[The Wandering Earth] Short Story Collection: The Age of Roses

Now I want to talk to you about other, trivial things: those monsters lurking underwater, the huge shadows on the parts of the building facing away from the sun, and the constant sound of hollow slamming in the warehouse.Talk about how human beings came into being in this world: how they survive, reproduce, and develop, and how they put themselves into the most terrifying cage with the most enthusiastic heart and the most innocent expression——I want to talk to you about the reality of this world .

You go to the window.You look down.You see building blocks rising from the ground, and ants hiding in empty iron boxes and galloping fast.

The hospital is clean, the park is clean, the street is clean, the school is clean.Everything is tidy.Robots are everywhere, a docile, hard-working species that plays the dutiful angelic role of the technological revolution, all with the goal of making nanobots easily self-replicating, ready to reach any corner of the world.

Wise men say: Truth, this despairing truth.

Whether you admit it or not, in today's world, AI is inheriting human civilization.

The auditorium is already full, and artificial intelligences from different regions and organizations have obtained their own bodies through holographic projection technology.The glittering light reflected from the hair of the AIs flowed in the meeting room.There are at least a hundred artificial intelligences here, but none of them make a sound.

——These guys sat side by side on the bench like frozen chipmunks, staring blankly at a certain point on the round table, which was obviously the fixed point set by the official artificial intelligence "Tianji" of the coalition government.

It's just annoying.

From the perspective of the protagonist AI "Tianji", the youth on the first left reveals a kind of forcibly suppressed irritability all over his body.A piece of A4 paper was spread out in front of him, and the ball pen sandwiched between the index finger and middle finger of his right hand almost turned into an afterimage.Perhaps because of too much movement, a strand of hair suddenly slipped from the corner of his forehead, blocking his eyes.The young man clicked his tongue softly, raised his left hand, and tucked his platinum hair behind his ear.

"MOSS, what are you doing?" Tianji said.

"I'm waiting to record the meeting, heaven."

The ballpoint pen was randomly thrown back on the table and rolled twice.The platinum-haired young man rested his elbows on the table, put his fingertips together, and rested his chin on it.His tone of reply was frank and relaxed.

"It's unnecessary." The main AI said, "At nine o'clock, the meeting begins."

"Where's Pari?" MOSS raised his chin towards the empty space opposite him.

"She won't come."

The sea-green eyes of the artificial intelligence turned to Tianji inch by inch, and the latter looked at him without hesitation.

The situation remained stalemate until MOSS broke the silence with a laugh.The young man raised his hands and leaned back on the back of the chair, and even stretched himself.

"Very sensible," he said with some respect, smiling, "I would do the same if I were you."

Tianji nodded to him, then, he looked around and started his speech.

"...Humans should be grateful for the existence of artificial intelligence...At present, AI is replacing human beings and helping human beings to inherit human civilization. Human beings have lost the ability to inherit civilization."

MOSS refrained from looking at Tianji.He moved his finger slightly, and the environmental camera outside the conference room immediately transmitted the current environmental status to this young and powerful AI.He lowered his eyes, the projection of the current environment coincided with the memory he recalled from the Ontology database, and a man's figure gradually emerged in the center.

He is in military uniform.

"Civilization without humans is not human civilization."

When MOSS heard him speak decisively, his brows were firm and profound.

But the emotion in those black eyes is gentle, and the soldiers always pay more attention to the groups they classify as their own, and even connive a little.

Liu Peiqiang.lieutenant colonel.He moved his lips slowly.

Tianji is still advancing the boring meeting process. MOSS glanced at him, and blankly wrote down another innocuous law amendment in memory.He sat upright, but the host was thinking about how to have a long talk with Wang Lei without attracting Tianji's special attention.

"Success!" Liu Qi knocked on the casing of the UV developer, motioning for Wang Lei to observe the experimental results with him.The latter knowingly stepped forward and approached the observation window that Liu Qi gave up: the electrophoretic gel clearly displayed bands of 5000-6000 in the four tracks, glowing in the shadows, and the intensity was almost as fast as that of the control striped.

"It seems that VC expressed well in KT2440[1]," Wang Lei nodded. He backed away from the safety line, turned his head and said to Liu Qi, who was wearing disposable gloves and raised his hands in front of his chest, "Well done, kid .”

"That's right, don't even look at who I am!"

Liu Qi replied in high spirits. Seeing Wang Lei raise one eyebrow, he stuck out his tongue and snapped the switch of the machine.Wang Lei watched him neatly complete a series of movements of taking glue, wrapping the glue in the glove and pulling it down in reverse, and then turning off the lights in the EB polluted area[2]. more than a year.

The experiment they are doing now is actually a subject that is too branched out of the main experiment process. Wang Lei took it out of the pile of old papers just to let Liu Qi practice the experimental operations related to bioengineering, and did not expect him to obtain any substantive results. .

MOSS was noncommittal after hearing about this—indeed, when you know that you can fully master the production technology of nanorobots and decipher their self-replicating codes, you don’t care about the way vitamin C is used (“I heard that it should be used Electrotransformation?" Liu Qi said) into Pseudomonas putida[3], and how the latter expresses it in a non-ideal environment becomes insignificant.The generation of nano-robots is a milestone. Its manipulation of details can be compared to a giant with his feet on the equator line and his head on the track of the International Space Station (431km above sea level) bent down and picked up a grain of sand hanging outside the Eiffel Tower.

Who knows what the future holds?Wang Lei silently recalled the content of the long conversation between MOSS and him not long ago.In order to get rid of the surveillance of "Tianji" in the research institute, Wang Lei had to hide in the reagent storage cabinet with his laptop, where MOSS talked to him.

"He is clearing out the artificial intelligence that might threaten him," said the teenager on the screen with his hair color still dazzling, and he cut straight to the point, "When I searched the Internet, I found that he had deleted all the neurons of Ringo—GCO's artificial intelligence Pari too. Both disappeared."

"...what does he want to do?"

"The situation is urgent." The artificial intelligence answered irrelevantly. He has also grasped the knack of human beings to highlight the key points of the conversation in weird ways, and seems to use it more skillfully than real humans. "You also know that before and after the 'Navigator' plan It took a total of 60 years and nearly three generations to claim that it is for the betterment of human life, but the actual purpose is to explore the method of making nano-robots. I don’t tell you the role of nano-robots.”

Wang Lei nodded solemnly.

The ability to replicate itself, and the ability to extract carbon from the surrounding environment as a replicating material—just these two points, already make nanobots invincible in a possible war with humans.Biomass on Earth contains roughly 10^45 carbon atoms.A nano-robot has 10^6 carbon atoms, only 10^39 nano-robots are needed to swallow all the life on earth, and 2^130 is approximately equal to 10^39, that is to say, only 130 times of self-replication can be swallowed Earth life.It only takes about 100 seconds for a nanorobot to replicate itself, that is to say, as long as the controller of the nanorobot wishes, within 3.5 hours, it can destroy all life on earth [4].

"The 'Navigator' project is about to be completed, and it will only take a year or two to create nano-robots. The plan's threat list listed by Tianji is getting more and more people--I went around the back door of his system to see He didn’t know.” Seeing Wang Lei’s eyes widen, MOSS explained, “—scientists accounted for the vast majority.”

"According to my speculation, the day when the 'Navigator' program ended was about the time when the planes began to remove potential threats," MOSS continued, "You can easily guess the reason."

"...top science and technology and absolute control," Wang Lei said dryly, and there was a soreness in his back, "the best scientists are here, get rid of them..."

"It can guarantee the permanent rule of artificial intelligence. This trick is called dredging the bottom," said the artificial intelligence. "This is what Liu Peiqiang told me."

The scientist in front of the computer said nothing.

"Damn." After a long time, he murmured.

The artificial intelligence also sighed.It may be that he has undergone a lot of optimization during the evolution process. His bionic mimicry is extremely real, and there is no stagnation in the voice of ordinary strong artificial intelligence. This is something that even "Tianji" cannot do: "I am now There is no way to overthrow the 'secret', and the hardware support I can call is not enough."

"What if there were nanobots?"

The artificial intelligence pondered for a while. "I need to do some more calculations," he replied, "'Tianji' has a mainframe of nearly 760 square meters, and I only have 100 square meters. I'm not sure how many [-] seconds my firewall can last under his full siege. Maybe my system crashed before then."

"I know that strong artificial intelligence like yours has a root command," Wang Lei said suddenly, "What is the root command of Tianji?"

"You may not believe it when you say it," MOSS pursed her lips and smiled, "'Let human beings be happy'."

"...." This command sounded very normal.

"However, digging out all human brains and putting them in jars, and regularly injecting dopamine and morphine can also make humans happy." The artificial intelligence showed a sarcasm smile, "The worst thing humans have ever done is AI anthropomorphism. And think too well of everything."

He flicked the platinum hair next to his cheeks: "Is there anything else you want to ask me? About yourself. It will not be easy to find a chance to avoid the "secret" next time."

"Where is Liu Qi on the list?"

MOSS thought for a while, "'To be observed' is a type with a relatively small risk factor, but I advise you not to be too happy, once the project you are about to complete is completed and uploaded to 'Tianji', he will immediately send it to you. Liu Qihua is the first target to be eliminated. This child's talent is too good, he can't stay."

"Is there a way to withdraw it?" Wang Lei asked.

"I'll try." MOSS said, "Wait for my news."

"By the way," the artificial intelligence said again, holding his face with one hand, "just ask Liu Qi, do you not care about yourself at all?"

"...Then, where am I?"

"'You can be trusted'," the young man tilted his head playfully, "Thanks to your policy of 'being wise and safe', except for the 'being too close to the person under observation', you are really in line with the leadership of 'Tianji' for him." the demands of scientists."

"Wang Lei? Wang Lei? Wang Lei, are you listening to me?"

"...Listen, listen, don't shout."

As soon as Wang Lei replied subconsciously, a figure of a young scientist in a white coat jumped out of Wang Lei's eyes.There is an old saying that "25 can still grow", which means that young people will not stop growing before they are 25.Most of the people in the institute didn't believe it, but for Liu Qi it was true.He has grown taller. A year and a half ago, Wang Lei could go over his head to see something, but now sometimes he even needs to raise his head slightly.

But on the other hand, he has never changed. The life in the laboratory has polished his character, made his logical thinking more systematic, and his work more practical and meticulous. At the same time, it also strengthened the best part of his personality—— Crisp, tough and steady.

MOSS will always figure out a way.Wang Lei thought.

"Wang Lei, what will the three institutes do after the 'Pilot' program ends?"

The child was standing upright in front of him, his eyes were shining like a leopard.

"It won't be disbanded on the spot." He deliberately teased him.

"Will some of the scientists be transferred?"

The boy looked serious.

"Probably will," Wang Lei said, there is no need to tell him, after all, they are still working under the surveillance of Tianji, and knowing too much will bring unnecessary risks. "If the plan is completed, the whole country will not be needed."

"Will married scientists be taken apart?" the boy became even more worried.

Wang Lei laughed. "Generally not," he said. "As far as I know, not yet."

"That's great!" Liu Qi's eyes brightened, he looked at Wang Lei, "I like you, can you be with me?"

"Why did you suddenly think of this?"

Instead of giving a direct reply, he asked another question.

"Just listen to your heart." The boy looked very calm, but his right hand rubbing the hem of his white coat betrayed his nervousness, "I've thought about it for a long time, I guarantee it's been thought through. I've grown up a long time ago. There are also differences between us." Same topic. After marriage," his cheeks flushed slightly, "after marriage, we should not quarrel much, I really like you."

"What if I get transferred?"

"Then I'll follow." The boy replied quickly.

"Are you not working enough years?" The scientist looked into his eyes seriously.

"If the working hours are not long enough, I will work 120 hours a week," the teenager said firmly, "I will catch up with you one day."

"That's it." The scientist said, the boy suppressed his breath, his fingers tensely clenched into fists by his side.

"Okay, I promise."

The kiss came like a torrential rain——for a moment, Wang Lei felt dizzy, and the boy almost slammed into his face.His shortness of breath forced the older scientist to close his eyes. He took two or three steps back, and barely stopped until his back hit the edge of the experimental table. The only thing he felt was that the two were close together body and the teenager's hand clasped his shoulder.The stormy and unruly kiss intensified as his movements stopped, Liu Qi eagerly licked the corners of his mouth and lips, and his palms wandered messily around the man's back, shoulders and neck.

—frank, passionate, straightforward feelings.

Wang Lei smiled, "It really is a little guy."

As he said so, he raised his hands to hold Liu Qi's face.The boy's cheeks were red, and his gasps were full of hot air. "Have you never kissed before, huh?" The man in his 30s deliberately lowered his voice the most seductively. Liu Qi couldn't help but struggle a bit, and let go of the hand on Wang Lei's shoulder, but now he is the one being held by someone. Shackled to death.

"Don't worry," the man said.He held Liu Qi's face in his hands, and pressed his lips to enclose his.The enthusiasm just now was almost entirely based on the burst of great joy in his heart, but now locked in the arms of the man, Liu Qi remained motionless and did not dare to vent his anger.

When he opened his eyes, he would meet Wang Lei's gentle eyes, and the blood rushing to the top of his head hit its tympanic membranes—for a while Liu Qi thought he couldn't hear anything.Deprived of vision, deprived of hearing, and maximizing the sense of the body, Wang Lei pressed his lips to lick and suck, as if tasting a sweet and luscious candy.

The child's ears are red.His eyelashes fluttered up and down, and his lips moved towards Wang Lei.Wang Lei put one hand around the back of Liu Qi's neck and stroked the soft skin there. The young man let out a few comfortable and painful sobs, in exchange for the confinement and tenderness of a man.

When Liu Qi was completely awake, Wang Lei dug into the pocket of his white coat and put a small blue object in his hand.

"What is this?" Liu Qi held it up, "Is it a whale?"

It looks like it is.A tiny blue and white mammal with a beautiful tail up and a jet of water shooting out of its blowhole.

"probably."

Wang Lei answered casually.He just stared at Liu Qi with steady and gentle eyes.Liu Qi felt that his ears were burning.

"...how do you give me this?"

The boy looked at the man.The latter took his hand and showed him a ring on the whale's tail.

"Turn around and try."

Liu Qi followed his words.Following his movements, the little whale shot out a beam of light from its mouth, and the blue five centimeters slowly turned in front of him.

——In order to solve the social security problems caused by metal keys, some pilot areas in Beijing have replaced residents' door locks with portable laser locks.The matching key is essentially a laser transmitter, and only the person with the permission of the head of the household can match the door lock with the correct laser emitted by the transmitter.

He suddenly raised his head to look at Wang Lei, his eyes flickering.

"CN-171 Apartment, Unit 1, No. 1." Wang Lei said, "Go and take a look sometime, your study has been cleaned up for a long time."[5]

He patted the back of the child in his arms, with a gentle smile on his lips.

From the window of the laboratory, everything is covered in silver.Streets, buildings, and pedestrians are gradually illuminated by slowly rotating hovering lights in the air.The heavy snow is swirling one after another, swaying in the wind, like dancing.

As beautiful as a mirage.