Cells Don’t Know the Date [Dawn / Laboratory]

Taekyung began breaking human neural development down into smaller pieces.

What cells needed to mature was not simply time.

First, certain growth signals rose.

Then others disappeared.

Oxygen demand changed.

The proportions of supporting cells shifted.

Electrical activity became more complex in stages.

Taekyung flipped through the same data dozens of times before suddenly stopping.

Cells did not look at calendars.

They did not know how many days old they were.

When the environment changed,

they accepted that the next stage had arrived.

Taekyung typed:

‘Cells don’t know the date.’

Below it:

‘Development may be an accumulation of ordered transitions rather than time itself.’

His hands moved faster.

What if he changed the signals needed for normal development at shorter intervals?

What if he created the environment of the next developmental stage a little sooner?

What if the cells could follow that sequence?

He stopped, then wrote again.

‘Keep convincing the cells that the next time has arrived.’

The idea sent a chill through him.

Theoretically possible did not mean normally developed.

If he pushed too fast, the neurons could die.

The tissue could look mature on the surface while its circuits were disorganized.

If the vascular structures failed to keep pace, the core could become necrotic.

Still, there was no other path.

[Night / Home]

Jian lay beside sleeping Hajun.

When Taekyung came home late, she opened her eyes.

(Jian) : “The lab again?”

(Taekyung) : “Yeah.”

(Jian) : “You barely sleep anymore.”

Instead of answering, Taekyung placed a hand on Hajun’s forehead.

No fever.

Jian asked quietly,

(Jian) : “What are you thinking about?”

Taekyung almost told her.

But he closed his mouth.

It was still only an idea.

Too early even to call it a possibility.

(Taekyung) : “A way to save Hajun.”

Jian’s eyes shifted.

(Jian) : “There is one?”

Taekyung could not answer.

Only much later did he say,

(Taekyung) : “Not yet.”

That was true.

Not yet.

[Next Day / Laboratory]

Taekyung designed a new culture environment.

He would not skip any stage of normal development.

Instead, he compressed the intervals between stages.

Oxygen concentration.

Nutrient supply.

Growth signals.

Extracellular environment.

Electrical stimulation.

Everything had to advance together.

If even one component got ahead, the experiment would fail.

Taekyung created a new experimental file.

Instead of a title, he entered only a number.

D-713.

Then he pressed start.