All Ruan Mei truly required from Julian was his help in projecting the physical templates so she could study how to synthesize the clones.
Now that her initial batch was complete, she likely wouldn't mind helping him calibrate an automated synthesizer that could produce more specimens whenever fresh materials were loaded into the trays.
"Oh, you can just use that console over there."
When Julian asked about the controls, Ruan Mei pointed a slender finger toward the primary synthesis pod without even turning around. Her eyes remained glued to a swirling matrix of genetic maps displayed across her main monitors, filled with symbols and formulas that made zero sense to him.
Seeing how absorbed she was in her work, Julian decided not to press her further and walked over to the console to investigate.
Ruan Mei seemed to have anticipated this day from the start. The main buttons across the interface were labeled with crisp, handwritten tags detailing their exact functions, though quite a few secondary switches remained blank.
Not daring to press anything at random, Julian reached out and tapped the primary ignition toggle.
"The companion cultivation interface is ready for your input," a calm, level voice chimed from the audio grille, sounding remarkably like a slightly detached recording of Ruan Mei herself. "Please choose the species template you wish to synthesize."
"Notice: No biological catalysts or divine remnants detected in the primary feed tray. Synthesis cannot proceed at this time."
"An interactive guide?" Julian blinked in surprise.
An automated interface modeled after Ruan Mei's own demeanor was certainly convenient. Then again, considering Herta had installed an interactive personality matrix inside her favorite curio mirror, this was everyday practice for the Genius Society. Given their technical reach, calling it an imprint of her personal habits was probably closer to the truth.
Having an automated assistant was a massive relief; it meant he could operate the machine on his own without spending months studying advanced genetics.
After testing the security clearance and confirming that his biometrics held primary administrative ownership, Julian paused as a deeper question crossed his mind.
He turned toward Ruan Mei, but seeing her posture locked in deep thought, he felt too rude to interrupt.
Besides, the question in his head wasn't strictly about high-level biology. After a brief hesitation, Julian decided to take his thoughts to Herta or Stephen instead.
Leaving the lower bays, he headed toward the upper offices to track down Herta, hoping to see if she could help him develop a few practical tools.
"Well, well. Shouldn't you be down in the nursery looking after your little companions? What brings you all the way up here?"
A small puppet frame led Julian down a secure lift into the core data chamber beneath Herta's private office. Down in the humming vault, Herta's true physical self was busy calibrating the primary data streams for the Simulated Universe.
Stelle hadn't visited the station over the past few days, so Herta had drafted Julian into running several test passes through the virtual rooms instead, which had provided her with plenty of fascinating combat figures.
"I came to place a small research commission with the brilliant and incomparably lovely Madam Herta," Julian said, offering a warm, seamless compliment with an easy smile. "And perhaps ask her to clear up a lingering question."
He knew Herta had a soft spot for sincere flattery, provided she already found the person interesting enough to talk to.
"I always enjoy speaking with people of refined taste," Herta replied smoothly, accepting the praise with an amused tilt of her head, though her hands never left her monitors. "Speak your mind. If it catches my interest, I might consider taking it on."
"I would like to commission an efficient, low-cost network framework capable of connecting players across entire star systems without heavy transmission lag. If possible, something inspired by the architecture of the old Domain Space."
Herta looked wholly indifferent during the opening half of his pitch, but the moment the words 'Domain Space' left his mouth, her fingers froze over the console.
Domain Space held a unique place in the memories of those who lived through that era, as well as the scholars of the Genius Society.
The framework had been conceived by S斯卡尔, member number twenty-nine of the Society, who had possessed a natural lifespan of merely twenty-nine days. Even during the final hours of her brief existence, she was still presenting brilliant hypotheses to her peers.
She was an unmatched intellect bound by the cruel biological limits of her short-lived species.
Her mastery over Domain Space had possessed the potential to reshape the galactic economy overnight. Yet the moment she passed away, the network collapsed alongside her, turning its entire digital ecosystem into ancient history and cutting short a looming war among corporate conglomerates who had been scrambling to control its assets.
Julian knew Herta had studied the surviving records of that network; remnants of its architecture were likely woven right into the foundations of the Simulated Universe. Modern virtual games across the stars owed a silent debt to those old blueprints.
What Julian wanted, however, was not the historic realm itself, but the underlying data bridges that allowed distant minds to connect to a shared space without massive server overhead.
To prepare for a full-scale online release, Julian had tested several corporate network protocols optimized by Stephen during the Grand Celebration.
Those solutions had helped reduce latency, but they were still far too costly to deploy on a permanent, public scale across multiple star clusters. They could handle a short, focused tournament stream, but they weren't viable for an open online world meant to run every day of the year.
Herta's brief pause hadn't been triggered by curiosity over his game. She had already planned to help him with his network questions; their informal agreement regarding the Simulated Universe had worked well, with Julian borrowing her computational resources while his massive player base provided her with endless live test data.
What had actually caught her attention was the parallel between Domain Space and biological architecture.
S斯卡尔 had not been human; she had belonged to an arachnid race, and her spatial network had been inextricably linked to the biological instincts of her kind. The Society had long recognized that connection, yet because no one could bridge the gap between organic instincts and digital nodes, the technology had never been truly replicated.
Hearing Julian mention decentralized nodes made Herta think of a specific companion: Zygarde, whose complete genetic sequence she had scrutinized when Julian projected it in the labs.
In Julian's lore, that creature's cells were scattered across an entire world like dormant sensors, capable of gathering and communicating across vast distances at a moment's notice. Wasn't that essentially a living, biological network?
The structural logic was remarkably close to the biological web S斯卡尔 had spun.
Could the missing key to S斯卡尔's network be hiding inside Zygarde's genetic design?
Herta pushed down the urge to abandon her current tasks and dive straight into the lab. Having long moved past youthful recklessness, she preferred to finish tuning the Simulated Universe before opening a fresh line of inquiry.
"Fine. I will look into your network protocol when I have a spare hour," Herta said, her tone carrying a sudden touch of brisk impatience. "Now, what was that lingering question you mentioned?"
Julian's mouth twitched slightly. A major communication hurdle that corporate engineers had spent years failing to solve was dismissed as an errand she might tackle in her spare time.
He was growing used to the breezy confidence of the Genius Society, though it still gave him a dry sense of humor.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder why her tone had suddenly turned so hurried. Did I say something wrong, or is she just eager to get back to her work?
Setting the thought aside, Julian asked his real question directly:
"Is it technically possible to take the shared memories and battle experiences a companion accumulated inside the game, and transfer that consciousness directly into the mind of a living, physical clone?"
Herta paused, turning her head to give Julian a genuinely surprised look.
"You actually treat artificial software companions as emotional beings? It seems you and Screwllum would find plenty to talk about."
She shook her head with a faint, amused sigh, but as she thought through the practical mechanics, her expression turned quiet and unusually thoughtful.
"The technology certainly exists," Herta said slowly, her voice carrying a layered weight. "The real question is what you actually want to achieve: do you intend to nurture their original, clean slate, or do you want to overwrite their living minds entirely?"
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