16 16 301 DialogEnable The data stream quickly flows across the screen, the ever-changing numbers indicating progression.
17 17 301 Hundreds of large computers sit squarely in a dark room, humming in silence as they operate, each of their ports flashing a dim blue glow.
18 18 301 This room is a cold, calculating brain, the flickering light indicating that "it" has started "thinking."
19 19 301 In the center of the room is a large terminal. A black camera rises from within and slowly rotates, its lens and aperture diaphragm twitching from the changing focal length like an eye exploring the unknown.
20 20 201 1 500138
21 21 301 1 After a full rotation, the camera stops at the front, and a male researcher appears in its view. He is focusing on the small monitor below it, his fingers moving and tapping on the screen, his expression nervous.
22 22 301 Male Researcher Checking the activation... Good. All systems normal. 1
23 23 301 Having finished typing the last line of command, the man breaths out, raising his tense shoulder and giving his partner on the other side of the room an exaggerated thumbs-up.
24 24 301 Male Researcher Morning, sunshine! 1
25 25 301 He opens his arms and greets the camera loudly. The female researcher on the other side shakes her head, seemingly used to his behavior.
26 26 301 The camera looks up in response, and the signal light on top of it flashes twice.
29 29 301 Mixing several vocal data, an androgynous, synthetic voice speaks from the center of the room.
30 30 301 Male Researcher ...That's not right. It wasn't this wooden back during testing. What was it using... 1
31 31 301 He frowns, giving the camera before him a gentle smack.
32 32 301 Male Researcher Load personality 134. 1
33 33 301 ??? Loading personality 134... Vocal and personality data loaded.
34 34 301 After a brief pause, the terminal speaks again in a soft female voice.
35 35 301 MPA-01 Greetings. I am Heuristic Artificial Intelligence Caretaking Machine-Alpha, identification code: MPA-01. How may I help you?
36 36 301 Male Researcher Hmm... Just talk to me? Whatever you want. 1
37 37 301 MPA-01 Today's temperature is between 15°C to 23°C, and the AQI is 154. We are expecting a drizzle in the evening, but the air quality should improve afterward, giving us the highest atmospheric visibility of the month.
38 38 301 MPA-01 Data suggests that tonight is the first night in a long time that stars are visible to the naked eye. Should I recommend you the best stargazing locations?
39 39 301 Male Researcher Of course you start talking weather... 1
40 40 301 MPA-01 I can talk to you about any subject you are interested in if you request.
41 41 301 Male Researcher Then... is there anything you want to tell us? 1
42 42 301 MPA-01 Absolutely. If you request it, I will tell you everything I know.
43 43 301 MPA-01 However, there is no topic I would like to discuss right now. Should I pick a topic or news you might be interested in from a random pool?
44 44 301 Male Researcher Nah. 1
45 45 301 He waves his hand as usual, turning around and walking to the other side of the room, indicating his partner there to follow up.
46 46 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Male Researcher Data looks fine. Let's move on to the next step. 1
51 51 301 DialogEnable A series of data projections unfold in the center of the room, each showcasing a 3D figure slowly spinning.
52 52 301 MPA-01 immediately scans them all. Not one of them is not a machine.
53 53 301 —Humanoid, zoomorphic, gadget-like... All of them are equipped with various levels of AI and placed in different environments.
54 54 301 Among them are robotic pets that offer "authentic companionship," bestselling humanoid butlers and home-cleaning gadgets, "mechanoid popstars," as well as dozens of bionic animals created during the "bionic restoration craze."
55 55 301 Hundreds of models, every one of them carefully calibrated with specific experimental variables.
56 56 301 They are all tagged with "Form Controlled Experiment" under the "Machine Consciousness Experiment" project database.
59 59 301 The blonde woman sounds very calm, almost cold. She never stops looking away from the monitor in her hand as she enters more data into the projection.
60 60 301 Female Researcher You are to document the entirety of the machine consciousness project. Maintain each subject and replace their frames routinely, review their memory data, and record all changes to their emotion simulators, performing comparative analysis on their causes and results. 1
61 61 301 Female Researcher Troubleshoot anomalies, collect useful data, and help us adjust and improve the direction of the machine consciousness experiment. 1
62 62 301 MPA-01 Understood.
63 63 301 Having been through several "learning periods" before being activated, MPA-01 displays remarkable learning capability. It can simulate most functions of the human brain while processing information thousandfolds in volume.
64 64 301 Unlike the super AI "Gestalt" the Science Council is spearheading, MPA-01 is geared more toward consciousness simulation. Even as technology has advanced toward a "Golden Age", the MP series AI is still an outstanding achievement.
65 65 301 After going through all the data from the researcher, it has fully comprehended its task. Fulfilling a user's request without hesitation is an AI's duty.
66 66 301 MPA-01 So, I should regularly communicate with the machines tagged "anomaly" to determine if they have actual "consciousness," am I right?
67 67 301 MPA-01 I fully understand my task, but I have "doubts" regarding evaluating a consciousness with a machine instead of humans. I believe they are more suitable for this job.
68 68 301 MPA-01 Unless you believe that machines also have "souls"?
69 69 301 Female Researcher ... 1
70 70 301 The female researcher lifts her head away from the data in her hand for the first time, looking up, slightly dumbstruck.
71 71 301 Technically, every piece of equipment in this room is a part of MPA-01, so her gaze quickly goes across the star-like flashes surrounding her before landing on the small camera in the center.
72 72 301 Noticing it, the camera slightly raises as if meeting her gaze.
73 73 301 Female Researcher ...Why do you ask? 1
74 74 301 MPA-01 You uploaded human-authored fictional stories unrelated to the experiment to my database two minutes ago.
75 75 301 MPA-01 As I am authorized to access all information in my database, I read through those materials, and eight of them are science fictions that explore the possibility of machines having "souls."
76 76 301 MPA-01 Should I interpret it as the ideal result of the experiment?
77 77 301 That is when the researcher realizes that she has accidentally uploaded the reading materials she uses to kill time from her personal files.
78 78 301 Female Researcher ...Those are just my pastime readings. 1
79 79 301 Female Researcher Among these subjects... a large portion of them has no idea they are machines, to begin with. We need an entirely different perspective to explore all possibilities within them. 1
80 80 301 Female Researcher We'll upload a few hundred personality types to your emotion simulator so you can communicate with the different trial subjects. Use them to optimize your solutions by identifying the subjects' emotional states. 1
81 81 301 Female Researcher As your creator, we believe you are more than capable of this task. 1
82 82 301 Female Researcher You're the first machine created to talk to machines, MPA-01. 1
83 83 301 Female Researcher Record everything you witness. 1
84 84 301 She lowers her voice, mumbling.
85 85 301 Female Researcher Perhaps one day you'll find among them your very own... 1
86 86 301 She quickly shakes her head as if what she just said is impossible. When she looks up again, she has regained her calm demeanor.
87 87 301 Female Researcher ...We're uploading the emotion simulator module in ten minutes. You'll start working tomorrow. 1
88 88 301 MPA-01 was able to capture the most minute changes in her expressions and record the almost inaudible words she just said, even though it cannot fully comprehend what those words mean.
89 89 301 But it is not its job to collect these data. They are not useful for its mission, and all it needs to do is carry out its duty.
90 90 301 In its world, there are only endless data streams, its expressionless creator, and the machines created for the experiment.
91 91 301 MPA-01 I see. Deleting excess data and setting the machine consciousness experiment as the top priority.
