"Those people—" She looked toward the silent, highly efficient workers. "Who are they...?"
"Members of the company's engineering and security echelons, along with select optimized auxiliary work units," Osiris's answer was simple and direct. "Their professionalism and efficiency are key to maintaining construction milestones. As for the large-scale reorganization and training of Haven's native populace, specialized personnel and administrative echelons will initiate that process once the base stabilizes initial operations."
He paused slightly before adding, "Doctor, the new facilities for your laboratory and research team are assigned to Sector C-7 within the base. That zone will offer more stable power generation, advanced instrumentation, and a fully controlled environment. You may begin preparing for relocation and adapting to the new workflows. Guidelines regarding research directions and an initial project ledger will be transmitted to you shortly."
Dr. Hanson nodded, unable to summon further words.
Following the initial shock, a deep sense of powerlessness seized her.
She had thought she was choosing to lean against a giant tree; only now did she realize she had stepped into an endless forest of steel, where every single "tree's" root system and canopy stretched far beyond her comprehension.
The concepts of a "node" and a "foundation stone" that Osiris spoke of had assumed a terrifyingly concrete and heavy meaning.
At that moment, an individual wearing a complex technical badge on his chest approached Osiris, briefly delivering a report in a low, staccato, highly efficient tongue.
Dr. Hanson could not catch the exact words, but she saw Osiris nod slightly.
"Doctor, the ground stabilization for the Protein Synthesis and Biomass Recombination Center has been completed. The initial batch of growth substrates and genetic templates is being brought down from orbital facilities," Osiris relayed, his tone as flat as if discussing the weather. "This facility will be crucial for addressing large-scale rations and specialized biological material demands. You may accompany me to inspect the preliminary layout; it may offer inspiration for your research scope."
Protein Synthesis Center... As a biologist, Dr. Hanson naturally understood the implications behind those words.
The ability to synthesize proteins on a massive scale meant breaking total reliance on traditional agriculture to produce high-energy nutrition—and perhaps even manufacturing organic materials or... other things.
She quietly followed in Osiris's footsteps, heading toward another vast lot currently being leveled. The last faint, lingering image of "home" in her mind was being completely overwritten by the cold, efficient, fiercely purposeful industrial blueprint before her.
Haven was being forged anew.
And she, along with the knowledge and people she represented, was merely a category of "resource" about to be assigned its specific position in this forging process.
The expansion rate of Node One Base surpassed all imagination.
Mere weeks later, as Dr. Hanson stood before the observation window of her new laboratory, looking down at the partially formed base structure below, she still felt a sense of unreality.
An enormous network of pipelines extended like arteries between metallic buildings; in the sky, automated transport shuttles glided silently along fixed flight corridors; in the distance, the towering, massive fermentation vats of the Protein Synthesis and Biomass Recombination Center reflected cold light in the sun, already undergoing system calibration.
Yet today, Osiris had brought her to another sector—one where structural enclosure had just been completed.
Security here was distinctly tighter, with heavily armed personnel in specialized marked uniforms standing guard at every corridor junction.
The air filtration system seemed to contain extra purification layers, carrying a faint scent of disinfectant and chilled metal.
They passed through several airtight doors, entering an exceptionally broad, remarkably high-ceilinged circular hall.
The center of the hall held no control console, but rather a deeply sunken, colossal transparent cylindrical structure over fifty meters in diameter. Its bottom was nowhere in sight, filled with a light-blue, faintly luminous gel-like substance.
Surrounding the cylinder, multi-tiered ring platforms were covered in a dizzying array of terminals, control panels, and robotic arm interfaces.
Countless cables and conduits ran from the ceiling and surrounding walls into the base of the cylinder, the low hum of energy flow serving as the dominant cadence of the room.
"This is the core modulation hall of the Biological Template Optimization and Replication Center," Osiris's voice echoed in the cavernous chamber, sounding even clearer than usual. "The central cylinder you see is the primary cultivation array. The internal medium provides the precise nutrients, hormonal regulations, and neurodevelopmental simulation environments required for a biological organism throughout its entire lifecycle from embryo to maturity."
Dr. Hanson approached the giant transparent cylinder, placing her palm against the icy observation glass.
Within the light-blue medium, countless minute, embryonic contours were vaguely visible, floating and submerging in a rhythmic formation, each connected to almost invisible micro-tubes.
The sheer quantity made them impossible to count.
"Replication... optimization..." she muttered. As a biologist, she was no stranger to related concepts, but the scale and technical execution before her eyes far exceeded any known biotechnology in the Koprulu Sector. "However, Mr. Osiris, large-scale replication possesses fundamental flaws—loss of genetic diversity, risk of degradation, not to mention ethics—"
"Thus, it is no simple replication," Osiris interrupted her, stepping up to the nearest console and executing a rapid sequence of inputs.
The holographic display beside him illuminated, revealing an extremely intricate double-helix structure surrounded by countless data nodes and regulatory pathways that flickered like a field of stars.
"The technology you are familiar with is likely basic genetic cloning. What is applied here, however, is the Cloning Tapestry."
As he manipulated the controls, the holographic image began to evolve.
The genetic sequence was not being copied in a rigid, fixed manner. Instead, during the replication process, it was as if an invisible, marvelously refined hand was conducting an exceptionally intricate "weaving."
Certain segments were fine-tuned, while specific regions introduced pre-set mutation modules sourced from a vast genomic library. Throughout the process, an algorithm entirely beyond Dr. Hanson's comprehension maintained core hereditary stability while actively and systematically preserving and simulating the natural genetic diversity of a wild population.
"Look here," Osiris zoomed in on a regulatory cluster. "This algorithm introduces controlled random gene exchanges and modifications within every 'generation' of replication, simulating the genetic drift and gene flow seen in natural reproduction.
Simultaneously, it maintains a massive 'Genetic Diversity Template Library,' ensuring that the polymorphism of critical loci—such as baseline physiological functions and immune responses—is preserved or even optimized.
This means that even if tens of thousands of individuals are replicated consecutively, this population will not lag behind a naturally reproduced, medium-sized population in terms of genetic health and adaptive resilience."
Dr. Hanson's eyes widened as she stared intently at the flowing data and evolving models.
As an expert, she recognized the terrifying magnitude and brilliance of this system in an instant.
It completely overturned the core bottleneck of replication technology!
This was not manufacturing fragile copies—it was "weaving" a population endowed with intrinsic vitality and evolutionary resilience.