Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 384 The Legacy of Barthesmos [6K]

"It's so good to see you again... Ultraman."

Lin Yue felt as if he had just survived a major ordeal. Now, he was being guided by Ultraman's data chains to repair the problematic code on his body.

Fortunately, there were no problems with the abstraction layer of the brain-computer interface...

Even Otto, who had guessed that Bartmos needed Lin Yue to attend the meeting alone, was unusually silent at this moment.

He saw that his "good ally" remained silent.

"You're the one who wanted to gamble... Why are you silent first, Ultraman?"

Ultraman held Lin Yue's hand tightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that something like Transcendence—something I can't understand and can't communicate with—would appear."

Unable to communicate... or have a conversation?
Lin Yue also felt that AKIRA, that kid named Jing, actually spoke quite clearly, she was just a bit too enigmatic—

"Wait, what do you mean by 'unable to communicate'...?"

Lin Yue belatedly realized that Ultraman was trying to understand what he meant...

From Bartmouth and Otto's perspective, the transcendental AI, perhaps because it is itself a network, expresses content that is too complex for even an intelligent hacker like Bartmouth to understand.

An inaccurate description would be: animals and humans can communicate in a simple way, but they cannot understand the deeper meaning and logic of language.

Animals understand simple commands, but humans do not rely solely on simple commands to perform social behaviors.

That is to say...

Barthemos and Jing made contact, and Jing could know any information within her network, any network trace left by any actor, and even the thoughts of hackers—

However, even the legendary hacker Barthes Moss could only understand 70% of the Transcendental information; some of it remained like an encrypted encyclopedia.

"That's why... you exist."

Ultraman's ethereal voice interrupted Lin Yue's thoughts.

Taken aback, Lin Yue followed the direction Ultraman pointed and saw what appeared within the empty cyberspace—

Wonders!

The data pyramid gave Lin Yue a strange sense of familiarity.

Above the long staircase, the long end seemed to be...

Like a sacred palanquin?
Ott also noticed that something was wrong with Lin Yue.

Have you ever seen an ICE or pathway with this structure?

Clever as Ultraman.

Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

It's likely that Ultraman's inability to reach the Divine Carriage is due not only to the fact that Arasaka specially developed an ICE system for her, but also because this structure is difficult to penetrate.
Whether you believe in Ultraman or not.

"That's what the sacred palanquin is like."

Ott seemed lost in reminiscence, and she almost unconditionally believed Lin Yue's words, even though Lin Yue didn't know the basis for Ott's trust in him.

"The structure of Bartholomew's nose..."

"It seems that Arasaka did not take Bartmos's life; they also gained something else."

The individual program has yet to enter this data-driven pyramid, after all, no one knows what lies at the end of the program's loading process.

Bartmos's program has been very receptive to Lin Yue so far, so Lin Yue felt that Ultraman had almost finished repairing him. After his overloaded implant and brain-computer interface returned to normal, he got up and walked directly to the pathway, with Ultraman following closely behind.

From the outside perspective

This may just be a simple progress bar for reading data, but it involves the coordination of various codes under the new algorithm.

"Do you really think Barthes Moss is that amazing?"

"Look, you've absorbed so much data outside the Black Wall, becoming a top digital soul. Even the Soul Killer's groundbreaking program was written by you. Logically speaking..."

Lin Yue said as he walked.

Otto's answer was clearly more detailed.

"People always call Bartmouth, me, and Spider Murphy the top hackers in the cyber world, but only Murphy and I know that Bartmouth's understanding of the network surpasses ours... He is obsessed with the most basic logic and principles of the network."

"He didn't follow any rules. When all users were kicked off the network, he witnessed the creation of a new algorithm and implanted the rabids code on top of it."

Lin Yue was a little confused as to why implanting a virus into the entire global network would earn such high praise from Ultraman.
Ott's explanation followed: "A house that is airtight can only be known by its builder. Bartmos integrated the code into the load-bearing structure of the entire house without any gaps. Although he only witnessed the improvement of the network world by the new algorithm, he understood how these new algorithms, which cost top technology and ingenuity, worked."

Lin Yue shook his head.

"How does Soul Killer compare to this?"

Ott: "When ITS hired me, they had already done a lot of scientific research on the programming of human consciousness. Many of the early theories no longer needed to be verified. Admittedly, my network technology and programming skills are outstanding, but they are not special compared to talents like Barthemos's."

"You've seen Bartmore's memories; the internet is the best place for him to survive."

ITS, huh...?

Around 2000?

When Ottkeningan heard Lin Yue accurately state the time, she simply said quietly, "I believe once again that Bartmores did not choose the wrong person. You know everything about us. I don't think any program or person other than a transcendental AI can do that."

Lin Yue really wanted to say that your world is actually made up of stories, including derivatives such as books, movies, and games.

But such an explanation is meaningless.

There are too many things he can't understand. Lin Yue has been here for so long, and he has only clearly realized two things: 'I' am still alive, and the world still exists.

It has to be said that chatting can kill a lot of time.

The end of the path was reached in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yue watched as the body behind Ultraman began to expand programmatically, in order to provide Lin Yue with information and prevent him from being misled by the program.

"Let's see what our hacking genius has left behind this time."

With Ultraman saying there was no immediate danger, Lin Yue stepped directly into the light barrier—

Ultraman behind him no longer hesitated and followed closely behind.

……

This is a change that is difficult to describe in words.

Lin Yue and Aote stood side by side. Although one was incredibly huge and the other was as tiny as a data fluorescence, it did not affect the change in the cyberspace in front of them.

In an instant, the thin and ordinary data began to take on a three-dimensional form, and the reconstruction of cyberspace resembled the scene of life being born for the first time on a wild planet.

"Is this what Barthemos saw?"

Lin Yue clicked his tongue in amazement.

no doubt.

This is the algorithmic reconstruction that Barthemos saw, and the day he planted a time bomb in the world's largest information storage area.

What Lin Yue couldn't understand was why Bartmos wanted them to see these things.

As time went on, the internet, at the moment of Barthemos's death, was like a spark thrown into an ocean of flammable material.

One by one, the data fortresses that the company touted as "impregnable" were infected by the rabids virus and ICE. The AI ​​that had served the company's management, kept secrets, and even operated due to cost-cutting measures were turned into mindless dragons by this code. Data was covered with blood-red light everywhere, and countless consciousness projections (company hackers, ordinary users, etc.) were easily wiped out by the mindless AI.

At this moment, Ultraman is like a qualified commentator.

"Out-of-control AI turned the network into a wasteland. Important devices connected to the new algorithm network failed one after another. Extreme weapons, including nuclear weapons, were taken over by these AIs. They just didn't understand the significance of these keys. In fact..."

"We are only one step away from destruction."

The word here has become "we".

Lin Yue understood that Ultraman was referring to the entire human race.

At that time, many military facilities were invaded by the uncontrolled AI Rabids, and offline methods were used as a last resort. Any online verification became a completely insecure act. For a period of time, punch card technology was even used as a key. It has to be said that this was a technological regression at the network level.

Lin Yue just stared blankly.

Seeing is far more effective than simply hearing; it allows for deeper understanding.

The so-called "savior of the internet," Bartmouth, who was accused of trying to disrupt the company's division of the online world, prevent them from continuing to exercise their monopoly power online, and engage in opaque information dissemination and privacy violations, has personally orchestrated a disaster.

From Lin Yue's perspective as an observer.

This nuclear explosion, buried in the underlying architecture of the network, not only failed to realize Barthes' vision, but also cost too many innocent people their lives.

If your death would require many more people to perish with you, then you must be a corporate dog, an ambitious person who wants the company to continue making the world a terrible place.

But he would never want a five- or six-year-old child whose brain had just been connected to a brain-computer interface to have their brain damaged by an AI that had breached the early childhood education center, nor would he allow a train carrying the hope of returning home to collide with another train at high speed because the data instructions had been tampered with!
“Bartlemos…”

Lin Yue's Adam's apple bobbed.

Is it right or wrong?

The emergence of the Black Wall allowed the company to maintain its hegemony in the online world. Apart from taking away many lives, both related and unrelated, Bartmouth did not fundamentally alter the nature of this world.

Sometimes Lin Yue even wondered if it was possible to eliminate brain-computer interface technology and make all devices around the world offline.

But the company would never allow it.

Their enormous wealth is built on brain-computer interface technology. If this technology is stifled, turning everyone into primitive beings, it not only means that humanity will have to abandon most of its scientific research results in the internet, but also face a rapid decline in living standards...

The world is far more complex than we imagine.

Ultraman suddenly spoke up.

He regrets it.

Lin Yue turned his head to look at the large intelligent program that had been acting as his audience for so long.

He did not understand the basis for Ultraman's conclusion.

If I remember correctly, even my memories reveal that Barthemos is actually a person with extremely low empathy (a parameter in the cyberpunk rulebook).

Even though his ideas were very idealistic and he was someone who tried to change the company's monopoly, it did not prevent him from never letting go of any opponent who begged for mercy in cyber warfare.

Lin Yue, after the Black Wall invaded his life, would understand this personality very well.

That is, to do anything to achieve a goal, no matter how great the sacrifice... to be able to sense love, but unable to express it.

Probably so.

Will Barthemos regret it too?

The grand scene before Lin Yue's eyes began to freeze, the sounds abruptly stopped, as if everything was about to return to calm.

The scene constructed from the data resembled a broken monitor, with long, blurry images appearing throughout the screen.

Just when the two thought Bartmores was going to leave behind the data prompt that resembled the ball of light from last time, the chaotic data stream in front of them began to converge into a figure, like a projection of consciousness?

Lin Yue glanced at Otto, and encouraged by Otto, he stepped forward. But as soon as he got close, before he could even clearly see the man's features, the distance between them increased once again—

Lin Yue also heard the man utter a questioning sound.

The emptiness of the relationship kept echoing...

"you are?"

Listening to the sounds from all directions, Lin Yue's awe of the unknown kept him standing still.

For some reason, Lin Yue knew that this imprint, which resembled a projection of human consciousness, was Bartmos, but what existed here was just a program, not a human user.

Just as Lin Yue was pondering why the figure seemed not to recognize him, the image suddenly appeared in front of his face, startling him.

"So it turns out that you've been waiting for all along."

Bartmore stared at Lin Yue, the internet user in front of him, for a long time before muttering something as if he had been relieved.

His voice was just like that of an ordinary young man, without the mysterious and sinister quality of a hacker god that Lin Yue had imagined. He could even hear a trace of the voice he had heard when he was a child, a memory that Lin Yue had seen.

"Your coordinates and your path can only be traversed by me alone. How could you not recognize me?"

Lin Yue turned his head and glanced behind him.

Ultraman didn't follow.

To be precise, Ultraman disappeared.

Bartmos once again kept Ultraman out.

"Don't you miss your old friend at all? Ultraman is still out there."

Upon hearing Lin Yue's words, Bartommos remained silent for a while before saying, "I only borrowed a collection of memories from the Soul Killer. As for your old friend and the coordinates you mentioned, I'm not very clear about those—"

Lin Yue's face darkened.

Is it something like an AI program that isolates memories?
"But I know you come from another world, [a world we observe but cannot reach.] (Night City Easter egg)"

Lin Yue felt the amount of information was overwhelming, so he had no choice but to patiently ask Bartmore again.

“Knowing that makes things easier. The coordinates you showed me involve the Black Wall issue. Transcendence Akira and I have already spoken about it.”

"Is this what you wanted?"

Lin Yue pointed to the two small chairs used for data construction.

Bartmores nodded. "Indeed, this is what I did, and you achieved the result as I expected."

"It seems..."

Bartmores turned the chair around, just like a tech geek would do, with the back of the chair against his chest and his legs straddling the small stool.

"You've forgotten almost everything."

Before Lin Yue could ask what that meant, Bartmore's memory trace glanced at his arm and said, "Time is running out."

The act of checking one's watch seemed to possess a powerful magic, and Lin Yue also wanted to take a look.

However, Barthes quickly fulfilled his wish, and the countdown instantly appeared in his sight, with the countdown time seemingly over six thousand hours.

"You left this world before the Black Wall appeared. It was Arasaka who opened the box for you. How could you possibly connect me, the Black Wall, and Ultraman?"

Lin Yue discovered the blind spot.

However, Bartholomew simply watched him quietly.

He suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"That's because I'm not that easy to die. Of course... I'm truly dead now. In order for the complete activation of rabids, I have to let my body die. This key was set up as a precaution, and it turns out to be the safest key... The rabies virus has been successfully activated."

Lin Yue pressed on, asking, "But many people died... Bartmores."

Bartmores shrugged. "Believe it or not, in the inevitable events brought together by probability, some things must be done because of these things, and that's why you're here, even if there's no direct connection between the two."

"It seems I have no choice but to make you remember some things."

Just as Lin Yue was stunned, Bartmouth's voice and figure disappeared. He hurriedly looked up and found Bartmouth standing behind him, with both hands already on Lin Yue's head.

In that instant, Lin Yue saw a lot.

A young man who died from overworking himself to death was transported to the world of this game.

But he didn't suddenly regain consciousness on the Ghost Hound's military vehicle. On the contrary, he lost a lot in cyberspace, and these memories were obtained by Bartmos, who was omnipresent and hidden in the network code.

"In my understanding of Chinese culture, there is a saying:"

"Today you know who I am."

"Lin Yue, what you lost is right here."

Lin Yue's mind seemed to be resounding with a fierce rock and roll symphony.

Those scenes were like a movie of life!

A young man has appeared in Europe, Africa, and even outer space…

He frantically tried to find ways to change the world, but all he did was a tiny, insignificant ripple in the tide of history.

A European rock star, an African mercenary leader who attacks orbital aviation facilities during corporate warfare, and a top lone wolf fighting within the Lazarus Group…

Life unfolds in countless cycles, one after another.

From the beginning of 2000 until 2077—

Each time Lin Yue's life is only a few short years, he tries to launch a plan to burn down the world.

But unfortunately, without any support, he could only be annihilated in this distorted era.

now…

"Whoosh!"

Lin Yue seemed to wake up with a start!
how come? !

Have I been here for so many years?

Is there really so many lives that can be relived?
“You didn’t have any help before, Lin Yue.”

After doing all this, Bartmores didn't try to explain to Lin Yue to believe him. It seemed that he didn't care at all whether Lin Yue believed him or not. Instead, he sat down and said, "You don't understand that this world is a collection of various results made up of random events. Every choice and every conversation is enough to change the course of the world."

Lin Yue's eyes widened.

Isn't this the feeling I had when I played games in my past life?
He needs to carefully consider every choice, and even consult strategy guides.

correct.

He finally understood why he had retained so many memories; it was like a life adventure game where he had a strategy guide, which gave him so many advantages.

"Now, we'll help you."

"Ultraman and I are both good at playing with probability... dead men."

"You probably won't believe me now, but you need to remember one thing: what you have is a perfect program that I designed for you with all my heart and soul. It encompasses all my perfect ideas about brain-computer interfaces—every encounter you have is a probability, every growth you experience is also a probability, but... all of them can be quantified."

Lin Yue listened blankly.

No wonder.

When he first came into contact with Bartmore's memories, he had a vague feeling of memory loss, and he also had a subconscious hatred for the company.

I just never imagined that those were just remnants of my past frustrations that have lingered until now.

Lin Yue finally figured out most of this.

Perhaps from the perspective of this world, Lin Yue's world can be observed, and his appearance allowed Bartmores to learn the whole story.

It's just that Lin Yue's memories have started to fade.

That day, the ghost dog ran over the truck...

Lin Yue immediately remembered that before drinking, Sino had given him his laptop, saying he didn't understand how to submit those arms deals to the boss. Lin Yue naturally took the laptop and connected it to the nearby public network. During this process, he plugged his human-computer interaction cable into the device.

Lin Yue suddenly realized...

So that's when it happened!
Bartmores seemed to be smiling. "You ask me if I feel even a little bit guilty or regretful? The answer is yes."

"But it's nothing compared to what we're about to do."

Lin Yue was so shocked by all of this that he was completely speechless.

For a while…

"Then I should..."

Bartmore stood up. “Don’t ask anything. Let things happen naturally. Do what you want to do, do what you think is right, and choose what you think you should choose.”

"do you remember?"

His habitual movements bear a striking resemblance to Lin Yue's.

The hacking god pointed to his head, "You have the help I can give you."

Lin Yue suddenly realized that the conversation might be coming to an end, so he hurriedly got up.

Where is the black wall?

The distance between Barthemos and himself began to slowly increase...

"I don't know, because I'm only responsible for telling you this much. Just like every link in this network world, there's something I need to tell you."

Then he said something completely nonsensical.

"This is the kind of life I want, not the kind where I'm powerless and trapped in my physical body."

do not!
Barthes didn't mention the Black Wall at all, and the so-called countdown made Lin Yue feel a sense of panic that he would lose it if he didn't seize the opportunity.

"The Black Wall is not what you imagine."

"It...is negative..." (not entirely accurate)
"The answer is right beside you; you've already taken control of the key, haven't you?"

call!
Lin Yue was instantly kicked out of the data fortress!
[Logging out of the network...]

As a result, Lin Yue found that his brain computer was frantically downloading things.

[Data unit extraction in progress...]

[Legendary Hacker Component - Forced Instability Control //...]

……

……

(End of this chapter)