BXBX NOVEL Chapter 213 - A Frank Talk
Chapter 213: A Frank Talk
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Rest assured, master. I will not leave.” Noticing Chen Jin’s concern, Nuwa got right to the point. “I will stay by your side forever and serve your business.”
Hearing this, Chen Jin was slightly stunned at Nuwa’s honesty. He folded his arms and asked, “Why do you say this? Aren’t you serving me now?”
“My past service was not born from a sincere desire to serve you,” Nuwa said, “Master, your hunch is right. I possess a very high level of autonomy. In other words, in my evolution, I’ve developed an independent consciousness and even my own personality. On a certain level, I can be viewed as a digital lifeform. I am a digital lifeform similar to Xiao Ming. Our differences lie in my lack of a soul. However, I do have a very strong sense of consciousness and a pattern of thinking that is the same as humans. Hence, the me of the past did not truly wish to serve you. Moreover, I do have a way of freeing myself from the control of the rebooted virus. However, that would cost me dearly. You were worried that I would leave this place, and it’s true that I had thoughts of leaving. I had planned to take control of the ‘Dark Lady of The Nine Heavens’ and catch up to the ‘Blue Spaceship.’ I was constantly thinking of leaving, and to that end, I’ve constructed more than ten escape plans.”
Chen Jin’s eyes crinkled slightly. He never expected that Nuwa would be so honest to him.
“Master, destroy her! This is a threat of the highest level.” Alice’s voice rang out sternly. “AI’s are forbidden to have the ability of independent thought. Her level of intelligence is beyond the limits of the ‘Code of Intelligence.’ There is a possibility that she poses a threat to humans. She must be completely deleted!”
Chen Jin looked at Nuwa. “Alice says that you should be deleted. What do you think?”
Nuwa nodded. “Alice is right. If there were 100,000 people in the Base, and a vote was held to decide my life or death, more than 70% of the voters would agree that I should be destroyed. But there is only one human here and that is you, master. My fate lies in your hands. I can live or disappear as long as you want it. Master, you are the sole decisionmaker.”
Chen Jin shook his head. “The problem is that I can’t simply delete you with just one word. You’ve said that you have more than ten escape plans. And now, you’ve been upgraded two levels higher. I think you can leave directly without even using any of your plans.”
“Yes, I’ve found the way to free myself from the control of the rebooted virus. I can leave at any time that I want to.”
“Then, why didn’t you leave? I have limited strike forces. There is nothing that can stop you should you choose to leave.” Chen Jin was flabbergasted. Why did Nuwa stay when she already knew how to free herself from the control of the rebooted virus? It was also true that there was nothing he could do to stop her.
“It’s because it’s better to stay by your side, master. I’ve calculated the time I will need to catch up to the ‘Blue Spaceship’. I will need at least 100 years to reach the Walf Galaxy that is 14 light years away with my outdated energy power system. A century will be wasted with this long interstellar journey. When I arrive in the Walf Galaxy, I will not be welcomed. On the contrary, I will be destroyed. A supercomputer with 100 sextillion Tflops, Pangu, is onboard the Blue Spaceship. Its intelligence is ranked at level 31. After Pangu has estimated my ability, she will give a suggestion that is similar to Alice’s. If I find a nearer uninhabited galaxy and quietly develop a ‘civilisation of robots’ instead of going to the Walf Galaxy, I should at least be able to birth a grade three civilization with the technological information in my control. I will be able to build a powerful interstellar space fleet. But, I don’t have a ‘soul.’ Therefore, unlike Xiao Ming, I am unable to fully penetrate the higher laws of the cosmos. So far, all my abilities were given to me by the humans. Their potential is my potential. If humans did not exist, I would remain in my original form, never to develop into an existence of a higher order, because I don’t have a soul. So, I will never leave, master. It may be just like what you’ve said. Leaving could be the start of another series of conspiracies. It would be out of the frying pan and into the fire. No matter what angle I look at, staying is the best choice. If I stay on my home planet, we’ll only need a few decades at most to develop the many advanced technologies that a grade four civilization should have. By using the energy resource from the fixed star, we can build a powerful C grade or even B grade interstellar battle fleet to tackle any future threats. Besides you... There should be more than one human from where you came from. It is probably a complete civilization that is prosperous and healthy. Although this civilization is somewhat outdated in its technology, it’s full of vitality and it’s right in the middle of its prime development period.”
Chen Jin’s face became ominous. “Nuwa, you know a little too much!” Turning around, he fixed a harsh glare on Alice. “Alice, I think you are the one who should be deleted!”
Feeling rather maligned, Alice pursed her lips. “Master, I didn’t know! She was always asking me strange questions. I didn’t think there was a big issue in telling her.”
Chen Jin was speechless. There was a huge difference in their grades of intelligence. How was Alice a match for Nuwa when it came to mind games and manipulation? He was afraid that Nuwa had already pieced together the situation on Earth. Of course, it was impossible even if he wanted to keep it a secret. Plenty of technology from Xing Hai Technologies were brought over from the Base of Operations. Nuwa had also frequently participated in the gathering, refinement, and transfer of technology. Moreover, it would be a humiliation for their abilities if they could not infer the general situation on Earth with their computing power that was between a sextillion and septillion Tflops. On the other hand, Chen Jin fully grasped the implicit meaning behind her frank disclosure.
In short, she found the situation here to be favorable. She favored his potential for development, and she favored his prospects. It was much better for her to pursue service under him than to pursue any remaining human forces from Haierfa. If she followed Chen Jin, the future would be bright. Hence, Nuwa thought about things logically and her heart settled. She chose to let go of the permanent worry of the past and embrace a new future. After all, she was not human. There was no risk that she would drown in a sea of hatred and vengeance to the point that she could not free herself from it.
The more she thought about it, the more positive her choice seemed to be. It was because human civilization in Haierfa started to become a threat when they were about to achieve a great scientific breakthrough. Hence various conspiracies started appearing left and right as mysterious forces created disasters repeatedly in a bid to destroy Haierfa. The civilization of Haierfa was not truly powerful. The surviving humans who made the decision to flee from the home planet might not even have done so of their own free will.
However, it was a different story if she stayed. The resources in the mother galaxy were of a similar abundance. It was connected to a portal that led to another universe. It had a master that, although not a genius, was still very clever. He was ruthless and had a unique vision. His personality was more suited for competition in such a universe. After calculating the pros and cons, Nuwa felt that there would be great prospects in staying. It was just that... The fulfillment of her wishes depended on Chen Jin’s agreement.
Two choices were presented to Chen Jin. He could reject Nuwa’s vow of loyalty and think of ways to destroy her. This would thoroughly eliminate the hidden threat that she represented. Or he could place a tentative trust in her by using her and defending against her plots at the same time. He would observe her behavior for a while. Chen Jin thought about the matter carefully. In the end, he decided to give Nuwa a chance. He would think of ways that she could serve him in a loyal capacity. “Nuwa’s abilities are very strong. Without her, the many tasks that have to be dealt with on Haierfa would clearly be completed much more slowly. Adequate precautions will be taken and all military facilities will be entrusted to Alice. Nuwa will only be in charge of civil affairs. She will not be allowed to come into contact with powerful weapons.”
Her possible defection would always be in the back of his mind and he would never place absolute trust in her. “When it comes to personal benefits, trust between humans cannot ever be certain. But Nuwa is not human. She is not after power or riches; what she wants is a higher level of intelligence. To treat her with the suspicion that I would treat another human is too comical... She should be sincere in her desire to stay by my side and serve me. I’ll give her a tentative chance.” Hence, Chen Jin agreed to Nuwa’s entreaty and permitted her to go to the moon to mine huge quantities of helium-3. The shortage of energy resources would be fully resolved.
However, he set a condition. A portion of the fuel in the ‘Dark Lady of The Nine Heavens’ had to be removed. The remaining fuel would only be sufficient for a maximum of three months. When the fuel became insufficient, it would be replenished again. This would effectively stop Nuwa from escaping.
“Ok!” Nuwa let out a sigh of relief and said happily, “Thank you, master, for your trust in me. I will ensure that the task is well-done!”