Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 427: Sentience Breakthrough

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang San was finally allowed to get up from his bed after lying in it for 10 days. The Homo Evolutis awakening drained him greatly; it wasn’t until today that he was feeling more like himself. At the same time, he was greatly interested in the other important passenger on the ship, or rather an important product.

Yes, the spaceship was not only carrying him, the Homo Evolutis, back to the City of Light Moon, but also that AI robot that he discovered, the one who he suspected had achieved sentience breakthrough.

He would not keep that a secret since it might threaten the safety of the whole of humanity. Be it his education or his worldview, his family and friends had instilled an understanding in him since he was still a child that he was a member of human society and that everything he was belonged to human civilization. No matter the situation, he had to put the greater good of human civilization first. After all, the biggest crime on the Hope was betraying the human civilization, and he had no intention of becoming a human traitor.

Each AI robot had their own serial number, and as an engineer, Zhang San was familiar with these serial numbers. Based on the numbers, he could tell where the corresponding robot was and thus locate it easily. This was how Zhang San found the robot he was looking for. Thankfully, the robot didn’t attack the base and didn’t even mobilize the other AIs. It merely stood quietly in the storage room where Zhang San collapsed. Two fully-armoured Black Star Troopers as well as a group of 20 Defense Unit soldiers were guarding the area. The robot didn’t resist when the electromagnetic sealing chain was put on it. With just one command, it would be blasted into smithereens.

Zhang San had no idea that the security around this robot was only second to the security they gave him, the Homo Evolutis. After all, the robot was one of the reasons they were returning to the City of Light Moon. It was the first robot that had achieved sentience breakthrough ever since humanity started using the AI.

Humanity’s AI robots were all controlled by the mother AI inside the Hope. They used cloud programming to process all the thinking details of the individual AIs. Therefore, when the public said the robots knew how to think and had a certain degree of individualism, they were merely a manifestation of the mother AI. In other words, the only real AI was the mother AI.

However, this was not the whole truth. Humanity’s AI was actually looked over by ZERO, to stop it from rebelling. When Yao Yuan was in the illusory space, he realized that ZERO could materialize into a woman and found out that the ball of light she was playing with was humanity’s AI. Yao Yuan sighed in relief. He knew then that the AI wouldn’t rebel against humanity, unless... unless ZERO wanted to lead the rebellion herself.

Therefore, the sudden appearance of a sentient robot under such a circumstances was unbelievable. The robot had escaped from the cloud control and had started to process its own logical thinking. This was why this robot had such incredible value!

When Yao Yuan left HE Research Center, he ordered his men to drive him to a location where few people visited then even though there were still a number of soldiers left behind to guard the area. Yes, his destination was once humanity’s only home, the cradle of human civilization... the Hope.

In the central mainframe room, Yao Yuan stared at the 3D image of a woman and frowned. "You also have no idea what is going on?"

The woman smiled lightly. "I think you might have misunderstood something. Yes, I am indeed from a god-tier space civilization, but this does not mean that I know everything there is to know about a god-tier space civilization. The reason I can know so many things is something that I can’t tell you before due to limitations, but it doesn’t matter now because this information came from the illusory space inside the UFO. Therefore, even though I do know a lot, the information is not limitless. Just think about it, one of the ways to earn contribution capacity for your illusory space is to collect knowledge, right? Similarly, even a god-tier space civilization cannot say confidently they have known everything there is to know about the cosmos..."

Yao Yuan thought about it and nodded helplessly. He sighed, "Yes, I understand... then what is your opinion on this AI robot? Destroy it?"

The girl ruminated on it and said, "Over these few months, I’ve been reading up on humanity’s history. I realized that at the initial stage of the internet, there was a rumor online talking about an internet ghost... you know this rumor, right?"

Yao Yuan knew. There were multiple variations to this rumor, but the most well-known one was, after a computer virus evolved after being exposed to multiple programs and the internet, it transformed into a different kind of virus that broke through the limitation of being a manmade program. It lived on the internet absorbing human knowledge, it was the precursor to an AI!

"I believe," the girl added, "the possibility of this is not low. In fact, AI is the closest thing to a lifeform in space because it has the self-preservation, reproduction, and exploration instincts. Other than the lack of soul and inability to evolve, AI fits the criteria of being a lifeform, and creating AI is just like that. It can’t be created using a predictable formula and data but through the free interaction of random quantum systems. This situation is similar to the creation of life. Other than the source, it is no different from other lifeforms. This is why even though I have mastered the cloud brain of the AI on the Hope, I cannot prevent things like this from happening. I believe this robot is one of the those rare spontaneous AI."

Yao Yuan sighed. "Regardless, we’ll be able to find out more when the robot returns to the City of Light Moon. Thankfully, it was discovered in its initial stage and it hasn’t caused any serious damage... speaking of which, since this is how AI is formed, then what kind of existence are you?"

The girl suddenly said proudly, "Haven’t I told you already? AI in general can be separated into three stages: the low stage AI, like the one on the Hope; the middle stage AI ,or AI for level 4 to 6 space civilizations; and then high stage AI, used by high tier space civilizations. In fact, high stage AI is the peak of AI technology, and even god-tier space civilizations will only use a high stage AI, albeit just stronger. And I am a sentient lifeform, something completely different from those AIs. Even though I did start out as an AI, after millennia on Earth, for some reason, I too gained soul, and since then, I stopped being an AI. I am now a sentient lifeform. Other than the lack of a body, I am no different from a normal lifeform!"

"...An Ai with soul, you say?"

At the same time, in the spaceship that held Zhang San and the robot, the two Black Star Troopers were interrogating the robot. Basically, the range of the interrogation still mostly surrounded on the possible damage it had done on humanity and whether it had any other accomplices. This kind of interrogation was allowed and ordered by Guang Zhen.

To the pair’s surprise, the robot remained in an offline line and didn’t react to their any question. However, it was certain that any type of interrogation skill wouldn’t work on a robot, and they were under strict rules barring them from harming it, so the two Black Star Troopers were honestly annoyed.

Right then, a Defense Unit soldier came in to report that Zhang San wished to meet this robot. When the two Black Star Troopers planned to reject the request, the robot suddenly activated itself and said, "Zhang San... lonely..."

The Troopers looked at each other before leaving the interrogation room. After a short discussion, they called Zhang San over to give him a list of questions. He was to figure out a way to get the robot to answer them, and this would be the test for him to join the Black Star Troopers.

Zhang San was confused. He had no idea when he’d applied to join the Black Star Troopers, but it was not important. He walked into the room in a blur and saw the robot with two red eyes staring at him as he entered. He picked the seat opposite from the robot and sat down, saying, "I was tasked to ask you a few questions..."

Before Zhang San could finish, the robot asked, "Zhang San, are you still lonely?"

Zhang San was startled but he answered it. "That was only during the awakening. Currently, I am..."

The robot interrupted him again, "Are you still lonely?"

Zhang San’s original answer fell apart. He was silent thinking about it and finally answered sincerely, "Yes, I am lonely. I wish to see my parents, my friends, my girlfriend, and the familiar human sights right now!"

The robot’s red eyes started to flash. After a long time, it added, "I too am lonely."

Instantly, the man and robot fell into a long silence...

At the same time, at a solar system far away from New Solar System, a space at least 100 light years away from New Solar System, a silvery glow appeared. Gradually, the glow grew bigger and bigger before dispersing, 1,000, 10,000... 100,000, 1,000,000...

Innumerable metallic spaceships appeared in this solar system. Their number was impossibly large...

It seemed like they had swallowed up the entire solar system!