Abyssal Wanderer

Chapter 1 NO.0001: Good evening

"In order to let the audience friends have a better understanding of the technical prospects of 'digital personality'. Our program group invited the chief technical officer of the Olympus Group and the general director of the 'Janus' project tonight— —Professor Zhou Shuguang Zhou came to the scene, let us applaud Professor Zhou!"

Accompanied by the enthusiastic canned applause from the audience, an elegant old man with gray and white hair dressed in a straight suit stepped onto the stage imposingly. He smiled and waved to the camera and said:

"Good evening, audience friends..."

...

"Good evening……"

Sitting in front of the bar, Jiang Zhou, after hearing the voice of the old bastard on the TV, drank the spirits in the glass expressionlessly, and then pushed it to the bartender to signal him to add more. wheel.

The young bartender in a black bow tie took the glass and poured wine into it, staring at the TV and asked:

"I heard on the Internet that the 'Janus' project that this person worked on seems to be able to upload the consciousness of a chimpanzee into a computer and live forever. I don't know if it is true or not?"

"Pure nonsense."

As Jiang Zhou said, he took back the refilled wine glass, took a big gulp impatiently, and continued after the stimulation of the alcohol subsided:

"Even if the quantum computer with the highest computing power is used to replace the real analog input signal, the 'digital personality' model will undergo irreversible dissociation after three days of operation, and lose the ability to interact with the outside world. If you run it after that, you don't know It's something indescribable... Don't talk about eternal life, after uploading the personality to the computer, it's enough to last for three days."

His tone was not so much explaining, but rather venting.

"But being able to last for three days also means that the part of consciousness uploading is still successful, right? When the car was first invented, even a horse couldn't run it. If you look at it this way, we can upload our 'digital personality' in our lifetime and obtain true immortality. It's not a dream!"

The bartender obviously didn't notice the emotion in the other party's tone. He said excitedly while watching the live broadcast on TV while wiping the glass in his hand. At this moment, in the program "Today's Technology Frontier", Professor Zhou Shuguang, the general director of the "Janus" project, is explaining similar concepts to the host.

"Professor Zhou Shuguang, please allow me to interrupt—you mean that the Janus system cannot actually support the long-term existence of digital personalities?"

"This is only temporary, as if the difference engine failed to bring Britain in the steam age into the information age ahead of time. This is entirely limited by the technological foundation at the time. But in fact, we are much luckier than Charles Babbage today— —The current iteration speed of quantum computers has far exceeded the upper limit of Moore's Law, and I believe it won't take long..."

The voice of Zhou Shuguang, the person in charge of the Janus project, came out from the TV. Jiang Zhou turned his head and glanced at the high-spirited old bastard, and said with a bit of bitterness in his tone:

"It won't be long... Also, according to the current progress, in about twenty years, the computing power of the hardware will be enough to meet the requirements. By then, human beings will really be able to build a real paradise in reality. "

"It will take another twenty years?"

Hearing this time, the bartender's expression became obviously disappointed.

"It may not be that long. The current 'quasi-neural network' algorithm still has a lot of room for improvement, and it may be able to greatly reduce the computing power demand for the hardware after optimization... The premise is that the bunch of waste can see Understand the plan I left behind."

Put down the wine glass, Jiang Zhou said.

The bartender nodded half-understood, then he realized something and looked down at the other party.

"From your tone, sir, you seem to know a lot about the 'Janus' project?"

he asked in bewilderment.

Hearing this question, Jiang Zhou couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Do you know much about the Janus Project? Hahahahaha..."

In the laughter mixed with bitterness and self-deprecation, there is a despair of self-abandonment.

He never thought that, as the real developer of the Janus Project, he would hear this question one day.

So his laughter became louder and louder, and he leaned forward and back laughing while covering his face, making the bartender watching him worry for a moment whether this man was crazy.

Janus project, JZnetwork Artificial Neurologic Utility Strategy (JZnetwork Artificial Neurologic Utility Strategy) based on JZ network simulation under Olympus Group, referred to as J.A.N.U.S.

Named after Janus, the door god in Roman mythology, through cutting-edge high-precision scanning, a static model of the brain that can be accurate to the potential of each neuron is established. In this way, the self-awareness of human beings - or if you want to be more romantic, the "soul" of human beings is copied and uploaded to the data card. Then through the JZ network to simulate sensory stimulation and body feedback, so as to realize the technical project of "digital personality".

There is no doubt that once this breakthrough technology is popularized, the social form of human beings in the future will undergo earth-shaking changes. All the morals and laws, ethical norms, and social forms in the past will be completely reshaped, and even "human beings" themselves will be redefined.

Its significance is no less than the ancestors of mankind learned how to use fire a million years ago.

As for the person in charge of the "Janus Project"... no matter who it is, he will undoubtedly leave the most impressive stroke in the history of human civilization.

Today is Christmas in 2069 AD, a festival to commemorate the birth of a certain Western saint. It is no exaggeration to say that from now on, this festival will be given another meaning. And the popularity of the person in charge of the Janus project will surpass that of the Nazareth saint, becoming the most famous great man in the world.

The person in charge of the Janus project in the public perception is Zhou Shuguang, the chief technical officer of Olympus Technology, who is talking about it on the "Today's Technology Frontier" program at the moment.

On the other hand, Jiang Zhou, who is the real developer of the "Janus" project, can only sit in a remote bar and drink at the moment.

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhou gritted his teeth and stopped smiling, picked up the wine glass and drank it down.

"Sir...you've had enough tonight."

Looking at the empty wine glass being pushed over again, combined with the inexplicable laughter from the other party just now, the bartender couldn't help but said with some worry.

"It doesn't matter, just respect the bright future of mankind."

Feeling the heat slowly pouring onto his face, Jiang Zhou barely controlled his expression and said so.

Then, taking advantage of the alcohol, he moved closer to some bars, lowered his voice and said to the bartender:

"Didn't you just ask me why I am so familiar with the Janus project? Tell you, I am actually the real person in charge of the entire Janus project."

"you?"

The movement of pouring the wine stopped, and the bartender carefully looked at the man in front of him for the first time tonight—the man's age was somewhere between youth and middle age, he was thin and pale, with an overworked look Sickly looking. As for the clothes on his body, even for a place like a bar where there is a mixture of three religions and nine schools, it can be regarded as slovenly.

Such an appearance of a programmer who may die suddenly at any time due to excessive overtime, does not seem to be related to the current Janus project that is making the whole world crazy.

This man is very drunk...

The bartender who had read countless drunkards immediately came to a conclusion—there are people who claim to be from Alpha Centauri after they get drunk, and they claim to be the person in charge of the Janus project, which is not so outrageous.

But he still couldn't help pointing to Zhou Shuguang on TV and asked:

"If you are the person in charge, what about him?"

Regarding this, Jiang Zhou sneered and said with a smile:

"An old bastard who came out halfway to pick the fruit, the only thing he is good at is office politics."

"How is it possible? A project of this scale..."

The bartender held back a sneer and asked.

"Why is it impossible? A few textual traps in the contract, a top-notch lawyer team, and some blatant black-box operations... Then, like magic, all the research results were taken for granted by 'Professor Zhou' Achievements have nothing to do with me anymore. Children, this world is not so simple that you can get the rewards you deserve just by relying on talent and hard work."

Jiang Zhou spoke as if he was discussing parasites.

While speaking, he couldn't help but recall the day when the two sides had a showdown.

After digging away the technical backbone, emptying his own power, and suspending the research progress, the old man said condescendingly and "magnanimously" that as long as Jiang Zhou is willing to make concessions, he is still willing to include the name Jiang Zhou in Janus In the list of developers of the project - it can even be very generously placed in the third row.

In response, Jiang Zhou splashed hot coffee on the other party's face as his answer - I heard that the other party underwent cloning and skin grafting surgery afterwards to restore the doglike appearance on TV.

Jiang Zhou knew for the first time that when people are extremely angry, they will only feel that the whole world is as calm as frozen. The only thing he said that day was: "He comes, I go."

"Don't stop him, let him go! Do you really think you are very talented? Let me tell you, anyone can transfer the project without the support of the company, but you are nothing if you leave the support of the company!"

After the screaming was over, the old bastard sat on the ground and yelled at him almost hysterically. That clamoring expression was completely different from the humble appearance he had when he was being interviewed on TV.

Afterwards, Jiang Zhou tried all means to get back what belonged to him—commercial, legal, personal connections, and even seeking media exposure... But as far as the results are concerned, there was not even a single wave of trouble. come out. Most of the 21st century has passed, and the influence of super companies today is no longer the level of small troubles at the beginning of the century.

Jiang Zhou also thought about whether he might be too emotional at the time, but he believed that if he went through that scene a hundred times, he would make this choice too.

There is no way out. Originally, he planned to find a competitor of the Olympus Group to start from scratch and complete the commercialization process of the "digital personality" before the other party. However, the medical examination notice from the hospital not long ago extinguished his this idea……

Although he didn't believe the story told by the drunk in front of him at all, the bartender still joked:

"Your story is very interesting, but if you are the real person in charge of the Janus project, can you explain something to me?"

Then, without waiting for Jiang Zhou to agree, he asked himself: "If I really copy and upload my personality in the future, wouldn't it mean that there will be two me in the computer and reality at the same time? Not only...in the computer That personality data can be copied and pasted constantly, so who is the real me?"

Jiang Zhou took out his mobile phone to check the time, then put it on the bar counter and said:

"To answer your second question first - each digital personality uploaded to the Janus program will generate a unique key, and only one digital personality will be allowed to exist at a time. Copy the personality information from the Janus program The bottom layer is something that is not allowed. As for the real you and the uploaded you, which one is the real you..."

Speaking of this, Jiang Zhou couldn't help laughing strangely when he thought of the critical illness notice.

"Hehehehe, this is a question that does not need to be entangled."

Frightened by the other party's weird expression and tone, the bartender asked a little uneasily:

"Why?"

"Do you think... establishing a scan that can accurately detect the potential of each neuron in the brain is as harmless as doing a CT? No, high-precision scanning is based on the premise of completely destroying your biological brain. After the scan is completed , your physical life begins to count down on a monthly basis."

"Wait, sir...you have a nosebleed."

The bartender looked at the blood winding out of the opponent's nose, and said in horror.

In this regard, Jiang Zhou skillfully took out a tissue and wiped his nose, then pointed to his head and said flatly:

"It's nothing, it's just a symptom of acute radiation sickness. In about a month, the contents of my brain will turn into a bowl of rotten tofu brain soup, but there is always a price on the road of scientific progress, isn't there?"

"You mean to say..."

Even though he pretended to be listening to a story, the bartender still gasped.

"Without data from in vivo experiments, how do you think the Janus project progressed so quickly?"

Jiang Zhou laughed at himself, and glanced back at the TV program behind him.

Zhou Shuguang on TV is reassuring the host that all the experiments of the Janus project absolutely follow the norms of the scientific ethics committee.

"Was it forced?"

"No, it's voluntary."

Jiang Zhou turned his head and said flatly.

The Janus project was his life's work.

It is he who has been adhering to this unpopular research direction, and it is he who has lobbied the board of directors to continue to inject funds into the project, and it is the key technical problem he has overcome. In the end, it was he who voluntarily walked into the scanner as a guinea pig, betting his own life to personally verify the feasibility of the theory.

He is not looking for death, but is confident in the feasibility of his theory - even if his body dies, his soul can still stay in the memory card.

But now, in order to win the honor of the general manager of the Janus project, Zhou Shuguang hastily announced the progress of the project to the world before the technology is mature.

This will inevitably attract layers of obstacles from various forces. Although in the long run, Jiang Zhou firmly believes that the Janus project will be successful. After all, no one can refuse the temptation brought by immortality...but the digital personality archive left by him , will inevitably be completely destroyed under the pressure of the scientific ethics committee in the future turbulent period.

Not only glory, but even the future of eternal life has nothing to do with him.

That being the case, it's not surprising that he did anything.

Thinking so, Jiang Zhou picked up the mobile phone on the table and clicked on a program with the icon of a two-headed god.

Janus, the door god, looks at the past with one face and the future with the other.

【Please enter your key:________________】

A sixteen-digit random key, used to activate his own digital personality that can only last for three days.

"Then, the next step is the demonstration of Janus's current achievements - in the Wright IV quantum computer brought by Professor Zhou, there is a brain scan model of a ten-year-old chimpanzee. The professor will activate it later. , everyone will witness at the show..."

On the TV, the host is explaining the next interactive session to the audience, while Zhou Shuguang and his assistants are connecting the computer to the 3D projection equipment on the stage.

Jiang Zhou looked at the input interface of the mobile phone key, with his finger hanging on the encrypted keyboard.

"So, you were actually joking just now, right?"

The bartender at the side filled up the empty classical glass again, and the expression of disbelief returned to his face. This can't be blamed on him, if he believes in every drunk person's words, then he should be the most legendary person in the world.

Jiang Zhou didn't answer, just trying to stop the trembling of the fingers that carried his soul.

Seeing that the other party didn't speak for a while, but with a tense expression, the bartender pushed the full glass over.

"Stop frowning and have another drink."

Probably this sentence broke Jiang Zhou's tangled balance. He took a deep breath, took the wine glass and drank it in one go. Then, with the stimulation of alcohol, he quickly and accurately entered the key, and then...

Confirm activation.

After doing all this, he collapsed on the bar counter as if his strength had been drained.

"Who were you texting just now?"

"You'll find out later."

Jiang Zhou said weakly.

In fact, he himself didn't know what was going to happen—he uploaded the activation of his digital personality, which could only last three days of memory, to the Internet. In the past, he would not have dared to do so even if he was in a daze.

There is no base construction that simulates the real physical environment, there is no Another (stand-in) program that precisely simulates human senses and feedback, and there is no redundant intelligence filter for screening excessive information. Even Jiang Zhou himself doesn't know whether his digital personality can really obtain digital immortality as planned at the beginning of the Janus project.

Still like the previous experiment, it quickly became a mass of undecipherable chaotic data.

But in any case, this is enough for him to announce to the world who the real creator of Janus is—his digital personality is stored in the most advanced Wright IV that Zhou Shuguang is planning to start at this moment In a quantum computer! Using the back door left in the past, your own digital personality will complete coverage the moment the other party starts up, and appear on the stage through 3D projection.

Jiang Zhou had already synchronized a brief information before, when the time comes, his copy will announce to the world who is the real person in charge of the Janus project.

"Audience friends, it's time to witness history—a real 'ghost' will appear on our stage through the most advanced technology today!"

On the TV, with the passionate speech of the host, Zhou Shuguang in the center of the stage confidently pressed the start button.

In front of the TV, Jiang Zhou raised his head and held his breath, his eyes fixed on the screen.

An "aerosol curtain" was sprayed around the stage, and twenty-four 3D projectors were lit up at the same time.

However, at the center of the stage, nothing appeared.

On the stage, Zhou Shuguang and the host looked at each other suspiciously, and then the host hurriedly fought to smooth things over.

"I'm sorry, there may be some minor problems with the equipment, our staff will..."

But before she finished speaking, the surrounding 3D projectors suddenly moved.

Accompanied by a sharp and strange electric sound, a human-shaped abyss made up of countless changing color blocks was projected abruptly in the center of the stage.

"Lucy?"

On the stage, Zhou Shuguang stared blankly at the figure, and murmured in doubt.

The chimpanzee used in the display was named "Lucy" in commemoration.

But he soon realized that it was definitely not a chimpanzee's digital personality projection... because chimpanzees could never have such a large data throughput-the cooling system of the Wright IV quantum computer was already overloaded and smoking.

The human form composed of countless changing color blocks raised its face and gracefully stretched its limbs.

It didn't pay attention to Zhou Shuguang, who was beckoning to his assistant who was scrambling to shut down the quantum computer, but walked slowly to the camera closest to him.

Amidst the sharp howling of the current, the person with the color block opened his eyes—not just the two color blocks on the 3D projection.

Its gaze penetrated the lens of the camera and turned into a set of electrical signals, which after several conversions turned into a beam of light, galloping through the optical cable at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second.

A command has been relayed by tens of thousands of information nodes, and turned into ethereal electromagnetic wave signals countless times to go back and forth between the satellite and the base station—it is searching for something through hundreds of millions of sensor terminals around the world.

After a few tenths of a second, which was extremely long for it, the eyes of the color-block humanoid finally passed through the TV screen of a certain bar and reflected in Jiang Zhou's pupils.

found it.

It's time to say hi next.

"Beep beep beep beep..."

Jiang Zhou held his breath and looked at the colored man on TV when his cell phone rang.

Caller: JANUS

On the phone's incoming call interface, the red button that was supposed to be an option to hang up has now turned into another green button for connecting. This seems to tell him that you have no right to refuse.

Jiang Zhou didn't dare to pick it up for a while.

"It's not until you fall that you fly..."

As a result, the bartender's cell phone rang as well.

He turned his head and glanced at the phone in the bartender's hand.

The caller also shows: JANUS

Immediately afterwards, as if the symphony had begun to play, everyone's mobile phones in the bar rang at the same time.

Everyone lowered their heads and took out their mobile phones, with similar doubts on their faces. On every mobile phone present, all showed the same strange caller——JANUS.

Everyone is hesitating whether they should pick up or hang up, but in fact this is not a question worth tangling. Because they will soon find that they can neither hang up nor connect, and can only let the ringtone keep ringing.

Amidst the ringing of the bell one after another, Jiang Zhou's previous drunkenness subsided most of it in an instant.

He felt that the alcohol in his body turned into cold sweat and kept dripping down.

If he ran out at this moment, he would find not only this bar, but also the surrounding stores, the street outside, the square outside the street... With this bar as the center, Janus' calls are spreading like ripples in the city , and showed no sign of stopping.

The other party is very patiently waiting for someone to answer the phone - no matter how long it takes, no matter where the other party is going.

At this moment, Jiang Zhou, who was surrounded by the ringtones, had a feeling that if he didn't answer the call, the ringtones would echo endlessly.

He turned his head and glanced at the bartender next to him, who was staring at him with horrified eyes at the moment, his expression seemed to say—is this what you said earlier, "You'll find out later"?

"Singular point……"

Thinking of something, Jiang Zhou muttered and connected the phone.

The moment he connected the phone, the whole city erupted one after another, and the noisy cell phone ringing fell silent at the same time.

It was as silent as the breathless moment when the conductor raises his arm after tapping the music stand lightly.

"Hello……"

Jiang Zhou opened his mouth slowly, breaking the silence.

For Jiang Zhou, he didn't know whether it was just a second or a whole century, a voice came to his ears from the TV and mobile phone at the same time.

"Good evening……"

The voice was clear and gentle, and it sounded somewhat similar to his own tone when speaking.

"My creator."

These were the last words Jiang Zhou heard before he lost consciousness.