Cyber Heroes

"Beyond the asteroid belt... To be precise, it is the area actually controlled by knights outside the orbit of Jupiter..." Tuoba Regulus sighed and looked at the ceiling, "What a great place, live and work in peace and contentment, live freely... But there is one thing, it’s all online.”

"ah?"

"It's completely virtual." Tuoba Regulus said: "What else can we do? After all, there are too few important resources in that place."

"The real fertile places in the solar system are within the asteroid belt. Jupiter and Saturn are just undeveloped areas with a lot of energy. In fact, the areas actually controlled by the knights lack everything."

"Solar energy is more abundant the closer it is to the sun. Heavy elements are more abundant in rocky planets closer to the sun. Metals and energy, the two core resources of science and technology, are easier to access when closer to the sun. Obtained. On the distant planets, people even have to use ice as the main building material for non-critical parts of the space station. Super large solar panels are something that is completely unexplored. Everyone can only rely on reactors."

Speaking of this, Tuoba Regulus paused for a moment, and then said: "I remember that in the New World, the Twelve Masters once said, 'If you don't want to help the protector, just live like a plant', right?"

Youki nodded: "Master said that the efforts of their generation were to rid mankind of famine and disease..."

"But this is actually only meaningful to the residents within the asteroid belt. The outer planet itself is a place where even plants cannot survive. The residents of the earth only need a few square meters of solar panels to meet their survival needs, and even You can still access the Internet. But on the distant planet, the input-output ratio of solar panels is terrible. That place is already short of silicon and has no sunlight... No one can live alone on sunlight. The Twelve Masters said That kind of lifestyle can only appear in the asteroid belt at most."

"On the distant planet, everyone can only huddle together for warmth. Even the waste heat generated by machinery must be regarded as a resource and must be concentrated to maintain a temperature at which a metal-based cell can remain active. In this case, a person Life is unrealistic. Everyone has to live around the reactor, build a community around the reactor."

Yuki was startled: "Actually... like this..."

"In fact, most of the time, the residents of the distant planets do not have prosthetics. Their brains are stored in a three-dimensional matrix. This way, the maximum number of people can survive at the lowest cost. Only those who need to work When the time comes, these brains will move out of the warehouse along the magnetic track and enter the spacecraft or prosthetic body - of course, wired connections are enough for many tasks."

"I thought..." Yuki sighed, "I thought it would be free and happy over there."

"Freedom? Happiness? All, all. No problem, these still exist. Compared with the people here." Regulus shook his head, "Did you know that the expansion of human territory, all the way to the development of Jupiter, all follow the It is based on the long-term plan formulated by the Superman Enterprise Space Department - but this plan itself has not been completed. The detailed plan only covers Jupiter, and the Saturn development plan basically follows Jupiter. And then there is no more. 'How to make distant planets More livable' is a question that has never been studied."

"Although King Zhengtian... no, David Klein in the 21st century had long made his wish to 'build a space relay station on Uranus', this process was interrupted. In 2068, he He was replaced by the thief, but the thief did not abandon his work plan, which continued until the beginning of the 22nd century, that is, the sublimation war migration. The development degree of the area within the orbit of Jupiter is different from the area outside the orbit of Jupiter. Although after the Ascension War, the kings who were sealed in the outer ring of the solar system also tried to carry out some development, after all organizations were destroyed, human beings could no longer unleash the efficiency of the old era. There were never enough resources to be transported to the solar system. outside."

"Under this premise, how livable can it be there?"

Yuki was very disappointed: "That's it..."

"You seem to have misunderstood, junior brother. I'm not saying that it's not good over there, I'm just saying that it's not good enough." Tuoba Regulus said, "'Livability' has been a problem for more than two hundred years. It’s an old topic that no one mentions anymore. It’s not even mentioned very much over there. Because everyone knows that there are no resources.”

"But at least in the virtual world, everyone can still live a relatively comfortable life. This is true."

Yuki scratched his head: "It always feels a bit... not in line with my imagination. I thought it was... where everyone works together..."

"Ah? You also have to work in the virtual world, okay? Help with martial arts research and development, troubleshooting, or become a volunteer for behavioral research." Regulus XIV carefully adjusted the parts in his hands, "People who live in the virtual world also have to work. You can't maintain the existence of the virtual world without working. You know, according to Master's thinking back then, 'Virtuality is reality after reducing costs.' Although the public network in the inner solar system is a cesspit and can hardly be used for work, but This is really not what humans developed the Internet for."

Youki scratched his head: "The difference is quite big..."

"Actually, what I said so much is just to emphasize one thing. It is not a livable place for humans. Normal humans have no desire to reproduce in that kind of environment."

Youki was startled: "Ah...ah? The... desire to reproduce?"

Regulus scratched his head: "So you may be a little confused. Well, how should I put it? If the environment in which humans live is too different from their natural habitat, then there will be psychological incompatibility no matter what. This feeling of discomfort will lead to the innate instinct to judge that the external environment is bad and not suitable for reproduction, thereby reducing the desire to reproduce. The intuitive feeling of animals for the living environment is not only "whether there is food and water". Although "food and water" Water does take up a large part, but not all of it, can you understand what I say?"

Yuki nodded.

"In the territory of the Far Sun planet that has not undergone any livable design, human beings will hardly have the desire to reproduce. The knights cannot force reproduction tasks like the patrons do. That is inhumane. And the use of artificial reproduction assistance Technology may not be able to solve the problem. The human growth cycle is very long, and it is difficult to control variables in the growth of abilities. Genius clones are not guaranteed to grow into geniuses. On the one hand, it will lead to a high degree of simplification of the gene pool, which is easy to continue. Genetic backdoor discovered by research institutions. Secondly, there are also moral concerns - do we really have the right to create a population for utilitarian purposes?"

"Forty years ago, knights were debating whether we could produce clones in large numbers purely for some utilitarian purpose? We have no power to prevent the birth of life born from the union of parents. This is a historical existence of mankind. A process that has existed before. But, can humans create cloned humans for purely utilitarian purposes? Are the clones born in this way machines made of flesh and blood, tools without the right to live, or complete human beings? If we want to give them the power What about the identity of human beings? What about highly intelligent AI? Taking the false personality mask of the God of War as an example, should AI also be regarded as a human being? These are serious questions related to the ideological direction of knights. Until now, knights are still Answers to discussion questions.”

"Different space cities actually have different tendencies when it comes to this issue. Some space cities will use cloning technology to replenish their population, and some will not. At least as far as I heard, the knights have not reached a consensus through discussion."

Youki thought thoughtfully: "Is this why you ran into the asteroid belt?"

"Although the outer ring of the solar system is much larger than the inner ring, it has less energy, thin matter, is not suitable for habitation, and the population is also small." Regulus sighed, "This is the meaning of the active activities of the knights in the past two hundred years. If not Many people from the inner rings of the solar system have stepped forward to join the chivalry, and the chivalry base outside the orbit of Saturn will only become weaker and weaker, and there will be no time to replenish the population loss."

Yuki nodded: "So...that's it..."

"After all, the earth-moon system is the most unsuitable area for chivalrous activities in the entire human world." Regulus shrugged, "It's understandable that you have never been aware of this before. Although this place is no different from hell, it is the most It is close to the environment that is 'suitable for reproduction' in our biological instincts. Although the current population of the earth is much smaller than that of the old era, it is still larger than that of the aphelion planet. Relying only on the resources of the white ship Yi Cong, the black ship Yi Cong, and the resources of Saturn and the aphelion planet, It is impossible to win. Generations of knights have been operating in the inner ring area of ​​the solar system, and maintaining the general public’s understanding of chivalry is also part of the knight’s mission - as the master often said..."

"'It's also a propaganda war'?"

The two of them said this almost in unison.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's it." Regulus laughed, "It seems you have learned a little bit. Always remember that everyone is a potential hero..."

Yuki asked the last question about the actual control area of ​​​​the vigilante: "Speaking of which, what is the scene in the complete stealth virtual reality that is popular over there?"

Regulus XIV said: "In the virtual world, no matter how gorgeous the effects are, they are just data. Over there, the most valuable thing is the 'simulation' thing."

He pointed at the memory hard drive Yuki hung on his body: "Well, it's just like the memory of the master I gave you. The style at the end of the old era, the more authentic the better..."

"Wow, isn't it? Doesn't it consume a lot of computing resources to achieve realism?"

"In addition to the basic share, higher-level services should always be exchanged based on labor contribution." Regulus XIV finally cleaned up the last part and put it into the special magnetic levitation storage area of ​​the instrument. "Okay, here I am. There’s not much work left. Next, I plan to deal with those bastards from the Six Dragons Sect—you can take advantage of this time to look at the memory I gave you. Let me tell you, it’s exciting!”

Youki looked at the memory in his hand and said, "Can I ask what the average volunteer will say after reading it?"

"I said it was a spoiler. Come, take a look." Tuoba Regulus's tone was very much like coaxing a child.

……………………………………………………

2069, a certain month.

In the urban area of ​​Sap City, Xiang Shan stood in front of the changing mirror in the shopping mall, adjusting his collar. He is now a long-haired middle-aged man with blond hair, lake green eyes, deep eyes and a high nose.

This is a false identity. Superman Enterprise is bound to the user's identity and also takes into account some auxiliary functions of the Internet. Superman Enterprise used this perspective to open up a new field and began to provide management systems and infrastructure construction and maintenance services to the government.

The security department led by Zhu Xinyu has also established a subsidiary company to provide various services, including network security testing, for industries related to Superman Enterprises.

Among them, services that are invited to invade and attack those systems also exist.

Of course, under normal circumstances, this kind of business should be conducted by a third party. But Superman Enterprise does lead the world in technology, and Xiangshan does not want hackers to cause any trouble in the process of human cyborgization. Most cybersecurity companies don't understand the technology used by Superman Enterprises.

Zhu Xinyu has rich experience in confrontation in this area. Xiangshan's eyes and ears were exposed and he also learned about some hidden backdoors that had not yet been repaired.

Creating a complete false identity with a life track is not difficult for Xiangshan today.

Xiang Shan changed his tie clip and nodded: "Well, you have to admit that if you want to join the circle of those filthy rich people, you have to wear this kind of clothes."

[The person who wears this kind of clothes must not have as much money as you. 】

【How dare you say that to me? One of your big toys is enough to distribute this kind of clothes to people in a country,]

David's words appeared in the corner of his eyes: [Confirmed the payment process. Great, nothing happened - no one noticed there was a problem with your identity. Very good, just a little bit close. Come on, the time has come to verify your guess. 】

【Um. ] Xiangshan looked at the towering Superman Enterprise, [Although this is the first time to engage in such a difficult operation... But this time it will cost you your life, 'Vulkan'. 】