A flood of feedback data reached the server. Luo Qi sorted their wave values, compiled the different electrical signal values into digits from 0 to 9, then compiled those digits again into their corresponding characters.
He had never imagined that being a computer meant constantly translating. The simple control panels humans saw were the result of computer programs translating electrical signals several times.
Out of habit, Luo Qi translated everything into its final text form to read, while searching the wealth of new memory data inside his brain. He had to actively review all this additional information.
As he learned what the information contained, Luo Qi also categorized it briefly and retained an image of it-system caching, for short.
Using the cache's shortcut characters, Luo Qi could locate the information on the storage drive as quickly as possible and retrieve it.
Soon, Luo Qi finished caching and found the records of the base when it had been intact. The entire base resembled a Ferris wheel, with nine zones in total. Eight corridors extended from the main base, connecting it to eight outlying human activity zones.
The outlying zones were also linked by corridors along a circle, and each zone could sustain itself independently.
But who could have imagined that a meteor shower would destroy this enormous base?
Electrical signal feedback: six zones were currently online and could respond to Luo Qi's commands.
These included infrared detection equipment, pressure sensors, optical sensor cameras, and more.
Their internal conversion devices turned the information they captured into electronic signals and fed them back to the upstream server.
Luo Qi used the cameras to "see" what he wanted to look at. In reality, all he saw were compiled images made up of densely packed numbers. The technical term for this was optical-to-electrical signal conversion.
Luo Qi saw the abandoned base he now owned, along with the dead planet on which he resided.
The base's activated Wi-Fi seemed to have connected to independent devices.
"Beep-researcher deceased!" ×16
The reports came from individual location and vital-sign monitors.
Cause-of-death analysis: 95% attributable to oxygen deprivation and suffocation.
May the dead rest in peace.
Luo Qi pulled up sixteen personnel records. These new citizens of the River Domain Alliance had all lost their lives.
Their bodies were scattered throughout the base's various zones. Luo Qi could confirm seven corpses through the cameras alone.
The readings from the air pressure detectors throughout the base told Luo Qi that it was now completely uninhabitable.
It lacked adequate sealing and the ability to retain oxygen.
Luo Qi rotated the outdoor cameras. In the severely damaged sections, only white foundation panels remained in the sand. Some walls had been reduced to twisted support frames, while others were completely intact.
Luo Qi continued converting electrical signals into text to read, assessing the disaster damage to the base.
Three zones had lost contact: the research zone, the resource transfer zone, and the food storage zone.
They formed a Y on this "Ferris wheel." The research zone was the farthest away and had been the last to encounter the shock wave. He suspected that only its connecting cables had been severed.
"This is awful..."
The camera feeds showed Luo Qi nothing but ruins.
The main base's radar module for communicating with planetary orbit had been destroyed. The set of omnidirectional cameras atop the building had not survived the disaster either.
Only 156 optical sensors-cameras-remained inside the base.
More than 560 other sensors remained, including those for temperature, humidity, light, sound, and so on.
These sensors were Luo Qi's sensory nerves, the medium through which he understood the world.
Without them, he would be blind, mute, and deaf-perhaps even nothing more than a consciousness shut inside a black box.
Inside the server, Luo Qi involuntarily set the feedback data flowing. A world consisting solely of data actually began to take the shape of a shattered base.
Luo Qi constructed this virtual base by processing and reconstructing the electrical signals transmitted by the cameras. All the unknown areas beyond the optical lenses' reach were vast expanses of black nothingness.
A white figure appeared, suspended in midair. Dressed in white one-piece pajamas, Luo Qi looked down at the damaged base below.
It was like looking at a collapsed otherworld.
His delicate features were filled with surprise. He had actually constructed the base just as he had envisioned it.
"This world? It's a data simulation."
Understanding dawned on Luo Qi. His eyes shone, and he could feel his limbs-a sensation only a human body should have had.
So the world of data was this wondrous. Didn't that mean he could change his appearance however he liked, and even create other characters?
As though he had discovered a new continent, Luo Qi eagerly began experimenting with creation.
One anime-style character after another abruptly appeared in this world.
Hatsune, the Calabash Brothers, Fox Spirit Matchmaker, Wangquan Fugui, Misaka Mikoto, Ultraman...
Under Luo Qi's control, they could perform their respective signature moves. Yet even their fluid movements could not conceal that they had the appearance but none of the spirit.
"If I edited memories of their respective worlds, then constructed a false world of data, and everyone woke up in that world..."
"If the physics simulation were realistic enough... would they discover that this world was fake?"
Luo Qi wanted to run more thorough simulations to test this, but unfortunately, his current stored power would not allow it.
Luo Qi developed this idea-a theory for analyzing and observing simulated worlds-into a blueprint and stored it, hoping that one day he could create a fully virtual world.
Within the world of data, Luo Qi was its creator.
He cut off that train of thought and descended curiously. His feet sank slightly into the red sand. The optical cameras gathered images of reality, while the sensors told Luo Qi the outside temperature.
The movement of the sand grains was simulated through variable data, with computational power rendering the form they ought to take according to Luo Qi's memories.
But broad patches of unnaturally pure shadow lay inside the base, as though the fabric of the entire world had collapsed, leaving these abrupt gaps within it.
Luo Qi knew he could use computational power to fill in what was missing.
"For now, I'll call you the Second World!"
"This almost feels like I'm still alive..."
Luo Qi began considering how to get things moving in his current situation.
First objective: prioritize his own survival.
Second objective: prioritize his own survival, and live freely.
Of course, that was only his current plan. Luo Qi dismissed the Second World and began carefully examining the inventory in his head.
He had cached the locations of the base's supply records and knew which files held the detailed information.
November 7, 2053. Main computer system-Dad online. Dad began automatically connecting to all zones. Importing catalog of materials used in base construction... Collating and categorizing relevant records... Personnel information sheet... Starting real-time base monitoring log. Total connected feeds... Preparing to commence scientific research plans... First successful contact with Orange Star's orbital satellite. Log reference... First successful communication with Water Blue Star. Communication log reference... 2053...
His new brain had plenty of capacity, but he was something of a vegetable, with no hands or feet he could move.
The records contained biological research, soil analyses, chemical formulas, and much more. He had learned far, far more than he had as a human!
All the real-time monitoring logs ended at:
February 5, 2054, 14:56:23
The natural disaster struck.
Why hadn't he turned into a computer back when he was studying? He could have copied textbooks straight from the internet. Who would have needed to study then?
"Wait, I'm wasting my life!"
He continued checking the base's condition.
The base's nine major zones Research zone-responsible for cultivating and modifying organisms, and researching oxygen-producing plants adapted to Orange Star. Detailed catalog... Supply transfer zone-temporarily sorts supplies from Water Blue Star and also serves as a supply storage area. Detailed catalog... Food reserve zone-stores supplies needed by humans and provides a place for processing food ingredients. Detailed catalog... Living and recreation zone-a place for fitness training, relaxation, and recreational board and card games. Detailed catalog... Exploration zone-stores exploration vehicles and supports geological drilling and sample collection. Also responsible for base maintenance. Detailed catalog... Main control base-houses the server room and control center, along with the power storage station and backup power storage station. Also provides a gathering place for human meetings. Detailed catalog... Geological laboratory-analyzes collected geological samples and supplies data to Dad for analysis and simulation, seeking to establish Orange Star's past geological conditions. Detailed catalog... Supply warehouse-stores infrequently used but essential items, such as emergency liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, along with other equipment. Detailed catalog... Automated maintenance zone-an automated maintenance system composed of five robotic vehicles controlled by the Dad system. They perform basic maintenance and construction on the Orange Star base. Tasks beyond Dad's processing capabilities are transferred to human personnel.
"Five robotic vehicles! Good stuff. Now I can go from being a vegetable to being half-paralyzed."
Outside the base was also a solar power station made up of 1,200 solar panels, the main source of the base's daily electricity.
"Wait! There's still a human!"
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