Chapter 5 God meat

"Grandpa, happy 90th birthday to you." "Come, let me hug you, my grandson of a scientist! I'm so happy, you come back to your hometown every year and come to the nursing home to celebrate my birthday." "Grandpa, I am very glad that so many people give you birthday gifts or plaques. Look at this inscription: 'To the beloved Professor Nanyuan, you are a science fighter and a folk patron saint of science.' This is a very noble praise. .” "Haha, of course this is an exaggeration, but I'm still very happy that someone still remembers me as an old man."

"No, it's not an exaggeration at all. Just take me as an example, I was able to achieve this achievement today because of your subtle influence. When I was a teenager, the anti-scientism trend of thought was raging for a while, and many people lost Belief in science. But you have always been unequivocally opposed to these fallacies. You said that 'science is natural and reasonable', 'when scientific development and ethics conflict with each other, science is destined to win'. These views gave me great support Courage. You know, with the development of civilization today, there is no "purely academic" science. Especially the most cutting-edge science, there is no way not to cut into ethics, philosophy, theology and political science. Who wants to be at the forefront A breakthrough in science must first be a warrior who defies all old traditions."

"Yeah, you're right. I've done these little things all my life. I've been criticized for being a 'strong scientist', which I think is actually a compliment. I especially hate those who vilify me in the name of 'respect for nature'. The absurdity of science. The so-called "respect for nature" is actually to restore God. Human beings have spent 10,000 years pulling God down from the throne, so is it possible to help him up again?" "Grandpa, with such a strong body, you will definitely live another half century." "I hope. As long as I don't die, I will continue to fight those fools. Well, tell me about you. I just saw relevant reports that your research team has made a breakthrough."

"Yes, that technology is basically mature. The method of in vitro culture of animal muscle cells is used to industrialize the meat that humans urgently need. Of course this is artificial meat. But from the cellular level, it is truly natural meat." "Artificial natural meat! Your achievements are beyond the reach of human language. My dear grandson, this is a great revolutionary leap, and its significance cannot be overstated. For a hundred thousand years, human beings have obtained The way of food raw materials has only taken one step, from hunting and gathering to livestock planting. It is only here that you have taken the second step, stepping into large-scale industrial production. It is no exaggeration to say that your achievement is comparable to that of teaching people how to farm. Shennong."

"Grandpa, you are too proud. In fact, the in vitro culture technology of animal cells existed in the last century, but at that time it was only used to produce vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, interferon and other drugs. My contribution is that the production cost has been greatly reduced, making it a Practical meat production technology. You know, producing animal protein by natural means takes about three times as much energy as plant protein for the same amount of calories. It's not that the law of conservation of energy fails here, but that most of the energy It is consumed in the physiological activities of animals. Now using my method to produce animal protein is not at all more expensive than producing plant protein, because in my technology, animals do not need running and courtship, heartbeat and metabolism. "

"Great. When will this meat be on the market?" “Actually it can be done today. But I want it to be perfect before it goes to market. There is one secondary issue that needs to be addressed – taste.” "Taste? According to my guess, it shouldn't be a problem. This kind of truly natural artificial meat must have the taste of natural meat." "You are right. But with this technology, we can put forward more high-end requirements for taste. For example, we can produce shark's fin, bear's paw or dragon meat (a kind of bird in the dense forest in Northeast China, the meat quality the most beautiful)."

"Haha, hearing what you said, I'm already salivating! Flying dragons have been basically extinct for a long time. Your grandfather has never eaten it in his life, let alone seen it. I look forward to the day you bring me a plate. Son What are you laughing at? Have you brought it already? Don't keep me a secret." "Grandpa, what is mere flying dragon meat? There is something even better than it. Come, you have a taste of this meat." "This is artificial meat? Judging from the muscle fibers, it is the same as natural meat. Let me taste it. Oh, it is really delicious, and the meat is extremely tender! I have never eaten such delicious meat. Tell grandpa, what kind of meat is this?" ?”

"Grandpa, that's why I'm here today. In addition to wishing you a birthday, I want to draw courage from you, as I have been doing for 38 years. Let me digress a little bit. We all know that humans and animals have a similar relationship." The important difference is that in the process of human civilization, an absolute ethical taboo has gradually been formed: not eating the flesh of the same kind. In fact, this behavior was not immoral in the savage age, when the captive meat was just a precious animal Protein, you can live if you eat it, and you may starve to death if you don’t eat it. That’s all. With the gradual establishment of civilization..."

"You don't need to go into details. You mean, what you feed me is human flesh?" "To be precise, it is artificial meat produced by human muscle cells using in vitro culture methods. It is definitely inappropriate and too sensitive to call it 'human meat' directly. I haven't thought of a more precise name. Of course, in terms of cell structure, Or at the molecular level, it is indeed 100 percent human flesh, which is not bad at all." "I guess you must have had a lot of social pressure for it." "That's natural. Some people even call me a 'cannibal scientist', 'an atavistic individual of cannibals'. Grandpa, I am very distressed. This is completely artificially produced meat, which is not the same as artificial beef, pork or chicken. There is no difference, why not eat it? If human beings cannot enjoy the most delicious meat in the world because of the ridiculous moral taboos of some old people, I am really unwilling."

"Then why are you hesitating? Just move forward. As I said, ethics and morality are just temporary buildings adapted to a certain level of productivity, which can be demolished and rebuilt at will. When science and ethics conflict, science always wins in the end Nevermind the yelps! Despite the boldness of your research, Grandpa is looking forward to enjoying this delicacy every day before he dies. Of course, it's better to think of a suitable name for it, so as not to unnecessarily stimulate the nerves of society." "Thank you Grandpa, your words cleared away the haze in my heart. Grandpa, I have all my heart for you. You are already 90 years old, and you still retain the courage, vigor and way of thinking of young people."

"Let's say something proud, I have always maintained a childlike heart in my life, and I am a 90-year-old child." "As for the name of this meat - how about calling it 'God Meat'? Short for 'Wonder Meat.'" "Okay, that's a good name. In fact, it has another wonderful meaning in Chinese: the flesh of gods. This can be regarded as a good metaphor: with the development of science to this day, human beings have taken the authority of gods as a daily meal. Come, my good grandson, hug and bid farewell to grandpa, I hope that the god meat you invented will be put on the dinner table of the nursing home one day soon." "Grandpa, I wish you a happy 91st birthday." "Come, let grandpa hug you, my academician grandson." "Grandpa, you have to pay attention to your body, you are much thinner than last year." "Don't worry, although my legs and feet are bad, my spirits are fine. What gift did you bring me this time?" "First of all, I would like to thank you for your encouragement last year. 'God Meat' has already broken through the moral and public opinion barriers of society. Although the opposition camp is still trying to make noise, it will not affect the overall situation. After all, except for a few diehards, some Who can escape the temptation of this delicacy. Grandpa, I have a better gift for you this year." "What gift? Take it out!" "Ordinary 'god meat' is delicious, but I am no longer satisfied. With my technology, humans can enjoy delicious food on a more refined level. I mean, it can be produced to order, for each individual To make the most delicious meat to him, and at little to no cost to make it." "Meat with an order-style taste? This is a brand-new concept. I don't think the Jade Emperor in Lingxiao Palace has such a good taste. Tell me quickly, what it looks like." "Grandpa, don't worry, let me tell you slowly. Let's go back and talk about why the god meat is the most delicious. There is a big saying that 'you want to eat whatever you lack in your body'. In fact, there is a deep biophysical mechanism. The so-called taste It is not a rootless tree. In essence, it is just an external expression of someone's body needs. For example, fat meat tastes the best when there is a lack of fat in the body, and it feels disgusting when seeing fat meat when there is excess nutrition. "God meat" Since it is Human muscle cells, of course, have the closest cell structure and chemical composition to the human body, and are most needed by the human body." "Yes, you are quite right. In essence, human beings are just a complex machine that executes various biochemical programs, and various spiritual characteristics can actually find physical reasons." "Since this is the case, I further thought that everyone's DNA is slightly different after all. If I use my own muscle cells as a sample to produce 'God Meat', it should be closest to his own physiological needs, and it should be the tastiest. I did a lot of research on this and basically confirmed it, but the results were somewhat different from what I had imagined - not my own meat was the tastiest, but my parents' meat was the tastiest - no, no, I said go Mouth, it should be: the 'god meat' produced by using the muscle cells of his parents as a sample is the most delicious for this person." "Oh, that's right." "As for why this is the result, I haven't come to a final conclusion. Maybe the following explanation has some truth, although it is somewhat mystical: people think that the 'god meat' from their parents is the most delicious, based on The memory of placental nutrition retained in its subconscious mind." "Oh." "Of course, you can imagine that this technological advancement has caused a 12-level storm among the moral guards. Some people even scolded me for being unconscionable and killing my father and my mother. But grandpa, don't worry, I have already obtained enough from you. The mental armament of the human body will not take these noises to heart. In the final analysis, this order-style "god meat" only needs to extract a muscle cell from its parents, or even pick up the skin scraps from its parents. Cells, how much does it have to do with his parents themselves, each person will drop thousands of skin cells every day! Grandpa, my parents are very optimistic, and they are very happy to provide me with two muscle cells. There are two kinds of "God Meat" made to order. Here, here is the sample, you can taste it. Unfortunately, you will not taste its ultimate taste. As I said, the taste of made-to-order meat can only be unique to someone of." "Really? It's a pity. Then I won't taste it." "It's even more regrettable that your parents passed away long ago, so I can't get their cells, so I will never be able to produce an order-style 'divine meat' for you. I will regret this for the rest of my life." "Don't be sorry, I'm old and I don't have much appetite." "Grandpa, aren't you a little — unhappy?" "Huh? No, no, I'm not unhappy." "That's right. I know that with grandpa's courage, he will definitely accept this technology. Otherwise, wouldn't grandpa have betrayed the belief he has held on all his life? Haha, I was just joking." "No, of course I won't betray my beliefs. But boy, I'm tired and I want to rest. Goodbye." "Grandpa, I wish you a happy 92nd birthday. Unfortunately, this birthday is spent in a hospital bed." "My dear grandson, I am very glad to see you again. According to my intuition, this is probably the last time we will meet. But you don't have to be sad, and you don't have to comfort me. Believers in science are never afraid of death." "Grandpa, I sincerely admire your philosophy. I believe you can live to be 100 or 120 years old. However, when that day finally comes, I will accept it calmly. I will learn how Zhuangzi drums and sings to see you off .” "Okay, listening to your singing, I will wake up laughing in the crystal coffin." "Grandpa, I have a small matter to ask you this time. But you are sick, and I don't have the heart to bother you any more." "It's okay, just tell me. I couldn't be happier to do something for my beloved little grandson before I die." "Then I just said it?" "Say it." "Last year I have said that my parents, your son and daughter-in-law, provided me with two muscle cells, and I have produced two kinds of 'divine meat' which are the best taste for me. I am very grateful to the two elders , I want to do the same thing for them in return. Of course, this requires their living parents to provide cell samples. Not long ago I met my grandmother, you know her thinking is relatively conservative, so naturally she would not be happy, I repeatedly persuaded her to still want to No way. It's a pity that I can't produce the best 'god meat' for my mother. But I can still do it for my father, so I'm here." "..." "Grandpa, I believe that according to the belief you have always adhered to, you will never shy away from doing this, and you will not care about donating a muscle cell." "..." "If you don't mind, I'd like to extract a muscle cell from your arm. It's very convenient, just prick it with a blood-taking needle commonly used in hospitals, and it doesn't hurt at all. Of course, if you mind, I can also extract a muscle cell in your arm. Find some dander fragments on the hospital bed as substitutes, but that requires one more procedure—to awaken the pluripotency of skin cells and turn them into muscle cells. This procedure is more troublesome, so it is best for me to extract a muscle cell .” "..." "Grandpa, why don't you talk? If you don't like it, just say it. I will be happy to obey your wishes, although I don't think a science fighter like you should have these banal taboos." "..." "Grandpa? Grandpa! Grandpa! Nurse, call the doctor on duty quickly..." The famous sci-fi writer Clark once wrote an article "God's Food", predicting the technology of artificial meat production and the moral dilemma it brings.According to current foreign scientific and technological developments, a breakthrough has been made in the technology of producing meat food by in vitro culture of animal cells.Of course, scientists are busy looking down and researching, and no one has looked up to see all the possibilities of its future development...