Age of Cosmic Exploration

After many days, Zhang San finally saw the robot again. It was locked behind an electromagnetic prison fence and it was completely immobile. The red eyes that Zhang San remembered were dimmed and there were many electrical circuits attaching it to a few computers.

Yao Yuan stood beside Zhang San and explained, "We can use physical methods to hack into its internal chip, but that will convert all of its internal data into quantum messages. To put it simply, should that happen, even with the computing power of the AI, it would require thousands of years to sort through those messages. We don’t have that luxury of time, so this is where you come in."

Zhang San waved his hands and stammered out a non-answer. When he was on the phone with his childhood idol, he was already beyond excited. Now that Yao Yuan was personally beside him and talking to him in a friendly manner, Zhang San didn’t know how to conduct himself. If not for the wrong place and the wrong time, he would pull out a piece of paper and pen to ask for his signature.

Following Yao Yuan’s order, the researchers in the room started to get busy. They opened the computers and initiated the programs. They checked the link to the robot and the control situation of the robot. As these actions started, the red eyes of the robot started to blink again. However, the data that appeared on screen still looked pretty random, there was no sense nor reason to it all.

One of the middle-aged professors sighed as he typed something on the 3D keyboard. Yao Yuan whispered to Zhang San, "This is Professor Ganu, he’s a famed researcher in the field of computer science from the country of India... He’s already in his seventies even though he looks young. Then again, this is probably how someone in their seventies looks to you young ones of the new generation. Back on Old Earth, people in their seventies had a completely different look..."

Yao Yuan planned to introduce Zhang San to these researchers because the young man would have to work constantly with them in the future. However, looking at Zhang San’s face, Yao Yuan realized that the young man was of the generation that was born in space. He was also currently the youngest Homo Evolutis beside Eva. A feeling of inheritance welled up within Yao Yuan. Other than that, there was joy, not unlike how he felt when he saw the City of Light Moon come up. It made tears come to his eyes and it made Yao Yuan more chatty than usual. He treated Zhang San like he would treat his juniors.

Zhang San’s face started to flush. However, this time he didn’t break into copious sweat, he merely lowered his head and nodded non-stop.

Yao Yuan laughed and continued, "In any case, you should familiarize yourself with the people here because you will need to cooperate with them in the future, especially Professor Ganu. He is a wealth of knowledge. When humanity created the first AI, he was unable to participate in the historic project because he was needed to look after the Hope’s AI. It was his biggest regret. This time, he volunteered to overlook this project and honestly, I can’t deny him the request, he is one of the twenty-something senior scientists that we have. They are even rarer than us Homo Evolutis, so be respectful to him..."

Zhang San didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He already had one father-in-law to please back at home and now he had another equivalent at work. However, his heart burned because he was given an important mission. He promised to accept the task with a series of nods.

As Yao Yuan talked to Zhang San, Professor Ganu stood up while shaking his head. "Chancellor, we still cannot access its computing circuit. I’ve tried my best... This here is Mr. Zhang San, right? Why don’t we let him try to connect to this robot?"

After the professor said that, Yao Yuan nodded at Zhang San. The latter didn’t hesitate and moved forward. With the professor’s guidance, Zhang San started talking into a device. "It’s me, Zhang San."

As the words were converted into data by the computer and transferred into the robot’s system, in about two seconds, the lights in the robot’s eyes shone and data was processing rapidly as shown on the computer screen. In fact, one of the computers had frozen due to the immense amount of data. This showed that the robot had officially awakened.

"Zhang San... Are you still lonely?"

Everyone was surprised by this first sentence announced by the robot. Zhang San initially felt reserved due to being observed by so many people, but when he heard that question, tears almost fell out of his eyes. He tensed his body and said in a tone as calm as he could muster, "I don’t feel lonely anymore. I’ve seen my parents, the woman that I love, and the familiar faces. I’m surround by the city, the sky, and the earth, so I’m happy. I don’t feel lonely anymore."

The light in the robot’s eyes shone brightly. After a long time, it replied, "That’s nice... It’s wonderful that you don’t feel lonely anymore."

Zhang San’s tears finally fell out of his eyes. He mumbled, "You too can escape the sense of loneliness, I’m sure you can. You can stop being so lonely..."

Instantly, the people around them felt an intense sense of loneliness in their heart. They suddenly felt like crying as the crippling sense of loneliness was scary. Those who had weak mental health had started to collapse. Yao Yuan saw this and yelled loudly, "Zhang San! Focus! There are many normal citizens around us!"

Zhang San heard that, and for some reason, he felt a wave of warmth coming from Yao Yuan. It felt like he was being showered in the rays of light of a giant sun. The sun seemed to light up everything. However, the sun was there for only a moment. Nevertheless, as the sun disappeared, so did the sense of loneliness he was feeling earlier. This was the same for everyone else in the room. In that moment, the sense of darkness and loneliness disappeared as if banished by the sun.

Zhang San slowly recovered. He took a few deep breaths and turned to Yao Yuan to apologize. "Chancellor, I’m sorry. I seem to have messed up again. I don’t know how to control this power, it’s something called the soul web, yes?"

Yao Yuan waved his hands. "It’s okay, that’s your power as an Anima. In fact, we have a few Animas among our Homo Evolutis. However, either their powers are so weak that they couldn’t even see the soul web or they are normal citizens. The fact that you’re an Anima is perfect, you’ll prove instrumental in the future during wars within the range of the creator’s particle. Don’t worry about your power’s usage yet, I will have our most powerful Anima, Nian Xi Kong, come explain it to you later."

Nian, Nian Xi Kong?

Zhang San felt like his heart was about to leap out of its chamber!

After all, this was Nian Xi Kong! She was the most popular singer, she was humanity’s superstar. Ever since her debut album two years ago, she had published hit after hit. Her music was like a sound from the heavens. The key point was that her songs could always touch your soul. Zhang San had heard a few of her songs and he would lose himself in them every time. She was truly one of the humanity’s most important treasures!

Xi Kong was also incredibly pretty. Especially when she put on the classic attire from her Chinese culture, she looked like angel descended from the heavens...

Just as Zhang San was lost in his own thoughts, Zhang Heng, who was standing behind Yao Yuan, whispered to Yao Yuan, "My feeling was right, Captain, he exudes the same feeling as the robot, or I should say they share the same soul vibration. This robot is accepting it and Zhang San is releasing it, and their vibrations aid and perfect one another..."

"I understand."

Earlier, when Zhang Heng said Zhang San felt extremely familiar, he couldn’t figure out why at the time. However, when he thought about it later, he was reminded of the robot when he was escorting it back from first defense line. He sensed the same soul vibrations from Zhang San as he did from the robot. This was Zhang Heng’s newest power, as his Diviner power had grown stronger. Even though he still couldn’t see into the future like Eva, he could sense the soul vibrations from other Homo Evolutis.

Zhang San was a Homo Evolutis, so it was normal for him to have a soul vibration, but what about this robot? AI couldn’t have a soul vibration, it was not a Homo Evolutis, and the robot was receiving soul vibrations and not exuding it, this was truly weird.

On the surface, Yao Yuan was calmly listening to Zhang San, but internally, his heart was raging. However, it was not the time to deal with this. He advised Zhang San to continue working with Professor Ganu. He then bade everyone there farewell and went to the Hope’s central mainframe room alone.

There, a virtual lady stood with great impatience. When Yao Yuan arrived, she asked in a hurry, "So, was Zhang Heng right? That new AI was absorbing Zhang San’s soul? And he only responds to Zhang San’s voice?"

Yao Yuan nodded with confirmation. "Yes, it is as you said. Not only did Zhang Heng feel it, I sensed it as well. It seems like Zhang San is tied to that robot on some way. It’s weird."

The girl cheered, "Yes, yes this is it, this is a miracle...

"The robot is not some AI, he is the embryo of a sentient lifeform or an AI that is evolving into a sentient lifeform!

"He has a life!"