The staff brought over many large eyeglass cases.
Mei Yiqiu recognized it immediately from the picture book; it was the latest VR headset, manufactured by Huawei, China HW Company.
Frederick put on the headset first, then said, "Please put on your helmets, everyone. There's a red button on your right; that's the power switch. Professor Dardova has used CG technology to recreate the image of Mr. Lester's deciphered Mind Matrix information. You can all take a look."
Mei Yiqiu and the others put on the headsets, and their vision was immediately plunged into darkness.
He pressed the switch on the right, and a flash of blue light appeared, like the explosion of the oldest supernova in the depths of the universe. Then, a huge blue three-dimensional matrix appeared before his eyes, stretching to infinity.
Green straight lines continuously descend from the top of the matrix, insert from the left and right sides, or shoot in from afar like arrows, carrying long strings of numbers composed of 0s and 1s. In the middle, there are also some serpentine sequences that weave through the gaps in the matrix, like twisted bullet screens.
Dardova appeared at the edge of the matrix. He pointed to a point in the matrix, and that point lit up like a star. Then, as if receiving some kind of instruction, the disordered sequence of numbers quickly converged towards a certain area and began to line up neatly according to some rules.
Then, these clustered and crowded numerical symbols slowly transformed into the shape of a green human face.
The face becomes clearer. First, the outline of the face, then the raised bones and muscles, and finally the facial features.
Mei Yiqiu quickly recognized him; it was Evans Lester.
"Hello, China Mei!" Evans Lester greeted Mei Yiqiu.
" China Mei " was a nickname Lester used for Mei Yiqiu when they were at Princeton University. Apparently, this latest VR device has added a new function to recognize users, and Professor Dardova, the creator of the VR, happens to know Mei Yiqiu's nickname.
"Hello, Mr. Lester." The VR effects were so realistic that Mei Yiqiu unconsciously responded.
"I am Evans Lester, the real deal."
Mei Yiqiu knew this was merely a CG reconstruction of Evans Lester's image, so she fell silent and listened quietly to Mr. Lester speak.
I am Evans Lester, the real deal.
I'm currently using Mind Matrix, something I invented. I'm sorry, it's not very user-friendly, so none of you like it. But I have to use it to relay messages to you now; only in this way can I prove that the person speaking is the real me, and not someone impersonating or forcing me.
I don't know how much longer I can hold on.
Perhaps ignorance and perfunctory attitudes will allow me to enjoy a comfortable old age. But I am a scientist; I have spent my entire life contemplating the fate and future of humanity, devoting all my time and energy to it. I cannot pretend not to see something that could destroy humanity.
This thing has been lurking in my mind for a long time. I can't get rid of it, I can't eliminate it, and it's even hard to prove its existence. Please forgive me for using "he" instead of "it," because it looks exactly like me.
Those familiar with the Mind Matrix and the Lester Signature should know that I am currently in a deep self-hypnotic state, so when I say "exactly the same," I don't mean he has a body exactly like mine, but rather "consciousness."
In fact, he and I share the same body.
He possesses all my memories. He knows what I'm thinking and what I'm going to do; he knows my wife, daughter, and friends; he knows I like foie gras with China chili sauce... In short, he knows everything about me. If it weren't for the fact that his way of thinking is so different from mine, I would almost have thought he was me.
Okay, let me think, when did he first appear? I probably can't remember, or I didn't notice him at first; he must have been quite weak back then.
He lurked inside my body, in my brain or neural network (forgive me for not understanding how human consciousness and we coexist), slowly stealing my memories and growing stronger.
Later, he became my shadow, living and growing alongside me. It wasn't until he stood up independently and tried to usurp my place and drive me away that I became aware of his existence.
If I had been more decisive at that time, I might have been able to kill him.
Throughout my life studying quantum mechanics and the universe, I have mastered some methods for controlling self-awareness and spiritual energy. I have also attempted to prove the existence of dimensional superposition between the spiritual and material worlds, but related papers have not been published due to obvious flaws. Professor Mei Yiqiu from China can attest to this; we discussed the energy characteristics of independent consciousness together at Princeton.
I became interested in studying "him".
I thought this was a gift from God, allowing me to take another big step forward on the path of science in my lifetime.
I was wrong. He wasn't sent by God; he was Satan!
One thing I should mention is that, except during deep hypnosis, I can only see him in my dreams.
All my physical indicators are normal, but the nightmare of battling him every day has left me exhausted. Britney asked me if I was under too much pressure because of the unified field theory problem.
No! The fundamental problems of unified field theory have been solved. Even if I cannot perfect the rest in my lifetime, others will. I see many outstanding young people— Flins, Jack Yang, Mulverde, Miyamoto Jo, Barclaire ... they all have enough talent to complete this final feat.
But I now have a more important research to conduct—who is "he"? Where did he come from? What is "his" or "their" purpose?
I study him every day, trying to resolve the questions above. And he influences me every day, tries to stop me, and attempts to drive me out of my body.
He is becoming more and more powerful.
Now, without hypnosis, I can no longer distinguish whether the decisions I make are made by "me" or by "him". This is precisely why I have to use the Thought Matrix Cipher you call the " Lester Signature " to transmit messages with _the_book_.
However, my research has also yielded some results.
Now, I don't have time to present all my arguments, nor do I have the opportunity to conduct related experiments. I must tell you the truth directly—it is an invasive species, and there is certainly more than one.
We often fantasize about life forms similar to humans existing in the universe, and we call them "aliens."
In fact, the term "aliens" is inaccurate, or at least narrow. This term arbitrarily categorizes extraterrestrial life as "humans" living on exoplanets, while ignoring the fact that life in the universe is not necessarily human, nor animal, and may not even be any form that we can understand.