Genius Playground

Jiang Ran waited patiently for Old Tian to compose himself.

Then, he pulled over a chair and helped him sit down.

”So... your daughter. What did the doctor say?”

Old Tian sniffled and shook his head.

”From the very beginning, the doctor said her brain damage was extremely severe. The chances of her waking up were tiny... very, very tiny...”

”But as a parent, no matter how small the chance, I can’t give up.”

”In this world, my daughter is all I have left. If she’s gone, I don’t want to live anymore!”

”There’s still hope,” Jiang Ran quickly comforted him.

”There are many cases in this world of people in vegetative states eventually waking up. You’re right, Old Tian. No matter how small the probability, as long as there’s a chance, it can happen!”

”Sigh...”

Old Tian heaved a long sigh.

”Actually, the doctor spoke to me in private. He’s a good man, helped me apply for subsidies, insurance, and all that... But he also privately advised me. He said that in the hospital, they can’t speak in absolutes, but outside... he very tactfully told me, ’Lili has absolutely no chance of waking up.’”

”The doctor said Lili’s brain damage is severe, and there’s only one outcome. While in a long-term vegetative state, the brain continuously atrophies and its functions degenerate. Eventually... she’ll just quietly pass away one day.”

”Just this year, they’ve issued critical condition notices several times. Lili has stopped breathing many times. If the hospital hadn’t been able to resuscitate her in time... sigh...”

”I’ve also done a lot of research and consulted many specialists across the country. They all say that for a patient like Lili, who’s been in a vegetative state for 10 years without waking... it’s a miracle she’s even still alive. Waking up is completely impossible.”

”But how can I just stand by and give up on my own daughter? I’ll be honest with you... Xiaojiang. All these years, I don’t even know what the point of my life is anymore. I just keep on living, numbing myself.”

”It’s better when I’m not at the hospital. I’ve more or less gotten used to it over the years. But the moment I come here, I can’t control my emotions... Sorry, I’m making a fool of myself.”

...

Jiang Ran looked up, his gaze falling once more on the girl in the hospital bed, Tian Xiaoli.

She was a girl who should have been older than him. Under normal circumstances, she would have been married with children by now, enjoying a busy yet fulfilling life.

But the reality was, she had been lying in this vegetative state for ten years.

’Ten years.’

Just the other day, he had been discussing this very topic in the lab with Fang Ze and Cheng Mengxue.

Both Cheng Mengxue and Teacher Yan had said that the longer a person remained in a vegetative state, the slimmer the chances of recovery.

To be blunt, a patient in a vegetative state for over five years has basically no chance of waking up. And Old Tian’s daughter had been unconscious for ten years; her brain must have atrophied terribly.

Just as the doctors said, respiratory arrest and loss of brainstem function were only a matter of time...

’A rope breaks at its weakest point; misfortune preys on the unfortunate.’

Old Tian’s life was even more tragic than that of Fugui, the protagonist in *To Live*.

”Is the... financial burden heavy here?”

Jiang Ran gestured around the room, wondering if he could help Old Tian out financially.

Old Tian shook his head.

”We have health insurance and special subsidies. After all that, the hospital costs 174 yuan a day. My salary from East Sea University is enough to cover it.”

”I eat in the cafeteria and live in the school’s boiler room, so I don’t spend much myself. I even have money left over every month.”

”I don’t care how I live. I’m just worried... what’s going to happen to my daughter...?”

Old Tian lowered his head, clutching his hair.

Watching the anguished Old Tian, Jiang Ran felt a battle raging within him.

’Yes.’

He thought of Teacher Yan’s research project—

Consciousness Upload.

It was a godsend for patients in vegetative or comatose states. It could separate their consciousness and memories from their brains, allowing them to enter a server or the online world and exist in a brand new form: Digital Life.

If the experiment succeeded, those comatose patients would become ”netizens” on the internet—beings who possessed consciousness, memories, self-awareness, and the ability to express themselves and communicate.

Jiang Ran thought the term ”netizen” was a very fitting description.

Although Fang Ze had jokingly called Teacher Yan’s research ”digital pets” during a private dinner discussion, Jiang Ran felt that comparison was far too disrespectful.

A netizen was someone you could chat with, video call, and share your feelings with at any time, but whom you never met in real life.

This was his understanding of Consciousness Upload and Digital Life.

’But...’

He was hesitating, unsure if he should tell Old Tian about it.

He had three main concerns:

1. The technology was immature. The probability of failure was high, and if it failed, the physical brain would suffer irreversible damage, leading to immediate death. This would completely extinguish any hope of Tian Xiaoli ever waking up.

2. Jiang Ran himself couldn’t accept this ”netizen” form of Digital Life. He didn’t believe a consciousness detached from its physical body could still represent the original person’s identity. Therefore, he wasn’t sure if doing this would actually be harming Old Tian and Tian Xiaoli instead of helping them.

3. The mysterious number 42 had appeared on the room’s nameplate. Coincidentally, Tian Xiaoli was patient number 42 in the rehabilitation ward. He was deeply worried about what this ”42” could mean... Was it a sign for him to boldly take the risk? Or was it a warning to stay away, to not trust this path?

These various worries left Jiang Ran unable to make a decision.

But in the end...

...he still decided he had to help Old Tian.

The final decision would, of course, be Old Tian’s to make. He was just providing him with another option.