25: Chapter 25 Physiological Needs

"Manhattan is still burning, my apartment is gone, and my job is gone. The aliens have arrived, but my landlord is still hounding me for rent. Mr. Chen Mu, can your rule help me solve this problem?"

Hollywood set: "We have repeatedly analyzed that his blink rate is 8 times per minute, while the human average is 15-20. Confirmed non-human."

"I have that feeling too; his smile is so perfect that it creeps me out a little."

"Ambassador Chen Mu! We surrender! Please take us to the stars and the sea!"

FBI: [This user has been banned]

"The Emperor of Guga Planet wasn't elected; He has always been there. I'm fucking dying of laughter—isn't that just my boss?"

"As an author who has written science fiction about alien civilizations for twenty years, let me tell you: 'Emperor' is one of the heaviest political terms in human history."

"Ambassador Chen Mu chose to use it either because it is the closest approximation to that concept on Guga Planet, or because he wants us to understand that existence in the way we understand an 'Emperor.' Either way, it is either terrifying or incredibly clever."

"He wasn't elected. He has always been there."

"This isn't political science; it's theology. Chen Mu used a word humans can understand to describe a concept humans cannot. If the translation of the Guga Planet 'Emperor' is accurate, then He is not a ruler, but something closer to an 'eternal existence.'"

——————

Forty-seven minutes after the press conference ended, in a conference room on the second basement level of the White House.

The President once again convened his expert team to analyze the information from Chen Mu's press conference point by point.

The President took a sip of Diet Coke and announced the start of the meeting: "Meeting start!"

Advisor Cole was the first to speak: "First, he gave himself a name: Chen Mu."

"He kept the surname 'Chen' from the vessel and gave himself a single-character Chinese given name, 'Mu'."

Her finger tapped lightly on the tabletop: "This isn't an official code name for an alien envoy; this is a human name. During a globally broadcast press conference, right in front of everyone on this planet who was watching, he gave himself a human name. Why?"

Professor Bloom flipped his notebook to a new page, his pen circling a tiny mark among his shorthand symbols.

"In a sociological sense, naming oneself is the first step in identity construction."

"He could have chosen to keep 'Jack Chen,' allowing the original identity of this vessel to continue existing. He could also have chosen a completely Guga Planet-style code name, keeping himself at a distance from humanity."

"But he specifically chose the third path: keeping the vessel's surname and giving himself a new name."

"I believe this both acknowledges the origin of this body and declares his own existence as an independent individual."

The President tapped his finger against the can of Diet Coke: "So this name is a 'persona' he chose for himself."

"Not a persona, Mr. President." Professor Ache's voice came from the far end of the table as she placed a turquoise pendant on the desktop.

"In human mythology, naming is a sacred act. Adam named all things in the Garden of Eden, and from then on, all things had their place."

"In the mythology of every civilization, there is a moment when things are named. By naming himself, he isn't playing a role; he is telling himself that from this moment on, he is a member of this planet—not an observer, but a resident."

The President took another sip of Coke: "The second point: regarding his refusal to prove his identity again."

Advisor Cole took off his glasses and wiped them for the third time: "He refuses to fall into the trap of having to prove his identity."

"He said this question is meaningless. Even if he brought out more proof, we would refute them one by one. This could be said to be the most perfect answer of the entire press conference."

He put his glasses back on: "He did not provide any verifiable evidence. It's not that he couldn't; he just didn't want to."

"Because once he provided evidence, the rules of the game would become 'he needs to constantly provide more evidence to satisfy our skepticism.' He refuses to enter that game; he has pushed the burden of proof onto time."

Professor Hoffman looked up from his tablet: "From an astrophysical perspective, if the 'evidence' he speaks of refers to that fleet, then it is already there."

"Observatories all over the world are observing it; it is providing 'evidence' every single moment. He doesn't need to prove anything extra. He has simply left the right of verification to our own eyes."

He put down his tablet: "The most terrifying part is that he is right. We really would refute them one by one. We would do it ourselves. This isn't a lack of trust in us, but an understanding of us humans."

The President set down the Diet Coke, the can slightly deforming in his palm: "Regarding the Emperor, and God."

Professor Ache held the turquoise pendant in her palm again: "He wasn't elected; He has always been there."

"In all known human political and theological traditions, there is no mode of power succession that fits this description."

"Not election, not heredity, not abdication, not a coup, not divine revelation. It is 'always.' He didn't explain what 'always' meant, because it doesn't need explaining."

"A civilization from hundreds of light-years away whose leader has 'always' been there—that sentence itself is the most precise explanation he could give. For the rest, our language has no corresponding words."

Advisor Cole continued: "Mr. President, regarding this issue and his refusal to answer how many civilizations there are in the universe, I don't think there is much practical value in pondering it right now."

"Because this involves the political and economic structures of the other civilization, and currently, we have no way of verifying the truth of what Chen Mu said."

Everyone nodded in agreement; after all, aside from Chen Mu, they currently have no way to contact any other Guga Planet inhabitants, making cross-verification impossible.

Professor Bloom flipped his notebook back a few pages: "Mr. President, everyone."

"We have been analyzing the 'alien' aspect of the Ambassador all day—his Emperor, his fleet, his attitude toward human civilization."

"But we may have overlooked an equally important dimension."

His finger tapped lightly on that line of shorthand symbols: "And that is his body—the vessel he himself admitted possesses complete human physiological needs."

He flipped his notebook to a new page, drew a horizontal line on the paper with his pen, and then drew a dot at one end of the line.

"In a sociological sense, the needs of a human individual can be divided into several levels."

"The most basic is physiological needs: hunger, thirst, sleep, sensitivity to temperature changes, and avoidance of pain. Above that are safety needs. Further up are the needs for belonging and love. Above that are esteem needs. And at the very top is self-actualization."

His pen started from that dot, traveled all the way to the right along the line, and tapped at the position of each level.

"In the past few dozen hours, the Ambassador has already shown us that he possesses at least three levels of these needs."

"Physiological needs: he was hungry, he ate fried eggs and steak, and his stomach growled in the interrogation room."

"Safety needs: he chose the luxury suite at the White House instead of continuing to sleep on the streets."

"Belonging needs," his pen stopped at the 'belonging' point, "he gave himself a human name."

Bloom put down his pen and looked up at the people in the room.

"Physiologically, he is a human. Based on the behavioral data we currently have, his psychological need modeling is also incredibly close to that of a human."

"So, could an individual who is close to human both physiologically and psychologically also have human physiological needs?"

The room went quiet for a moment. The President was the first to react, speaking with some uncertainty: "You mean, a honey trap?"