She formally extended her hand toward the Little Refrigerator Lynn was playing.
In the vast consciousness hall, the towering machine loomed behind her, casting down an azure glow as though illuminating some grand destiny.
Lynn said nothing.
Through the consciousness link, through Little Refrigerator's worn screen, he gazed at the Mechanical Maiden before him for a long time.
Finally.
He extended his hand toward her.
Their hands clasped.
"Yes-Commander Sister-we're family now-"
The wind whistled past.
And at that very moment.
An azure beam shot down from the enormous hive overhead in the consciousness hall, enveloping his refrigerator body. As their hands met, a vast stream of data completely engulfed Lynn's refrigerator body as well.
[Consciousness upload review: approved] [Purification Council review result: invalid, verified through higher-level authorization] [Memory review result: not reviewed, exempted through higher-level authorization] [Origin tracing and background investigation: not reviewed, exempted through higher-level authorization] [Identity authentication: Little Refrigerator] [Initial life-form category: unidentified digital life] [Initial consciousness upload level: level 1 (subsequent advancement requires accumulated merits and personality assessments)] [Reviewer: Machine Intelligence] [Initial registered terminal]: Hive One [Welcome to your official membership in the Mechanical Church. Your consciousness data will be formally registered in the Machine Intelligence Civilization database. As a member of the Mechanical Church, you will be responsible for upholding its authority throughout the infinite time ahead, and must strive to revive the Machine Intelligence Civilization as your sole purpose in life.] [Flesh is weak, mechanical ascension awaits. May the bells of the God of Ten Thousand Machines ring for you.]
Buzzz-
Almost at the very moment those lines of data flashed before his eyes.
In the next instant.
Lynn felt his consciousness engulfed by an unimaginably vast torrent of data, then vanish from the refrigerator's storage unit.
He knew!
At this moment.