541: Chapter 541 Black Box and Living Chip - Part 1

The holographic images in the hall had long since faded, but those scenes were still seared into Konks's mind.

Burning books, falling people, lethal toxic mists, and those hollow-eyed "things" emerging from the Modification Fields.

"Mr. Ember," Konks looked toward the leader with the shattered face, "what you just showed me is ironclad evidence of a crime. But to get the outside world, the companies, and the broader interstellar society to take action, I need a complete chain of evidence."

"Not just images, but data—an irrefutable chain of logic."

Ember remained silent for a moment, seemingly evaluating the request.

"What do you need?"

"All the technological data and research reports you can still find concerning the destroyed nations, especially those that excelled in key technical Domains—even fragmentary technical notes will do."

"Particularly regarding artificial intelligence, automation, bionics, and so on—anything as long as it isn't in the Biotechnica Domain."

"Also, more detailed technical records regarding those 'Modification Fields,' if they can be found."

Ember fell silent again for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Very well. In our data center, fragments of some databases from before the cataclysm still remain."

"Most are damaged and unreadable, but perhaps there is something you can use. Follow me."

Konks followed Ember, accompanied by Bai and the tall bionic man named Heishi. They left the hall and headed deeper into the fortress along another corridor.

They passed several areas resembling warehouses and maintenance rooms before finally arriving in front of a metal door that looked quite ancient.

There was no complex electronic lock on the door, only a simple physical latch and several force field generators with severely decaying energy.

"This is one of our most important legacies, and also a burden," Ember's voice echoed in the empty corridor. "Inside are all the civilized data fragments we could find; the physical protection was added by us later."

"The equipment inside is very old. Many units can no longer be started, and even if they do, we can't read much from them."

Heishi stepped forward, laboriously pulling back the heavy latch and deactivating the force field before pushing open the creaking metal door.

Behind the door was a room of modest size, filled with dozens of old equipment cabinets arranged in neat rows.

Some were still emitting a low hum and the noise of cooling fans, while others were completely silent, covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was a scent of ozone and the peculiar smell of old electronic equipment in the air.

In the center of the room were several control consoles; most of their screens were dark, with only one or two still glowing dimly, displaying jumping characters or error codes.

"See for yourself. Bai will help you with what can be operated and what you need. The interface standards here are very old; I don't know if your equipment will be compatible."

After Ember finished speaking, he turned and retreated to the doorway, seemingly not intending to get too involved in the specific operations. Heishi also stood guard at the door.

Bai stepped forward, skillfully opening a cabinet that still showed signs of life and pulling out several interface cables.

"Try this. It's a relatively universal old-style data bus interface; the compatibility might be better."

Konks took a small universal interface adapter from his backpack, connected it, and plugged the other end into the data pad he carried with him.

The data pad screen lit up, attempting to establish a connection with the cabinet. The progress bar advanced slowly, stuttering from time to time.

"Reading... Multiple damaged data formats detected... Attempting universal decoding protocol..."

Minutes and seconds ticked by.

Konks tried several different cabinets and interfaces, successfully reading some scattered files.

Most were insignificant administrative records, some basic scientific research papers, and some digital archives of culture and art.

There was information on cutting-edge technology, but it was scarce and fragmented.

Just as he was becoming slightly anxious, a folder labeled "Baishan Federation - Technical Archives" caught his attention.

Baishan... he remembered from the images just now and Ember's narrative that this was a nation targeted early in the Purification War, said to have significant achievements in precision machinery and automation.

He clicked open the folder.

There weren't many files inside, and many were damaged, showing only fragments.

"Project code 'Web-weaving,' aimed at developing a new generation of civilian service AI frameworks with situational awareness and adaptive learning capabilities..."

"'Black Box' fully automated factory Phase III project accepted; production efficiency increased by 300%, manual intervention requirements reduced to below 0.5%."

"The factory utilizes modular self-organizing production units. The core AI scheduling System possesses high autonomy. To an external observer, internal flow of Materials, process decision-making, and quality control are invisible and require no understanding; one only needs to input design goals and basic Materials..."

"The Research Committee notes that over-reliance on the 'Black Box' System may lead to a gap in core technology. It is recommended to retain at least a 20% backup team of traditional engineers."

"The 'Web-weaving' AI performed excellently in 'Homeland' maintenance tasks, successfully handling nineteen unplanned sudden failures. Its decision-making model based on neuromorphic networks showed..."

The file cut off there, followed by large sections of garbled code and missing data.

Konks stared at the text on the screen.

"Black Box" factories, highly autonomous AI, "invisible and requiring no understanding" to an external observer...

A cold concept, like a venomous snake, slithered silently into his mind.

No need to understand the principles, just input goals and Materials to produce a finished product.

Isn't this exactly the attitude the current Shankong Civilization has toward its high heaven's Gifts technology?

Knowing the 'what' but not the 'why.' Using technology as a Black Box.

If they treat advanced technology this way, then what about those ubiquitous bionics? How did they manage that?

Based on currently known intelligence, the Shankong people absolutely do not have the level required to produce this grade of artificial intelligence.

He recalled the eerie one-second freeze of that bionic cleaning assistant in the Aetherland laboratory after it finished wiping.

That didn't seem like a programming error; it was more like a "moment of daze."

He thought of more details.

Some bionics showed imperceptible individual differences in response speed when faced with identical instructions.

These differences would seem very awkward if explained by an AI with strictly preset programming.

But what if what drove that shell was a biological brain?

Were these illogical "human-like" details the final lingering struggles of an imprisoned, fragmented biological consciousness?

And then there was the way his mentor's face changed at the mention of bionics, and that phrase, "mysteries of high heaven."

If it were merely complex technology, would it be so taboo? Unless the mystery itself was an unspeakable, ultimate evil against civilization.

Konks felt his fingers grow cold.

He jerked his head up, looking at Ember standing by the door, and then at Bai, who was assisting him with the data.

Bai's facial features, molded from bionic Materials, seemed incredibly piercing under the dim lights of the server room.

Why did everyone in the Wuqi Clan have these bionic bodies with human-like facial outlines?

Ember had said it was complicated.

But what if—what if their current form was not their own choice, or even their "original" form?

What if it was just a tragic continuation they had no choice but to accept?

A more terrifying and darker suspicion, like an iceberg rising from the abyss, slowly revealed its hideous corner.

This suspicion made his stomach churn, almost making him gag.

No, it couldn't be... this is too crazy, too anti-human! Even if the Shankong people were barbaric and anti-intellectual, they wouldn't go so far... they wouldn't...

But now, Konks found himself unable to convince himself.

What if the experiments behind those "things" had succeeded?

What if those "things" were the predecessors of the bionics that now silently served and labored in the Hive City, called the perfect creations of high heaven's Gifts?

The victors plundered the "Black Box" factories but couldn't manufacture AI chips.

They tried reverse engineering using prisoners of war, but failed, and many people died.

Then, could some Genius have proposed an alternative? Since they couldn't build silicon-based AI, why not use "chips" made of flesh?

Take the brains of prisoners, Unbelievers, and the civilian descendants of conquered nations, and stuff them into bionic shells to be used as mass-produced, obedient "living AI"?

That would explain why the number of bionics was so vast, yet the Shankong high-level authorities strictly forbade anyone from investigating their principles.

That wasn't some technological secret involving national security; it was the core evidence of an absolute crime against humanity!

And these Wuqi Clan members before him—they claimed to be survivors of civilization, souls attached to metal shells.

But what if their very existence was a product of that ultimate crime—a "special model" that hadn't been completely formatted, retaining more memories and self-awareness?

Bai said she woke up like this with amnesia. Was it because a deviation occurred during the modification process, leading to incomplete memory erasure and identity confusion?

Konks felt a wave of dizziness.