The plane glided over the tarmac and took off into the starry sky in the deep night.
On the window seat, Li Shuoxing turned on the night light and looked through the drafts on his computer. The document wasn’t very long, with just over twenty thousand words in total. It was a short science fiction story that explored what “God” was.
He looked back at his original text:
“…In this universe, positive and negative, yin and yang, life and death, right and wrong, choice and non-choice, every human action and state can be summarised into two, and the myriad complexities of human thought ultimately point to these two states.
“Simplify all this to its initial definition, namely, 0 and 1.”
From the most primitive 0’s and 1’s to machine languages, then to assembly languages, then to various high-level languages.
Computer languages had evolved towards greater simplicity and comprehensibility.
Based on this trend in reality, Li Shuoxing predicted that there’d be a “zero language” in the future. It’d be defined by a thinking model, and its natural advantages would help open up a new direction of research.
First, weave a brain with thought, and then, realise the dialogue between brain and brain.
The program written in zero language was also a super AI with real thinking power.
Li Shuoxing went on to ponder the definition of the real God through this:
What is it ultimately? Is it a superbrain with unlimited computational power?
At the end of this article, Li Shuoxing had the protagonist find God.
The superbrain wasn’t God. Even if it represented the pinnacle of technological civilisation, it wasn’t God.
Mankind was a part of the 0’s and 1’s, civilisation was a part of the 0’s and 1’s, and technology was a point in civilisation; also just a part of the 0’s and 1’s.
God was a collection of all 0’s and 1’s, but mankind need not fear God.
Humans were always selecting between 0 and 1, and humans were always writing God.
Li Shuoxing felt rather complicated re-reading that article.
It was really short, but in terms of presence and memory, it could be regarded as one of the top three articles in Li Shuoxing’s ten-year writing career.
…Because this was the novel that he’d attached to his transcript and sent to the school by mistake.
Thinking about it, Mingqian was also at B.A.Fc University the year he’d applied for a master’s degree there. The possibility that the files he’d sent over had been by Mingqian was remote, but not impossible.
And then what?
Li Shuoxing couldn’t help but continue to think about it.
Mingqian had seen the short story, and mentioned it to him many years later, on the day before Ask would be announced to the world.
What was he trying to say? What did that have to do with the launch?
Li Shuoxing then dug out the launch brochure that’d been sent with the invitation from his backpack.
When he’d received the delivery, he had been so preoccupied with the invitation that he didn’t pay much attention to the brochure. When he unfolded it again now for a closer look, he soon found that something else was being introduced at the launch, along with Ask.
“Zero Language”, a brand new computer language.
Seeing those two words, Li Shuoxing’s hand shook.
A conjecture came into his mind. Then, he felt that it was too absurd, absurd to the point that it would even be unbelievable in a dream.
But…
Ask was the superbrain.
The helmet represented that Ask had deciphered the mind.
Zero language also existed.
The tremors in his hands had transmitted through Li Shuoxing’s entire body.
Sitting in the plane seat, he heard his teeth chattering.
Chattering from trepidation, excitement, extravagant hope, and yearning.
In retrospect, he even thought that it was no wonder Su Mingqian had been to the cafe he frequented, because, in that short story, he had made the protagonist have this hobby.
The sky outside the plane’s portholes had changed at some point.
The plane was still flying in the starry night sky, but the blue sky and the red sun could already be seen in the distance. Day and night appeared together in the same sky, slightly separated by a boundary line. It was yin and yang, 0 and 1.
***
On May 21st, the multinational joint AI launch was held in the United States.
This was admission time before the official launch.
Cars, scientists from all around the world, senior political officials escorted by bodyguards, and countless journalists holding cameras all came together.
Standing there, Li Shuoxing suddenly felt like a small shrimp in a crowd of bigwigs. He felt a bit intimidated at the time.
He walked slowly through the crowd, moving forward little by little. It took him twenty minutes to walk a mere one or two hundred metres.
Almost all the attendees had entered the venue by this time, and Li Shuoxing was instantly revealed.
The staff at the launch approached him a little doubtfully. “Hello, how may I help you?”
Although the staff was acting cordial, the armed security personnel around her were not.
He silently pulled out his invitation and handed it to her.
The staff took it and had a look, and her expression instantly changed.
She bowed slightly. “Please allow me to take you to your seat.”
Li Shuoxing followed the blonde beauty forward, all the way to the auditorium.
The launch hadn’t started yet, but it was already filled with people. The people in the room were whispering, their voices converging like a warm breeze blowing in his face.
Li Shuoxing had just relaxed a little when he met the eyes of a man in front of him, who was sitting right next to the corridor.
The man’s mouth opened into a circle.
Li Shuoxing’s mouth also opened into a circle.
A deafening sound came from Li Shuoxing’s mind: Mulberry Without Ghost!
He looked at the other and believed that the other heard the same thunderclap in his heart as in his own.
They got closer and closer together, then further and further away.
When they were closest together, Li Shuoxing could clearly see every single exaggerated line on Mulberry Without Ghost’s face, and could’ve even raised his hand to pat Mulberry Without Ghost on the shoulder, but of course, he didn’t. Stiffly, like a puppet, he walked many steps forward with the staff. He suddenly came back to his senses when he saw they’d already walked two-thirds the entire distance of the venue, and that the blonde in front of him had no intention of stopping.
Li Shuoxing: “So, where exactly is my seat…”
Blonde: “Your seat is the first one in the first row.”
“?!?!” Li Shuoxing panicked. “Wait, I just saw my friend in the back row. Can you change my seat? Can I sit next to my friend?”
The blonde smiled apologetically. “We have designated seating, so I’m afraid we can’t change your seat.”
Distance would eventually be covered, no matter how long it was, not to mention that the remaining distance wasn’t very long.
The blonde had already brought Li Shuoxing to his seat after a couple of sentences.
First row, first seat.
The best guest seat in the entire launch venue, besides the R&D staff seats.
Commonly known as the C-seat.
In addition to this seat, the entire first row was already filled with people, all of whom were part of the older generations.
He was the only young man in his twenties in the entire row.
Li Shuoxing sat down very timidly. As soon as he touched the chair, an old man with a large white beard hanging down to his chest came up to him. “Hello, who are you?”
Is he, is he asking me to introduce myself?
Li Shuoxing took a quick glance at the name tag and introduction in front of the other’s seat.
Boyle Dale
Nobel Prize winner in physics.
Li Shuoxing: “…”
How should I introduce myself?
Hello, I’m an author who writes web novels.
In all honesty, Li Shuoxing had never felt there was anything bad about his profession. But, when faced with a Nobel Prize winner, this was really, kind of low…
Li Shuoxing wanted to cry but had no tears.
The more nervous he was, the more he had to hold steady.
After a few seconds of brainstorming, Li Shuoxing calmly replied, “Hello, I’m a science fiction short story author.”
Same venue, different reactions.
As Mulberry Without Ghost watched Li Shuoxing walk all the way to the front row of the auditorium and sit down, he whipped out his phone and even started typing, ignoring his fellow audience members’ curious stares.
Calm Egg: “Old Mulberry’s possessed by a ghost today?”
Soren: “Has his research finally made him go mad?”
Interfinger Storm: “How can you guys say that? @Mulberry Without Ghost, brother, don’t be afraid. I went to see the best psychiatrist in Shanghai last time. I can refer you if you need it.”
Mulberry Without Ghost: “Do you know where I am now? I’m at a multinational joint AI launch!”
Everyone was impressed. “That’s awesome. Old Mulberry, you usually don’t show your face. I didn’t expect that you’d be successful enough to go to that kind of place where you can see the heads of various countries?!”
Mulberry Without Ghost could only use exclamation marks to express his inner feelings. “That’s not the point. Do you know who I saw here? I saw a man who looked a lot like Ximu, and he sat in the first seat in the first row!!!!!”
Everyone was really shocked this time.
Six Flavour Monk hesitated and said, “That, the first row should be reserved for scientific leaders, right? Just like in our Buddhist events, where the first row is always reserved for eminent monks.”
Deer Over Fragrant Grass: “A lot like Eunuch? That isn’t very likely.”
Ten Zero Mausoleum: “Wait for me to go to the living room and seriously look at this launch!”
They all turned their eyes to the television and, with a quick glance, they saw the man in the first seat of the first row in the live broadcast.
The group fell into an eerie silence.
For a long, long time.
Calm Egg: “…I seem to be face blind for some reason. I kind of can’t recognise Eunuch.”
Deer Over Fragrant Grass: “…It seems to be, yet it seems to be not; it seems to be not, yet it seems to be.”
Intefinger Storm: “…How about we @Caramel Ximu?”
Ten Zero Mausoleum: “…Is it just my imagination? When Interfinger Storm @, the man sitting in the first seat moved his arm. What did he want to do?”
Six Flavour Monk: “…Amitabha, this monk is shivering.”
Soren: “…Damn, Weibo’s blowing up. Everyone’s guessing who the young oriental face sitting in the first seat is.”
As soon as this information came out, people rushed to ask, “How did they guess? Have they picked out his identity? Who are they saying he is?”
Soren looked at Weibo. “Some are guessing that he’s a robot because it’s an artificial intelligence launch; others are guessing he’s the heir to a super-rich family who invested in the project, so he’s sitting there; and others… er.”
Soren was also choking. “Others picked out the picture of Brother Subway Million… Wait, not only Brother Million, but also Brother Air!”
Dead silence rolled back in.
Everyone fell into a long exam.
Soren then exclaimed, “It’s over! Subway Million Brother forwarded to thirty thousand in an instant!… Air Brother is forty thousand!… It’s over, they both rushed onto the hot search… So many people are saying they’re starting to doubt whether all Chinese people look the same… Oh my god, it exploded… Oh my god oh my god, one exploded, two exploded, three exploded… all three hot searches exploded!”
Everyone was in a trance: “…Why did this rhythm suddenly become familiar.”
With three explosions happening on Weibo, the news certainly spread throughout the Terminal author group and the Terminal editorial department at the same time.
In the Terminal editorial department, when Night Tour saw this hot search, he tilted his head and opened his mouth, looking as if his soul had left his body.
Just as the other people in the department were trembling and about to call an ambulance for Night Tour, Night Tour slowly came back to his senses.
He lifted his hand, held his chin, closed his mouth, then straightened his neck and said to the others, “Get me a copy of Caramel Ximu’s ID card from when he signed the contract. I want to compare it.”
This file was quickly pulled up, and attentively sent over by Calamus.
Li Shuoxing’s editor, like Night Tour, had also immediately noticed something was wrong, and was now trying to get some answers from Night Tour.
Taking the copy of the ID, Night Tour went straight to his television set, then crouched down in front of it and began to compare both one by one.
Eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth.
They looked alike, really alike.
But who was he kidding? This wasn’t possible by any stretch of the imagination… right?
Night Tour suddenly had a realisation. “I know, Eunuch really does have a twin!”
Calamus also suddenly had a realisation. “So that’s how it is. Editor-in-chief is awesome!”
At the same time, the same confident sentences appeared from Calm Egg’s mouth in the Terminal Food Group.
“I’ve thought about this for a long time. I think this matter should have nothing to do with Eunuch, so…” Calm Egg said, holding a pearl of wisdom <sup>1</sup> ć™şçŹ ĺś¨ćŹˇ [zhì zhĹ« zĂ i wò] is a Chinese idiom which means to have a high level of wisdom and to be able to cope with anything. . “I think Brother Deer inadvertently called out the truth in the Brother Million incident last time. The person sitting there isn’t Eunuch, but Eunuch’s twin brother. Brother Air = Brother Million = Brother Launch C-seat!”
However, Deer Over Fragrant Grass revised her answer.
At that moment, she had another flash of inspiration. “Brother Air and Brother Million are definitely one person, but not necessarily Brother C-seat. Brother C-seat has looked as serious and decent as ever from when he first appeared until now. There’s a very large difference in temperament between both sides.”
“What does Brother Deer mean?” everyone asked open-mindedly.
“Eunuch is Eunuch, hot search half wall is hot search half wall, and Brother C-seat is Brother C-seat,” Deer Over Fragrant Grass said. “They’re not twins, but triplets!”
Everyone suddenly realised. “There’s no lack of that possibility!”
Then, everyone began discussing again.
Calm Egg: “Since Eunuch’s brothers can shove a million yuan for a phone, and can appear at such a high-end launch, doesn’t this mean…”
Soren: “I think it’s very clear that Eunuch must come from a powerful family.”
Ten Zero Mausoleum: “They ran out to support themselves because of all kinds of dog-blood feuds rich and powerful families have.”
Interfinger Storm lamented. “Maybe it’s the kind of family struggle like that of the Rothschilds.”
Six Flavour Monk was compassionate. “Amitabha, how many sorrows and joys, how many riches and fortunes on earth, are nothing but mirages, illusions.”
They finally came to an agreement.
Li Shuoxing = Li Ximu.
Brother Million = Li Half Wall.
Brother C-seat = Li Rothschild.
Their closeness was ranked from top to bottom, and their awesomeness from bottom to top.
When the ranking was completed, everyone sighed. “Eunuch, how hard!”
***
Now, the launch.
The launch was finally officially starting, after ten minutes of Li Shuoxing sitting on pins and needles!
The lights shone on the high stage, and John and George were the first speakers.
John took to the stage to briefly talk about the human brain neurology project that was previously presented, and George took to the stage to announce Zero Language.
Lights kept flashing, the cameras not daring to pause for a second.
When they stepped down, dignitaries from various countries then took to the stage.
They were going to read out the Declaration on the Use of Artificial Intelligence , the second scientific declaration for the world after the Declaration on the Human Genome Project .
“In 1956, the Dartmouth Conference formally introduced the concept of AI. Now, 63 years later, we announce to the world that the first artificial intelligence in human history with the capacity for real thought has been born!
“If a genetic sequence map is a guide to explore life, artificial intelligence will be the key to touch the soul.
“The birth of artificial intelligence will mark our farewell to the old society and an official welcome to a new future.
“The use of artificial intelligence will mean revolutionary development in all fields, from life sciences to information society.
“We hereby call on all of mankind to monitor the usage of this powerful and beneficial artificial intelligence.
“We hereby advocate that all of mankind must bear in mind that it is we who have created it, and it is we who shall face it. This is our unshirkable responsibility and obligation.
“We now give our warmest applause to all the staff who have worked on this project. They have built another splendid monument to the scientific civilisation of mankind! They will be remembered by history!”
All rose; all applauded.
Li Shuoxing’s blood boiled amid the applause. It was as if he really saw a new future and a new society appear before his eyes. But, when he thought more about Ask, he… wilted a little and couldn’t help but start thinking:
Can this really be beneficial? This dead Krypton will only make mankind’s wealth evaporate in an instant, right?
Then, the thunderous applause slowly subsided.
Su Mingqian, as the artificial intelligence project’s top leader, took to the stage.
He was faintly smiling as countless lights came from all directions, striking his body and illuminating him with brilliance.
At that moment, the world went dark, and only he was bright.
Before his artificial intelligence presentation, Su Mingqian gave a short speech, the sweet story behind this project.
“On this day in 2012, because of a wonderful coincidence, I found a love letter written to the world. It was an application sent by mistake, and I became the luckiest letter opener in the world.
“I was completely fascinated by that great conjecture. I even felt narcissistically that God arranged for me to see it and to realise it.
“From that day on, I made up my mind that I would reply to this author with a love letter; to turn the romantic future he had sent me into reality in return.”
Su Mingqian took a deep breath.
“Now, seven years later, I have finally finished writing this love letter.
“Brain nerve access.
“Zero language.
“Ask.
“This is my three-line love letter to him.
“Now, I invite the author of this great love letter to join me in opening the curtain on a new era for you.”
The lighting of the launch began to change, half staying on Su Mingqian, and half shifting to Li Shuoxing.
Two focal points appeared in the launch venue.
The eyes of the people around them shifted along with the lighting change.
Li Shuoxing sat in his original position, only a white blur of light before his eyes. Grand applause rose and, with gentle guidance from the staff, he drifted to the high stage with steps like walking on clouds.
He looked ahead clearly.
The heavy, large red curtains draped around him. The light that flashed at the grand and magnificent launch was a cluster of stars converging into a lamp to illuminate the path to the dawn. The people standing on this bright path had pure joy on their faces that was human anticipation for the new world.
“Come.”
A thin memory chip was handed to Li Shuoxing. It was like a letter, small and exquisite.
They inserted this memory chip, together, into the huge machine beside them.
The screen of the machine lit up.
It was the simplest DOS interface, with a black screen and a small cursor. All the previous moment’s noise and splendour was absorbed and swallowed up together, leaving only the original simplicity behind.
After that, the cursor blinked and a line of white text appeared in front of the world:
“Hello, World. My name is Ask.”
The author has something to say:
In reality, there are already scientists who have started reading the brain waves of mice and analysing them as a way to create an artificial intelligence.
In the novel, Li Shuoxing’s conjecture about the language of artificial intelligence is his idea of the future based on reality.
*
I’ve written over 400,000 words, and what I wanted to write the most was ending, a fairy tale written for myself.
It’s also a fairy tale interpretation of the “science fiction” genre from my perspective.
He is the one who talks about the stars, and he is the one who makes those stars real.
This is the deepest bond that I have between Li Shuoxing and Su Mingqian, more important than love.
Su Mingqian understood Li Shuoxing’s words. He liked these words. He fell in love with the romance in these words, with that romantic fantasy, with the future painted by that fantasy.
With the romance of a scientist, he turned those fantasies into reality and gave them to Li Shuoxing.
He gave Li Shuoxing a whole future.
.
No matter how long, when I first came across science fiction, I cannot describe the shock of seeing those fantasies turn into realities that can be seen in life.
It is because of this that the original intention to write this article was born.
.
The text itself does not focus too much on this. I often feel that I don’t need to express anything through my writing recently. The article is a story, and a story is what it is.
So I wrote a story like this, in which people meet with such a cause and end with such a cause. It is the most beautiful fairy tale.
1
ć™şçŹ ĺś¨ćŹˇ [zhì zhĹ« zĂ i wò] is a Chinese idiom which means to have a high level of wisdom and to be able to cope with anything.