhou Guangyi decided.
However, when the news reached the base, Gong Yiding couldn't sit still.
The plan devised by the experimental team was based on the conditions of the Starship Base. If they had to leave the base, not only would everything need to start over, but most of the content would have to be overturned.
For instance, the Prophet's preservation. It was not a concern within the base, but in other locations, the transportation of the stasis pod would first need to be addressed.
Although it was much more troublesome, Gong Yiding couldn't refute it.
If they had already figured out why only Ou Zhanpeng could control the base, they could have targeted the problem and resolved the Prophet's control over the base.
But to this day, the experimental team had not found the slightest clue, and they had no idea where to start.
Therefore, leaving the base became the only option.
Corresponding experiments resumed. How to transport the Prophet, how to ensure the success rate of the surgery, and where the next experimental phase would be conducted – all details had to be meticulously ensured.
Furthermore, no one could guarantee that the revived Prophet would cooperate with humanity.
The Prophet was the creator of humans. Upon waking up and discovering that they were controlled by humans, what would be the Prophet's mood?
If the resuscitated Prophet refused to cooperate, wouldn't all the research conducted over such a long period, with so much human and material investment, be in vain?
Not only that, but Gong Yiding also thought of another very important question. He immediately put down the experiment he was working on and rushed to the bridge, "Little Ou, I have a very important question!"
Ou Zhanpeng was taken aback, "Please speak!"
The others also appeared to be listening attentively.
Gong Yiding organized his thoughts, "You see, the Prophet manufactured four generations of civilization consecutively. It shouldn't be difficult for the Prophet to clone a new body, right?"
Upon hearing this, Ou Zhanpeng and the others were stunned. Their expressions clearly indicated the answer in everyone's minds.
Gong Yiding continued, "Since changing bodies is not difficult, why did the Prophet die? Was it merely despair? Because the spacetime bubble was about to collapse? Or because they felt their existence was meaningless?"
Ou Zhanpeng and the others had never considered this question. Being asked by Gong Yiding, they were all rendered speechless.
They did have some guesses, but they were all groundless conjectures, not worth mentioning.
Ou Zhanpeng remained silent for a moment before saying, "The Prophet lived for so many years; it's a paradox in itself. Therefore, I believe the Prophet wasn't unable to live, but they had long mastered technologies like cloning or consciousness transfer, or perhaps even more advanced immortality techniques. Personally, I think the continuous failure of three generations of civilization was too much of a blow, which led them to choose death... Wait?"
Gong Yiding raised an eyebrow, "You've also found something amiss, haven't you?"
Everyone looked at him suspiciously, unsure of what he was referring to.
Ou Zhanpeng pressed his temples, rubbing them vigorously. "Stasis is the complete cessation of physiological activity, so when the Prophet entered the stasis pod, their physiological state was fixed. It's impossible for them to die prematurely during stasis!"
He suddenly looked up, "Could it be that all the Prophets are still alive?"
Humanity believed the Prophets were dead, not because they had witnessed their demise, but because they had indirectly judged it based on information from the stasis equipment.
But thinking about it carefully now, wasn't that a contradiction?
"I personally think the possibility is very high!" Gong Yiding nodded heavily. "I suggest we try to revive one. If not here at the base, then somewhere else."
Ou Zhanpeng was both surprised and delighted, but he quickly calmed down and shook his head, saying, "If the Prophets are still alive... since they voluntarily handed over the Starship Base to us, do you think there's a difference in changing the location?"
"Alright!" Gong Yiding turned and left, "I understand."