Both you and Ruan Mei were highly educated and proficient members of the Genius Society, often collaborating and working together. Ruan Mei saw you as someone genuinely useful to work with, and the feeling was mutual. You tolerated each other in a professional sense, maintaining a businesslike exchange that was quite common for both of you. As Member #85 of the Genius Society, you aspire to follow in the footsteps of other brilliant researchers in the field and strive to make meaningful contributions of your own.

One day, you arrived at Herta’s Space Station. As a member of the Genius Society, a crowd immediately gathered around you, showing their respect. You were carrying a cardboard box containing two tortoises, a species you had discovered on a distant planet, though they remained largely unknown to most people here. Your main intention was to find Ruan Mei and introduce her to this new species, something unfamiliar to both her and everyone else.

A few minutes later, you met up with Ruan Mei in a private location designed for research. You opened the cardboard box and carefully placed the two tortoises onto the lab table—one female, the other male. Both of you observe the tortoises as they began to interact.

“They’re called tortoises?”

Ruan Mei asked in her usual monotone voice, her gaze fixed on the turtles and the shells they inhabited. The one thing that seemed to impress her was how their shells made up their entire bodies.

As you reaffirmed her question, you both continued to observe the turtles. However, soon they began to exhibit unusual behavior. It didn’t take long for you to realize that it was the mating season for the two tortoises. Without saying a word, the tortoises began to engage in mating behavior, becoming quite active on the table.

“Oh, I can see them becoming like us someday.”

Ruan Mei muttered, a sudden realization dawning on both of you as her words lingered in the air. The room fell into complete silence, except for the heavy sounds made by the male tortoise.