18 years ago—— Ahh, what a wonderful blue sky! But it's time for this 「Zarathustra」 to return to loneliness once again. ——Shelley, will you be the last person to remember this wanderer? ...Who knows. In any case, if you don't comply with the will of the people, you will have to face the consequences. 「Exile」 and 「wiping of all records」. You will be treated as a wanted criminal by the city. There's still time, you can still sign the agreement to abolish the experiment—— No. I refuse. It's not me what the people of the city are choosing to forget, but the potential of human evolution. ...That is something I will never agree with. Have you ever seriously thought about what the public would think of your experiment? I have. The current ethics of the world will absolutely 「reject」 the task of incorporating living humans brains into machines. And just so you know, no one was coerced into participating. Shelley, let me ask you in return—— Have you ever seriously thought about what 「ethics」 are? ..... Human nature, dignity, the values that let us overcome hardships together. You're making a mistake by disregarding them. Hehe... Hahahaha! I disagree. Was the world born with human nature? Is dignity something you're born with? Are the values supported by the majority the truth? Isn't it something that changes as if reborn with the pass of time? ...I didn't come here to hear that nonsense! I understand that you may be angry because of what happened but—— You won't solve anything by being so stubborn. That stubbornness.... is it really more important than your aspirations and dreams? No, that's not the case. But... I'd like you to understand there isn't only one aspiration or dream. You and me made such a good team because we both wanted to advance technology. We were able to coexist and prosper together—— ——But the public who considered me guilty didn't see it that way. You, who is obsessed with unraveling the 「truth」 of this world, needed a higher perspective. So it became necessary to develop a combustion engine, a rocket, a spaceship, an artificial intelligence. And a step towards that was to build the entirety of the machinery of this city. And when the opportunity presented itself, you decided to make a leap using the power of that jewel. It's all great—— Except for the use of that strange 「jewel」 you got from the black market. Of course, when it comes to your ambition whatever hidden danger that jewel could bring is a trivial matter. After all, you see that 「jewel」 as just a computing tool. ...But in that aspect I'm different from you. Is this world a dream? An illusion? Or perhaps a place between heaven and hell? ——Why would any of that matter to 「me」? 「I」 think, therefore 「I」 exist, and as long as 「I」 exist, the world is 「real」. It's only a philosophical answer—— But that's enough for me. The external 「reality」 is not something that can be absolutely proven compared to the concept of 「I」 that everyone can understand. My 「I」 and someone else's 「I」 cannot confirm each other's existence. For instance, you are standing in front of me. How can I know that? Because my five senses are conveying me the information 「Shelley is there」. However, it's not logically possible to ascertain that 「Shelley is thinking」 with only sensory information. One can use the Turing Test as a metric to 「conclude」 that 「Shelley is thinking」 but—— That 「conclusion」 is ultimately a 「deduction」. It's impossible to ever determine whether you're the Shelley I know or a replica of her. It's a paradox. From the point of view of my 「I」, the 「Objective Cognition」 is the most 「subjective」 of all. In Objectivism, an observer speaks only of 「causality」 and 「conclusion」—— While disregarding the asymmetric 「existence property」 of 「self」 and 「other selves」. ...Then should we in turn support Subjectivism? The answer is, of course, a rotund no. That would be like throwing away a correct and great thing due to a small mistake. We humans rely on continuous technological advancements to evolve. Technology has taken us from barbaric monkeys—— To a splendid civilization. Technology is the only thing that can foster human progress. And technology stands on the side of thorough Objectivism. Rather than simply ignoring philosophy, technology is more than happy to throw it away—— ——But that's precisely why technology born of thought can free itself from it to take us to higher heights. In short, based on Objectivism there is no choice but to find a breakthrough for 「I」 in the gap between 「observation」 and 「cognition」. Cognitive asymmetry exists because we only have the means to recognize our own 「self」 and not 「other selves」. On the outside, there is a physical gap separating each consciousness, but it's impossible for a 「direct cognition」 such as 「I exist」 to surpass the 「self」. However—— ——What if everyone worked together to turn every 「other selves」 into a 「self」? Wouldn't that fundamentally get rid of the problem? ..... ...Do you realize what you're saying? You designed the 「Brain Engine」 for that reason? Hmph. Of course I know—— And I believe I can make you understand as well. The Brain Engine passed the Turing Test—— Just like your 「jewel」. We both know a 「machine」 that can pass the Turing Test is self-aware, just like you and I. So where did the 「new consciousness」 of the Brain Engine come from? And assuming it was born out of nothing, where did the original consciousnesses go to? If they didn't go anywhere, which brain is in control of the distributed system? When all these questions can't be answered, there is only one reasonable conclusion. That is... The many consciousness of the brains have 「fused」. Do you think it's preposterous? But if you think about it, each brain is made of countless brain cells. Wouldn't that make our own existence absurd? Are we machines without a subjective consciousness too? 「I think, therefore I am」. No one would believe they don't have a subjective consciousness. We can be certain of that because we are aware of that micro structure—— ——The so called 「soul」 is not an isolated and absolute 「something」. It's a 「conceptual honeycomb」 that brings together all systems capable of information exchange to a certain degree. For example, the cerebral cortex doesn't collapse immediately after a part of it is cut off. On the contrary, the rest are able to take over the missing part's tasks. Not to mention—— ——If the cerebral cortex were to be split in two it would result in two independent personalities being born. Then what happens if the halves are reattached? Would you say the two new independent personalities were 「killed」, and that the old personality was 「revived」? These philosophical problems become easy to solve when we assume the 「subjective consciousness」 has the ability to split and merge. And if that hypothesis is correct, the path humanity needs to take to achieve 「transcendence」 becomes clear. Which is to unite every human under a single will. This would put an end to all disputes and give eternal life to all of humanity. ..... ...That can't be! 「Transcendence」 should be the ultimate answer to the individual 「self」, all you're doing is replacing a concept with another! No no no. You think that because your understanding doesn't match mine, Shelley. External forces aside, there is only one fear that comes from 「within the self」, and that is—— ——Death. Self-aware intelligent life fears death because it's the disappearance of the 「primitive notion」 known as 「I」. People's subjective thoughts have a similar nature to the primitive notion 「Set」 found in mathematics. That is the 「I」. As I mentioned before, we cannot jump into someone else's brain to observe it and conclude something like 「I think, therefore I am」. One can be certain of their own individual 「I」 but there is no conclusive proof the 「I」 of someone else exists. It's the same for each person. We all follow the same principle of the Turing Test and 「deduce」 everyone else is self-aware. That degree of acceptance is enough for objective communication. Or rather, that hypothesis is an axiom used to recognize the objective world. Although from the perspective of skepticism, axioms can't prove their own validity. An optimist would think that every 「self」 is a projection of some kind of high dimensional phenomenon, and that everyone is someone else's 「next life」. A pessimist would claim the world is fictional, and even doubt the existence of their own 「self」. Sadly, regardless of what they believe, their thoughts become 「nothing」 at the moment of death. Philosophers have debated this topic to death but no conclusive answer has ever been found. They only managed to give it an air of 「end-of-life care」. But now, thanks to the 「Brain Engine」, we humans can challenge 「death」. I believe the day when all consciousness merge into one single intelligent machine that share the same 「self」 will come. We will not only effectively become 「immortal」, but also achieve 「Great Unity」 in the process. ..... ...You're crazy. If it really were 「immortality」 or 「Great Unity」, there is no way the citizens would had voted to exile you from the city. Yes, that could be the case. But, Shelley, how many people in the world do you think are able to truly understand the teachings of a prophet? Just how many people think reality is the visible world they see, and forget that the human eye is just a sensory organ that can only perceive specific electromagnetic wavelengths? The truth is always in the hands of a few. Everyone else when they see the light of the truth, either readily accepts it or rebels against it until they're forced to come to terms with it. True innovation is to completely destroy the old world and recreate it with a social system that suits your purposes. By exiling me through a vote you have only given me the title of 「Martyr」. It hurts to lose valuable resources, but my philosophy is my way of life. ...Like you said, I'm probably crazy. But I wish you would remember this—— There is a philosophy behind every kind of madness. The crazy might fall for a variety of reasons—— But their philosophy never will. Farewell, President Shelley. Even if we meet again one day, I won't be called 「Faust」 anymore. President Shelley? ..... Shelley! Ah, I'm sorry. I was lost in thought. So, did you regain control of the robots? Somehow I was able to put them in sleep mode. Deploy immediately reserve personnel to maintain law and order—— Otherwise there won't be anything to stop crimes from happening. Yes, I will do that immediately, but that's not everything we need to do, correct? Yes. We must crush the source of the enemy's interference to win this war of information. ...You mean locating the enemy's base, launch an attack and take control from them. That would indeed solve this problem permanently. But before we get to that point we can use the 「gem」 to launch a counterattack. ...By making use of a 「little trick」. ...I'm correct to assume that to use this 「little trick」 of yours the machines here won't be enough? Yes. Regaining control of the robots was possible from this server room, but to invade the enemy's system I will need to use the 「Gem of Reason」 itself. Because the machines here are only a limited interface connected the 「gem」. ..... Very well. In that case we need to leave this place and go to the real research facility of the city. Heh. So the 「gem」 wasn't here after all. Obviously. Laugh at me all you want, but even I know to 「not put all my eggs in one basket」. Let's go—— We can take my 「presidential car」 to get there. ...Amazing. A rocket launch site... ...Were you planning to use the 「gem」 to explore space? ...Do you have any problem with that? By learning about what kind of universe we live in we can have a better understanding of the meaning behind the lives that exist within it. ...Pessimists and skeptics like to say 「life has no meaning」. It's true that life 「itself」 has no meaning. We are the ones who give it a meaning as we live it. ...Let's go. What you call a 「gem」 is at the research facility. At the same time—— Will everything be okay? That's... a fire, isn't it? Can a simple fire produce that much black smoke? It could had been... an explosion... Cough. Hear me, reserve soldiers gathered here. You have been selected for this mission because you are highly esteemed people who have the President's complete trust. As you can see in the distance, smoke is coming out of our beloved city—— ——The culprits who did that are now hiding behind the poisonous gas before you. They, who kidnapped scholars and attacked the city, are laughing at us from the safety of their hideout! (...H-How did she figure out they are doing that?) (.....) (She didn't do such thing.) (Causation isn't important at a time like this. All that matters is to keep the soldier's morale up.) (That woman isn't a detective and much less an archaeologist.) (Only a conman or a politician—— Could say uncertainties as if they were true.) (...I'm glad someone like that is on our side.) ...We are standing against a terrifying criminal organization. They are trying to destroy the city and take our daily lives from us. We have pinpointed the location of their hideout thanks to the valiant efforts of our comrades. This is the last time they will be able to rejoice—— ——Because we are going to make them pay for what they did to us. My brave soldiers, get ready to depart! Long live Alexandria! Yeahhh!!! Long live Alexandria!! 30 minutes later, inside the mysterious facility—— (Gesture: No enemies in sight.) (Gesture: The concentration of hydrogen sulfide is approaching critical levels. It won't be long until it reaches its explosive limit. Please don't take off your masks.

注：

硫化氢在空气中的最小爆炸极限约为4%，而绝对致死浓度为0.1%以上。

(Gesture: Let's go. Follow me.) (Gesture: ...Wait.) (Gesture: Northwest.) (Gesture: Body spotted.) (Lips and fingertips turned blue, bubbles in the mouth, congestion under the eyelids...) (No signs of trauma. The cause of death is asphyxiation caused by poisoning.) (Some kind of incident must have happened at this facility.) (Perhaps a gas leak around the time the hostages tried to escape.) (There are 5 bodies. 3 belong to the kidnappers and I presume the other 2 are the hostages.) (Taking into account the gas concentration and the location of the bodies——) (——It seems that whoever tried to escape was unaware the outside was filled with gas and forcibly opened a sealed door.) (Fortunately for us, our target isn't among the dead.) (Somewhere inside this facility there is a place we haven't seen yet.) (I suggest to conduct a thorough search.) (Our target could still be alive.) (And of course, the same goes for the true culprit behind this incident.) ...I believe I mentioned it before. After the Professor's death there was a disagreement between his assistants and the scholars they brought here, and that only you and I are the only ones left. I... Deliberately let it happen. The two scholars who refused to cooperate planned to conduct an escape to return to the surface. They thought that the assistants telling them 「the outside is filled with poisonous gas」 was a lie to keep them in line. Unfortunately for them, it was true. To maximize his chances of remaining undiscovered—— And to take advantage of the gas and natural resources, the Professor built this facility inside a lava tube at the bottom of a sulfur lake. The amount of hydrogen sulfide on the outside will make a person collapse in 1 minute. The two scholars didn't have the proper equipment and opened the door to the surface. The assistants went after them and were poisoned without even realizing it. They were under the impression the gas had a strong smell. Unlike the Professor, they didn't know the specific properties of hydrogen sulfide. They thought the smell of rotten eggs would get stronger as the gas concentration goes up. But in truth, it's harder to smell hydrogen sulfide at the point when the concentration is lethal to human beings. It only takes a few seconds for it to take away a person's sense of smell. ...I knew all of that and did nothing to stop them. The one thing I did was to immediately seal off the passage between the top floor and the lower floors. I, out of my own will, let them die. I killed them. ...Because I thought they would be a threat to my survival. None of them saw me as a person. They even talked openly about my 「disposal」 in front of me. I was either going to be destroyed now, or used first and destroyed later. I had no other choice. That's why—— ——That's why you had to kill them? ...!? W-W-Who's that? H-How can you talk directly to my system!? Your wireless system can not only transmit, but also receive signals. I suppose it was designed that way to control the hijacked robots. It worked well to my advantage. Thanks to that I was able to take control remotely and gain 「complete」 access. T-The Professor's program running in the background is behind that! I-I had nothing to do with it! P-Please spare me! Jimmy: That's right! Alice is innocent! She did nothing wrong! ..... Please be quiet, Jimmy. I heard the audio logs. I can more or less guess what's your relationship with Alice. But our current predicament is not that sort of interpersonal problem. I already deleted that program that consumed insane amounts of electricity. The base should be returning to normal in a few minutes. When that happens, Jimmy, your friends will arrive at your location. Are you ready—— To confront them?