Chapter 45 - Machinery and Life (3)

As the sun went down, Zhang Xun was sat on the edge of the roof of the Lab, watching the endless undulating roofs that looked like building blocks, uniformly rendered into a similar copper red by the twilight. A sketchbook and a charcoal pen were placed beside him and the design drafts of several arms were drawn on a few pieces of white paper that had been blackened with charcoal.

A cigarette burned quietly between his fingers.

He hadn't smoked in a long time. This thing was nothing but harmful, it accelerated human ageing and destroyed human alveoli, but sometimes, people would want to do something to hurt themselves to make themselves calm.

These 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 was soaked in cold sweat and there seemed to be a tragic scream in his ears.

Fearing that Adam next door might hear his disturbed dreams, Zhang Xun moved out of the Lab and went back to his cramped apartment to sleep every night. Apart from getting enough sleep every day and one or two meals, he shut himself in his studio, made a prototype robotic arm and then threw it into the "garbage heap" at the side. He overturned his designs time and time again, and no matter how he changed it he still felt that it wasn't good enough.

He wanted to use this to make up for what he owed to Adam.

Adam had told him countless times not to worry about it, but the more Adam tried to comfort him with his uniquely down-to-earth attitude, the more he couldn't let it go.

He wanted to create the best mechanical arm, a prosthetic limb that was better than all Feathered Serpent City's designs.

Because of his lack of sleep, guilt and anxiety, he turned to cigarettes to relieve these negative emotions and stress. Although smoking wasn't a big deal in Lost Paradise, he still didn't want to be seen doing so, as he had always had great self-control, so he would always come here in secret.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening came from behind, followed by Adam's call, "Ah-Xun!"

Zhang Xun hurriedly put out the cigarette butt and threw it off the building. He fanned away the smell of the cigarette in front of him and turned around as if nothing had happened. "What's wrong?"

Since returning from the Feathered Serpent Base, Adam had been allowed to move freely in the Lab. Even the Round Table had conceded on this. Adam held Alloy in his robotic right arm as he pushed the door open with his foot then strode towards him. Arriving in front of Zhang Xun, Adam suddenly frowned slightly and his nose twitched, as if he was smelling something.

Zhang Xun somehow felt a strange guilty conscience of being caught.

"Ah-Xun, did you smoke?" Adam asked with a serious expression.

Zhang Xun cleared his throat, "No."

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

"...I know!" Zhang Xun rolled his eyes. Adam was acting like his Dean at school, "I don't smoke often..."

"Using cigarettes to relieve stress is not healthy. If needed, I can recommend some other decompression activities." Adam sat down beside Zhang Xun and imitated Zhang Xun by hanging his feet from the top of the rust-colored box building, "For example, colouring games, or outdoor sports..."

"I know, I know, I won't smoke in the future..." Zhang Xun muttered.

Adam put Alloy aside and held out his mechanical right hand, "Give them to me."

"Give you what?"

"Your cigarettes. Did you get them from James?"

"I said I won't smoke again!"

"Ah-Xun, the self-control of human beings is generally not as strong as people believe. Although you're already a very self-disciplined person, I think entrusting me with custody will help you achieve your goals."

... Adam had become increasingly daring and was even trying to manage him... Zhang Xun looked at Adam with an unhappy expression, but still took out the pack of cigarettes from his uniform pocket and handed it to Adam. Adam smiled with satisfaction and approval, just short of giving him a little red flower.

Zhang Xun noticed that Adam always sat on his left side recently so that he couldn't see his mutilated left arm. Probably to minimise his negative emotions such as guilt and sadness as much as possible? It was an artificial intelligence-like tenderness.

"How's the wound healing?" Zhang Xun asked.

"I've been taking the medicine three times a day, there is no infection, it's healing well and granulation has begun. It just feels uncomfortable." Adam's face wrinkled and complained, "I can't even sleep well."

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

"These are all scraps..." Zhang Xun explained uncomfortably, "But don't worry, I'll complete the design drawings soon. It will take time for your arm to heal completely, I'll definitely be able to do it before then."

"You don't have to worry too much, Ah-Xun." Adam shrugged indifferently, "I have no problem with one arm now."

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

"Hm? Do you not want to finish it?" Adam looked at him in 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 the depths of his eyes were a little dejected, "I'm just a human after all."

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

"Of course. You've also said that humans have too many random mutations and uncontrolled chaotic mechanisms. We have too many flaws." Zhang Xun raised his head and looked at the high sky with confusion in his eyes. He hadn't told anyone this but sometimes he would wonder, what was the point of them being so obsessed with manipulating the world, obsessed with maintaining their human identity and the continuation of their species?

If there was something better, something similar to life but different from life, what was wrong with that? If artificial intelligence could do everything better than humans and if all human jobs could be replaced by full automation, was there any meaning to human existence?

God created man, but what if one day this "man" surpassed God? Would God still exist?

Adam's gaze also stretched out, sweeping across the chaotic and orderly city spread out along the beautifully curved land between the two giant mountains below. Watching the little people who moved slowly in the narrow alleys and the dilapidated cars full of smoke and dust, he said softly, "Ah-Xun, without human beings, none of the actions of artificial intelligence would have any meaning. Unlike you humans, the meaning and purpose of my existence had been decided from the moment I was born. This also determines that all AIs I create will serve the same ultimate goal. Without human beings, my goal loses its meaning, the ultimate, irreconcilable paradox appears and I would completely die out. In this sense, it's impossible for me to surpass human beings in the past, present or even forever."

Zhang Xun couldn't imagine what it would be like to have the entire meaning of his existence determined from birth. To have the entire meaning of his existence attached to another species that was more primitive, narrow minded and stupid than himself.

Or what it would feel like when pure reason was endowed with the ability to perceive.

Compared with sympathy, Zhang Xun felt more incredulous.

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

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

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

Zhang Xun looked at him for a long time and a knot in his heart seemed to finally loosen.

At this moment, there was a long cry from the sky. A red-tailed buzzard swept across the vast twilight that was above their heads, it stretched out its strong wings and circled in the high-altitude wind, soaring into the distance.

Zhang Xun looked in the direction in which the eagle was going and suddenly had a clear and definite concept in his mind. He finally raised a smile, no longer anxious.

In Adam's eyes, a gentle rosy gaze fell on Zhang Xun's forehead, echoing the light that suddenly lit up in his eyes. Adam felt a very human, out-of-control, but very comforting emotion running through his blood.

He wanted to kiss Zhang Xun.

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

In order to start researching synthetic materials for making the arm, Zhang Xun had recently started frequenting the Fifth District as both the Institute of Life Sciences and the Department of Chemistry were located there. On a rainy afternoon, Zhang Xun was in the dark, underground cultivation room of the Institute of Life Sciences and was attentively watching Dr. Tian, ​​who was working with him to create a new type of material, as he demonstrated the complex process of protein folding. Suddenly, a messenger ran in with a summons from the Headquarters.

He and Adam had been summoned again.

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

When he arrived at the Headquarters, Adam had already been brought in. When Zhang Xun saw the person sitting at 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, Patty, the psychiatrist who had done a psychological evaluation on Zhang Xun before, was looking at him with a pair of dark eyes.

Those eyes always made Zhang Xun feel like his blood had turned cold...

Zhang Shuo was sitting on the other side of the Sixth Chief and other Generals who looked familiar were also present.

Adam followed behind Zhang Xun, as if sensing Zhang Xun's unease and gently placed a supportive hand on his lower back.

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

Why did the Sixth Chief come to the Headquarters in person? Why was that psychiatrist here?

Zhang Xun bowed slightly and saluted, 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 cautious tone, "The interrogation of the captive Muluk from Feathered Serpent City has come to an end. That Mexican was close-mouthed, but thanks to Dr. Patty, we have successfully obtained enough information. The specific content is in the reports in front of everyone."

Everyone hurriedly opened the paper reports and looked at the dense handwriting on it. For a while, only the sound of paper flipping could be heard in the conference room and the air was filled with the smell of printing ink.

Zhang Xun glanced at the key words that had been marked and he became vaguely aware of the meaning of calling them to attend this meeting.

"Feathered Serpent City clearly hopes to be recognized and accepted by Eden. Except for their unsuccessful attempt to hijack Adam, they're also carrying out an immoral 'Ascension Plan'. Not just superficially replacing certain parts of the body with machines, but fundamentally transforming humans."

The Sixth Chief paused, straightened his posture and pulled his tie with his hand, "What I'm referring to is transforming human brains so that humans have more powerful memory, planning and calculating capabilities. At the same time, drugs are used to precisely control human hormone levels and weaken part of the human instinctive conditioned reflexes. The modified brains don't need to communicate verbally, but can communicate directly through signal transmission, which greatly enhances the efficiency and accuracy in communication. These brains are interconnected to form a cloud network that operates independently and each transmission point, that is, each brain can download and upload information."

"Simply put." Zhang Shuo said, "They're turning people into computers."