Actually, the so-called cyborg, that was, the combination of man and machine, wasn’t just a science fiction concept.
In 2002, more than a decade ago, the famous British cyberneticist Kevin Warwick conducted a risky experiment. He implanted a silicone sensor transmitter chip into his brain and became “the world’s first cyborg.”
Through simple mind-control like techniques, he was able to control simple networking devices, and the output signals were complex enough to even operate a robotic arm.
The principle for Warwick’s device was similar to the neural access technology used by Lu Zhou, except that instead of collecting neural signals from the spinal nerve, Warwick directly collected neural potential signals from the cerebral cortex… Signals were generated when someone imagined themselves moving a limb without actually moving the limb.
Therefore, Star Sky Technology wasn’t the first to conduct a cyborg experiment.
Collecting neural signals, processing them through a computer chip, then directly feeding the signals to an electrical robotic device. This had been one of the greatest problems in the modern field of cybernetics.
Kevin Warwick made a prediction that if cybernetics technology continued to improve, it would one day be used to help blind people “see things”, deaf people “hear” things, and allow crippled people to stand up from their wheelchairs… Eventually, humans would no longer be made of flesh and blood. They would become one with machines. A higher form of existence.
Professor Kevin Warwick had been continuously working on his research. He had donated his body to his own research by implanting a silicon-based chip into his nervous system. The microelectrode array that was inserted contained 100 electrodes.
At least for now, this didn’t seem to bring any negative effects to his life. But the future impacts remained to be unseen.
Regardless, the operation on Li Gaoliang’s body was undoubtedly successful.
Two weeks after the operation, with help from the nurses, Li Gaoliang finally was able to get out of bed.
Not just that, with the assistance of the electric machinery, he was now able to control his bladder…
In short, the rehabilitation process went quite smoothly.
Three weeks after the operation, Lu Zhou visited the Jinling military hospital again. When he saw Li Gaoliang in the rehabilitation room, Li Gaoliang was learning to walk with crutches.
Lu Zhou walked next to him and asked, “How are you feeling? How’s the recovery process?”
“It’s okay, I’m getting used to it.” Li Gaoliang’s tone was full of emotion as he said, “To be honest, when I saw my medical report, I thought my life was over. I didn’t expect to be given a second chance to stand up… I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, thank the advancement in medical technology,” Lu Zhou joked.
Li Gaoliang smiled awkwardly.
He hesitated for a second before he suddenly said, “Oh yeah, I want to ask you something, don’t know if you can answer.”
Lu Zhou: “Go ahead.”
“I’m living and walking right now, does that mean… this surgery has passed the clinical trial, and other paralyzed people will have a chance at standing up again in the future?”
Li Gaoliang sounded excited.
He thought about the crippled soldiers, who were tied to their beds.
If this technology was able to repair his spinal nerve, then would that mean…
Lu Zhou looked at how excited he was. He knew what Li Gaoliang was thinking about. After a moment of silence, Lu Zhou spoke.
“If it’s a recent injury, it is worth a try. But I have to remind you, the success rate of your operation is less than 10%. Even the surgeon was amazed. It’s a miracle everything went so smoothly.”
Lu Zhou then said, “Also, don’t be too happy just yet. We still don’t know if this technology is stable, something might go wrong in the future.”
It was like Lu Zhou just poured water on the fire in Li Gaoliang’s heart.
Li Gaoliang realized what the reality was.
“I’ll be happy to cooperate with any tests.”
Lu Zhou dropped this conversation and said, “Forget about the experiment. Right now, you should familiarize yourself with the equipment.”
“I understand…” Li Gaoliang nodded and suddenly said, “Oh yeah, do you think you can replace other parts of the body with the electric titanium skeleton thing?”
Lu Zhou: “It is theoretically possible, but I don’t recommend you doing it. With the currently available technology, there is a huge amount of risk in each operation. It is already a miracle we were able to fit you with these two titanium alloy legs. Don’t expect this miracle to happen again.”
There was also one crucial thing Lu Zhou didn’t mention.
Which was that every person had different physical conditions. This neural access device was difficult to standardize, and it had to be custom made to fit every person.
On the surface, it looked like something that would require just one surgery. However, before the surgery even began, the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study held several special meetings to discuss the technicalities of the device.
Even if the State Administration for National Defense were willing to fund the technology, it was impossible to fit every soldier with such expensive equipment.
Li Gaoliang said, “Noted.”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Well, I hope you recover quickly. I have to go back to the institute, see you later.”
Lu Zhou turned around and was about to leave.
Suddenly, he heard Li Gaoliang.
“Wait a second!”
Lu Zhou turned around and said, “What?”
Li Gaoliang said, “When should I inform the army of my retirement?”
Even though he didn’t want to retire, because of his condition, he was in no shape to stay in the 4th battalion.
However, Lu Zhou was confused.
“Retire? Why are you retiring?”
Li Gaoliang was stunned.
His eyes flashed with surprise.
He gulped and spoke with a trembling voice.
“So what you’re saying is… I still have a chance to return to the army?”
“Don’t you want revenge?”
Lu Zhou smiled and patted Li Gaoliang’s shoulder.
“You’ll get your revenge.”
…
The days quickly passed by, and it was soon June.
Lu Zhou approached Wang Peng to ask about the attack, but it seemed like the investigation process didn’t go smoothly.
So far, all they knew was that the attack organization was located near Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. However, because these were war-torn countries, there were plenty of armed organizations and mercenaries in that region. It was difficult to track down the true identities of the attackers.
Most importantly, none of the organizations claimed to be behind the attack.
As for the “tattoos” on the deceased attackers, that was something from the movies. If the attackers didn’t want to reveal their identities, obviously they wouldn’t leave any physical evidence on their bodies. Even their weapons came from unknown origins.
So far, the one thing the intelligence department was sure of, was that this was a sophisticated organization.
After all, they had to travel from the middle east to the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, crossing almost the entire Central Asia region.
Being able to transport twelve well-trained and heavily armed militants through so many borders was already a difficult task.
There were only two countries in the world that had the capability and drive to organize an attack like this…
The Garden plan was set aside for the time being.
The Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Science announced the primary academician election results on their website.
As expected, Lu Zhou’s name was on both of the primaries.
This caused quite the sensation, and it became a hot topic among university forums.
However, interestingly enough, even though some people had a few words of hatred toward the results, none of them questioned the fairness of the election.
After all, with a Nobel Prize and a Fields Medal, not to mention the ion thruster propulsion system and controllable fusion, Lu Zhou was more than qualified to have two academician titles.
During the last election, Lu Zhou was busy being the “chief designer” of the Pangu fusion reactor.
Otherwise, he would have been an academician a long time ago…
