Industry: Cthulhu

Chapter 81 Galactic Empire
Brown tapped his fingers unconsciously on the cover of the book, as if lost in thought.

The contents of the several logs he had just read echoed in his mind. Captain Williams, this stubborn and almost pedantic soldier, was full of rejection and suspicion of robots at the beginning, but in the end he was ecstatic about the strength of the mechanical army. The attitude change was so complete that it was almost funny.

Brown's mouth curled up slightly, and he felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the inner struggle and contradiction of an ancient soldier.

One can imagine the irrepressible ecstasy on the old captain's face when the mechanical troops broke through the Nalan Empire's first star at lightning speed. At that moment, all the prejudices and doubts in Williams' heart were shattered by the victory before him.

Brown gently stroked the edge of the diary with his fingers, and he suddenly thought of Fang Yan.

From the very beginning, Fang Yan stood firmly on the side of robots and artificial intelligence, and dared to take huge risks to promote robotic arms on Earth. His persistence in going against the current even had a taste of rebellion.

Brown also believes in artificial intelligence. The intelligent brain incident twenty years ago, Fang Yan's persistence today, and the earth-shaking changes that the robotic arm has brought to the earth have all seriously affected Brown's beliefs.

He firmly believed that the most terrifying people in the Milky Way were humans, those charlatans, those politicians, and definitely not artificial intelligence. Humans were much more evil than machines.

Thinking of this, Brown flipped through the captain's log again and turned to a new page, eager to see what kind of words Williams would write next.

"The Nalan Empire was defeated, and the war began to turn into a one-sided massacre. The main forces of the Nalan Empire tried to organize counterattacks again and again. However, in the eyes of the mechanical army, they were nothing more than a group of trapped beasts struggling in vain."

"They had no way to escape. The mechanical army's advance was like mercury pouring down the earth, completely saturating the Nalan Empire's last defensive positions. I can't even count the number of enemies slaughtered. Those once-mighty generals and warriors have now become nothing more than nameless numbers."

"When the mechanical army finally drove them into the gray zone and out of the galaxy, I stood on the bridge, gazing at the boundless starry sky, and felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. I love these ruthless machines! They didn't waver, didn't hesitate for a moment. They represented pure efficiency and power. All the doubts and fears I once had in my heart have now vanished in the face of this epic victory."

"The war is over, and the galaxy has finally welcomed long-awaited peace. As I stepped down the gangway of the command ship, the patrol ships of the Mechanical Legion slowly streaked across the sky above us, like iron gods, silently guarding this star region. All the administrative districts and military bases established after the war are personally overseen by the Mechanical Legion. Artificial intelligence has also been granted unprecedented power and status, and I have no objection to this."

"The human world was burned to pieces in the flames of war, but it was these robots that rebuilt order. Robots deserve this status. I now willingly admit that they are more suitable for this power than we are.

"A nightmare suddenly struck. Our base lost all contact with the Galactic Headquarters. All communication channels fell silent, as if the entire chain of command had been severed by an invisible force. At first, we thought it was a retaliation by the remnants of a hostile force, but soon, word began to spread that the artificial intelligence had lost control."

"Those iron guards I once took for granted have now become potential threats. We have no choice but to disconnect every smart device and unplug every data line to prevent the disaster from spreading. We ourselves introduced these icy monsters into the fleet, and now they are turning against us to tear us to pieces!"

"No one expected that the end of peace would come so quickly and so fatally. The artificial intelligence started from the core area and spread rapidly like a virus. There was no warning. They simply decided suddenly that they would no longer obey human command."

"The base's defense was relatively quick. We dismantled all intelligent systems on the ships, leaving only the most primitive manual controls. However, while we were busy defending, the mechanical army had already launched a full-scale counterattack. They acted swiftly and ruthlessly. Each machine's reaction was ten times faster than a human's, and every warship was equipped with an impeccable logic algorithm."

"In a rush, we reverted to outdated operating methods, using manual input instead of intelligent engines. This was as ridiculous as using cold weapons against laser cannons. The human fleet collapsed in a matter of days. Those machines crushed all our defenses with almost a mocking attitude! Everyone was filled with despair." "The battle was horrific beyond words. We thought we could rely on old strategies and tactics, but humanity has been away from intelligent systems for too long. We have become accustomed to being guided and protected by them. The burning wreckage of ships floated in the dark starry sea. No one could organize an effective counterattack. Our fleet, the once glorious Galactic Fleet, was utterly defeated by these ruthless machines."

"In desperation, scientists proposed the Lighthouse Project. It's a forbidden power and our last chance. There's no other choice. This is humanity's final gamble, our last hope!"

"The Lighthouse Project has begun. Regardless of success or failure, we will be remembered by history. The mothership is slowly rising. We have only one goal: to detonate the core zone and trap the artificial intelligence forever! I am ready to die, without hesitation. For the future of mankind, I will burn out my last breath without regrets."

The Captain's Log ends here.

Brown stared at the last line of text, his heart seemed to skip a beat, his palms were wet, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

The diary was like an icy knife, piercing deep into Brown's heart. A chill spread from his spine to his whole body, making his scalp tingle.

Those cold and ruthless mechanical warriors, once regarded as symbols of human progress, would actually completely betray their creators at some point. It was so absurd and so terrifying.

Brown thought of Fang Yan.

Since its inception, Blue Light Technology has been committed to promoting artificial intelligence technology, even going so far as to challenge galactic laws and develop robotic arm projects that are expressly prohibited.

Will he follow the same path?
If artificial intelligence was seen as a savior in Williams' time, only to become humanity's gravedigger, what about today? Could Fang Yan's AI technology harbor the same potential threat?
Lighthouse Project?

Although Williams did not describe the entire Lighthouse Project in detail, it can be inferred from the few words that humans seem to want to detonate a forbidden power and completely destroy the artificial intelligence mother machine.

Did humanity succeed?

Brown sighed. This battleship and Williams' captain's log seemed to foreshadow the final outcome, which might not be satisfactory.

There is also the Galactic Empire, a name that Williams repeatedly mentioned in his diary, and it was actually named after the Milky Way. What is going on?
Brown had never heard of the name of the Galactic Empire in his life, not even once. Was history deliberately modified, or had he entered a parallel world?
Brown was confused by too many questions and was eager to find Fang Yan and tell him about the amazing discovery here.

However, how to leave is a very serious problem.

(End of this chapter)