Two weeks after the colony satellite wreckage disaster, the world had finally regained a semblance of stability on the surface.
It should be said that the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation had finally suppressed the chaos within their borders.
As for the other nations, the turmoil within them wouldn't have been quelled anytime soon even without this incident, and now, their internal conflicts had only intensified dramatically.
However, these countries had little say in world affairs to begin with, so whether they were in chaos or not didn't affect the major powers' plans for their next moves.
Originally, this was the time the Atlantic Federation should have started a campaign to pin the blame for the falling colony satellite wreckage on PLANT.
But a new paper from the New Misurugi Kingdom directly interrupted all the plans of the three Earth Alliance nations, and even Durandal.
The New Misurugi Kingdom's latest paper was titled "The Already Evolved Humans—Newtypes." The author was listed as Dr. Nanai Miguel, a former senior researcher at the PLANT Gene Research Institute and now a senior researcher in human evolution at the New Misurugi Kingdom's Academy of Sciences.
This paper described in detail the basic characteristics and abilities of a human race called Newtypes.
It also explained that Newtypes were the product of natural mutation and evolution as ordinary humans adapted to life in space. It specifically pointed out that anyone with excellent Spatial Awareness could be called a Quasi-New Human, and that these individuals were just one step away from true evolution.
At the end of the article was a list of Newtypes the author had confirmed to date: Reid Isaac, Noin Lucrezia (some translations have it as Lucrezia Noin, but in the anime, she's always called Noin, and normally, people who are close call each other by their first name, not their last), and Nanai Miguel.
The moment this paper was published, its impact on the world was no less than when George Glenn had revealed the existence of Coordinators and released the method for creating them on the internet.
Every government in the world that was still functioning immediately sought confirmation from the New Misurugi Kingdom's government. Even within the New Misurugi Kingdom itself, the matter was a topic of intense debate.
This was different from Coordinators. If these so-called Newtypes were truly a natural evolution of the human race adapting to the space environment, then no one would dare to prohibit them. After all, unless humanity was locked on Earth forever, there would be no way to prevent the emergence of Newtypes.
And right now, no one dared to turn back the clock of history and suggest that all of humanity give up on space development.
Even the fanatics of Blue Cosmos didn't attack this paper, because their biggest argument against Coordinators was that they were products of artificial intervention, not natural formation.
Now, that very reason had become a boomerang against them when it came to Newtypes. As long as it couldn't be proven that Newtypes were also artificially manipulated, Blue Cosmos's ideology couldn't oppose them.
This clearly didn't align with the original intentions of LOGOS, which had guided Blue Cosmos into its current state.
Therefore, a large number of geneticists around the world soon appeared, questioning the authenticity of the paper and demanding that Nanai Miguel prove its contents to be true.
Une had long been prepared for this situation.
The moment the worldwide demands to prove the paper's authenticity emerged, Une sent an invitation to the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT, asking them to select an absolute expert in genetics from their countries to conduct a comparative experiment.
Furthermore, Une allowed the remaining countries to send two qualified researchers, forming a six-person team to verify whether the genes of Reid Isaac and Noin Lucrezia showed any signs of modification, all under a 24-hour, non-stop live broadcast to the entire world.
This experiment would also allow these researchers to obtain the duo's genetic data and compare it with that of ordinary Naturals.
At the same time, Nanai Miguel would provide her own genes for comparison with an ordinary Coordinator.
Of course, to prevent genetic leakage, all invited personnel participating in this verification would have someone personally supervising them 24 hours a day, including during trips to the bathroom, showers, and sleep.
Before entering the laboratory, everyone had to strip naked for a full-body inspection. The New Misurugi Kingdom would provide all experimental tools, including the subsequent lab coats.
Simultaneously, while conducting the experiment, hundreds of cameras would film everyone from every angle to prove the experiment's authenticity.
During the experiment, the participants would have no privacy. Except for the parts showing them using the toilet, showering, or undergoing naked inspections, all conversations between the six, including their sleep, would be broadcast live to ensure no one could fake the results or smuggle out Reid's and the others' genetic samples.
As for memorizing the genetic data or recreating genetic traits from the video recordings?
One could only say that anyone who raised this question was severely underestimating the complexity of the human genome.
Also, to prevent unqualified individuals from making up the numbers, everyone had to undergo a professional genetics knowledge assessment in front of the whole world after arriving in the New Misurugi Kingdom.
To be honest, with surveillance methods more extreme than a prison and an attitude that openly declared, "We don't trust anyone," it would be a mark of good character if the invited genetic titans didn't curse them out in response to the invitation.
But this concerned the natural evolution of humanity. No one who studied genetics would miss this opportunity to make their mark on world history.
So, as soon as the invitation was sent, the genetic researchers from the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT immediately engaged in a war of words, which eventually escalated into a physical brawl to decide who would get the spots.
The three Earth Alliance nations each sent the chief researcher from their respective national genetic research institutes. Among them, the researchers from the Eurasian Federation and the Atlantic Federation were staunch supporters of Blue Cosmos's ideology (without this status, they couldn't have become the chiefs of their national genetic research institutes).
To outsiders, it seemed that if Reid Isaac and Noin Lucrezia had even the slightest trace of genetic modification, these two would definitely not hide it.
In fact, neither of them had received any political assignments this time. The Eurasian Federation and the Atlantic Federation (including some behind-the-scenes financial conglomerates) were also very concerned about whether humanity had truly begun to evolve naturally. So, after much wrangling among various parties, the governments instead demanded that they be objective.
There wasn't much to say about the East Asian Republic; a highly respected and healthy senior researcher in human genetics secured the spot.
PLANT's choice, however, was somewhat baffling, because Durandal came in his capacity as a genetic researcher.
If the existence of Newtypes was confirmed, the impact on Coordinators would actually be greater than on Naturals. Even the problem of procreation could be solved here.
As a top-tier genetic researcher, Durandal used a great deal of political capital, even having a confidant take over his position as Chairman, just so he could personally verify Reid Isaac's genes.
Because Durandal knew that if the Newtype matter was true, his Destiny Plan, lacking such crucial data, would be impossible to implement. His pride as a researcher would also not allow him to push out a system with such a huge flaw.
As for the two spots for other smaller nations, a genetic researcher from the Equatorial Union took one, and the other was claimed by Orla Maha Haibel, who shouldn't have appeared at this time, under the identity of a freelance researcher.
(In this book's setting, Orla and the Coordinators have not yet entered Foundation. They will later enter Foundation with the help of their old acquaintance Durandal, taking advantage of the Eurasian Federation's warring factions being preoccupied.)
As a geneticist from the Mendel Institute of Genetics and a rival of Ulen Hibiki, Orla Maha Haibel was certainly qualified.
However, with her appearing at this time, many people were very interested in the story of her de-aging due to a lab accident.
But with the emergence of Newtypes, a matter concerning the future of humanity, Orla Maha Haibel had to come out and witness it for herself.
After all, according to the paper, Newtypes were likely an existence that would sweep the Coordinators they created directly into the dustbin.
Once the six-person comparative research team was assembled, the New Misurugi Kingdom certainly wasn't going to insult them with something like a written test.
Nanai Miguel made an appearance before the world and held a tea party with the six. They discussed the most cutting-edge genetic theories. As long as the six could converse normally, there was no need to worry about their technical skills.
Of course, all six were genuinely skilled; otherwise, being screened out here would be a worldwide embarrassment.
It was worth noting that for this live broadcast, the Earth Alliance and the New Misurugi Kingdom had gone to great lengths, using a relay of warships to ensure that the people of the three Earth Alliance nations could watch it live on television.
From this moment on, every little action of these six people was being watched by at least a billion people.
Next, just as the New Misurugi Kingdom had announced, the six had to strip naked and be inspected by same-sex natives. Afterward, they put on the research uniforms provided by the New Misurugi Kingdom and headed to where Reid was.
After a week, Reid no longer had to pretend to be bedridden. He was now holding his daughter, Little Maria, preparing for a blood draw.
Yes, Little Maria, as the daughter of a Newtype and an ordinary Natural, also needed to be examined. This was a request made by Durandal and Orla.
Since the reason was fairly reasonable, Reid and Murrue had no choice but to agree.
However, after Little Maria cried when her blood was drawn, Reid stared daggers at Durandal and Orla, making a firm mental note of this against them.
At this moment, Reid made no effort to conceal his spiritual pressure. As Coordinators who were born with an Awakening Value, Durandal and Orla personally experienced a wave of Reid's mental pressure.
After the native medical staff finished drawing blood from Reid and Little Maria, they officially led the six into the laboratory.
For this comparative experiment to be sufficiently detailed and accurate, even with top-tier researchers and the most advanced equipment in the CE Universe, it was estimated to take about five days.
During these five days, everything the six, including Durandal, did was watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world, including many professionals of the same caliber.
Therefore, no one tried any tricks; they were genuinely conducting the most meticulous comparative research.
Thus, five days later, after multiple comparisons and conference discussions, they could only conclude that the genes of Reid Isaac and Noin Lucrezia showed no signs of artificial modification.
Furthermore, the genes of Reid Isaac and Noin Lucrezia related to muscles and the brain were already different from those of ordinary Naturals.
It seemed that some junk DNA had been activated to participate in the construction of RNA molecules again, directly evolving into new genes.
However, the physical strength and mental acuity brought by Reid Isaac's genes were significantly higher than Noin Lucrezia's. This aspect was highly abnormal, but they couldn't provide a reason or conclusion for the time being.
Subsequently, the genetic comparison of Nanai Miguel also confirmed that as a Coordinator, the same two gene locations had undergone changes of a similar nature.
It was known that all Coordinator genes come from Naturals, so the upper limit of a Coordinator's genes was the upper limit of a Natural's various aspects.
But it was clear that Reid Isaac, Noin Lucrezia, and Nanai Miguel had all broken through this limit. From a biological perspective, the three of them had truly mutated.
However, a beneficial mutation that adapts to the environment is biological evolution.
So-called biological evolution relies on natural selection to eliminate organisms that cannot adapt, allowing those better suited to the environment to continue to reproduce, thus completing the evolution of the entire species generation by generation.
And after humans arrived in space, they naturally mutated genes to adapt to the space environment, which brought new abilities. This was naturally evolution, not mutation.
However, looking at the genes of Reid's daughter, Little Maria, the changes in her muscle and brain genes were not significant. This might be related to the fact that she had just passed her hundred-day celebration and her body was not fully developed.
After all, the first generation of Newtypes had just been born, and their effect on the second generation born from a union with a Natural was completely unknown.
The moment this conclusion was announced, the entire globe was in an uproar.
Then, all the smart people realized one thing: Reid Isaac's leap from a military officer with only Spatial Awareness and strong combat skills to a scientific genius was likely due to the secondary development of his brain from his Newtype Awakening.
Moreover, his physical fitness had clearly far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
Also, the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT could guess that the New Misurugi Kingdom chose this moment to expose the existence of Newtypes most likely because it was related to the incident where the Newtype Reid Isaac piloted the Hermes Zero to push away the Junius 7 wreckage single-handedly. Therefore, the New Misurugi Kingdom had no choice but to reveal the existence of Newtypes.
According to the paper, Newtypes are particularly sensitive to human brainwaves and even possess very powerful and special brainwaves of their own.
And it was already a confirmed fact that Minovsky Particles are affected by the human mind. There must be a connection between the two.
One could only say that the think tanks of various countries were not just for show. If three cobblers can outwit a Zhuge Liang, then this group of the nation's brightest minds could figure out the cause and effect of the Junius 7 miracle just by discussing it.
However, they could only guess. As for the specific theory, Reid himself said he didn't know; it was a skill effect, and he couldn't use this ability without activating the skill.
After the comparative experiment was completed and the results were announced to the world, all experimental data and genetic samples were destroyed by the New Misurugi Kingdom in front of the entire world.
At that moment, if the six-person team didn't know that countless security guards were watching, they really would have wanted to stop the New Misurugi Kingdom from destroying the precious genetic data.
But Reid would absolutely not allow his current genes to be leaked.
After the data and samples were completely destroyed, the six, including Durandal, were once again stripped bare. They were cleaned and processed inside and out by the people of the New Misurugi Kingdom, who stopped just short of giving the six a new set of skin.
After it was all over, the New Misurugi Kingdom returned the clothes they had worn five days ago, lifted the 24-hour surveillance, and allowed them to return to their respective embassies to rest.
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