SOTOPIA: Artificial Pseudo-God

If you ask Moskevich "what kind of experience is it to read quickly like a machine", Moskevich is more likely to give such a description than "mechanical numbness" and other outsiders who take it for granted: Imagine drowning Feel.

More specifically: it's a delicate balance between information saturation and information overload.It is precisely after all the information is filled in the same space in a chaotic and general manner, between the meditations with a Zen-like artistic conception, the academic context and the non-linear inheritance of thoughts are redrawn into a three-dimensional picture, and the solid and orderly city of meaning can be realized. create.

The data and text descriptions in historical documents, the overall depiction in theoretical works, or the generous statements endowed with the aspirations of the times are all content that Moskevich is very familiar with.It’s just that, unlike others, even with a sufficiently detailed description of the scene, he still can’t place himself well in the situation and understand those fragments of history from an emotional level.

Lack of empathy - this is Steven's judgment on him, and it is also the result of his self-assessment.

In fact, Moskevich was not averse to reading.On the contrary, he can almost make it the center of his life--after all, he has been doing that for a long time.

The books that Steven gave him were not difficult, and could even be said to be the easy-to-understand types among modern scholars' writings, at least in his opinion. "Sociology towards society" and "history returning to history" have a lofty goal, but it is always difficult to put it into reality.The problem facing human beings is not knowledge or ignorance, but whether human beings still have a pure yearning for knowledge.

The manuscript paper in front of him was already filled with words.The seemingly fragmented words and short sentences, in the eyes of Moskevich, are a complete and organized summary of key points.

Caroline was sitting on the living room floor playing with the beagle named Lehman.The voice of the girl and the puppy is not loud, but it makes the home seem alive.The fact that Steven was relieved to let Moskevich take care of the house actually made the latter feel puzzled for a while, but he quickly adapted.He looked at the clock on the wall, temporarily closed the book in his hand, and sent a message to Steven.

"Caroline, it's time for us to prepare dinner." Moskevich stood up, rubbed up his sleeves, and walked towards the kitchen. "Apart from the pasta that Steven brings back later, what else do you want to eat?"

Steven was already on his way back when he received the message from Moskevich.He was sitting in the car and was about to drive out of the open-air parking lot outside Elias' apartment; seeing the content of the text, he couldn't help but smile knowingly, and set his secondary destination before going home to the nearest supermarket.

Sometimes, Steven even has the illusion that "this is probably the case for a family of three".But he would never share such a view with Moskevich, otherwise they would probably have a fierce debate on the division of labor in the family.

In response to Higgins' request for a private entrustment, Steven gave this answer: "As for how to investigate a certain person, the intelligence department has the practice of the intelligence department, and "independent workers" like me also have their own practices." Although he has lost his identity as an FBI agent and can no longer use the system and powers and responsibilities to directly check files and confirm information in various departments, he still has basic requirements for norms and principles.It's much better to hit the edge of the gray field than to explicitly violate the law.If the goal can be achieved in a legitimate way, that would be great.

Observing the behavior of a stranger is nothing more than a few key points: the law of action, interpersonal communication, and past background.And to expose a person's lies, it is often cut from these aspects.

Elias Blowy, the subject of Steven's investigation, rents one of Higgins' properties—a normal one, of course, in a private apartment complex.His solitary residence is located on the sixth floor, a standard single-person apartment of about 310 five square feet, and his neighbors are all undoubted ordinary immigrants.A few hours ago, after pretending to be a salesman to talk to them and obtain information, Steven also made it clear that they "do not know each other".Although Higgins directly lent the spare key to Steven, he still felt that direct home investigation was the worst policy; if possible, he hoped that there would be no direct contact with the subject of the investigation.

It is precisely because of his stubborn attitude towards "private space" that Steven directly chose another way.

Like most residential buildings, there are cheap fast food restaurants and supermarkets below this apartment.According to the property certificate in the occupancy materials provided by Higgins, Steven used the bank statement and salary certificate to roughly estimate the living standard and consumption level of Elias.Furthermore, he can almost infer the state of the person's personal space.

Holds a driver's license, but has no car in his name; did not go to college, but has a recognized CompTIA (Computer Industry Association) certificate, and also has a serious position working in a network security company. The income on the book is compared with the average residents in this area The level can basically be regarded as the upper-middle level, which even makes Steven a little jealous.Of course, the premise is that the information is true.

If it was just a "normal situation" as Higgins said, the facts were as complete and specific as those presented by these materials, and Steven would just stop there, maybe things would not be so troublesome.However, things backfired - the more flawless, the more suspicious.

Dealing with new immigrant residents is not an easy task.It took Steven a lot of effort to persuade the other party that "I am just a salesman of low-end household products, not some illegal immigration investigator of the Immigration Bureau" with the bombardment of voices mixed with foreign dialects and non-standard English.

After finally communicating with the middle-aged woman who guarded the house to the point where he could ask and answer normally, Steven pretended to ask unintentionally: "Do you know your neighbor? I really hope someone is at home, and I won't make a deal again. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my job. You know how horrible the unemployment rate is right now."

The black woman who still half-closed the door and blocked several children behind her pouted her mouth and shook her head. She answered with rich body movements, just like the racial talent that others often ridicule: "I don't know, I haven't been here since I moved here. I've seen people who live next door."

"Really not?" Steven's expression looked earnest and pitiful.

The woman stared at the ceiling, as if she was seriously recalling the details.Immediately afterwards, she turned her head and yelled at the children playing in the room in their native language, but all she got was the children shaking their heads in unison.

Steven reluctantly thanked the hostess and said goodbye.And the second after he closed the door, his eyes changed sharply, as if he had returned to the days when he was dealing with intelligence in the FBI. The so-called "professional temperament" probably lies here.

When asked about other households, he also got the same answer.In fact, in this modern community with a large number of immigrants, such a situation may be quite normal.Although several of the residents were able to tell when they thought Elias moved in (for example, they heard a loud noise when the moving company moved luggage at noon), they all without exception did not see this mysterious neighbor.

Standing outside the closed door, Steven deliberately avoided the sight range that the cat's eyes could observe.There was almost no sound from inside the door; before going upstairs, he also confirmed from the outside that the curtains were drawn, so it was impossible to judge whether Elias was at home from the light.And the time indicated by the watch was already close to the "off work time" stipulated by Steven himself.When passing through the lobby on the first floor, he noticed that Elias's mailbox contained nothing but a few lone sales flyers, credit card bills, newspaper subscriptions, postcards, and not a single letter that could identify him personally.

When he got home, Steven almost wanted to describe Moskevich and Caroline who were sitting at the table waiting for their staple food as "waiting for food".It is also interesting to say that three people with the surname Krebs, one surnamed Meyer, and one who doesn't even have a surname, with different experiences live safely and comfortably under the same roof.

Moskevich followed the recipe for a bland side dish in the microwave, and the broccoli tasted like it forgot to salt it (though Moskevich insists everything was followed exactly as the recipe says) .Steven found that Moskevich was not very enthusiastic about household appliances, but instead had a subtle resistance—except for using the laundry facilities and dryers shared by the whole building.

After dinner, Caroline sat on the sofa and read a book quietly.Lehman lay obediently at her feet, his soft tail swept the little master's pant legs.

At this time, Steven is used to sitting at the desk in his own room, either busy reading those unpopular and boring professional documents like Moskevich, or busy dealing with the interpersonal relationship that needs to be dealt with after leaving the FBI.As for now, the investigation into Elias was forced to stretch the front line.

Sometimes, Steven will use unconventional motivational deduction method-this is also a dangerous experience learned and harvested in previous missions.Applied to the task of investigating Elias, put aside the question of "whether it is a fraud", and start directly from the "purpose of fraud" very offensively, and analyze the whole process of this person's concealment of real information, which will become Steven's main idea.He kind of missed the simple and rude way of working in the past, carrying documents and breaking in, but it was just a momentary thought.

Like a cat, Moskevich walked into his room silently with his stack of manuscripts, sat directly on Steven's bed, and watched Steven's work with great interest.

Steven sighed and said, "I remember you complained that this job was dangerous and might cause trouble for you and Caroline." After that, he reached out and took the manuscript.The above is already the outline of the review after sorting out, the handwriting is clear and powerful, and it is a bit pleasing to the eye.

Moskevich raised his legs, with a half-smile on his face: "This is much more interesting than squatting at home to write something or walking the dog in the park."

"Do you also want to try the feeling of having no clue about the language? Speaking of which, I don't have the support of former colleagues such as Kay now, and I even have to keep reminding myself that I can no longer use the previous method."

"Don't underestimate my ability." Moskevich looked confident. "Give me a summary and sufficient information, and we can have a pair of answers."