Cloning human

Author: (Thailand) Weemong Sainan, translated by Gao Shurong and others
Translator: Gao Shurong, Fang Ying
Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: Ao La Chun gazes at the hands and feet that once belonged to Qiwang, feeling both painful and frustrated. Despite this, he continues, "I think, if you keep changing like this, it will waste both time and health. Every time you change, you need at least two weeks of rest and recovery. If you change twenty-two times, you'll waste eleven months of your time. I believe there must be other ways to save time for life while also reducing suffering."
"You're right. Could you please tell me what other methods there are?"
"I lack medical science knowledge, but I have a feeling from intuition. I think if you keep changing like this until you've replaced all thirty-two organs, won't your body be entirely a clone's body? What do you think?"
"Yes. But thoughts and emotions are still mine."
"Right. So, what constitutes your thoughts and emotions?"
"It's the brain!"
"Isn't the brain dependent on the heart?"
"The heart's function is to pump and eject blood. The brain's function is to think and remember, to control and direct the movement of body organs, including regulating and governing the normal activities of internal organs. Isn't that right?"
"What I learned in school is indeed the same as what you said. Because our textbooks are copied from the West. However, the Buddha told us that the heart governs perception and thought, because it is naturally capable of sensing and recognizing objective existence."
"It doesn't matter if you call it the heart or the brain. Even if it's not the same thing, what matters is that the brain functions. Because the brain is conscious and thinks, so we also call it the heart."
"The Buddha told us that the brain is merely a form or a lump of flesh. It's just matter and energy—how can it think?"
"Energy is precisely the foundation of thought."
"Is that not true?"
"Yes!" He didn't want to argue about this with her.
"The issue lies in the perspective from which we view it. I'd rather discuss the problems that follow. First, we won't know who is the prototype and who is the clone. If there's no good supervision system, we'll need many laws and regulations to ensure this. Because if we only pass laws to declare clones not truly human and open the market for selling organs, who will determine whether a dismembered person is a clone or a natural person in the future? Additionally, if killing clones isn't illegal, then in the future, when natural people kill each other, they can accuse each other of being clones. This will require a lot of time to prove, making it absurd. There are even more serious problems. Due to the competition to produce clones for high profits, like producing goods, when clones flood the market, what will we do? At that time, natural people might resort to all sorts of means to kill them, just like your father threw billions of chicks into the sea, burned them, or drove them into caves, or like pouring billions of liters of milk into the fields. Because once they flood the market, prices will drop, and manufacturers will suffer losses. The only way to solve this problem is to create scarcity in the market to raise prices and secure high profits."
"My father once told me that besides using clones for organ transplants, they will also replace natural people as labor in various industries, and even serve as soldiers or police. Because they are better than intelligent robots with senses and thoughts, and can adapt and make decisions in emergencies like natural people."
"This will be the origin of another problem. If these people are oppressed, like the laborers in colonial times, what will happen? I believe they will realize their dignity. Just as we divide classes, the class of clones will rebel against the class of natural people. Civil war and hidden wars will break out. At that time, I think, what happens may be even more interesting than what is depicted in novels."
"It might turn out just as you think." She had no more objections. To her, this wasn't a matter worth sitting here and arguing about to the death. There was no need to be so tense or serious, especially since it hadn't happened yet and was far away from her.
"By then, we might already be dead!" she added. He continued in a calm tone, "Another question is, if clones and natural people have children, what will happen to them? Can we blame him? Can we blame his wife and children? To which class or group will we classify their children? Will they become like the Dalits in India, the lowliest people, or like the black slaves in white colonial America? Or even more lowly?"
Her clear, melodious laughter filled the room. "You're so serious, as if you were really a clone yourself. You're overthinking it!"
If the boss wants fresh, perfect organs, there are ways. First, after he comes back, the boss can tell him to change his mind and decide not to use his organs but replace them with someone else's. Second, a psychologist can hypnotize him while we use medication to ease his tension. If necessary, we can even give him concentrated medication."
"Regarding this, Father can rest assured." The twenty-eight-year-old female vice president took up the conversation. She was his eldest daughter. He had arranged for her to oversee the hospital here, preparing to take over as president at the right time. The daughter was of medium height, with delicate, smooth skin and an oval face, her eyes bright and sparkling, clearly a serious, determined, and decisive person:
"If the clone comes back on his own, it means he acknowledges the facts and is willing to fulfill his obligations. With that, I think he won't be too anxious."
The professor nodded in agreement. "If he comes back willingly and with filial piety, it will greatly help us. Let's wait and see. After he returns, we can discuss the situation based on the circumstances. Now, let's consider how everything is prepared. However, I must report to the boss that we absolutely need the treatment of a psychologist and the use of tension-relieving medication."
Sai Lu Ming adjusted his posture and placed his hands on the table. The other three also straightened up. He then turned to the vice president in charge of psychological experiments and said, "I want this draft law passed by the parliament as soon as possible, before my organ transplant. I want this done perfectly, without flaws, and in a grand, impressive manner. We should release news to the media before and after the surgery. Otherwise, they will criticize us, create unnecessary trouble, and attack us for exploiting loopholes in the law under the guise of medical research. There are many jealous people. The most important thing is that if this draft law passes before my surgery, the news we release to the media will be the best publicity for our hospital. Because journalists will be the first to witness it."
He glanced at the vice president, "There's no need for a hundred percent agreement from every side. Just divide each group into two different voices. This way, politically, it can prove that the public needs this law, and they can pass the draft smoothly. Politicians need to do what we want in order to receive proper rewards from us. At the same time, they also hope to extend their political life and prolong their time in power. However, the problem lies right here. Because they are politicians, they rely on the voice of the people as bait. No matter how much they agree with our views, if the public hasn't agreed yet, they will tell the public that they disagree: that's their profession. They need to deceive the people."
Everyone left the room, and Sai Lu Ming leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. He thought of his clone, thought of the organ transplant, thought of his plan to achieve immortality as soon as possible, thought of the parliament, and thought of the prime minister. He reached for the phone button and called the female secretary in the front room: "Connect me to the Prime Minister."
Since deciding to exchange organs with Sai Lu Ming, Ao La Chun had needed a physical check-up every other day. Four days before the surgery, he was admitted to the hospital for care. During those four days, he had to undergo daily, thorough physical examinations. The results were very encouraging. He was assigned to a luxurious room next to Sai Lu Ming's, where he could no longer meet anyone except the staff who brought him "special" food and the cleaning workers.
At least twice a day, he met with Professor Spencer. The professor always entered with a cheerful demeanor, and they chatted about all sorts of things. They discussed Ao La Chun's life before his return, society, politics, the economy, and Western philosophy. Ao La Chun also discussed Buddhism, and the professor listened respectfully.
Ao La Chun compared Buddhism with the major philosophical schools, with the political doctrines that influenced the world in the 20th century, with Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, and even with the "new psychoanalysis" further developed by his disciples. He discussed Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, saying he disagreed with the idea that humans evolved from monkeys. If that were true, wouldn't monkeys who reproduce today also give birth to humans, and other animals as well? He said that evolution in the animal kingdom indeed exists, but it's generational. This evolution is determined by "karma," the consequences of actions. Therefore, if you are a human in this life, you might be reborn as an animal in the next; similarly, if you are an animal in this life, you might be reborn as a human in the next. Everything depends on the karma you create. However, most animals in the human world often fall into the "evolutionary stream" due to their bad deeds, so they are often reborn into harsher living environments.
Next, he discussed the teachings of Buddhism: to evolve humans to the highest level, to break free from the three natures and escape the cycle of rebirth to achieve the highest ideal of "Nirvana," where one no longer faces birth and death, rebirth, and thus attains immortality. He also introduced the practices used to achieve this goal and expressed gratitude to the professor for not showing disdain, saying that the professor, unlike some people who claim to believe in Buddhism but show disgust when discussing karma, rebirth, and Buddhist practices as if they were repulsive things.
"These people are influenced by you. They categorize everything that is intangible, invisible, touchless, and unheard as foolish and meaningless. By denying this, they can catch up with the times like you. The difference is that you explore and seek answers, while they do nothing but wait to enjoy the fruits of your thoughts and actions. They can even sit back and enjoy your views and culture without thinking. Because it's so easy, just like eating fast food."
The professor smiled slightly. "Are you insulting us or praising us?"
"I'm speaking based on what I see, and I'm sure I'm not wrong."
The professor seemed interested. "You have such confidence in yourself. Do you know who you remind me of? The boss!"
"But the content of my confidence is different." Ao La Chun paused and then asked, "Do you have a clone?"
"Yes." The professor replied without hesitation, as if the question were trivial.
"But I've never considered transplanting it. Do you want to know why? Because I'm satisfied with my current appearance, and I look like a wise artist. What do you think?"
He smiled again as he said this.