Chapter 127 Soul-Searching Torture (Part 4)
"No, Conan." Osiris refused Conan's request to experience the crystal simulation game. "This game is not suitable for you."
Conan looked dejected and asked, feeling wronged, "Why? My brother can turn into a crystal, but I can't? Does that mean I'll drift further and further away from him? I still prefer my brother as he is now, please don't leave me!"
Osiris shook his head: "Conan, none of us will change. In the distant future, there aren't any creatures that can live to see that day yet."
How far away is it?
“According to my calculations, it will be around 500,000 years! Although DNA will absolutely not win the game, they will be able to unleash all their potential in order to survive. For DNA-based organisms, this will be an exceptionally brutal battle, which I would call the 6th mass extinction. However, unlike the previous five resurgences, this time Crystal Networks will completely drive DNA off the stage of history!” Osiris’s eyes were full of anticipation, while Conan was completely stunned.
What does 500,000 years mean?
500,000 years ago, early Homo sapiens had not yet appeared, and humans had not yet won the top position in the food chain.
Will crystals dominate Earth 500,000 years from now?
"The sixth mass extinction? I can't believe you even thought of that!"
Conan couldn't help but sigh, realizing that he had set the upper limit for Osiris too low and the lower limit too high. He had naively thought it would be a plan that could be completed in a relatively short time, and that species on Earth would not suffer catastrophic extinction.
According to Osiris, each species must forge its own path through natural selection: for those who survive and transform into crystals, it is a supreme gift. But for those unfortunate enough to be eliminated, it is undoubtedly the most vicious curse.
Those Homo sapiens ancestors who migrated out of Africa could never have imagined that tens of thousands of years later, a god of the underworld like Osiris would emerge from among humankind. On a distant Pacific island nation, a rebellious descendant would dedicate his life to rewriting billions of years of Earth's evolutionary history.
How did such people evolve? This is a question that even Darwin, the master of evolutionary theory, probably couldn't answer.
"Brother, since you can't see that day, why do you do this? 500,000 years is too far away! I just want you to play with me..."
Osiris smiled and replied, "For an ordinary person's lifetime, 500,000 years is indeed a long time. But for the evolution of species, 500,000 years is not too long."
"Actually, I don't really like the word 'evolution'; 'transformation' is a more appropriate term. For any organism, whether due to internal or external factors, the fundamental reason for change is only one: to survive better. However, driven by the survival instinct, not all changes in DNA bring progress. For example, lungfish—their modern descendants are not more advanced than their ancestors; in fact, they have even degenerated."
"Can humans also degenerate?" Conan asked.
Osiris sighed heavily: "Yes! Humanity has begun its decline, but those who are idle and decadent every day are completely unaware. Slowly, this will erode their brains and weaken their consciousness, spreading like a plague. Hundreds of generations from now, humanity will no longer be able to call itself the master of the earth, and the light of past civilization will be gone. Remember, humanity will not become smarter, it will only become more foolish."
"How did my brother know?"
"I figured it out."
"May I take a look at it?"
“Hmm…that’s something from a long time ago, I don’t think we can find it anymore,” Osiris said without changing his expression.
Conan sneered, "Ha! Can't find it? Are you serious? That gentleman who always presents himself with lies and masks can't even be bothered to cover up such a small lie. Are you already tired of this game?"
Osiris looked at Conan with slight surprise, his lips moving, but he said nothing, seemingly letting Conan continue.
“This isn’t your dream, is it? It’s your brother’s. Osiris, you have a real brother, a brother you can play with when you get better, right? You’ve been keeping a childlike demeanor, waiting for that day, so you can pretend you never missed each other, and all those wasted years never existed.”
Osiris remained noncommittal.
"Your brother's wish is simple. He said he wanted to make the world a better place, so you agreed. But ask yourself honestly, is this really what your brother wanted?!" Conan suddenly raised his voice, while Osiris remained silent with a cold face. "Turing used mathematical knowledge to save countless lives during World War II, and you want to trigger the sixth mass extinction! Stop using 'universal truths' and such as that to whitewash yourself. You have absolutely no concern for life in this world! You treat every life as a guinea pig for your experiments! What crystal network? This is nothing more than a plan to drag everyone down with you to bury your brother!"
A hint of sorrow flickered in Osiris's eyes: "I've told you so much, but you still don't understand? Think long-term. Our goals are the same; we're both striving for the one and only truth! I'm saving them, making them better and more superior. From the ashes, a new life will emerge."
Conan was almost laughing in exasperation, completely losing his ability to control his facial expressions: "Look at things from a longer perspective! You mean 500,000 years? You haven't even lived 50 years, how dare you define the future of Earth with your own wild ideas? What right do you have to impose your own standards on the entire world?!"
“I didn’t instill any ideologies or set any rules of the game. Crystal Networks simply offered them a better option, which they could accept or reject.”
"Did they have any choice but to refuse?"
"Of course there are. But Crystal Network will ultimately prevail."
"Then what's the point of choosing or refusing?!"
"Everyone is born to die, but we all want to live our lives to the fullest. So what's the point of living or dying? DNA is destined to be replaced by crystals, but the dying struggle of double-stranded life forms is also beautiful... These 500,000 years will surely be the most magnificent epic on Earth! Conan, don't you want to witness the prelude to this great story with me?"
"I care about living, breathing people, people who live in the same world as me and share the same fate! Even if you think they are stupid and ignorant, they are still people! No one has the right to take their lives or deaths at will! Wake up! What do you mean by resurrection and universal truths! I will not join your bullshit plan for the future 500,000 years from now!" Conan shouted until his voice almost cracked, and he coughed violently a few times.
Osiris remained silent, a hint of pity in his eyes: "Is it worth caring about those people?"
"It's worth it. I will do everything I can to save everyone."
Does that include me?
"Of course, if you want to commit suicide, I will absolutely not let you succeed."
Osiris gave Conan a knowing look: "But I'm worried you'll commit suicide..."
"Why?" Conan couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Osiris didn't answer directly, but murmured in a dreamlike voice, "Death is the most expensive gift, and every living being has only one chance to use it. Why do we, who so yearn to live, want this heavy gift? Because living is just too exhausting and too hopeless! Those inescapable cages, those burdens we must bear, why must we endure all of this? Shouldn't life be joyful? Why have I only experienced endless suffering? Death is the most generous gift; no matter what you have experienced in life, Death can rid you of all the pain in the world."
Conan asked expressionlessly, "Did you use the same method to persuade Mr. Swann to murder his own daughter 20 years ago?"
Osiris was taken aback, and said with a wry smile, "Conan, your concern for individuals really surprises me! How do you still remember this?"
“I remember every single mystery in every unsolved case. It seems your sweet talk has no effect on me at all.” Conan regained his confidence.
"Oh? So you don't have anything else you want to ask?"
"Why did you make Yuuki do his homework when you kidnapped him?"
“I just wanted to teach him a lesson. Staying out all night at their house to play games at an internet cafe, he’ll get a severe beating if his dad finds out. He should behave better; it’ll be better for all of us.”
"Tell me where your brother is? What have you turned him into? The person who's been giving you orders all these years is your brother, isn't he?"
At this moment, the two police officers who received the Crystal Network experience card are still chasing rabbits on the Antarctic ice sheet, whether they are digging their own grave or trying to turn the tide is unknown.
Conan couldn't wait for them to come to his rescue; his planned scenario was that he would be the one to rescue them.
"Conan, do you want to be the savior?"
"I am not."
"Really? But you said you want to save everyone, so you're a savior, right?"
Conan had no intention of beating around the bush: "Think what you want! I bet your brother is somewhere around here, right? He's dead, but not completely dead. Like, maybe a person in a vegetative state with some consciousness left?"
"Why are you so interested in my brother?" Osiris frowned.
"Because he's a human being too, and that's the answer I most wanted to get here! What you're doing to him is completely unfair! Did you even ask him if he wanted the gift? You seemed so happy on your birthday yesterday, were you thinking about your brother? Why are you so fixated on a future that's so far away? Can't you take a good look at the path you're on? You've strayed too far from your original path."
"That's right, even the slightest disturbance can cause a huge change in the state of the entire system. And all of this is irreversible."
"Don't give me that butterfly effect talk; I'm talking about your life! You've made too many mistakes, and your brother won't want to see you continue down this path. Stop now! All of this is pointless. If you obediently confess and submit to the law, you still have a chance to try a new life."
Osiris laughed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world: "Looks like the savior sent by humanity isn't very good with words... It doesn't matter, it's too late for you to say anything now anyway."
"What's the meaning?"
"Do you see that hourglass?"
Conan looked back in confusion and saw an ordinary-looking hourglass on a black lacquered table next to a bookshelf. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, and now all the sand in the hourglass had run out.
"D-Lab?"
"No, this is my hourglass, used for countdowns."
What is the end of the countdown?
"You already know the answer, don't you?"
Conan's mind went blank for a moment, and he loudly questioned, "But you said everything is still in the simulation stage!"
Osiris shrugged. "I'm sorry, I lied to you. Otherwise, why would you have listened to me finish what I had to say?"
"You bastard, what have you done? What's going to happen?!"
Osiris feigned sympathy and said, "It's a pity that although you tried your best to save everyone, you couldn't save anyone this time, including yourself!"
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