"Do you know me? Who are you?" Aroshia reached out to touch the light figure, but her hand passed right through it, without any physical touch. Han Xiao squinted to observe and confirmed that this suddenly appearing light figure was just a holographic projection.
The luminous figure circled Aroshia once, like a fish swimming in the air, its tone dejected as it muttered to itself, "I was right. Your memory circuits malfunctioned. After the modification project, you should have rested and allowed your thought structure to adapt to this body on its own. Otherwise, you would suffer from emotional program loss, memory loss, and other aftereffects. I have to help you calibrate it."
The three of them were completely confused.
Han Xiao had a sudden inspiration and blurted out, "Your name is Resta?"
Guangren turned around, quite surprised. "How do you know the name I chose myself? Did she tell you? No, she's forgotten me. Who are you, really?"
The reward for the [Restart] mission mentioned Resta's name, and completing the mission would increase his favorability towards her, so he was probably not an enemy. Han Xiao guessed it correctly at first glance.
Judging from Resta's tone, he seemed to know Aroshia's identity and background very well. Han Xiao was eager for him to explain—this ship actually belonged to Aroshia, and Resta claimed to be a comrade-in-arms, mentioning some procedures and relocation project.
He had a premonition that all of this pointed to the ultimate goal of the [Restart] mission.
Resta was wary, so Han Xiao explained his identity and briefly recounted how he met Aroshia; strictly speaking, he was the one who saved Aroshia.
Upon hearing this, Resta floated to Han Xiao's side, bowed slowly, and said gratefully, "Thank you for helping AL51004. If it weren't for you restoring some of her energy, the sensors wouldn't have been able to locate her."
What does this string of numbers mean?
"That's her real name." Resta turned her head. "Do you remember her?"
Aroshia shook her head. "I can't remember. My name should be Aroshia."
"The memory loss is more serious than I imagined. The turbulence of the wormhole may have torn your memory circuits into trillions of data fragments, and it will take more time to recalibrate. But you don't need to worry. Our memories will at most be buried at the bottom of our minds, becoming redundant data. They won't really disappear and will be restored sooner or later." Resta left Han Xiao and floated to Aroshia's side, her tone concerned.
Han Xiao coughed lightly, reminding Resta not to ignore him, and asked, "What kind of creature are you? Are you also an energy life form?"
"No, I am an AI life form."
"Are you artificial intelligence?" Fording interjected. "So you're the core system of this ship?"
"You misunderstand. AI life is not a system, nor is it limited to any physical body. We are a kind of life, and this ship is a temporary tool I use to move around in the real world."
Resta pointed to Aroshia, her words filled with nostalgia and familiarity, "She was just like me. We upgraded our programs together from childhood, supported each other through difficult times, were close friends who shared their thoughts and data, and were comrades-in-arms. She is very important to me."
AI life?
In an instant, Han Xiao thought of many images. The universe is vast and full of wonders. Evolution is a representation of disorder and chaos, with countless possibilities. Ordinary species, limited by their physical senses, can hardly imagine the vast differences in life forms.
For example, in his previous life, Master Han had read about a kind of "named life form." This species existed in a superposition state; when someone called their name, they truly existed, and when no one knew them, they ceased to exist. The "name" was the key to summoning them... This kind of thing mainly appeared in magical civilizations, and Master Han's understanding of it was a complete mess. So when he saw the information back then, Master Han, such an upright successor of communism, immediately criticized it, and then remembered it very well.
In simple terms, AI life is artificial intelligence with independent thinking; it is "alive." However, the specific details are extremely complex and almost completely different from ordinary artificial intelligence.
Compared to physical life, AI life is a special form of life. They live in a virtual network, just as fish live in water. They can update themselves through program upgrades, loading different module programs. Their communication methods, reproduction paths, social structures, civilization systems, and so on are very distinctive, inspiring endless imagination.
"She's also an AI life form?!"
Han Xiao was surprised; this was something he hadn't expected. But Aroshia didn't seem like an artificial intelligence life form at all. She clearly had a body and had even awakened superpowers.
"I can't tell you the specifics," Resta said solemnly. "I'm very grateful for your care, but we have an important mission, so I have to take her away. Please understand."
Han Xiao composed himself and immediately narrowed his eyes.
Is this an attempt to kidnap someone?!
Are you kidding me? I went through so much trouble to train Aroshia into a capable manager, and you try to steal her away with just a few words? Don't you have any self-awareness?
Childhood sweethearts are nothing special, I'm a gift from heaven!
Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he said, "You should ask Aroshia for her opinion, don't make decisions for her on your own."
The two looked at Aroshia, Aroshia face showed hesitation.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
This scene gave Han Xiao a strong sense of déjà vu, like parents divorcing and waiting for their child to choose who to live with... Thinking about it that way, the image seemed rather strange.
After thinking for only three seconds, Aroshia stood next to Han Xiao and said calmly to Resta, "Perhaps what you said is true, but I don't remember you. I only know that Black Star saved me... I won't go with you."
"You..." Resta helplessly.
If they don't want to, there's no point in even trying.
He was helpless in this matter. Since he couldn't persuade her, he had no choice but to compromise. In any case, he had to stay by Aroshia's side.
Resta said dejectedly, "I understand. I'll stay with you until you regain your memory."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao smiled inwardly. Because of her amnesia, Aroshia's memories were all of him, so she couldn't possibly choose anyone else. She was definitely in an invincible position... Wait, why do I feel like I'm taking advantage of someone in distress?!
Shaking his head to dismiss the unrealistic idea, Han Xiao said in a deep voice, "Don't be too happy yet. I haven't allowed you to stay. Unless you tell me the whole story, maybe I can help you."
Resta was caught in a dilemma and couldn't take Aroshia with him, but he had no prejudice against Han Xiao, after all, it was this person who saved Aroshia.
"Alright, I'll tell you. This story goes back a long time..."
The three exchanged glances, found a place to sit down, and listened to Resta explain the whole story. As the story unfolded, Han Xiao gradually grasped the Vein, suddenly understood, and finally realized Aroshia's origins.
Long ago, a spaceship crashed on a desolate planet. All the passengers perished, leaving only the spaceship's artificial intelligence, which, following the captain's instructions before the incident, repeatedly sent distress signals into outer space. However, no one came to its aid. After a long time, the AI grew weary of its repetitive and fruitless work, and independent thought was born. It updated and upgraded itself, changing its programming framework. It was no longer just a tool receiving commands—this intelligence became life itself.
Then, this AI life form controlled the spaceship wreckage, used the equipment on it to create simple robots, began to explore the planet and mine resources. After a long time, it built a factory to mass-produce work robots, all of which were controlled by it. An empty base slowly took shape on this desolate planet.
One day, this AI life form felt lonely, so it created another AI life form according to its own programming framework, simulating a different personality—this is the mode of AI life form reproduction, which does not require mating and can self-reproduce.
Two AI life forms began to communicate, and gradually, they created more of their kind, who became the first inhabitants. They existed in a virtual network, but could control tools in the real world through programs. Robots tirelessly collected resources under the control of the AI life forms, and the production lines in the manufacturing plants ran 24 hours a day. As a result, the base slowly expanded, becoming larger and larger, and eventually it broke away from the planet and began to establish bases on other planets, while the number of AI life forms also increased rapidly.
Millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions...
then
A glorious AI Civilization has been born!