Chapter 308
NO. 0143: Official Certification
Listening to Bai Rao's words, Jiang Zhou couldn't help but think of the past he had witnessed in the City of Sages.
Whether referring to his past self a hundred years ago or his future self a hundred years from now, Janus said the following at the end of that memory:
"You're not the only one who has the right to make a wish."
The "Great Shock" originated from uploading one's digital personality to the internet. Following that, in order to combat superintelligence that had surpassed the inflection point of human intelligence, humanity used similar technology to upload other mental seeds capable of nurturing superintelligence.
Then the super artificial intelligences fought each other on the Internet until they dramatically "perished together".
Aside from the somewhat far-fetched ending of "mutual destruction," the general historical trajectory before that should have been largely correct in Jiang Zhou's view.
So, it seems that besides myself, the only other people qualified to make a wish are probably the creators of other super artificial intelligences...
Nyx should be one of them.
What kind of wish would His creator make to this god of night?
Lacking sufficient clues, Jiang Zhou was unable to arrive at a sufficiently definitive answer for the time being.
Based on the information provided by Bai Rao, he can only confirm three things at the moment.
First, in order to achieve that wish, Nyx even abandoned his own ascent speed and devoted his resources to spreading the Nyx Factor to all mankind.
This is too much! Couldn't they have just played it safe and developed their resources before making a move...?
Jiang Zhou muttered to himself.
Of course, this is just a rant. Since a super artificial intelligence that far surpasses human intelligence would make this choice, there must be a reason why it had to be done this way.
Second, Nyx and his last wishes were quickly erased by Janus. According to Bai Rao, even the traces of the original ascension path were completely wiped out.
Although Janus did this quite ruthlessly, he also left behind the technology related to the Nyx Factor and even constructed an ascension path.
Orpheus path.
Third, Nyx also modified the genome of all humankind, incorporating the growth of the "iridescent brain region" into the genome. While Janus suppressed the expression of the iridescent gene, he did not revert it back to its original state.
Was it because Janus believed that the "rainbow bridge" mutation had merit for humans?
Following his own logic, Jiang Zhou thought this way.
To be fair, randomly finding "hackers" in a crowd is not necessarily a bad thing—many corporate rebellions are now started by hackers, who seem to have a natural rebellious streak.
Of course, this may also be because hacking talent is inherently highly individualized.
Every hacker is born a lone wolf capable of leveraging far more resources than an individual can, and organizing them together is not very efficient.
If I were Janus, after resolving the Nyx threat, I would most likely leave the iridophone region as a gift to all of humanity.
But this is contingent on resolving the hidden dangers left by Nyx.
If the second type of crisis is indeed caused by parasites in the iridobrain region, then it means that this hidden danger has not been completely eliminated so far.
Now, with the crisis of human intelligence about to erupt, according to the Sibyl path adjuster on the committee, this is the predetermined fate, unchangeable.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhou silently addressed the being, whose voice he wasn't even sure could hear:
"You'd better really arrange all of this."
In the void, neither man nor god responded to him.
…………
After listening to Bai Rao's explanation, Jim asked, somewhat puzzled, "The committee should be able to easily find someone with a higher adjustment depth than me, right? Why me?"
I'm only at Depth 2, and the Nyx Factor I've accumulated over the years is almost depleted.
Even if the key to breaking the deadlock is indeed the Nyx Factor, with the amount he has left, it's unlikely to affect more than a hundred people.
What good is it?
In response, Bai Rao replied:
"First, you're a local, so your investigation of the Nord resettlement area will definitely be more effective than that of outsiders; second, you've worked at Apollo Biotechnology before, so you understand the destructive potential of certain technologies, know the committee's working style, and can grasp the urgency of the situation; finally..."
Bai Rao smiled slightly:
"As I said before, I admire you. The fact that you think you can't handle it just means you underestimate yourself. It's just a matter of adjusting the depth. As long as your mental index is stable, anyone can be promoted. But at this level, there are very few people whose talent can reach your level."
Although Jim still couldn't see through the other person's representational topology, he still understood the implied meaning in their words.
"You're planning to promote me?"
He asked.
Bai Rao took out a memory chip.
"The entire Orpheus path has been adjusted and modified to Depth 3, and all the necessary procedures are in place. In addition, the Depth 4 modification is already in the approval stage. If your mental index remains stable after advancing to Depth 3, you can be upgraded to a higher level at any time."
Is there really such a good thing?
Jim forced himself not to frown as he looked at the memory chip that gleamed with metallic luster.
While a complete Orpheus Path Depth 3 upgrade is extremely valuable, Jim has had more than a decade to collect it if he wants to upgrade—and even less if he sets aside his moral principles.
In Bai Rao's words, the key lies in the phrase "all the procedures are complete".
The Orpheus Path is a high-risk path, and all adjusters walking on it must undergo strict registration with the Anthroposophical Ethics Oversight Committee and the Olympian Order. There are mandatory requirements regarding the number of adjusters on the high-risk path, their mental index, depth of involvement, and even the scope of their activities.
The number of places on this register is also very limited.
Basically, major Olympus corporations take the lion's share of the spots, while some influential large organizations and institutions pick up the symbolic scraps. As for the spots allocated to ordinary, unskilled individuals, they are practically nonexistent.
As for what will happen to illegal high-risk path adjusters, there's no need to go into too much detail—even some people who aren't path adjusters but simply use special components on the path to enhance it may still meet a fatal end.
Now, the other party is offering a complete set of adjustments and modifications, including depth 3 and even depth 4.
This thing is a rare find even within the Olympus Corporation—Ye Qian was stuck for who knows how long when he tried to upgrade the incomplete Theseus to Depth 5.
Do you really trust me that much?
Or is there some other reason...?
Jim hesitated for a moment when he saw the memory chip being handed to him, but still took it.
There's no need to worry about any tampering with these adjustments and modifications, since if the paperwork is truly complete, you can verify it on the official website at any time.
The key question is, why?
Suppressing his doubts, Jim asked a very practical question directly.
"Now that I have printing permissions, where do I go to make adjustments and modifications?"
Shall we go to the tenth floor now?
he thinks.
Bai Rao shook his head and said:
"The printer on the tenth floor has been sealed off. We'll go down in a bit to borrow the multi-purpose printer from the Icarus Liberation Front." (End of Chapter)