Chapter Eighteen: Evolution

"Perhaps with a few more thousand years of normal evolution and selection, humanity might truly replace biological energy with electricity as the primary source of power for our bodies," Liu Weihan remarked to Ma Guanglin, a touch of sentiment in his voice, from some ten meters away.

Now that the expert team from the Summer Institute of Science had arrived, the two of them found themselves with little to do, and so they took the opportunity to chat.

"Replace biological energy with electricity... How could that be possible?" Ma Guanglin chuckled, "Major Liu, I've noticed you really enjoy these fanciful ideas. We humans are flesh-and-blood creatures, through and through. No matter how we evolve, we can't change the basic physiological mechanisms of eating, drinking, excreting, and so on, let alone start using electricity as fuel... That's just too big a leap!"

"I used to think so too," Liu Weihan replied, "but now, upon closer thought, I realize it's not as impossible as it sounds. Tell me, Researcher Ma, if humanity were to continue developing normally for another five thousand years, how advanced do you think our technology would become?"

"That's difficult to say," Ma Guanglin said thoughtfully. "While human civilization on Earth has spanned over five thousand years, our technological boom has really only occurred in the past couple of centuries. If we keep progressing at this rate for another five thousand years, the results would be unimaginable!"

"Exactly," Liu Weihan smiled. "If everything progresses smoothly, we can be certain that human civilization five thousand years from now will be far more advanced than what we have today."

"And driven by our perennial desires for health and longevity, humanity will surely continue to invest heavily in fields like genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and medical devices. With sustained research over five millennia, significant breakthroughs are inevitable!"

"By then, replacing natural organs with more reliable and stable artificial ones, and substituting outdated biological energy with cleaner, more convenient electricity... it seems almost inevitable that this will become humanity’s preferred choice!"

"The efficiency of traditional biological energy is simply too low and inconvenient," Liu Weihan said, watching the great dragon as it 'recharged.' "Researcher Ma, you must know how many calories the human body needs daily, right?"

"Certainly," Ma Guanglin nodded. "A typical adult male needs about 2,000 to 3,000 kilocalories a day, depending on their activity level."

"That's right—about that much," Liu Weihan nodded approvingly. "But do you know how much that would be if converted into electricity?"

"Converted into electricity?" Ma Guanglin frowned, puzzled. "I have no idea. Is that even possible?"

"Of course," Liu Weihan said, smiling. "One kilocalorie is one thousand calories, which equals 4,184 joules—about the energy released by one gram of TNT. For simplicity, let's call it 4,200 joules."

"With a daily requirement of 2,000 to 3,000 kilocalories, let's take the higher number: 3,000 kilocalories, which is 12,600,000 joules."

"One kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts times 3,600 seconds, or 3,600,000 joules."

"Divide the two, and you get 3.5. So, our bodies only need 3.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day to function vigorously and energetically."

"Just 3.5 kilowatt-hours?" Ma Guanglin was incredulous. "That's all?"

"Exactly," Liu Weihan sighed. "At current residential electricity rates, that's only about two yuan a day. Our bodies would get all the energy they need, running smoothly, at little cost and with greatly reduced reliance on social and natural resources. It would make our society far more sustainable."

"And the benefits of an electrified body go far beyond that."

"In the future, when our technology is highly advanced, our current natural bodies will seem deeply unsatisfactory."

"They're too fragile and too precious, with limited lifespans and vulnerable to disease and aging, and they're not easily repaired or maintained."

"They also require very specific environmental conditions—too hot or too cold and our quality of life and survival are severely affected..."

"Our endurance is poor, too; we need frequent eating, drinking, excreting, and plenty of sleep just to maintain balance and stability. It's all too complicated, and the energy loss is too high..."

"But a body powered by electricity wouldn't have these issues at all. It would be durable, long-lived, highly resistant to disease and aging, and any failing parts could be replaced at will."

"Electricity would replace biological energy, so we’d no longer need aerobic respiration for energy... thus no more eating, drinking, or worrying about food. A few minutes of charging each day, and you'd be bursting with vitality all day long."

"With high-capacity batteries, our future bodies could work at full capacity for an entire month, or even a year, on a single charge."

Such bodies would be extraordinarily adaptable to all kinds of environments—sweltering heat, frigid cold, arid deserts, or the crushing pressure of the deep sea...

An electrified body could quickly adjust and thrive, even in the harsh environments of Mars or the Moon.

With so many advantages, why wouldn't humanity strive toward such evolution?

"Listening to you, it almost sounds plausible," Ma Guanglin mused, then shook his head with a wry laugh. "But there's a problem. If things were really as you describe—no eating, drinking, excreting, or metabolism, and all organs are artificial... then I suppose there'd be no need for genes or bloodlines, either. Would beings transformed by electricity still count as humans? Wouldn't they be more like robots?"

"So long as one could live forever..." Liu Weihan gazed at the great dragon, his expression distant. "Does it really matter whether you call yourself human or robot?"

...

Huang Ze did not notice their conversation, or he would have been delighted to discover a fellow believer in the Church of Mechanical Ascension. At that moment, he was entirely absorbed in the pleasure of absorbing electricity.

"Yes, this is exactly the feeling!" the dragon laughed heartily as a constant stream of electricity surged through his veins into his heart, filling him with a tingling, addictive sensation. He felt invigorated, and even the effects of his depleted magic subsided considerably.

"It seems Mr. Huang truly can absorb electricity!" Ding Xuewen and the other researchers were elated.

Extraordinary life forms are in fact a broad category, referring to beings far stronger than normal creatures. These include various races such as dragons, angels, demons, nightmares, high elves, and elemental lords.

The researchers at the Summer Institute of Science were well aware that not all extraordinary beings could absorb or utilize electricity. It was a rare, acquired gift, usually found only among energy-spirit types like angels, spirit mages, or elemental lords.