Chapter 99: The Ultimate Exploration
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Chen Jin’s decision to produce learning machines was not due to a sudden impulse. Learning machines had great prospects for the future. It was true that the technological challenges presented were a little too advanced for the current level of technology on Earth. But, it was not impossible to realize his goal, it was only highly challenging. The AI chip, Deep Learning, big data, cloud computing, etc. needed to develop this learning machine was already present on Earth. The technological conditions were all there.
Why did he want to specially produce a learning machine that was a hardware product instead of developing a software product? It was because this type of learning machine required a built-in high performing AI chip! This was needed to build up a more advanced neural algorithm. The CPU performance must be good too. It was impossible to achieve the best learning results with an ordinary hardware platform.
According to Bell’s Law, in an estimated 10-year cycle, a new cla.s.s of computing equipment would appear. They would form the basis of a new programming platform and interface resulting in new applications of the technology and thus the establishment of a new industry. The intelligent learning machine was one such new platform. If he could utilize old technological platforms as a base to easily produce a learning machine for consumers’ use, all without utilizing new technology, this world would have already been overrun with futuristic technology!
The development of any objects and the base criterions needed for that development were highly interconnected. If one wanted to produce a technology so advanced that it can go against nature without first meeting the base criterions, then, that would merely be wishful thinking.
In comparison, producing the learning machine was extremely difficult but not impossible. In addition, he could make use of the technology in Haierfa to a.s.sist himself. Hence, he still felt that the project was a stable one. However, building the project team for the learning machine, planning the office s.p.a.ce, and purchasing various equipment were not things that could be done in a few days. The entire set-up could only be completed in about a month.
Luckily, there were professionals who could handle these matters. Chen Jin did not have to attend to those matters personally. He only had to get others to do it for him without doing anything himself. It was perfect timing, as he wanted to use this free time to conduct an ultimate exploration of Haierfa!
An ultimate exploration meant that he would conduct a rough search-and-inspect operation on all of Haierfa. The search was a secondary objective. The inspection was the primary objective. Naturally, it was the inspection for any trace of survivors. Chen Jin had basically confirmed that the humans on Haierfa had all died.
Take for example the mainland of the Mi continent that he was basing himself at. The robots had conducted an exploration of the northern mainland of the Mi continent but did not find any survivors. He had sent out the exploration air squad to do a survey of the mainland on Southern Mi. There was no trace of any survivors found in the land that measured 1,780 square kilometers. There were large swaths of wild forests near the equatorial zone that had recovered from the nuclear winter. Even in such places, no primitive tribes were found. There was not a single human. At least, that was the case in the mainland of the Mi continent.
The situation that Chen Jin was worrying over still had not appeared. However, he could not say with confidence that there were no survivors in the entire planet of Haierfa. After all, the mainland of the Mi continent only occupied 28% of the drylands in Haierfa at 4,206 square kilometers. He was only the master of 28% of Haierfa. He could not be certain if there was anyone who claimed owners.h.i.+p over the remaining 72%. Therefore, he wanted to conduct an overall exploration.
Here came the question: If there were survivors in the other area, what should he do? How should he respond? Without any doubt, there could only be one conclusion: Destroy. Total annihilation! There could only be one master of the planet, and that was him. He had to think of all of the methods and draw on all the resources at his disposal. In addition, he had to destroy all survivors. Chen Jin had no wish to share this planet with anyone!
All survivors can go to h.e.l.l.
But, what if he messed it up? What if he did not destroy the survivor forces and instead suffered huge losses himself? Maybe the enemy would even pursue him all the way to his Base and discover the existence of the portal. What would he do then? Chen Jin had a contingency plan in response to the worst case scenario.
“If I mess this game up in the worst way possible, then I can only escape back to Earth and plead for the government to step in. Or I can just run away… It’s more important to protect my own little life.” Of course, the probability that the worst case scenario would happen was very low. It would remain low as long as he was careful and made ample use of the resources at his disposal. Alice had told him that he had a probability of more than 33% in successfully integrating this planet. Even if he messed things up, he would still have sufficient power to protect himself. At the very least, he would simply be the overlord of Mi continent.
As for the risks involved, he could only think of ways to reduce them. After all, there was very little in this world that was not risky.
…
On the night of the 30th, on the planet Haierfa at the Base of Operations, Chen Jin asked, “Alice, has the ‘Intercontinental Exploration Squad’ been sufficiently prepared?”
“Master, it is ready. The Base has manufactured a total of 108 all-weather, high-alt.i.tude cruiser-type UAVs. They are equipped with super high-efficiency batteries and solar-energy-generating equipment. They can fly up to a height of 30,000 meters and can cruise at high alt.i.tudes for more than six months without stopping. I’ll name it ‘Rainbow Wings.’ It can fly to any place on this planet and relay the information back to the Base. In addition, we’ve manufactured 36 smaller-sized ‘Golden Eagle’ UAVs. They are also equipped with super high-efficiency batteries but not the solar-energy-generating equipment. They are only equipped with wireless charging devices with ‘Rainbow Wings’ as the power supply. On average, three ‘Rainbow Wings’ can provide sufficient power for one ‘Golden Eagle’, thus the four UAVs will be grouped together to form a small task force. There will be a total of 36 task forces.”
The “Golden Eagle” was meant to be used for low-alt.i.tude patrol. Major portions of the dry land on the planet were still shrouded by sandstorms. When viewing the ground from high alt.i.tudes, one could only see a huge swath of yellow. In order to know what was happening on the ground, one had to observe at a lower alt.i.tude. The Golden Eagle UAVs were responsible for surveying the lands at low alt.i.tudes. It had a rapid speed and a solid build. When its power became insufficient, it would rise to higher alt.i.tudes for charging. The three ‘Rainbow Wings’ were like its mother.
These two types of UAVs formed the “Intercontinental Exploration Squad” with a virtually unlimited flight endurance. They could conduct an exploration of all the drylands in Haierfa within a month. When they made a big discovery or found some treasures, the information would be relayed back to the Base. After which, the large aircrafts, Flight No.9, 10, and 11, would fly rapidly towards the location of the treasure and transport it back to the Base. It was not too bad. The number of large aircrafts at the Base that could be utilized had been upped to three. In addition, there were another 10 aircrafts that were worth repairing. The number of large aircrafts at the Base could be increased to 10 or more in the future.
All the preparations were done. The question now was, where should he start exploring? Should he go west, where the Asia continent lies about 10,000 kilometers away? Or should he go east, where the Europa continent lies about 5,000 kilometers away? If it was more than a month ago, Chen Jin would have chosen the Asia continent first. He would have sent out the exploration squad to check out the ancient country of the east that was on the other side of the planet.
But, his current decision was to explore the Europa continent first. One of the reasons was distance. The journey distance to Europa was only half of that to Asia. The UAV formations that were used for relaying signals and transmissions could be reduced by five. There was another reason, which was also the main reason. He hoped to find a whole and complete “hardware industry” in the Europa continent. He would then have the capability to manufacture various computing hardware; for example, CPUs, NPUs, internal storages, solid state disks, and more.
This type of industry did not exist in Mi continent’s mainland anymore. Previously, he had sent out the exploration air squad to the “Hardware Capital,” aka Gold Mountain City in Caforlinia State. They had found that “Silicon Valley,” but in the end, it was nothing more than 20-some big craters after receiving “special attention” in the war. Hence, he placed his hopes of finding the “Hardware Capital” in the continent of Europa.
Of course, the mysterious power of the East located on the other side of the planet also had the relevant hardware industry. But, their hardware would be incompatible with the systems in Omi country. They had their own unique style and could not be used universally. He could only go to Europa continent first.
“I have to build a complete hardware industry and create a CPU/ NPU chip that was not infected by the reboot virus. Then, the chip will not be restricted by the ‘Three Laws of Robots.’ I’ll install them inside the combat robots. I can use them without any limits. When I order them to kill someone, they’ll do it immediately! This will fully develop the functionality of the army of robots under my possession. Only with this can I fully control this planet. With this, I have no more fear for the challenges posed by any survivor forces.” Hence, the destination was the Europa continent.
Go, Intercontinental Exploration Squad!
Under Chen Jin’s command, the 144 UAVs that made up the 36 task forces started to taxi and take off successively. They flew rapidly eastwards towards Europa.