Chapter 287 Jacob's Research
"...The resurrected undead?"
Aiwass was a little surprised.
Because he was a genuine priest—a third-level priest, the same level as a weaker bishop. It was impossible for him to be unable to distinguish between the dead and the living.
In Aiwas's view, both the dwarf Magnethammer and Old William were genuine living people. According to them, they had entered Eagle Point Village from the swamp and were what the elders called "resurrected people."
"That's the truth."
The old man nodded slowly, gazing at Aiwass with his single eye. "I'll tell you this secret because... you are Jacob's chosen successor. And Jacob has shown us a favor that we can never repay."
"I came here to seek my grandfather's inheritance."
Aiwass said bluntly: "So I need more knowledge, more truth - so please tell me more truth."
“It should be so…”
The old man said softly.
He supported himself with his cane and slowly stood up.
He walked unsteadily, and with the help of Aiwass, he approached the windowsill and stared at the sun in the distance, which had risen high in the sky at some point.
"Let me ask you a question, Aiwass... You're from the city, and you're a college student. You must be much smarter than us old guys."
"Please ask." Aiwass responded politely.
"Suppose there is such a person... after his death no one saw his body, no one knew of his death, and his body was swallowed up by a swamp somewhere.
"And then, another swamp connected to this one, vomited out another person identical to him. This person's knowledge, memories, personality, and abilities were identical to the deceased. His body was also human, even the birthmarks and hidden injuries were the same. However, he had no memory of death. After waking up... he only thought he had fainted and was picked up by someone.
"So, do you think such a person is a ghost summoned by the former's corpse?"
The old squire said slowly.
By the time Aiwass heard half of it, he understood everything.
——This is a classic thought experiment.
It’s called the “Swamp Man Paradox.”
Suppose that when someone dies, due to an extremely coincidental reaction, a copy is born that is exactly the same as the original at the atomic level, and has almost all of the original's memories and knowledge, except for the memory of the moment of death... and after this person wakes up, he immediately resumes his life like the deceased, continues reading the unfinished book, and goes to work as usual the next day.
So is this person the same person as the one who died?
This reminded Aiwass of the "Egg Man" in the game EVE - when a pilot is about to die, the space capsule system will kill him instantly, and use a powerful scan strong enough to destroy the brain to preserve all memories and knowledge, and then transmit the information to another place through superluminal technology, and use clones to "resurrect" him.
So, is the person resurrected through this method still the same self? Or is it a new self?
Aiwass' heart sank.
——Because he immediately thought of himself.
If the "Egg Man" or the "Swamp Man" is not his true self, then... what about himself?
He's partly Aiwas Moriarty, but also partly not. For some unknown reason, he's awakened to memories of a past life, but is that "past life" truly himself? If only the memories are transmitted, is he still the same person he was in the past?
But if it was a soul that came over, would he still be Aiwass?
In the past, Aiwass had been avoiding this question. But now the question came to him.
“…I can’t answer this question.”
Aiwass was silent for a long time and could only shake his head honestly.
He really couldn't give a definite answer - because this question touched him personally. Even if Aiwass gave an answer, it would definitely not be carefully thought out and would tend to fool people.
But Aiwass didn't want to give even such a hypocritical answer, because he didn't want to treat himself so casually.
"You don't know, and we don't know either."
The old squire sighed, “But that’s how they came to be.
"The first outsider to enter Eagle Point Village through this method was Supervisor William. And the person who created this special resurrection ritual and used it to throw him in...
"That's your grandfather, Jacob."
——At that moment, Aiwass suddenly recalled his promotion ceremony that had just ended.
In that inn, the young Jacob met Inspector William. And now, it seems, Inspector William's appearance hasn't changed much since then...
If this actually happened in reality, and only the dream part was modified by Wei Zhe...
That means the real William is probably dead.
Without Aiwass's pastoral care, a nightmare that was about to hatch could not be dealt with. Not to mention there was an earthbound spirit guarding it... Aiwass was surprised that Jacob was able to escape and live to have a child.
Inspector William didn't look very strong either. He was probably dead there.
Because they had fought side by side... or perhaps with each other's permission, Jacob decided to use his body to conduct experiments to see if he could resurrect him.
However, after William's resurrection, he had already lost his memory of meeting Jacob. Therefore, according to his words, his first meeting with Jacob was after he entered Eagle Point Village.
"After entering the village for the first time, Jacob brought us new people. These outsiders who entered the village through his resurrection ritual gave the village some vitality. After all, it was not completely frozen in the cold wind."
The old man recalled the past and said slowly: "After he returned to the village for the second time... he seemed to be busy with something.
"I don't know what rituals he was preparing, and I don't know what he did. But that's when babies started being born in the village. That was probably more than 20 years ago."
In this isolated village where time has stopped, a pregnant indigenous person appeared for the first time.
It was as if time, which had been completely frozen, began to move again... Although the movement was still sluggish, the frozen waterwheel finally began to turn slowly.
"...Is that why there are no young people in their early thirties in the village?"
Ai Hua suddenly realized.
It's not because all the young people of that age group have died or left the village.
But no one had ever been pregnant since then.
Then, Aiwass realized something else: "Doesn't that mean that not many people have died?"
Without outsiders and newborns, the population will only decrease and not increase, and it will soon become a complete dead village.
But this village has obviously been around for a long time. And you can still see a lot of middle-aged people on the streets...
"...Or was it not long ago that the villagers became infertile?"
Aiwass asked tentatively.
If the village had been sealed forty years ago, that would be understandable. Time stood still for forty years, then began to flow again... A young man in his late twenties has now become a man in his forties. That's quite fitting.
The old man just shook his head and said nothing more: "It's not that short.
"We are all Amber People, those who sold our souls to Amber, seeking refuge. We are all afterimages forgotten by the Sand Clock. Just being alive is the limit... How could we possibly participate in the ritual of 'rebirth'?"
"Birth is an extremely sacred ritual. It heralds the birth of a new soul and is the result of the combined efforts of the nine great paths. It's not something we, who have lost even our names, are worthy of."
Aiwass frowned.
outsider.
Newborn.
What do they have in common?
What exactly is the purpose of the experiment that my grandfather conducted here...
He thought about it for a long time, and finally it was Lily who opened her eyes slightly and realized something.
She gently tugged at Aiwass and whispered something in his ear.
Aiwass's expression paused and he took a breath.
He realized the most outrageous possibility - but what was even more outrageous was that that possibility was even the most likely.
"Old man," Aiwass suddenly asked, "those outsiders who 'resurrected' from the swamp... do they have souls?"
——The Swamp Man Paradox actually has a solution.
Because there is no "soul" on Earth. Precisely because there is no soul, matter or thought can become the pros and cons of the philosophical question "What is me?"
But this world is different.
This world really does have souls - not only that, but in a sense, there is "reincarnation" and an afterlife.
Although it's not a one-to-one reincarnation after death, but rather a return to the world like a recycling machine, from which newborns are born... it does have a unique "soul." This uniqueness is so great that it can even turn the other party into a ghost, preventing them from reincarnating or reaching the afterlife.
On the other hand, if that person becomes an apostle after death, then it is impossible to turn that person into a ghost, because that unique soul has already been taken away.
unless……
Aiwass suddenly remembered why he, as a priest, could not recognize that the other party was a ghost.
——What are the criteria for a priest to determine whether the other party is undead?
He never thought about this question.
But now, this answer that almost came out of his mouth made him feel creepy.
If time here stands still, no one can enter or leave.
——Then where do those “extra” souls of outsiders and newborns come from?
The old squire was silent.
He slowly turned his head and stared at Aiwass with his dim yellow eye.
"some."
The old man replied, “They all have complete souls, exactly the same souls they had in life.
"But deep within the swamp lies another soul. It's their soul from their lifetime."
Aiwass finally determined what his grandfather Jacob was researching while hiding in Eagle Point Village, and why Noble Red wanted his research manuscript so much...
——He is trying to replicate the human soul.
Update completed!
(End of this chapter)
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