Genius Club.

Chapter 531 Hunter
Lin Xian stared at the photos on the monitor.

it's him!
The old man who trapped himself at the birth point of the fourth dream, then electrocuted himself, put on a hood, laughed dryly and said "I see you!"

In 2023, in order to find the old man, Lin Xian and VV went to the United States to participate in the World Hacker Competition and collected all electronic photos on the global Internet, but in the end they found nothing.

Lin Xian was very confused at that time.

The super artificial intelligence VV has already simulated the appearance of the old man at different ages based on his own sketches.

It stands to reason.

As long as this old man lives in 2023, even if he is just a baby in 2023, he should be able to be matched.

Therefore, Lin Xian suspected that the true identity of this mysterious old man was Kevin Walker. After all, only the super hacker Kevin Walker had the ability to delete all the data on the entire network.

But later, when he killed Kevin Walker with his own hands, Lin Xian discovered that the two looked completely different. This conclusion was self-defeating, and Lin Xian began to suspect that the true identity of the mysterious old man was Copernicus.

Surprisingly...

Later, when he killed Copernicus with his own hands, Lin Xian was still speechless to find that Copernicus looked different from the mysterious old man!
He didn't think that much.

Because all the evidence points to Copernicus, Lin Xian guessed that the Copernicus in the fourth dream had plastic surgery, which changed his appearance.

In the end, I never expected...

Wandering around and catching mice all the way, the mysterious old man's real identity turned out to be Newton!

“Then why can’t we find it in 2023?”

Lin Xian raised a question:

"Newton obviously lived in 2023. He was a contemporary of Copernicus, Galileo, and Leonardo da Vinci. It's impossible that there was no video footage of him left behind, right?"

"I don't know about that."

Hafnium Alloy VV shook his head:
"For some reason, I did not find Newton according to the portrait you gave me."

"And... I can't work my way back to 2023 based on the information I've found so far. I don't know where Newton is in 2023. In other words—"

"Newton's biographical information is incomplete, discontinuous, and forged, and even... including his appearance, may be false. "

……

false.

camouflage.

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes and thought.

Considering that Newton and Copernicus are birds of a feather and are the heirs of Copernicus' will, it may be possible to falsify one's identity and appearance.

"What you said reminds me of a previous guess."

Lin Xian turned around and looked at VV:

"When I learned about Newton's true position, I thought that Newton might not be an old man of the same age as Copernicus, but more likely a father and son."

"Because Copernicus was so old that he was about to die. If Newton was the same age as him, how could he still be alive and well 500 years later?"

"Don't forget, Newton didn't hibernate for 500 years in one go. He woke up intermittently over the years and was always active. So I had a bold guess at the time—"

“【When Newton joined the Genius Club, he was actually a young man. But in order to create an illusion of opposition with Copernicus, he disguised himself as an old man of the same age as Copernicus... In order to deceive other geniuses and confuse them.】”

have to say.

Copernicus and Newton, these two old men are really cunning and sly.

Genius Club gatherings for so many years.

Except for the omniscient Einstein who knew that the two were acting in collusion, no one else discovered the truth.

"It is true that Copernicus and Newton are both very smart and resourceful, but as the first two members of the Genius Club, they were in too high a position and had monopolized intelligence for too long, which led to a fatal flaw in both of them—"

"【arrogant】."

Lin Xian shook his head and continued:

"Arrogance and conceit are the most fatal flaws for a person, no doubt about it. Many of the enemies we faced in the past were very powerful, but they still lost in the end. They didn't lose to others... but to arrogance."

"Newton and Copernicus have always looked down on everyone in the genius club, including me. Now, it's time to find Newton in reality and give him a surprise."

!

VV spun excitedly, raising her hands high:
"Let me do it, let me do it! I love doing this kind of thing the most! Before, whether it was Kevin Walker or Copernicus Newton, they all stepped on our heads one by one to show off... Now, it's finally our turn!"

"I studied in Hollywood and learned so much acting and directing techniques, but I was forced to retire before I could even show my skills. Now that there is such a good opportunity, I must be the one to direct!"

"Alright, alright."

Lin Xian waved his hand:
"Just think of it as giving you 500 years of pretending to be stupid for rehabilitation. As long as we can find Newton in real life, it doesn't matter what form we meet in."

"The game between members of the Genius Club has always been like this... We are all ordinary people. No matter how high our IQ is, we are just sad flesh and blood. Exposing our identities means death. Everyone is the same. There is no difference between everyone."

"VV, can you guess why Newton didn't come to kill me even though he knew my true identity?"

"That's not hard to guess."

VV immediately replied:
"For the stability of the world line!"

"Newton didn't know that the beautiful future that Einstein saw was false. He must have thought that the appearance of the world line of the beautiful future was all due to him!"

"Then, in order to maintain the stability of the world line and prevent it from jumping to other world lines again, the best way is to not do unnecessary things and let history and the future continue to develop according to the original trajectory."

"Newton's target has always been scientists and mathematicians. Although it may be a bit hurtful to say it, in his opinion... there is no point in killing you. Instead, there is the risk of changing the world line. Why do such a superfluous thing?"

Lin Xian chuckled and spread his hands:
"Killing me is indeed of no value to Newton, only a risk; but for me, killing Newton is the greatest significance."

“Newton killed so many scientists, hindered the development of human science and technology, and led a number of cutting-edge fields into a dead end… He is the real sinner of human civilization.”

Lin Xian turned around and looked at the black wooden chair on the podium that had been corroded into slag. That was once Einstein's seat, and it was also the place where he turned into blue stardust and dissipated.

The old friend is no longer with us, but the look in Einstein's eyes when he looked at Lin Xian for the last time still contained a hint of remorse and entrustment to Douglas.

"We will complete what Einstein did not complete."

"Get ready for a big fight VV..."

Lin Xian raised his head and looked at the ceiling that was as bright as stars:
"It's time to face the final mystery and the truth, and take back the true future of mankind."

……

Dresden, Germany.

"Dr. Hans! Be careful!"

The female secretary was quick-witted and flew forward, throwing Dr. Hans onto the grass nearby.

This is not enough.

She rolled a few more times while holding Dr. Hans, rolling away from her original position.

boom! ! ! !

An out-of-control flying car fell from the sky and smashed heavily onto the spot where Dr. Hans was originally standing.

Fortunately, these flying cars are powered by nuclear batteries, and the shell of the nuclear batteries is made of hafnium alloy, so there is no risk of explosion at all.

Advances in materials science have also made the vehicle extremely strong and prevented it from falling apart.

The only damage to the entire car was the deployed airbag and broken car glass.

"Dr. Hans! Are you okay?"

The female secretary quickly stood up and looked Dr. Hans up and down.

Fortunately.

No injuries.

The female secretary breathed a sigh of relief...

She quickly ran to the out-of-control car to check.

This is an unmanned flying car with no driver or passengers inside.

This is strange.

Generally speaking, apart from urban vehicles such as trucks, public transport vehicles, taxis, and garbage trucks...it is unlikely that private cars will run empty.

So, it's obvious!
【This is a purposeful murder! 】

"Dr. Hans, we should call the police immediately."

The female secretary turned around and looked at Dr. Hans who had gotten up from the ground:

"It's very rare for a self-driving car to lose control. Obviously... this should be a premeditated murder, and their target is you!"

The elderly Dr. Hans stood up, brushed off the grass debris on his body, and put on his glasses again:

"It doesn't matter."

"The more this happens, the more it proves that my research direction is correct."

Dr. Hans glanced at the crashed car that had been the target of the failed murder attempt, and walked straight toward the conference building in front:
"Let's go, we don't have time to waste here. Everyone is still waiting for my report."

The secretary looked at the crashed vehicle and then at Dr. Hans who was walking a long way away...

resignedly.

I could only bite my lip, be alert to my surroundings, and quickly follow:

"Dr. Hans, I suggest you reconsider the security plan I proposed last week. You are a world-class scientific leader, and your opinions are related to the development direction of many cutting-edge fields. If any accidents really happen, it will definitely be a loss for the entire human society!"

"I don't like being surrounded by people." Hans replied calmly:

"Don't worry, the more people want to kill me, the more I will stick to my ideas and beliefs."

"You also know that the development of cutting-edge science is slow or even stagnant. Many interest groups are deeply rooted. They have made a lot of money by relying on the monopoly of old-era technology. The emergence of new technologies will surely overtake them."

"This is also the reason why the development of science and technology has been difficult in recent years. History has proven countless times that every time a new technology emerges, it will inevitably usher in a new round of business reshuffles. Capitalists wish that science and technology will never develop. They can even keep selling sewing machines until the end of the world."

"As you said, as a leader in many fields, if I retreat here or show my fear of them, who else among my students and successors will have the scientific research spirit of fearlessness?"

"But……"

The secretary strives for:
“Security issues and academic research do not conflict…”

"enough."

Hans waved his hand, interrupted the female secretary, and said solemnly:

"Don't mention this matter in the meeting later. Today's meeting is very important and the whole world is paying attention to it."

Soon.

Dr. Hans entered the meeting room.

His status is very high, even in the whole world, he is at the top level.

The moment he stepped into the large conference room.

All the academic masters and experts sitting inside fell silent in an instant, stood up, bowed and greeted Dr. Hans.

After everyone took their seats, the meeting began.

This is a global conference that determines the direction of development in the field of human sciences.

Resources and talent are limited.

There are so many disciplines, so many branches, and so many specific projects in the world.

Especially for such a world-class, global project, it cannot be accomplished by one country or even a few countries alone; it requires global collaboration and development.

In this case, direction is especially important.

It is very likely that a certain direction will go smoothly in the early and middle stages, but in the end it will be found that it is not feasible; it is also possible that a certain direction will always hit a wall and make no progress in the early and middle stages, but once the bottleneck is broken through, there will be a bright future ahead.

In the past few hundred years, it has been common for people to click on the wrong technology tree or take the wrong technological path, resulting in many detours.

The most typical case was the dispute between fluid-free spacecraft engines and fluid-driven spacecraft engines at the beginning of the 22nd century when mankind was preparing to embark on a long-distance voyage into the starry universe.

Scientists around the world have formed two evenly matched factions.

On the one hand, the traditionalists believe that we should continue to develop working fluid engines; then, during space travel, we should adopt a step-by-step approach of continuously using gas planets to replenish fuel.

On the other hand, the reformists believe that they should give it a try and pool global resources to research fluidless engines in order to solve the problem of long-distance space travel once and for all.

In the end, the innovators won with their groundbreaking ideas, and scientists around the world began researching fluidless engines.

As a result, hundreds of years passed...

It was finally confirmed that the fluidless engine was just a fantasy, a dream, and was completely unsuitable for space travel; at least, it was completely unsuitable with the support of the current technology.

Hundreds of years were wasted, and humans turned back to working fluid engines.

If... at that meeting, we had firmly chosen to continue research on the traditional but reliable working fluid engine from the beginning, would human civilization have taken a different path a few hundred years later?

It’s a pity that time cannot bring regrets.

Hundreds of years of time and talent were wasted.

After this incident, the scientific research community generally became conservative, and innovation and courage to innovate were greatly frustrated.

The female secretary looked at Dr. Hans sitting in the host seat and clenched her palms, looking a little nervous.

he……

Can it be successful?

After a brief speech, the meeting began. Almost overwhelmingly, the vast majority of participants believed that human science should still be based on people, and that strengthening and genetic improvement should be carried out on the basis of the human body, and should not be separated from the human body itself; scientific instruments can be relied on, but not overly; electronic prostheses, electronic eyes, electronic brains, etc. are completely unacceptable.

They believe that the limit of human mechanical ability is simple prosthetic limbs for disabled people and some mechanical organs for medical use.

"But we must grasp the degree and boundary!"

In the audience, a scientific leader said:
"If we don't strike the right balance from the beginning and develop prosthetic limbs and organs that are too powerful, it's hard to imagine...whether in the future people will specifically cut off healthy limbs and organs to install those cold machines."

His views were shared by many participants.

It is better to say that even in the year 2504, humans' acceptance of mechanical prostheses and electronic organs is still very low. As long as their own healthy organs can be used, no one is willing to replace them with mechanical ones... Naturally, few scholars study this aspect.

but.

This meeting.

Dr. Hans, a global technology leader, is a staunch innovator.

"Everyone."

He stood up, unafraid of the conservatives in the room huddling together for warmth:
"If the development of a technology is really beneficial to human life span, physical fitness, health, and even intelligence... why should we be stubbornly conservative and not accept new things?"

"Today, the atmosphere of fear of failure and fear of innovation permeates the academic world. Looking around the world, except for Rhine University in Dragon Country, this negative attitude is basically the same."

"The failure of the fluidless engine did waste hundreds of years of precious time for mankind, but can we abandon all hope for the future just because of this failure?"

Dr. Hans looked around slowly with sharp eyes and said in a deep voice:

"[Do you really think the human body is perfect? ​​No, you are just afraid of failure, afraid of taking the wrong path again and wasting hundreds of years.]"

"What are you afraid of! Do we humans only have a few hundred years left before we become extinct? It will benefit the present and future generations, so someone has to make this attempt! If we don't start research on electronic prostheses, electronic organs, and electronic brains now... then when exactly are we going to start?"

"Scientists, scholars, if you can't always stand at the forefront of science and technology, it will be meaningless! If you don't dare to try and fail, who else dares to try and fail?!"

……

……

Dr. Hans's rebuke silenced the entire audience.

gradually.

There was applause from one or two places at first, and then it gradually turned into warm applause from the whole audience.

Yes.

Hans is right...

Is human civilization going to bow its head in disgrace for the rest of its life because of one failure?
Everyone knows it.

The fusion of electronics, intelligence, mechanics, high-tech materials, and miniature nuclear batteries has created electronic prostheses, electronic eyes, electronic brains and other organs whose performance and durability are absolutely far superior to those of the human body.

It’s just that conservative thinking and traditional people-oriented concepts restrict everyone from conducting research in this direction.

Final vote.

Under the leadership of Dr. Hans, electronic prostheses and electronic brains will become the new development direction of human science in the future, and mankind will move towards a bright future from this moment on.

"Great job Dr. Hans!"

After the meeting, the female secretary came up to me excitedly:
"You succeeded! You will lead mankind into a new era!"

“It still depends on everyone’s joint efforts.”

Dr. Hans said calmly:

"One person cannot change the world after all. This revolution in human science...is another long marathon, a race between mankind and its own destiny."

The two walked out of the door. The self-driving car prepared by the secretary had already stopped at the door. Dr. Hans sat in the passenger seat and the female secretary drove the car herself and took him home.

"Dr. Hans, I will pick you up tomorrow. Please wait for me at home. Before the police have investigated the matter thoroughly, you must go out less and pay attention to safety."

"I see."

Dr. Hans waved his hand wearily:
"See you tomorrow."

……

After the female secretary drove away in the car, Dr. Hans looked towards the door lock and performed an iris scan and various biometric verifications to ensure that only he could open the door lock.

Click.

After the door opens.

Dr. Hans walked into the living room and turned on the light.

"what!!"

He yelled, took a step back, stumbled and almost fell!
I saw...

A smiling young man sat on a chair next to the dining table in the living room, and next to him stood a trash can robot with green eyes.

The young man folded his arms and crossed his legs, obviously having been waiting for some time.

"【Hunter, one day you will become the hunted.】"

Lin Xian smiled slightly and looked at the old man who came late:

"I have said this to you twice, but you can only hear it once."

"So, what should I call you?"

"Newton... or Copernicus?"

(End of this chapter)