65 million years ago, Earth's ancient African continent
The spacecraft carrying Nikola Tesla successfully docked with the Earth space station, located at geosynchronous orbit 36,000 kilometers above Earth's equator.
On the busy Venus-to-Mars route, it served as a transit station, nicknamed "Midway Island" by the Venusians.
"Mr. Tesla, go see Maria. Our time is tight—we can only give you six hours." Colonel Fellman waved his arm toward the rear, and a holographic projection screen appeared before Tesla like magic. Pointing at the time displayed on the screen, he said:
"Our spacecraft uses Venusian time. You know Earth's rotation is slightly slower than Venus's. An Earth day is fifteen minutes longer than a Venusian day. Please pay attention to the time and return promptly."
Abbott opened the case containing the spacesuit and said to Tesla:
"Nikola, put it on quickly and take the space elevator down."
"Space elevator? You've broken through carbon nanotube technology? Woven them into the 'rope' I spoke of?" Tesla instinctively looked up. "We're 36,000 kilometers from Earth. To balance and tension the space elevator tether, you must have extended the structure upward to over 90,000 kilometers, right?"
Abbott smiled mysteriously, patted Tesla's shoulder, and said:
"Yes, over 90,000 kilometers, old friend. I know what you're thinking—if extended to 180,000 kilometers, this device could receive super-light wavelengths and become an energy source."
Tesla put on the spacesuit and entered the space elevator capsule, thinking to himself: "180,000 kilometers, energy source—that is, a super-light wave power station." For the first time since his awakening, a knowing smile appeared on his face.
To avoid the lateral centrifugal force produced by Earth's rotation, the space elevator could only be built near Earth's equator. The Venusians found a vast swampland on the continent they named Africa, through which Earth's equator happened to run horizontally.
Because there were no tall plants here, dinosaurs rarely appeared. The Venusians named this swamp "Victoria Wetlands" after the hunting goddess from their mythology.
The capsule came to a steady stop on the ground. The hatch opened, and two uniformed staff members came up to help Tesla remove his spacesuit. A woman stood opposite, gazing at him intently.
"Maria, is it really you?" Tesla quickened his pace, rushed forward, and embraced his beloved woman tightly.
Maria was born six years after Tesla, so she was also over a hundred years old. Fortunately, Venusian bio-gene technology had achieved a leap forward. A Venusian over a hundred was considered in their prime, mostly appearing only forty or fifty years old, as before the genetic revolution.
Maria herself was a genetic biologist. Standing before Tesla, her appearance was unchanged, almost no different from how she looked eighty-six years ago in Tesla's memory.
Maria had long hair and a round face, fair skin, a slightly plump body, and bright, lively eyes that blinked, revealing the wisdom of an intellectual woman and the maternal kindness Tesla claimed she possessed.
Whenever this topic came up, Maria would extend her pink fist and pound Tesla's shoulder, coquettishly complaining:
"I'm still a young girl. What do you mean maternal? Am I that old?"
After their passionate kiss, Tesla cupped Maria's face and examined her closely. With a sense of foreboding, he didn't know whether he hoped or feared to find even a trace of melancholy in her eyes.
Maria's expression was joyful and serene. In her clear eyes, there was no trace of sorrow.
"Maria, why are you on Earth? Isn't this our exile planet for Venusians?" Tesla couldn't help asking.
Maria took Tesla's hand and sat down, beginning to tell him her story.
Maria had graduated from Venus Alliance University with a doctorate in bioengineering, engaged in gene cloning technology research. Her team went from cloning mice to cloning sheep, and finally to cloning human organs.
The cloning of human organs and tissues achieved a medical leap for Venus, greatly extending the average lifespan of Venusians.
Meanwhile, some naturalist human rights organizations and religious groups in Venusian society vigorously opposed Maria's work. Some journalists added fuel to the flames. Maria was beaten into a "dark" scientist by the moral cudgel.
The bill banning the cloning of human organs and tissues was argued back and forth in the Venus Alliance Parliament. Ultimately, the Alliance Supreme Court settled the matter, ruling that the technology of cloning human organs and tissues did not violate the constitution, but should be restricted to use only when human life was at risk.
The Alliance Parliament subsequently passed the "Restriction Act on Cloning Human Organs and Tissues."
Maria had her own theory. She believed that Venusian humanity's self-evolution in adapting to environmental changes was too slow to keep pace with the rapidly developing digital information age.
The more important reason was that Venusian humanity's artificial changes to the natural environment had completely disrupted the rhythm of the human body's autonomous evolution. Artificial intervention using genetic engineering technology was extremely necessary.
Tesla more or less understood. He looked directly at Maria and asked:
"So, you violated the restriction order and continued to engage in experiments and medical activities involving cloning human organs and tissues?"
Maria smiled mysteriously, the corners of her mouth rising in an unfathomable expression. She changed the subject and said to Tesla:
"You haven't been to Earth yet, have you? Let me take you outside to see."
The Victoria Wetlands stretched endlessly. The tropical breeze was salty, damp, and sticky. The "outside" Maria spoke of was a huge elevated platform paved with wooden planks.
Tesla walked to the edge of the platform, holding the railing, and looked around curiously.
In the distance, there seemed to be a large group of people busy with something. Maria handed Tesla a high-magnification telescope and pointed in the direction of the crowd.
Through the high-magnification telescope, Tesla first saw groups of sheep, and what seemed to be several fawns inside. A human figure appeared in the telescope. The person didn't seem to be wearing normal clothes, but rather was entirely wrapped in strange black garments resembling a diving suit.
The person wore a gas mask-style helmet protruding at the mouth and nose, with tubes connected behind the helmet—clearly a breathing apparatus. Tesla moved the telescope and found several more people in the same attire. He asked in astonishment:
"Maria, who are they?"
"They are the clones I created. It is precisely for this reason that I was exiled to Earth along with them." Maria spoke calmly, though slightly embarrassed.
"Ah? Then why are they dressed like that? Do they have congenital physiological defects?" Tesla asked.
Amid the exclamations of wonder Tesla occasionally uttered, Maria introduced the situation of the clones.
Thirty years ago, Maria used stem cells and gene technology to directly clone human bodies.
The cloning experiments were basically successful. The clones' physical characteristics and functions were no different from humans, except that the clones' respiratory systems were not fully developed. During strenuous activity, they required the assistance of breathing apparatus.
The clones' vocal cords and the neural network systems in their brains governing language functions developed normally. Strangely, they could not learn to speak, yet seemed to have collectively invented a method of communication through chirping, similar to human singing.
"Nikola, what puzzles me endlessly is that these clone friends are extremely sensitive to human music. Their communication is like concerts, even operas."
As she spoke, Maria took out a violin from its case. After tuning the strings, she added, "Our Venusian pianos have 88 keys spanning 11 octaves. I've measured it—the chirping of our clone friends spans a full 7 octaves, far exceeding that of humans."
Tesla was momentarily speechless, and Maria's violin notes were already rising—first poetic and songlike, then tearful and plaintive.
Tesla seemed to have heard these two pieces before. A voice in his heart told him that one expressed the joy of love, and the other the sorrow of love.
The clones seemed to have received some kind of summons. They stopped their work, removed their breathing apparatus, and gathered in groups of three or five on a gentle grassy slope, standing or sitting.
Thus, songs rose one after another—soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and chorus.
Nikola Tesla held Maria's hand, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in the singing.
He suddenly realized that this group of beautiful melodies came from the oratorio composed by the father of Venusian symphony over 200 years ago:
*The Creation*.
&
A collected-verse poem following Li Bai's "To Wang Lun":
I sing again for you the song of youth, Qing, Jiang Shiquan
All are the foremost sounds of the mortal world, Sui, Cui Tu
Yet leaning on slackened strings, I sing of parting sorrow, Song, Yan Jidao
Half due to hardship, half due to deep passion, Song, Chao Chongzhi