Ant colony

"Do you think the captain is acting strange recently?"

"Yeah. It's fine to put a super disgusting monster on the table. I went to find her just now, and I saw her smiling silly at the monster!"

"What? The captain actually laughs?"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it. The point is, why do you smile like that at a monster!"

"Do you think she has been under too much pressure recently and has a mental breakdown?"

……

I walked to the corner of the corridor, just in time to hear two team members whispering.I don't know why the system didn't warn them that I'm coming, probably even the system thinks there's nothing wrong with what they said.

To avoid embarrassment, I could only tiptoe back.It's as if I'm a thief and don't want to be discovered by them.

I'm really not mad at all, though.I imagined myself smirking at her, and I couldn't help but feel that it was extremely absurd.

Another week has passed since α-han and I met at the meeting by chance.I first invited her to dinner to thank her, and then it was endless.Within a week, we have eaten three meals together in reality and listened to an original human piano concert; the interaction in the virtual city is even more frequent, and we have traveled all over the mountains and rivers of major virtual cities.

"Boring" - after getting along with her a lot, I found that this is a word she often uses.

"These piano pieces use different styles and techniques on the surface, but the author's feelings are completely the same. It's so boring."

"These virtual cities look rich and colorful, but are they actually different in nature? Either they are attacking each other, they are talking about love, or they are breeding grounds for all kinds of unnutritious rumors. It is simply boring."

Once I finally couldn't help but say: "Human beings gather together, what else can they do if they don't do this? There is nothing new under the sun."

She yawned lazily: "So human beings are very boring creatures."

"Everything is boring, and you still come to do these things with me?"

"It's different. With you, even playing Tetris all day is not boring."

It was this sentence that made me giggle for two days.Probably because I smile three-pointed first when I meet people, my community evaluation score has unexpectedly increased a lot.

That guy β-Qiu made his words come true—now I'm sure that I'm really in love with α-Han.The evidence was so obvious that I asked the system to do a little test for me: a brain scan of my brain while I gazed at her picture revealed a spike in activity in the right ventral tegmental area and right caudate nucleus.This explains the intense pleasure I feel when I think about her.

She is really good at playing.In the past few days, she took me to several virtual cities that she let the system design, all of which are her private spaces, not open to the outside world.For the first time, I witnessed a world composed entirely of idealists. Those mysterious buildings had never existed in reality; I also "saw" a five-dimensional hypercube in a magical way. It was fantastic; I also followed her to a library of intelligent beings that communicated on ultrasound, which nearly made me pass out in a hat.

Since I met her, I feel that the world is so vast, as if a person who has lived in a cave for a long time walked out of the cave for the first time, and the fierce wind of the wilderness blows head-on.

There are also new developments at work.Using the "Hanna" simulated brain architecture provided by α-晗, I cultivated 1000 new "bait".I selected a part of the records provided by the correction, let the system cut and fuse them as the input training set, and then let these virtual brains evolve freely under the algorithm of the blind design method for 4 days.While most of the results are just illogical lunatics because the input data is not perfect, there are also a few usable "bait".

After screening again and again, I let the remaining "bait" continue to evolve.They thought they were flesh-and-blood human beings, from babies to children, from children to teenagers, from teenagers to youths, but they didn't realize that this was just an illusion.All their "perception" of the world is just the data stream input by the system.And the decades they have experienced are just 4 short days in the real world.What's even more frightening is that their "thoughts" are completely transparent and are subject to systematic interpretation at any time.

The system found that the reason why a small number of "baits" can still tenaciously evolve into "normal people" under the condition of imperfect input data is that they themselves will rationalize the imperfect data.In their consciousness, although the world they live in often has some weird scenes, inconsistent memories, and absurd events, they can always automatically make up reasonable reasons for these phenomena.

This can be said to be very human-like.What humans are best at is constantly rationalizing everything around them.There are many people in history, even if they live in the most absurd era and do the most insane things, they can automatically find reasons and tell themselves that the world has been like this since ancient times.

I went back to the office in a big circle, touched the "dumpling" full of fangs on the table, put on the virtual reality hat, logged in to "Virtual 501 City", and jumped directly to the coordinates of the behavior correction institute.It's pretty empty, and I'm the only user.

"Virtual 501 City" is a model of real 501 City.It exists to allow citizens to consult information, for research by some scientific research institutions, and for students and tourists to visit.Almost no one comes here for entertainment, so it is very deserted.

α-Han suddenly proposed to come here because she said that she had never been to a behavior correction center and was very curious about it.I am very surprised that although this place is heavily guarded in reality, it is always open to all citizens over the age of 14 in the virtual city. Why hasn't she been here?

She explained: "I didn't dare to go alone, so I never went."

I can understand her.Anyone who goes there is going to be a little uncomfortable psychologically - which is why the system has a 14-year-old age limit.From the perspective of human instinctive emotions, corrections are of course cruel.But we all know that people can't judge the pros and cons of something just by their own emotions.

Although I don't really want to go there, since she offered to let me go with her, how could I refuse?

I waited for a long time, but she still hasn't logged in.Just as he was hesitating whether to call her, her figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Am I late?" she asked me.

"No, I came early." I smiled involuntarily, "Let's go."

We walked forward, and the door of this huge cuboid white building opened for us automatically.

In reality, I often come here because of work.So I am quite familiar with its structure.

We walked through a corridor lined with uniform glass cubicles where people old and young were dressed in the same white clothes, with the same numb expressions, sitting in the same positions on the same beds.

With just a quick glance, I knew the system was making these virtual images with records from a year ago.Because the "patients" here are all familiar faces, and as far as I know, several of them have "recovered" and returned to society.

"This is area A, which is the lowest level of abnormality." The voice of the system introduced, "Mostly it is some people who make harmful remarks. This is the easiest to correct. You only need to use electric shocks to make them feel bad about the harmful words they believe. Reflexive fear will do."

α-Han's face was stuck to a glass, and he beckoned to the people inside.That person was like a disconnected companion robot, staring blankly straight ahead without any response.

"Are they also in this state in reality?" she asked me.

I replied: "Yes, this simulation is quite real."

She was surprised: "Then they will be like idiots in the future, how can they return to society?"

"No, it will be fine after a while." I said, "There are professionals here, and there will be no such loopholes. I only know a few people who have been corrected successfully. After returning to society, everything will be normal, but they will not Just spreading those harmful thoughts to anyone—although they still exist in the memory and cannot be erased."

She was silent and seemed still in shock.Strange to say, she always uses fantasy to shock me, but she herself is so easily shocked by reality.

"It's a bit embarrassing," I said, "but there's nothing you can do about it. After all, it takes a lot of precious resources to raise a person, and global management doesn't want them to die and waste their lives, but wants to save as much as possible." They are transformed into good citizens who can contribute to society."

"I'm not feeling bad." She shook her head, "Let's continue watching."

I took her to "jump" to the next space.

The system continued to introduce: "This is area B. It is a patient with a more serious abnormality. Its abnormality is manifested in harmful behaviors to society. The disease of these people is more complicated, and each person's behavior is different, and different treatment methods are needed. It can’t be solved with just electric shock like in Area A.”

It punches an arrow on a compartment, beckoning us to take a closer look.

"This is number 2104. Her problem is that she didn't love them after giving birth to them, and she has always been very indifferent to them. Later, both children developed serious psychological problems. When they grow up, they may cause greater harm to society. Harm. Fear therapy cannot be used on No. 2104. Because no matter how punished, she will not be able to produce love for her child. So we used oxytocin therapy, hoping to help her develop maternal love."

α-Han said coldly: "Why bother? Wouldn't it be good to give her child to someone else to raise and forbid her to have another child in the future?"

I explained: "Well, the loopholes in society are not that simple. If you don't pay attention, you will have the problem of 'pressing the gourd and floating the gourd'. If people see, an irresponsible mother can be healthy without any treatment. Just throw the child to others, and they may follow suit."

"Well." She was thoughtful, "I only know the overall algorithm of the system, and I really don't know much about these specific problems in reality."

"It's better not to understand these issues." I remembered the director's sigh, and I felt mixed feelings.

Let's keep going.I saw more strange patients.Some of these people entertain excessively; some spend too much energy on meaningless hobbies; Great trouble.At this time, I saw a familiar face again - a middle school student who left a deep impression on me and was extremely resistant to learning.

Minors usually make little direct contribution to society, but they are the future of society.The most important item in their points is the "future expected points", that is, the system judges their possible value to society in the future based on their current status.If you want this score to be high, it is actually very simple. You just need to do the job of minors—learning and growing—just fine.

And this child, who grew up quite well, was determined not to learn.The system tried to encourage her in various ways, including changing five schools for her, changing ten courses, recommending 100 interesting virtual interactive courses, and even tailoring a learning game for her, all of which were in vain.

Her future expectation score dropped again and again, until the total score fell below 1000, and she was predicted to become a useless person in society in the future, so she could only come here to receive correction.

The reason why I can't forget her so much is because she is so rare.There are almost no children who do not like to study now.The system can always find the most suitable learning method for the children and the most popular teacher for them (if they are not satisfied with human beings, there is always a virtual teacher who can do it), entertaining them and allowing them to learn the knowledge they are most interested in field.

This is the first time I have ever met someone who would not study anyway.

The system briefly introduced her situation and said: "This is a difficult case. It took the corrections three days to find out the reason why she didn't like studying—it wasn't because she was addicted to other things. In fact, she was interested in games, entertainment, etc. Nor is she interested. Her problem is rare because her brain's reward mechanism is not functioning, and she cannot get a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from learning, games, and any other activities. So, correct the reward mechanism that is trying to activate her brain and establish learning The connection between pleasure and pleasure. Let her get pleasure as soon as she learns."

α-Han carefully watched the child with electrodes on her head and a strange smile, and asked after a long time, "How is she doing now?"

"Very good. I have gone back to school now. It is said that I am very happy when I study, and I can't stop."

"Humans are also a machine with very simple logic." She looked a little gloomy, "Connect harmful behaviors with fear, and beneficial behaviors with happiness, and you can completely manipulate humans. ε-Rei's thinking is too complicated. No need for neuroengineering."

I said, "Isn't it always like this? Even the chiefs of primitive tribes know this kind of rule."

"But with the advancement of technology, the art of governance has become more precise and rigorous."

I said, "We are not like the chief. We are for the good of all mankind."

She didn't answer, just bowed her head and continued to walk forward.

After another "jump", we are still in front of us with glass cubicles.But different from Areas A and B, most of the people here are lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly.

The system introduced: "This is area C, and here are the most difficult patients to correct."

α-Han asked: "What's wrong with these people?"

The system said: "These people are commonly known as 'social waste'. They neither do harmful things, but they also don't do anything useful."

"Isn't it difficult to achieve this state?" α-han thought for a while, "Because any behavior of each person, even if it is rejecting the system's suggestion, will always have a certain effect."

"They don't behave. They lie in bed every day, neither agreeing nor rejecting the system's suggestions."

"Is this depression?"

"No. Although they are sober, they resemble a vegetable state. The reasons are often difficult to explain."

α-Han was silent for a while, then suddenly jumped out of the correctional facility.

I quickly followed her, and saw her standing in the woods at the entrance of the correctional center, as if she was thinking about something.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked her, "Don't think too much about it. In any society, the minority is always sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. This is a last resort."

She suddenly looked up at me and smiled ambiguously.

"If I were inside, would you still think so?"

I froze. "What did you say?"

"I also had a lot of dangerous thoughts."

"But you're just thinking about it for yourself."

"I also have times when I don't want to do anything but just be a useless person."

"But you are a man of great use to society."

She nodded slightly and laughed at herself: "Yes, my social value points are 679081.91 points, ranking second in the entire 501 city, second only to the mayor."

Although I knew her points must be high, I never expected it to be so high.She is the same age as me, still very young, how can she be so powerful?

She ignored my shock and admiration, but continued: "But there doesn't seem to be any logic to prove that a person who is useful to society will never harm society?"

"You will not……"

She showed that playful look again: "You have so much confidence in me? What if one day I get upset and send a harmful speech to everyone in the city, or lie on the bed without making progress and concentrate on thinking about life? Meaning, why is this impossible?"

I felt a chill flow from the bottom of my heart and spread to my whole body.

She smiled even more happily: "If this day really comes, please shoot me to death. I don't want to come to this ghost place to receive some kind of correction—"

"Shut up!" I suddenly said angrily, the voice was so loud that I even jumped.

She put away her smile, opened her eyes wide, and looked at me puzzled.

"I don't like such jokes." I said coldly.

The atmosphere froze in an instant.She opened her mouth, but said nothing.

I turned my head away from looking at her. "Today...how about doing this first."

"Okay." She raised her chin, her gaze became cold.

We didn't speak anymore, we both logged out.I took off the virtual reality cap, only to realize that my back was cold, and it was actually wet with cold sweat.

"This bastard..." I stood up from the chair, the movement was so violent that I felt dizzy. "It's really outspoken. Is this kind of joke okay?"

"Why is she telling me this?" I paced back and forth, thinking to myself, "Yes. She's always been this bad, and she likes to see people shocked, embarrassed, and anxious. I don't know how she got into it. This kind of personality. She is 30 years old, and she still looks like a naughty child. No, she always pretends to be elegant and stable outside, but she just likes to tease me!"

I went around and around in a distraught state.But horrible images couldn't stop appearing in her mind: she was wearing white clothes, sitting behind the glass wall, her eyes lost the lively wildness, and turned into a dull puppet.

“Please just shoot me.” I feel suffocated when I think back to those words.

I tried desperately to get the image out of my head, laughing at my own sensitivity.

"No, she probably didn't know that I would react so aggressively." I began to reflect on myself, "Maybe I was a little too much? I actually scolded her like that. But, it was only because..."

That gloomy afternoon many years ago came back to my mind.

I kicked the chair next to me irritably, and it let out a "wow", reminding me not to destroy public property.

The system's prompt sounded in my ears: "It has been detected that you are emotionally unstable, it is recommended to take a break for 10 minutes and enjoy music..."

"Ok."

There was soft piano music in my ears.It was really effective, and I gradually calmed down.

I decided to put these unpleasant things behind me and deal with a few chores at work.After a while, my attention was diverted and I was completely immersed in my work.

I wasn't ready to go home until it was close to zero.Colleagues have almost left, and the place is empty, and the various news information on the wall has automatically stopped playing, replaced by ocean landscape films with a soothing rhythm and gentle light.

I walked nonchalantly down the hall.It is brightly lit 24 hours a day, and a 6-meter-high wall shows the recent status of the Mars base.

Dust storms blow across Mars.The overwhelming red swept over, as if to engulf the entire hall.And in this sea of ​​red, I saw a sudden dark green.

It was a man in a dark green dress.She stood against the wall, saw me coming, smiled and waved the bouquet in her hand to me.

I am all too familiar with that smile: smart and sly, like a child who has succeeded in a prank.I gasped for breath and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Why can't I come?" α-Han said, "My authority is so high, can't I still enter the gate of your Vulnerability Management Bureau?"

Hearing this harsh tone, I was inexplicably happy.The previous unhappiness and entanglement disappeared, and he couldn't help showing a smile.

I moved closer to her.Her hair was neatly tied behind her ears, and she wore small silver earrings on her earlobes, and she wore light makeup, looking very elegant and delicate.

"Are you surprised? Are you happy? Are you still angry?" She stuffed the bouquet into my arms, "I waited for you downstairs for four hours despite my busy schedule."

"Surprise surprise." I nodded again and again, "Why don't you send me a message?"

She looked at me with contempt: "What kind of silly question is this? You already knew it in advance, so what's the surprise?"

"Yes, yes, but it's too much to keep you waiting for so long..."

"Do you really believe it?" She was even more contemptuous, "Do you think I won't ask the system first about when you will be able to finish the work?"

"Crazy!" I couldn't help cursing.

"Hey, don't scold me in a hurry, or you will die of guilt later." She suddenly took my hand and put it on her forehead, the temperature surprised me.

"you are sick?"

"Yes. Leucopenia, a little fever, and fatigue." She looked at me pitifully, "Look, I'm so sick, and I came to your door to apologize, are you moved?"

"You—" I really didn't know what to say, "Why are you—"

"To impress you. Are you very guilty now, regretting that you sent me an unknown fire this afternoon?"

I can't laugh or cry.I've never seen such a coquettish person.But being hit by her words, I feel really aching in my heart now, and I just want to hold her in my arms and comfort her.

But I only dared to reach out and touch her arm: "It's raining outside, is it cold?"

"It's summer, why is it cold? You don't think I'm so weak that I will die suddenly on the street as soon as I go out, do you?"

"Nonsense." I frowned, "Stop saying such strange things."

"I just like bullshit." She blinked. "Do you hate me?"

"How could it be?" I avoided her eyes in embarrassment, "Let's go, I'll take you home."

We walked out the gate and boarded an airship that was waiting there.It automatically flew in the direction of her home.

The two stayed in a small closed space, and the atmosphere became a little delicate.She stopped talking, silently watching the night view of the city outside the window.

"I'm sorry." I finally said softly, "I was too excited this afternoon."

"It's okay, don't worry, I'm smarter than you, so I won't be as knowledgeable as you."

"Can you say something nice? Is your community rating negative?"

"No, no, I believe it must be much taller than you."

"Oh, by the way, I remembered that you always pretend to be humble and polite in front of people, don't you?"

"That's right. Only reveal your true nature in front of you."

Her words warmed my heart, and I actually felt that her cynicism towards me was an honor.

"Actually..." I finally said what I wanted to say, "The reason why I was excited was because of fear. As soon as I connected you with the correctional center, even if it was just a fleeting thought, I was terribly scared."

Her expression became serious, and she stopped teasing, but listened to me quietly.

"My mother committed suicide when I was 14."

She looked at me in shock.

I finally told the past that had been frozen for many years, and I was much more relaxed than I imagined.The loopholes in my heart were exposed to the air, and it seemed that it was not so scary.

I continued calmly: "She is a scientist at the Botanical Research Institute, and her job is to restore plants that have become extinct in the wild from the seed bank. She is completely healthy, works well, and has a good relationship with others. Everything looks normal. The system did not detect that she had suicidal thoughts—so I have always expressed doubts about the stability of neuroengineering technologies—but it was such a person who looked normal, but when he went to the ecological restoration area to investigate, Throw away all the smart devices on your body in the wild, secretly eat colchicum bulbs, and die like this.”

"They didn't let me see her body. But I know she must have died in an ugly way. In the wilderness, the long process of toxic attacks... It took a long time for the system to find her."

"Later, I gradually understood that she didn't have any abnormalities on the surface, but there must be something dangerous hidden in her mind. This made her always dissatisfied with the world and unable to feel the happiness of ordinary people."

She murmured, "Sorry, I don't know..."

"It's not your fault." I smiled, "Maybe it's because of my mother that I am so obsessed with finding 'loopholes'. Over the years, I have seen too many things that pretend to be normal, but the inside has already deteriorated." 'Bugs'. When they were caught, their relatives and friends were shocked and couldn't accept it at all... This kind of thing is too sad, it's better not to joke about it."

"Yeah." She was rarely serious, "I see."

I saw her uneasiness, and said with relief: "Don't worry. It's been many years, and I'm not sad anymore. And my family now treats me very well, and I live a very contented life."

"Where is your family now?"

"They are all in City 501. My aunt went on vacation recently. There is also a little sister who is only 22 years old and is very innocent and cute. She was transferred to work in a birth center recently. She was planning to have a baby, so she had to push it away temporarily."

"Fine." She seemed relieved.

"It's all thanks to the system." I said, "In the past, what kind of family a child could grow up in was completely resigned to fate. Let alone an orphan like me. Now the system can provide everyone with the best The upbringing—it's all thanks to you scientists."

"Thanks for the prize." She smiled, "I hope to have the opportunity to meet your aunt and sister in the future."

My heart warmed, and I asked, "Is your family also in City 501?"

"Yes. Let me tell you, I have three older sisters and seven nieces. And they all still live with my mother."

What an exaggerated family.I smiled and said, "Then your house should be very lively."

"It's not only noisy, it's almost crazy. Every time I go home, I can't wait to escape-my mother and sister really enjoy the noise. My mother always said that she regretted that she didn't choose the right place on the spur of the moment. (l) son, who gave birth to me who is weak and has no sense of family."

I can seem to imagine her mother teasing her lovingly.She should be the most pampered one at home. It can be seen from her behavior that no matter what she does out of the ordinary, she is always so calm and confident.

The atmosphere relaxed again.We chatted for a while, and the airship landed.

We came to her home.