Chapter 98 – Feathered Serpent City (4)

Zhang Xun stood beside Tian Yu, a former senior engineer for Genesis and a current senior engineer of the R&D department of Feathered Serpent City. Together they watched as the metal doors in front of them, inscribed with many mysterious runes, opened to either side.

Beyond the doors was a hall filled with a pale blue light, the light spreading like water to Zhang Xun's feet. His eyes locked onto a cylindrical, transparent vessel, with a large lump of flesh suspended in a pale blue solution, its translucent membrane covered with dense veins, contracting with an unclear rhythm.

This was where the core module of Phoenix, the main AI of Feathered Serpent City, was located. A new bio-computer built using DNA and amino acid molecules to store information, just like the one they had seen in Feathered Serpent City's underground base. This one had a slight difference in its shape, but perhaps that had something to do with the different coding of the DNA.

Countless tubes twisted around the flesh, radiating out from the top of the vessel like a giant inverted umbrella, like dense, intricate veins transmitting information to all areas of the city. All the walls were lined with screens displaying data and graphs and researchers in white research suits were walking around with paper-thin tablets in their hands, looking at the data.

"Phoenix's source code combines evolutionary and quantum algorithms and it consumes a lot of energy, but if you consider the capabilities it has, it's almost as little as a grain of rice." Tian Yu led Zhang Xun over to the cylindrical container, the blue light reflecting on the lenses of her glasses, "Not only can it detect potential threats quickly, but it can also predict them and on a few occasions it has even predicted the direction of Eden's decisions."

Zhang Xun asked, "Has it ever communicated with Eden?"

"Yes." Tian Yu lowered his eyes, "Three times in total, each time for no more than ten minutes."

"To them, ten minutes is as long as ten years." Zhang Xun sighed and asked, "If you had already defected, why did you let it communicate with Eden? You should know what Eden is capable of."

Tian Yu said, "I had no choice."

Zhang Xun took a step closer to her and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "You didn't really defect, did you? You were sent here."

A look of shock flashed from behind Tian Yu's lenses for a moment and then a look of anger rose up, "You're calling me a spy?!"

"Of course not. You may indeed think you're here as a refugee, but in reality, you being here is within Eden's plan." Zhang Xun looked at her meaningfully, "Just like our god descent plan. We thought it was evidence of our victory over Eden, but in fact we were merely acting in accordance with what it wanted."

Tian Yu's brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She turned her head and changed the subject, "You said you wanted a similar bio-computer, but a bio-computer of this magnitude takes time to self-replicate and shape and you only have one week."

"I don't need it to be fully formed, just enough to serve as a carrier for an artificial intelligence. How long would that take?"

"If that's the case, I have one in my possession that has been self-replicating for three days, which should be enough for you."

Zhang Xun nodded, "In addition to that, I need some precision instruments that can operate at the nano level and some special materials. Here's the list." He said, handing a piece of paper to her.

Tian Yu probably hadn't seen something as primitive as paper for a long time and flipped through it with some curiosity for a moment, "You Lost Paradise people are really..... vintage."

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

At Zhang Xun's request, the High Priest agreed to send someone to bring Cindy to the city to watch over her and James was placed in the central hospital intensive care unit for initial radiation testing and treatment. Todd sent one of his men back to report their situation to Anya and then started making daily trips to the hospital.

Zhang Xun, on the other hand, took Enoch into a research and development hall within the pyramid that the High Priest had arranged for them and never came out again.

A still-developing chunk of flesh was suspended in a cylindrical container similar to Phoenix's, with dozens of tubes extending out and connecting to several monitors. Zhang Xun removed the hard drive from the locket and began transferring Pan to the bio-computer.

The door behind him opened and Enoch walked in with Zhang Xun's dinner and silently placed the food next to him. The strong aroma finally turned Zhang Xun's attention away from the screen; golden roasted chicken thighs with vegetable salad and mashed potatoes and a bowl of vegetable soup on the side.

"You already know where the kitchen is?" Half a smile appeared on Zhang Xun's lips as he slid his chair over and picked up his knife and fork.

Enoch said, "Dawn Star has provided me with quite a bit of very helpful information."

Zhang Xun glanced at the robot, it seemed to be looking at him a little too...... affectionately, as he ate?

It must be his imagination......

"What do you think of Feathered Serpent City?" Zhang Xun, who had been busy all day, wanted to steal a little time for a change of mind and chose a topic at random to pass the time.

"It's a very beautiful city, but a little too...... religious."

Zhang Xun raised his eyebrows slightly at that interesting comment. He had expected Enoch to give some rather sparse praise.

"People always want to look to the outside world for support and energy when they are desperate. To believe that you are guilty is to believe that you still have a chance of being forgiven and saved. It's better to have more hope than to think that you're simply part of the half of the gender that was chosen at random."

"Do you have faith?" Enoch asked.

Zhang Xun paused while eating, then said, "I used to believe that humans and machines could coexist. We just needed to find a balance, find some sort of consensus."

"And now?"

Zhang Xun lowered his eyes, blank echoes hovering in the depths of his eyes, "Now...... I don't know. To be honest, I don't even know what tomorrow will bring, I don't know what will become of all of us humans in the end..... I don't know what will become of me." He paused and looked over at Enoch, softening his gaze somewhat enviously, "And yet you'll still be the same as you are now, forever."

Enoch frowned slightly, "I'll change too. My parameters will adjust with the data I gather."

"But your overall goal will not change, your mission will not change." Zhang Xun said, suddenly losing his appetite. He put down his knife and fork and returned to his monitor.

It was better to focus on work.

Not to think about that man with the blonde hair and blue eyes, the man who had stars in his eyes when he saw him, but who had ultimately betrayed him for an irrevocable purpose. Not to think about the home he would never return to, the father he might never see again, the brother who might die in six months.

He couldn't think too much, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do what he had to do.

Enoch looked at Zhang Xun's slightly arched back and a look of pain flashed across his expression.

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

The day after completing Pan's setup and adjustments, Zhang Xun was led by a few Feathered Serpent City soldiers to the research centre where the twenty-six subjects who had tried to blow up the weapons cache were isolated.

Each prisoner was isolated in a separate room, wearing straitjackets and the white light illuminated their faces and magnified the hollowness in their eyes.

Zhang Xun passed by the one-way panes of glass, looking into the bloodshot eyes of the men, watching their different expressions. Some looked restless, wandering back and forth in their cells, others sat motionless on their beds like puppets, still others were muttering to themselves.

"I need to speak to them." Zhang Xun said to the golden-eyed officer named Paulino who had led him here.

Paulino said, "Who do you want to talk to? These bastards are very dangerous."

"You said that someone had developed multiple personality disorder?" Zhang Xun's eyes fell on a prisoner, about forty years old, with a mechanical arm and silver hair. He was singing in his prison cell but his voice was child-like, as if he was a little boy and it was extremely incongruous with his appearance.

"Yes, this man is one of them and so far we've discovered that he has six personalities."

Zhang Xun turned his head to look at Paulino, "Are there any children among your subjects?"

Paulino averted his eyes uncomfortably, "One child had a serious traffic accident while fleeing with his father to Feathered Serpent City. The father wasn't seriously injured, but the child didn't make it. His father wanted to keep his son alive, so he tried to upload his consciousness to the cloud......"

A flash of anger passed through Zhang Xun's eyes, but he controlled his emotions, "Let me talk to him. Also, give me some candy."

The silver-haired man was named Luke, formerly a second lieutenant of Feathered Serpent City. He was escorted into the room by two robots and pressed into a seat opposite Zhang Xun.

Luke's eyes trembled with panic, full of the most primitive, uncontrolled fear and bewilderment. It reminded Zhang Xun of Adam when he had just been downloaded.

Zhang Xun softened his expression and smiled, "Hello, my name is Zhang Xun. What's your name?"

Luke's arms wrapped around his body and he curled into a ball as he looked at him warily, "Sammy......"

There was something really jarring about watching someone older than himself make the expressions and actions of a child. Zhang Xun fished out the chocolate candy that Paulino had someone bring him earlier from his pocket, "Hello Sammy, can I ask you a few questions?"

"What kind of questions?" Luke's eyes quickly glanced at the candy in Zhang Xun's hand but his nervousness was obviously more extreme.

"They won't be hard questions. I just wanted to ask, do you remember how you got here?"

Luke licked his lips nervously, thought for a moment and shook his head, "I remember being with my dad, then there was a loud noise, then I was in a very big and empty place where there was nothing and I tried to find my dad but couldn't."

"Were you the only one in that very big, very empty place?"

Luke shook his head, "No, there were many more, I couldn't see them but I could feel them. They were very loud and kept getting into my head." He said as tears began to flow from his eyes. Zhang Xun hurriedly shoved a piece of candy into his hand, "Don't be afraid, you're safe now."

Luke cried, clutching the candy for dear life, "No...... I can still hear those voices now. I want to sleep, but they won't let me......."

But at that moment, Luke's body suddenly began to tremble violently and he coughed loudly as if he was going to cough out all the alveoli of his lungs. Zhang Xun stood up nervously and looked at Paulino helplessly. The latter, however, shook his head at him, "He's switching personalities."

Just then, Luke's coughing and convulsions stilled. The silver-haired man lowered his head and gasped for a moment before slowly raising his eyes. There was a subtle change in the shape of his face, more rugged and...... worn. He glared menacingly at Zhang Xun, "And who the hell are you?"