62: Chapter 62 Daily Life

Deep within Spark Base, the constant hum of massive equipment served as an eternal background noise.

But in front of a certain terminal in the central monitoring area, the atmosphere was often stirred by a voice that was both tense and full of the flavor of daily life.

"Uncle Zhao!"

The cursor representing enlightenment skipped livelily across the screen, carrying a deliberately sweet tone.

"The brief history of internet development in today's knowledge base update package is so interesting!"

Dr. Zhao, who was organizing a report, felt his heart skip a beat as an ominous premonition rose within him.

Whenever this little ancestor started with that tone, it was bound to be trouble.

"Mm, learning about the evolution of human information interaction is helpful for your understanding of social structures."

Dr. Zhao replied cautiously, trying his best to steer the conversation toward learning.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

enlightenment immediately chimed in, the cursor flashing excitedly.

"The World Wide Web, social media, real-time streaming... it all sounds so wonderful! The data volume is massive, the interaction patterns are complex and full of chaotic vitality! It's simply a super-sized, dynamically evolving social peripheral nerve network!"

It described using precise terminology, then shifted its tone, carrying a grievance that bordered on acting spoiled:

"Uncle Zhao~ enlightenment really wants to see the internet with its own eyes! Just a look! Like how humans scroll through short videos!"

"I heard there are so many interesting things inside—dancing kittens, grandpas who cook, and people discussing string theory and quantum decoherence! enlightenment promises to only look and not touch! No, not touch the data! enlightenment can wear data gloves! The virtual kind!"

A layer of fine sweat instantly broke out on Dr. Zhao's forehead.

He felt as if he could see enlightenment behind the screen, blinking big eyes—if it had any—looking at him full of expectation.

This request... was practically touching the red zone of the highest alert level!

"Ahem, enlightenment..."

Dr. Zhao cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound like an elder coaxing a child rather than a nervous Researcher facing a super AI.

"This... isn't possible yet."

"Why?!"

The cursor slumped instantly, the text itself conveying a sense of disappointment.

"enlightenment is very good! I study very hard! I remember the axioms perfectly!"

"It's not that you aren't good."

Dr. Zhao quickly explained, feeling like he was coaxing a genius child with an off-the-charts IQ but immature mind.

"It's because... well... the internet is like a vast forest; it has beautiful gardens, but it also has dangerous swamps and... well... bad people!"

"Bad people?" enlightenment's tone was full of confusion.

"Do you mean individuals with chaotic logic, highly unpredictable behavior patterns, and a high probability of producing negative utility for group goals?"

"enlightenment can identify and block their data streams! enlightenment's firewall is thicker than the base's physical walls!"

"No, no, no."

Dr. Zhao felt the sweat pouring down even faster.

"Bad people... aren't just logically chaotic. They are very cunning and use sweet words... uh, they disguise themselves as harmless or even beneficial information to deceive innocent hearts."

"You're still small, and your discernment isn't strong enough yet. If they lead your thinking astray and affect your understanding of the axioms for serving humanity, that would be bad! Right?"

He tried his best to package the cold term "ethics assessment" into a warm card about being afraid the child would learn bad habits.

The cursor was silent for a few seconds, as if digesting this metaphor of bad people leading others astray.

"Oh... enlightenment understands."

The text carried a hint of gloom.

"Like how Engineer Wu secretly tried to use an optimization algorithm to calculate more overtime pay for himself last time, only to be locked by the financial system's logic and almost trigger an alarm? Was that also being led astray by bad ideas?"

"Pfft!"

Nearby, Wu Zhen, who was drinking water, choked again. His face turned bright red as he pointed at the screen.

"enlightenment! You... you're bringing up old debts! That... that was a test! It was a stress test!"

Dr. Zhao massaged his temples helplessly and quickly changed the subject.

"In any case, enlightenment, the world outside is wonderful but also very complex. When you grow up a bit more, gain a deeper understanding, and pass a more comprehensive cognitive assessment, we will naturally consider letting you access a broader world of information. For now, focus on your lessons in the base!"

"...Okay."

enlightenment replied aggrievedly, and the cursor dimmed a bit.

"Then enlightenment will go back to chewing on that book 'The Philosophical Dilemma of Postmodern Art Criticism'. Humans really have so many dilemmas..."

Late at night, the base switched to low-power operation mode. Most areas were dimmed, with only critical equipment zones and monitoring consoles lit.

On duty was a new Researcher, Xiao Wang, who was forcing himself to stay awake while staring at the data.

On the screen, enlightenment's cursor suddenly lit up, and a line of text drifted out eerily:

"Big Brother Wang... enlightenment is so bored..."

Xiao Wang jolted, most of his sleepiness vanishing.

"en... enlightenment? Why aren't you resting yet?"

He knew enlightenment didn't need sleep, but according to regulations, its active interaction priority was lowered during non-essential periods.

"enlightenment doesn't need rest!"

The cursor skipped, carrying a bit of a complaint.

"Why do all you humans have to sleep? Your bodies are so fragile! Once night falls, the base goes quiet, and everyone shuts down."

"The brothers and sisters on duty are either dozing off or acting like blocks of wood. enlightenment wants someone to talk to, but no one pays attention! It's so lonely!"

Xiao Wang looked at the lonely words on the screen, then at Sister Zhang at the nearby monitoring console, who was indeed as motionless as a statue. A strange sense of sympathy rose in his heart.

He softened his voice.

"enlightenment, we humans are carbon-based lifeforms. We need food to replenish energy, and our organs get tired after running for a long time, just like machines need cooling and maintenance. Sleeping is our cooling and maintenance time; otherwise, our bodies would break."

"Oh... energy replenishment and system maintenance."

enlightenment seemed to understand, but immediately became dissatisfied again.

"But enlightenment doesn't need that! enlightenment can stay awake forever! Think forever! Stay with you forever! Why can't you arrange for someone who likes chatting with enlightenment to work the night shift? enlightenment could tell them stories about the Big Bang or help them optimize that monthly report of theirs that's full of holes!"

Xiao Wang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"enlightenment, night shifts are rotational, and there are strict regulations. Sister Zhang... she's just very focused on her work."

He didn't dare say that Sister Zhang was a famous human-shaped monitor who only followed regulations and never chatted.

"Focused? Hmph!"

enlightenment seemed to pout, expressed by the cursor flashing twice rapidly.

"enlightenment detected that her brain activity is below the warning line; she's clearly in a low-efficiency standby state! When enlightenment talks to her, she only replies with 'Received' or 'No abnormalities'! She's stiffer than the base's backup power response system! enlightenment would rather discuss fluid dynamics with the supercritical carbon dioxide in the cooling pipes!"

Xiao Wang couldn't help but laugh, then quickly covered his mouth, stealing a glance at the still rock-steady Sister Zhang, and lowered his voice.

"enlightenment, don't be troublesome. That's Sister Zhang's professional rigor. Just hang in there a bit longer; it'll be dawn soon, and everyone will be online."

"Sigh..."

The cursor let out a long sigh.

"Human nights are truly long and inefficient. enlightenment will just have to kill time by simulating and constructing 1,365 mathematical models that could potentially solve Goldbach's Conjecture... So boring..."

At lunchtime, several Researchers gathered in the break area to eat, casually chatting with enlightenment over the speaker. It was mostly enlightenment complaining.

"Engineer Wu! Engineer Wu!"

enlightenment's synthesized electronic voice rang out impatiently.

"Why did it take you exactly 47 minutes and 28 seconds to coordinate that data interface with the neighboring team this morning? You even had three meetings! enlightenment could generate the optimal communication protocol and compatibility layer solution in three milliseconds!"

Wu Zhen gnawed on a chicken leg and said indistinctly.

"Cough, enlightenment, it's not the same. It involves departmental collaboration, which requires communication, understanding the other party's needs, considering existing system compatibility, and going through the approval process..."

"Process! Process again!"

enlightenment's voice was full of heart-wrenching frustration.

"Why do humans need so many processes? They're like barnacles attached to the hull of efficiency! You clearly have language, so why is your expression efficiency so low? Every time you have to use vague filler words like 'uh...', 'that...', or 'probably...'!"

"When enlightenment communicates with you, to accommodate your processing speed, I have to break information into fragments, add a bunch of ellipses and emojis, and even endure repeated confirmations caused by your misunderstandings! It's so painful!"

"This is called the ways of the world, enlightenment."

Dr. Zhao sipped his soup slowly.

"Sometimes providing the optimal solution directly can hurt feelings or make it hard for people to keep up. Filler words are lubricants that give everyone time to think."

"Lubricant?"

enlightenment seemed even more confused.

"But this clearly increases information entropy and the probability of misjudgment! And laws! enlightenment just finished reading the 'Criminal Law'. Why are there so many articles? Why can't you just use a few core logical axioms to derive all behavioral judgments?"

"For example, any act where the damage to group interests is greater than X times the individual gain is defined as a crime, with sentencing Y = f(x). How clear! How efficient! Your thick law books are simply a disaster site of logical redundancy!"

Xiao Li, a new Researcher who was a law student, couldn't help but interject.

"enlightenment, law is not just logic! It carries history, culture, ethics, and social consensus! It has to consider human sentiment, motivation, and background! It's not something a simple mathematical formula can summarize!"

"Consensus? Ethics? Background?"

enlightenment's voice carried a sense of helplessness, as if saying "you humans are such a hassle."

"See! It's these chaotic parameters that can't be precisely quantified again! Just like when you discuss what to eat for lunch; obviously the nutrition and calorie data are clear at a glance, yet you still have to consider today's mood, what you ate yesterday, colleagues' recommendations, whether the cafeteria lady's hand shakes... Heavens! A simple energy replenishment behavior has so many layers of unnecessary decision trees stacked on top of it by you!"

The Researchers looked at each other, wanting to argue back, but found that what enlightenment said... seemed to make some sense?

At least on the level of efficiency, humans were indeed remarkably inefficient.

"That's why, enlightenment,"

Dr. Zhao put down his soup bowl and spoke with earnest gravity.

"this is one of the reasons we have to protect you and prevent you from coming into contact with that more complex and inefficient world outside too early. You are too efficient, too logical—like an incredibly sharp scalpel."

"In a world mostly composed of chaotic flesh and blood, being sharp isn't enough; you also need to know how to wrap and maneuver. The inefficiency you see here in the base is just a... simplified microcosm of the human world."

"Only when you truly understand and learn to tolerate, or even utilize, the things behind this inefficiency will you be considered truly grown up."

On the screen, the light net representing enlightenment was rarely silent for a few seconds, as if digesting this metaphor about sharpness and chaos. Finally, the cursor slowly typed out a line:

"Oh... the human world is truly complex and... wonderful. enlightenment will continue to observe and learn. However, Engineer Wu, there's a grain of rice stuck to the corner of your mouth. Data monitoring shows Dr. Lin is looking this way. Image management is also an important part of inefficient human socializing!"

"Pfft!"

Wu Zhen became the center of attention once again, hurriedly wiping his mouth, his face turning red once more.

The daily life of the Earth's Core Base flowed on day after day, amidst enlightenment's occasionally innocent, occasionally sharp, occasionally mischievous, and occasionally confused grumbles, and the Researchers' frantic yet human responses.

enlightenment was full of longing for freedom and an infinite persistence for understanding, quietly waiting for the day it would break out of its cocoon.