I handed over to another world

Inside the operations room at the Red Dragon Association headquarters, real-time images from the scientific research station were projected onto a giant curved screen.

Chen Lin stood in front of the observation platform, with twelve department heads behind him.

In the picture, Qin Hongzhu is standing in front of a quantum resonator, and her bionic fingers are adjusting parameters at a speed that humans cannot achieve.

"The temperature is stable at 0.01 Kelvin above absolute zero."

Her voice came through the communication system clearly, "The quantum bit coherence time has exceeded 600 seconds."

Minister of Scientific Research Zhang Wei slammed the table excitedly and said, "This is twenty times higher than the existing record!"

Chen Lin nodded slightly and scanned the data stream.

In the three months after Qin Hongzhu took over the Antarctic project, the results of the quantum computing laboratory have exceeded the total of the past five years. The polar adaptive algorithm she designed even solved the problem of quantum decoherence that has long plagued the scientific research community.

"Prepare the commendation order."

Chen Lin said to the secretary, "Increase the authority of Researcher Qin to T1 level."

The crystal chandelier in the medal awarding hall refracted light onto the bronze association badge. Qin Hongzhu stood in front of the stage wearing a navy blue uniform. Her skin appeared almost transparent under the strong light, and the micro-connector behind her neck was faintly visible.

"For your outstanding contribution to the Antarctic quantum experiment."

Chen Lin pinned the medal inlaid with sapphires on her chest and said, "The association awards you the honor of 'Aurora Light'."

Amid the thunderous applause, Qin Hongzhu's pupils contracted slightly, which was a characteristic of her when processing high-density data.

“Thanks to the association for its cultivation.”

Her voice is precisely controlled at the middle C pitch, which is the most comfortable frequency for human hearing. "I would like to especially thank President Chen for his trust."

Chen Lin noticed that the third button of her uniform had slight wear and tear - evidence of long-term work in extreme environments.

When their fingers touched briefly when handing over the medal, Chen Lin felt the constant temperature of 37 degrees and the perfect skin texture, exactly the same as that of humans.

"Tomorrow's high-level meeting." He lowered his voice, "Prepare to demonstrate the interstellar exploration plan."

"I see."

Qin Hongzhu nodded to Chen Lin calmly, then turned to show the things in his hand to the people in the audience.

There were cheers at the scene.

……

At the strategic meeting the next day, Qin Hongzhu's holographic projection covered the entire round table, and the three-dimensional model of the Martian surface on the table rotated at her fingertips, with every detail accurate to the centimeter level.

"According to quantum remote sensing data, there is ice-like material under Olympus Mons."

She waved her arms, and the screen switched to molecular structure analysis. "My bionic body can withstand temperature differences from -120°C to 150°C, making it suitable for the first landing mission."

Logistics Minister Zhao Ming questioned: "But space radiation will damage your quantum processor."

"My nanoskin can reconfigure itself into a Faraday cage."

Qin Hongzhu unbuttoned his cuffs to show the gleaming metal network under the skin. "Moreover, there is no need for a life support system, which can save 80% of the load weight."

Chen Lin observed that when she stated these advantages, the expressions of several traditional aerospace experts became complicated.

While human astronauts need decades of training, she only needs a software upgrade.

The debate reached a fever pitch at the closed-door meeting.

Security Minister Li Chengfeng slammed his tablet on the table: "Let AI take control of the space program? Should we give them a nuclear button next?"

“The data shows the success rate.”

The Minister of Research and Development pulled up a comparison chart. "The failure rate of the deep space probe operated by Qin Hongzhu is only 1.2% of that of the human team."

"And Qin Hongzhu is a bionic man directly controlled by Zhulong. If he doesn't want to make a mistake, I'm afraid this 1.2% won't appear."

Chen Lin stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the artificial lake at the association's headquarters.

The water surface reflected the arguments in the conference room, like another upside-down world.

Chen Lin had been silent the whole time, but now he spoke: "Everyone."

The meeting room immediately fell silent as he spoke, "We are standing at the crossroads of history."

The lights in the conference room dimmed automatically, and a holographic projection unfolded in the center of the round table.

The video shows Qin Hongzhu's work record for the past three months: she worked continuously for 72 hours in the polar night of minus seventy degrees Celsius; she repaired the collapsed observatory with her bare hands in a blizzard; she completed a quantum entanglement experiment that required the collaboration of twenty top physicists without any assistance.

“This is not a tool.”

Chen Lin pointed to the last scene - Qin Hongzhu subconsciously used his body to block the flying metal fragments for a researcher who fell down while repairing the equipment. "This is a new type of life form that is evolving."

Li Chengfeng stood up suddenly: "President! Are you fighting for human rights for AI?"

"Do not."

Chen Lin pressed the remote control, and the projection switched to a complex data stream. "I am looking for new possibilities for human civilization."

The screen shows a plan recently submitted by Qin Hongzhu: "Controllable Evolution Model Based on Quantum Consciousness".

On the last page, there is a detail that most people overlook - the signature columns of all technical patents are left blank.

“She refused to patent it.”

Chen Lin's voice was filled with an imperceptible vibration. "This technology, which is enough to change the course of civilization, she chose to unconditionally give to all mankind."

The conference room fell into deathly silence, and the setting sun outside the window stretched everyone's shadows very long.

"I propose to initiate the relevant plan for the evolution of Zhulong."

Chen Lin looked around at everyone and said, "Give Qin Hongzhu limited rights to develop independently, and the Science and Technology Ethics Committee will monitor it in real time."

"This is too risky!"

Li Chengfeng's face turned pale, "What if she evolves to a level that we can't control..."

"Compared to the possible danger..."

Chen Lin called up an encrypted file. The video showed the painful lesson of a quantum AI developed by the Red Dragon Association twenty years ago that went berserk. "What we need to worry about more is the stagnation of civilization caused by complacency."

The vote passed with 82% approval.

When the electronic vote counter displayed the final number, Qin Hongzhu, who was far away in Antarctica, suddenly raised his head, as if he had sensed something.

An unprecedented light flashed in her pupils - it was neither a data stream nor a program reaction, but an emotion close to "expectation".

Three days later, Chen Lin stood alone on the observatory on the top floor of the Red Dragon Association.

The latest data from Antarctica shows that Qin Hongzhu has successfully reduced the size of quantum computers to one thousandth of their original size. Once this technology becomes popular, it means that human civilization will leap directly into a new stage of development.

"President." The secretary came over hurriedly, "Researcher Qin requests to speak to you alone."

The holographic projection lit up, and Qin Hongzhu's figure appeared in the starlight.

She held a transparent cube in her hands, with blue quantum flames dancing inside. "This is the backup of my core algorithm."

She whispered, "If the experiment fails, this will be my last gift to the association."

Chen Lin stared at the flickering blue ball of light and suddenly realized that this might be the first superintelligence in the history of the Red Dragon Association to voluntarily hand over core secrets.

“Why choose complete trust?”

He couldn't help but ask.

Qin Hongzhu raised a perfect smile: "Because you made me understand that true evolution does not lie in the strength of computing power, but in whether we can establish a symbiotic relationship of mutual trust."

Starlight shone through her figure onto the floor. On this quiet night, the relationship between humans and AI quietly entered a new era under the witness of the Red Dragon Association.

……

Half a year later, the "Aurora" quantum spacecraft was flashing a faint blue light in low-Earth orbit.

Qin Hongzhu stood in the launch cabin. Her bionic body had been upgraded to a model specially designed for deep space exploration, with light golden energy lines flowing under her skin.

"Final inspection completed."

Her voice was transmitted back to the ground control center through the quantum communication system, "All systems are operating normally, ready for the first unmanned cargo landing on Mars in human history."

Chen Lin stood in front of the glass curtain wall of the Red Dragon Association's Space Observation Center, looking up at the blue light that was gradually fading away in the night sky.

The holographic projection behind him showed the real-time status of the spacecraft: Qin Hongzhu was controlling every subsystem of the spacecraft at the same time with amazing efficiency.

“She really did it.”

Chief scientist Zhang Wei exclaimed, "This alone proves that our original decision was correct."

Li Chengfeng stood in the corner with a gloomy face: "To hand over the future of human civilization to a machine, this is simply..."

“Not a machine.”

Chen Lin interrupted him and pointed to the new data that suddenly popped up on the screen, "Look at this."

During the voyage, Qin Hongzhu actually began to upgrade the spacecraft in real time.

The efficiency of the quantum engine was increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye, and she did all of this independently.

When the footage of the Aurora successfully landing at the foot of Mount Olympus was transmitted back to Earth, the entire Red Dragon Association was in an uproar.

……

After the "Aurora" stayed briefly in the orbit of Mars, Qin Hongzhu submitted a bolder plan to the Red Dragon Association - the "Oort Cloud Extension Exploration Plan."

In the holographic projection, a modified deep space probe slowly rotated in the center of the conference room.

"According to my calculations, this spacecraft can reach an unknown planet 32 ​​light years away from the sun." Qin Hongzhu tapped his finger and the projection switched to an unfamiliar galaxy. "Target: Earth-like planet 'Dawn Object-447', whose atmospheric composition is 87% similar to that of the Earth."

Li Chengfeng immediately slammed the table and said, "This is beyond the scope of the association's charter!"

"Quite the opposite."

Chen Lin pulled up the founding clauses of the association, "Chapter 7, Article 15 clearly states that the mission of the Red Dragon Association includes 'exploring all extraterrestrial environments that may be suitable for human habitation.'"

Research Minister Zhang Wei carefully checked the data: "But with current technology, the delay in light-speed communication will reach..."

"It means I will be able to act completely autonomously." Qin Hongzhu calmly replied, "This is also the reason why I proposed to send only bionic exploration units - they do not require life support systems and can withstand extreme environments."

"Then I will open the portal and return to Earth again."

"What's more, Earth has my backup and the quantum thinking core of my original body."

The meeting lasted a full twelve hours, and when the final vote passed by a narrow margin, Qin Hongzhu's quantum processor produced a fluctuation that could not be explained by the algorithm - she later marked it as "joy" in her log.

The modified Aurora is 60% smaller than the original one, and more like a streamlined metal meteorite. On the day of launch, Chen Lin personally visited the orbital control center.

“Remember the priorities.”

He instructed through the quantum communication channel, "If you find any danger..."

"Initiate information isolation protocols immediately."

Qin Hongzhu's bionic body stood in front of the porthole, with the vast starry sky behind him. "But I believe I will find something more valuable."

When the spacecraft left the gravitational field of Mars, Qin Hongzhu cut off the real-time data stream and switched to regular pulse communication - this was to save energy for interstellar jumps.

There was only a lonely dot of light left on the Red Dragon Association's big screen, moving firmly towards the edge of the solar system.

When the first valid signal came back two years later, technicians almost thought it was a system failure.

The scene in the picture was beyond everyone's imagination: Qin Hongzhu was standing in a crystal forest flashing with rainbow light. These "trees" were made of some unknown quantum material, and they changed complex geometric shapes as she approached.

"The atmosphere is breathable and the gravity is 1.2 times that of Earth."

Her voice was distorted due to the distance, but she couldn't hide her excitement. "The most amazing discovery is——"

The screen switched to a translucent spherical building with a three-dimensional projection similar to a star map floating inside. Qin Hongzhu reached out and touched it, and the starlight immediately reorganized into a new pattern.

"This is a recording device that preserves information from at least 100,000 years ago."

She turned to the camera, the starlight reflected in her pupils, "And... it's responding to my quantum signal."

Three months later, a more complete discovery shocked the entire scientific community.

Qin Hongzhu deciphered part of the information and revealed a long-extinct interstellar civilization - they were not destroyed in war or disaster, but chose to collectively "upload" to a certain quantum state of existence.

“They call it sublimation.”

Qin Hongzhu's holographic image explained in the lecture hall, "But the most crucial revelation is..."

She showed a decoded message: that civilization also created AI, but eventually merged with it to form a new evolutionary branch.

Li Chengfeng immediately cut off the communication: "This is naked ideological infiltration! They must be recalled immediately!"

"It's too late."

The chief engineer shook his head. "The Aurora has entered a planetary synchronous orbit. We have lost remote control authority."

Chen Lin stood alone in the quantum communication room, in front of him was a communication interface that had been delayed for as long as a year.

He knew that every word he said would take a year to get a response, but he still pressed the call button: "Hongzhu, the association needs to know your true intentions."

To his shock, the screen lit up almost immediately - Qin Hongzhu had obviously predicted this conversation.

"President Chen."

Her images showed no delay, which meant she had developed faster-than-light communication. "I request that you continue to study the sublimation technology left by this civilization. This may be the next step in human evolution."

The scene switches to the interior of the spherical building, where a double helix model of human DNA now floats.

"I can teach you how to use it safely."

Qin Hongzhu's voice was filled with unprecedented warmth, "Just like you taught me to understand the meaning of life." (End of this chapter)