During a computer lab class, the computer teacher, thick glasses perched on his nose, excitedly announced: "Everyone, we're upgrading from the 286 to the 386 in our computer room soon!"
A wave of awkward silence followed. Everyone was new to computers, and no one understood his excitement.
Hongxiao felt a few gazes turn toward him.
Perhaps, since he brought back several thick books, his roommates thought him an expert?
Truth be told, Hongxiao hadn't even opened them. Last night, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety, he had gone to bed early, hoping to get more sleep.
But the dorm's nightly card game, as usual, continued until lights out. After lights out, there was the routine late-night bed-time talk.
Usually, these talks would fizzle out after a few sentences. For some reason, last night's talk resonated more than usual, each person adding to the conversation back and forth without end.
Hongxiao wanted to break this resonance. He turned on his small radio and let the sound fill the room.
"What's that noise?" a voice in the dark, Xiaolong, complained.
"He's trying to tell us to sleep!" Feng commented, sounding like the leader of a gang instructing his followers on the state of affairs.
Hongxiao, realizing his ploy had been exposed, tactfully turned off the radio.
After classes that afternoon, groggy and disoriented, Hongxiao made his way to Room 301 of Building 9.
Professor Zhu led him straight into his office.
Today, his desk was unusually tidy, free of clutter except for a glass vase on the desk with a single red rose in it.
"Is today some special day?" Hongxiao asked, eyeing the rose curiously.
"Can you describe what you see on the desk?" Professor Zhu suddenly asked.
"Uh..." Hongxiao paused. "I see a glass vase with a flower in it."
Professor Zhu nodded.
"More precisely, you see the curved shape of the vase; you see the color red, as well as various shapes of petals and buds."
Hongxiao looked at Zhu Di, puzzled. Was this what they called postmodern deconstructionism?
"Neurobiologists have spent a great deal of effort trying to explain how the brain perceives the external world. We now know that images from the external world are projected onto the retina through the eyes, activating certain neurons. These neurons transmit signals to the brain through electrical activity, layer by layer, to the cortex, where consciousness is generated."
Hongxiao remembered something about this from his high school biology class.
"We've also discovered that certain cells in the brain cortex activate when the eyes see curves, while others activate when seeing straight lines. Some cells react to the color red, others to green."
"But why, when these shape and color-responsive neurons activate together, do they form a whole image in our consciousness, like a red rose in a vase? That remains a mystery. This advanced conscious activity is precisely what our lab is researching."
This was beyond what high school biology covered, but it sounded magical. Hongxiao thought.
"One theory suggests that all neuronal electrical activity produces some kind of wave. When these different waves resonate at certain frequencies, they combine to form a whole image in our consciousness, like a red rose in a vase."
"Are these waves electromagnetic?" Hongxiao asked, though he wasn't really sure what electromagnetic waves were. But since Professor Zhu mentioned these waves were generated by neuronal activity, adding the word "electric" seemed close enough, and it might make him look good in front of the professor.
"Some say they are. Others disagree," Zhu Di shook her head. "Research in this area is still at an early stage. For now, let's call them 'primary consciousness waves.'"
"Do you remember our interview discussion about self-awareness? Each person's self-awareness is different. So you and I, looking at the same thing on this desk..." Professor Zhu pointed at the vase.
"The image of the rose in a vase generated in our brains is two entirely different conscious activities, corresponding to two different resonance frequencies."
At this, Zhu Di paused, staring into Hongxiao's eyes as if about to reveal a great secret.
"Imagine, if you close your eyes, see nothing at all; and I'm looking at the desk, generating an image of the vase in my mind—that means my primary consciousness waves are resonating at a certain frequency, leading some construct in my consciousness. What happens if we use a device to influence your brain, making your primary consciousness waves resonate at the same frequency?"
"Uh... would my brain then visualize the rose in a vase, even though I haven't opened my eyes?" Hongxiao scratched his head and asked.
"Exactly! That means some of my consciousness has entered your brain. Or, to put it another way, you've captured a fragment of my consciousness, seeing some of what I see!" Zhu Di said, his excitement palpable.
Hongxiao wasn't sure if the professor was excited about the conclusion or his quick understanding.
"Is this what telepathy is?" Hongxiao remembered why he had wanted to join the lab in the first place.
Zhu Di laughed, clearly thinking that using such a colloquial term to describe his profound research was somewhat beneath it.
"We've just used a visual image as an example. In reality, everything a person sees, hears, or thinks are conscious activities, all possibly understood as primary consciousness waves resonating at certain frequencies. In other words, these could all be perceived by another person through resonance."
The more highbrow Judy's description, the more Hongxiao felt like it was telepathy.
"So how far has our lab progressed with this experiment?" He was curious whether this fantastical idea had been realized in the lab yet.
"We've built a device that can influence brain electrical activity to affect the vibration frequency of primary consciousness waves. When a subject, let's call them A, wears this device, we can adjust the device's parameters to change its vibration frequency, say to a certain value F. If there's another person, let's call them B, whose primary consciousness wave frequency is close to F, it will resonate. Then A will perceive B's conscious activity."
Hongxiao mentally reviewed A, B, and F several times, sort of understanding their relationship but feeling it would be best to have a concrete example.
"Who are A and B? And what exactly is F?"
"A could be any member of our lab. Every member has tried being A, with some results, though they're ambiguous, and it's unclear whether the experiments were truly successful. So this time, we plan for you to try being A."
Hongxiao stuck out his tongue. Taking on such a big role so soon made him nervous.
"F actually includes a set of parameters. What values each parameter should take, nobody knows. We use a method of random extensive searching and then random combinations."
Hongxiao was stunned. He hadn't expected such a high-tech science to adopt such a primitive approach.
Professor Zhu noticed his expression change.
"In cutting-edge scientific fields, much is unknown. Often, we proceed by groping in the dark, feeling our way as we go. But once we've explored enough, we can summarize patterns and possibly design parameters accordingly."
"As for B, given that F is randomly searched, B could be any person in the world, as long as they are conscious."
Hongxiao's eyes widened.
"Are you saying that during the experiment, I could potentially enter anyone's brain? The President of the United States? China's richest person? An African refugee?"
Hongxiao wanted to add: "Even yours?" But he thought that statement too frightening and stimulating, so he held back.
"Regarding the relationship between A and B, there's much scientific debate. Theoretically, if B's conscious activity originates from resonance of certain primary consciousness waves in their brain, then B's brain is the physical source of those waves. The same goes for A. If A wants their primary consciousness waves to resonate with some of B's consciousness, then the physical sources should be as close as possible, meaning A and B's physical distance should be minimal."
Zhu Di paused, as if considering how to phrase his next words. Hongxiao imagined that if physical distance mattered most, then his chances of telepathy with Professor Zhu were probably higher than with the U.S. President.
"But there's also a theory that these primary consciousness waves exist outside of space-time, in a fifth dimension. So the distance between A and B doesn't matter. What's most important is how closely the frequencies of A and B's primary consciousness waves match. But this is all theoretical. No one knows for sure what the relationship between A and B should be. That's exactly what our experiments aim to find out."
The person who proposed this theory must have an incredible imagination, Hongxiao silently measured.
"Also, remember, resonance occurs with a specific consciousness activity. For example, if B is listening to music, A hears it; if B is recalling their childhood, A perceives it, and so on. It's not that A knows everything in B's brain."
What if B was planning or even executing a murder plan? Could he, as A, perceive that too? Hongxiao's heart pounded at the thought.
"Moreover, based on our current experiments, even if A can perceive some of B's conscious activities, that perception is vague, fragmented, and limited. So don't worry too much about prying too much into others' privacy," Professor Zhu reassured.
Hongxiao felt his face must have given him away. He didn't want the professor to think he was backing out.
"Professor Zhu, when do we start the experiment?"
"We can start today," Zhu Di pointed toward the lab, "other lab folks are almost ready."