192: Chapter 192 Artificial Intelligence Systems

Chu Ge didn't demand the Xue family pay upfront. He knew that if he did, the Dirui Group would likely bleed to death. He thoughtfully gave Dirui Pharmaceutical a three-year installment plan.

Within those three years, Dirui Pharmaceutical would be responsible for all research, development, and production of space adaptation agents for all personnel of the Interstellar Fleet. This would be done in stages, with the military stationing personnel at the factory for supervision.

Dirui Pharmaceutical would also be responsible for all equipment and medications within the medical cabins of the Lunar Base.

All of the above would be free of charge.

Elder Xue didn't object upon hearing this. After a moment's consideration, he nodded and agreed quite readily. After some polite conversation, he stood up and took his leave.

After seeing them off, Chu Ge turned back and was about to continue working when Captain Gong knocked and entered.

"Academician Chu, why do I feel like that old man has gone senile? He actually looked delighted."

"Captain Gong, that's why they can manage a large company while you're just my security captain. You need to take a longer view. For example, what about three years from now?"

"The current loss is what they deserve for offending Xiaowu. Let's see how they perform from now on."

Captain Gong didn't seem to fully grasp the logic yet, scratching his head as he stepped out.

Xue Dingbang had arrived in a hurry, but he was in no rush to leave. Seeing the old man's leisurely pace, Xue Di and his daughter, who were waiting at the entrance of the Research Institute, felt much more at ease.

"Let's go, we'll talk in the car." Xue Dingbang didn't say much after coming out and went straight into the vehicle.

"Dad, tell us! Was Academician Chu angry?"

"Well, he was and he wasn't. But the matter is finally resolved. At least the Xue family won't be wiped out like the Cao family."

"That's good, that's good," Xue Di said, patting his chest.

"There is a price. We have to cough up 150.0 billion huaxia currency!"

"Ah? This... this is almost the same as being wiped out!" "Grandpa!" Xue Rui started to tear up again upon hearing the condition.

"It's not about giving cash, and it's not going into Academician Chu's personal pocket. It's about providing certain biological and pharmaceutical products to the country for free over the next three years."

After Elder Xue finished, there was silence in the car for a long time. Xue Di seemed to be calculating the gains and losses before finally nodding helplessly.

"It's acceptable. At least we've kept the foundation. As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of lacking firewood. At worst, I just won't make a penny for these three years."

"Haha, Xue Di, do you know why I agreed so readily? 50.0 billion a year—if we factor it into the products, our actual loss might not be 50.0 billion. Furthermore, the Interstellar Fleet is the country's key plan for the future. With the country leading the way and us following, think about it—there's space for us to establish ourselves in the cosmos as well."

"On a grander scale, it's only right for the Dirui Group to make a contribution to the nation. Later, with this official endorsement, the path ahead naturally won't be too difficult. You two can figure out the rest for yourselves."

Elder Xue leaned back and closed his eyes to take a nap. Xue Di and his daughter looked at each other, not daring to disturb him further.

Xue Di still hadn't fully calculated the math, so he stopped talking and silently went back to his mental accounting...

Chu Ge finally finished organizing the documents on his desk and began tapping away to input program commands. Besides the gravity and gravitational wave devices, the Lunar Base had another very special system.

It was an artificial intelligence system.

While inputting the program, Chu Ge felt it was somewhat similar to the intelligent control system of the Soul Blade—at least the programming language was similar, originating from the same source.

However, the Lunar Base's system was more complex with a much larger data volume. This was evident from its data storage units; there were ten YB-level storage units, several times more than what the aerospace carrier possessed.

Correspondingly, the AI's processing power was immense. It handled everything from managing the living quarters, monitoring life support systems, and conducting experiments in the testing zones, to controlling the entire base's energy. Its presence was everywhere, down to the automated collection vehicles in the integrated factories and the surgical monitoring tables in the medical base.

Its central processing unit was about the size of half a football field, featuring a honeycomb structure with numerous holes. Inside these holes were core Energy Balls, roughly the same size as the one on the Soul Blade's chest. The CPU was a giant spherical entity composed of over a thousand such Energy Balls.

All data streams of the base, surveillance data from every corner, commands, and system monitoring signals would converge here for analysis and organization.

One could say it was the brain of the entire base.

As Chu Ge organized the data, he couldn't help himself and began to summon System Big Brother.

"System Big Brother, are you sure this AI system is just a processor? I feel like it's a bit like the 'Red Queen'."

[What on earth is a Red Queen?]

"Uh, it's a super AI system, the kind that eventually wipes out all humans."

[The base's AI system is execution-oriented and will not issue commands proactively. All commands must be set in advance. For example, for a collection vehicle, you must pre-set basic parameters like the collection path, excavation rate, and travel speed. Once entered and backed up, these can be modified, but that also requires human intervention.]

[The things it controls autonomously are mostly system data, such as the air pressure values of the entire base, oxygen supply, and so on.]

"So basically, it can't think?"

[No, but it can simulate human emotions. If you talk to it, it might occasionally play a little joke on you.]

"How does it compare to that Soul Blade fellow?"

[They're about equal, though this one should be more interesting. After all, it's a space base; wouldn't it be too boring if it were too rigid?]

"You really have thought of everything. On behalf of all future base personnel, I thank you."

[You're welcome! Speaking of intelligent systems, I've searched my database and all the data in your world, and I've discovered that this system is actually the most powerful, the most intelligent, the most...]

"The most awesome. Okay, I get it. A new episode of Doraemon is out, go watch it."

[...]

System Big Brother didn't reply. Chu Ge suspected the guy might have actually gone to search for it.

Chu Ge remembered that the "Red Queen" seemed even more powerful, with a larger scope of control—likely anything related to data.

From this perspective, the Lunar Base's AI could only control the base at most. That was fine; it wouldn't be able to cause any major trouble.

Chu Ge flipped through the directory of commands that needed programming for the AI; there were nearly 350,000 entries.

Chu Ge recalled that when he designed the Energy Core for the Soul Blade, it took him nearly a week of non-stop work, yet the Soul Blade's programming volume wasn't even a fraction of this AI's.

With a "snap," Chu Ge turned off the computer screen. He had a bit of a headache and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

...

As winter turned to spring and summer faded into autumn, half a year passed quickly. The data and model planning for the Lunar Base were basically complete, with only some large-scale structural assembly left to be done on the moon.

Chu Ge temporarily archived the data blueprints and other materials.

According to the plan, in a few days, Huaxia would welcome a historic moment: the aerospace carrier "Kunpeng" was nearing completion, and a grand ceremony would be held at the Dockyard Base.

The ceremony was scheduled for National Day. This already festive October 1st National Day now drew the eyes of the entire world.

The Research Institute had put up colorful flags early in the morning, and a massive banner hung right in the center of the office building,

"The 'Kunpeng' soars high, a celebration for the whole world!"