novelraw Chapter 103: Artificial Souls - (30)
Chapter 103: Artificial Souls - (30)
Initially, Silver Mask wasn’t called by that name; he had the code I-B-1-1.
The letter “I” indicated that he was a Type-I genetically edited human, while the letter “B” represented the code for the person who provided his genetic sample. The first digit “1” in the code signified that he was among the initial batch of experimental subjects, and the third digit “1” denoted the order in which he was produced. He was the first-ever Type-B genetically edited human created, as well as the first successful living artificial being.
Unlike his rapidly accelerated “brothers,” he had developed naturally. The researcher who created him held a special fondness for him, and what he most frequently said to him was, “You are different from the other defective products.”
“How am I different?” he asked, perplexed. “We clearly look exactly alike.”
“The exterior may be similar, but my focus isn’t on appearances; it’s something deeper.” The researcher looked deeply into his eyes. “You have a soul, while they do not.”
“What is a soul?” he asked, bewildered.
“A soul is a concept that exists simultaneously at philosophical, religious, and practical levels. It might be somewhat difficult for you to understand.” The researcher pressed down on his shoulders, directing his gaze towards a motionless white-haired android standing within the laboratory.
The researcher nudged him forward and instructed, “Go attack him.”
Obediently, he stepped up and with one punch, knocked the android with the same face as himself to the ground.
The android lay quietly on the floor without struggling, crying, or retaliating.They were wind-up puppets left unwound, soulless marionettes incapable of thinking, unable to cry or laugh, devoid of any concept of pain, and devoid of any emotions.
The researcher called him back, took hold of his hand, pulled out a scalpel from his pocket, and coldly pierced it through the boy’s palm. Blood gushed forth immediately, causing him to tremble with agony, tears uncontrollably welling up in his eyes.
“Does it hurt?” the researcher softly asked.
“It hurts… So much pain…” he said tearfully, clutching his wounded hand.
“Can you feel anything besides the pain?”
“I… I don’t know. It feels very uncomfortable…” he sobbed.
“What do you most want to do right now?”
“I want the wound’s pain to stop,” he replied. “I want… I want…”
“Speak it out loud. What is your innermost thought?” The researcher squatted down, meeting the child’s pink gaze levelly. “Tell me.”
After a momentary pause, following his heart’s desire, he said, “I want… for you to experience the same pain as me or even more pain…”
The researcher said with satisfaction, “These emotions are called hatred and anger. This is what sets you apart from them. You are a soulful creation, whereas your brothers born alongside you lack souls. You can cry and laugh; you’re a living person. But they are merely mindless shells. Strictly speaking, they aren’t people but rather objects. It’s not appropriate to use ‘them’… ‘they’ should be used instead.”
“Why do I have it while they don’t?” he asked, bewildered.
The researcher replied, “Perhaps it was coincidental, or perhaps you are simply the one and only miracle. No matter how advanced our technology for creating androids becomes, we haven’t produced another individual like you, possessing a soul and self-awareness.”
With blood-stained hands, he touched his heart as if trying to locate exactly where within his body this mysterious thing called the “soul” might be hidden. “Where does the soul reside? In my heart, head… or stomach?”
Feeling slightly puzzled, the researcher asked, “Why would you guess that the soul is in the stomach?”
He earnestly explained his conjecture: “Every time after eat, my stomach feels warm and very comfortable. The soul, being so rare and unique, must surely be something good. It just might be in the stomach, similar to food being something valuable.”
The researcher fell silent.
Seeing the researcher’s exasperated expression, he cautiously asked, “Could it be that souls aren’t something good? Hmm… Having a soul causes pain, but without a soul, there wouldn’t be any… Thinking about it this way, souls indeed aren’t something good!”
“No, you can’t think like that,” the researcher said. “Precisely because souls are something good, obtaining one requires paying a certain price. You experience pain and develop negative emotions; these are the costs of possessing a soul. In return, with a soul, you can perceive things that soulless puppets cannot. You can appreciate the deliciousness and warmth of food, deriving emotional satisfaction from it—something your android brothers cannot do. To gain, one must give.”
After pondering for a moment, he decisively stated, “Then, then having a soul is still better.”
At that moment, the researcher handed him a scalpel. “Go ahead, kill the defective android on the floor.”
“Okay.” He walked over, bent down, and slit the android’s throat with the knife. Blood gushed out, flowing across the ground and quickly reaching his feet, staining his shoes red.
After two minutes, the blood stopped flowing. He touched the android’s face and then looked up, saying, “He’s dead.”
“Tell me, how do you feel right now?” The researcher examined him closely.
“I’m not too fond of the color of blood; it stained my shoes, making me unhappy,” he replied.
The researcher watched him intently and asked, “Is that all?”
“Well… what else should there be?” He couldn’t understand why such an… indescribable expression appeared on the researcher’s face.
“If I were to ask you to kill someone with a soul, like myself, for example,” the researcher said. “Just hypothetically, I wouldn’t truly make you do it.”
He responded, “If you give me the order, I will carry it out.”
This time, the researcher remained silent for a long while.
“What’s wrong? Did I do something incorrect?” He began to introspect.
The researcher asked, “Have you ever considered the option of refusal?”
“Why should I refuse?” He puzzled over the question.
“Seeing a life pass away, does it not distress you? Does your soul remain unaffected?”
He carefully felt his heart, head, and finally his stomach before saying, “My heart, head, and stomach don’t feel any distress, and my soul hasn’t stirred either.”
The researcher remained silent.
He asked, “If souls aren’t located in the heart, head, or stomach, then where?”
“It may be due to a lack of clear understanding about death and deficient general knowledge, leading to a scarcity of empathy. Later on, I wonder if this can be improved through learning…” The researcher sighed, “Never mind… This way is fine too. Just obey orders.”
He obediently nodded.
Through the distorted and chaotic flames, Kui Xin glimpsed figures enveloped by swirling rings of fire.
Her entire body froze, for one unmistakable reason—the dozen or so “Silver Masks” opposite her were all Extraordinary Ability Users.
Among them, some individuals possessed B-level superhuman abilities, allowing Kui Xin to see the specific effects of their “Pure Water.” Others seemed to have directly achieved A-level abilities; she could only observe the name “Pure Water” without being able to discern its effects.
There appeared to be around eight A-level users and eight B-level users, according to rough counting.
“What is this?” Kui Xin struggled to speak. “Clones? Cloned Extraordinary Ability Users?”
Wei Zhi had never displayed such a discomposed expression before. She said, “I’m afraid so.”
The “Silver Masks” began moving, holding hands as they commanded the raindrops falling from the sky to coalesce. The moisture in the air condenses, forming a semicircular water shield. Working together, they resisted the highly corrosive Black Flames.
At the interface where the water met fire, steam hissed and emerged continuously. The three elements—water, fire, and steam—fluctuated in dominance, with neither side gaining the upper hand. The Silver Masks could control even the steam; with rain pouring from the sky, their supply of water was inexhaustible. Leveraging this weather advantage, they gained the edge.
The controlled stream of water swiftly boiled due to the flames. Suddenly, one clone manipulated the boiling water to coalesce into a water whip, lashing out towards Kui Xin and Wei Zhi.
The trio hastily evaded, and then the water whip was intercepted by a wall of fire, evaporating into a white mist.
“Intriguing… How very intriguing…” After briefly testing them, Wang Feichi gauged the strength of the abilities possessed by the dozen or so individuals facing him. He grinned sinisterly, baring his teeth. “From where did you obtain his genetic information?”
He dissolved the flame whirlpool, compressing the Black Flame into an extremely dense and dark needle. With a snap of his fingers, the black needle effortlessly pierced through the protective water shield, striking one of the clones. Flames surged instantly, engulfing the hit clone.
In less than three seconds, the entire clone turned to ashes.
“What is your purpose here?” Wang Feichi once again formed another black needle and flicked it out.
This time, the clone struck by the black needle exploded, sending flesh flying amidst a gruesome scene.
“You’re not willing to tell, huh? Let’s play slowly then. Wei Zhi, you and your secretary stay out of this; I’ll handle it.” With a sinister smile, Wang Feichi flexed his fingers, each fingertip now adorned with a slender black needle. “Who do you think you are? Do you believe a dozen ants can bite me to death?”
Kui Xin glanced at Silver Mask and Red, who were hiding within the water shield. “The opposing side unexpectedly possesses space transmission capabilities. Is there a way to disrupt their communications and disable the electronic devices on them, preventing accurate coordination?”
“Yes,” Adam responded. “By utilizing electromagnetic pulses, we can render all equipment in this area dysfunctional. The branch unit, located two kilometers away, has such equipment that can cover a five-kilometer radius. Our team is equipped with anti-jamming devices, protecting us from the effects, but we don’t know if the enemy carries similar gear. If the electromagnetic pulse takes effect, the enemy’s equipment is expected to malfunction for approximately three minutes.”
This was a tactic Eve had previously employed during the initial Mooring Harbor explosion incident, and Mechanical Dawn took advantage of it to replace “security officer Kui Xin” with “undercover agent Kui Xin.”
Kui Xin sought permission from Wei Zhi: “Group Leader, can we use it?”
Wei Zhi’s expression shifted. “Permission granted.”
The coverage area for such weapons is excessively large, severely impacting nearby residential areas and power lines. Under normal circumstances, their use would not be permitted, but given the current situation, there was no choice.
Kui Xin wanted to employ this strategy to blind Eve’s “eyes,” preventing them from seeing what she was doing.
Not far away, amidst Wang Feichi’s dominant position, a sudden, deep blue whirlpool appeared beneath his feet. Startled, he found himself uncontrollably falling toward the vortex. As it rapidly contracted, he managed to narrowly escape by bracing one hand on the ground and performing a fish-like leap. Had he been slower, the closing spatial vortex would have severed his legs.
In the next instant, another blue whirlpool erupted from the ground where his palm had been, trapping his arm within before promptly slicing it off!