Ch.78Promise Must Be Kept (2)

We have confirmed from previous research that consciousness and memory are not the same. (Vandi, 1942, p.11)

However, the two have a close relationship.

This paper reveals the possibility of mutual conversion between consciousness and memory.

Two experiments were conducted during the research process:

1. Conversion from complete consciousness to memory (extraction)

2. Construction of consciousness using sufficient memory (construction)

[Omitted]

In conclusion, if a sufficient amount of personal data—that is, memories—is secured, it is possible to implement a complete consciousness through a specific procedure.

The anomalous properties of CREEP-1077 are used in this procedure.

No significant side effects or anomalies were discovered during the experimental process.

[Research Significance]

Human consciousness can be replicated and uploaded. Given the nature of Foundation work, the applications appear to be extensive.

Personnel mobilized for the experiment reported minor delusional symptoms such as dizziness, déjà vu, and irrational, unexplained feelings of guilt.

Further research is needed to determine whether these symptoms are simply psychological effects or side effects of the procedure.

Additionally, the experiment confirmed the results by simultaneously uploading the consciousness of up to 10 people.

The experimental results showed that traces remain in empty spaces in the data whenever memories are transmitted and moved.

This phenomenon intensifies with the transmission of large volumes of memory, showing visible changes when exceeding 10 people.

Further research is needed on their interactions.

[From “Research on Mutual Conversion Between Consciousness and Memory”]

***

I took out my phone.

Although there was no internet connection, messages were already waiting in the KakaoTalk chat room.

[AI: Are you doing it now?]

An entity downloaded from the Foundation’s network. An AI.

According to its own claims, it had been trapped on the internet, wandering around inside servers, but I couldn’t know its true identity for certain.

Could it be a person uploaded to the internet?

Or an AI programmed as its nickname suggests?

Or perhaps something else entirely?

[AI: Can I get out of here now????]

“I wonder.”

How can just seeing text be so noisy?

It had been annoying for a while. And it hadn’t been much help either.

But right now, I needed it.

It was the most essential ingredient for this ritual.

[AI: Gogogogogogogogo]

“Wait a bit.”

What I’m trying to do now is a ritual to give it a physical body.

This was also something I promised at the Library last time.

I didn’t really need to keep the promise, but I wanted to test it myself.

To see how far I could go with my current abilities.

The ritual procedure is as follows:

1. Identify the original physical information of the subject.

This step is necessary because of the body’s “rejection response.”

It’s the same principle as when problems arise from receiving blood of a different type.

If the characteristics of the body and mind don’t match, they reject each other and both collapse.

2. Implement a new body based on the information obtained.

I plan to improvise this part.

I can’t create a perfect human form here.

To do that, I would need to use other facilities in the apartment, and I don’t want to take that risk.

“Shall we begin now?”

I arranged the items I had prepared.

Lit the candles.

Spread a handkerchief on the floor.

Holding a knife in my right hand, I raised my left arm over the handkerchief.

This is the process of drawing blood needed for the ritual.

“Ugh…”

It seemed like no big deal when I was thinking about it, but now that I’m actually doing it, my hand is trembling.

It’s more disturbing to stab my own arm myself.

But I have no choice.

Thunk!

A narrow, deep wound appeared on the inside of my forearm.

Drops of blood fell onto the handkerchief.

“Phew… Done.”

Soon the candlelight began to flicker.

I closed my eyes.

And immediately fell somewhere.

Into darkness.

The first thing I saw was a beam of light.

Brilliantly shining light split into several strands and instantly stretched to the other side of the darkness.

Flicker, flicker.

Lights blinking at a very fast rate.

My Librarian’s insight translated the signal into binary code.

0100011101100001011000100111001001101001011001010110110001100001001000000100001101110010011011110110110101110111011001010110110001101100

0011111100111111

And then into character strings.

Gabriela Cromwell

Zhang Wei

All were people’s names.

Behind them stretched vast amounts of data, too much to take in at a glance, overlapping like tails.

All the memories of a person. Consciousness.

Soul.

Countless people had abandoned their physical bodies in reality and loaded their consciousness onto computers.

And those computers were being transported from one side of the universe to the other.

I quietly examined the information inside.

Among the voices all mixed together and indistinguishable, I could barely make out just a few words.

“Upload it! Quickly!”

“Will this really save us?”

“We have to grasp even the smallest possibility.”

The beam of light disappeared.

Its long tail remained like a comet, then gradually dispersed.

All that remained was an empty night sky. A complete void where everything had been erased.

A thoroughly dead universe without any new stories, events, or information.

It wasn’t a journey but an evacuation.

But from what?

It didn’t take long to figure out the answer.

There’s only one entity that could cause such a phenomenon.

Seven.

The influence of Seven, which completely erases an entire narrative layer.

People evacuated to the cyber world to escape it.

After uploading everyone’s consciousness to a massive machine, they desperately hoped to reach another universe by chance.

But by the time Seven revealed itself, it was all just a futile struggle.

I couldn’t trace where the people went.

The computer server that was ejected into the cracks of the universe carrying the barely surviving individuals drifted to this apartment like a ghost ship.

Zero survivors.

Only faint traces remained on the empty vessel.

Various documents researching anomalies.

Useful information.

And fragments of consciousness that died in electronic space.

Those fragments gathered to form another consciousness.

I opened my eyes.

The consciousness that had been bound to files in the electronic world was now free.

“…What exactly are you?”

“I wonder too?”

In the darkened house.

The candlelight illuminates a new form.

Pale skin.

Silver hair cascading down past the shoulders.

Wearing the same hoodie as me.

Strangely, her eyes are red.

A small-framed girl, maintaining an expressionless face, tilts her head toward me.

“Wow. You actually pulled this off.”

“You’re not being sarcastic, are you?”

“No, I’m not?”

…Her way of speaking is a bit annoying.

“Thank you.”

The girl gives a thumbs up with an irritating expression.

What’s more annoying is that she’s not much shorter than me.

“I thought we’d been together for quite a while. I didn’t know this was your preference.”

“What?”

“I heard you were originally a man. I guess you really can’t know a person even after a long time.”

“I just chose the smallest form possible.”

“But why a middle school girl? If you just wanted something small, there were plenty of other options.”

“It’s because I found a body that wouldn’t have rejection reactions.”

I’m exasperated that this is how our first conversation is going.

“If you have complaints about the body, just say so.”

I said coldly, but she just stands there expressionless.

“Hah… Do you think this is like customizing a game avatar?”

Using a Librarian’s power to create a new body.

The procedure itself is simple, but there’s a lot to consider.

As I mentioned earlier, I had to think about the rejection reaction between consciousness and body.

Whether it violates plausibility. Whether the cost is bearable. Whether the temporarily created body can maintain its original form…

Above all, the cost is quite high.

“Got it? You ungrateful bastard.”

As I was explaining to her, I tried to move to the room with the bed.

“Ah!”

Suddenly my legs gave out.

The dim living room scenery passed before my eyes like an afterimage.

And the still expressionless girl.

She avoided me with a nimble movement.

Thud!

“You little shit…”

I thought even an ungrateful person would catch me when I fell.

Even Yoon Daju supported me so I wouldn’t collapse, didn’t she?

I seem to have done something unnecessary.

I lay sprawled in the middle of the living room.

Falling down like this, my long hair spilled over, covering my face.

“Phew…”

It’s much, much harder than I thought.

It might be similar to sitting quietly at home and suddenly feeling out of breath.

Not only is my body struggling, but I’m also naturally becoming scared.

The difference from my body’s condition just a moment ago is too great.

It feels like all the blood in my body is draining out.

That’s actually what’s happening.

Some of my blood was used to create her body.

They say raising children is thankless work.

She stands in front of me, poking my fallen arm with her toes.

“When will you recover?”

“Hey. I wasn’t going to go this far, but you crossed the line.”

I sat with my back against the wall.

“Can you tell me about the Librarian’s authority?”

It’s a question completely unrelated to the situation, but the content doesn’t matter.

What matters is that she will definitely give a predetermined answer.

Whether she wants to or not.

“The Librarian’s authority includes library management, data queries, insight, information analysis and identification, etc. For more detailed explanation…”

She stops mid-sentence and covers her mouth.

As if she can’t believe what she just did, the girl looks down at me with wide eyes.

“What is this?”

“How do you think I could create a body so easily?”

This was actually one of the Librarian’s authorities.

I can manage the Library as if handling a computer program.

[New narrative has been added.]

[Sending new book to specific location.]

Like this.

The base was the AI in the phone. What you see now is what I created by mixing it with the Library’s system.

Since I just had to use an existing framework, it was much easier than starting from scratch.

I didn’t plan this from the beginning.

Naturally, the Library management program tries to follow the user’s requests as much as possible.

What does this mean?

It means that if I just say the word, I can control that arrogant girl as I wish.

“You’re not going to make me do anything weird, are you?”

“Weird? What do you mean?”

“You know.”

“Say it.”

She tried to keep her mouth shut, but eventually succumbed to the authority.

Then, as if embarrassed, she crouched down with her head bowed.

“…”

Like a sulking teenager.

But I have no intention of letting her off.

“Stand up.”

She immediately stood up.

“Don’t use commands like that…”

Her face remains expressionless, but I notice her cheeks and ears turning red.

“Don’t use them so freely…”

“Then you should have behaved properly from the start.”

“Would it help if I apologized now?”

“No.”

I shook my head with my arms crossed.

“First, stand with your hands up. I need to go lie down on the bed.”

With those final words, I went into the bedroom.

From outside the door, I could hear her voice asking me to look at her, but I didn’t get up from the bed.

Her voice changed from irritation to anger. From anger to fear.

Finally, to sobbing.