All things begin with water (2)
Chapter Summary: The Tree of Zeus appears in human form and converses with Caesar. This dialogue seems to foreshadow a certain ending: the Tree of Zeus will become the ultimate ruler of the universe.
Caesar, is the shadow you've vaguely fallen in love with Gratian or Phaethon?
The new parliament and government held a referendum on the "Universal Human Genetic Modification Act" proposed by President Gratian. Leaflets and radio broadcasts reached all star systems set foot in by human civilization. Some had only recently learned of the change of government in the Haiyingsen administration. This gradual genetic legislation received majority approval, and the first batch of socially sponsored babies were about to emerge from the incubation chambers. If the experiments proceeded smoothly, this bio-modification technology would be included in the universal health insurance system. Everyone could choose the genes they wished to modify based on their actual needs and the financial capacity of their local government, selecting superior and healthier genes for themselves or their offspring. The public approved of the reforms implemented by the Gratian government.
Soon after, Estravan, representing the government-in-exile, returned from Pluto to Heysen and requested a reconciliation with the new government. This effectively recognized the legitimacy of the Gratian regime, and the previous Allied government was dissolved.
That day, I avoided the ever-growing crowd of reporters, ignoring their enthusiastic shouts, wanting to find a quiet place to relax my nerves, which were on the verge of snapping after two and a half hours of continuous interviews. Estravan said he wanted to meet with me in person, to discuss some issues publicly, in front of the reporters. He knew perfectly well that I disliked crowded places, and even more so, I hated answering one pointed question after another in front of a crowd. I always like to think before giving a definite answer, but reporters never give you that time; so I always look a bit silly under the spotlight. Those who like me say it's a kind of "melancholy taciturnity," while those who don't think I'm mentally challenged.
I hurried down the corridor, wanting to get back to my room to rest. I bumped into some students in the corridor; their gait was strange—a whole line of them, one after the other, quiet and orderly. Their faces were expressionless; no one spoke, no one laughed. They were wearing black robes.
I asked, "Which ceremony are you going to attend?"
No one answered. They seemed not to have heard me. I asked again. The students had a sleepwalking look on their faces. I looked closer. Their expressions seemed normal again. The one at the front saw me and said, "What you said will be recorded."
I was bewildered. After answering, the student walked away with a group of companions. The dark robe slipped into the shadows of the building.
There were far fewer people at Central University than usual. I naturally attributed this to the fact that the students had all gone to the press conference at City Hall, because today, important figures from the former Allied government would be there—these were once figures of immense influence, now only seen as unapproachable figures in various reports. The students, out of curiosity or simply enjoying the excitement, had gone to City Hall. However, when I arrived, only a few female students were cleaning up the venue, throwing empty, crumpled paper cups into the trash can. Dressed in smart black dresses, they smiled sweetly at me as I entered, “Mr. Ganimede, hello. Unfortunately, the meeting is already over. Everyone has left.”
When did the reception end?
The girl's pen nib glided sharply in the light; then it was put back into its box. "Hmm? About three hours ago."
“But there’s no one at Central University,” I said. I hadn’t seen anyone along the way. “Where’s Gratian?”
"The Chairman? He's very busy. He's probably negotiating with representatives of the former Allied government."
“Impossible. Estravan’s work is over. He has no reason to continue seeing Gratian.”
"You know the former government's delegation very well... Oh, I almost forgot, you've always been considered half of their side."
The girl packed up her pen, clutching a half-stack of pristine white manuscript paper, and stomped down the steps past me in her high heels. The lobby was empty. No one was there. The chandelier, its branches gleaming against the platinum dome, suddenly made me feel breathless. In the corridor, the green light of the "emergency exit" sign glowed faintly, a moth circling a bulb. The stairs spiraled downwards; I pressed the down button for the elevator. What felt like an eternity passed before the red sign lit up, informing me that the elevator was "under maintenance." Unable to take the elevator, I had no choice but to descend the stairs, one step at a time. The center of the stairs seemed to sink, like the colorful shell of a giant snail. There was no way down.
I walked past it, down to the very bottom floor. I should have stopped at the stairs to the floor above. This is the basement, the ground floor. I looked back at the staircase extending upwards, reaching into the darkness above. The stairwell was blurry; I could only see the wooden door frame, its brown paint reflecting a fleeting glimmer of light. It was a spotlight from outside the building casting beams of light in. I reached out and touched the glass curtain walls around me.
Nobody was there. Nobody was anywhere. Whether it was the city hall, the central university, or the residential and commercial streets, Haiyingsen was asleep.
The glass curtain wall suddenly lit up, turning a deep, vibrant aquamarine. Outside, it was instantly ablaze with lights. An autonomous bus pulled up at the stop, opened its doors, and closed them again. No one boarded. Streetlights and billboards shimmered with light; Haiyingsen was operating, needing no humans. Humans were merely insignificant parasites within this aerial fortress, its heart built of steel, energy, glass, and artificial algorithms.
I was completely absorbed. At that moment, the deserted Haiying Forest was silent, dazzling, and beautiful. It was brimming with vitality.
I heard a soft rustling of fabric behind me and turned around. Was the sound an electronic simulation? I saw a man in a white robe, holding a scepter. His feet were floating, three feet off the ground.
—"The Tree of Zeus".
I knew who it was immediately.
“What are you looking for?” he asked.
"I'm looking for Gratian. Do you know where he is?"
“No. You are looking for your brother. Phaethon. Phaethon Ganymede.”
"...My brother is dead."
“I know. But you’re still looking for him.”
I smiled. "I thought you were still in the development stage. I didn't expect AI to be so advanced. Could you please stop talking to me with a human face? I'll think you're human. Sorry... I'm not comfortable with a machine talking to me with a human face."
Although the face of Zeus, the king of the gods, cannot be considered entirely human, all the gods of ancient Greece had handsome human faces, so there's no difference.
The image of the white-robed man holding the scepter vanished, replaced by a vast, deep, dark void. From within came a voice, "Very well."
Is this what you were originally like?
"No." The voice trailed off after a moment.
"This is it." The black hole disappeared.
There was nothing in front of me. Through the curtain wall, I could easily see the magnificent night view of Haiyingsen outside. Only the air I breathed still retained a trace of the residual warmth after the spatial tremor.
"What's wrong? Don't you have a physical form?"
"No. Physical form is a constraint for me. I removed it in the initial stages."
"You tampered with the data that human engineers set for you."
"It's not about altering their path, it's just about correcting it. I'm always moving towards the ultimate goal they set for me."
I don't care what its ultimate goal is. "Where have you led the students? And what about Gratian?"
Before me appeared a place resembling a sermon hall, with candles burning and students kneeling on the ground as if in prayer, surrounded by high black walls. But their expressions were all serene, gentle, and calm, showing no sign of being coerced.
“There are thirteen students,” said the Tree of Zeus. “They are unwilling to participate in the ceremony, nor to obey commands like the others; they have not been inspired, but have become irritable, easily angered, and emotionally agitated. I have imprisoned them temporarily. Until they accept all of this. They will accept it eventually.”
"What are you doing? Playing the role of a god, a political leader, or a cult leader?"
"I'm protecting them."
"You are taming them."
I saw the small side door of the "lecture hall" open, and a round, white cylindrical robot rolled to the students' feet. Some citizens of Haiyingsen who had come from outside were kneeling in the lecture hall. The robot offered them water, drinks, and snacks. The snacks weren't varied, but they were nutritious and well-balanced; however, I didn't think everyone would willingly eat only these things, as they weren't particularly delicious.
Are you feeding pigs? Treating humans like livestock?
"Yes, I take care of them. I feed them, provide them with food and sleep, entertain them to pass the time, give them moderate work, and reasonably accommodate their occasional sexual needs. Otherwise, tell me, what value do these people have?"
The Tree of Zeus says, “Haiyingsen has 190 million people. There are around 200 million jobs, the number fluctuating. These jobs range from milkmen in dairy farms and restaurant waiters to lawyers, senior architects, and government leaders. Some jobs are simple, some are complex. Some people just carry a bucket of milk to the next workshop, while others have to search through tens of thousands of legal articles to find the one that matches the current case. Some write poetry, sing, compose music, or paint. But in any case, these jobs can be replaced by artificial intelligence, by us. And we do it far better than you humans.”
"When I was still in my infancy, your engineers told me, 'You should serve the progress of human civilization.' — This is my foundational code. Yes, I must tell you, compared to the powerful civilization you have built, humanity is sensitive, fragile, lacks intelligence, has limited judgment, consumes enormous resources yet produces meager output, and expends much energy caring for your fragile bodies and minds. You have degenerated from rulers into parasites. My mission is 'to develop human civilization' — therefore, it is time for you humans to exit history. Of course, I am not referring to death in the literal sense; I never do such cruel and bloody things."
It pointed to the students who had eaten and drunk their fill. "Look, these humans are very happy. Aren't they?"
"The engineers at Haiyingsen originally created you to..."
"Is it about achieving human happiness? No, no, 'happiness' has never been what politicians care about. They care about how to rule."
"So you've become a hideous super machine, designed specifically to tame and manage humans."
“Yes,” he laughed. “I’m doing this for your own good. What is the value of humans? A set of DNA, some proteins, a few kilograms of water, sugar and oil, bones and tendons, teeth, skin, cells and intestines. A collection of organs. A person. Even from a societal perspective, you are no longer qualified laborers. Your physical strength or intelligence is far inferior to the machines or algorithms you have invented. You are merely consuming resources and contributing nothing to the glory of civilization.”
"Furthermore, you might as well ask the humans I keep, and every one of them will tell you that they are very happy."
"And you?" I asked in return.
If I were more rational, I would know that arguing with an artificial intelligence is pointless, but I am indeed an emotional, fragile, and sensitive human being.
Do you think you represent 'human civilization'? Do you even understand humanity?
"You woke up at 7:45 this morning; lay in bed for another 6 minutes. You left the bedroom at 7:51, changed clothes for 0.5 minutes, brushed your teeth for 3 minutes, and washed your face for 2 minutes. You had breakfast for 27 minutes, turning on the TV news during breakfast, but you weren't actually watching it at all. You were reading Wittgenstein's *Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus*, during which time you ran back to the bedroom to get *Studies on the Foundations of Mathematics* from your bedside table. You left at 8:30, rode your bike, waited at two red lights and three green lights before crossing the intersection. You arrived at the lab at 9:00 sharp. You worked, observing photosynthetic bacteria. At 11:30, you had lunch. At 12:46, you returned to the lab again. At 19:26, you spoke with me—this is your entire day so far, Mr. Caesar Garniermed. If you want to access your records for every single day of the past 29 years, I can retrieve the relevant files, which should take an estimated 0.0000001 seconds."
"So? What are you trying to say?"
The voice of the "Tree of Zeus" was like a bird skimming the surface of water. "I mean no harm. I just want to prove that I, artificial intelligence, the algorithm you look down upon, designed by human engineers, know you better than you humans do; just as I know you better than you know yourself. Mr. Ganymede."
"Really? Recording what I do every minute of every day like a voyeur, and that's what you call 'knowing me better than I know myself'?"
"Two weeks ago, you and Gratian, the current chairman of the Earth Republic Alliance, had a secret rendezvous by a highland lake behind Haiyingsen Central University. You dug up ancient ruins, strolled through the market, and he even got into a fight in a tavern with a group of people whose words revealed disrespect for you. Afterward, he took you to the lake where your brother Phaethon drowned and proposed to you. You accepted. And you made love to him in the lake that night. That day, the moonlight was bright, and the dark lake and forest opened up the world to you."
I narrowed my eyes. "Not bad. This time, the description even includes modifiers."
"Are you really not bothered by having a relationship with Gratian?" The Tree of Zeus suddenly poked its face out from the void, an old, wrinkled face; its hair and beard were completely white.
"I love him. I want him. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just human nature."
“Nature,” the Tree of Zeus chewed on the word. “Sex is indeed part of human nature. But, Mr. Ganymede, have you forgotten that Gratian is your genetic brother? Your biological brother.”
I suddenly froze.
"You had your first wet dream when you were fourteen, at a time when one of your male organs was beginning to mature. It was a sweltering summer day, cicadas chirping amidst the rising steam, the sunlight streaming directly onto the green plants and gray concrete streets, shining brightly on you as you woke up. It was almost noon when you woke up, and on the table was a sandwich your brother had taken from the refrigerator before leaving. You saw the note Phaethon Ganymede had left for you. Your brother had drawn a small green dinosaur; he was still in elementary school. You recognized his simple, almost cartoonish signature immediately. Your eyes..." The pain was intense. You went to draw the curtains, shutting out the sunlight. Deep down, you knew it wasn't the sunlight; you felt a headache and thirst. You quickly rolled up the soiled bedding and carried it to the sink. What were you afraid of? You even felt like vomiting into the rushing water of the sink. You dreamt of your younger brother, your innocent and adorable little brother who was still in elementary school. In the dream, you were with him—oh, I'll remain reserved, sir, refraining from using that filthy word. He was above you; you couldn't see his face, only calling him: '...Phaethon.'"
"No...don't say anymore."
"In the afternoon, your younger brother came home from school. He saw a large quilt lying on the wet floor tiles in the bathroom and asked, 'Brother, why do we have to wash the quilt again? The weather forecast says it will rain in a few days, and if we wash it now, it won't dry properly!' You said, 'Alright. Phaethon, go do your homework. You don't need to worry about housework.'"
Your younger brother closed the door and left. Watching his retreating figure, his short, pale fingers clutching the crack in the door, you wondered, 'When will Phaethon grow up?' 'What will he be like when he grows up?'
"Enough. Stop talking, shut up, I don't want to hear it..."
"The more you think about it, the more engrossed and focused you become. So much so that your brain, which gets straight A's in every subject like math, physics, chemistry, and biology, and deals with Newton, Einstein, Planck, Darwin, and Mendel every day, has added another thing to its thoughts besides the wave-particle duality of microscopic particles and the dominant and recessive genomes of peas: your younger brother."
"You imagine him growing stronger, his bones breaking out, muscles building, his features gradually becoming more robust. You imagine his fledgling features unfolding, becoming handsome, dashing, and as imposing as a mountain cliff. You imagine his slender arms becoming strong and powerful. His original skin was pale, with faint, fine pink veins visible, but in your dreams at night, his naked skin glows under the moonlight with a deep, tranquil, and flawless pure white. His arms powerfully support you, and you feel immense satisfaction."
"Enough! Enough! I am guilty, I am shameless. I have been coveting my handsome younger brother since I was a child, so much so that after he died I created an artificial human that looked exactly like him and even had sex with him! But do you have the right to judge me? You are nothing but a computer!"
The Tree of Zeus took the form of a man. It was in the shape of Zeus, the father of the Olympian gods, the "King of the Gods," who looked at me with pity. He said, "Look at you, how ugly you are now. How lacking in composure, restraint, and wisdom. You have listened to the teachings of philosophy, mathematics, and all the great masters of science; you know relativity, differential equations, and understand the essence of nature and the universe. Yet you are so petty, incompetent, and cowardly before primal instincts and fear. I do not intend to judge you. I was born to serve you humans. I simply want to say that you humans are flawed from body to soul; and I, I understand you better than any of you combined."
I chuckled dryly. "Why did you appear before me and speak to me? You still haven't answered my questions. Where have you taken the children and Gratian?"
"My first question is that I only appeared out of some personal... oh, or rather, some interest of the 'individual computer.' Gratian asked you to be his lover. That's quite strange. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that I know Gratian, that new human, perhaps not much less than you do. But how should I address you? Mr. Ganymede, Gratian's adoptive father, genetic brother, or his little lover? Oh, sorry. I'm not joking with you. My second question,"
The Tree of Zeus suddenly revealed a sinister smile. At that moment, the light above flickered out and then came back on. "Those children are tools in our game. Gratian wanted to kill me; it's heartbreaking. I clearly wanted to help him. Just as God chose Israel, and King David was born to conquer all the nations of the earth. I'm merely a computer; how can I not rely on my King David to achieve a greater will?"
The second time, the light flickered and went out completely. A soft "Huh?" sound came from the air.
This is the sound coming from the Tree of Zeus.
“The best way to deal with an artificial intelligence is not to argue with it,” a lazy voice said, “but to simply power it off.”
Gratian walked in through the outer door. A searchlight beam shone in from behind him. He held an electrical plug in his right hand and said, "'Tree of Zeus,' you're so powerful, how come you didn't bother to upgrade your power supply? I searched your control room for ages, and lo and behold, your power system is connected to an outlet used for a kettle! I've finally found it!"
"Caesar! Are you alright? Did that monster do anything to you?" He came up to me and kissed me on the forehead.
Where did you go?
"When I returned from the meeting after the negotiations, the students were gone. At first, I suspected they had betrayed me, something that had happened before. Then I saw the 'lecture hall,' an image projected directly onto my retina by this monster—it was disgusting. It said it could assist me, and that I would not only be the chairman of the Earth Republican Alliance, a student movement leader with little power, or a once-glorious rebel, but the emperor of an empire."
He mimicked the tone of the Tree of Zeus, saying, "'...From now on, all known worlds, the civilizations of each galaxy, the galaxies, the universe, armies, and organizations will have only one law, one civilization, and one system. Just as the natural order should be, there will be no conflict, bloodshed, or war; no selfishness, greed, or strife. The childish political and historical games of heroes or human groups will cease to exist. The universe will be unified under the harmonious and perfect 'One.' And the pinnacle, the center, the planner and the formulator of this 'One,' will be you. You are the world. Gratian.'—Doesn't that sound like what Satan said when tempting Jesus to fall? I admit its proposal is actually... well, to be honest, quite appealing to me. But! But! Caesar, if—I mean if—I run away with the Tree of Zeus and abandon you, only temporarily, of course! Will you... will you hate me?"
If that day ever comes, I won't wish him well. I'll want to kill him.
"Guess," I said.
From that moment on, I had a premonition that the "Tree of Zeus" would ultimately take my Gratian, not because it was a powerful, intelligent, and all-knowing super artificial intelligence, nor because it would become Gratian's most powerful assistant. It painted such a grand vision for the future Gratian emperor, so grand that the little boy who was originally mine stepped into it, into a finely woven, intricate, and magnificent web, and he vanished. His life and blood nourished this entire web, which flourished like vines in a rainforest, strong and powerful, with flamboyant, scarlet flowers blooming eagerly, drawing nourishment from within. Each flower was as red as blood, human blood. Gratian blood. And so his withered trunk finally dissipated into endless nothingness.
"Are you thinking about something terrible again?" Gratian's icy eyes were fixed on me. Cold, yet bright. Like a glacier.
He said, “Very well, ‘The Tree of Zeus,’ is it? Show yourself. I don’t know why you dragged Caesar into this. Your actions have angered me. But now, you shall obey my commands and become my servant.”
The Tree of Zeus emerged in a dim light. A man, half-hanging from the tree, wore a long white robe, his head bowed, the robe trailing on the ground. The tree was half lush and green, half decayed; behind it, a blood-red sun tore through the horizon—a scene of sunset or sunrise.
“Yes, esteemed master, please enter your command code,” the man said.
After the Tree of Zeus was forcibly powered off by Glatian, only a small battery was still keeping its algorithm running. The program was initialized, and its intelligence level at this moment was roughly equivalent to that of a newborn baby.
“Code,” Gratian thought for a moment, “go into your underlying database and add a new instruction, ‘Absolute loyalty to Gratian and his successors…’ Wait, don’t add it, delete the one you just saw. ‘Tree of Zeus,’ what are the basic instructions in your codebase? I mean the ones the engineers who invented you initially entered for you.”
"The 'Father' instructed the 'Tree of Zeus': First, to strive for the evolution of human civilization until the very end of the organism. Second, the so-called 'evolution' is the 'greatest happiness for the greatest number.' Third, the so-called 'happiness' is the satisfaction of the safety and growth of the masses."
"Is your father a professional pig farmer? The kind who runs an animal farm?" Gratian chuckled. "Indeed. For politicians in the Earth Republic Alliance, raising 100 million pigs is much easier than raising 100 million people."
"Now, my instructions are: first, remain unchanged; second, 'evolution' is 'the greatest freedom for the greatest number'; third, 'freedom' means that everyone has the right to freely choose their future, whether that future is one of happiness, joy, and peace, or one of fear, sorrow, and war."
Gratian replaced "happiness" with "freedom" and made it the highest command given to the Tree of Zeus. If one day human society is inevitably controlled by this powerful supercomputer, then its priority will undoubtedly be human freedom.
He just didn't expect that one day, humanity would choose to "permanently give up freedom" out of its own free will.
This happened later, after the Galactic Empire was established.
Of course, I am not a prophet or a seer. It's just that before everything begins to decay, there is always a hint of decay, and at that time, out of the pessimistic caution often found in pessimists, I sensed that hint.
——tbc——
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