145: Choices for Growth and the Conception of a "Bridge"

The successful thwarting of the "Gift" trap incident did not bring any celebratory atmosphere to "Homeland"; instead, it was like a heavy boulder cast into the minds of top management and core researchers, stirring up profound and lasting ripples.

Subsequent detailed technical reviews and intelligence analysis clearly revealed a cold reality: the sophistication and persistence of external threats had evolved to a brand-new, unsettling level.

The opponents were no longer using crude infiltration or clumsy imitation but had adopted a highly customized, extremely patient, and cleverly disguised "precision feeding" strategy.

They carefully exploited the legitimate identity displayed by "Homeland" (a cutting-edge research base), studied the potential needs of internal personnel (stress relief, stimulating creativity), and packaged it through credible third-party channels.

The depth of their concealment was such that it could even bypass layers of conventional security checks.

This marked a shift in the confrontation from technical-level offense and defense to a more complex game in the cognitive and psychological domains.

The enemy was like the most brilliant chess player, no longer rushing to capture pieces, but beginning to lay out a deep game, intending to subtly disintegrate or manipulate the potential of "Homeland" from the roots of thought and spirit.

This grim reality forced Wang Jianguo and the supreme advisory group to conduct a deep strategic reflection.

Simple, passive "Fortress-style defense" was clearly no longer sufficient to cope with future challenges.

It was necessary to establish more forward-looking, proactive, and asymmetric defense and early warning capabilities.

At the same time, another fact that could not be ignored was the astonishing potential Excellence had displayed during the recent magnetic storm crisis, transcending the level of individual equipment and capable of perceiving macro-system-level anomalies.

His intuitive Resonance regarding the "verge of collapse" state of complex systems, which could not be fully explained by existing scientific theories, provided a brand-new, potential dimension of Perception.

These two events—the escalation of external threats and the emergence of unique internal capabilities—were like two originally independent threads that inevitably converged in the minds of strategic planners, giving birth to an extremely bold and inevitably controversial strategic concept.

A high-level, strictly limited closed-door strategic meeting was held in the most secure encrypted conference room of "Homeland".

Attendees included Wang Jianguo, the head of security, chief scientist Evelyn, and a few top experts involved in strategic planning and ethical review.

The atmosphere was as heavy as ice.

The core topic of the meeting was the concept that had quietly surfaced: Was it possible, under the premise of ensuring absolute safety and respecting the personal wishes of Excellence (in a way he could understand), to guide and utilize this unique ability of Excellence in an extremely limited, highly controllable manner?

This would not only serve the internal security and research of "Homeland" but also attempt to develop it into a unique "Perceptual bridge" used to deal with certain extreme risks that concerned national strategic security, were extremely complex, highly covert, and where conventional methods were almost ineffective?

The proposer (a senior strategic analyst) described the potential application scenarios of this capability in as calm a tone as possible, each one enough to shake the existing security paradigm:

"Non-intrusive state Perception" of highly protected targets: For certain key hostile facilities protected by physical isolation, extreme encryption, or deep underground concealment (such as suspected high-risk weapons R&D bases, core command posts), traditional reconnaissance means were difficult to reach.

Could Excellence's remote "intuition" perceive their approximate energy activity levels, abnormal operating states, or even potential internal crises?

This was not about obtaining specific intelligence, but perceiving a "state of existence," like the "observation" diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine; although it did not touch on details, it could judge whether the whole was healthy.

"Early collapse warning" of complex giant systems: Faced with highly complex, non-linear, and coupled giant systems such as global financial networks, critical supply chains, and large-scale energy grids, conventional models were difficult to predict their "black swan" style collapses.

Could the ability of Excellence act like a sensitive seismograph, capturing "pressure faults" or "Resonance risks" that were brewing in the depths of the system and had not yet surfaced?

This might win precious time for taking preventive measures.

"Forward-looking assessment" of potential disruptive technological risks: For certain technologies at the frontier of exploration whose long-term consequences were difficult to estimate (such as certain radical AI branches or gene editing applications), could the intuition of Excellence provide a unique perspective based on some kind of "harmony" or "danger Resonance" that transcended traditional risk assessment frameworks?

The temptation of this concept was huge.

It represented an "Asymmetric Advantage" that could change the game, a way of Perception that could not be easily intercepted by traditional defense systems.

In extreme cases, it might exert the effect of a surprise force, avoiding catastrophic consequences.

However, the ethical controversies and unknown risks it brought were equally huge, and even heavier:

Humanitarian dilemma: Pushing a teenager like Excellence, whose mind was not yet fully mature, who was still struggling to adapt to his own abilities, and who should enjoy peaceful growing years, to the forefront of national strategic security to bear such huge and invisible pressure—was this humane?

Did this completely violate the original intention of accepting and protecting him?

Questioning the reliability of the ability: The ability of Excellence had extreme randomness, subjectivity, and difficulty in verification.

Was it stable and reliable enough to serve as the basis for major decisions?

How to distinguish between real warnings and mere "internal brain noise" or emotional fluctuations?

Once misjudged, who could bear the consequences?

Psychological burden and the right to know: How to ensure the whole process was completely imperceptible and zero-burden for Excellence?

If he realized he was being used for such a grand purpose, what kind of impact would it have on his psychology?

Was concealing the truth in itself a betrayal of trust?

Unforeseeable backlash risks: Would frequent contact or Perception of those negative system states that might be full of malice, chaos, or extreme complexity cause irreversible damage to the mental health and stability of Excellence's abilities?

Would it be like opening pandora's box, releasing uncontrollable power?

The debate at the meeting was extremely fierce, one could even say it was tit-for-tat.

Supporters emphasized the opportunities and necessity, believing that when facing existential threats, one must dare to explore all possible means.

Moreover, as long as a carefully designed "double-blind" or "harmless" process was used, zero harm to Excellence could be achieved, using him as a pure "information source," while the decision-making power remained firmly in the hands of the professional analysis team.

Opponents were emotional and sharp in their words.

A respected ethicist slammed the table: "We must never use the name of protection to carry out the act of utilization! Excellence is first a child who needs to be protected, and only then is his ability! Putting the burden of the nation on his young shoulders is a moral degradation, a betrayal of our own duties! We protect him not so that one day he can block bullets, even if they are invisible bullets!"

As the person who knew the ability and psychological state of Excellence best, Evelyn listened in silence, enduring a huge sense of tearing inside.

She knew the potential value of the ability, and she also knew the sensitivity and fragility of Excellence's heart better than anyone.

What she saw was the living teenager who would be overjoyed at a small progress in training, who would show a look of reliance when next to Su Mu, and who was both looking forward to and uneasy about the future, not a cold "strategic asset."

Wang Jianguo's face was heavy throughout, his fingers tapping gently on the table unconsciously, listening to every attendee's speech.

He knew that both sides' viewpoints had their profound reasoning.

This was not just a technical or strategic issue, but a soul-searching question that touched the core values and future direction of the organization.

Agreeing easily might push Excellence into an unknowable abyss of danger and tarnish the fundamental meaning of "Homeland's" existence; simply rejecting it might mean missing a chance to save a crisis at a critical moment in the future, causing irreparable losses.

After a long period of contemplation, Wang Jianguo ultimately did not make a simple "yes" or "no" decision.

He proposed an extremely cautious, phased, and highly exploratory and research-oriented prototype of the "bridge" plan.

The core principles of this plan were: absolute safety, extreme control, ethics first, and research-led.

He clearly divided the plan into several strict stages and set extremely high start thresholds and circuit breaker mechanisms:

Phase One: Basic Research Period (currently limited to this stage)

Scope: Strictly limited to the top-tier, physically isolated laboratory environment within "Homeland".

Content: When Excellence performs regular, voluntary ability training, Evelyn will be responsible for designing a series of highly abstract, harmless "test questions."

These questions will be disguised as ordinary cognitive challenges or imagination exercises, the core of which is to simulate extremely complex system states (such as "tiny disturbances in high Order," "critical points of multiple feedback loops," "Order on the edge of chaos," etc.), and to observe and record the unconscious physiological reactions (brain waves, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, etc.) and metaphorical expressions (Resonance Mapping, metaphorical descriptions) of Excellence when he comes into contact with this abstract information.

Purpose: Purely as scientific research data accumulation, used to analyze the boundaries of his ability, stability, and association patterns with complex systems.

Never use any results for actual decision-making, and do not even conduct specific interpretations.

Duration: This stage needs to last long enough until the accumulated data is sufficient for rigorous statistical analysis and is approved by the dual assessment of an independent ethics committee and a scientific committee.

Phase Two: Extreme Situation Assessment Period (remote future, extremely harsh conditions)

Start conditions: The assessment procedure can only be started when all the following conditions are met: 1. Phase one research has achieved conclusive, reproducible scientific evidence proving that his Perception has significant, non-random early warning value. 2. Facing an extreme crisis that truly concerns the survival of the nation or humanity, where all conventional means have been declared ineffective. 3. The mental maturity of Excellence reaches a level where he can understand and (within an appropriate scope) agree to participate (informed in the way that protects him the most). 4. Approved unanimously by the highest-level ethics review committee (must include external experts).

Execution: Even if started, the process must be carried out under the strictest anonymization and protection measures to ensure that Excellence is completely unaware of the true nature and goal of the mission.

Phase Three: Application Period (theoretically exists, but no plan for now)

Only after being proven safe and effective in the second phase, and after social ethical consensus has developed to the corresponding stage, can it be considered, but that will be a distant future that needs to be treated with extreme caution.

Wang Jianguo emphasized that currently only the first phase is approved as a pure research project.

The existence and progress of the entire "bridge" plan are classified as top secret, and the scope of knowledge is strictly controlled to the minimum necessary range.

Evelyn took on this arduous, walking-on-thin-ice task.

She felt the burden on her shoulders was heavier than ever.

She not only had to continue to serve as the scientific guide and protector of Excellence, but now she also added the identity of a "research leader" who needed to hide her true intentions.

She had to carefully design those seemingly ordinary but deeply implied "tests," while enduring huge moral pressure, always alert to any risks that might cause harm to Excellence.

After the meeting, she walked to the observation window alone.

Downstairs, Excellence was doing physical training with Su Mu on the lawn in the sun.

The two were chasing a soccer ball.

Excellence's face was filled with a carefree smile, and sweat was shining in the sun.

The figure of the simple, happy teenager who knew nothing about the complex fate he was about to face formed a sharp contrast with the heavy discussion about his future that had just ended in the conference room, making Evelyn's heart ache.

She secretly vowed that no matter what the future road was, no matter how great the pressure, she would put the physical and mental health of Excellence first.

This "bridge" must never become a burden that crushed him, and even if it had to be built, it must be constructed with the most solid protective materials to ensure the absolute safety of the traveler.

Ignorant Daily Life and Brewing Future

Excellence was completely unaware of all this.

He was still immersed in his ability exploration and daily learning, happy for every small breakthrough, and distressed by occasional failures.

He was trying to use newly learned programming knowledge, combined with a biofeedback instrument, to try to create a maze game that could automatically change difficulty according to his attention level.

At this moment, he was excited because he had just successfully controlled a small ball through the end of a simple maze with his mind (auxiliary equipment), pulling Su Mu's hand and jumping up and down.

Su Mu looked at his happy appearance and smiled gently, but deep in her eyes hid a trace of imperceptible complex emotion.

She knew some of the discussions among the top management; although she did not know the details, she could feel that the atmosphere surrounding Excellence was undergoing subtle changes.

The only thing she could do was to continue to use all her love and warmth to create a growing environment for him that was as normal and happy as possible.

On the road of growth, flowers and thorns coexist, and some heavyweight strategic choices and ethical trade-offs concerning the future have already quietly unfolded in this seemingly calm land of "Homeland," in places he cannot see.

The road of the future is destined to be more complex and full of challenges.