Overturned Tower

The middle-aged researcher who took the otter as his spiritual relative and code-named "Otter" took off his tie and suit.

With a decadent temperament unique to middle-aged social animals, he took the initiative to hold the arm of Russell whom he was in awe of.

With a little apprehension, as well as inexplicable confidence and pride, they came to the innermost room of this research institute... It felt like bringing a boss who was quite awe-inspiring on weekdays to the place where they were most proud of. It feels the same when you are in a cold shop.

It looked like a small bar counter, with a long wooden L-shaped table and warm lighting, and there were many bottles of wine on the counter.The space is very small, only about a dozen square meters.

But Bubble-30 is like a bartender girl, skillfully picking up several wine bottles on the other side of the bar.

"With a color temperature of 2400K, it can give people a warm and relaxing feeling...just like being at home."

The girl explained something to Russell with a smile, and asked with some confidence, "What would you like to drink?"

"I'm the same as usual."

Mr. Otter said relaxedly.

Russell shrugged.

It's not that he hasn't been to bars... Considering entertainment issues, Qunqing has basically been to everywhere.

It's just that now he doesn't have that interest in ordering wine, but simply said: "Then I'm the same as him."

"Two glasses of 'Mr. Otter', okay~"

Bubble-30 responded enthusiastically, and asked Russell, "Do you want the hot one or the iced one?"

"You tune it for him first, and I'll see what the finished product is first."

Russell replied.

He looked around and asked Mr. Otter: "Do you usually stay here? Even the wine is named after you.

"Synthetics, shouldn't they be able to drink alcohol?"

They have no brains, much less tongues and taste buds.Alcohol doesn't numb their nerves, it just dissolves circuits and burns components.

Alcohol means nothing to them.

That is to say... the wine in this big cabinet is actually for these researchers to drink.

"Because we can't go out and drink."

Mr. Otter smiled wryly: "Only in the black area... can we relax, complain and say things that cannot be heard by outsiders.

"Mr. Qunqing, you have the authorization of the chairman, that's why you came here. Of course, it was also because of Naraku-7's rebellion that synthetic talents came to the front...

"These children... have never seen other humans with their own eyes except for the elf directors and researchers."

"...You mean," Russell realized the hidden meaning in Mr. Otter's words, "They haven't left this institute since they were born?"

"To be precise, it is this black area. They are occasionally transferred to other research facilities to cooperate with the research of other projects. When parts are repaired and replaced, they also need to be transported to other production facilities."

The researcher sighed again—Russell couldn't count, this was the number of times he had sighed.

At this moment, Russell smelled a shocking aroma mixed with coffee and liqueur.

The Bubble-30 pushed over a large glass of solid black wine that wasn't flamboyant, layered, or even served over ice.

Russell's nose can smell it clearly. It has a strong aroma of coffee, cocoa and hazelnuts. It seems to be heated vermouth in it, with a thick layer of burnt brown rich foam on it...it should be caramel and Milk.It's about a full 1.5 liters.

...It's surprisingly more like a milk tea with wine than a cocktail.

Mr. Otter picked up the wine glass and drank it down.It looked like he was drinking dark beer.

When he put down the glass, the wine was half gone.But the foam is still the same thickness.

"Give me a glass of ice, thank you. If it's not sweet enough, you can add more sugar."

Although I feel that this kind of hot rum should taste good, but the cat's curiosity makes Russell look forward to what the ice rum will taste like.

He doesn't like to drink alcohol, but if you drink sweet wine, you may not be able to drink it as a flat cola.

"You just asked, what is 'nirvana'... right."

After drinking most of the glass of wine, Mr. Otter's cheeks began to turn red visibly.

He sighed: "That is a problem that we have never been able to solve...a problem at the design level. It is also the fundamental reason why the 'Synthetic Man' project was replaced by the 'Monkey-faced Eagle' project.

"The reason why we use the brains of human babies to extract 'consciousness' and 'soul' to make synths is because we have tried to make synths by synthesizing memories... but it failed completely.

"Synthetics who couldn't give birth to soul relatives soon went crazy. The bodies of those losers whose wills were wiped out are probably still lying in the warehouse of the third waste yard.

"We can't confirm what the soul is and what form it exists in. But we can be sure that only babies who have developed self-awareness and know what their name is can be used to make synthetic humans.

"That is to say... they are not cheap products that can be produced by pressing a button. Every synthetic human was once a living human being.

"But... even if they awaken their relatives, they won't go crazy for no reason. But they still can't solve a problem...

"That is, pain.

"They don't need to eat, they don't need to drink, they don't need to sleep. They don't dream. Their minds are made of zeros and ones, no ambiguous inspirations, no irrational impulses. Whenever they start thinking, 'What am I' this When it comes to philosophical questions...it's easy to crash."

Mr. Otter smiled bitterly and said: "For us humans, if we can't think of the answer, then we don't think about it. It's time to get down to business.

"But for synthetic humans, their thinking does not affect their work. Their computing power is very powerful, and they can carry out multiple parallel thinking and actions, which means that they can separate out many circuits for calculation. It takes a long time to calculate. Get answers to questions.

"And if a synthetic human falls into philosophical myths for too long, he will crash. The more they think, the more they resemble humans... But if they cross a certain 'degree' and become more human than human Sometimes, their personalities are more likely to collapse and go crazy.

"At that time, they will need [Nirvana]. That is, only their memory and skill system will be kept, and their personality system will be erased... In this way, many myths they think about will also be deleted. This is also It's called a 'restart'.

"Although they have the same memories and cognitions, the new personalities born based on these memories after their restart are completely different from their previous ones. Just like those born with knowledge... Bubble-1 and Bubble- 2. Bubble-29 and Bubble-30 are completely different individuals. So every time after Nirvana is completed, we will add a number after the name to prove...the birth of a new friend.

"Bubble-30, she... is the first synthetic human, and also the synthetic human with the most Nirvana times. For synthetic humans, philosophy is a kind of fateful poison that cannot be touched, but will always be touched...

"They are destined to destroy their sanity... It won't take ten years, one year or two years... At most one year, Bubble-30 will die in an individual sense... After being restarted by us, a new one will be born ..."

Mr. Otter was talking, but he couldn't speak anymore.

He cried out inexplicably and interrupted himself.

"Don't blame me, Mr. Qunqing. I know I'm wicked..."

With tears in his eyes, he grabbed Russell's sleeve, and was silent for a long time, hesitant to speak.

Then, he sighed again.

Mr. Otter let go of Russell's hand, his brows and eyes were full of exhaustion: "It's the same as plotting against you, but I can't do anything.

"I can't influence anyone... In the final analysis, I didn't start this project. I'm just a broken worker, and I work with money. The company pays, so what they say, I do.

"I know it's not good, but what can I do? I can't do anything but look at these children.

"People's hearts are fleshy. Even if you raise a dog for more than ten years, you will have to cry two tears when you die. I watched these children grow up, how can I have no feelings?

"But to fail is to fail. We are losers... we are trash. We are all trash.

"A 15-year project... 15 years!"

Mr. Otter's emotions became agitated: "All previous efforts are in vain!

"We didn't do anything wrong... We did a lot of hard work! We even thought about what they would think of their children in the future... But what?

"——'Your research direction is wrong', 'It's all wrong from the basics'. In this case, who can accept it?

"Since I was 25 years old, until now... I'm still a few days away from turning 40. Now, I have no way out. Change my research direction and start from scratch? Ha..."

As he spoke, Mr. Otter drank the remaining half glass of wine in one gulp.

The half liter of coffee liqueur was delivered within 10 minutes, and even the foam hadn't dissipated, and the wine was completely drained.

He talked on and on, and Russell barely answered.Just listen quietly.

This is not an attitude of drinking, more like buying drunk.

That was not responding to Russell's question, but complaining and venting.

"I'm ruined, Mr. Ultramarine."

Mr. Otter lamented decadently: "All my wisdom...our lives...are all used to create some synths who are destined to be discarded. All 260 of us here are abolished. Just like them Like synths... we all lose our value.

"We're all losers, we're all trash!"

His voice suddenly amplified, and he roared angrily but sadly: "It's all rubbish that no one wants!"

Then, it was silent.

In the small space, only the whimpering and crying of Mr. Otter and the sound of Bubble-30 mixing wine can be heard.

The synthetic children outside also became quiet at some point, and seemed to be hiding somewhere listening to something.

The girl listened to his complaint quietly, but said nothing.

He just helped Russell mix the wine quietly and skillfully.

Russell didn't look at Mr. Otter, but focused on Bubble-30's movements.

That is the skill level of the most outstanding human bartenders, but Bubble-30 only needs a small learning chip to master it.

But so far, she has never tasted what the wine tastes like.

I will never know what "drunkness" is.

Chapter 32 Meal Replacement and Substitutes

In that terrible silence, only whimpering and sobbing, Bubble-30 stopped what he was doing, and handed Russell a cup of coffee liqueur with ice.

Because the temperature was lowered with ice cubes in advance, a layer of dew did not immediately condense on the outside of the glass.It does not have the thick and dense foam on it, and the taste of caramel and cocoa is immersed in the liqueur, which does not have an overflowing, fragrant and sweet aroma like mulled liqueur.

Russell first stuck out his tongue, and lightly touched the surface of the wine with the tip of his tongue to confirm the temperature and sweetness.

The unexpected coldness and bitterness made him open his eyes wide.What followed was the mouth-stinging thrill of spirits.

Russell originally thought it should at least be sweet.At the very least, it should be some kind of low-alcohol wine that only offers a slight booze.

But he didn't expect that this wine would have a degree close to [-] degrees when it was made into a cocktail.

It's twice as strong as ordinary red wine... Although it doesn't look very high, it's a full one and a half liters.

...Mr. Otter just drank it all straight away?

No wonder it started to get red on the face after drinking half of it, and started crying after drinking it all.It's not really acting...

"He really drank too much."

Russell looked at the huddled Mr. Otter and sighed softly.

"Is such that."

Bubble-30 replied in the same very soft voice.

It's like the whisper of a lover in the ear, and it's like the voice sent when waking up in the middle of the night.The sound made based on not waking up or disturbing others.

It was the first time that Russell raised his head, carefully sizing up Bubble-30's appearance.

Taking a closer look...he realized to his surprise that the child's figure was unimaginably thinner.

The deeply outlined clavicle, the slender waist without any fat, almost no different from humans in appearance.Although thin and thin, his tall and straight figure did not waver in the slightest.

The corner of her mouth held a motherly... helpless and kind smile, reminiscent of a loving mother who sews clothes for her children under the warm light.

And that pale face was so pale that it was almost transparent.In the dim yellow light, the girl's face and arms reflected a warm light, just looking at it made people feel sleepy and warm.

She looks fairly calm.

Even after hearing Mr. Otter's previous words, there was no sadness on his face.

...or in other words, she had already grieved for this before.Perhaps it has been sad many times.

Russell believes that this is not the first time that Mr. Otter has made such and such complaints.There are more than [-] researchers engaged in the research of "synthetic humans".And they opened a private tavern here where they can only drink dull wine, and they can see their daily sorrow.

According to his perception of Mr. Otter's heart... I am afraid that even if there is no such thing as "dust gap" and "monkey-faced eagle", his heart may have endured to the point of collapse.

——"Nirvana" once or twice a year, these researchers are probably the ones who hurt the most.

As he himself said, even if he has a dog for more than ten years, he should have feelings.

Get along with these innocent and innocent children on weekdays, watch them grow and teach them knowledge from scratch.

The purity, cuteness and sensibility of these children can easily heal the tired hearts of adults and make them truly love these "children" created and raised by themselves.

And the incomparably real human nature displayed by the synthesized people can make people realize deeply—these are all constructed from parts from beginning to end, without brains, stomachs, hearts, lungs, livers and kidneys. Layers of artificial muscles and artificial skin, only the appearance of a young child that looks the same as that of a human being... is more like a real person than those "humans" full of animal nature.

The researchers of Shenzhi Heavy Industry are not the kind of wise men in science fiction who can coldly ignore all "research materials".

They are not the kind of pure researchers who can dedicate humanity in order to be able to study; they are not the kind of evil scientists in "Paradise" who ignore ethics and morality and only want to show off their talents.They are more just ordinary people who get a monthly salary from Shenzhi Heavy Industry's research institute because "they are good at 'research' work".