Chapter 24: Chapter 24: For My Father
Lin Xian shook his head:
“I’m not clear, Teacher Xu.”
“You said earlier at the dinner…you said that as a scientist, your dignity wouldn’t allow you to sell such a failed product. But I wondered if there might be a deeper reason?”
Xu Yun, after listening, did not speak.
He took off his glasses and wiped them back and forth with the corner of his clothing:
“My daughter, when she was four, fell from a slide and became a quadriplegic in a vegetative state. All the experts around the world said there was no chance of her waking up.”
“So, why did I study the Hibernation Pod? As a scientist, I am more aware than anyone how absurd and impractical researching this thing is. But still…”
Xu Yun put his glasses back on and looked at Lin Xian:
“There always has to be a first person to do something.”
“If I don’t research the Hibernation Pod, it might be decades or centuries before someone else starts to work on this project. But my daughter can’t wait… She has already been lying in a hospital bed for ten years, how many more can she lie there?”
At this point, Xu Yun laughed at himself:
“Before I created that failed product, in these ten years, no one has ever paid attention to the progress of the Hibernation Pod research, nor has anyone visited my daughter in the hospital.”
“But now look, there’s an endless stream of people visiting my daughter every day. These cosmetics companies are fighting over each other to give me money for research. But do they care about the research on the Hibernation Pod? No… They don’t care about the Hibernation Pod at all; they only care about how much money that chemical can make for them.”
“But Teacher Xu, I don’t think this is a bad thing for you.”
Lin Xian felt an inexplicable closeness to Professor Xu Yun, like that between a teacher and a student, so he also expressed his doubts straightforwardly:
“If you sell that chemical, that failure you speak of… you would have enough funding for your research, as well as more advanced equipment and a better laboratory. Wouldn’t this be more beneficial for your research topic?”
Xu Yun shook his head solemnly:
“You’re thinking too simply.”
“I am a person with a clear understanding of myself. Something like the Hibernation Pod, which has the potential to change the world’s landscape, is not a massive project that one person, one institute, or even one country can handle.”
“I never aspired to successfully create the Hibernation Pod… that would be utterly fantastical. My hope was only to ignite this spark, to show everyone the possibility of conquering the challenges of hibernation.”
“For instance, the first step, if I could solve the problem of the Hibernation Pod Filling Liquid, it would inevitably lead to more and more scientists and research institutions joining the study of the Hibernation Pod. Only in this way… can we hope to develop the Hibernation Pod in a few years, or a decade.”
“And all I could do was light that spark.”
He adjusted his sleeping daughter’s blanket and carefully tucked the corners in:
“But do you know what consequences would arise if I sold that failed product?”
Lin Xian shook his head.
He honestly couldn’t quite understand the logic.
Could it be that by selling the patent for this failed product, Professor Xu Yun might extinguish the spark of the Hibernation Field?
“Actually, I used to have several students working on the research with me.”
Reflecting on the past, Professor Xu Yun felt a sense of loss:
“They were very talented and intelligent kids, and although they hadn’t come up with any significant outcomes throughout, having them around was actually quite comforting to me. At least I wasn’t alone in forging a path in the hibernation field.”
“But later, just like with this situation… In the process of research, it’s inevitable that some valuable by-products will be discovered. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but once businesses and companies started showing interest, the unity of the lab began to waver.”
“Each of those students had their own opinion, but their ultimate goal was essentially the same: they wanted to change the research direction to something that could bring short-term results and profits, such as pharmaceutical patents or cosmetic products. Back then, many beauty and pharmaceutical companies were offering them high salaries.”
“The result goes without saying, they all left, not a single one stayed.”
Professor Xu Yun shook his head with a wry smile:
“Of course, everyone has their own aspirations, and I can’t accuse them of being mercenary. After all, everyone is pursuing a better life, and the idea of conducting research for profit, although distasteful to hear, reflects the reality that more and more young people choosing research are leaning towards profiteering.”
Lin Xian was starting to understand.
it was the disappointment caused by those students that had wounded Professor Xu Yun.
Turning around, Professor Xu Yun continued:
“As I mentioned earlier, something like the hibernation pod can’t be developed by just one person, or even one country. It requires the efforts of all humanity. If more and more young scientists are lured by lucrative opportunities, who will be willing to research the currently hopeless hibernation technology?”
“The core reason no one wants to research the hibernation pod is precisely because it’s a field where the end is not in sight, where there’s no hope, no visible profit.”
Lin Xian naively thought that this profit-chasing trend in academia could not be changed by Xu Yun alone.
Regardless of whether he sold this chemical substance or not, it likely wouldn’t draw young people to invest in hibernation pod research…
After all, Xu Yun’s dedication stemmed from wanting to save his comatose daughter. Others did not have such a strong driving force, so choosing a short-term profitable project for research seemed reasonable and justified.
“Perhaps I’m being somewhat improper towards Teacher Xu.”
Lin Xian still intended to try to persuade:
“But I think that keeping to yourself will not change the prevailing social ethos of impatience and valuing fame and profit.”
“I think you might as well sell the chemical substance, show everyone that there’s profitability in the process of researching hibernation pod filling liquid, that profit can be made. Who knows, many young people might be attracted by such benefits to join hibernation pod research.”
Professor Xu Yun was not swayed.
He patted Lin Xian on the shoulder:
“Whether you think I’m stubborn or obstinate, I need to save my daughter, and I can’t take the risk with the situation you’ve described.”
“Some things, once commercialized… their subsequent development is uncontrollable, and I can’t take that risk.”
“One day, you too will become a father, and then you’ll understand. So go back, young man, take what was said today back to President Zhao, and tell her not to bother me again. I think she will understand.”
“I hope… this is the last time we meet.”