Chapter 990 A Blank Sheet of Paper
Jiang Chen, of course, has seen him before. Even if he has turned into dust, Jiang Chen would still remember that face. The face linked to the brain that was floating in the culture tank…
And buried together with the Supreme.
“We meet again, Dr. Lin Minjie.” Looking at the man on the screen, Jiang Chen sighed with some emotion, took the coat from the open hibernation chamber, and covered the girl. “I thought you were already dead, I didn’t expect to see you alive.”
Although Dr. Lin Minjie was much younger than the last time Jiang Chen saw him in the underground fallout shelter in w.a.n.ghai, he still recognized him from certain distinct facial features. The girl lying in the hibernation chamber also put a complex expression on his face.
At the same time the screens lit up, Hu Cheng gestured and rushed forward with the soldiers in front of Jiang Chen.
As he pa.s.sed Jiang Chen, he caught sight of the girl in the hibernation chamber with the corner of his eye. He was shocked, but he quickly made the decision to ignore what he saw and focused his attention on the man on the screen.
Although he didn’t know who the person was, his instincts told him the man doesn’t have the best relations.h.i.+p with the general.
“Lin Minjie? That is indeed my name.”
As if Lin Minjie didn’t see the rifles pointed at him, the man raised his head and looked at the non-existent ceiling and signed in nostalgia. “Allow me to correct one thing. It is debatable if I am alive or not.”
Debatable?
After hearing this sentence, Jiang Chen frowned and slowly lowered the rifle in his hand.
“Now that you are calmer. No matter what conflicts you have with that person, isn’t it pointless to be angry at a program?” Lin Minjie opened his hands with a helpless expression. “I was born in 2168, almost at the same time as the fallout shelter was completed. My personality and other features are based on the programmer who wrote me.”
“Can I ask a question?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Of course.” Lin Minjie slightly nodded, “answering your questions is the meaning of my existence.”
“Which level of artificial intelligence are you, basic? Intermediate? Or—”.
“Basic, of course.” Lin Minjie smiled. “For a commentator, thinking is just c.u.mbersome.”
Jiang Chen was silent for a long time. Then, he sent an order to Hu Cheng through the communication channel.
“Wait for me outside.”
Hu Cheng hurriedly replied, “But—”.
“This is an order.” Jiang Chen used an irrefutable tone and stopped his attempt to persuade. “Wait for me in the elevator. Unless I order, don’t come in.”
For the Knights, the command of the general is absolute.
Although Hu Cheng was still concerned about the general’s safety, he couldn’t say more. He just reluctantly lowered his head and accepted the order.
“Roger…”
Raising his hand, he gestured to his soldiers in the squad and took them to the corridor leading to the elevator. Standing at the door, he hesitantly took one last look at Jiang Chen’s back before obeying his absolute order and retreating to the elevator.
After the footsteps gradually drifted away, Jiang Chen was silent for a moment before asking
“Tell me, what are you doing?”
“Leaving seeds for civilization.”
“These…clones, are what you call seeds?” Jiang Chen’s rifle moved to the side and pointed to the girl who was looking at him with innocent eyes. Then, he said emotionlessly, “or, is this some sort of sick experiment?”
The girl lying in the hibernation chamber looked like an exact replica of Lin Lin. If she was not a special exception, then the 2,000 scientists lying here should all be replicas of Lin Lin…
When Lin Minjie heard Jiang Chen’s words, he shook his head.
“You’ve misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood?”
“In my database, the key term ‘Seeds of Civilization’ does not contain any words relating to experiment. The human female who is lying in front of your eyes is a clone born through the cell cloning technique with cells from an individual named Lin Lin. Her name is Lin Yi, number 0001.”
Jiang Chen was very curious. If number 0001 is called Lin Yi, then what is 0100, or 1000 called. But these didn’t matter, he just wished to know one thing right now.
“Why is it Lin Lin…” Jiang Chen with a complicated expression asked the question bothering him.
“Maybe it is the father’s guilt to his daughter? Or maybe because it’s something else?” Lin Minjie shrugged and said in a nonchalant manner. “The master that created me did not tell me such details. I am afraid I can’t answer that question. As for why you should use these clones, I think even if I don’t tell you, knowing the time of when this fallout shelter was completed, you should realize the answer.”
Jiang Chen paused for a second, but soon understood the message behind his words.
The Third World War started in 2171. This undoc.u.mented fallout Shelter was built in 2168. Therefore, as it was built before the start of the war, the world economy was still a mess and the Science Ethics Committee was still in existence. Therefore, it would be impossible to select a group of “volunteers” willing to go to the future.
From this point of view, the choice of using clones to pa.s.s on the seeds of civilization seemed like a helpless choice in the context of history. Although it also violated the taboos of science, at least the creation of clones could be carried out in secrecy.
However, another question still troubled Jiang Chen
“I don’t understand why people must be used as the carrier of information instead of the more efficient machine?”
A mobile hard disk could carry more information than the human brain. And unlike humans, the machine naturally does not know how to forget. Even after millenniums, as long as the parts themselves are not oxidized, knowledge can be pa.s.sed on for generations.
“You are not the first person to ask this question. My programmer muttered to me before, but I regret that I can’t give you a standard answer.” Lin Minjie spread his hand, “For reference, I can only tell you the conclusions from the “Seeds of Civilization” researchers; hard drives can pa.s.s on knowledge, but only people can serve as the embodiment of civilization.”
After a pause, Lin Minjie went on.
“Their soul is like a blank sheet of paper. Other than the knowledge they are taught in virtual reality programs, their cognitive and learning abilities are almost the same as those of newborn babies. As long as you are willing to accept them, they will be able to adapt to the outside world in the shortest amount of time.”
“As for whether to accept them, the choice is yours.”
In an understatement, Lin Minjie gave Jiang Chen the toughest decision he has had to make.
Jiang Chen silently looked at number 0001 lying in the hibernation chamber, the girl named Lin Yi.
Right now, she was expressionless and looking at him with the eyes of a baby. The clothes covering her body had slipped off when she reached out to gently touch the cold barrel around her. She curiously touched its outline, completely oblivious to the lack of clothes on her body.
“What is this?” Lin Yi asked.
Silence lingered for a long time, before Jiang Chen finally let out a sigh. He put the rifle in his hand down, picked up her clothes, and covered her.
“Put on your clothes first.”
“Clothes?” Lin Yi tilted her head.
Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched.
He now understood the meaning of “their soul is like a blank sheet of paper”.