Puzzle Madness

Chapter 56 Classification
Doudou put down his pen. He had only been taking notes for a short while, but he had already torn up all the white paper in the box and folded all the pens.

"So, after all this video introduction, is this special ability considered good or bad?"

Richard put his glasses, which he had been rubbing for a long time, back into his breast pocket.
"Good or bad, all we can say is that some of them have commercial value. That's the standard by which all fanaticism is measured."

"Actually, there's no such thing as a craze that can compare to conventional military power. So, companies and businesses only care about whether a certain craze has commercial value."

"For example, that [neck rider] I mentioned at the food stall? My deceased colleague's obsession could have had some commercial value, but the reach was too small. Furthermore, despite his training, he was ultimately relegated to field work."

The mathematician curled up in the corner of the sofa, coughing non-stop; as the screen faded in and out, the video entered the next section:
[Section 2: Specific categories of miracles.]
[Based on current statistical data, it is inferred that the types of miracles carried out in these cases are isolated and have little or no correlation with the causes of the miracles.]
[At the same time, case individuals carrying various types of miracles have been discovered.]
[First type of miracle: organic miracle.]
This type of miracle manifests as deformity, hypertrophy, atrophy, mutation, or hyperplasia of organs or limbs, physical changes beyond the original human structure; the coupling, adhesion, and fusion of multiple human individuals; the replacement of body parts with inorganic compounds or other substances, or even non-material substances such as natural phenomena, without affecting the original physiological functions, etc.
[The measured data clearly demonstrates functional improvement, and in most cases, it is positively correlated with the degree of appearance change.]
A picture appeared to the right of the trembling text—it was blurry due to the TV's RGB color gamut adjustment; but the protagonist of the picture could still be distinguished. It should be a human, or at least have a [human form], just an odd one:

The deltoid muscle on the left shoulder was torn, and rusty, rough, dark metal protruded from between the muscle and the skin; the neck and chest were covered with fine, dense spots that looked like verdigris.

The most important and eye-catching thing is his rectangular head, which is much larger than an average person's, but has a perfectly regular shape. It has a bulging screen, two antennae on top of his head that look like insect antennae, and a few knobs and buttons on the sides of his cheeks.

It is a TV, a TV that is not turned on and has no picture; it just grows on a human neck.

"Holy crap, is this a human? The TV has become a spirit! Isn't this a TV monster?"

Doudou pointed at the screen and shouted: This is indeed like a CRT TV that has practiced for many years and become a spirit, transforming into a human form.

Perhaps it was the clarity of the image: it looked more like a man in a crude costume, lying on a laboratory table rather than on a film set.

The lights in the video room's box are dim, which makes it more suitable for watching horror movies.

Doudou raised his hand and asked the non-existent teacher:

"How terrifying! Why does this [Miracle] sound like the T-Virus? Oh, right; have you ever played Resident Evil? This guy looks exactly like the monster in it! I always say Capcom is a terrible company. Oh, even without Konami, it's still Konami that's the worst."

"Oh no, actually, this TV guy looks more like Silent Hill! Wow, Konami is the worst."

Richard shook his head, but his eyes scanned the subtitles on the screen again and again:
"This type of condition is most common in the files. I personally think it's because compared to other symptoms, this type of condition is the easiest to detect - you can see something is wrong with the naked eye. Physical changes are difficult to hide, and every company pays close attention to hospital medical records."

"The case cited in the video is actually quite severe; it's rare."

The mathematician seemed not to have heard Doudou and the others' sighs, and continued to curl up in a corner of the sofa, even squeezing in further.
-
[The second type of miracle: sensory miracle.]
[This type of miracle has no specific pattern, but does not include the content related to the first type of miracle.]
[When the miracle is active, the nervous system and cerebral cortex of the carrier of this type of miracle are overactive; however, other parts of the body except the nervous system are different from organic miracles and have never deviated from the normal physical level of the case's age group.]
This time the accompanying image is no longer a photo, but an MRI image; within the pale and shiny outline of the skull are flickering brain circuits: it is as if a firework display has just been set off in the head.

Doudou pressed down another finger and narrowed his eyes, unable to see anything unusual.
"This second picture isn't as interesting as the previous one. It's a bit too general science."

"How many categories are there in total? Is this the kind you learn about UFOs? What kind of contact with a UFO is that?"

Richard pressed his finger against his lips, and after a while he came back to his senses, not knowing what he was thinking.
"There should be—marketing departments will use widely circulated popular media as a reference. Popularity generally represents the public's acceptance and is a good reference."

"Although these materials aren't intended for the general public, we need to consider how efficiently students can absorb them." The mathematician's glasses reflected the shimmering images on the screen.
"So, things like superpowers are really hard to identify with instruments."

"For example, this MRI image looks like this: the abnormal patterns of excitability and inhibition in the cerebral cortex are not much different from those of common ADHD. If you take someone to the hospital for a physical examination, how can you tell whether they have ADHD or are capable of transmitting qi and remote healing?"

Richard raised his eyebrows and expressed surprise reservedly:

"I didn't realize you were into medicine, Doctor. Not everyone knows how to read this kind of film; I just don't quite get it."

"But—I've already said this, this isn't some kind of Qigong or anything like that: the colleague I mentioned earlier who could make people cry was probably of this [sensual] type. Many criminals are of this type, and you can't usually tell the difference."
-
[The third type of miracle: transit miracle].

[The miracle does not directly affect the carrier, but relies on other media; the choice of media is irregular, and no case has been found where the same medium is used repeatedly as a transfer.]
[Carriers of transitory miracles, no physiological abnormalities have been found.]
[The media currently discovered include: 35 alcohol sanitary wipes (Chinese brand, 75% alcohol, used to wipe dirt) / Pearl Jam's single "Alive" (chorus, 1991 album version) / a hanging rope (woven from multiple wires) / a purebred Staffordshire Bull Terrier (neutered).]
Behind it, there is a long and dense line of insects, like flies, covering the entire screen, making people dizzy.

[While no specific pattern has been found regarding the specific effects produced by the medium, observed effects include: deformation without external influence, changes in volume and mass, disruptions in neurotransmitter secretion, changes in weather patterns, and the induction of stress hallucinations.]
[When the carrier of this type of miracle dies (including clinical death such as brain death), the effects produced by the medium will become ineffective.]
At this point in the explanation, there are no pictures at all; the crowded text is almost overflowing from the screen and flowing onto the ground.

Doudou's eyes rolled around, and he didn't know where to start writing. After a long while, he finally managed to say:
"What. What a mess."

"It's not very interesting. The conversation is very boring. And it's getting more and more boring. Only the beginning is interesting."

"It feels more like they're talking about a disease, without really explaining any superpowers or anything like that."

"And then—I didn't understand what the genre was; it was all a bunch of gibberish."

Richard pinched his forehead with his fingers and squeezed out the word "Chuan":

"It's indeed quite abstract. Originally, this kind of material was given to informants or students to give them a general idea of ​​the symptoms; because after reading it, they will basically encounter or even clash with a person with trance."

"There's a lot of variation in the presentation, but not a lot of counterintuitive manifestations. You either rely on on-the-spot reactions to resolve conflict, or you do background checks and design solutions in advance. Therefore, the training focuses primarily on theory and concepts."

Richard rubbed his face and finally came up with an explanation:

"As for this [transitional] type—I think how to explain this type is probably: for example, suppose I am this type, and I have a cat; and my transit [medium] is my cat? Then in this case, my ecstasy has no effect on me, but it allows the cat to talk, do housework, repair the refrigerator, write a novel, and so on."

"If I die someday, the cat will become a normal cat again; that's about it. The cat I'm using as an example could actually be something like a coffee table or a sofa, or even something more complex and special—it might not be able to write novels, but a bench that eats garbage."

"It sounds mysterious, but it's actually not that great."

"Actually, most of the cases I've come across are just things like lighting a cigarette with a fart."

(End of this chapter)