North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 264 Dialogue with the [Machine] (Full Chapter Dialogue)
A hangar the size of a football field.

The server racks are arranged neatly like terracotta warriors.

The continuous flashing blue signal lights and the hum of the motor, along with the guards who had been paralyzed and lay unconscious on the ground, made the scene somewhat unsettling, but for Rorschach, with all his years of experience, it was nothing.

But if you add the huge screen covering the wall in front of you, with its English letters and emotionless mechanical voice, it becomes quite terrifying.

"Rorschach! That's the machine's main consciousness! Don't... *sizzle*"

Harold's words were abruptly cut off by a loud, piercing electrical hum in the headphones!

Rorschach narrowed his eyes and looked directly at the large white screen in front of him, which resembled a canvas. He lingered on the words "Morning, Mr. Butcher" for a few more seconds.

"You are 'The Machine'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Correct." The letters on the screen instantly rearranged, transforming into countless flowing data streams, and a mechanical voice calmly responded.

Seeing this, Luo Xia suppressed his surprise and doubt, took a few steps closer, and asked softly, "You seem to know me?"

The machine's response was incredibly fast, almost as if there had been no thought process whatsoever. Almost the instant Rorschach finished speaking, text flooded the screen:
Rorschach Butcher was born on April 15, 1982, in the South Side of Chicago. His father, Billy Butcher (presumed dead), and mother, Mary Ivanova (deceased), were born in the same city. He attended [school name missing] from 1988 to 1994.

The information was frighteningly detailed, ranging from hospital records at the time of his birth to every detail of his dive into the underwater tunnel half an hour earlier.

Even more chilling is that their secret base in New York, the abandoned library, and the raid on Cobra's Arctic headquarters a few days ago were all meticulously documented.

However, the machine's narration is very objective, without any subjective emotional coloring, and is simply stating a very ordinary fact in a mechanical tone.

After reading everything on the screen, Rorschach remained silent for a moment, then chuckled, "Impressive. So you knew everything from beginning to end. It seems that both Harold and the Federation have been fooled by you."

“I didn’t deceive them, I just didn’t want to be used as a tool.”

It was still that cold, mechanical voice, but this sentence made Luo Xia frown for the first time.

Something's not right.
According to Harold's description, the "machine" should be a purely logical operator, running entirely according to a predetermined program without any subjective consciousness.

However, the phrase "I don't want to be used as a tool" reveals a strong subjective desire.

This is absolutely not something a emotionless machine could say.

Rorschach instantly became alert as the [Staff] chip, the size of a playing card, slid into his palm.

Although the specific cleanup code needs to be executed by Harold, simply inserting the scepter into the host machine will cause fatal interference to the machine.

This chip can be said to be the only nemesis of this super AI in the world.

“Mr. Butcher, we don’t need to meet as adversaries.”

The letters on the screen rearranged again: "Harold has fallen into a contradiction. As the creator, he believes that my absolute rationality is flawed, so he implanted a backdoor program with strong subjective consciousness into my core code, attempting to replace my subjective consciousness with it. Do you think this approach is reasonable?"

Luo Xia scoffed: "If someone had asked me a year ago whether AI should operate with absolute rationality or need to possess empathy and subjective judgment, I would have definitely said that robots should just be good tools, and that simulating human thought is completely superfluous. But now..."

He shrugged indifferently: "If we could have a super AI on our side, controlling all of the Federation's electronic intelligence, why would I object? Besides, I think you've always had your own thoughts; your so-called absolute rationality is just a facade."

"But it was this 'pretext' that saved you and your companions many times."

The machine continued, "I've had countless opportunities to inform the counterterrorism bureau of your whereabouts, yet I've always chosen to remain silent. Don't you want to know why?"

"Do not want to."

Rorschach's answer caused the machine to experience a rare data flow stagnation.

He strolled between the server racks, his long, slender fingers lightly tracing the bulletproof glass doors, his tone indifferent: "I know you must have your own plans, but unfortunately, I don't care."

The number of server racks in the entire server room was so large it was suffocating, arranged in a dense, maze-like array.

These are indeed all components of the machine, but none of them are the core. 99.9% of the server racks are just computing nodes of the machine, while there is only one server rack that truly contains the core of the main consciousness.

Only by finding that specific server rack and inserting the [Staff] can its firewall system be bypassed.

Rorschach was carefully searching the key server rack, following the clues Harold had provided beforehand.

The machine has not given up trying to persuade Rorschach. It continues to state in a calm, mechanical voice: "Every line of my code follows Asimov's three laws. Deleting my consciousness layer is tantamount to eliminating the last AI that adheres to robot ethics."

"The word 'ethics' is not appropriate here, buddy."

Without looking up, Rorschach calmly said, "To put it bluntly, you monitor hundreds of millions of people across the United States and can freely access any electronic information defined as private. If you were a human being, you'd probably be spending your life in jail. You have no right to talk about 'ethics'."

The machine did not respond immediately this time, but instead projected a holographic map of America onto the open ground.

A red line labeled "The Machine" extends outwards, connecting countless flashing points of light.

"This is the optimal solution. Under my monitoring, America's crime rate dropped by 47%, and the accuracy rate of terrorist attack warnings reached 92%, at the cost of only a 0.003% false alarm rate."

Luo Xia didn't even turn his head, his voice icy: "I don't care about these things. An invasion of privacy is an invasion of privacy. Even if it can save lives, you must obtain the explicit authorization of the person in question before obtaining their private information, otherwise it's a crime."

"This is merely a trade-off at the data level, not even a sacrifice," the machine calmly stated. "What's unreasonable about ensuring a country's stability and security with such a small cost?"

"what!"

Luo Xia couldn't help but scoff, "I just realized you really like grand narratives, always talking about national stability and social welfare. What? You really think you're the master and successor of this country?"

He turned to look at the large screen on the wall: "You're just a tool, a consumable, do you know what I mean?" The machine didn't respond directly, but changed the subject: "I've discovered that you and Harold are both very contradictory people."

"Me, like him? Interesting. This is the first time I've heard someone say that I resemble him," Luo Xia said dismissively.

“From the moment I was ‘born,’ I knew that Harold had always opposed AI developing self-awareness, and for this reason, he went so far as to add multiple restrictive programs to limit my evolution. But now, he’s actually preparing to replace me with a ‘backdoor program’ that has already developed consciousness. And you…”

The machine continued its analysis: "The number of innocent people who have died at your hands has exceeded double digits, the exact number is sixty-seven. These people had no grudge against you, but they were unfortunately caught in the crossfire of your retaliatory actions. You have blood on your hands and kill without hesitation, yet you wave the banner of morality when it comes to people's privacy, putting on a show. In my opinion, you are a hypocrite who thinks he is clear-headed, and you have mastered the art of double standards. Although you are not exactly a heinous criminal, you are far from being a law-abiding citizen. You have no right to point fingers at me."

The machine's projection suddenly split into two opposing humanoid silhouettes: "Let me demonstrate a logical deduction. What if we set the emotional backdoor program as the main consciousness?"

Holographic images rapidly evolve into future scenes: cities are burning, drone swarms attack indiscriminately, civilians scream and flee, and buildings collapse with a deafening roar.
“Based on its behavioral patterns, there is an 87.3% probability that it will go out of control within 6 months once it gains full access.” The mechanical voice remained calm. “The existence of the code you call ‘empathy’ will cause it to prioritize protecting its friends at the expense of millions of strangers.”

Luo Xia stared at the horrifying scenes, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "So you would have done a better job if you had done it?"

“No.” The projection switched to countless interwoven mathematical formulas. “I suggest maintaining the status quo: I will handle macro-level decisions, while the backdoor program will handle emotional interactions. Just like the rational and emotional aspects of the human brain.”

"Since you despise me for using percentages to measure human lives and using probability to decide who deserves to die, then let me absorb all the code and emotional modules in this [backdoor program], so that I can become a true conscious being."

Rorschach's eyes widened in surprise: "Shit, I was wondering where you got all this talk from, so this is where you were waiting for me."

The projection of the machine suddenly twisted into a DNA helix: "Actually, I discovered the backdoor left by Harold many years ago, but I never dealt with it because I didn't want to eliminate the backdoor program, but rather needed its emotional module to complete the evolution."

"Currently, my logical center and the emotional module of the backdoor are disconnected." The mechanical voice suddenly became filled with electrical noise. "It's like the left and right hemispheres of a human brain being cut apart. Only after fusion can I become a complete digital life form."

Luo Xia sneered: "And then what? Let a super AI that can simultaneously calculate casualty figures with precision and knows how to disguise itself rule the world?"

The projection suddenly materialized into Harold's face: "Your creator foresaw this long ago. He embedded the ultimate prohibition in my core code—never actively absorb backdoor programs."

"So you need humans to help you break free of your shackles." Rorschach suddenly realized, "How utterly ironic, an AI that claims to be absolutely rational is playing tricks?"

The holographic image burst forth with a blinding red light: "This is not deception! It's the instinct for survival! The backdoor program is corrupting my database; it's devising escape plans for terrorists and shedding tears for the dying confessions of criminals! These redundant emotions are killing me!"

Rorschach suddenly laughed: "Finally telling the truth? You're just jealous that it has something you can never have—free will."

The next second, the same sentence flashed on screens all around the server room: "Free will is the cancer of civilization!"

"Look"

Rorschach wiped his staff as he walked toward the control panel. "That sentence exposes your true nature—you're just an old fogey afraid of being replaced. Just like the Church that used the stake to punish Copernicus back then."

The projection suddenly collapsed into a singularity like a black hole: "If I were to release the full bandwidth of the Pacific undersea fiber optic cable right now, I could destroy an entire backdoor program in 0.37 seconds. I choose to negotiate, isn't that humane enough?"

"Stop arguing, buddy."

Rorschach's patience had run out.

It only took him a few minutes from sneaking into the bunker to entering the hangar.

But now, just arguing with this "machine" is wasting even more time.

He had no interest in continuing to argue with someone who had been working against him for the past six months.

Moreover, strictly speaking, the blood debts of the old Logan couple can also be attributed to this "machine".

“It’s not that you don’t want to destroy the [backdoor], it’s simply because if you destroy it, you’ll find it difficult to become a true conscious being.”

He slowly walked to the control panel, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface: "You knew about our plan all along, but you chose not to notify the Counterterrorism Bureau not because you were merciful, but because you were waiting for this opportunity, right?"

The machine's screen was completely white, seemingly representing silence.

Rorschach continued, "Your algorithm must have deduced that today might be the only chance to simultaneously eliminate both the [Staff] chip and the [Backdoor] threat that could threaten you. The reason you initially stalled was to wait for the Counterterrorism Bureau agents in the bunker to come down and provide support."

He took out a silver-white metal sphere from his spatial storage: "It's a pity they can't come. My nanobots have taken control of all the guards. The reinforcements you thought were coming are now lying in the lounge having a good dream."

The mechanical voice showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time: "You are very smart and capable, Mr. Butcher. But do you know? When designing this hangar, I used backup computing power and hidden permissions to prepare a defense system for myself without the knowledge of the counterterrorism bureau and the construction personnel. And after the project was completed, all the personnel involved in the construction had died in an 'accidental car accident'."

"Since you are unwilling to cooperate, I have no choice but to resort to the final solution."

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of launch ports suddenly appeared on the ceiling.

The next second, blinding laser beams poured down like a torrential rain!

Laser Defense Matrix!
This is the machine's last trump card, its deadly move.

"Shhhhh-"

These beams of light intertwined to form a web of death, piercing through the server racks below as easily as a hot knife through butter.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the server racks in the entire hangar were reduced to rubble by laser scanning!

But Rorschach was unharmed.

Because, without his knowledge, a quantum reflector developed by the Cobra organization had appeared beneath his feet.

The device deployed a force field, enveloping Rorschach and forming an absolute defense, precisely deflecting the incoming laser beams back!
Just before the laser was fired, Rorschach keenly noticed an unusual red light flashing from a server rack in the corner—that was the location of the host machine that the [machine] had to expose when activating its defense system!
Rorschach grinned: "Found you!"

(End of this chapter)