Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 173: A Five-Point Agreement

The operations and maintenance team watched the surveillance footage of the "Cosmic Incubation Chamber" for three or four consecutive days, feeling extremely fatigued. However, after the explosion of virtual universe number 13141592, he still found a clue in the surveillance footage: a very small, very dim, rapidly moving point of light, which was very difficult to spot under the obscuration of the light from many virtual universe galaxies. The operations and maintenance team later reviewed the surveillance footage after the explosions of four other faster-than-light simulated virtual universes and found the same rapidly moving small point of light.

The operations team immediately reported this important discovery to their immediate supervisor, the architecture team. The architecture team then retrieved all the surveillance footage from the MATRIX base and found that the five small lights emerged from underground, rose into the air, and then slowly disappeared in the air.

President Thomas immediately convened an emergency meeting with relevant personnel. The two heads of the MATRIX base, responsible for its architecture and operations, were invited. Military representatives included General George and others, as well as some politicians and, of course, some world-renowned scientists, such as those in biomedicine, cosmology, anthropology, physics, astronomy, computer science, and philosophy.

After listening to the maintenance report, the scientists initially didn't believe that small points of light would appear after the virtual universe exploded. However, when the monitoring footage showed that small points of light did indeed appear in all five faster-than-light simulated virtual universes, the scientists realized something was amiss. What shocked them even more was that President Thomas personally stated that the numbers of these five exploding virtual universes were approximate values ​​of pi, suggesting that humanity on Earth might indeed have been simulating them.

These great scientists had all participated in the MATRIX base project, and this tragic symphony of fate was now playing in their ears.

Scientists began analyzing the five small bright spots, debating and scrutinizing their origins as if they were investigating an alien. Finally, they reached a consensus: these five bright spots were likely a type of neutrino-like object that science could not yet explain. They were called neutrino-like because these five small points of light could penetrate steel and earthen walls, just like neutrinos, which are ubiquitous, yet neutrinos do not emit light.

Among these prominent scientists was an anthropologist who insisted that these five small points of light were the "soul" of a virtual universe, just as humans possess quantum consciousness or a soul. However, her claim was refuted by other scientists, who argued that a virtual universe could not possibly possess a "soul." The anthropologist countered that since we humans on Earth are virtual, how could we have quantum consciousness or a soul? These scientists maintained that the virtual universe and the human being are fundamentally different and could not possibly possess a "soul."

The operations team certainly knew the anthropologist's name; it was Maria, and she was a beautiful single woman. Because Maria was the youngest and least qualified among these prominent scientists, she had no say or influence.

President Thomas listened to the scientists' advice. Since the virtual universe has bugs, the simulated world of humanity on Earth must also have bugs or anomalies. The president needed to give a global address to alert people around the world to the occurrence of anomalies.

The operations engineer was sleeping in and hadn't woken up yet when his mother woke him up early in the morning by yelling at him.

"Hey, system administrator, come check this out. The president is about to give a televised address."

The maintenance engineer rubbed his eyes, glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table, which showed that it was already nine o'clock in the morning. The sunlight shone warmly through the curtains.

The maintenance engineer quickly jumped out of bed; it was Saturday, and he had an appointment that morning.

A series of maintenance actions were performed: brushing teeth, washing face, and eating breakfast. On the TV, President Thomas's global speech was being broadcast, reminding people around the world to pay attention to sudden changes or abnormal conditions of people and things around them.

"Mom, I'm going out. I have an appointment at noon."

His mother was overjoyed to hear that the operations and maintenance engineer had a date; she couldn't stop smiling. "You little rascal, keep up the good work!"

Operations and maintenance, a 58-year-old bachelor, is so engrossed in his work that he has never had a girlfriend.

The maintenance crew piloted his dazzling private spaceship and sped urgently toward the Xiongdong Oriental Plaza in the city center. Various spaceships, flying cars, and airplanes came and went in the air, layered upon each other and following their own tracks.

The Xiongjing Oriental Plaza was bustling with people. The maintenance worker couldn't help but glance a few times at the women with exposed midriffs, shorts, and long, white legs. He almost bumped into a glass door because he was looking at them.

The operations engineer walked into the Misty Youth Cafe, found a two-seater, and checked his watch; he had ten minutes left before their meeting time. He looked towards the entrance, anticipating the arrival.

A few minutes later, the coffee shop door opened, and a familiar face appeared. "Hi, Maria, I'm here." The operations engineer waved to Maria.

Maria looked especially beautiful today, her red dress exuding a noble air. Maria is quite tall, appearing to be half a head taller than the maintenance engineer.

Maria smiled, walked over to the maintenance table, and sat down.

The waiter brought over an ordering tablet, and the two quickly ordered their coffee and breakfast.

"Operations and Maintenance, you look really handsome today. You didn't seem like this at the Presidential Palace the other day."

"You can't just go on a date with a beautiful woman like that."

“You weren’t like this in our previous collaborative projects.”

"Okay, let's put it this way, I'm starting to feel interested in you."

"Yes, please speak frankly."

“Beautiful lady, it’s like this, when you said at the Presidential Palace that the virtual universe also has a ‘soul’, I think I agree.”

“Really? That’s wonderful. You know, I’ve been feeling really down ever since I got home that day.” Maria was practically jumping out of her chair, as if she’d taken some kind of stimulant.

"Operations and maintenance, wait a minute, I thought you were interested in me."

"Beautiful lady, I'm not good enough for you." The operations engineer avoided Maria's fiery gaze and lowered his head to drink his coffee. Actually, the operations engineer also felt his heart racing and his face slightly flushed. This was the operations engineer's first formal date with a girl.

"You must be very busy usually."

The operations engineer looked up. "Yeah, I'm swamped. Dealing with those virtual universes and data all day long."

"In our eyes, operations and maintenance personnel are outstanding geniuses among humankind, and they seem to be all-rounders as well."

“Maria, you flatter me.”

"By the time you were twenty-eight, you had fifteen doctoral degrees! What else could you be but a genius and a polymath? I think I'm four years younger than you, but I only have one doctoral degree in anthropology."

“Maria, people and society are complex, and studying humans and human societies is not so simple. I dare not delve into anthropology. My last PhD was in computer science. I found that I still like computers, so I went to work there.”

"Operations and Maintenance, you just said you agree with the concept of a 'soul' in the virtual universe. What evidence or theory do you have to support that?"

The maintenance engineer looked around; there weren't many people nearby. "Maria, it's like this. I compared the virtual universe data from the constant light speed simulation and the faster-than-light simulation. You know what? There are obvious differences between the data from the five faster-than-light simulations and the constant light speed simulations. Especially number 31415192, which is different from the other four faster-than-light simulations; it has several strange lines of square strings."

"Oh, is that really true?"

"Yes, believe me. I've only told you so far; no one else knows yet."

"why?"

"Even if I told them, those old guys would still think it was just a minor bug caused by a bug, and they wouldn't believe me."

Maria nodded, indicating her agreement with the operations and maintenance personnel's statement.

"Operations and Maintenance, now that we've been so frank, do you believe the 'soul' of the virtual universe I'm talking about truly exists?"

"Yeah, those old guys think the virtual universe is different from human life forms, it's hilarious."

"I think they're right to refute it."

“Maria, you have all overlooked an important detail.”

"What step?"

"Intelligent civilization".

Maria was silent for a few seconds, then seemed to understand, her face beaming with joy. "Operations, why didn't you just say you supported me that day? It would have saved me from being so embarrassed."

"Maria, I also have no evidence to prove that those strange square strings in virtual universe 13141592 are real?"

"The 'soul' of a collective of intelligent civilizations?"

"Yes, Maria, you used that word correctly."

Maria stared into the operations engineer's eyes. "Operations engineer, tell me, how do we break this deadlock?"

"I've been searching for information these past few days, and I finally found some in the Imperial Library. In the ancient myths and legends of the Eastern Kingdom of C, there are stories of astral projection, reincarnation, and rebirth. However, the rapid development of globalization and technology over the past three hundred years has overwhelmed these myths and legends. I also found something similar to that strange square script in the Imperial Library; it's also an ancient Eastern Kingdom of C's pictographic script. This pictographic script seems to be much easier to understand than the characters we use now. Maria, you're an anthropologist, and I hope you can help me decipher those strange square strings."

"An ancient Eastern country, C. I've had contact with their history and culture. Their hieroglyphics are indeed a marvel. However, Operations, you can request authorization from the President to have Zhang Xiaoyu, the Asia Regional Director, help you."

“Maria, I think it’s best to keep this a secret.”

Maria nodded, her eyes shining. "Operations and Maintenance, why don't we go and find out the truth?"

The operations engineer looked at Maria and shook his head. "Maria, I do want to be with you, but you know that place can't do without me."

Maria was disappointed, but she knew that operations and maintenance were not easy. "Okay, I'll go to Asia by myself and take a look. We'll keep in touch."

"Maria, don't worry, my private spaceship, at full speed, can reach that place in the East, Country C, in just two hours. If you need me to go there, I will go immediately."

"Okay, it's a deal."

"It's a word."

The two high-fived and made a promise.

“Maria, these are the strange square strings from virtual universe number 3141592. I hope you can take them with you and find someone in the Asian region to decipher them.”

After saying that, the operations engineer took out a small tablet from his pocket and handed it to Maria. "Maria, press that green button, and those lines of square strings will be displayed."

Maria pressed a green button on the left side of the tablet as instructed. The screen lit up and displayed several lines of ancient Chinese square hieroglyphs. The strokes of the characters were crooked and twisted, like small snakes.

Maria turned off the power and put the tablet away.

"Operations and Maintenance, I'm setting off tomorrow for City B in Country C of the Eastern Plains."

"Okay, Maria, have a safe journey. By the way, Maria, please be careful on your way. This is for your self-defense."

The maintenance engineer pulled out a flashlight-like object from his pocket and handed it to Maria. "This is a plasma gun. I invented it myself. Security checks won't be able to detect it."

Maria looked at the operations engineer suspiciously, but the operations engineer smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've tried it. I've taken it to the moon, Mars, and Saturn."

Maria stood up and kissed the operations engineer on the forehead. "Operations engineer, thank you."

The operations engineer blushed and said, "Mary, have a safe journey."

Maria chuckled, amused by the maintenance team's predicament.

"Operations and maintenance personnel, you know my identification number, right? You can contact me anytime."

“Maria, keep in touch.”

The maintenance engineer stood up, swiped his ID, paid the bill, and the two left the coffee shop, then strolled around Xiongjing Oriental Plaza. It was the maintenance engineer's first time accompanying a girl shopping, and of course, he bought Maria clothes and other items.

Maria seemed very reluctant to leave.