Mei Yiqiu first recounted the research findings of Laboratory No. 19 on Internet intelligence that Xia Xiaoxiao had mentioned. Of course, he did not know Xia Xiaoxiao's true identity, and as agreed, he did not reveal Situ Yuli's name. Then, he told the story of Liu Huaian and the tortuous process of obtaining the chip.
The chip's structure was extremely complex, and the State Security lacked the technical means to decipher its secrets. Therefore, they sent the chip to National Defense Research Institute. After studying it, the institute concluded that the chip's core technology was from the 1990s and long obsolete. They argued that the chip's structure had been deliberately made complex, adding many components unrelated to computation, and therefore had little research value. They believed the only worthwhile aspect to study was the materials used, as achieving such a small chip with the technology available at the time was nothing short of a miracle. Consequently, the National Defense Research Institute then sent the chip to the Nanomaterials Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuzhong.
When Mei Yiqiu found the chip after many twists and turns, the staff at the Nanomaterials Research Institute were about to cut it up. If they had arrived any later, they would have only been able to retrieve a bunch of things that could only be seen with a microscope.
"The circuit structure of this chip does indeed look like technology from the 1990s, somewhat similar to the chess chip in IBM's Deep Blue computer back then; perhaps it's a model of that. Since the 1990s, computer performance has doubled every twelve months, and even at today's bottleneck, chip technology can still achieve a development rate of doubling performance every thirty months. From this perspective, the comrades at the National Defense Research Institute are right; outdated technology from twenty years ago should have been thrown into the trash heap long ago."
"But everyone needs to understand one thing: over the years, the fundamental principles of computers haven't changed, and neither have the principles of chips. Essentially, the chips we use now and the chips used in the 1990s are the same thing; it's just that the materials you use are better and the manufacturing process is more sophisticated. It's like the Mercedes-Benz you drive today and the Mercedes-Benz from a hundred years ago—there's no fundamental difference between them."
Mei Yiqiu took the chip out of the bag and carefully picked it up with her thumb and forefinger to show it to everyone. The chip was yellowish and about the size of a fingernail.
"How were chips made so small in the 1990s? I'm not an applied materials researcher, so I'm not interested in what materials they're made of. What I'm interested in are the complex circuits and contacts added to the original chip structure. Preliminary research has revealed that this chip isn't a simple electronic chip; it has 62 unique contacts connecting to 62 circuits made of a special material. These contacts and circuits correspond precisely to the 31 pairs of spinal nerves in the human body. Of course, we don't yet know how it was implanted in the body and connected to the nervous system; it seems to be a very complex and delicate surgery. These circuits and the chip's own electronic circuits together form a complex system..."
"When we tried transmitting simulated neural signals to one of the circuits in the experimental environment, we discovered that these circuits, composed of these unique materials, could not only receive bioelectrical signals but also receive and transmit mechanical waves. We know that neural signals are far more than just electrical signals; they are also mechanical signals. If we only use electricity to understand the transmission of neural information, we will certainly miss a lot of important information. Therefore, I believe that this is an electronic chip that is twenty years behind ours, but a biochip that is twenty years ahead of ours!"
Mei Yiqiu did not reveal his full understanding of chips, such as the signal transmitting and receiving devices on them. What he said was enough for today's meeting, and he needed to keep some secrets, whether for his own selfish reasons or to guard against the monster that is the Internet.
The idea that the Internet itself possesses intelligence and can inject a second consciousness into a person through a chip is too far-fetched. If an ordinary person heard this, they would probably think it's just the content of a second-rate science fiction movie. But as members of the world's top scientific team, as developers of the Space Box and Dream Guide games, in the context of Lester's last words and the Book today, facing the invasion of extraterrestrial consciousness, there's nothing unacceptable about it. After all, the concept of AI has been a hot topic for quite some time.
It's just a super AI on the internet!
What shocked the scientists present the most was not the Internet's self-awareness, but this chip. They actually created something twenty years ahead of us in technology twenty years ago, and that's what's truly frightening and even despairing.
Many people are thinking: Impossible! This can't be real! Who could create something like this? How could a lab twenty years ago have made something we can't make now? If they had this technology, why didn't they let a word of it out back then?
It is important to understand that no science or technology exists in isolation. Especially in the information age, every breakthrough is inevitably accompanied by the progress of related technologies and upstream and downstream industries.
"Either this chip is a scam, or the development of the past twenty years has been a scam!"
Some people have come to this conclusion.
The room fell silent. No one offered any opinions; some smoked, others stared blankly. The air seemed to freeze, and a terrible sense of despair spread through the room.
Qingmu had heard the professor talk about chips before, and even knew more than those present, but he didn't feel anything special, nor could he understand the scientists' feelings. Only one sentence truly chilled him to the bone—the technological advancements of the past twenty years were a hoax!
He suddenly remembered the cave in Southern Yunnan, the pig cages, the underground river, and the Japan. When reality and dreams intertwined, what was real and what was fake? Were those who were imprisoned in pig cages and later joined the suicide squad and died on the battlefield just having a dream or experiencing a real life?
Duwa told him that Situ was looking for evidence that World War II was a dream. If World War II could be fake, then why couldn't the world's development over the past twenty years be fake? Of course, this is even more incredible than alien invasions and the Internet possessing consciousness.
Qingmu's mind was in a bit of a mess again.
Mei Yiqiu could understand these people's feelings. After all, they were all colleagues, people who had studied science all their lives. They thought they were standing at the top, but suddenly found that what they had been pursuing was something that others had already done decades ago. How desperate would that be? It was like when the Chinese people with queues, with the pride of "all the land under heaven belongs to the emperor," shouted "Long live the emperor!" and were suddenly demoted to an inferior race by powerful ships and cannons. How desperate would that be!
However, his goal today is not to instill despair in everyone. What he wants is hope to emerge after despair.
He put the chip back into the plastic bag and said, "Regardless, Laboratory No. 19 no longer exists. This chip is the only evidence that the Internet possesses intelligence. Originally, I didn't want to reveal it today, but the time wasn't right! But I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, so I had to show it to everyone. Now you understand why I disconnected the internet and power and blocked the signal before the meeting, right?"