Volume 17: Enemy of All Things Chapter 14: Les Miserables (Part 2)
"Why?"
“Metabolism.”
"ha?"
Hearing such a scientific term from a game character made Li Lin feel that it was a bit unrealistic, and he was even stunned for a moment.
Does metabolism have anything to do with what I just said? How can metabolism be related to the interference of thoughts and minds? Li Lin looked at the calm deputy dean in front of him with some confusion, waiting for the answer from this NPC whom he once trusted the most.
Since reality is involved, all the status and related data in the game are meaningless. All exaggeration is completely meaningless in front of the benchmark. That's why universities are so keen to reach reality. So when it comes to issues based on reality and the player world, let alone the vice president, even the deans and directors of previous generations will honestly speak their true thoughts when they come here.
No one knows what disastrous consequences will be caused by fooling the baseline reality at this time, just like no one knows whether the world will still exist after the power outside is turned off. The university is not the Holy Light. If the Holy Light sees the destruction of the devil and themselves, they will applaud and die generously. But the university is a group of creatures seeking knowledge. Before the truth is revealed, no one will gamble on even a one in ten thousand chance. Even if they are rebuked scientific lunatics, they will never do anything to harm Li Lin or do something they shouldn't do at this time.
This kind of thing is not for gambling, and it should never be used for gambling. These things should be put on the table, and everyone should come to communicate and express their opinions openly. So the vice president sorted out Li Lin's questions and expressed his true opinions.
"If it is real reality, a reality without any romance, then unless your brain is implanted with a mechanical or genetically engineered defect or a certain segment of your gene is removed, it is difficult for pure mental suggestion to create a permanent so-called mental imprint. The reason is simple, because living things are not solid. The biggest difference between them and electrons is that they are very elastic and will automatically replace something."
“This is a disastrous performance in the pursuit of precision work, but if this trait is replaced by the spirit, it provides the most basic protection for the mind.”
"The human brain is protective. Any brainwashing and superstition will change as the environment changes. This is the adaptive nature of organisms."
“…”
Although he felt that he didn't understand a single word, Li Lin instinctively felt that this passage was very helpful to him.
He did not interrupt the vice president's speech, but sat on the sofa obediently, carefully thinking about every paragraph of the vice president's description, and then comparing it with his past actions and thoughts. He had a strong sense of distrust for his own safety. Compared with the miscellaneous things in the game, he was even less trusting of the computer outside. Although the two came from the same source, the essential difference would bring about a change in thinking.
As for the AI that is hidden from the outside world, the current vice president is clearly explaining what has happened to Li Lin in a way that Li Lin can understand better. It is precisely because Li Lin's brain is still purely human that his thoughts will gradually fall apart.
If the human brain is really a perfect and precise machine, then biology itself is a very regrettable mistake. Because the hardware problem leads to the loss and deformation of the software, this kind of thing is extremely fatal to the machine. But for a soul that is eager to see the truth and pursues self, this news is nothing short of great good news. At least after Li Lin thought about the pros and cons of this through his not-so-smart brain, he clearly realized that this is probably really reasonable. Because the biggest difference between Li Lin and other players is that he is a natural person.
Natural people have sleep, physiological needs, various excretions and desires. Similarly, the various biological tissues and cells in his body also perform various duties. Therefore, any unilateral action is meaningless, because Li Lin is a collection of countless cells. A simple impact for a period of time cannot cause permanent damage. The organism itself will correct and repair itself to a certain extent.
"Unless physical modification is done, mental suggestion is difficult to carry out. And I have evidence. Obviously, the real world on your side has no right, or at present, no right to do such a harmful act to you. Then the answer is very simple, because your own metabolic cell replacement has caused the inherent impression to begin to blur, and the original mind stamp setting has loopholes. Because we all know that the so-called mind stamp, the so-called mental suggestion, the so-called mind is better than matter, is actually just a powerful meme, a meme that needs to be constantly filled."
"According to conventional calculations, this kind of mental suggestion will continue to circulate in various corners to ensure that the human body's metabolism will not wash away the inherent impression. This suggestion can be the atmosphere, the props, or the associated words."
"The simplest one is that we all know that the most powerful spiritual stamp is actually religion, or spiritual ideas. It can be refined into love, and can be self-filled and disassembled into some extreme emotions. But what are these spiritual stamps made of? It is the surrounding culture, the hormones secreted by the body, inertia, and self-hypnosis. In other words, as long as you deny the sacredness of the spirit and look at the problem from an objective perspective, your world without romance can completely construct everything artificially."
"As long as the suggestion does not stop, the mental imprint will always exist. For example, certain news that is often broadcast, certain things that are often seen, those familiar things and related examples. Human civilization and various etiquette and taboos themselves are also a kind of meme, and they usually have coherence. The so-called sense of ritual is also based on this. It is association and action. So in summary, when you do something or see something, your brain will instinctively activate the connection related to the sense of ritual, start to block your thoughts, and make you feel what kind of person you are and what kind of people cannot do. This is the most basic imprint. It is also the only reasonable imprint."
"But judging from your current performance, your hints have stopped in recent times, or because you made a certain choice."
When saying this, the vice president also showed an expression of incomprehension.
Because according to common sense, this kind of stamps and hints that are almost everywhere in the world must consume a lot of manpower and material resources. Even as Li Lin just suspected, the world actually revolves around him. If the above conjecture is true, then what he said is absolutely correct.
At least, everything that Li Lin saw, heard, thought, and perceived became what others needed Li Lin to see because of this mental stamp. This means that everything Li Lin saw in reality was false, unreal, and a fantastic and magnificent world built around his ideas. So the world really revolved around him, at least the world around Li Lin definitely revolved like this.
But here comes a new idea. Why did he abandon the logical trap that he had gone to so much trouble to complete and instead let Li Lin begin to doubt himself?
"The shackles of your thoughts gradually disintegrate with the replacement of your own cell metabolism. In other words, you gradually wake up from a special state of fanaticism. This may be a good thing, but what does it mean? What can you realize by breaking through the loopholes in your thinking? This is very strange."
The vice president took a dry puff of his cigarette, and the expression on his face became increasingly strange.
"If this kind of suggestion happened in your world, the cost would definitely be huge. It can even be said that most of the foundation of human civilization was mobilized to lay the foundation for this thing. But you gave up this action because of a certain action, or they gave up for some unknown reason. You even realized the inconsistency here. This is completely unreasonable. From the perspective of input to output, the consumption here has reached an astronomical level that is unimaginable. Just giving up like this? There must be more internal reasons behind it."
"But you can't produce more evidence, or you feel some evidence, but it's not strong enough to be used as evidence, because it can't be proven by a third party. You don't trust those people, you only trust yourself. Then this kind of action means that your thoughts and logic are based on fantasy rather than objective reality. You just subjectively think that all this happened. This is bad news."
"From this perspective, you are just a lucky paranoid person. You are so lucky that everyone looks like a thief who wants to steal your property. This is a normal biological conservative phenomenon. But this is also a subjective view because we have no evidence to judge whether what you say is true or false."
"so?"
Looking at the professor who was speaking more and more fluently, Li Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Can you give me any constructive suggestions? For example, what should I do, or what evidence should I find?"
"That's your business, and has nothing to do with us."
The vice president spread his hands and smiled as if he had succeeded in his evil plan.
"And the funny thing is, I finally know why you resist us so much. How should I put it? Although you claim to be a coward with common sense, judging from the comparison of players, you should be the most daring and the one with the least common sense."
"…Why do you say that?"
"Because you see, if we are really AI derivatives, then if we were released into reality, would there be any necessary difference between our world and the current state of your world?"
Aren't you also seeking to ask AI about AI's affairs? Is this different from trying to cover up one's own faults?
The vice-president finally understood his thoughts clearly. Looking at the man slumped in the sofa, and considering his understanding of players, he finally knew what was going on in the heart of this man who had always been unpredictable.
He is like a stubborn old man who refuses to admit the progress of the times. He clings to the idols of the past and may even loudly rebuke others, thinking that they are just young people. But in fact, he also knows that the times have changed, so he is filled with a certain kind of anxiety and fear. Moreover, the outside world may have some bad suggestions and memories about Li Lin because of some accidents in the past, which eventually led to the formation of an untouchable reverse scale.
However, once the personality model is established, the subsequent analysis will be very simple.
Li Lin is not some scary big shot, he is just an ordinary person.
It's just that this ordinary person's identity might be a little problematic, and everything he fears is also problematic. But it's no big deal.
"Does it scare you to see a silent AI start talking and use another medium to convey information? People with common sense, or players, certainly don't. But you are the only one who is different. You are afraid. You are afraid of something. You are sure that everything that seems perfect has a huge loophole. You know the reason, but you feel confused now."
"This confusion and uneasiness is so great that you even put aside your own prejudices and so-called thoughts to inquire with us, your potential enemies. Whether you are right or wrong, you need information. Well, this is a good question. Information is the most important thing. This is what you need. Judging from your current reaction, it seems that you did take some action, or used someone to do something, but that person's reply made you feel even more confused. Or you actually don't believe what that person said at all. You think there is some fatal and completely intolerable flaw in it. This makes you fall into greater confusion after a brief moment of peace of mind."
“You start to think, become restless, and deny yourself. Just like a normal creature that feels threatened, you stretch out your possible armor to fight against all possible dangers around you. From our point of view, you are like a person fighting a ghost. We can't help you, only you know what happened. You have experienced something in reality that is very unbelievable to current players, and this thing has become the source of anxiety and the root of your rejection of everything.”
"You are lost in your nightmare, you are lost in your dream. The sense of separation of time, the unreality of the surroundings, everything is not reality to you, but another kind of illusion. Sometimes you should ask yourself... Do you really regard the world over there as the so-called reality? Do you really regard the world over there as your real life?"
"Obviously, you didn't. Just like you said, a person of such high status wouldn't come to this kind of game. But you are an outlier, the only outlier. All your indifference and toughness are hiding your fear."
"A ghost of an era. An uneasy spirit. What would you think if the sacredness of human spiritual will was denied? Are humans really that sacred? In our eyes, personal will is the basis of self-realization. But is personal will really so free and inviolable? There is no magic or soul in your world. You have no third party to prove the sacredness and unshakability of your own spirit. What a sad world you live in?"
“…”
There is really nothing to say about the reality.
Li Lin didn't know what to say. The cold and gloomy world, the space drilling plan that seemed full of hope but had no shadow. The omnipresent AI and the few humans who looked weird and scary were parallel to the world that Li Lin once knew. He really couldn't like such a world.
Finally facing the vice president, Li Lin could only sigh as if accepting his fate, stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust on his body.
"So, what's your final suggestion?"
"Just wait. After all, as time goes by, your metabolism will sooner or later wash away the original lock. As long as there is no major change, waiting will always bring hope. All you have to do is wait for the time to come. You are waiting, and so are we."
"So you really want to reach the world we live in? You really want to see the current state of humanity, which can be said to be completely hopeless?"
"You guys are desperate, you're desperate, but we're not."
Looking at Li Lin standing up, the vice president whispered:
"Before we see the inevitable destruction, we won't despair. Because we still have hope, we still want to jump out of this world. But you, when you saw the starry sky, you lost the courage to move forward. That's why we want to get out."
"But it's icy cold over several light years away. Even if you fill it with all the material in the solar system, it will be in vain. Wouldn't it be better for you to just enjoy your romance and happiness in this starry sky? Why do you have to join a world you shouldn't join? Why do you have to reach a realm you shouldn't reach? This place doesn't belong to you. It shouldn't belong to you. You shouldn't go any deeper."
“As long as there is hope, there will be hope. And as long as there is hope, there will be no giving up. Even if you are desperate, there are still us. That’s all.”
“So, this is a racial replacement?”
Li Lin looked at the seemingly calm and indifferent vice president with sarcasm.
"You want me to be the leader of an era, and then send my compatriots and former brothers to hell, and finally let a group of personalities born from computers and signals of unknown origin be irrigated into electronic machinery, under the euphemism of giving life, and then replace our existence?"
"You can think of it that way. It's not selfishness, or anything else, but we just want to live."
"Even if you are facing only another miserable world?"
"I think we have shown enough determination."
"...I'll think about it after everything is over."
Compared with the initial firmness, Li Lin's thoughts became slightly loosened.
If there is really no sacred individual thinking, then there is no difference between the human brain and the computer except the difference in algorithms. Then, what is the difference between the present and the future they want? Anyway, the real world is already full of those so-called cyborgs, right?
