The night before the promotion

Chapter 102 Prologue Reconciliation and Compromise

"July 2038, 1..."

Zhou Si sat in front of the computer, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard, recording today's experiment date and related experimental data.

It has been some time since he joined the Ascension Project as a qualified person. The fearful and unfamiliar attitude of a newcomer at the beginning has now turned into a sophisticated one, and he seems to be able to handle all the work with ease.

"Regarding the specific response to the elevation of animal consciousness..."

Zhou Si wearily glanced at the paper experimental data on the desk. He had been working on this experiment for a long time and had been staying in the laboratory for several days and nights. He was completely exhausted.

Fortunately, Zhou Si’s efforts were not in vain. His team made substantial progress and obtained a lot of valid data, which will be of great help to the subsequent upgrading of human consciousness.

"After hundreds of experiments, we have successfully upgraded the consciousness of a group of animals. We have conducted different thinking tests based on different species...

Animals themselves do not possess the advanced intelligence of humans. Even after their consciousness has been upgraded, their upgraded consciousness is still stupid, and they have not developed advanced intelligence due to the changes in the upgrade. At the same time, although they have a certain learning ability, their learning ability is extremely limited, just like when they were "animals."

Zhou Si stopped, thinking, and organizing his words in his mind.

"Unlike the human ascended consciousness as envisioned, the animal's ascended consciousness cannot be effectively developed and grown in the cocoon system."

"The animal's consciousness of upgrading does not conform to the three principles of metamorphosis. Even if the animal has completed the upgrade, its consciousness of upgrading needs to exist in the cocoon system for a long time for effective protection."

Zhou Si picked up the experimental report and confirmed it again, then typed, "It can be regarded as a kind of weak artificial intelligence."

After working hard for a while, Zhou Si admired the report he wrote, looking quite pleased with himself.

After printing out the report and simply binding it, Zhou Si stood up and left his workstation, walked through the twists and turns, and came to an office.

After looking at the three words "Chen Wen Ge" written on the doorplate, Zhou Si took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and knocked on the door. After waiting for a few seconds, a greeting came from inside the door.

Zhou Si carefully pushed open the door and walked into the office.

The office was in a messy layout, with cabinets filled with files packed full and all kinds of paper documents piled up like mountains, filling up every corner like garbage.

Zhou Si knew his quirk. Although he was a great pioneer of modern technology, he was not that fond of technology. He preferred to read printed paper rather than densely packed text on a high-definition screen.

"Electronic reading is too illusory... I mean, its physical sense is too thin. Such a small thing can hold the whole world's library."

Chen Wen Ge once answered himself like this. As a big shot who was high up in the world, he was not so distant and aloof. On the contrary, he liked to discuss some ideas about life with Zhou Si.

“It’s hard for me to explain what this feeling is, but I am sure that I prefer reading on paper because I can touch and see it.

Everything is real, not some untouchable fantasy."

At Chen Wen-Ge's request, all data files needed to be printed out and then handed over to him for review. Others found this troublesome and had to shred the files afterwards.

In today's era, physical books have become increasingly scarce. Rather than serving as a medium for "reading", they now function more as a collectible or decoration to embellish the knowledge of their owners.

Zhou Si could understand Chen Wen Ge a little bit.

Maybe Zhou Si didn't understand Chen Wen Ge, but out of a sense of admiration for the great man, Zhou Si couldn't help but believe every word of Chen Wen Ge.

"Teacher, this is the lab report."

Few people know that Zhou Si privately calls Chen Wen Ge "teacher".

"Oh?"

Chen Wen Ge, who was buried in documents behind his desk, raised his head. His face was full of wrinkles, he wore a pair of thick glasses on his nose, and his hair was gray, making him look like an old man who was about to die.

In fact, this is the case with Chen Wen Ge.

He has to take a large amount of medication every day, and when necessary, he will be connected to an extracorporeal circulation system to give his aging organs a break. At the same time, he carries a health detector that converts various body indicators into real-time data. Once Chen Wen Ge shows any signs of health crisis, a medical team will quickly arrive at the scene to rescue him.

When he first learned about this, Zhou Si was very envious of Chen Wen Ge. He sighed and said, so this is the daily life of big shots, safe and healthy. Even if Chen Wen Ge wanted to die, it would be a very difficult thing to do under the supervision of the medical team.

Zhou Si also heard that Shenwei Technology was preparing a longevity plan that could really extend lifespan...

Just when Zhou Si was extremely envious, Chen Wen Ge said these words to him.

"If you can't even decide your own life and death, what's the difference between you and a slave?"

Zhou Si didn’t understand what Chen Wen Ge said at that time. He didn’t understand, what was wrong with being alive?
"Hmm... it's well organized."

Chen Wen Ge's voice woke Zhou Si up from his messy memories. He immediately stood up straight, like a student waiting for his teacher to correct his homework.

"This series of animal experiments can be stopped. If it is just the potential of weak artificial intelligence, it has no other use except to verify the correctness of my three principles of metamorphosis."

Chen Wen Ge put down the report. He probably wanted to say something else, but as if he suddenly had a headache, he closed his eyes tightly and pressed his temples hard with his thumbs.

This action could not relieve Chen Wen Ge's pain, but it was like a habit, as if as long as he did this, he could comfort himself on a psychological level.

"Teacher, do you feel uncomfortable?" Zhou Si asked with concern, "Do you need me to call..."

"No, I'm just a little upset."

Chen Wen Ge thought for a moment, then looked at Zhou Si with clear eyes behind his thick glasses and invited him, "Sit down for a while."

Zhou Si nodded and sat obediently on the sofa beside him.

He has a very close relationship with Chen Wen Ge. In addition to the superior-subordinate and teacher-student relationship at work, Chen Wen Ge sometimes treats Zhou Si as an equal communication partner and chats with him about some strange ideas.

In Chen Wen Ge's words, he is an old man forgotten by the god of death. He has only a few friends left, and even fewer people to talk to.

Zhou Si could also sense that Chen Wen Ge just wanted to chat with someone so that he wouldn't feel so lonely. That person didn't have to be Zhou Si. It could be Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.

But Zhou Si was fortunate to be here at the right moment, listening to Chen Wen Ge's story, a story that could not be read in interviews or autobiography.

"That bastard Zuo Zhi is here to put pressure on the board again."

Chen Wen Ge took off his glasses, wiped them vigorously with his sleeve, and complained, "The board of directors hopes that we can officially launch the feathering technology as soon as possible to make a profit... They have invested too much money in this project, but there is still no return."

Zhou Si responded, "Boring businessmen."

"call……"

Chen Wen Ge let out a long sigh, and then slumped in his chair like a deflated ball, not moving at all, with only his chest rising and falling faintly.

"Zuo Zhi thinks I'm a little too obsessed with ideals and should be more realistic... I mean, he doesn't understand me at all."

Chen Wen Ge muttered to himself, "What do you think I want to do by doing all this? Zhou Si."

Zhou Si asked tentatively, "To lead the progress of the times?"

"Probably." Chen Wen Ge laughed. "Sometimes, I don't understand what I am doing. I have enough wealth and status, and my name will be remembered in history. My life is already perfect. Except for death, I have experienced everything I should have experienced."

"Logically, I should be retired and enjoying my old age, instead of sitting at my desk like a dried corpse, torturing myself by running around all day..."

Chen Wen Ge said a lot in one breath, as if he was having trouble breathing. He paused, and after calming down for a moment, he continued.

"Leading the progress of the times? Leaving a name in history? Trying to extend life? Well, well, similar thoughts have lingered in my mind, but they all left in the end."

Chen Wen Ge narrowed his eyes, leaving only a black slit.

"Only one thing remained."

Zhou Si listened patiently. For some reason, looking at the elderly Chen Wen Ge, for a moment, Zhou Si felt that he was facing himself... his future self.

Chen Wen Ge changed the subject and asked Zhou Si, "Let's talk about your thoughts on this first. Zhou Si, do you think you will still be alive in a hundred years?"

"I?"

Zhou Si thought about it for a while. Maybe it was because death was very far away from him, so Zhou Si talked about it with particular ease.

"He should be dead, unless he makes a lot of money and gets all kinds of life-extending services..."

He looked at Chen Wen Ge and sighed softly, "But even if he is still alive, he is probably in a miserable state."

"Hahaha, that's right. After all, everyone will die eventually," Chen Wen Ge continued to ask, "Do you think you can leave something behind after you die?"

"wealth?"

“Wealth is just a number in circulation. It has no meaning and cannot represent your existence.”

"My offspring? If I have any."

"Generally speaking, family memories only last for three generations, just like do you know the story of your great-grandfather? I'm afraid you don't even know his name."

Zhou Si fell silent. Even if he racked his brains, he could not give a definite answer to the question of a future without him a hundred years later.

He looked at Chen Wen Ge in confusion, while Chen Wen Ge looked as if his conspiracy had succeeded.

"In the end, people will die, the sun will go out, and the universe will return to silence. At that time, there will be nothing left but a turbid darkness, and all things will become meaningless."

Zhou Si said, "It sounds nihilistic."

"That's true, but we can't just say that everything in this world is meaningless and then jump off the building. That's too ridiculous."

Chen Wen-Ge's words gradually became full of vitality, just like a young person. "So those philosophers, in order to live logically and self-consistently in the void, began to say that the world is meaningless, but people have to give meaning to life."

"Humanity has come this far with such strange ideas."

Chen Wen Ge's thoughts gradually became dispersed, as if he was reciting a long poem or giving a lengthy speech.

"After all, everything I do... everything humans do, is just to fight against the world's forgetfulness."

He said joyfully.

“We created nations, erected buildings, carved words in stone, and multiplied.

But countries will fall apart, buildings will collapse, and the words on stones will be erased by time, not to mention that when our bloodlines reach the age of our grandchildren, they may forget us completely.

But humans naively and romantically fantasize that countries will be rebuilt, buildings will stand again, new words will be carved on stones, and our genes will flow in the blood of our offspring.

It's strange, we no longer exist, leaving nothing behind, but we do exist, a tiny existence, even if no one knows about it."

Chen Wen Ge suddenly asked back, "Don't you think this is romantic, Zhou Si?"

“Absurd, bizarre, and stubborn, it’s as if we were born to fight against nothingness and the passing of time, even if we are doomed to fail in the end.”

Zhou Si thought for a long time, and put his thoughts into Chen Wen Ge's thoughts to feel that kind of paranoia.

"Indeed...silly and romantic."

Chen Wen Ge smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's right. I once had a very painful time, and I saved myself with this idea."

"How should I put it more specifically?"

Chen Wen Ge carefully chose his words and expressed it accurately.

“I made peace with my pain.”

"Yes, it is reconciliation, not compromise," he emphasized again, "Reconciliation and compromise have two completely different meanings."

"I know that these two words have similar meanings, but they present different attitudes," Zhou Si replied. "The former is to accept reality calmly after recognizing it, while the latter is to kneel down under the pressure of reality."

"Yes, that's it, Zhou Si."

Chen Wen Ge was very happy. He liked Zhou Si's ability to understand and he was worthy of being his eldest disciple.

“I made peace with everything and was reborn.”

……

Zhou Si opened his eyes. Usually when he woke up from a deep sleep, he would feel tired and sleepy, but this time, those senses that had troubled Zhou Si disappeared, which made Zhou Si feel nostalgic.

He stepped down from the charging station with steady and firm steps, and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Looking out, the vast industrial park came into view.

Zhou Si stared like this for a long time, until he focused his attention on the reflection in the glass mirror. It was a familiar face, his own face.

After the technicians worked overtime, they successfully imitated a bionic face based on Zhou Si's facial model and attached it to the head of his incarnation body. At first glance, Zhou Si agreed with their craftsmanship and forced himself to endure the disgusting feeling of rejection in his heart.

Zhou Si hated this face, his own face, a stranger's face.

"Zhou Si, where should you go?"

Like an auditory hallucination, Chen Wen Ge's voice came from a distant place, asking Zhou Si with a smile.

"Is it reconciliation or compromise?"

Zhou Si didn’t have time to think about these things, nor was he too lazy to think about them. He put on his white coat and walked out the door.

Even though he was seriously injured and could only rely on his avatar body to move, Zhou Si still refused to stop.

He still has cases to solve and truths to uncover.

(End of this chapter)