The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Although Yu Qing was temporarily unable to meet with Professor Lu, that conversation across time and space was like lighting a faint but ever-burning lamp in his heavy heart.

Knowing that somewhere in this world there exists such a wise and possibly benevolent "observer," he suddenly felt that the loneliness he had felt for a long time had been dispelled.

He was no longer groping in the dark all alone; at least, there was a distant but real echo proving that he was not shouting into the void.

This quietly growing comfort, like a faint warm current, supported him to push forward with even greater determination.

He began to calculate the exact date in his mind, how much longer it would take to go to that "ultimate office" to stop the "Lutai Operation" initiated by his ancestors, a project filled with ominous implications and potentially unpredictable consequences.

There's nothing we can do about it. Going too early means the instructions are still frozen, going too late means it'll be too late…

He had a strong premonition that every moment of delay could mean more uncontrollable variables and potential dangers, not only for him personally, but also for Wengshan, and even for the already precarious situation of all native humans.

At the same time, the hidden and crucial process on his body has entered a deeper and more dangerous stage.

Through the immersion chamber that was closely connected to his vital signs and constantly “extracted” his life characteristics, the most detailed physical parameters of his body structure, gene sequences, and basic neural network maps have been completely extracted and digitized.

Next comes the most crucial and unbearable step in the entire process—the extraction and uploading of consciousness.

This is a far more painful, complex, and risky process than extracting physical parameters. It is not a simple copy, but rather a kind of "stripping" and "migration." This requires hundreds of aunt's avatars to operate an automated system to achieve this.

This will gradually extract, bit by bit, and as completely as possible, all the subjective and objective data that constitute the unique consciousness of "Yu Qing" from the fragile and complex bioelectrochemical network of the carbon-based brain, including his memories, emotions, thought patterns, and subconscious ocean.

It is then transformed into a special material that can be carried and stored in a specific energy field and superconducting computing core, and can be deformed at will. Under normal conditions, it is a digital information flow operating on a human-shaped carrier.

Of course, this humanoid carrier can also change its shape under the control of information flow. To put it simply, it can look whatever it wants. The only constraint is that its size is limited. It cannot shrink or expand more than 2 to the power of 9 of its normal size.

This process is accompanied by indescribable feelings, as if one is undergoing a soul-level dissection while fully conscious.

At times, it feels as if your consciousness is being torn apart inch by inch, with countless fragments of memories and torrents of emotions surging and colliding uncontrollably in the void; at other times, it feels as if you have fallen into a boundless, chaotic dark ocean, losing your anchor points in time and space, and even the concept of "self" begins to become blurred.

Occasionally, there are brief, distorted sensory echoes—perhaps the warmth of the sunlight from childhood, or the whisper of a long-forgotten promise, as if the body about to be "abandoned" is making a final, futile farewell to the consciousness residing within it.

This is a profound upheaval and reconstruction of the very essence of existence, and the pain it brings far exceeds the limits that the body can bear. It is only through the forced maintenance of the life support system and his own iron will that he is able to support it.

Once all his subjective and objective parameters, including the most core and private consciousness, have been uploaded and undergone complex verification and adaptive adjustments, theoretically, the so-called "parallel human" can begin to be generated.

This would be a special, higher form of existence, a complete leap in life forms. To be honest, he himself didn't know what this life form actually was; his aunt's description was rather vague.

Based on the limited information he had, it was an experience akin to the mythical "transformation from mortal to immortal": he would no longer be bound by a fragile and perishable physical body, and could come and go without a trace, "flying" or teleporting between the material world and the data dimension in the form of energy or information flow.

He no longer needs to rely on organic matter to convert energy; the ubiquitous background radiation in the universe or the specific high-purity energy source supplied by Tianqing City can sustain his existence and activities.

He can even continuously replenish the base material as needed, and after a period of time, split off multiple "avatars" with independent execution capabilities and shared core consciousness, while handling affairs in different times and spaces.

His thinking speed and information processing ability will increase exponentially, which means that he possesses creative potential that was previously unimaginable, and... the corresponding destructive power that is enough to frighten the existing civilization system.

At that time, his perspective will be completely changed. He will be able to easily "look down" at the carbon-based life forms on Earth who are still struggling for survival resources, including the native humans to whom he once belonged and whom he swore to protect.

He will be able to build a powerful energy defense system or information barrier to ensure that Wengshan, the last pure land in his heart, will not be disturbed by any external forces, especially carbon-based life groups, and can develop peacefully according to his wishes.

However, there is a sharp and almost unavoidable contradiction: his efforts, even at the cost of "abandoning" his original form, seem to silently prove that primitive humans are a backward form of existence that needs to be surpassed.

So why would he go to such lengths to protect this life form, which is considered "outdated," and its development?

Is this merely an irrational choice based on past memories and emotions? Or is it a stubbornness and identity rooted deep in his consciousness that even he himself may not be fully aware of?

This problem, like a tiny yet incredibly resilient thorn, caused him intermittent pain as he prepared to embrace "sublimation," reminding him of the potentially insurmountable cost behind this transaction.

On the other hand, in a highly confidential and heavily guarded deep manufacturing zone in Tianqing City, Auntie had already begun to "print" and assemble the new "body" prepared for Yu Qing, based on the detailed parameters of Yu Qing's body structure transmitted to her, using special materials and bio-energy conduits capable of carrying high-dimensional information flow, much like the most intricate weaver.

This body is more like a highly sophisticated carrier or interface, a dwelling prepared for "gods," quietly waiting for Yu Qing's consciousness to be uploaded and adapted, so that he can become a parallel human in the true sense, with a stable form but also able to transform at any time.

Of course, this "ascension" from carbon-based to a near-energy state is not a free lunch; its cost is extremely high. Yu Qing will need to pay a staggering 500 billion RB for this.

This is not just the cost of using the technology, but also includes the astronomical amount of energy required to maintain the entire conversion process, the rare materials that exist only stably in specific dimensions, and the precious time cost of occupying the core resources of Tianqing City's top quantum computing center.

Because the cost is so daunting, the vast majority of ordinary people on Earth will never be able to reach this threshold in their lifetime. Their lives are destined to be only once, like a fleeting moment, after which they will disappear from this world forever, leaving no ripples in the "parallel world".

However, "big shots" like Yu Qing, who control vast resources or supreme power, can use this technology to obtain an "afterlife," or even a continuous "afterlife," theoretically achieving a certain degree of immortality.

In fact, although millions of "parallel human" individuals are active in the vast and advanced Azure City, playing a role at all levels of the city, the vast majority of them are merely "avatars" derived from the few "original bodies" and under their absolute control.

According to unofficial statistics circulating among high-level circles, the true parallel human "originals" possessing independent core consciousness and the qualification of "immortality" number only 367. They are the true core and invisible ruling class of this magnificent and stable city.

Moreover, the parallel human groups in Tianqing City have always adhered to a certain unfounded, almost instinctive principle: they rarely, almost never, actively help other carbon-based humans evolve this life form.

In their view, this is neither necessary nor intrinsically motivating, and may even disrupt a delicate balance.

With that resource and effort, it would be better to create another useful avatar for yourself to explore more distant star systems, or to invest in projects that bring more direct benefits and enjoyment.

The reason my aunt made an exception for Yu Qing this time was largely due to the fact that, during her transformation into a parallel human many years ago, the remnants of "human kinship" that had not been completely extinguished had, after a long and cold period of time, fermented slightly by chance.

This ember of emotion from the past becomes Yu Qing's only and crucial opportunity at this moment, allowing him to grasp a rope leading to another level in what seems like a hopeless fate.

However, this rope might not necessarily pull him in the direction he planned. Could it ultimately lead him astray? After all, his and his aunt's reasons for choosing to become parallel humans were completely different.

He only wanted to become a powerful "superman" who could protect Wengshan and help it grow stronger, while his aunts and the others only wanted to abandon this Earth as soon as possible and travel freely anywhere in the universe. Even the Milky Way was not a big cage that could contain them.

From this perspective, he would indeed be seen as an oddball with no ambition in the eyes of his aunts and the others.

He worried that once he truly became one of those so-called "parallel humans," possessing near-godlike power and a near-eternal perspective, would he still be able to hold onto his original intentions?

He feared that the inherent indifference and efficiency of that life form would, like a frog being slowly boiled in water, gradually erode his emotions and ties as a "human being."

He was even more afraid of external pressures—whether from the invisible rules of the ruling class of Tianqing City, or the enormous crisis he might face in the future that would require the thinking of "parallel humans" to resolve.

He may be "forced" to make a choice against his conscience, to "handle" the problem in a more "advanced" and "rational" way, which may run counter to the warm vision of protecting Wengshan and maintaining the native human fire.

This concern was not unfounded. He had glimpsed his aunt's daily life and grand plans, as well as those of the true "original" parallel humans, which were far removed from his imagined life as a "protector."

In my aunt's world, time is measured in the orbital period of galaxies. One of her "avatars" might be orbiting a dying star, calmly recording its final moments as it collapses into a black hole, and assessing whether the energy it releases is worth collecting.

Another "avatar" may be engaging in an abstract exchange, measured in centuries, with a similar life form millions of light-years away, regarding the laws governing the local entropy increase of the universe.

Her primary focus is likely on constructing a model of the dark matter distribution in an extragalactic galaxy. In her view, that complex and magnificent mathematical model is far more worthy of her "emotional" investment than the rise and fall of any carbon-based civilization on Earth.

Their "interstellar" plans are grand yet cold: to find more fundamental ways to utilize energy in the universe, to deduce the physical constants that exist in different dimensions, to try to build a communication network that spans galactic scales, and even... to simulate the ultimate fate of the universe.

To them, Earth was merely an insignificant "experimental sample pool" where carbon-based life was accidentally born, and the Milky Way was indeed just a "slightly larger cage" that restricted their exploration.

They talked about the birth and destruction of a galaxy as casually as ordinary people talk about the weather.

As for those primitive humans on Earth who are still struggling for food, water, and living space? They are nothing more than a blurry branch on the ancient evolutionary tree, a past they have long since transcended and are preparing to leave behind completely.

The reason why Aunt still retains a trace of "family affection" for Yu Qing is perhaps more like a collector's last bit of nostalgia for a certain imperfect but meaningful piece of his collection from his early years.

But what Yu Qing wanted was never these things.

His ideal daily routine is to be awakened by real sunlight streaming through the window in the early morning and feel the warmth on his skin; to smell the freshness of the earth after the rain and to taste the food grown in Wengshan, even if it is rough, it is full of the flavor of home cooking.

Of course, there was also the sound of Chen Jiang, Xiao Ya and the other children chasing and playing in the yard, a noisy but lively sound; and the ability to talk face to face with Yao Dan and Dong Hao, to see the subtle changes in each other's emotions, and to feel the warmth in each other's words.

Although it was far less profound and expansive than what his aunts and the others had observed, it was still connected to the land beneath his feet by blood, allowing him to feel the existence of his "roots".

What he wants to protect is this "carbon-based life," which is full of trivialities, inconveniences, and even pain, yet incredibly real, full of interaction and bonds. The power he craves is a shield and spear to maintain this life, not a ladder to transcend it, despise it, and ultimately forget it.

He feared that once he became a "parallel human," he would gradually find the morning sunlight too glaring, the smell of earth full of impurities, children's playful antics meaningless noise, and face-to-face communication unbearably inefficient...

Will I eventually end up like my aunt, devoting all my energy to those cold and grand "interstellar plans," believing that that is the higher meaning of life?
The survival of Wengshan and the continuation of the original human population have become data points that can be quantified, weighed, and even sacrificed for "greater interests".

Will he still be Yu Qing then? Will he still be the Yu Qing who vowed to protect Wengshan and wanted to find a way out for the native humans?
Or is he merely a new parallel human being bearing the name and data of "Yu Qing," a "kind" who, in his aunt's eyes, has finally "seen the light" and escaped from base emotions?
This fear of self-alienation was far more agonizing than the pain of the consciousness uploading process. Was the other end of the rope he was grasping connected to the hope of salvation, or a slow and delicate trap of self-destruction?
He didn't know, but it seemed he had no way back. (End of Chapter)