The Awakener’s Genetic Sequencing
All the students who were present perked up in interest as they waited for the teacher to brief them about the current situation. They were extremely attentive: it was the first time the school addressed the situation in detail after the resurgence of the aura.
"First of all, I would like to verify the time of Aura Resurgence." Li Hong wrote the words on the blackboard and said, "In reality, Aura Resurgence is used by some novel enthusiasts in our country. The actual term coined by the five international science scholars after periods of research is Genetic Awakening."
As he spoke, Li Hong wrote down the words Genetic Awakening under Aura Resurgence. He said, "In layman terms, this meant that planet Earth had undergone some mysterious changes which resulted in an awakening of human genetics."
The students were all ears, and Zhao Ming suddenly raised his hands and asked, "Teacher, what was this mysterious change?"
"Good question!" Li Hong said, and clapped his hands. He turned and wrote down the words Awakening Concentrate.
"The direct cause of Genetic Awakening is linked to the meteor shower that occured in September last year. According to scientific research, the meteor showers brought an unknown substance to Earth and that substance is known as the Awakening Concentrate. The Awakening Concentrate evaporated and entered our atmosphere. If you are interested in this, you would have known that Awakeners had gradually been appearing on Earth since that meteor shower."
After hearing Mr Li Hong's explanation, the students immediately gained clarity.
The timings of the events matched perfectly. It had been after September the previous year that some humans with extraordinary abilities had started to appear in the country.
In general, the students had noticed, the Awakeners were similar to the mutants in X-Men. The main difference was that the mutants had their powers since birth, whereas the Awakeners's powers appeared later on in life.
Chatter filled the classroom.
"Oh, so it occurs like this. There's the Genetic Awakening, the Awakening Concentrate. It sounds like a science fiction plot!"
"Yeah! This is so cool, it's the first time we've heard that--"
"It seems like the scientists have discovered something incredible!"
Li Hong waited for the discussion to die down before knocking on the blackboard and speaking again, "Okay, these are the current changes that have occured in our world. Let's continue. Since the emergence of the Awakening Concentrate, the number of human Awakeners has increased. As lives among species are equal, genetic changes have also affected other species, including animals and plants, so everyone must be careful. Try to avoid going to secluded and deserted places as we do not know what mutations animals and plants have undergone. It could be dangerous. Do you understand?"
The students replied in unison, "Yes, we understand!"
"Very good." Li Hong nodded satisfactorily. He continued saying, "Now, let me move on to explain what the Awakening process is like."
Finally, the main act.
All the students held their breath as they attentively listened to the teaching. It would not have been an exaggeration to say that it was the most serious Li Hong had been in class.
"As we all know, all living things on earth are made up of genes." Li Hong wrote the words genes on the blackboard and said, "Under normal circumstances, about 98% of the human genes are ineffective. We categorize these genes as junk DNA. In some novels, they explain this using the concept of genetic locking, right?"
Some of the students laughed, as one answered, "Yes! I read about it in the book Limitless Fear. There were several levels to it!"
Upon hearing that, others started laughing uncontrollably.
Li Hong smiled and said, "Although the current Genetic Awakening is similar to what was said in the book, the actual process would be much more complicated. Under normal circumstances, 98% of human genes are considered junk DNA, but with the introduction of the Awakening Concentrate, the genes that were once considered useless are now in effect. Of course, this is not something that occurs overnight, the change takes place gradually over time. Scientists from many countries have conducted a comprehensive analysis of this process and came up with the following formula."
Li Hong picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a formula in Chinese under the word gene.
Awakening Talent = (current unlocked genetic index - normal human genetic index2) * 10000
"So, what does this formula mean?" Li Hong continued, "From a neutral perspective, anyone can theoretically unlock a gene and become an Awakener. But after all, everyone is different. Hence, our Awakening talent would differ. In the same period of time, the higher the amount of genes unlocked, the greater the Awakening talent. Of course, this only applies to processes that occur under normal circumstances. There are many coincidences that may occur between humans and machineries, or there may be unexpected stimuli or adventures that may occur. However, the main point I would like to emphasize here is that if a person's current unlocked gene index accounts for 2.99% of his total genes, then, according to the formula, his Awakening talent would be 2.99% minus 2%, so 0.99%. After multiplying it by ten thousand, he would have the Awakening talent of 99. What does this mean? It means that this person would be better than his peers after experiencing Awakening."
After Li Hong's explanation, everyone would have understood what it meant.
According to the time node, everyone began from the same start line. Excluding those whose Awakening was triggered by external stimuli or events, for the rest, the earlier they experienced the Awakening, the greater their Awakening talents.
After learning that, the students were extremely excited and started discussing heatedly.
"Wow, so this is how it happens. According to the formula, my Awakening talent would be 99!"
"Don't be so sure if you do not want to be embarrassed later on! I guess mine would be 98."
"God, I pray that I will at least get above 90."
The students started whispering and discussing everything they knew. Very quickly, Li Hong knocked on the blackboard and said, "Alright, let's quiet down. There's another thing that we would be testing, so let's not get overly excited here."
Immediately, the students stopped all discussions and the room was once again very quiet.
"After learning about the Awakening talent, we would now be discussing what happens after it." Li Hong cleared his throat, and continued, "As we already know, the Awakening happens because of a change in our genetic makeup. So, where exactly is the trigger point? It's at the 3% mark. When a person's effective gene level hits 3%, they will be Awakened and they will gain extraordinary abilities. According to present studies, the abilities a person gains are fixed. No research has shown any changes in abilities after the person has been Awakened. So in other words, after you have Awakened, the ability you gain will not change. Will the amount of effective genes continue increasing after the Awakening? The answer is yes."
As he spoke, Li Hong wrote the words gene sequencing on the blackboard.
"Everyone , please look at these words," Li Hong said. "3% of effective genes is a critical point and those with more than 3% of effective genes are Awakeners. The world regards those between 3% and 3.99% as LV1. To the gamers here, this is equivalent to level one in a game. Of course, this does not mean that the ability of those in level one are the same. For instance, if we compare two people with the same ability, the person with 3.99% of effective genes would be strong as compared to someone else with 3.01% of effective genes. This can be understood very simply.
In fact, from a writer's perspective, it can be seen as a small realm that is part of a bigger realm in a novel. It's easy to understand."
Li Hong continued, "After knowing the genetic sequencing, the next step would be calculating the number of levels present. How are the levels divided? Level 1 includes those with 3% to 3.99% of effective genes, Level 2 includes those with 4% to 4.99% of effective genes, followed by Level 3 with 5% to 5.99%, Level 4 with 6% to 6.99%, Level 5 with 6% to 6.99%, Level 5 with 7% to 7.99%, Level 6 with 8% to 8.99%, and Level 7 with 9% to 9.99%. As for those with more than 9.99%, it is hard to say what would happen to them as the research is still in its theoretical stages."
"Teacher," Su Ying raised her hand and asked, "In this world, what is the highest LV? Is it powerful?"
Li Hong smiled eye to eye as he looked at Suyang and replied, "That's a good question, very interesting," he said as he drew a link between genetic sequencing and 6% to 6.99%.
"Currently, all countries in the world are working hard to develop this. At present, the highest level in our country is an Element Awakener who is part of the Chinese army. His current level is LV4 and the specific value is a secret. However, according to the videos released, those in LV4 are basically immune to the conventional thermal weapons such as guns and missiles."
After hearing Li Hong's words, the class exploded in excitement.
"What! Really?!"
"LV4 is immune to missiles?!"
"That's so awesome! Like a God!"
"What if someone commits a crime? Those who are not Awakened would immediately become cannon ashes!"
All the students are stunned.
Was the world really going to end up in chaos as the novel described?
The thought of it was both extremely exciting and scary.
"Okay, okay," Li Hong smiled, clasping his hands together. "Actually, we don't have to be too worried about it. After all, the environment we live in is still stable and the Gene Awakening Observation and Recording Archives Office has been set up to track the Awakeners. If a war really breaks out, the army is ready to defend us so we, ordinary commoners, do not need to worry about this."
After hearing Li Hong's words, the students let out a sigh of relief.
In China, you could worry about corrupted officials and drunk driving, but rest assured the welfare of the people was well taken care of. With the army around, there would be plenty of food available and the people could live without a worry in mind.
"Okay, I've talked enough about Awakening today." Li Hong finally took out the device he had brought along. "This is the Awakening talent tester. All of you can try it out and measure your own Awakening talent."
"Teacher," A student immediately asked, "how does this tester work?"
Li Hong replied, "It is very simple, you just need to press your hand against the surface. A number will appear, and that would be your level of Awakening talent."
"Alright, you can come up one by one according to your seating arrangement." Li Hong looked at the class, slowly turning his gaze at Su Ying, "You are the class chairperson, you can demonstrate it to the class."
Su Ying was momentarily speechless.
"Ah? I…"
Hong Xiaofu cheered her on, "Don't be afraid! All the best!"