4 The Awakener’s Genetic Sequencing (1/2)
All the students who were present perked up in interest as they waited for the teacher to brief them about the current situation. They were extremely attentive: it was the first time the school addressed the situation in detail after the resurgence of the aura.
”First of all, I would like to verify the time of Aura Resurgence.” Li Hong wrote the words on the blackboard and said, ”In reality, Aura Resurgence is used by some novel enthusiasts in our country. The actual term coined by the five international science scholars after periods of research is Genetic Awakening.”
As he spoke, Li Hong wrote down the words Genetic Awakening under Aura Resurgence. He said, ”In layman terms, this meant that planet Earth had undergone some mysterious changes which resulted in an awakening of human genetics.”
The students were all ears, and Zhao Ming suddenly raised his hands and asked, ”Teacher, what was this mysterious change?”
”Good question!” Li Hong said, and clapped his hands. He turned and wrote down the words Awakening Concentrate.
”The direct cause of Genetic Awakening is linked to the meteor shower that occured in September last year. According to scientific research, the meteor showers brought an unknown substance to Earth and that substance is known as the Awakening Concentrate. The Awakening Concentrate evaporated and entered our atmosphere. If you are interested in this, you would have known that Awakeners had gradually been appearing on Earth since that meteor shower.”
After hearing Mr Li Hong's explanation, the students immediately gained clarity.
The timings of the events matched perfectly. It had been after September the previous year that some humans with extraordinary abilities had started to appear in the country.
In general, the students had noticed, the Awakeners were similar to the mutants in X-Men. The main difference was that the mutants had their powers since birth, whereas the Awakeners's powers appeared later on in life.
Chatter filled the classroom.
”Oh, so it occurs like this. There's the Genetic Awakening, the Awakening Concentrate. It sounds like a science fiction plot!”
”Yeah! This is so cool, it's the first time we've heard that--”
”It seems like the scientists have discovered something incredible!”
Li Hong waited for the discussion to die down before knocking on the blackboard and speaking again, ”Okay, these are the current changes that have occured in our world. Let's continue. Since the emergence of the Awakening Concentrate, the number of human Awakeners has increased. As lives among species are equal, genetic changes have also affected other species, including animals and plants, so everyone must be careful. Try to avoid going to secluded and deserted places as we do not know what mutations animals and plants have undergone. It could be dangerous. Do you understand?”
The students replied in unison, ”Yes, we understand!”
”Very good.” Li Hong nodded satisfactorily. He continued saying, ”Now, let me move on to explain what the Awakening process is like.”
Finally, the main act.
All the students held their breath as they attentively listened to the teaching. It would not have been an exaggeration to say that it was the most serious Li Hong had been in class.
”As we all know, all living things on earth are made up of genes.” Li Hong wrote the words genes on the blackboard and said, ”Under normal circumstances, about 98% of the human genes are ineffective. We categorize these genes as junk DNA. In some novels, they explain this using the concept of genetic locking, right?”
Some of the students laughed, as one answered, ”Yes! I read about it in the book Limitless Fear. There were several levels to it!”
Upon hearing that, others started laughing uncontrollably.
Li Hong smiled and said, ”Although the current Genetic Awakening is similar to what was said in the book, the actual process would be much more complicated. Under normal circumstances, 98% of human genes are considered junk DNA, but with the introduction of the Awakening Concentrate, the genes that were once considered useless are now in effect. Of course, this is not something that occurs overnight, the change takes place gradually over time. Scientists from many countries have conducted a comprehensive analysis of this process and came up with the following formula.”
Li Hong picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a formula in Chinese under the word gene.
Awakening Talent = (current unlocked genetic index - normal human genetic index2) * 10000
”So, what does this formula mean?” Li Hong continued, ”From a neutral perspective, anyone can theoretically unlock a gene and become an Awakener. But after all, everyone is different. Hence, our Awakening talent would differ. In the same period of time, the higher the amount of genes unlocked, the greater the Awakening talent. Of course, this only applies to processes that occur under normal circumstances. There are many coincidences that may occur between humans and machineries, or there may be unexpected stimuli or adventures that may occur. However, the main point I would like to emphasize here is that if a person's current unlocked gene index accounts for 2.99% of his total genes, then, according to the formula, his Awakening talent would be 2.99% minus 2%, so 0.99%. After multiplying it by ten thousand, he would have the Awakening talent of 99. What does this mean? It means that this person would be better than his peers after experiencing Awakening.”
After Li Hong's explanation, everyone would have understood what it meant.
According to the time node, everyone began from the same start line. Excluding those whose Awakening was triggered by external stimuli or events, for the rest, the earlier they experienced the Awakening, the greater their Awakening talents.
After learning that, the students were extremely excited and started discussing heatedly.
”Wow, so this is how it happens. According to the formula, my Awakening talent would be 99!”
”Don't be so sure if you do not want to be embarrassed later on! I guess mine would be 98.”