April 20, 2035

  "(Portuguese) Phew... Five bodies already. Having to take just one of them... feels unsettling." In the morgue, two morticians dressed in medical gowns and masks stood over five bodies, all covered with sheets. "...Looks like we’ll have to wait until Mr. Grekov arrives." Creak... The morgue door opened, and Dmitry Grekov entered. He scanned the bodies. "(Portuguese) ...Everything in order?" The two doctors nodded silently. Moments later, Park Sung-jae entered and examined the bodies. "...Good news. Not a single one has brain damage. If we extract their brains, they can survive."

  Park Sung-jae showed the doctors and Dmitry Grekov several X-ray images. The X-rays revealed the interiors of the five bodies, with tubes inserted into their brains. Thin tubes spread throughout the nervous system, connected to a pump-like device in the center of each body. The device pumped blood to the nervous system. "These people are kept alive by sending blood from artificial hearts to their brains and nervous systems. Their bodies are dead, so they can’t move. Now, we’ll extract their nervous systems and artificial hearts and transplant them into mechanical bodies. They’ll be reborn as perfect pilgrims." Dmitry looked at the bodies uneasily. "...Hey, is this really okay? Even if it’s to save me, killing people and calling them alive feels wrong." Park Sung-jae handed Dmitry a phone. "If you have ethical concerns, call him directly."

  ...

  Beep... Beep... The patient monitor’s vitals rose and fell, confirming Song Jae-seob’s survival. His skull was open, with wires connected to his brain, all linked to a computer server. Gamamusa stood nearby, organizing data on the computer screen. Ring... His phone rang. Gamamusa answered. "Yes, this is Gamamusa, the North Korean spy. Long time no see, Dmitry." Dmitry’s displeased voice came through. "...Hey, is this something humans should do? Even if these people were addicted to drugs and gambling, they had labor contracts with you, didn’t they? Using them as disposable tools feels wrong." Without changing expression, Gamamusa walked to Song Jae-seob and detached a wire. "These people were treated as disposable in orphanages and the military, then fell into drugs and gambling. To save them, it’s better to extract them from addiction-prone bodies and place their brains in machines."

  Dmitry sighed. "...Do you realize how serious this is? Using people’s bodies like this will anger God." Gamamusa put the phone on speaker. "We’re not cloning people, just using essential parts. If there’s a God, He’d put souls in brains. They exist because they think. I may be a sociopath, but I don’t make ethically wrong decisions. Sorry, I’m a bit busy. Gotta go." Gamamusa hung up and resumed Song Jae-seob’s brain surgery. Minutes later, he stitched up Song Jae-seob’s scalp. Soon, Song Jae-seob opened his eyes, clutching his head as he sat up. "...Ugh... My head’s splitting..." Gamamusa stared at him. "...You’re not dead yet. Soon, I’ll input hundreds of people’s personal data into your brain. Tell me how you react."

  Song Jae-seob nodded. Moments later, a flood of data poured into his brain. He endured briefly but soon grimaced, clutching his forehead. "Ugh... Damn it... Stop..." Gamamusa halted the data input and studied him. "...As expected, you’re not ready either. You lack the ability to process multiple people simultaneously, like me." Song Jae-seob, nauseated, clutched his stomach and squinted. "...Why the hell are you experimenting on me? What’s so great about knowing everyone at once?" Gamamusa tilted his head. "...The more information, the better. Seeing countless lives simultaneously lets you see the bigger picture. The person who implanted the ‘God’s Brain’ chip in me said it would bring peace. If someone could understand all of humanity, they could unite it."

  Gamamusa approached the computer. "The irony is that the person who can handle all this information must lack empathy. Empathetic people suffer from others’ pain. Like this." He pressed a button, and a torrent of data surged into Song Jae-seob’s brain. Song Jae-seob screamed and collapsed. "...As expected, you’re not a high-risk sociopath either. Looks like I’ll have to bring in Kim Dae-hyun after all."

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