The uncanny valley effect caused both psychological and physical discomfort. The air-conditioning drew the warmth from his skin, making him feel as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar.
The discordance wove itself into a net. Qi Si felt a long-forgotten unease: his blood vessels constricted, his blood flowed faster, and his breathing grew shallow. Yet he felt almost delighted and excited.
After a long while, he said calmly, "If it's just that I don't look quite human, makeup can easily fix that."
Jin Yusheng said seriously, "You don't have a soul."
Qi Si gazed at the reflection in the mirror and shook his head with amusement. "In your view, is it the body or the soul that makes someone human?"
"If it's the soul, why are you so determined to keep Qi Si's body alive? If it's the body, why judge by whether someone has a soul?"
Jin Yusheng said, "My opinion doesn't matter. The Eerie Game's standard is the soul."
The Eerie Game's standard?
Qi Si seized on the key phrase and smiled happily. "Then what do you think the standard is for deciding whether someone has a soul?"
"Some African peoples insist newborns have no souls, so they can abandon their wives and children with a clear conscience and reduce the cost of raising them. Certain religions, meanwhile, need to frighten their followers into having more children to increase the population supporting them and expand their influence, so they claim souls exist..."
"Some people think a soul is the self-awareness that makes us human, while others believe it's that immaterial thing said to weigh twenty-one grams. What about you? I'm curious: what standard do you use to judge whether a 'soul' exists?"
Jin Yusheng put away his tablet, his tone unfriendly. "You just promised you wouldn't discuss