Ant colony

The reason why I rushed back to the Vulnerability Management Bureau was because a new "bug" was discovered.

After the bombing on October 10, I asked the system to analyze the data of θ-26-Mao, and compare it with the data of all her contacts to strengthen the monitoring level of suspicious personnel.Two weeks passed, and sure enough, another hidden "worm" was dug out.

λ-16804689-Xiao, 75 years old, used to work in the Mars Base Planning Department of the African Space Agency, and has retired.In the virtual city "Creation", the ID is "Lisheshu". I once had a conversation with θ-2230546-Mao in the game. Through quantitative stylistic analysis, I found that there are many similarities in the language style of the two.

After raising the monitoring level of λ-16804689-Xiao, the system discovered an extremely hidden loophole: λ-Xiao cleverly deceived the system and prepared a virtual city virus.

According to her plan, at 20:00 tonight, in the world's largest virtual city "Chang'an", countless beautiful fireflies will fly into every corner, creating a dreamlike spectacle.And all users who are playing games, parties, or hanging out alone, as long as they touch these fireflies, they will watch a video speech and broadcast it to all contacts through their personal channels.

Regardless of whether the content of the video itself is harmful, bypassing the system’s recommendation algorithm and allowing citizens to watch content beyond their own will is already extremely harmful to society.The system immediately judged that γ-Xiao's risk factor reached A+ level, and suggested that she be arrested.

The loophole this time is much more serious than the last bombing.The Internet is the place where the system is most closely monitored; and a person can openly commit crimes here, which is the first case in the world in five years.According to the system analysis, λ-Xiao himself absolutely does not have such ability.In other words, there must be an accomplice behind her who provided her with technical support.And this person or this group of people, like the last bombing, did not leave any traces in the airtight monitoring.

I took off all the smart devices on my body, underwent several inspections, and hurried into the confidential meeting room.

The level of confidentiality here is the highest, completely isolated from the system, the table is a table, no window will be displayed; the chair is a chair, the color, height and temperature will not be adjusted; the wall will never change the light according to the mood of the person, let alone Sing suddenly.As soon as you walk in, you have a feeling of going back to the last century.

The director Σ-47263401-Lu was the only one in the room.Seeing me coming, she waved to me enthusiastically: "Come on, sit down."

I looked at the dozen or so chairs next to the empty round table, and sat down on the chair that was an empty seat away from her.She gave me a dissatisfied look: "What are you doing sitting so far away? Do you think I'm scary?"

I had to move over and sit close to her.

Σ-Lu is 53 years old, tall and strong, with a hearty laugh, bold nature, and keen on social activities.Every time I stay with her, I have a feeling that someone who has been in the basement all year round suddenly walks into the hot sun, and I just feel that the hot light is unbearable for me.

Fortunately, she didn't pat me on the shoulder and talk about her life experience with me today, or take out physical photos and happily talk about her daughter's high school graduation ceremony, but directly talked about work.

——It seems that the situation is really serious.I think.

"This is the video that λ-16804689-Xiao is going to spread, take a look."

She pointed to an offline monitor that showed an old man with gray hair.

I manually press the play button abruptly.

The old man began to speak, in a clear and forceful voice: "Citizens, I take the liberty of disturbing you, interrupting your evening entertainment, just to ask you to think about one question—are we really free?"

"Most people believe that we are now the freest time in history. We have not a book that is forbidden(h)book, and a problem that is taboo. The most deviant ideas, as long as they are not openly disseminated, are harmful to society. will not be prohibited; all people's lives are the result of free choice and are rarely coerced. The only requirement we ask of people is to be useful to society, and the criteria for measuring whether they are useful are so diverse and without prejudice. No matter A person’s skin color, age, personality, occupation, and willingness to have children, as long as the total points are higher than 1000, he is a qualified citizen. In history, no society has ever been so fair.”

"But, are we really free? There are no books that are forbidden(h)books, but people don't read them; there are no questions that are taboo, but people don't think about them. Look around us, Everyone is playing the same games, discussing the same topics, wearing similar clothes, and even their emotions have become so similar. Why is that?"

"I don't mean to be advocating diverse fashion like the people in the fashion department. I just want everyone to think again about the origin of our human mind. We all learned in history class that before the war a few technology companies and governments monopolized the The data can unscrupulously monitor people's preferences, health status, social relations, and financial income and expenditure. We also know that they can continuously recommend products to users based on their hobbies, prompting them to continue to consume. They also It will recommend the information that people are most interested in, let them spend time in endless garbage content. And the most terrible thing is that they are actually still influencing people's thinking."

"The learning process of the human brain is actually similar to that of a machine. It often depends on the input data, that is, the training set. Companies or governments that monopolize the data can decide what data to 'feed' to people's brains. They can make you unconsciously Seeing a certain advertisement makes you unconsciously feel that this product is a symbol of fashion and you must buy it. They can also make you see the same statement repeatedly, so that it can be implanted in you subtly Consciousness, and gradually believe that it is the truth. You think you bought something out of your own liking, that you think that you have produced a certain thought through your own thinking, but it is actually the result of someone else deliberately training you."

"Of course, everyone understands history, so I don't need to talk nonsense. Now let's turn around and look at the reality-how different is our society from before the war? Although there are no longer a few people who 'feed' everyone data, we every day We are being 'fed' by the system all the time. The point system encourages people to work hard in the same direction; the system gives suggestions to our every move at any time, and lazy humans hardly spend their minds on independent thinking. Once, human training Machines, and now, machines train humans. Every entertainment work created by the system, every news recommended, every hot spot created, and every life suggestion put forward by the system is actually training us.”

"What is the system? It is the embodiment of the collective will of mankind. The task of the system is to maximize the interests of human society, and it is just completing the task. Therefore, what trains us is essentially society."

"Society has never stopped training people. But in the past, individuals still had a little room for freedom, because no matter whether it was the threat of a tyrant, the indoctrination of the government, or the customs of the masses, they could not fully penetrate everyone's consciousness. And Now, data can induce all sheep to automatically follow the path of tameness, even without the need for sheepdogs."

"Isn't this absurd? Human beings are given the opportunity to choose freely, but in the end most people choose to give up their freedom. No matter how the times change, human beings will take the initiative to invite a master to manage themselves. In ancient times it was the emperor and religion, and later The state, and today, 'data' is our new master."

"What's even more absurd is that human beings have less and less freedom and are becoming more and more tools of society, yet they think they are living in the freest era."

"Perhaps we should get out of this illusion and think about how human beings can get rid of this ridiculous fate. Society is a tool for people, not the other way around. If a person is only evaluated by the pros and cons to society, is this system inherently serious? Question? If individuals only exist for the continuation of civilization, then our earth is just a giant birth center, so what is the point of such a civilization even if it continues to the end of time?"

"I believe that these confusions flash in everyone's mind occasionally; I also believe that in this era, many people are still seriously thinking about the future of mankind. After I finish telling you this, I will die soon .I can't hear your answer, but future generations will hear it—they are expecting your answer."

That's all for the video. Σ-Lu looked at me probingly: "How is it? Do you think this person belongs to SFH?"

"Probably not." I shook my head, "and maybe not someone from any organization. Extremist organizations are just anti-society, and this person has gone so far as to be anti-human. She is almost negating the entire history of mankind."

"But she had a conversation with SFH member θ-2230546-Mao from the last bombing. Do you think it was accidental?"

I didn't answer.My mind is full of another question now - how can I counteract those statements just now?

They are undoubtedly dangerous fallacies.However, it seems to make sense.I frowned and thought until Σ-Lu slapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, what are you thinking again?" She looked at me probingly, gradually revealing a hint of hidden sharpness under her bold appearance, "Don't always think about these crazy words, the more you try to find her fault, the more you will actually be. She was 'fed' the data."

I can't help being horrified.Yes, whenever I object to a thought, doesn't it become part of my consciousness?

This λ-Akatsuki, this is what she wants to achieve.Just spreading this speech, whether everyone agrees or disagrees, has raised questions about the points system.

Older gingers are more spicy.I was in awe of the director, quickly retracted my thoughts, and began to consider practical issues.

"It may really be just a coincidence. Although λ-Xiao and θ-Mao have different concerns, they are essentially dissatisfied with society. These people can often smell the same kind of breath from the crowd, just like ants perceive Pheromone. It is normal for two ants to meet by chance and speak a language that only they can understand."

"But if she is not someone from an extremist organization, who provided her with technical support?"

I looked at the director: "I have an idea. Maybe there is a person or group outside of these organizations. She or they search for people with extreme tendencies on the Internet, and then take the initiative to help them."

"Even if your hypothesis is true, what purpose does she or they serve?"

"We don't know yet," I said, "but maybe we should look beyond SFH and consider the possibility that SFH is just a small part of a larger hole."

"Let's wait for the report first." The director said, "I hope your guess is wrong, and it's better that this is just another incident planned by SFH."

I agree.Investigating SFH is simple, but investigating a behind-the-scenes man with an unknown purpose is much more difficult.

I looked at the director: "Then what shall we... do next?"

"Just wait here." The director picked up a porcelain cup and took a sip of water, his color suddenly changed, "Why is it so cold—oh, the damn confidential conference room—we have to wait for the data center's vulnerability handling report, and the system to respond The analysis of λ-Xiao's life records still has to wait for the results of the processing of λ-Xiao by neuroengineering experts."

"Perhaps λ-Akatsuki will provide some useful clues."

"I hope." The director put down the water glass, "It's rare to catch a 'worm' that is still alive. This is your credit."

I looked at the wall clock on the wall, it was only 14:45 in the afternoon.Is it going to be sitting here with the director two this afternoon? I think it's scary when I think about it.

This is all due to the high risk of this vulnerability, so the fewer people involved in decision-making, the better.Moreover, whether it is the data center, the School of Neuroengineering, or my team members, they can only know part of the information about this matter.The data center only knows that there is a sample of the virus that has not yet spread, and needs to analyze the possible source; the School of Neuroengineering only knows to let a captured extremist say as much as possible, and then find keywords from it.They all have only one piece in their hands, and only the director and I can see the complete puzzle.

No one can be completely trusted.Maybe, the person who is proficient in system vulnerabilities is actually hidden in the data center?

We sat idly, waiting for new information to arrive.I know that today I can't escape the director's life guidance.

Sure enough, the director took out a stack of paper photos, put them on the table, and showed me one by one.

This is her unique hobby.She likes to carry physical photos with her, often saying that although the system can display pictures anytime and anywhere, real paper products are more memorable.

But I don't understand, how can there be so many commemorative things for one person.

"Look, this is the birthday party at μ-Luo's house on October 10. We had a great time, and it's a pity that you didn't go."

I saw a group of people in the photo lying on the ground in a mess, and I immediately felt that they were really happy.

Many science fiction novels in the 21st century have predicted that when virtual reality technology matures, people will indulge in the illusory world, lie down and dream every day, regardless of reality, and civilization will eventually be destroyed.In fact, this is a manifestation of ignorance of human nature.Alcohol, drugs, and various games have long been invented by human beings, but addicts are always only a minority.Because most adults understand that the real world is much more interesting than imaginary entertainment.

Controlling the fate of ten people in reality brings more pleasure in power than being an emperor in a game.Three relatives in reality are far better than [-] million followers on the Internet.Getting drunk on the floor with a group of friends in real life is far more rewarding than the momentary emptiness when you take off your virtual reality hat.

Children who have nothing are the most likely to be addicted to games.For adults, playing with humans is far more enjoyable than playing games.

Σ-Lu Yu taught me earnestly: "I heard that μ-Luo sent you an invitation, but you didn't reply, right? You child, your work ability is obvious to all, but you are too unreasonable. If this continues No, even if your total points are high, if you have obvious shortcomings, it will be difficult to become a manager.”

"I didn't want to be a manager."

"What nonsense?" Σ-Lu glared at me, "Do you know that I'm going to resign soon."

"Ah?!" I was shocked for three seconds when I heard this.

"Hey, remember that old guy's speech just now?" She smiled helplessly, "The thoughts generated by the human brain largely come from the input data. Look at what we do every day. What data? It’s all extreme thoughts, weird personality, tragic experience. After inputting it for a long time, it’s easy to become abnormal.”

I am silent.Unexpectedly, under Σ-Lu Hao's outgoing appearance, there are so many psychological burdens.

"My points are high enough, and my child is going to college." She continued, "As long as I don't die for the rest of my life, my score should not be ugly. I have applied to both the municipal council and the system, and I want to do a job in the next step." Work with people. The system suggested that I go to the 702 City Ecological Restoration Area in South America to be a forest ranger. In the future, I will command [-] patrol planes and be the king of the jungle.”

Seeing my shocked look, she added: "Don't worry, I won't disappear suddenly. I won't leave until January next year. You have plenty of time to say goodbye to me."

"I will definitely go to South America to see you in the future." I blurted out.

Although I don't like staying with Σ-Lu, she is a senior whom I respect very much.And no matter how annoying I was, she always took care of me.Now, hearing that she is leaving, I suddenly feel deeply sad and sad.

I am actually very afraid of changes in the people around me, and I am afraid that everything I am familiar with will gradually change beyond recognition.

"You guy, I have invited you to my house at least dozens of times over the years. When did you come? Ha, you even said to visit me in South America."

I was speechless and closed my mouth in shame.

"So, don't think it's a waste of time to socialize with people. In your life, how much time do you have the opportunity to get along with the people around you?" She said, patted my shoulder, "Okay, don't let me tell you I have to blame myself so much. Just kidding, if you come to the South American jungle, I will definitely take you for a ride in an antique helicopter.”

I smiled and nodded vigorously.

She added: "I don't know who will be the chief of the bureau next. Well, if you have a better relationship with your colleagues, it will be fine."

I see what she means.The process of deciding the next director is that the system will first make a list of suggestions based on the points—there are people from all over the world—recommended to the municipal council, and then the municipal council will vote to determine the final candidate.Generally speaking, the members of the municipal committee will be more inclined to choose candidates from the city with inherent human prejudice.

As for me, although the total points are high, the community evaluation score is obviously low.Whether the system will recommend me is doubtful.Besides, even if I appeared on the shortlist, the city council would never choose me.

Because they take into account the opinions of their colleagues at the Vulnerability Authority.It is difficult for a person who is unpopular in the group to be a manager.This is the law of human society.

"It's okay." I said, "I didn't even think about being the director. As it is now, the work is very smooth, very good."

"Being the director doesn't mean there are any benefits, but the authority will be higher, and you can investigate more things you are interested in." She looked into my eyes, "You still want to explore deeper into those loopholes, right? "

I hesitated for a moment and replied, "Yes."

"Then change yourself," she said, "but remember, when you look at the holes, don't let them eat you up."

I've always known that the Chief can get to know everyone on her staff.But I didn't know she knew me so well.For the first time, I regretted my arrogance and indifference.

Fortunately, I can work with her for two months.I must do my best to make it up.

Several reports arrived quickly.The data center said that this virus is very novel, and there are no obvious models and templates for reference.The system's analysis of λ-Xiao shows that this person has never expressed any harmful thoughts for so many years, and all her behaviors are normal.

It didn't disappoint us.Because we have expected that a "worm" who can live to 75 years old must be a person who is good at hiding himself.And the people or groups behind her will not be so stupid as to leave clues in their "works".

But the School of Neuroengineering has brought us unexpected gains.

Experts kept λ-Xiao in a state of extreme tension, and found that one word appeared frequently in her nonsense: "Chaos".The system conducted a semantic analysis and judged that the word should be a person's name.Then it pieced together the fragments of the language, and learned that λ-Xiao first received an unsolicited message from Chaos on October 2137, 10.

On November 11, Chaos contacted λ-Xiao for the second time and provided her with a detailed plan for committing the crime.From λ-Xiao's intermittent, half-truthful, half-false words, the system infers that she plans to commit suicide after sending the virus at 7:20 tonight.

In this day and age, suicide is very difficult to do.If a person wants to jump off a building, the window will automatically close when it detects danger, and cannot be smashed open; if a person wants to hang himself, the security robots of the entire building will rush to rescue him within half a minute; Whereabouts are strictly regulated.Unless, as in the last bombing case, θ-Mall used the convenience of the experiment to deceive the system, it would be possible to use the materials in the laboratory to create a suicide bomb (h) bomb.

However, Chaos has the ability to create new viruses, what else can't be done?I believe she or they must have prepared a perfect death method for λ-Akatsuki.

Unfortunately, this time they miscalculated.Because I raised the surveillance level beforehand, λ-Akatsuki fell into our hands alive.

While λ-Xiao was unable to provide any information about Chaos’ true identity—and she only had contact with Chaos online twice—her testimony confirmed my suspicions:

First, someone is actually providing technical assistance to potential bugs, and this person or group is using the pseudonym "Chaos".

Second, Chaos actively finds these potential "bugs".

Now there are two important issues to be resolved:

Is Chaos a member of SFH, or is he acting independently?

The second question is more important: How did this Chaos find λ-Xiao in the ocean of data; in other words, how did she see the extreme tendency hidden in her heart from λ-Xiao's appearance of "everything is normal"?You know, even with the powerful data processing capability of the system, it took only 1874 hours to retrieve a slightly suspicious conversation that λ-Xiao participated in within the limited range of θ-Mao's 4 contacts. .

I made a suggestion to the director: "We may suspend the capture of SFH members now, or even suspend all 'bug-catching' operations. First raise the 'bugs' we find, and wait for them to attract the giant bug behind them... "

Σ-Lu denied without hesitation: "When the 'worms' are discovered by us, it is often the critical point that is about to cause harm. It is too dangerous to let them go unchecked."

"Then we will closely monitor them, and arrest them immediately if the risk factor exceeds the threshold." As I said, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Make companion robots and game characters, and create some false citizenships on the Internet. Maybe, it will make the same kind of 'worms' come to hear about it..."

"Someone has thought of this method a long time ago." Σ-Lu interrupted me, "City 416 experimented five years ago, and it was called the 'Bait Project' at that time. They used the known data of 'worms' to create I put more than 1000 'baits' on the Internet, trying to lure more 'worms'. But the effect is not good. You are dealing with 'worms', you should be very clear, these 'worms' first The reason is that there are too few samples, and in the samples we have, there are great differences between different 'worms', and sometimes we can't find anything in common. As you said, only their kind can smell them, And what this smell is, we normal people can't tell, and the system may not be able to accurately simulate it."

I thought about it, and it seems to be the case.If you want to customize an affectionate boyfriend to the system, the system has a lot of historical and fictional materials for reference, which can be easily simulated lifelike.To systematically simulate the personality of a perverted killer, the data should be abundant.However, if the system is to simulate SFH, an A+-level anti-social element with a unique slogan of "liberating men", there is probably too little data to use.

Just as I was about to admit that I didn't think thoroughly, Σ-Lu suddenly said: "But we can also try. Maybe there will be unexpected gains."

"Thank you, Director!" I was overjoyed.

She sighed helplessly: "There are too many places to thank me. I never heard you say thank you. There is nothing to thank for things at work, and you suddenly thanked me again."

I can only laugh awkwardly.

"Okay, let's arrange it," she said. "Be careful, don't count on the 'bait scheme'. It's pure luck. Focus on the 'bug' instead."

"clear."

Finally walked out of the confidential conference room and returned to the 22nd century.The walls of the corridor are bright and colorful, playing various news.I put away the smile that I showed in front of the director, and leaned against the glass floor-to-ceiling windows a little tiredly.

The rain turns the city into an impressionist painting.I thought of that afternoon in the rainy season 16 years ago, it was also so dark and humid, depressing and dull.

A shiver ran up my spine.I used reason to control my scattered thoughts, and I didn't dare to look back at my memory again—there was a hole hidden deep in my heart, and I was afraid it would swallow me up.

The author has something to say: I wrote this article last year, before the Facebook scandal. I didn’t expect that this year, a technology company would influence people’s thinking by “inputting data” to users, and even manipulate elections. An event that changes the political () situation.I deeply feel that writing science fiction in this day and age is really thankless. The reality is changing with each passing day, with its own magic, which surpasses human imagination every minute.It is estimated that if Liu looks back at "The Three-Body Problem" now, he will definitely feel that his imagination of the future society is a bit out.I doubt that God is fed up with the meager repetition of human writers, and intends to write an epic masterpiece himself.