()||9<黑屏1>0,10BGM_Empty: ()||470<黑屏2>0.5: ()||:...Late at night, in Nele's room.+Nele is fast asleep. She rolls over in bed, pulling the duvet tighter around herself.+Wrapped in her cocoon of warmth and coziness, she mutters softly in her dreams. ()Nele||:...Time to... enroll in my courses for this semester...+The system... is freezing again...+Ugh! I didn't manage... to get onto Professor Gray's... ()||<黑屏1>: ()||9<黑屏2>: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<回忆>0.5<黑屏2>553m_avg_casual: ()||:...In a corridor of the Lecture Hall Building in Heidelberg University. ()||RunStep:Tap-tap-tap—racing footsteps thunder down the hallway, accompanied by harsh panting. Nele rounds the corner in a full sprint. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:I made it! With five minutes to spare!+Thank goodness I didn't miss Professor Gray's lecture! ()||:Nele's joy freezes on her face before it can last a full second. ()||:A hallway that's usually quiet and empty is now packed with people. They're craning their necks or raising phones above their heads to record inside the lecture room. Clearly, they're all here for the rare open lecture given by Professor Gray. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:... ()Student A||:How come I'm still stuck in the hallway even though I came half an hour before the lecture is scheduled to begin?! ()Student B||:You really don't know how popular Professor Gray is? In med school, her courses are always the first ones everyone rushes to grab each semester! ()Student C||:And word is she'll also be talking about how she writes her papers. Seriously a life-saver! I've got zero clue where to start mine! ()Student A||:Papers? You mean the one she just published on functional brain networks in autism? Ohhh, no wonder this lecture is titled the same... ()Student C||:You clearly aren't worried about your paper! Then give me your spot, thanks! ()Student B||<震屏3>AVG_XXS_kick:Hey! What's your problem?! Why are you shoving?! ()||%%type_id=2%%duration=4%%delay=0%%range=3:The tightly packed wall of bodies ripples. Just as Nele is growing desperate, a narrow path opens up before her. NPC-Nele(0)Nele||AVG_Creep:Excuse me, excuse me... ()Student A||:Who is that? Who's pushing me?! ()Student B||:Don't play dumb! You're the one pushing me! ()||AVG_Creep:Holding her backpack protectively over her vital organs, Nele plunges into the chaos. Like a sturgeon swimming upstream, she fights her way through the tide and rocks. ()Student D||:Stop pushing! You're about to— NPC-Nele(0)Nele||:Excuse me, excuse me... ()||:These words become almost an incantation—once spoken, they part the crowd like magic, opening a clear path.+Light spills through the outlines of a few students ahead—Nele knows she's almost there! NPC-Nele(0)Nele||AVG_Creep:Excuse me— ()||AVG_Cloak_Whoosh<震屏3>BGM_Empty:Dodging the last few obstacles with finesse, Nele finally breaks through. Her view clears instantly— ()||<黑点1>: ()||<黑点2>9: ()||<黑点1>: ()||<黑点2>6540.5: NPC-MrsGray(2)???||BGM_ev2408_BeeCatcher:You alright there? NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:I-I'm fine...+ I'm sorry, Professor Gray... NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Sign in first. ()||AVG_20Winter_Book:At Gray's signal, her assistant walks over with a sign-in sheet. ()Teaching Assistant||:Please find your name and sign next to it. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Um... actually... I didn't manage to enroll in this course...+I... just came to sit in unofficially... ()||0.5:Whispers start to ripple through the seated students. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||Stop_AVG_loop:That's fine. Due to the size of the lecture room, this open lecture had limited registration. I know many students weren't able to get a spot but still came.+The lecture is going to be long, so later I'll have my assistant hand out seat cushions to anyone without a seat. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:You as well—please register your name and major with my assistant. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Alright... NPC-Nele(0)Nele||:I'm Cornelia, freshman in applied physics... ()||:Even though Nele tries to keep her voice low, grumbling erupts from the seated crowd. ()Student E||:Applied physics? What are you doing crashing a med school class?! ()Student F||:Exactly! Even our own classmates can't get seats, and here you outsiders come barging in! NPC-Nele(1)Nele||:... ()||ClothingUp:Gray raises her hand, motioning for silence. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Everyone, please quiet down. ()||Stop_AVG_loop:The murmurs stop at once. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:This new course of mine, Functional Brain Networks in ASD, is an open lecture for the entire university. Students from any department are welcome to attend if they're interested.+Cornelia, please take a seat with a cushion. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Thank you... ()||ClothingUp0.5:Bowing her head, Nele finds a patch of floor near the front row and quickly sits down. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Come to think of it, I've had a long connection with the Department of Applied Physics.+Back when I was a student, I met a senior from that department. People say talent and hard work rarely come in the same person, but she was the exception.+Even to this day, I've never met anyone more gifted and determined than her. While I was still lost about my future, she had already made an extraordinary choice—to give up everything she'd achieved in her original major and cross into a brand-new field.+Let me give an example you'll understand... ()||AVG_doorknock_wood:Gray taps on a student's desk in the front row. NPC-MrsGray(0)Gray||:What's your major? ()Student||:Clinical medicine. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:If I asked you to switch to nuclear physics right now, do you think you could turn in a midterm paper? ()Student||:...That's impossible. It's way too far removed from my current discipline. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:That's how a normal person would response, right?+But this senior of mine? In under two years, she had absorbed everything a doctoral student in medicine is expected to know. She could talk to me fluently about the future of human medicine. She even published three SCI papers in her spare time. ()Student||:Whoa... NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:We're still very close. Even though we live far apart now, we still exchange letters and share academic progress.+But that's not why I mention her today. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Huh? NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:I met her at a time when I felt lost and uncertain about my future.+I grew up in an ordinary family in Berlin, and in a world where class and access to resources are so rigid, the road to education and advancement was anything but smooth. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:At the time, academia was rife with gatekeeping. The gap between studying medicine and becoming a doctor was immense. Coming from a family of doctors was almost a requirement—if your family had any clout in the medical field, your academic path would be guaranteed smooth sailing.+I loved the subject, but I had no background, so whether it was project experience or further studies... I had no doors to knock on. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:It was that senior in applied physics who brought me into a world-class research project—and she invited me, someone with no background at all. That project's name alone was enough to open the doors of any hospital.+She told me, "Gray, I believe in your talent and potential more than anyone. Come, stand by my side. You'll be indispensable to the field of medicine. Just your presence... will influence an entire generation." NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:People often ask me why I still bother with public lectures at this level, why I waste time grading graduate papers, when I already have my own lab. But even now, I still keep four weekly teaching clinic shifts.+I want to give newcomers a chance, the way that senior gave me a chance. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:That's my answer. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:... NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:My lab is open for applications to everyone.+If you're interested in interning, you can speak to my assistant afterward.+I don't care whether you live in a luxury home in Frankfurt or a little cottage in rural Bavaria. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:As long as you have a passion for medicine, as long as your dream is to heal people—+Then we are companions. ()||AVG_applause_indoor:Clap clap clap...+All previous gripes forgotten, the students burst into unified applause. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Now then, let's begin the lecture. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||Stop_AVG_loop9<黑屏2>: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||AVG_PPT_Switch654<黑屏2>0.5: ()||:Gray finishes presenting the final slide. On the screen, several children with autism gather around her, smiling shyly at the camera. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:That concludes today's lecture. I hope everyone gained something valuable. ()||AVG_applause_indoor:Gray bows. The audience erupts into thunderous applause. Nele feels tears welling up in her eyes. ()||:Gray's professionalism, combined with the gentle patience she shows toward people with autism, leaves Nele deeply moved. ()Teaching Assistant||:We now have five minutes of Q&A. If anyone has any questions, feel free to raise your hand. ()||Stop_AVG_loop:Perhaps still caught up in the emotion, the students remain respectfully quiet. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:The questions don't have to be limited to today's topic. If you have other academic concerns, I'm also happy to address them. ()||ClothingUp:Nele is the first to raise her hand. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Professor Gray, I've read your recent papers and the journals you recommended. I've noticed your interest in the connection between Doll technology and human neurology.+So I wanted to ask—if Dolls were someday to possess independent consciousness, emotions, and self-awareness based on the human neural network, what kind of impact do you think that would have on human society? NPC-MrsGray(2)Gray||:That's a brilliant question.+It's true that I've recently been working in that area. However, the field is vast, and there has been little progress in the subject of my interest so far. As for the impact such technology might have if it truly comes to fruition... ()||:She pauses for a few seconds. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Even I can't say whether it will be a boon or a curse to humanity.+Just as when Sertürner first isolated morphine, intending to use it as a painkiller, he certainly never imagined what humanity would eventually do with it. NPC-MrsGray(1);NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Are you saying technology itself is innocent? NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray;NPC-Nele(2)||:What I mean is that the development of science always surpasses human imagination. We, limited by the time we live in, cannot foresee the future.+What we can do is commit ourselves fully to what we believe is right—in the present. NPC-MrsGray(1);NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:What we believe is right... but how do we even know if our choices are right?+Like the senior you mentioned earlier—she made the choice to switch fields, and because she succeeded, we now call it the right choice.+But for ordinary people like us, how do we know if something is truly right? NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray;NPC-Nele(2)||:It's not that we choose something because it's right.+It becomes right because we chose it. NPC-MrsGray(1);NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:...So no matter what we choose, we have to do our best to make it right? NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray;NPC-Nele(2)||:Indeed. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||0.5: NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Thank you, Professor Gray. ()||ClothingUp:Nele reflects on the words as she sits down. ()||0.5:Back then, she doesn't yet fully grasp what Professor Gray means. ()||ClothingUp:After the Q&A session, Gray picks up a pin badge from the table. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:That wraps up today's class. Before you leave, I'd like to give you all a small gift. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:This gift is also related to the question asked by the last student. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:No matter what path you take in the future, you will undoubtedly encounter dark temptations.+This has nothing to do with your own morality—it's simply because this world always holds both light and shadow. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<黑屏2>9ClothingUp2%%code=Medal_item%%: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<黑屏2><关闭蒙版>9: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<黑屏2><回忆>654:The badge in her hand catches the overhead lights. NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:When darkness knocks on your window, remember—you are here to change the world, not to be changed by it.+I hope this badge can serve as a small reminder during your moments of confusion. ()Student||:Wow... ()||AVG_Crowd_RunBGM_Empty:The students, full of enthusiasm, rush up to the podium, crowding around Gray's teaching assistant until he completely vanishes from view.+Nele hesitates. In the end, she decides against taking a badge for herself.+She's just an outsider from the Department of Physics sneaking into a medical course. It doesn't feel right to take something that isn't meant her... NPC-MrsGray(1)Gray||:Schaeffer. ()||<震屏3>:Nele looks up in surprise. Something flies toward her— ()||0.5ClothingUp:Swish. She catches it out of reflex. It's the badge. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Professor Gray... ()||0.7:Nele wants to thank her, but Gray has already disappeared among the sea of students. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<关闭蒙版>9<黑屏2>Stop_AVG_loop: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||AVG_21Winter_Fire_Alarm470<黑屏2>0.7: ()||:The shrill sound of an alarm clock jolts Nele awake. ()||Stop_AVG_loop: ()||ClothingUp:The dream hasn't completely faded. She stares down at her empty palm, then jumps out of bed. NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:The badge! ()||<震屏3>AVG_flagGF_22W_BGM_2:She tears through drawers and shelves in a frenzy.+Eventually, she finds it—tucked inside the box where she keeps her graduation photos. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<黑屏2>ClothingUp92%%code=Medal_item%%: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<黑屏2><关闭蒙版>470:The badge looks exactly the same as it did. But the Professor Gray from back then... NPC-Nele(1)Nele||:... ()||Rope:A wave of pain seizes her chest. Nele finds it hard to breathe. ()||:Like a broken glass pipette, drops of tears start rolling down her face. NPC-Nele(1)Nele||0.5: NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:Now's not the time to cry... ()||RunStep:To distract herself, Nele wipes away the tears and rushes into the kitchen... ()||<黑屏1>: ()||9<黑屏2>: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||129<震屏3>AVG_Door_Hit:Bam!+With a pile of food in her arms, Nele practically kicks open the door to the storage room where J is being held. NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:Agent J, time to eat. NPC-Keven(8)J||:... ()||ClothingUp:J groggily pulls himself up from the floor and glances at the clock on the wall. NPC-Keven(14)J||:Sheesh, it's 0340 in the morning.+What kind of meal is this supposed to be, huh? NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:You don't want it? ()||:From Nele's cold tone, red-rimmed eyes, and the faint smell of alcohol, J decides this is not a good time to provoke her. NPC-Keven(10)J||:Fine, I'll eat. NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:... ()||ClothingUp0.5:J carefully watches her expression while unpacking the food she's brought. NPC-Keven(6)J||:What's... the matter with you? NPC-Keven(6);NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:Nothing. NPC-Keven(6)J;NPC-Nele(3)||0.5:Did the Commander piss you off?+Hey, that's just how they are—cold as ice, always ignoring messages, making you sick with worry and furious with them... NPC-Keven(6);NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:No, the Commander's helped me a lot... and replies to my messages pretty quickly, actually. NPC-Keven(7)J;NPC-Nele(3)||:...+Then what's bothering you? NPC-Keven(7);NPC-Nele(1)Nele||:It's just...+I've decided to do the right thing. NPC-Keven(7)J;NPC-Nele(1)||:The right thing? NPC-Keven(7);NPC-Nele(1)Nele||:...Yeah. My teacher taught me to do what's right. NPC-Keven(6)J;NPC-Nele(1)||:Whatever. I can already tell you don't plan on elaborating.+Then tell me about this teacher of yours. Did she treat you to lunch often? NPC-Keven(6);NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:Not really.+...People who offer you food out of nowhere are usually up to something, don't you think? NPC-Keven(6)J;NPC-Nele(2)||0.5: NPC-Keven(10)J;NPC-Nele(2)||:“In a way, you're damn right...+But back to your teacher. NPC-Keven(10);NPC-Nele(2)Nele||:I first learned of her through her paper, "A Discussion on the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Its Impact on ASD". You've probably heard of it—it's quite renowned.+Although, back then, I thought the research prospects in the superior temporal sulcus were much more promising. NPC-Keven(9)J;NPC-Nele(2)||:...Hold up. Was that last part even in a human language? NPC-Keven(9);NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:What do you mean?+Anyway, I had that belief because at the time, popular studies showed that in typically developing populations, the gray matter volume of the superior temporal sulcus was related to a person's mentalizing ability.+But soon I realized I was completely wrong—my teacher's lab published a paper showing, through structural MRI, that no such correlation exists in ASD individuals. NPC-Keven(10)J||:Okay, that just sounded like plain gibberish to me... ()||ClothingUp:Nele downs her beer and cracks open another can. NPC-Nele(3)Nele||:Don't worry, I'll explain slowly.+Let me start with a breakdown of that paper... NPC-Keven(14)J||:... ()||AVG_File_Put0.5:As Nele lays out over a dozen research articles with practiced ease, J realizes he's about to be dragged into a hell that feels like back-to-back meetings with no end in sight... ()||<黑屏1>: ()||<关闭蒙版>9<黑屏2>: ()||<黑屏1>AVG_door_elecport: ()||735<黑屏2>0.5: ()||:...Having found some calm through analyzing the research, Nele finally leaves J alone and makes her way to the lab. ()||AVG_tele_connect:She opens a comm line to the Commander. NPC-Nele(7)Nele||:Commander, it's me. NPC-Nele(7)Commander<同时置暗>||:I'm listening. NPC-Nele(7)Nele||:Starting tomorrow—no, today—I'll officially begin the experiment on Professor Gray. NPC-Nele(7)Commander<同时置暗>||:...+I'll ask you one more time. Are you sure about this? NPC-Nele(7)Nele||:Yes.+Please help me get in touch with Professor Persica. I need her help. NPC-Nele(7)Commander<同时置暗>||:Alright. I'll let her know and have her contact you. NPC-Nele(7)Nele||:Sorry to disturb you... ()Commander||:No problem at all. ()||0.5AVG_tele_disconnect: ()||0.5BGM_Empty:After ending the call, the grief finally begins to overflow. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||ClothingUp781<黑屏2>0.5: ()||:Holding the badge in her hand, Nele sits silently beside Gray. ()Nele||0.5:... ()Nele||0.5BGM_ev2410_RespectedGray:Professor, am I walking the right path now? ()||0.5:In the deathly silent room, the hum of the air conditioner is the only response. ()Nele||0.5:I followed you for years, from applied physics to clinical medicine...+But I couldn't even tell when you were replaced... ()||0.6:Nele lets out a dry, bitter laugh. The badge in her hand reflects the sterile white light of the room. ()Nele||0.6:If you knew what I'm about to do to you...+Would you still have helped me so kindly back then? ()||0.5ClothingUp:Rustle—+As Nele sits motionless in her chair, she can almost hear the faint sound of a lab coat shifting. ()||0.5:Just like back in the professor's lab, when she was focused on an experiment, Professor Gray would sneak up quietly from behind to check on her progress—only to be betrayed by the subtle rustle of her coat.+She has always associated that sound with Professor Gray's gentle attentiveness. ()Gray||0.5:What we can do... is to firmly carry out what we believe is right. ()||0.5ClothingUp:Once again, Nele feels Professor Gray's warm hand wrap around her own. ()||<黑屏1>: ()||9<黑屏2>: ()||<黑屏1>: ()||AVG_Zipper785:...Zip. ()||:Nele unzips the body bag.+The first thing she sees is Gray's hand resting on her abdomen.+Slender, pale, and once the very hand that had gently lifted her up.+Sadly, the warmth is gone, replaced by merciless cold. NPC-Nele(9)Nele||:... ()||AVG_2023Slow_Keyboard_Correct:Facing the recording device on the table, Nele speaks calmly. NPC-Nele(11)Nele||:The time 0445 on November 4th.+This video is a record... for the upcoming experiment. The autopsy will be conducted by Cornelia Schaeffer. ()||AVG_tableware:She wipes the grime from Gray's body with a sterile cotton pad, taking care to be as gentle as possible. ()||0.3ClothingUp: ()||0.6ClothingUp: NPC-Nele(11)Nele||:Initial cleaning is complete. I will now examine the modified parts on Professor Gray's body. ()||ClothingUp:Starting from Gray's head, Nele carefully parts her hair, searching for surgical traces. NPC-Nele(11)Nele||:Confirmed craniotomy scars—specific procedures unclear at this point. ()||ClothingUp:She moves on to the neck, shoulders, and arms, then gently lifts Gray's hand. NPC-Nele(11)Nele||0.5:The left arm is missing. The right hand has been modified, with an incision between the middle and ring fingers... ()||AVG_20Winter_Door_Open:Click. ()||ClothingUp:The lab door opens. Nele looks up in surprise. NPC-Nele(10)Nele||:...Connie. NPC-Constanze(0)Constanze||:... ()||:Constanze, already changed into surgical scrubs, silently looks at Gray on the table, then at Nele's bloodshot eyes. NPC-Nele(9)Nele||:I thought... you wouldn't come. NPC-Constanze(0)Constanze||:With the sudden change in your plan, the experiment might not be finished in time even with two people working on it without sleep... ()||AVG_Cloak_Whoosh:Constanze sets down her bag and puts on her lab coat. NPC-Constanze(0)Constanze||:Besides, if I don't help you, who else will? NPC-Nele(8)Nele||:...+Thank you, Connie. ()||0.5AVG_keyboardtype_sci:Constanze smoothly takes over the task of recording. NPC-Constanze(0)Constanze||:I still don't understand why you want to do this, but I know you believe you're doing the right thing.+And you've always been a stubborn mule when it comes to your principles. NPC-Nele(10)Nele||:I... NPC-Constanze(1)Constanze||:Enough talk. Let's get to work! ()||0.5:The prospect of doing lab work together with Connie hits Nele with a strong sense of nostalgia. Finally, she allows herself a small, genuine smile. NPC-Nele(8)Nele||:Okay. ()||0.5AVG_tableware:As the two of them dive into the preparations, dawn begins to seep into the night, revealing the silhouette of the hidden sun. ()||<黑点1>: