Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 420: Programmer? Executioner!
The information displayed on the screen was incomplete, and Zhang Chao did not unlock the phone, so he could not see the specific content of the message.

But he was not in a hurry, as he could still read this content when he got back.

When he reached the next intersection, his phone dinged again, and another message appeared on the screen:
"The one just now doesn't count, let's choose..."

Zhang Chao: “…” It seems that a hotpot meal is not enough to settle the differences in everyone’s hearts.

This novel can be considered a small social experiment, but I didn't expect the effect to be so good.

When he really got home and sat in front of the computer, Zhang Chao took out his phone, unlocked it, and read the messages one by one.

The first one is:

"We have decided which one to choose. Let's choose the first one."

The second article is:

"The previous one doesn't count. Let's choose the second one."

Just as he was taking the elevator upstairs, he received a third message:
"Okay, it's finally decided. Choose the first option! No changes!"

Looking at the third item, Zhang Chao couldn't help but wonder how these colleagues in the editorial department of "Youth" made this final collective decision?
Could it be that one of them was as eloquent as he was and convinced the others?

However, although he was curious, Zhang Chao did not ask about the specific process, otherwise it might affect his creative mentality.

Lacking drinking habits and experience, he didn't know that there was another way to convince others besides reason...

Little did I know that the next day, every editor at the Youth Magazine went to work with a blush on their face, and a scream went up to the sky: "Ah~~~~! Why did you choose the first option! How come I don't remember it at all!"

Zhang Chao faced the blank page on the computer screen and fell into deep thought.

In fact, he did not have a complete plan for the development of the novel, and he had not even thought of the ending; the choice of the direction of the novel by the editorial department of "Youth" itself was really affecting his creation.

After all, for these young people in 2008, they did not have a clear understanding of what the "information cocoon" is.

"Information cocoon" itself is not an Internet term, but a term used by American scholar Cass Sunstein in his book "Information Utopia" to describe the polarization of information under the two-party politics in the United States.

Compared with China at this time, the level of informatization and media richness of American society is undoubtedly deeper, but in such an information-overloaded environment, people can easily retreat into their own prejudices; further, the crowd will quickly turn into a mob in public opinion.

However, Cass Sunstein is generally optimistic about the information explosion in the Internet age, and believes that people will eventually find a path to an information utopia.

Zhang Chao is different. He is not as optimistic as this American scholar. Cass Sunstein's judgment comes from the experience of the American television media era and early Internet search engine push, and he is completely unaware of how powerful the power of technology is.

After the popularity of television in the United States, a generation of "TV kids" was born. However, TV programs are only produced by a few people, and there are always times when the audience does not like to watch them.

The mobile Internet is different. The emergence of massive personal media ensures that the content output can burst anyone's brain.

And no one would have thought that short videos of 15 or 30 seconds would eventually become mainstream.

So something even more terrifying than the "information cocoon" happened, that is, "brain rot" - the negative mental impact caused by excessive browsing of low-quality content on the Internet.

As an "educator" in his previous life, Zhang Chao had seen too many "brain-rotten" children - they had distracted attention, decreased thinking ability, emotional numbness, weakened deep thinking ability, and difficulty processing complex information.

So when he knew that the editor of "Youth" magazine was still willing to think deeply about the direction of a novel, he was very pleased.

So he decided to give everyone a "surprise".

The Youth Magazine did not have to wait too long. The follow-up to The Man in the Shell was soon sent to Ma Boyong’s mailbox, and he printed it out and distributed it.

[“I’ll take it.” The moment Luo Zhi raised his hand, it was as if two voices were arguing in his ears: one voice was calm and rational, telling him that this was a great opportunity for a promotion and a pay raise; the other voice was vague and seemed to be accusing something.

A hint of imperceptible satisfaction flashed across Mr. Lin's eyes, and he nodded quickly: "Very good, I knew I could count on you. The project will start tomorrow, and you can select the team members."

After Luo Zhi sat down, he felt a strange sense of relief. The decision had been made and the doubts were gone. He turned on his phone and saw a push from "Workplace Pioneer": "Being good at taking responsibility is the first step to success in the workplace." This content stayed in front of his eyes for a few seconds, and then he crossed it out.

After the meeting, Luo Zhi stood in front of the French window of the company building, looking at the flow of people downstairs. He remembered a science fiction movie he had watched when he was a child, in which the protagonist had the ability to see the data floating above everyone's head - hobbies, consumption tendencies, psychological states - everything was quantified into simple numbers and labels. At the time, he thought it was a distant fantasy, but now he realizes that he is turning this fantasy into reality.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from Liu Ying: "Are you free tonight? I want to discuss the wedding house with you."

Wedding house? They have only been dating for less than two months. Luo Zhi frowned, feeling a sense of disharmony. He remembered an article he read last night, "High-efficiency Dating: Four Months to Decide on a Lifetime Love", which said "People over 30 should determine whether they are suitable for marriage within three months of dating." But at this moment, this view seemed so absurd in his mind.

Luo Zhi hesitated for a moment and replied, "I'm working overtime tonight, let's do it another day."

After sending the message, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he had escaped a disaster. Strangely, he didn't want to go home, let alone see Liu Ying. On the contrary, there was an idea that kept lingering in his mind - he wanted to go see what Zhou Yingying was doing.

Seeing this, many people laughed happily, while others frowned.

The happy people were talking about it: "Luo Zhi has finally awakened. He accepted the mission to destroy the fortress from the inside.

I said, choosing the first option does not mean that 'Luo Zhi' will return to chaos and continue to be an accomplice of the algorithm. "

The one with the frown on his face thought more deeply: "Is Zhang Chao really going to give everyone a 'happy ending'? He can't be so superficial, right?"

However, this time everyone was tactful enough not to argue, but continued to watch in silence - after all, deciding the winner by drinking ability was something that should only happen once.

Soon everyone realized something was wrong——

In the office, Luo Zhi led his team to start the first day of the "All-Seeing Eye" project. The whiteboard was filled with ideas and plans, and the air was filled with coffee and tension.

"We need to build a multidimensional matrix," Luo Zhi said as he drew on the whiteboard, "not only including the user's personal interest model, but also social relationships, geographic locations, time patterns--"

"In this way, we can accurately identify the user's next needs?" asked team member Li Ming.

"No," Luo Zhi paused, "Not only the next step, but every step thereafter. We must not only meet user needs, but also shape user needs."

As soon as he said this, he was stunned. This sounded like something Mr. Lin would say, not like his own thoughts. But this is indeed the ultimate goal of the algorithm, isn't it?
Luo Zhi's speech speed is getting faster and faster——

“Take recommending friends as an example. The key to increasing the time a user spends on another user’s interface is to create the illusion of a chance encounter…”

“Make them believe that every push is destiny…”

“When users experience cognitive dissonance, we should increase the intensity of similar information delivery…”

"Repair the cognitive rift with a tenfold dose of consistent information..."

……

Luo Zhi's plan for the "Omniscient Eye" was soon transformed into lines of code flowing across the screens of more than a dozen programmers...】

"This, 'Luo Zhi' still decided to 'aid the evil'?" Someone couldn't accept it and shouted in disbelief.

Now the "smiling party" and the "frowning party" switched sides. Those who had just frowned now relaxed their expressions, thinking that Zhang Chao had written what they wanted.

"Luo Zhi" has not really awakened, he is still in a chaotic state of good and evil.

But as everyone watched, they felt something was wrong.

[“Tomorrow is the weekend. Do you want to go to the movies together?” Liu Ying asked on the other end of the phone, her voice gentle and restrained.

Luo Zhi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling: "I may have to work overtime."

"Working overtime again?" Liu Ying's voice was filled with a hint of disappointment. "I haven't seen you for two weeks."

"Yeah, the project is tight." After hanging up the phone, Luo Zhi got out of bed and walked to the door. Through the peephole, he could see light coming through the crack under the door of Zhou Yingying's apartment. From time to time, a figure would cover the light and then walk away - Zhou Yingying was fiddling with something.

He left the door, lay back on the bed, turned on his phone, and typed in the search box: "How to end a relationship politely."

But his finger never pressed down.

After a while, Luo Zhi deleted the search content and changed it to: "How to know who you really like." 】

"What happened to Luo Zhi? Wasn't he clearly weaving the 'All-Seeing Eye' algorithm? Why is he thinking about breaking up with Liu Ying again?"

"Has he decided to pursue Zhou Yingying?"

"Work is work, life is life, right!"

"What a dog!"

As expected, "Luo Zhi" took the initiative to make an appointment with Zhou Yingying, but was taken to a village market in the city by Zhou Yingying.

[…The market was just as Luo Zhi had expected—noisy, crowded, and chaotic. All kinds of handicrafts, food, antiques, and gadgets filled the narrow streets. Zhou Yingying jumped from one stall to another like a child, looking at and touching everything, with excitement glittering in her eyes.

"Luo Zhi! Come and look at this!" She called to him, holding a strange little statue in her hand. "Does it look like you?"

Luo Zhi took a closer look and saw that it was a wooden sculpture of a little man wearing glasses and with a serious expression. It was indeed somewhat similar. He couldn't help but laugh: "A bit like."

"I want to buy it!" Zhou Yingying said, having already taken out her wallet.

"Wait," Luo Zhi stopped her, "I'll buy it."

Zhou Yingying blinked: "Are you sure? It has no practical value."

"I'm sure." Luo Zhi said, wondering why he would want to buy such a useless little thing.

After a morning of shopping, the two stopped at a food stall and shared a plate of street food. Luo Zhi found that he actually enjoyed this simple time - no preset plan, no rules to follow, just following Zhou Yingying's footsteps, seeing what she was interested in, and listening to her stories behind each item.

"Have you really been to XZ?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes, the year I graduated from college." Zhou Yingying's eyes lit up. "The sky there was unreal blue, and the air was so thin that it made me dizzy, but I felt like my whole body was purified."

"Purification?"

"It's just... I feel like all the distracting thoughts have been blown away, leaving only the purest self." She paused, "Have you ever felt that we live in a bombardment of information every day, surrounded by all kinds of voices, but we can't hear our own voices?"

Luo Zhi was silent. This question was too direct, and it touched upon the deepest doubts in his heart.

“Sometimes,” he said slowly, “I’m not even sure which one is the real me.”

Zhou Yingying looked at him and said seriously: "I think the real me is the one who exists beyond all labels, all expectations, all shoulds and shouldn'ts."

...]

After the date, Luo Zhi returned to the company and started his work as the project leader of the "All-Seeing Eye" project.

[“How’s the progress?” Mr. Lin asked, standing in front of Luo Zhi’s desk.

"The algorithm framework has been built, and data training is now underway." Luo Zhi pointed to the code on the screen, "We have added a new dimension - emotional relevance. Not only do we track user behaviors and preferences, but we also try to understand the emotional motivations behind these behaviors."

Mr. Lin smiled with satisfaction: "Great, this is exactly what we need. Users are not just data points, they are individuals with emotions. Only by understanding and manipulating these emotions can we truly 'become a part of their lives'."

Manipulate emotions. This word made Luo Zhi dazed. He remembered what Zhou Yingying had said to him, about finding his "real self". But he quickly came to his senses and continued to focus on his work.

When he got home that night, Luo Zhi found a small package at the door with a handwritten note on it: "To my computer engineer neighbor, I hope this can help you regain some of your childishness. - Zhou Yingying"

Inside the package was a small wind chime with the wooden figurine they bought at the market, as well as a few shells and colored stones. Luo Zhi hung it in front of the window, and it jingled in the breeze.

He turned on the computer and continued to write the code for the "All-Seeing Eye". The numbers on the screen flowed like water, forming one ingenious algorithm trap after another. At this moment, the wind chimes by the window swayed gently, as if silently asking something.

...]

In the subsequent content of the novel, "Luo Zhi"'s life split into two parallel lines - during the day, he led the team to continuously improve the "All-Seeing Eye"; at night and weekends, he tried hard to break free from the constraints of the algorithm, broke up with Liu Ying, and began to pursue "Zhou Yingying".

He began to deliberately click on content that was contrary to his interests, used multiple accounts to cross-contaminate algorithm recommendations, and even wrote small programs to randomly browse various types of content, disrupting the platform's construction of his portrait.

What surprised him most was the understanding and enthusiasm that "Zhou Yingying" showed for these "rebellions" - not only did she fully support them, she also often came up with innovative ideas, and even suggested that the two of them could exchange mobile phones for a day.

Unexpectedly, "Luo Zhi" agreed to this dangerous and tempting proposal.

In this way, they started a small "resistance movement." Strangely, this deliberate chaos did not make Luo Zhi anxious, but gave him a strange sense of freedom - he was no longer the perfectly calculated and accurately predicted data point, but a real human being full of contradictions and variables.

One night, Luo Zhi was lying in bed when he suddenly realized a problem: his work during the day and his "resistance" at night formed a sharp contrast - during the day, he carefully designed a net to capture others; at night, he tried his best to break free from the same net. This split made him feel a deep contradiction, but also a strange harmony.

Perhaps, this is the fate of modern people - to be both the weaver of the web and the struggler in the web.

In the office of Youth, the editors watched the development of the story in silence. For a moment, they did not understand what they had been arguing about.

"This actually hides a deeper horror—" Shuang Xuetao came to the editorial office again after a busy day's work and began to express his own views:

"Many 'demons' who committed numerous crimes in human history were actually normal people in terms of personal emotions and family life. For example, Hitler was a role model in some ways in terms of his personal life.

Even those small people who helped the evildoers to commit atrocities could hardly realize what they were doing. Most of the guards in the concentration camps did not think that they were killing people, but just completing a job - in non-work environments, they would not dare to kill people at all.

So the "Luo Zhi" in the novel is actually trapped in this state - writing algorithms and manipulating the lives and emotions of millions of people is just an ordinary job for him, and he does not need to put his own sense of morality into it.

Outside of work, his humanity is awakening - he wants to break free from the control of the algorithm, even if the algorithm was written by him; he wants to taste the sweetness of love, even if this love breaks into his life by accident.

Zhang Chao's "The Man in the Shell" has surpassed Chekhov's original novel. "

Shuang Xuetao's analysis is like a sharp scalpel, accurately cutting into the key points of Zhang Chao's novel and exposing its texture and flesh to the editors.

Only then did everyone realize that what Zhang Chao wanted to write about was neither the "extinction of nature" nor the "awakening of freedom", but a kind of moral chaos and a blind spot in human nature.

"Luo Zhi" is certainly not an executioner, but he reflects the darkest part of the human soul.

No one objected to Shuang Xuetao's interpretation.

Of course, he came here not just to express his thoughts after reading the book, but to participate in the vote. After describing many sections of "Luo Zhi" wandering between work and life, the novel finally gave a new choice:

After spending a long time together, "Luo Zhi" confessed his love to "Zhou Yingying". He hoped that "Zhou Yingying" could officially become his girlfriend, or even his future wife.

This was the first time that Zhang Chao chose someone other than "Luo Zhi" -

[Option 1] Zhou Yingying rejected Luo Zhi and continued to maintain a close yet distant "good neighbor" relationship with him.

[Option 2] Zhou Yingying agreed to Luo Zhi and officially became his girlfriend.

There was not much controversy about this option, and consensus was reached almost immediately.

……

Zhang Chao looked at the content displayed on the mobile phone screen - "We all choose two" - and a cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

(End of this chapter)