Perilous Peak

August 2031, Rocket City, Sazhou, Liangguo

Michael and Daphne had realized there was a problem. Once humanity mastered the technology to build intelligent machines, it created all kinds of "intelligent life-forms": robot dogs that could leap over obstacles, robotic bees that could fly into tight spaces, even robotic crawlers that could enter the human body and destroy tumors. There was no end to the possibilities.

But humanoid robots were what truly amazed the world. Making intelligent machines look human had become the shared goal of major manufacturers, and how closely a humanoid robot resembled a real person had become the most important standard of evaluation.

The logical question that interested them was this: if humanity had truly been created by a Creator, and the vast universe was merely a game world the Creator had made for "living things" to inhabit...

And if the Creator could make an "intelligent machine" out of any material to serve as the protagonist in his game, there was a strong chance that the protagonist he eventually designed and built would be a 100-percent copy of himself.

If the Creator himself was human, where was he? To claim he was hidden among the masses was obviously fantasy, not science. Michael connected to VESSEL and gave it the question.

VESSEL's answer was this: if a Creator existed and he was human, then either he lived in another space beyond the three-dimensional world, or he had appeared in the distant past.

Daphne said, "Theories of four-dimensional or higher-dimensional space have achieved tremendous success in mathematical calculations, but there's no empirical evidence for them in physics, and there may never be. So String Theory is nothing more than an unfalsifiable hypothesis."

Michael nodded in agreement. "If we assume there's a Creator beyond our three-dimensional space, even if he's human, that's clearly outside the scope of science."

If the Creator was human, then he must have existed in the distant past. The word "distant" mattered because there was ample archaeological evidence for the evolutionary path from Homo sapiens, who appeared in Africa two million years ago, to the people we were today.

People today were born to parents, so they clearly weren't created by a Creator. If a Creator had existed in the distant past, it must have been more than two million years ago—probably tens of millions of years ago, or even longer.

"Michael, do you think there really were humans on Earth millions, or even tens of millions, of years ago?" Daphne asked.

"Possibly, but no more than 65 million years ago at the most. Before that, dinosaurs ruled the Earth," Michael said.

His words reminded Daphne of the dinosaur extinction event 65 million years ago. Could the Mars explosion fragments that struck the Yucatan Peninsula have caused the dinosaurs' extinction? Had the human Creator who made us lived before or after that?

If they had lived after the dinosaurs went extinct, there was no evidence in the archaeological record. That was clearly impossible.

If they had lived before it, humans couldn't have coexisted with dinosaurs because they wouldn't have stood a chance against them. So where had they lived? Had it not been on Earth, but on Venus or Mars?

If they had lived on Venus or Mars, had they been connected to the Mars explosion 65 million years ago?

At that thought, Daphne's expression turned solemn. She asked Michael, "If my Mars Burst Hypothesis is correct, then it happened 65 million years ago. Could it have been caused by someone, and could it have had something to do with the Superlight Wave Power Station?"

The last thing Michael wanted to hear was that hypothesis. The Superlight Wave Power Station was the most important part of his plan to restart Mars. He took Daphne's hand and said, with a hint of tension, "We're using superluminal waves to heat Mars's core and restart its magnetic field. That's the only way humans can live freely on the Martian surface. How could that cause an explosion?"

"I know. Mars's magnetic field is very weak now and can't shield it from high-energy cosmic rays. Your capsules can only let volunteers live in underground caves, hundreds of meters down in a Martian canyon," Daphne said, her face filled with regret.

Michael's Mars terraforming plan involved using the Superlight Wave Power Station to pump energy into Mars. The metals in the planet's core would melt back into liquid under the high temperatures, generating a magnetic field like Earth's to protect humans from solar winds and cosmic radiation.

Water ice and oxygen in the Martian crust, as well as the dry ice at the south pole, would be released as the planet warmed. Oceans and a breathable atmosphere would return to the Martian surface.

Daphne understood how the man before her felt. She knew Michael had worked incredibly hard to restart Mars and give Earth a "backup."

He had founded Acebe Company and weathered countless failures before successfully developing a heavy-lift rocket that could be recovered and reused.

That wasn't all. Michael and his team had also launched Mars probes, studied Mars soil, and designed experimental plans for building the Superlight Wave Power Station.

Recently, he had also sent to Mars heavy-duty electric pickups and robots specially designed to withstand the impact of dust storms.

Sixty-five million years ago? Daphne had no idea what had happened, but she suspected the Mars explosion might have been connected to an experiment—or even an accident—at the Superlight Wave Power Station. The worry weighed on her.

Daphne changed the subject and said to Michael:

"Michael, you're the hero in my eyes. The two goals you told me about the first time we met really moved me."

Michael smiled, a trace of pride in his voice. "Freedom for the human body, and freedom for the human mind."

Michael hoped that one day, humanity would be able to leave Earth and live freely on other planets. Of course, traveling beyond the Solar System wasn't likely for a very long time, so he had chosen Mars as his first target.

As for freedom of the human mind, Michael hoped to use Brain-Computer Fusion technology to expand the depth and speed of human thought, and to achieve "immortality" for the mind and soul by uploading consciousness.

"Michael, your goals are so ambitious. Achieving progress in even one of those directions would be a tremendous blessing for humanity, let alone both." Daphne continued, "If terraforming Mars is too risky, you could devote more of your time to Artificial Intelligence, Brain-Computer Fusion, or even consciousness uploading."

Michael gave a bitter smile. "The best views are always at the top of the most dangerous peaks. If restarting Mars is risky, is Artificial Intelligence really safe?"

"That's true. Didn't we meet online because we were both worried that Artificial Intelligence might threaten humanity?"

Michael thought for a moment, then repeated what he had just posted on social media:

"Even if we face the worst possible outcome from Artificial Intelligence—the extinction of humanity—I'd choose to face it rather than run away. I think I might really want to witness it all with my own eyes."

At that very moment, on the other side of the Earth, Martha arrived at the estate of Andek, owner of the media conglomerate Tiangao Group. Besides Andek, his wife Irene and her daughter Mandy were also there.

As Martha exchanged pleasantries, she watched to see whether her boss, Andek, would ask Irene and her daughter to leave so he could hear her investigation report.

Andek didn't seem to mind their presence, and he didn't hurry to ask Martha about her findings. Instead, he said something that left them baffled: "I turned one hundred this year. At the current rate of technological development, the average life expectancy will reach 120 in a few decades, but it seems that won't have much to do with me."

Mandy was Martha's close friend. After hearing the old man's words, they exchanged a bewildered glance and waited for him to continue. Irene wasn't surprised. She seemed to understand what Andek meant.

"I've lived for a hundred years, built a business empire, and had five wives." Andek gave Irene and Martha a meaningful look before continuing. "I'm past the age of fearing death. I can face it calmly now."

As Martha and Mandy looked on in confusion, Irene explained, "I was the one who suggested that he try using small-molecule bioengineering to reorder his aging genes. Even if it can't turn back the clock and restore his youth, it might extend his life."

"I don't want to turn myself into a guinea pig. When you've lived to a hundred, you'll understand how I feel. I honestly think I've had my fill," Andek said.

The old man brought up the subject today not only because Irene had suggested he try a gene therapy that was still in clinical trials, but also because he had received offers from two Brain-Computer Fusion companies, including Michael's.

They had each invited Andek to be among the first test subjects to upload their consciousness. Naturally, the cost was exorbitant.

"In my hundred years, I've lived through the Electrical Age, the Information Age, and now the Intelligent Age. My media empire has cheered every great leap forward in human progress. But technological progress has its limits. I can't accept the risk of crossing the line and violating the laws of nature," the old man said.

Mandy understood, but couldn't help asking, "Is there any risk more important to you than extending your life?"

"My dear, I may not be a saint, but the principles of a journalist matter more to me than my life. That has nothing to do with my age," Andek said. "I support the development of Artificial Intelligence, genetic engineering, and space technology, but we have to control the risks. At the very least, they must not threaten the Solar System or humanity."

"Even if Artificial Intelligence is risky and might even wipe out humanity, how could space technology threaten the safety of the Solar System?" Mandy blurted out, confused.

The old man shifted his gaze from Mandy to Martha, as if asking about the results of her investigation into Michael. Martha understood exactly what he meant, but felt it would be inappropriate to speak up without being asked. She gave Andek a deep nod.

Andek seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted. As if talking to himself, he said:

"There are always tech fanatics in this world who keep climbing dangerous peaks. If they succeed, humanity reaches a new height. But if they fail without controlling the risks, humanity—or even the Solar System—could be doomed forever."

Irene knew a little about Michael's plan to terraform Mars. She asked, "Are you talking about Michael Max?"

"Not just him. There's also Nikola Tesla, who proposed the Superluminal Wave Hypothesis," the old man said indignantly.

... Poem assembled from lines: Suddenly, a thousand-foot wave surged at the edge of the sky, Ming, Cheng Benli

What can one do when there's no way to shorten the distance? Tang, Yuan Zhen

Its drifting, shifting nature is hard to discern, Tang, Yuan Yangzi

It illuminates the universe like an unpolished mirror. Song, Lu You