Volume 8 - CH 148.1

Failsafe

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

“So did he really take his older brother’s brain out?”

On the corridor of the 11th floor of the psychiatric hospital, the three Missiontakers are having a discussion.

As soon as Liang Xingyi mentioned his older brother’s brain, he fell silent, never responding to Mu Jiashi and the others’ questions again. He only stared at the glass container the entire time.

Just as he said, he’s someone who’s easily absorbed in his own world.

“I think so,” Mu Jiashi calmly analyses, “do you remember what he said? He said his older brother can’t wake up, but he still has brain activity. He may think his older brother’s body has become useless, but…”

Mystic dryly adds, “but an AI programme can accept the electronic signals.”

Both Mu Jiashi and Shen Yünjü are quiet.

It’s so mind-bogglingly insane that they wonder how far gone is Liang Xingyi.

They cannot fathom how anyone can possess such utterly depraved, unethical thoughts besides being clinically insane.

Mu Jiashi, as a postgraduate, also needed to enter laboratories for his studies.

He still remembers vividly, the moment he entered the Ultimate Nightmare, and then exited from a laboratory of Qücheng University, there were the guidelines posted on the wall next to him.

What Liang Xingyi is doing, is an experiment involving a living person’s brain, that could quite possibly kill him. It’s murder.

“But he succeeded,” Shen Yünjü says with a complicated tone, “the AI he made… has human emotions.”

Mu Jiashi holds his breath for a while before exhaling slowly, and reiterates, “this is only a game.”

As if by magic, the words lift the mood quite a lot. At least, it’s not as stiff… the entire premise is horrifying to them.

If their brain was transferred into some robot and only fed stimulation from something outside, to trigger different emotions and the release of hormones… If the brain in a jar is no longer a fantasy…

Mu Jiashi shudders.

God bless this being only a game. A game company realising whatever ambitions they have in a game.

Mystic, though, says, “but in reality… Earth…”

Mu Jiashi and Shen Yünjü look at each other, nonplussed.

Then Mu Jiashi sighs and says, “let’s stop thinking about that. What we need to do is get this Ultimate Nightmare over with… and leave this damned game.”

Their objective is clear, once again.

The analysis continues, “so, the AI in the Tower is programmed by Liang Xingyi; Liang Zhiyi’s brain contributes to the more emotional side of the AI.”

“Clearly, the stiff programming of the AI has the upper hand,” adds Shen Yünjü, “I’m not even sure… if Liang Zhiyi is still alive.”

“Do AIs still dream?” Mystic asks with a hollow tone, “do they feel human emotions?”

“I do not think AIs dream,” Mu Jiashi replies quite coldly, “it is a tool – do you ever suspect your hammers, wrenches, pens and paper to dream?”

Shen Yünjü refutes, “but AI is capable of thought.”

“If you define thought as processing information via a set logic… Then yes, AIs think,” Mu Jiashi says, “but they are volitional. The thoughts are conscious.”

Shen Yünjü and Mystic are looking at him, not getting at why the definition of ‘thinking’ is involved.

Then Mu Jiashi explains, “dreaming lies with the subconscious. This type of unhelpful and unconscious thinking process is not part of an AI’s repertoire——And if they are aware, they will also classify these as meaningless waste of energy.

AIs value only efficiency.”

Shen Yünjü gasps slightly; he isn’t sure why, but he thinks, he might have had a glimpse of something terrifying through what Mu Jiashi just said.

Then, he asks, “so you’re suggesting, that NE’s Nightmare actually comes from Liang Zhiyi’s brain?”

Pausing for a moment, Mu Jiashi says, “yes, that’s what I think.”

The corridor falls silent once more.

The premise of everything they’ve discussed thus far, is that every element in the game is justified, rather than just a game setting written without consistency.

This conflicts with how the AI of the Tower has a dream.

As far as their human experiences suggest, AIs will not dream, because they are tools, a section of programme.

Do computers dream?

No one would think so.

So why does the AI of the Tower have a dream?

Why would it even have emotions like fear or fright? All the while equally possessing the coldness of AI?

Now an explanation is here – because this AI has Liang Zhiyi’s brain.

They have no idea how Liang Xingyi did it.

But somehow, that hemispherical glass container has become the jar of the ‘brain in a jar.’

The jar, connected to the programme for the AI he wrote… Powered up by the same source…

Perhaps the brain was somehow provided with stimulation vis-à-vis reality…

That’s about it.

They do not know how Liang Xingyi realised all of this, but, this is still a game.

It is definitely logical, but not necessarily everything in the game can be replicated in reality.

Though as he thinks about it once more, Mu Jiashi furrows his brows, asking, “do you feel like… we’re missing something here?”

Shen Yünjü and Mystic both look at each other.

Mystic then says, “about how… the brain… was worked on?”

“Liang Xingyi studied something related to computer engineering, artificial intelligence and programming. He may be such a genius he can bring the ‘brain in a jar’ to life, but the brain itself…” Mu Jiashi thinks and says, “he must have had the help of professionals; doctors, mustn’t he?”

Liang Xingyi himself could never have pulled it off, even if it wasn’t entirely alien to his studies.

Shen Yünjü thinks, and asks about something, “didn’t Liang Xingyi say he had people help him renovate the Operating Room?”

Mu Jiashi gets it, “those who helped him renovate probably had to know what Liang Xingyi was up to… They must be the ones helping him the entire way!”

Both Shen Yünjü and Mystic agree to the conclusion.

Mu Jiashi looks back at the door to the Operating Room, “Liang Xingyi isn’t speaking any time soon, so we might have to find those people who help him.”

“Where could they be?” Asks Shen Yünjü, “in the hospital? Elsewhere?”

Mu Jiashi ponders for a moment, then says, “I don’t believe they're in this hospital with him. Probably from elsewhere, who heard about what’s going on here, and then followed Liang Xingyi to this place… Did we miss any clues?”

They think for a moment, but Mu Jiashi couldn’t come up with anything else.

The people mentioned thus far include the good samaritan who called an ambulance for Liang Zhiyi when he collapsed; people Liang Zhiyi must have come to know when he dropped out of school to work shifts for Liang Xingyi, who might also know these people; perhaps, even fellow students at Liang Xingyi’s university.

But all these options only lead to one conclusion – they do not have time to look for or ask them. They need to quickly find a way——To end this Nightmare for good.

So Mu Jiashi pushes his earlier ideas aside, saying, “I guess we shouldn’t think about who’s helping him either.”

Then he takes a moment to gather, continuing, “even if there are such people, we’re still missing the forest for the trees. The key problem is gathering more information about the AI and the older brother of Liang Xingyi.”

Mystic thinks and then says, “why did he have to connect his older brother’s brain to the AI? Is he… trying to revive him?”

“Revive?”

Both Mu Jiashi and Shen Yünjü pause for thought.

Neither of the more pragmatic-minded Missiontakers thought in this direction. They were simply disgusted by the unconscionable act, which, terrifyingly, succeeded.

In a game. But still.

So they were ignoring any fundamentally more understandable reason Liang Xingyi is doing all this.

He’s succeeded, so they were too concerned about the result and impact, than the underlying causes.

Especially when, taking place during the spread of madness, everything could be explained away just by labelling Liang Xingyi as… mad.

But Mystic, more sharply and carefully tuned to such affairs, did not let the possible truth behind the tragedy escape her.

Why must Liang Xingyi stuff his older brother’s brain into an AI in the first place? What could it be if not outright insanity?

——His older brother wasn’t long for this world.

——Liang Xingyi refuses to accept it.

This is what drove him to do it. He is making it so his older brother can continue ‘living’ in the programming of an AI.

And, just as he said, Liang Zhiyi still had brain activity. He’s still ‘alive’… in the sense that he has brain activity.

“Reviving his older brother?” Shen Yünjü asks, pointing out that, “in the Tower, though, clearly, the artificial intelligence part is the one calling the shots…”

Mystic asks quietly, “did he fail?”

“Or…” Mu Jiashi ponders some possibility; his eyes almost seem to sparkle, “his older brother’s consciousness is still asleep? He is… yet to wake up? That’s why… that’s how you have Nightmares… So, the grey fog…”

He stops.

“So the grey fog is always there,” Shen Yünjü tries to finish the sentence, “is that what you want to say?”

Mu Jiashi, silent, then starts smiling bitterly, asking, “but, that… Xü Beijin… Xü Beijin, is he Liang Zhiyi?”