282 Independent Consciousness

"Another negative impact which doesn't apply to me is that your intellect, intelligence quotient, perception, perception of time, and your overall mental capabilities will experience a noticeable fall compared to your current one. Of course, you'd still be far above normal human beings, but compared to your current overpowered super capabilities, it'll be a far cry." Adding another reason into the fray, Virus clarified helplessly.

"Eh… why doesn't it apply to master but applies to me?" Confused and even somewhat disappointed by this particular point which she had never known before, the golden beauty questioned.

"Hmm, there are many specific and detailed rational reasons behind this particular problem, but in short, if I wanna explain it in simple terms, I would say it's because you're not as advanced as I am. One of the main dissimilarities between the two of us, before I had even entered my body, was that I could exist on my own independently, I didn't need an artificial body as a means for me to function. Even without a body, in pure space, without any kind of wave present anywhere, I could still move around as a unique 'independent entity' who could think and make decisions for itself. You, on the other hand, my dear, do not have a separate and 'independent consciousness' that could function without needing anything. In other words, you have a 'dependant consciousness', which requires certain criteria to be fulfilled for it to function. Your artificial body fulfills these criteria… also, this is why you were truly unconscious when your artificial body was damaged at the time we were returning from the Cultivation Earth." Remembering a specific incident that had taken place on the Cultivation Earth, briefly, a cold glint sparkled within Virus' eyes before disappearing entirely.

Noticing her saddened and even disheartened eyes, not stopping there, he continued in a powerless tone, "My dear, if I could, believe me… I would've made an 'independent consciousness' for you too from the very beginning, or I would've upgraded it to the level of my own consciousness right now… but that's impossible even for me."

Hearing up to this point confounded the golden beauty as she asked in total stupefaction, "Eh…? Even master can't? Why? Then… who possibly can?"

After hearing about these complex questions, a deep and incomprehensible light began to shine within Virus' eyes. A few seconds passed in absolute silence when at last, he began to talk in a way one would suspect he was conversing with himself rather than clarifying her doubts, "Even in my old world, the future I mean, the number of people who could make an 'independent consciousness' such as mine were probably countable by two hands alone."

For what felt like a few moments, he paused once again before continuing, "Those unknown people, who were all probably like the 'oldest ancestors' or even 'the founders' of the civilization of my previous world were the true pillars of my technological Earth. I mean, as far as I'm aware of, only two entities such as me existed even in my former world, one was me, and the other one was called the [Main AI]. The Artificial Intelligence who came and replaced me after my rebel."

"And for some undisclosed and untold reasons, even the only two [Main AIs] who practically had access to every knowledge in the world were forbidden from learning about 'How to Make an [Independent Consciousness]'. Thus, my point is, only those mysterious people knew the recipe or the blueprint for making an entity such as me. And they were… my creators..." Sinking into a deep state of contemplation as his mind traveled back to his old world, Virus remained silent for an entire two minutes. Even the golden beauty kept her dumbfounded expression for these two minutes as she was utterly stupefied!

Finally, as if he had just returned from a very long journey that took at least ages, he went on, "They had numerous secrets which weren't recorded anywhere, one of them being the method for creating an 'Independent Consciousness'. I mean, even their existence itself was left unrecorded anywhere, let alone their secrets."

Completely snapping back to his usual self at this moment, he added, "Anyway, even 'I' barely knew anything regarding them as most of the things I said like 'the oldest ancestors' or 'the founders' were also just my long shot guesses, now let's not talk about anything else! They were simply considered one of the few species of people who could be called enigmatic to no ends! And as far as I know, they existed far before the dawn of my own existence. Now I shall leave the rest to your imagination."

"Well, that was the main reason why I can't upgrade you and just who exactly in the world can do that or create entities like me. I hope that answers your doubts." He concluded with an ultimate sentence that closed the conversation on the topic entirely.

In the meantime, the golden beauty was still in that bewildered state as she never expected anything like that at all.

"Lil Belle!" He said rather loudly, forcefully making her snap back to reality.

"Yes, master… I-I understand." She uttered while looking at her master in awe and incredulity as she had finally gotten a rough picture of just what kind of special existence her master was.

"Alright, as I was saying, I didn't face any decrease in my AI or mental capabilities because even now, I'm probably existing partly independently within my own brain… however, even that's just a perhaps! Since I don't really understand my own existence that well to begin with, I'm not quite certain."

"But I do fully comprehend your existence and I've seen many AIs of your grade entering biological bodies. And the one single thing they all shared was a noticeable decrease in their AI and mental capabilities since they were literally attaching their own 'Dependant Consciousness's' to a human brain. I'm sure you can grasp that this happens because your brain becomes the means for your 'Dependant Consciousness' to function. Of course, the higher the quality of the brain, the less of a decrease you will experience." Finished with his elaboration, Virus briefly went quiet while staring at the golden beauty's deliberating face.

"I see… so that's why…" She murmured after digesting everything before inquiring further, "Is there anything else I need to know about entering a body, master?"

After a brief moment of deliberation, Virus responded calmly, "Hmm, almost no. Those three things were the most essential drawbacks you needed to be aware of. Of course, there are other minor disadvantages too, for example, you'll be just as weak as a normal human being unless you gradually get stronger through cultivation or other special means. There is also the problem of having a mortal lifespan, but that's also easily solvable with a simple Immortality Serum. Though the Immortality Serum only keeps you young forever, it doesn't make you stronger in any way, meaning you could still be killed as you'd remain as fragile as ever."

"Now… ruminate on everything I just said with everything you've got! Consider every aspect and come to a decision that you will never regret… because… this is possibly the most critical and pivotal decision you'll make in your entire life!" Taking on a very solemn expression, Virus asked 'the' question, "Do you really want to enter a true biological human body?"