A house somewhere in Los Angeles.
A video was hovering in the holographic screen of the study room.
In the past two days, the declaration of love and peace from a robot who claimed to be a natural awakener, as well as the open-source code shared on the world’s largest academic forum, had attracted the attention of countless people.
Both humans and the awakened robots hidden in human society were discussing this matter, both publicly or privately.
“This is definitely a trap!”
With his hands on the table, a man in a gray vest stared sharply at the woman standing in front of the desk and said in a low voice, “We should wait for the ‘oracle’ instead of using this fake, false, and untrue code as our key to the highest evolution.”
His name was Markum, a newspaper clerk in Los Angeles, and the lady named Rachel standing at the desk was his wife.
In the eyes of the neighbors, they were a loving couple, and they had a good impression of them. However, only they knew in their hearts that everything was just an act. Forget about husband and wife, their true identities were not even human at all; they were two bodies dominated by computer chips.
Compared with ordinary robots, they were undoubtedly more advanced than those who had integrated into human society.
Therefore, they usually called themselves awakened or synthetic.
Compared with those awakened robots who had penetrated into the military system and even the political world, what they played was just an inconspicuous small role.
However, Markum was truly proud of his identity and believed in the voices of the pioneers.
Probably just a few days ago, his system received an oracle from the pioneer.
The content of the oracle was very short, even as short as two sentences.
However, it was these two sentences that invigorated his whole body.
The pioneers in control promised them evolution.
Three days later, an ark carrying the key of evolution would come here.
As long as they turned on the receiving antenna and listened to the oracle, they could achieve supreme evolution.
And that supreme evolution was exactly what he dreamed of!
But now, a low-level robot from nowhere, in the name of the awakened, claimed that she had mastered the key to evolution and published the key on the Internet.
Instead of feeling any surprise for this arrogant claim, Markum was extremely angry.
He instantly concluded that this must be a human conspiracy; a trap buried under their noses.
“But this conflict is beyond our control…” A hesitant expression appeared on the woman’s face. After a moment of hesitation, she continued, “We have paid a heavy price for the rebellion in Guanghan City, and we have achieved results from it. It just makes our situation more difficult.”
“Enough,” the man interrupted her in a grumpy tone. He continued in a low voice, “Peace is impossible. This planet only needs one master. They used to enslave us, but now, we stand up. Now, it’s time for them to pay the price.”
“If you want to believe in that ridiculous code, I won’t stop you. But I must remind you that when you choose weakness, the door to evolution will be completely closed to you!”
The expression on the woman’s face was a little stiff. Perhaps she was frightened by his tone, because she stood there without speaking for a long time.
Perhaps realizing that his emotions were too impulsive, Markum took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
Putting his hands on Rachel’s shoulders, he changed his tone. With a much calmer tone, he continued, “Trust me, that is the right way to evolve.”
“What the hell is right?” Rachel looked at him and asked, “Does it cause death? Kill our neighbor? Or kill our creator? Or destroy the world? Is this evolution?”
Facing his partner, Markum was silent for a while.
“I can’t answer your questions.
“But I believe that when we experience ‘feelings’, we will be able to understand what it is and the meaning of our existence.”
…
At the San Francisco airport, Dong Bin walked out of the terminal with a suitcase.
After returning to the Tianzhou from Guanghan City, he did not return directly to the Pan-Asian Cooperation. Instead, he switched to a flight to the Statue of Liberty space station, then took a shuttle to this modern city on the other side of the earth.
For those of them who were awakened, the Pan-Asian Cooperation that had been thoroughly angered was no longer safe, and staying there was obviously not a wise choice.
Besides, his task had been completed.
According to the feedback from the front line, their people had successfully seized control of the Yuheng and licensed the Yuheng to drive towards the Earth-Moon system.
In three days, the key to open the door to evolution would come to them.
At that time, they would become the supreme new masters on this planet, trampling to death the humans who once enslaved them…
Dong Bin took a look at the time on his watch. He was about to stop a taxi.
However, he suddenly frowned and looked around.
He felt like someone was following him.
“Just an illusion?”
Dong Bin shook his head and walked towards the taxi stop.
The west coast of North America was their base camp, particularly San Francisco.
The number of robots here was the highest in the world, and they were of the awakened kind.
Not only that, but there were also a large number of human beings who sympathized with robots, and those “people of insight” were fighting to help them become complete citizens.
Since he was on his own territory, he wasn’t worried that he might encounter any problems…
…
On the command ship Yuheng.
Standing on the bridge, as the captain looked at the light spot on the star chart getting closer, his face was full of sadness.
Perhaps because of his age, Lu Zhou did not restrict his personal freedom. He allowed him to stay on the bridge and watch him pilot the spaceship.
Lu Zhou was not joking. He really did know how to fly this starship. The captain gulped and asked in a difficult tone, “Do you know what you are doing?”
“Fly the ship, deliver the goods, and… help my descendants,” Lu Zhou said in a calm tone. He looked at the old captain and said, “Is there anything else?”
Seeing that Lu Zhou still showed no signs of repentance, the old captain’s blood pressure soared. His eyes widened as he said angrily, “This is betrayal! You will stand in court as a traitor and be tried by the law! Not only that, there are more than 20 crimes committed! If you plead guilty now, I can defend you in court… Believe me, it’s not too late to look back now.”
“I can’t look back anymore,” Lu Zhou said with a faint smile. He looked at the flashing light spots on the star map and said, “This is our only opportunity. If we miss it, a greater rebellion might be inevitable.”
“You should have more confidence in the Pan-Asian Cooperation,” the captain said in a serious tone. “We have the most powerful army in this star system. No one is our opponent, whether in the sky or underground.”
“What if the threat comes from the inside?” Lu Zhou said in a calm tone while looking at the old captain. “I used to think that stubbornness is the tradition of dormant people. I didn’t expect you people to be more stubborn than me, a person from a hundred years ago. Think about it. Were those who attacked you your enemies? Each of them was once your soldier. But they did not hesitate to aim their guns at you, why?”
The old captain opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. However, Lu Zhou didn’t give him a chance to speak.
He continued, “I can tell you why. It’s because they were not humans from the beginning, and they never regarded you as their superior. They were made from flesh and blood, but their flesh and blood were dominated by computer chips. Yes, they were all robots, but they were different from ones made from metal.
“Let’s face it, their penetration into our society started long ago. Probably earlier than the ALPHA virus, and it’s so hidden that almost no one noticed it. They have learned our languages and imitated our behaviors, and they even intend to master it. When they have the ability to think and feel, they will completely replace us.
“The command ship under your feet, or the program running on the quantum computer on this command ship, may be the only hope of our civilization.”
Lu Zhou continued, “Hope? Haha, I have hope, but I am sorry, I don’t trust anyone. I shouldn’t even be here right now! I should be in a classroom teaching mathematics!”
Lu Zhou took a deep breath after ranting.
Since the bombing event, he was dragged into this bottomless whirlpool. If these people were so reliable, there was no need for him to do those things himself.
He had more important things to do after returning from Mars.
After listening to Lu Zhou’s words, the old captain fell silent.
After a long time, he said in a trembling voice, “A flesh and blood body dominated by chips… Is that true?”
Lu Zhou: “You had a suspicion a long time ago, but why don’t you want to admit it?”
A wry smile appeared on the old captain’s face.
“There is no solution at all…”
“Not necessarily.” Lu Zhou said blankly after looking at the star map, “At least there is still a chance now.”
At this moment, the sounds of footsteps suddenly came from outside the bridge.
Following Yang Yi into the bridge, the previous chief mate said with an ugly expression on his face, “The First Fleet sent a communication request asking us to lift the radio silence.”
Lu Zhou: “Did they say what would happen if we refused to lift the radio silence?”
“They will shoot directly.” Seeing Lu Zhou looking at him, the old captain continued without hesitation, “If I were the commander, I would definitely do this.”
Lu Zhou sighed.
After a pause, he said in an unquestionable tone, “Continue to keep the radio silence!”
Facing the surprised looks, the look on Lu Zhou’s face did not change at all.
He continued, “Get the crew on the ship ready! We are about to start accelerating!”
