Age of Cosmic Exploration

Ivan and Yao Yuan arrived at Saburo’s lab with the escort of a military unit and many researchers. With Yao Yuan’s master key, they gained access into Saburo’s locked lab.

When they entered the lab, they saw Saburo lying on the floor, his hands clutching a sealed test tube.

Many were petrified witnessing this; some of the young interns even went so far as to cover their noses with their hands. After all, they knew of the alien cell’s hazards. Being infected was a fate worse than death. They had seen such horrible events described in sci-fi, and they had no intention of allowing it to happen to themselves.

On the contrary, Ivan, Yao Yuan, and most of the senior researchers merely frowned. Yao Yuan, as a Diviner, didn’t pick up any danger warnings, so naturally the alien cells hadn’t leaked.

On the other hand, the senior researchers were familiar with scientific protocol. The only thing out of the ordinary was a fainted Saburo; the rest of the lab was in perfect condition. They had faith in Saburo that he wouldn’t be careless enough to violate simple protocol.

"...Get Professor Saburo to the hospital. This is exhaustion from overexerting his superhuman powers. Feed him some nutrients packs," Yao Yuan ordered the group of doctors and nurses that tagged along after he squatted down beside Saburo to inspect his situation.

Only then did the interns know that there was no danger in the room. After all, if there was any, Yao Yuan as a Diviner would be the first to warn them. They put down their hands awkwardly and moved to help the nurses lift Saburo onto the electromobile.

By then, Yao Yuan had already taken the test tube from Saburo’s hands. He lifted it to his eyes and tried to train his Diviner power at it. He only felt a tiny tingle of danger. Several seconds later, he passed it over to Ivan, adding, "Now it’s the Academy’s time to shine. Find out what is inside this test tube. Depending on his physical situation, it will take a day to a week for Saburo to regain consciousness, but our men who were flash frozen only have 3 days left. It’s my order that... the Academy continues Professor Saburo’s experiment, first by finding out what is inside test tube!"

Ivan accepted the test tube, and after some thought, accosted Yao Yuan with a serious expression. "I will take over the experiment, but there is something that I wish to make clear with the Captain."

Yao Yuan nodded his head, signaling for Ivan to continue.

Ivan added, "No matter what is inside this test tube, if it has anything to do with the alien cell, I will not conduct any live human experiments. If you force me to do it, I’ll demolish this test tube and all my research notes."

Yao Yuan stared into Ivan’s eyes and he saw a firm determination burning within. He nodded and said, "Alright, you have my word. There will be no such orders... By the way, Ivan..."

Ivan sighed in relief before asking, "Yes, Captain?"

"I remember... your resume said that before you came on to the Hope, you worked as a biologist for a small Middle Eastern country and hosted the country’s research on bio-weapons, am I correct?" Yao Yuan asked.

Ivan was shocked as he balled his fists and lowered his head, adding ruefully, "Yes, that’s correct. I was tasked with such a project, and it compelled me to conduct..."

Stopping Ivan mid-sentence, Yao Yuan patted Ivan on his shoulder to express his understanding. He then led the medical unit out of the lab. It wasn’t until his shadow disappeared around the corner that a voice appeared in Ivan’s head.

"Follow your conscience. To save or to kill, poison or medicine... the difference lies in the user’s intention. Ivan, as one of the 3 Whisperers, I will leave the rest in your hands. The safety of everyone on the Hope, the lives of the 20 plus heroes and the necessity of human experiments... I’m sure you’ll make the right decision."

Ivan was visibly shaken. His hands that held the test tube grew tighter. Sometime later, he yelled, "Start analyzing Professor Saburo’s data and use it to understand what is inside this test tube... Let’s start moving, people."

...That year.

Saburo was a new medical student, training to be a good physician. Other than the prestige of being a doctor, Saburo was more interested in the profession’s lucrative salary and benefits. He needed the money to improve his quality of life so that he could provide a good life for his beloved Hanako.

Hanako, full name Kosaka Hanaki, was the daughter of a huge corporation. Even though Saburo’s family wasn’t exactly poor since his father was one of the corporation’s smaller shareholders, in comparison, his family wasn’t as wealthy.

Because of family history, Saburo and Hanako spent their primary and secondary school years first as classmates then as lovers.

Their families approved of their relationship since their families were of somewhat equal footing. Since it was obvious that the young couple was deeply in love, their parents didn’t have the heart to stand in the way. They actually wished for them to get married after they graduated from university.

Hanako’s parents only had one requirement, and that was for Saburo to not rely on his parent’s money to throw Hanako her dream wedding. They needed to make sure Saburo had the capability to provide for their precious daughter.

Since Saburo already had interest in medicine, he decided to focus all his energy to pursue a career in medicine.

In his second year of university, because he wanted to study for his exams, he missed out on a summer trip between the 2 families. Hanako was accompanied by his and her parents, as well as his 8-year-old brother on the trip to the Mediterranean Sea.

"Hanako’s plane should arrive at 3 PM today."

Saburo said to himself as he sat in the arrival lobby. He looked at his watch and the clock that hung in the lobby. Both showed 3 PM. However, the screen didn’t show that her plane was arriving.

After some asking around, he found out that the plane had to take an emergency pit stop at a small Middle Eastern country due to engine problems. Saburo wasn’t alarmed, because the receptionist told him it was only a routine check. Time swam by slowly and finally the plane arrived, but...

"What?! A mysterious virus infection?! The whole plane is now a quarantine zone? Are you kidding me? I didn’t hear about such an outbreak on the news!"

No matter how much Saburo begged and argued, the military wouldn’t allow him access. After about 10 hours, even the researchers who were tasked with sampling died. The military torched the plane because there was no longer a living soul on it...

Saburo opened his eyes suddenly after a 2-day coma.

While he was unconscious, the bio team had been working non-stop to finish what he started.

Ivan, in his tired state, kept having flashbacks to that fateful year...

Ivan was a child prodigy. He had a natural affinity for the study of biology that was well documented since he was young.

After his graduation from university, he quickly became his home country’s best biologist. After publishing a few journals on his study, he even gained some fame across the globe.

In the year 2020, when the oil supplies in the Middle Eastern area started to dry, the continent was thrown into a civil war. It lasted for only 2 years, but it did send an alarm across the many Middle Eastern countries. They were still sitting on money collected from years of exporting oil, but one day, it was going to run out. When that happened, a war for survival much bigger in scale than the one before it was going to happen.

If Ivan had been born in a wealthier Middle Eastern country, his talent could be used in research for alternative income, like draught-resistant seeds. However, since his was a small country, the best choice of defense was offense...

That year, Ivan was forced to host a bio-weapon research, and it had unfortunately leaked...