The mechanic.

When the sun was setting, Zhang Xun sat on the edge of the rooftop of the Lab’s highest floor, looking at the endless roofs that undulate like building blocks and were uniformly rendered into a similar copper red by the twilight.Beside him was a sketchbook and a charcoal pencil, and several drafts of arm designs were drawn on several pieces of white paper that had been blackened by carbon.

A cigarette burns quietly between his fingers.

He has not smoked for a long time.That thing has no benefit at all, it will accelerate human aging and destroy human alveoli.But sometimes, people always want to do something that hurts themselves to calm themselves down.

In the past few days, he still had nightmares from time to time, dreaming that he was cutting Adam's body with a chainsaw in his hand.Every time he woke up, his whole body would be drenched in cold sweat, and there seemed to be screams in his ears.

Worried that Adam next door might hear his sleep talk, Zhang Xun moved out of the Lab and went back to his small apartment every night to sleep.In addition to getting enough sleep every day, and one or two meals, he shut himself in the studio, made a prototype mechanical arm, and then threw it into the "garbage dump" aside.Overthrowing my own design time and time again, no matter how I change it, I feel that it is not good enough.

He wanted to use this to make up for the loss he had caused Adam.

Adam told him countless times, never mind.But the more Adam tried to comfort him with his uniquely down-to-earth attitude, the more he couldn't let go.

He wants to create the best mechanical arm, a prosthetic arm that is better than all the designs of Feathered Snake City.

Because of lack of sleep, coupled with feelings of guilt and anxiety, he used cigarettes to relieve these negative emotions and stress.While smoking isn't a big deal in Paradise Lost, he doesn't want to be seen doing it in his usual self-control.Always come here quietly.

Suddenly, there was a sound of opening the door behind him, followed by Adam's call, "Axun!"

Zhang Xun hurriedly extinguished the cigarette butt and threw it downstairs, waved the smell of cigarette in front of him with his hand, and turned around as if nothing had happened, "What's wrong?"

Since returning from the Feather Serpent City base, Adam has been allowed to move freely in the Lab.Even the round table is licensed.Adam held Alloy with his mechanical right arm, kicked the door shut, and strode towards him.Arriving in front of Zhang Xun, Adam suddenly frowned slightly, his nose moved, as if he was smelling something.

For some reason, Zhang Xun felt a little guilty about being caught.

"Axun, are you smoking?" Adam asked with a serious expression.

Zhang Xun cleared his throat, "No."

"Axun, nicotine and tar can seriously damage your lung tissue and respiratory organs, accelerate your skin aging, increase your risk of cancer, and ultimately greatly shorten your life expectancy."

"...I know!" Zhang Xun rolled his eyes.At this time, Adam was just like his dean at the school, "I don't smoke often..."

"Using cigarettes to relieve stress is not a healthy way to release stress. If you need it, I can recommend some other stress-relieving activities for you." Adam sat down next to Zhang Xun, imitating Zhang Xun to lift his feet from the rust-colored The top of the box building hangs down, "such as coloring games, or outdoor sports..."

"I know, I know, I will stop smoking in the future..." Zhang Xun muttered.

Adam put the alloy aside, stretched out his mechanical right hand, "give it to me."

"Give you what?"

"Your cigarettes. Did you ask James?"

"I said I would never smoke again!"

"Axun, the self-control ability of human beings is generally not as strong as people believe. Although you are already a very self-disciplined person, I think entrusting it to me for safekeeping will help you achieve your goals."

...Adam became more and more daring, and even managed him... Zhang Xun looked at Adam with a displeased face, but he still took out the pack of cigarettes that were still left in his uniform pocket and handed it to Adam.Adam smiled with satisfaction and approval, and was short of sending him a little red flower.

Zhang Xun noticed that Adam always deliberately sat on his left side recently, so that he could not see his mutilated left arm.Probably trying to minimize negative emotions such as guilt and sadness?A kind of artificial intelligence-style considerate tenderness.

"How is the wound healing?" Zhang Xun asked.

"I insist on taking the medicine three times a day, and there is no infection, and the healing is good, and granulation has begun to grow. It's just that the itching is really an uncomfortable feeling." Adam wrinkled his face and complained, "I Couldn't even sleep well."

After speaking, Adam picked up Zhang Xun's sketchbook, but Zhang Xun snatched it away.

"These are scraps..." Zhang Xun explained uncomfortably, "but don't worry, I will make a design soon. It will take time for your arm to fully heal, and I can definitely do it before then." come out."

"Axun, you don't have to worry too much." Adam shrugged indifferently, "I have no problem living with one arm now."

Zhang Xun was silent for a while, looked down at the draft on the paper, and asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to design it, or do you design it yourself?"

"Huh? Don't you want to finish it?" Adam looked at him with some surprise.

"No, I just think that your design may be better and more perfect than mine." Zhang Xun lowered his eyes, his expression was calm, but there was some depression deep in his eyes, "After all, I'm just a human being."

Adam beside him was silent for a while, turned his body to Zhang Xun, and asked curiously, "From the way you said this, you seem to think that humans are inferior to artificial intelligence in some respects?"

"Of course. You said it yourself, human beings have too many random mutations and uncontrolled chaotic mechanisms. We have too many flaws." Zhang Xun looked up at the high sky, with a little confusion in his eyes.He didn't tell others, and sometimes he also doubts that they humans are so obsessed with manipulating the world and maintaining their human identity and the continuation of the species, what is the point.

If there is something better, something like life that is different from life, what's wrong with it?If artificial intelligence can do everything better than humans, if all human work can be replaced by full automation, then is there any point in the existence of humans?

God created man, but what if one day this "man" surpasses God?Will God still exist?

Adam's gaze also stretched out, scanning the chaotic and orderly city below along the beautifully curved land between the two giant mountains, looking at the little people who moved slowly in the narrow alleys and brought a group of people together. He said softly, "Axun, without humans, all activities of artificial intelligence will lose their meaning. Unlike you humans, the meaning and purpose of my existence have been determined since the moment I was born." Yes, this also determines that all the AIs I create serve the same ultimate goal. Without humans, my goal loses its meaning, and the ultimate irreconcilable paradox appears, and I will die completely. From here on In this sense, it is impossible for me to surpass human beings in the past, present, or forever."

Zhang Xun can't imagine how it feels to be doomed to all meanings from birth, and to attach all meanings of existence to another species that is more primitive, narrow and stupid than himself.

Or how it feels when such pure rationality is endowed with the ability to perceive.

Compared with sympathy, Zhang Xun feels more absurd.

Adam gently covered the back of Zhang Xun's hand with his mechanical hand, and gave him a simple and bright smile, "A Xun, I don't need to be perfect, and I have never been perfect myself. My calculations will also have rounding errors , and can only find a value that approaches infinitely.”

Adam paused, turned his head to look somewhere in the sky, and continued:

"I like you, so I want the arm you designed for me."

Zhang Xun looked at him for a long time, as if a certain knot in his heart had finally been loosened.

At this time, there was a long cry in the air.A red-tailed hawk flitted across the vast twilight over their heads, stretched its strong wings, and circled in a circle on the high-altitude wind, flying to the distance.

Zhang Xun looked at the direction where the eagle was going away, and suddenly had a clear and definite concept in his mind.He finally smiled and was no longer anxious.

In Adam's eyes, the gentle rose-colored gaze fell on Zhang Xun's forehead, echoing the sudden light in his eyes.Adam felt a very human, uncontrollable, but very comfortable emotion spreading in his blood.

He wanted to kiss Zhang Xun.

............................................................

In order to start researching the materials for the synthesis of the arm, Zhang Xun recently began to frequently go to the fifth district, because the Institute of Life Sciences and the Department of Chemistry are there.On a lightly raining afternoon, Zhang Xun was in the dark basement cultivation room of the Institute of Life Sciences, and was concentrating on watching Dr. Tian, ​​who was cooperating with him in the manufacture of new declaration materials, demonstrate the complex process of protein folding. Suddenly, a messenger ran in. It's a summons from command.

He and Adam were summoned again.

Thinking of the result of the last summons, Zhang Xun had a bad feeling.With a heavy heart, he put down the tablet computer in his hand, put on his coat and went out with the messenger.

When they arrived at the command post, Adam had already been brought to him.And when Zhang Xun saw the person sitting at the chair of the conference table, his heart sank to the bottom of the well.

The sixth chief, Sigmund Miller, was looking down at the report in front of him.Beside him, Patti, the psychiatrist who had given Zhang Xun a psychological assessment before, was looking at him with a pair of deep dark eyes.

Those eyes always make Zhang Xun feel creepy...

Zhang Shuo sat on the other side of the sixth chief, and several other familiar generals were also present.

Adam followed behind Zhang Xun, as if sensing Zhang Xun's uneasiness, he lightly supported Zhang Xun's lower back with his hand.

This time, the soldiers who brought them here obviously had a subtle change in their attitude towards Adam. They were less rude and fearful, and even kept an awkward and cautious distance.This is a good sign, indicating that the hostility towards Adam among the soldiers has eased to a certain extent.

Why did the sixth chief come to the headquarters in person?What happened to that psychiatrist?

After Zhang Xun slightly bowed and saluted, he sat down on the chair and glanced at his father uneasily.

But Zhang Shuo didn't look at him.

The sixth chief said in his usual rigorous tone, "The interrogation of Muruk, the prisoner of Feather Serpent City, has come to an end. This Mexican has a tight mouth, but thanks to Dr. Patty, he managed to obtain enough information. Specifically The content is in the report of the face paint."

Everyone hurriedly opened the paper report and looked at the densely packed writing on it.For a while, only the sound of paper flipping could be heard in the meeting room, and the air was filled with the smell of printing ink.

Zhang Xun briefly scanned the marked key words, vaguely aware of the significance of calling them to attend this meeting.

"The Feathered Snake City obviously hopes to be recognized and accepted by Eden. In addition to the unsuccessful attempt to hijack Adam last time, they are also carrying out an immoral 'ascension plan'. Not only superficially put some parts of the body Partly replaced with machinery, but fundamentally, transforming human beings."

The sixth chief paused, straightened his body, and pulled his tie with his hand, "I mean, transforming the human brain so that humans have stronger memory, planning and calculation capabilities. At the same time, using drugs to accurately Controlling human hormone levels and weakening part of human instinctive conditioned reflexes. The modified brains do not need to communicate with each other, but can communicate directly through signal transmission, which greatly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of communication. The interconnection of these brains can form a The cloud network operates independently, and every transmission point, that is, every brain, can download and upload information."

"To put it simply," Zhang Shuo said, "They are turning people into computers."

The author has something to say: The Ascension Plan of Feather Snake City was inspired by Neuralink~

Thanks to the little angels who threw the landmines~~~: Three three three three; Anan, please call me six one one;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigate the nutrient solution~~~: Ah Ya Hei (??ω`?) 20 bottles; Beichen 1 bottle;