I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 698 (Patreon)

Chapter 698: Who Can Be Sure That the Real Universe Is Not a Plaything in the Hands of Higher-Dimensional Civilizations?

"Throwing hundreds of billions of unstable factors into a virtual world?" Lynn scoffed. To protect their wealth and power, it seems the upper echelons of the Federation have become utterly unscrupulous.

But Lynn had to admit that it was indeed an effective strategy, one that could lead most people to voluntarily enter and become immersed in it.

At least it was more humane than outright slaughter.

"So they ended up messing it up again?" Lynn looked at Coleman and inquired further. According to him, the Second World was supposed to be a tool to placate and control the populace, ensuring the upper echelons' continued dominance. Yet now, the entire human race was involved, clearly indicating something had gone wrong.

"Without a doubt, we underestimated the allure of the Second World!" Coleman explained.

Even those in power within the Federation couldn't avoid discontent in their lives, and the struggle for power was incredibly brutal.

So, not only did a large number of lower-class individuals rush into the Second World, but this trend quickly spread to the middle and even some upper classes, particularly their offspring.

Once the technology for consciousness uploading was perfected, a massive number of lower-class people completely abandoned the real world, entering the virtual space for good.

What followed was a conflict more intense than class division because those who were preparing to upload their minds realized an important issue: the upper echelons of the Federation in reality had absolute control over them. They could modify their memories at any time or even shut down the entire Second World.

This undoubtedly caused deep unease and fear among the lower-class masses, leading to increasingly vocal demands for artificial intelligence to directly manage the Federation.

Compared to the potential for a robotic uprising, they trusted human governance even less.

"Did the Federation just let the situation deteriorate like this?" Lynn was quite surprised.

Coleman shook his head. By the time those in power who saw the Second World as their lifeline realized something was wrong, it was too late!

Nearly ninety percent of Federation citizens had already become highly dependent on the virtual world; no one could stop this trend...

"But why resist it?" Coleman suddenly laughed. "No one can stop all of humanity from entering a new world where everyone can get what they want, even realizing their wildest dreams..."

Coleman passionately described the current state of the Second World, which had now developed into another universe—a digitized universe. They had established a new order within, becoming the creators of a low-dimensional intelligent world!

Listening to Coleman's words, Lynn couldn't help but frown. "So, you just gave up on the entire physical world?"

Lynn found it hard to comprehend such a decision, though he could imagine the significant impact the internal turmoil within the Federation must have had on societal ideology.

"It's not giving up, but choosing a more convenient path!" Coleman corrected.

After fully unleashing the potential of artificial intelligence, the technology of curvature engines also broke through. In just over a thousand years, the Federation had expanded its influence to half of the Milky Way, defeating hundreds of planetary and even galactic civilizations, including formidable foes with technological levels surpassing the Federation.

This was something the human-led Federation could never have achieved.

And those who entered the Second World could enjoy their lives under the protection of intelligent civilization.

"Aren't you worried that artificial intelligence will ultimately break free from control?" Lynn curiously asked. Putting all of humanity into a virtual world and developing civilization within it undoubtedly handed their fate to artificial intelligence.

He believed that in the universe, civilizations capable of developing artificial intelligence were not few. However, humans' madness in giving up the entire physical world to intelligent rule was probably rare.

"Break free from control?" Coleman shook his head, speaking with utmost confidence. "No, of course not. Ensuring the operation of the Second World is the raison d'être of Zero!"

Unlike living beings, who undergo natural selection and carry selfish and xenophobic traits in their genes, artificial intelligence is man-made. Their core data can be edited just like genetic codes.

Moreover, they had already integrated with the virtual space, becoming part of its data.

"As for abandoning the physical world..." Coleman paused, then countered. "Who can be sure that the real material universe is not a plaything in the hands of higher-dimensional civilizations?"

Lynn was silent for a while. This possibility indeed existed. After becoming the Chief God, he had the ability to create a complete micro-universe. More advanced civilizations might indeed be capable of creating a universe.

However... Lynn turned to look at the illusory universe before him, his gaze piercing through the barriers of time and space to see those immersed in countless worlds.

Over a thousand years had passed, and people were still deeply immersed, seemingly able to continue indefinitely.

But in Lynn's eyes, all the worlds, all the people were just streams of data. Rather than saying the Federation's citizens entered the Second World, it was more accurate to say that "Zero" had replicated humans with identical personalities and thoughts based on memory data within the virtual space.

Even Coleman, who had been speaking confidently about artificial intelligence never breaking free from control, was merely a data simulacrum.

The civilization known as humanity had long perished, leaving behind only the shells of their past.

"It's time to put an end to all of this!" Lynn sighed and spoke slowly.

As soon as his words fell, the Divine Domain expanded. The vast and serene cosmic space before him began to tremble, with cracks appearing in the space, black holes disintegrating, stars collapsing, and countless streams of chaotic data emerging within the universe.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Coleman shouted in terror. He had invited Lynn into the Second World, hoping to achieve peace without conflict.

The two had been discussing things quite well just moments ago, and Coleman had no inkling that Lynn would suddenly turn hostile...

Lynn ignored Coleman. As the Divine Domain swept through, Coleman was disintegrated, turning into a mess of data streams.

Such a strong and direct attack also provoked the most intense counterattack from the metallic "brain." However, the surrounding space-time had long been sealed by Lynn, and the virtual space, unable to receive external support, could only collapse layer by layer under Lynn's dominant pressure...

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