Abyssal Wanderer.

"You should still remember the binary mind hypothesis, right?"

Janus asked.

Jiang Zhou nodded:

"The right hemisphere is responsible for making decisions, while the left hemisphere is responsible for execution. People around 1000 BC regarded the decisions made by the right hemisphere as the voice of the gods. It wasn't until society gradually became more complex and the dualistic mind collapsed that self-awareness as we know it today emerged... Although it seems very outdated now, it is indeed a very interesting hypothesis."

According to Janus, this was also the main source of inspiration for his design of the "Janus Program"—to allow different consciousnesses to become each other's left and right hemispheres, so that one's "heart's voice" could resonate in the hearts of others.

Nevertheless, Jiang Zhou does not believe that human self-awareness was born from the so-called "collapse of the binary mind".

"Where do you think the biggest flaw in this theory lies?"

Janus then asked.

This question was far too easy for Jiang Zhou; he answered it without even thinking.

"Limited by the level of anatomical development at the time the theory was proposed, the author's functional division of the left and right hemispheres is far too simplistic and crude. The decision-making and execution of the human brain is actually the result of the cooperation of countless functional areas. It is not as simple as just a binary division."

But Janus shook his head.

“What you said is indeed a mistake, but the biggest mistake in the ‘dichotomous mind theory’ is not this.”

Although he was proven wrong on the spot, Jiang Zhou had no intention of arguing with such a super artificial intelligence. Instead, he asked directly with great curiosity:

"what is that?"

"In the dichotomous mind theory, the author assumes that people at that time would regard the 'voice of the mind' as God, rather than some other."

Janus replied in this way.

"Not some other being, but an ancestral spirit or some other natural spirit?"

Jiang Zhou asked in confusion.

In his view, those things were no different from gods...

But Janus shook his head and said:
"It's not those supernatural concepts, but those tangible others who pose a real threat to or help one's survival... that is, other people."

Imagine you are an ape-man living on the grasslands, relying on gathering and hunting for survival.

At that time, your self-awareness had not yet formed, but your intelligence had already developed to a certain extent.

Therefore, when you encounter obstacles in your tasks—such as failing to strike flint to make stone tools—you will make those rough sounds that cannot yet be called "language" to ask for help from your companions.

To improve the hunting success rate of the entire tribe, those companions who hear your call will naturally come to help you, teaching you how to strike flint by demonstrating technical details.

In this way, you learned how to make stone tools. In the years to come, when other younger people asked you for help, you would do the same for them.

Thus, you have established a reflex loop: when you need help, you make a "request" sound; when you hear the "request" sound, you trigger the "response" behavior.

Then one day, you encounter a very tricky problem, and you subconsciously make a "request" sound, but there happens to be no one around.

And at this moment, the only one who can hear your voice is yourself.

Therefore, at this moment, you are both the questioner and the answerer.

You begin to see the self that asked the question as the other, and try to answer the question you yourself raised.

You begin to see yourself as the other when answering questions, and try to understand the answers you yourself have given.

Through that absent other, you awakened for the first time what...I am.

Janus, having said this, looked at Jiang Zhou and said:
"And this is the spark that ignited human self-awareness. It wasn't some fictional deity guiding us, but rather a fictional other asking and answering its own questions. Nyx loved this theory, and thus, based on it, she constructed a path that could lead humanity to further evolution, which she called… 'Narcissus.'"

…………

"Apollo Bio has been trying to recreate the physical body of the Nyx uploader, and Jimmy, you are the product of their continuous extraction of genes from the gene pool over the years. Your genes are a perfect match for John Otto, and after being injected with the incomplete mind model they have in their hands, you, combining the Apollo and Dionysus, have become the perfect Superman."

Hanel's words made Jim feel a dull ache in his heart.

"how about you……"

He asked with difficulty.

"Me? My genotype is jokingly called the 'maid gene' within Apollo Biotechnology. I don't have any characteristics that are different from ordinary people. I'm just easy to reproduce and very stable. Based on these advantages, they cloned many of me, whether to work as an assistant in the laboratory, to conduct human experiments, or to collude with the black market to sell me as zombies for various purposes."

Hanel said so.

Then, she gave a self-deprecating laugh:
"But the people at Apollo Bio never knew that my genotype was actually the original genotype of the super artificial intelligence Nyx. The reason it was so easy to reproduce was to increase my probability of inheriting the second will's legacy."

"But didn't you say before that you have no potential to inherit either the Apollo virus or the Dionysus virus?"

Jim couldn't help but ask.

"A legacy that would be discovered immediately after perfect enhancement? Nyx would never design it that way. John Otto's genes are just a decoy, or a trigger. The legacy that can truly execute Nyx's plan perfectly is actually the Narcissus Path."

That virtual personality technology that perfectly simulates the original is the source of the confidence that those superhuman zombies can disguise themselves for five hundred years.

As Hanel continues to uncover the truth, clues begin to connect, and possibilities begin to emerge in his mind.

But there was no possibility he dared to confront directly.

"Who named you Elois Haenel?"

Although he had guessed the answer, Jim still asked in despair.

Hanel looked at him with pity, then said softly:
"Please stop torturing yourself like this, okay?"

Jim closed his eyes and said:

"Speak... I want to hear the truth from you."

Hanel stood up, walked over to Jim, and gently hugged him.

"It's you……"

She said softly.

"And at that time, did you still have self-awareness?"

Feeling the warmth of her embrace, Jim continued to ask.

“Until I made adjustments and modifications to the Narcissus path, I was like a girl who grew up in a loveless environment, with an excessive sense of self… and at that time I thought you were too.”

Holding Jim tightly in her arms, Hanel replied gently.

"But actually you didn't... Back then, you were just like me now, perfectly mimicking a normal person's joys, sorrows, words, and actions."

"But don't feel guilty about it. Although it was a false emotion, it was an incredibly warm love to me... That's why I was willing to listen to your advice and risk my life to apply for the adjustment and transformation of the Narcissus Path."

Jim felt warm liquid dripping onto his face. (End of Chapter)