--June 15, 2043 · Hong Kong · Shatterdome--
Today, two distinguished guests arrived on the third level of the Shatterdome, a man and a woman.
However, they did not seem to be here for any friendly academic tour. The moment they stepped out of the elevator, they headed straight for Geiszler's kaiju laboratory.
On the way, they ran into Hermann Gottlieb, who was planning to find Newt for an argument, turning the pair into a trio.
Many things did not change with the passage of time. Newton Geiszler knew that well.
For example, the guy sitting in front of him right now—
He was not much older than Newt, yet Newt still felt like a child who had done something wrong in front of him, ashamed and deeply uneasy.
What made Newt especially angry was Hermann standing behind that guy. At that moment, Hermann was staring at him smugly, his face brimming with triumph.
What a petty upstart!
That unfamiliar Chinese idiom suddenly popped into Newt's head.
He must have exaggerated things in the commander's ear!
"Dr. Newton..."
The man sitting in front of him—Jiang Tianzheng—spoke slowly. His stern tone pulled Newt's attention away from Hermann.
"I assume you know about Rosen..." Jiang Tianzheng leaned forward, his hands resting on his thighs as he looked calmly at Newt. "After all, you were the one who brought him into the Jaeger hangar."
Just as Newt hurried to explain, Jiang Tianzheng waved a hand and added, "Dr. Newton, Rosen committed serious crimes this time. Reckless driving, endangering public safety, damaging public property—there are more than a dozen charges in total. At the very least, he could spend a year or two in prison. Getting shot is not out of the question, either. I hope you can honestly explain why you helped Rosen." Jiang Tianzheng's gaze suddenly sharpened. "You know, I have tens of thousands of people under my command. They are truly difficult to manage... You are a highly respected old scientist, but I cannot keep letting criminals redeem themselves through service."
Newt could not help swallowing.
Although socially oblivious Newt did not understand what Jiang Tianzheng meant by the latter half of that statement, he knew he had gone too far this time.
What surprised Newt was that Hermann did not seize the opportunity to kick him while he was down. The blond old man was frowning deeply as well, perhaps considering Rosen's situation. Normally, he would have already been shouting for Newt to pack up and get out.
"Fine..."
Newt gathered his thoughts for a moment, patted his head—which had grown sluggish with age—and began explaining things to everyone.
"Actually, Rosen brought me a new theory that day... Hmm, do you remember the theoretical basis for half-mechanical, half-kaiju Jaegers?" Newt asked everyone. His earlier nervousness had vanished, replaced by his usual scientist's tone. "We believed that silicon-based lifeforms were still lifeforms. Even a silicate brain could still establish two-way neural communication with our brains... just like what I did decades ago."
As he said that, Newt could not help chuckling.
His eyes drifted upward, as though he were estimating just how much he had contributed during the last mission to save the world.
"Get to the point." Jiang Tianzheng had no intention of giving Newt time to reminisce. His icy voice forcefully cut through Newt's memories.
Newt muttered a few dissatisfied words, then crossed the floor strewn with kaiju organs and returned with several grimy sheets of paper—apparently some kind of data.
"I was not idle yesterday. While inspecting Kunlun's head before the test drive, I had already noticed something strange." Newt placed a sheet of paper on the table. It bore nothing but a wildly fluctuating curve.
"I secretly installed a brainwave interceptor in Kunlun's cockpit. This is Kunlun's brainwave graph after activation." As Newt spoke, he pulled out another sheet. "And this is Shandong's brainwave graph, obtained during the last test of Lin Yin and Shandong's Sync Rate."
With the two sheets placed side by side, the difference was obvious at a glance.
Kunlun's curve rose and fell like mountains, one peak after another.
Shandong's, on the other hand, could only be considered small ripples.
Lin Yin, who had been silently leaning against the door, walked over after hearing Newt's words. Only then did Newt notice that she was wearing a brown sleeveless tank top, her hair braided down her back, while the thick bandages around her right shoulder were fully exposed. That had to hurt, Newt thought.
After seeing the two sets of data, Lin Yin put her hands on her hips and curled her lips, looking unconvinced. Jiang Tianzheng then asked, "And? What does that represent?"
"This has never happened before," Newt explained. "Most Jaegers can only emit brainwave patterns like Shandong's, because their brains have no independent thought. They are like pre-programmed systems. But Kunlun is completely different."
"Completely different?" Jiang Tianzheng repeated.
"Yes." Newt continued, "Only living beings with complete self-awareness can emit that kind of—"
"That is absolutely impossible!" Before Newt could finish, Hermann behind Jiang Tianzheng flatly rejected the idea. "The machines that format Kaiju Brains have undergone more than a decade of theoretical verification. Every kaiju goes through at least three formatting procedures, and the failure rate is infinitely close to zero. They have operated without incident for so many years. There cannot possibly be any fish that slipped through the net!"
"Hey! You said it yourself—the probability is not zero, only close to zero! So how can you be so certain? How do you intend to explain what happened to Kunlun? Coincidence? An accident? Or some supernatural phenomenon?" Newt suddenly exploded. In Newt's eyes, Hermann had always been like this, refusing to believe anything. It was what Newt hated most about him.
Realizing that these two longtime rivals were about to begin another endless argument, Jiang Tianzheng hurriedly stopped them in a loud voice. "Gentlemen, let's discuss the matter at hand first."
Both looked at Jiang Tianzheng. Hermann was briefly speechless, while Newt continued, "As I said, only living beings with complete self-awareness can emit those brainwaves. But Hermann is right too. Those brainwashing machines can completely erase a kaiju's thoughts, and with so many safeguards in place, the chance of consciousness remaining is infinitely close to zero."
"But... there is still one possibility." Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces growing stronger, Newt could not help feeling a little pleased with himself. He then pulled out the last sheet of paper in his hand. "This is Rosen's brainwave graph... I got it secretly. Everyone, see if you can spot the difference."
Newt tossed Shandong's graph aside and placed Kunlun's beside Rosen's.
Jiang Tianzheng and Lin Yin leaned closer to examine the two documents. Hermann seemed hesitant, but in the end, he leaned in as well.
The three of them immediately noticed one extremely important point—
The two were exactly the same.
Identical, without the slightest difference.
Jiang Tianzheng and Lin Yin immediately realized a certain possibility. They looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.
"You mean..."
"That's right." Newt finally nodded and gave a definitive conclusion.
"Kunlun copied Rosen's brainwaves—in other words, Kunlun was simulating Rosen."
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