Zhou You has never exceeded the speed limit when driving in his entire life.
He is the kind of person who will always say "drive slowly and pay attention to safety" whenever he knows where his family is driving.
When it comes to safety first, he has always been strict with others and even more strict with himself.
But at this time, the hybrid off-road vehicle was running wildly on the Rongyi Expressway at a speed of 160, and he broke the rules of life.
He was speeding because he had no choice.
The car had just passed an entrance and exit along the way, and several cars were quickly merging onto the highway.
Zhou You muttered: "More and more people are discovering that something is wrong. We have to hurry up and fasten your seat belts. No matter what, we have to get to Rongcheng before complete chaos breaks out."
Shen Ling used double-sided tape to slightly stick Zhouyou's mobile phone on the dashboard cover under the front windshield, while looking at her own mobile phone next to her, and said: "Well. After passing the intersection ahead, you'd better get off the highway. .It is already midnight, but the traffic volume on the expressway is too heavy. There are already yellow light congestion sections at the two entrances to the expressway. It is estimated that there will probably be traffic jams on the expressway. Once there is a car accident, there will definitely be traffic jams and you have to take a small road."
Zhou You nodded, "Yeah."
As he answered, his left hand reached under the driver's seat and moved the seat forward a little.
Zhou You waved his hand again and shook off the sports watch from his left hand. "Although there is no way to measure my height now, I am definitely not even 1.6 meters tall now. In less than half an hour since I set off, I have lost nearly ten centimeters." The degree of shrinkage acceleration is not linear."
"I know. Just wait a minute." Shen Ling hummed. She put down the seat first, then straightened her body as much as possible, clamped the top of the tape measure with her feet, then pulled the tape measure out along her body and stretched it to the top of her head. He looked down at the reading again and said, "Although my measurement is not accurate, it is still more accurate than the estimate."
After saying that, she sat up straight again and opened her laptop, "Zhou Youyou, please tell me the exact time and data of your previous height measurements. I will enter them all into the form and look for patterns."
"OK."
Ten minutes later, Shen Ling measured her height again, entered the last data, and then applied the formula.
Bang! Hit the keyboard.
Shen Ling stretched and said, "I figured it out!"
Zhou You shook his legs and shook out some inexplicable dust from his trousers, "Tell me about it."
Shen Ling first organized the words in her mind, and then said: "In fact, our height changes were irregular before this morning. When you first measured it, it was only 0.1 centimeter less, which was actually just a starting signal. To really show the pattern, we have to start from this morning..."
Zhou You interrupted: "The process is too complicated. I don't need to go into details. I just want to know the result now. When I returned to my hometown, I once let my nephew sit in the driver's seat. He was less than 1.3 meters tall at the time. Even if I held the seat Adjusting the chair to the highest forward position can only allow his feet to barely reach the accelerator pedal, but his sight is almost blocked by the instrument panel, so you take 1.3 meters as the limit and calculate the time. I can still How long will it last?"
Shen Ling hummed, "In fifty-seven minutes, you will be under 1.3 meters tall."
Zhou You frowned, "That's troublesome. There are still 280 kilometers away from Rongcheng. When we get off the expressway and take the national highway, the speed can only reach 80 at most, and there are still 200 kilometers left. This second half The road is difficult. By the way, do you have a driver's license?"
"Yes, but not very skilled."
"There's nothing you can do if you're not skilled. When I really can't drive, you sit on me and be responsible for controlling the steering wheel and watching the road. I'll step on the accelerator and brake. You must notify me in time to slow down and brake. The speed of the vehicle must be controlled to less than 60. There can be no accidents.”
"OK!"
Zhou You thought for a while and then said, "There is transparent tape and a USB charging cable in the toolbox in front of you. Take out the tape, then use the tape to apply the charging cable to the center console cover, and connect the cable to The pull-down position must pass through the air outlet of the car air conditioner. Remember to stick it firmly."
Shen Ling hummed, "I understand, you are planning to climb up along this rope if we really become the size of mice, right?"
Zhou You: "Yes."
Shen Ling: "But what's the point? I think it's best for us to stay in the car and wait for rescue."
"No, no, no one will come to save us, we can only save ourselves. My car can be controlled with a mobile phone. This function is originally used to move the car. The maximum speed can only reach ten kilometers per hour, but it can be used for emergency rescue. Then we'll sit on the dashboard and drive home using our cell phones."
Shen Ling said happily, "That's pretty good!"
"Also, you go to the back seat now. My back seat can be folded down four or six times. If you fold the back seat aside, there is a brand new drone in the trunk. Can you use it?"
"Yes. I also have one at home, but it's a cheap one."
Zhou You: "Okay, you unpack the drone and install it. Then use the paper packaging box to make a basket, and use tape to hang the basket under the drone. The console is also fixed in the basket with tape. "
Shen Ling: "Do you really think that we will shrink to the size of mice?"
Zhou You shook his head, "This is just my guess, maybe it's more than that."
While gluing the charging cable, Shen Ling asked: "What do you hope it is?"
"Of course, the smaller, the better. If you think about it, if humans on Earth had followed a completely different evolutionary path that seemed impossible, but happened to exist, humans would have been only the size of bacteria, and with today's technology, What does level and productivity mean?”
Shen Ling said without thinking: "Then humans on Earth have already set foot in space and become a starry sky civilization. The manned scientific research ship to Centauri should have set off fifty years ago. How great would that be?"
Zhou You nodded, "Unfortunately, this is just a hypothesis that has never happened. The situation is different now. I think that assuming that height will continue to shrink, we want human civilization to not have to go through labor pains and maintain the basic stability and integrity of the social structure. The minimum size that can be tolerated The average height is reduced by half. If the average height is still about one meter, most of the tools currently available to humans can still be used. The combination of human physical fitness and wisdom can still be used when facing other animals, such as rats and stray cats and dogs. We have an absolute advantage. In that case, we should be able to recover quickly."
"This is of course the most ideal situation, but it is a pity that we cannot be so optimistic. I actually think that the human body is now reduced to the size of a mouse, which is the most pessimistic and unfortunate result."
"First of all, in that case, most of mankind's production and living tools will become unusable. Stray cats, dogs, rats, even larger lizards, and other wild animals will pose a fatal threat to us. The social system will quickly Turmoil, until near collapse. Humanity will be forced to go through a painful reconstruction process. Many people will definitely die in the process."
"Of course, I firmly believe that mankind will eventually survive this process and usher in a future that is far more prosperous and brighter than now in a hundred years."
"If we continue to shrink to the size of bacteria, we will also go through a painful reconstruction process, but I think that when such a small size is combined with human wisdom, it will bring extremely huge advantages. Fifty years , as long as such humans are given another fifty years, their dominance will be restored, and the colonial ships flying to Centauri will also set sail."
Shen Ling thought for a moment, "What you said makes sense. By the way, yesterday we discussed the intelligence of mice. You once said that humans must maintain a sufficient number of brain cells to maintain their current intelligence. Right?"
"right."
"Then what do you think of our current situation? Our bodies are shrinking, our head circumference is also shrinking, and there is no doubt that our brains are also shrinking. But so far, I don't have the feeling of mental decline. I just said I have done some quick math training in my mind, and there is no problem. This seems to be somewhat different from your judgment."
Zhou You shook his head, "Not necessarily. With the current level of life sciences of mankind, we are not qualified to say that the cells in our body must have a perfect structure. The essence of cells is actually microorganisms, and the size of microorganisms can be large or small. The smallest bacteria, even Smaller than viruses. No one has set a lower limit for bacterial size, and naturally no one can set a lower limit for cell size. Maybe...I mean maybe, maybe the various molecules and atoms that make up human cells are not necessary. There is redundancy. The proportion of redundancy may be extremely large!”
"If these redundant materials are eliminated and the cells evolve into the most perfect structure, the size will also be reduced. Assuming that the proportion of redundant materials is really 95%, the reduced cell volume will naturally be 20% One percent. So, I think that although humans are getting smaller, the number of neurons is not necessarily decreasing. Oh, by the way, touch your back. What do you feel?"
Shen Ling reached her hand behind her back and rubbed it, "Some dust?"
Zhou You: "Yes, dust. I speculate that this is dust condensed from other elements that make up the human body except carbon and hydrogen. If you look at the air quality testing data of the car air conditioner, the humidity has always been on the high side. You know what I The external circulation is turned on and the windows are not closed, which is obviously abnormal. This shows that our bodies are losing a lot of water. Also, although there is no way to measure it, I speculate that the concentration of carbon dioxide must be high."
"According to you, the biochemical reaction in our body should be very violent," Shen Ling was stunned for a long time, "but I don't feel thirsty or have a fever."
Zhou You sighed, "This is the scary part. Obviously, this is a phenomenon that is completely incomprehensible with the current level of human technology and knowledge. It is unreasonable, but it exists objectively."
Shen Ling hummed, "Yes, a supernatural phenomenon. Just like people in ancient times saw aurora, and just like how we look at dark matter and dark energy now, we can observe and sense its existence, but no one knows what it is. "
Zhou You: "Human beings are becoming another species. I even think that there has been reproductive isolation between today's humans and yesterday's humans."
Shen Ling immediately asked: "What about the inventory in the frozen sperm vault?"
Zhou You's expression froze and he turned to look at Shen Ling, "There's something wrong with you."
Shen Ling hurriedly coughed twice to cover up her embarrassment, "I just suddenly thought about it and asked out of curiosity!"
Zhou You shook his head, "I'm really not sure about this. But if the frozen sperm do not shrink simultaneously, they will all be useless. But if they shrink, there are many reasons that cannot be explained. For example, the frozen sperm is in an inactive state, can it be used? It is not yet known whether it can be regarded as life. It is uncertain whether the supernatural phenomenon that dominates the shrinkage of human beings will include it."
Shen Ling nodded, "That's true. But I think that the inference about the changes in cell volume you mentioned can be obtained very quickly. Just look at it with a microscope and you will know."
"Of course, there must be many scientists who are already busy now. But our first priority is to get home alive. If the sky falls, there will be tall people who can hold it up. Let's save ourselves first."
…
After fifty minutes passed, Zhou You had to carefully park the car on the side of the road.
He is too short to drive at all.
It was seven minutes earlier than Shen Ling's estimate, but it was basically accurate.
At this time, their clothes and shoes were so loose that they could hardly wear them.
Zhou You glanced at the central control display next to him and said, "It ran a little faster than expected, and there are still 193 kilometers to go. The next step is up to you."
As he spoke, he first reached under his buttocks to push away the dust, then slid down the driver's seat and reached the brakes with his feet.
His line of sight was completely blocked by the instrument panel.
Zhou You turned his head and looked to the side, only to see Shen Ling in the passenger seat taking off her clothes and pants quickly.
Sensing Zhou You's gaze, Shen Ling turned her head and glanced over. A hint of embarrassment flashed across her eyes, but she quickly concealed it.
She smiled and said: "The sleeves and trousers are longer than the hands and feet. They are too much in the way and are not conducive to driving safety. The short sleeves you are wearing can still be used, but you should also take off your trousers, in case the trouser legs get caught on the accelerator." Then we will all die."
Zhou You was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "It makes sense, but it's not comprehensive enough. I have to give you my short sleeves."
"No, this is called emergency evacuation, it doesn't matter."
"No, it will distract me, and if you sit on it, others will see it."
Three minutes later, Shen Ling put on Zhou You's short-sleeved shirt and sat on Zhou You's lap.
The two simply agreed on a slogan and tentatively drove the car fifty meters along the curb.
Shen Ling, who had not touched a car for a long time, finally got a little familiar with it, and gradually got the feeling for it. She was about to ask Zhou You to speed up the car, but she heard a shout from underneath her.
"Wait a moment!"
At the same time, the car stopped.
Shen Ling turned around, "What's wrong?"
Zhou You coughed lightly, "No, this won't work."
Shen Ling wondered: "I think it's pretty good. Let's test the speed first and see if it can reach sixty."
Zhou You pointed at the two pairs of pants, a shirt and underwear on the passenger side, "It's not a matter of speed, it's just that our underwear and yours are too loose, which distracts me. Take all the clothes and pants over there." Come here and use some cushions so that you can sit higher and I can concentrate better."