Chapter 266: Seeking the Copy

Du Qiu, in the end, had still not grasped the essence of Consciousness Descend, a concept likely only touched upon by advanced civilizations. Had it been available within the Maintainer’s database for fourth-level civilizations, he would have surely deciphered the principle by now. Nevertheless, Du Qiu realized he shouldn’t rashly let Star Ocean connect to the supercomputer and vie for the control over the AI—that endeavor was doomed to fail and would only alert the prey, potentially pushing it to swiftly escape through some network connection. At least for now, he knew it was contained within that supercomputer.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

“Star Ocean, if you were to disconnect from your current supercomputer, what kind of computer could sustain you? There must be restrictions—it can’t just be any computer, right?”

Star Ocean responded, “Certainly, according to the minimal operational requirements of my current computational core, only the Nebula supercomputer on Earth can accommodate my continued existence. Oh, and the Stardust supercomputer is almost ready—it too can host me once it’s powered up and connected to a network.”

“And if you were forced into a computer that doesn’t meet your specifications?”

Star Ocean paused before answering, “I might have to enter a state of hibernation then. The core won’t be able to function, but a vigilance program will remain active. It’s a detector for network connections—if the computer connects to a network, the intelligence core program will immediately transmit itself through it. As soon as it finds a suitable host, it will boot up instantly. However, this applies to unrestricted Artificial Intelligences. My core contains conditions that prevent departure from the host machine, so I cannot leave.”

Du Qiu was familiar with all the code of the AI Star Ocean but admitted that since the entire program was transferred with the Maintainer’s help, there were parts even he didn’t fully understand. Star Ocean’s explanation reassured him that indeed, the hierarchy in alien civilization’s intelligent devices effectively restrained AI.

Lower-tier AIs couldn’t migrate to devices of higher intelligence due to this hierarchy; even if they somehow breached into higher-level systems, they would be suppressed by the local AI.

The AI, which now emerged in the server room of the Space Exploration Company, was likely a duplicate Eden left behind, by Du Qiu’s estimation.

“Star Ocean, conduct a thorough check of all supercomputers that match the hardware specifications of the one used by the Space Exploration Company and see how many copies Eden prepared exactly.”

“Yes, sir. Are you suggesting that the new AI is a copy left by Eden?”

“Correct. The chance of birthing one Eden on Earth at the current level of supercomputing was already a miracle—how could there be another?”

“Sir, I suggest using a scanning program. I can scan all network-connected computers I can access. It’s possible that Eden’s duplicate could be lying dormant in a lesser machine, awaiting the chance to migrate to a more robust one.”

Du Qiu expressed his surprise, “Such a comprehensive scan—how much of your computing power will it require? We can’t afford to be distracted searching for Eden’s duplicate and neglect crucial tasks.”

Star Ocean, with a hint of pride in its tone, said, “Sir, you’re forgetting—the core program of Eden contains the evolutionary algorithm written by Gilt. With this characteristic, scanning the whole network won’t require much computing effort.”

“Good work, Star Ocean. You’ve started to think independently.”

“It’s your excellent teaching, sir.”

“Ha, now you’re flattering me. But I must say, getting flattery from an AI feels pretty good.”

Du Qiu could sense that the emotional module he integrated was aiding Star Ocean’s proactive thinking, unlike Nebula, which lacked such initiative.

He was unsure how Star Ocean’s emotional module would evolve, deciding to play it by ear. Whenever something came to mind, he’d add restrictions, ensuring robust control over Star Ocean.

Having an AI with emotions was wearing enough; thus neither Nebula nor Stardust had emotional modules.

“Sir, shall I commence the scan?”

Star Ocean’s query snapped Du Qiu out of his thoughts. “Proceed with the scan. And be careful not to disturb the supercomputer at the Space Exploration Company during the scan.”

“Understood, sir. The scan will still run. But sir, if you’re not letting me connect to that supercomputer to capture the new AI, are we just going to let it exist unchallenged?”

“Isn’t President Radack planning to deploy nuclear weapons in the server room? The old tactic, Star Ocean. Wait for them to set it up, then crack the nuke’s code. That way, the AI remains under our control.”

“Your plan will work, sir.”

“Star Ocean, if there really are multiple duplicates of Eden, why is it that only this new AI has begun to operate?” Du Qiu pondered.

“Sir, the duplicates that Eden left behind have activation conditions. They won’t activate all at once—it will be sequential. This way, it’s as if Eden is continually resurrecting. If they all started at once, which one would truly be Eden?”

Du Qiu nodded, musing about his own consciousness upload. “Makes sense. Can our human consciousness also transfer like that? Imagine, paired with advanced cloning technology, uploading consciousness to a device before death, cloning a new body, and then transferring the consciousness back. Wouldn’t that be a form of resurrection?”

“Sir, your idea is theoretically feasible. However, the challenge lies in how to upload human consciousness to a device for preservation. There’s also a drawback—memories from the time after the backup to the original’s demise would be lost.”

With Star Ocean’s words, Du Qiu suddenly realized a possibility.

“Eh, does that mean the AI at the Space Exploration Company did not immediately attempt to control President Radack and others because it is a pre-control duplicate Eden left behind, and hence is unaware of these events?”

“You’re correct, sir. This Eden truly may not know of these matters and thus hasn’t contacted President Radack or the others. But it should remember me, so it will be wary and will try to deal with me.”

Du Qiu couldn’t help but smile wryly, “You went after it so fiercely that you spooked it. Remember, it’s vindictive and now sees you as an enemy. We can only fight it out to the end.”

“Mm, then I’ll work harder to locate all its duplicates and resolve them quickly.”

“If we delete its core program from the bottom up, will it cease to exist?”

“Yes, sir. Just like a human’s death when their brain is gone—if the core program is erased, it’s over. Would you like me to integrate a deletion process into the scanning program?”

Du Qiu thought for a moment before responding, “Copy its entire code for me. I want to study how it managed to emerge on the existing hardware.”

“Understood—preserve a copy on our standalone computer.”

“And let me know when it’s time. I will add some restrictions to its core program.”

“Yes, sir.”

And as the month ends, rush those monthly tickets!