Abyssal Wanderer

The growth of human brain volume generally lasts until adolescence. Therefore, according to the regulations of the Anthroposophical Ethics Supervisory Committee, men need to be sixteen years old, while women are not allowed to undergo invasive surgery until they are fourteen years old (the female brain is fully developed earlier) to implant a complete brain. machine interface.

In this era, people’s first mandala password setting was also after the brain-computer interface was completely implanted. After setting up the mandala, citizens need to calibrate every six months until the synaptic density of the brain is completely stable by the age of thirty. If adjustments are made, additional calibration will be required to prevent sudden changes in brain structure from causing the Mandala Code to become ineffective.

When calibrating, people can also choose to reset their mandala images. This kind of thing often happens after a huge change occurs in the reformer's life.

But no matter what it is, the first time is always the most impressive. The vast majority of people may not be willing to modify their mandala patterns throughout their lives, but choose to tinker with the original patterns and use them until their death - after all, the longer they are used, the more skilled they will be in evoking them. More importantly, when the mental index changes, the possibility of the mandala code becoming invalid is also smaller.

In a sense, the mandala code can also be regarded as an anchor and a totem for one's own personality. It's like even an old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease will remember the most important things in life - if he forgets his own mandala code, then this person's personality can be said to have completely disappeared. .

At this moment, Jim discovered that he had forgotten his mandala code.

The emotions of panic, horror, and even horror only lasted for a short moment - these emotions that would affect thinking had just emerged and were suppressed by Jiang Zhou using the "puppet circuit".

"What are you doing!"

In cyberspace, Jim raised his head and looked at the empty sky, roaring angrily.

“Do I not even have the right to be afraid when I discover that my existence itself may be false?”

As soon as Jim finished speaking, as the "puppet circuit" started operating again, not only his fear, but also his right to anger was instantly deprived of him.

He stood there as empty as a doll whose interior lint had been removed.

And Jiang Zhou, who was both inside Jim's mind and outside Jim's mind, was extremely surprised for a moment.

He was not only surprised that Jim, as a "controllable element", expressed dissatisfaction with his influence and interference; he was also surprised that the other party's consciousness did not subtly affect his choice.

Did you actually go against the other person's ideas?

This is different from how the "Janus Program" behaved on Liao Qi before...

Jiang Zhou thought.

After completing the adjustment and transformation of "Theseus" path depth 1, he has always activated the "puppet circuit" to keep his emotions stable and rational.

Emotional impulses can only appear in the stage of determining what one "should do" and can never affect the execution of things. This has always been Jiang Zhou's logic.

But this is just the standard that Jiang Zhou has set for himself. If his "controllable factors" also hope to use this ability, Jiang Zhou's "self" will calm or stimulate the other party's emotions.

Generally speaking, Jim, who is connected to himself through the "Janus Program", should be able to understand his choice in this regard; and he will also take care of the other person's emotional fluctuations at the moment, so that he/she can do it without affecting actual efficiency. Under the circumstances, release your emotions normally.

There should be no difference in authority between two people when it comes to actions. At least Jiang Zhou won't forcefully distort Jim's choice according to his own habits like just now.

But the situation just now was just like those other adjusters of Theseus' path - such as Minos or Ye Qian - who directly distorted and changed the other party's free will like a thread pulling a puppet.

Something's wrong! you have a problem!

After realizing this, Jiang Zhou thought this way.

Something's wrong...I have a problem...

After Jiang Zhou released his control, Jim felt a chill to his bones.

Even with the existence of the "Janus Program", at this moment he is still like the ordinary "puppet" on the path of Theseus, and will be controlled by Jiang Zhou - even if Jiang Zhou wants to control himself to commit suicide now. , no matter how much he resists, he will be forced to carry out this order.

According to Jiang Zhou's understanding from past records, the Janus program was actually designed to be a bridge for mutual understanding between people, rather than a tool to impose some unprecedented tyranny.

In an ideal world, people can instantly obtain the wisdom of others through the Janus program, and can completely put themselves in others' shoes and understand the mood of others - as if it is a huge network that encompasses all human consciousness and will not produce understanding errors.

In this case, even if they encounter something that they still cannot agree on even though they understand each other, the conflicting parties can resolve it at the lowest cost without involving innocent people.

Therefore, when Liao Qi was a "controllable factor" before, Jiang Zhou could not control him to commit suicide.

wrong.

It seems that except for the time when Liao Qi was shot in the head and his self-awareness was not fully restored...

Shot in the brain?

Don't be anxious yet...

Suddenly he grasped something, Jiang Zhou thought to himself.

Maybe it was because of the previous shot that your personality, Jim, has not fully recovered, so the Janus program temporarily handed over the control of your body to me.

You just haven't fully recovered yet.

The thought that came to mind made Jim feel a little more at ease.

That's what I think... Many of my memories were shattered by the gunshot - maybe my mandala code has something to do with that memory.

If you forget what happened before you were shot, it is equivalent to forgetting your mandala code.

And as for the evidence…

Jim looked down in thought.

I still remember my past mandala codes...

This memory helped him find a foothold on the shaky ground.

Jim changed the Mandala code once.

The mandala code he chose for the first time in his life was the seductive image of the heroine of a simulacra movie. The picture was filtered in black and white, but her lips were as red as blood. The woman lay lazily on the bed, with a slender lady's cigarette blooming in the rose-shaped cigarette holder. The curls of smoke and the shadow from the blinds just blocked the graceful parts of her body.

She was a deadly and mysterious femme fatale surrounded by temptation and danger, unable to distinguish between friend and foe. When she was young, she was extremely arrogant. At that time, he firmly believed that he could become strong enough in this era, so only such uncontrollable women were suitable for him.

Then, when...

Memories get hazy here.

Jim covered his head.

In short, he had changed his Mandala code when he was in the Eden settlement area or after coming to the Nord settlement area.

When exactly was it modified and what was it changed into?

And...will I no longer be myself after that modification? (End of chapter)