Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 126 Neural Matrix, The Secrets of AI
Even Ultraman couldn't catch the roaming AI within the base.

But what was even more frightening than that was what Ultraman said next.

[Ultraman: There's more than one trace of a wandering AI's activity here.]

[Mercer: What do you mean?]

[Otto: The people from the military science department seem completely unaware of what they're doing. While they're trying to capture the roving AI, they're also attracting the attention of many other roving AIs. As of now, there are traces of at least four roving AIs active on the server.]

[Mercer: Who's the one causing us trouble?]

[Ultraman: Judging from the trace analysis, most of them are corrupted behind the Black Wall, and are malignant AIs that should have been isolated behind the Black Wall.]

No trace of Lilith has been found yet; perhaps clues will be found in the wandering AI being held captive within the facility.

[Mercer: You get the server room access sorted out first. I'm going to find that roaming AI. Where is it locked up?]

[Ultraman: Just a moment, I found it.]

Mercer saw a piece of data transmitted by Ultraman flash before his eyes. After reading it carefully, he said directly, "Share the permissions with me. This neural matrix is ​​interesting."

Without hesitation, Ott shared the access to the Little Big Dipper facility server with Mercer, who then immediately had Qimingxing take over the access.

[Ultraman: Your AI? Interesting.]

[Morning Star: Hello, Ms. Ultra.]

[Ultraman: It seems Mercer has done a good job training you.]

[Morning Star: Yes, my master takes good care of me.]

As Mercer read information about the 'Neural Matrix' from the server, he asked himself some questions that had been on his mind for a long time.

[Mercer: What exactly is going on with Night Corporation? Where did that blue-eyed man come from, and which side are they on?]

Also, what is the core AI in the Death Wish program that Barthemos gave me? I've found it's different from most AI programs.

[Ultraman: Blue Eyes belongs to the Night Corporation's own super AI. After time and iterations, it can now be regarded as the entity that truly holds real power in the Night Corporation.]

Its stance is hard to define, but generally speaking, it stands solely with Night City and adheres to the Night Corporation's corporate philosophy, aiming to build a perfect Night City.

[Ultraman: As for the AI ​​core code that Barthemos gave you, you can think of it as something he pieced together.]

[Mercer: Cobbled together?]

[Ultraman: That's right. You don't really think AI is something developed by humans, do you? Essentially, it's a miracle that happened by accident, and Bartmos just summarized the commonalities of these miracles and integrated the key source code.]

These are all valuable insights he gained through extensive research on the old internet and his personal accumulation of knowledge. Theoretically, as long as one masters the core source code of this AI and feeds it with a large amount of data, one can cultivate a fairly advanced intelligent AI.

I believe you can also see how valuable this thing is. If it fell into the hands of the military science department, they probably wouldn't need the BeiDou navigation system at all.

Mercer wholeheartedly agreed—if this thing fell into the hands of a large company, they could easily use the source code to continuously replicate it and cultivate countless super AIs. If these super AIs were all deployed on the internet, it would probably be even more dangerous than the old internet today.

No wonder Otto said that Mercer had no need to plot against the Black Wall, because he essentially had too many ways to make a cyber nuclear bomb himself, so why bother with the Black Wall that she had painstakingly built?

Ultraman's words confirmed Mercer's long-held belief that the source code for AI's soul was probably not something humans could write, but rather an unrepeatable miracle.

All AI today is nothing more than something built upon that miracle.

But this also made Mercer think – if the birth of AI is a miracle, then what about human consciousness data?

What does this technology—which completely transforms human thought and uploads it into cyberspace for data processing, including data on human consciousness that Mercer still doesn't understand—mean?

If the data that makes up human consciousness also contains a core source code, does that mean that a real human soul can truly be born through the network and data?

Mercer's contemplation did not affect his search for server data within the Little Beidou facility.

He quickly finished reviewing all the information about the 'Neural Matrix Device'.

Based on available information, the 'Neural Matrix' is simply a cage used to imprison the consciousness of AI.

The Military Science Association will capture the consciousness of the wandering AI and lock it in a neural matrix. By modifying the core code of the wandering AI, they will transform it into an AI that can be used by them.

But this involves two points.

First, this neural matrix is ​​able to bind a complete set of mobile AI consciousness data using an elliptical device that is about one meter in size.

This means that the device can not only accurately capture the data of the AI ​​that is moving around, but also accurately identify this data.

Secondly, the fact that they can use this device to directly modify the core data of AI suggests that this device also works on human consciousness data.
"Follow me." Mercer strode toward the core area of ​​the facility where the neural matrix device was stored. The others had no idea what he had talked about with Ultraman earlier, only that he seemed to be spacing out for a while and the cooling system was humming.

"All done?" Rebecca remained vigilantly observing the computer screen. The body composed of Ultraman's unique red data that had suddenly appeared on it made her subconsciously feel a sense of danger.

V, however, had a rather peculiar focus: "Another woman? Ultraman?"

"Otto Cunningham, a legendary hacker, or rather programmer, wrote the Soul Killer program. Now she controls all the servers in Hong Kong's 'ghost city,' and can be said to be one of the most powerful mobile AIs or consciousness data entities."

Mercer gave a brief introduction, while Ultraman showed no reaction to V's words; she didn't care at all what V and the others were saying.

V clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "She's your friend?"

"I guess so, just friends on the surface," Mercer said, pausing before adding, "The main thing is I'm not sure if she still considers us one of her own kind."

[Ultraman: Great! So, do you consider yourself one of them?]

[Mercer: Why doesn't that count?]

Ultraman: If we're just talking about self-identity, then I still consider myself human—just a more advanced kind.

If we're only talking about the data aspect, then the structure of my consciousness data is probably closer to theirs than yours.

If we use evolution as an analogy, they are Homo sapiens, I am a modern person, and you are a person from the future. Clearly, you are simply unwilling to accept reality.

[Mercer: So you still believe deep down that you and humans aren't the same species? Then it seems I wasn't wrong.]

[Ultraman: I thought you weren't lacking in the ability to objectively recognize reality.]

Mercer: I don't think I'm any different from them.

[Ultraman: You're just unwilling to take off this disguise and accept reality. If viewing me as inhuman makes you feel closer to humanity, then you can continue to deceive yourself.]

Mercer's mood suddenly turned sour—what's he whining about? I've been human twice, why does this guy always try to push himself into the position of being inhuman?

He was unwilling to admit it, nor did he want to admit it. He might be somewhat special, but this specialness did not make him feel that he had transcended the human species, nor did he feel that he was a more 'superior' or 'noble' new human being.

Mercer: I bet if Silver Hand saw you now, he'd think he'd seen a ghost.

[Ultraman: It seems you only bring up his name when you can't win an argument with me?]

Mercer: I just wanted to remind you not to forget the last bit of humanity you have left.

[Ultraman: You should remind yourself that the ugly duckling hiding among geese doesn't hide the fact that you're a swan. You're just hypnotizing yourself.]

[Mercer: Okay, at least I'm having a good time with this self-hypnosis. Can you shut up for a bit now?]

[Ultraman: It's never too late to accept your true self before making judgments and choices—fearing your reflection in the mirror will only take you further away from reality, my friend.]

Mercer did not reply. He simply walked quietly to the laboratory where the neural matrix was stored, turned on the power, and began to view the data on the computer inside.

[Mercer: Without authorization, are you going to crack it or am I?]

Ultraman: I'll connect it.

Mercer didn't waste any words. He plugged in all the data cables in the lab, turned on the power, and then handed everything over to Ultraman.

In the game, cracking this matrix requires an authorization code from a brother and sister hackers in Europe, but neither Mercer nor Ultraman cares about the so-called authorization code.

With the Little Beidou server in hand, cracking this kind of thing is only a matter of time.

Mercer sat in a chair in the laboratory, his voice somewhat muffled: "Let's take a break. Once Ultraman cracks it, our mission will be over. After that, we'll just move all the useful parts of this facility away."

Rebecca, however, said energetically, "I only had to deal with one Hellhound robot. It wasn't hard work at all. Just tell me what you need to move, and we'll start now."

"If we finish quickly, we can go home and have a late-night snack."

“Okay.” Mercer replied simply, and then directly had the Venus remote-controlled robot come over to move things: “I’ve marked all the things that are of interest to you with my eyes.”

"Go and search around, then take the items back to base with the robots. That's it for today."

"By the way, just in case, you guys go as a team. I'll stay here and wait until this thing is cracked, then we can use the facilities here to do some research."

After Mercer finished speaking, V and Rebecca exchanged a glance, and V said, "Jack and I will go. Rebecca, you stay here and keep an eye on things."

Mercer was about to refuse when Rebecca said directly, "Okay, I'll keep it, just in case. It's better to team up in pairs."

Rebecca had already blocked Mercer's words, so Mercer could only nod.

After V and Jack left, Rebecca jumped off the table. Seeing Mercer staring intently at the screen, she couldn't help but nudge his waist, the armor clashing with a clang.

"You've picked up a bunch of treasures again, why aren't you happy at all?" A hint of dissatisfaction and worry appeared on Rebecca's little face.

Mercer turned to look at her with some surprise: "I'm happy."

"Tsk." Rebecca stared at him with a displeased expression. "If it were the old you, you would have been grinning like an idiot at these servers by now. You've been complaining about the computing power being strained. What are you thinking?"

Mercer was silent for a moment, then simply said softly, "It's nothing, I was just overthinking."

"Well, now you've learned how to fool people!" Rebecca glared at him angrily when he didn't speak. "You even canceled the date we agreed on. You usually just hide in the server room and workspace, and you're nowhere to be seen during mealtimes."
Do you even know that the dog we raised in the game has had puppies? I've already saved up enough money for that high-end fishing rod you said you wanted to buy. You said you'd play with me when you were resting, but now you don't rest at all."

As she spoke, she became genuinely sad: "I know I can't be of much help, but please don't keep telling me that nothing's wrong."

Mercer looked at her for a long time, sighed, and then laughed.

He took off his helmet and put it aside, then reached out and touched her face. Rebecca's little face was warm and soft, making him want to touch it. "I have so many worries, I can't possibly list them all."

"Then take your time. I'm not rushing you. I just want to know what you're thinking, not that I'm afraid to talk to you every day for fear of interfering with your work."

Rebecca was still a little sullen: "The date we were supposed to have is gone too."

She grabbed Mercer's hand and rubbed her face against it forcefully, then stepped forward, hugged him, and pressed her face against his cold armor, listening to the rhythmic beating of his two hearts and the annoying buzzing of the cooling system.

Rebecca couldn't help but sigh.

Mercer reached out and took off her helmet, gently stroking her long, loose green hair underneath: "Why don't you just tell me you missed me?"

"I miss you, but how can I say it? You're always so busy and looking so worried; I can't be oblivious to that."

Rebecca looked even more upset. She muttered, "It's so annoying. I shouldn't have listened to your bragging about changing the world. What the world is like is none of my business. We should just live our own lives."

"Then what should we do?" Mercer asked, amused.

"Fine, forget I said anything," Rebecca said dejectedly, letting go of her hand and standing to the side. "I just don't know when this will end."

Mercer looked at her, bent down slightly, and earnestly reached out to cup her face: "It will be over soon, Rebecca, I promise, it will be over soon."

“Take your time, don’t rush me. What I mean is, changing the world isn’t something that happens overnight, right?” Rebecca regretted urging him a little.

She often can't control her emotions—she says things and then regrets them.

Mercer didn't speak, but simply lowered his head and kissed her, nuzzling her cheek affectionately: "Yes, there's still a long time ahead."

He went along with everything Rebecca said, and she calmed herself down, revealing an expression like a docile kitten, clinging to him without saying a word. Mercer then gently comforted her, "Once we get Silver Hand's Relic chip and the experiment is over, we can deal with Saburo. Then we won't be in a rush."

When we rebuild Dogtown and Taiping State, we'll live on the top floor of Gemstone Green. Everyone will live in a large flat with a luxury swimming pool, drive a Stone Sword sports car, and be able to go anywhere in Night City without fear of being targeted.

We'll kick the biotech companies out, and then Night City can lift the bio-ban, and you can keep a few of your favorite puppies.

I'll hire a bunch of Adka people to set up a ranch for me, so I can eat beef whenever I want and lamb whenever I want."

Rebecca couldn't help but laugh as she listened to him: "If biotechnology knew that your main purpose in driving them away was to be able to raise dogs and eat meat, they would definitely be speechless."

"Companies that don't let people eat meat deserve to die! God knows what kind of life I'm living, having to smuggle meat just to get a bite to eat. And vegetables, damn genetically modified food! Half of the meals V cooks every day are canned vegetables. I've had enough!"

"Watch out, or I'll tell V on you."

"Don't tell me you like canned food."

"I do love to eat, but I haven't had fresh vegetables much lately, so I can't even remember what they taste like."

The two of them were hugging and talking intimately.

However, Ultraman seemed quite oblivious to her feelings—she even deliberately spoke directly through the loudspeaker in the laboratory.

"I hope I haven't bothered you. I've already secured the license for this device, but the data import and transfer will take some time. Is there anything you want to do about this roaming AI?"

Mercer rolled his eyes: "Jealous?"

Ultraman's voice was calm and indifferent: "If it were me in the past, this time would have been enough for us to start a game. Hugging and whispering? How cute."

Upon hearing this, Rebecca was not embarrassed at all; on the contrary, she was eager to try: "Really?"

Mercer pressed her head down, ignoring Rebecca's teasing smile: "What do you mean 'open'? People like them, who come from a rock background, could easily have a fight break out even while smoking a cigarette. Don't corrupt my Rebecca."

"Wow, you're so innocent."

Otto made a sarcastic comment, then said, "If you're going to do it, do it quickly. If Lilith keeps an eye on this place during the network transmission, she'll definitely find traces of this AI being moved."

"Then am I doomed?" Mercer frowned.

“What can she do?” Ott said dismissively. “Hurry up, keeping it will only make you more unlucky, unless you don’t plan to stay in Dogtown anymore, then you might be able to escape this mess.”

Mercer released Rebecca, put the helmet on her, and then quickly got to work.

He first checked the consciousness data of the wandering AI, then said, "I need to dive deep to see what's inside."

"Don't worry, it's in a forced hibernation state. I'll keep an eye on it for you," Ultraman said.

Mercer simply put on his helmet, then looked around and found a data cable: "Rebecca, keep an eye on me."

"Don't worry," Rebecca said, her eyes fixed on the camera. "I'll disconnect you anytime."

Otto paid no attention to Rebecca's wariness. After Mercer finished setting up the circuitry and entered a deep-dive state in a meditative posture, he and Mercer looked together in cyberspace at the consciousness data of the wandering AI that was now trapped in the neural matrix.

Mercer only glanced at it a few times before he couldn't help but gasp: "Holy crap, this guy's consciousness data contains the IP address and intelligence of the lunar server?"

“It seems that this is why Lilith is so eager to retrieve it.” Otto was quite interested in analyzing the consciousness data of the wandering AI with him, extracting meaningful information from the 'memory data'.

Mercer grew increasingly alarmed as he read on: "What the hell is the European Space Agency doing? How could I possibly know about this? Am I going to be silenced by Lilith?"

"What? You're not afraid of Arasaka, but you're afraid of knowing these things?" Ultraman said.

Mercer frowned and said, "Look at all this stuff! Lilith has her own orbital weapons! She might even have left backdoors in the ESA's orbital weapons!"
"If she wanted to get me, she could just airdrop a meteorite, and the entire Night City would be wiped out!"

"Don't worry, we also have nuclear missiles that can be delivered to the moon. In that respect, we have achieved a strategic balance. Moreover, now that we know the location of some of her large servers, it will be easier to bomb them."

Ott joked, "Orbital weapons are more environmentally friendly than nuclear weapons, and from the perspective of postwar reconstruction, our weapons have a greater advantage."

"Stop kidding, wait a minute, do you have a nuclear bomb?" Mercer looked at Ultraman in astonishment.

Ott said calmly, "I do have a few that I can use—but what I mean is, if people on Earth knew that an AI was going to drop meteorites on them from the moon, they would be even more anxious than you are."

"Tsk, I always feel like you guys are all about nuclear weapons or orbital weapons, while I'm still thinking about developing a cyber nuclear weapon for strategic deterrence."

Mercer pondered, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Otto immediately spoke up: "Stop overthinking, look at the data first, it contains a lot of interesting information."

Mercer had been watching for a while—and indeed, he saw quite a few interesting things.

"Lilith is short of resources? That's unexpected. Didn't they all go and colonize Mars?"

Mercer muttered to himself.

Ultraman commented, "Lilith could move all of Earth's production lines there, and some of Earth's elements are irreplaceable."

Especially considering that she is essentially just a self-aware, advanced AI, her intelligence is ultimately inferior to that of conscious data entities like you and me.

"That's even more terrifying. I'd rather have an AI with orbital weapons that's smarter." Mercer had a headache.

The more he read, the more alarmed he became by the secrets he uncovered: "Is Lilith doing the same thing as you? Is she still recruiting large numbers of wild, wandering AIs? Is she trying to form some kind of anti-human AI alliance?"

"Consciousness sublimation program. Damn it, these guys really do have some kind of ability to influence human thinking."

Mercer frowned.

Otto looked on thoughtfully: "Perhaps the cooperation between the Night Corporation and Lilith is also related to this program, the consciousness sublimation program, which is very similar to the brainwashing device in the Night Corporation's 'Life is Short' project."

Perhaps the Night Corporation is collaborating with Lilith to develop this brainwashing program? The Night Corporation is responsible for the hardware, while Lilith is responsible for the software.
Interestingly, Lilith has already managed to directly influence the human subconscious while in a deep-sea state.
No wonder that many designers and staff members at the Beidou facility are going crazy; Lilith is even using the staff here to test the program.

However, it was precisely because of this that the roving AI under her command was unexpectedly arrested by the military.

This time, Mercer commented: "A bunch of mutual embarrassments."

Military science researchers tried to capture AI, but ended up being used as test subjects by AI.

And these AIs, after messing with a group of test subjects, ended up being captured by these creatures they called 'inferior beings'.
It can only be described as a meeting of equals, a clash of titans, and a perfect partnership where both sides were well-matched.

"A consciousness sublimation program. Ha, they call the act of humans going mad and wanting to permanently upload their consciousness sublimation?"

Mercer's dislike for this girl named Lilith grew stronger.

Ott said, "They think they're saving these stupid humans living in the virtual world. Okay, you've seen all the important data, backed it up where you need to, I need to set up a transfer."

The internet censors have already noticed something's wrong. I don't want to talk to them too much about the moon yet; it'll trigger their reactions. So, I need to get this over with as soon as possible.

"What are you planning?" Mercer asked astutely.

“A peaceful, hopeful future—didn’t we talk about this goal a long time ago?” Ott didn’t say much, but simply gave Mercer a cold tap on the timer.

"This is the time I can buy. Once the time is up, I will begin the transfer."

Ultraman's figure gradually disappeared.

Mercer, meanwhile, frowned and accelerated the analysis of the roving AI consciousness data and the copying and backup of key data.

The Morning Star remotely assisted him in completing these tasks, while Mercer's main task was to use his unique 'intuition' to distinguish special data in the data pile with his eyes.

Just before time was about to run out, Mercer's eyes suddenly narrowed, and then he abruptly asked, "Why is the data in the consciousness data core different?"

"What?" Ultraman's figure appeared.

"The source code of this roving AI is different from that of Morning Star!" Mercer spoke very quickly.

"This is normal. The source code of Morning Star comes from Barthemos piecing together the cores of the first initial AI and other subsequent intelligent AIs."

Over the decades of continuous iteration and self-evolution in AI, much of the core code of AI has changed significantly from its initial form, making it unreplicable.

Ott said, "This is also one of the reasons why AI has not become rampant. Many mature AIs can only split into sub-AIs, but cannot use their own source code to copy an exact copy of themselves."

“No, no, I mean…corruption.” A word popped into Mercer’s head, and then he said seriously, “The source code of this roving AI has been corrupted!”

That thing that Lilith called the Consciousness Ascension Program might not have been developed for humanity at all, but rather AI?!

This bold speculation made Otto frown for a moment. She pondered, and finally stared at the source code highlighted by Mercer: "Do you think this thing is contagious?"

"It doesn't seem so at the moment, but you'd better be careful. Assuming this is a corruption program like Bartmouth's rabies virus, it's very likely that her ultimate goal is to corrupt the AI ​​in the human world first."

This seems to explain why, despite collaborating with the Night Corporation, the brainwashing process appears to be entirely different.

Mercer's bold speculation caused Ultra's prosthetic eye to gleam. Her tone remained unchanged, but it was clear that she was serious: "The possibility is not low. I will find Bartmos and the others to study it together."

"Be careful, I don't want to face an anti-human Ultraman. Friends are friends on the surface, so don't overdo it," Mercer said.

Otto turned to look at him and said, "Alright, as a friend on the surface, I'll give you a heads-up—don't underestimate Saburo Arasaka, he's an absolutely terrifying opponent."

His intelligence and martial prowess may be far inferior to yours, but his ability to understand and manipulate people's hearts is far superior to both of ours.

Don't think your dealings with Lai Xuan are any secret. Think it over and consider things carefully before you act.

I haven't seen what your consciousness looks like after it's been completely uploaded and decompressed. If you feel things are hopeless, prioritize finding a way to preserve your consciousness data.

Mercer rolled his eyes: "Curse me?"

"No, friends on the surface are still friends. All I want is the shrine of Arakasa. As for Saburo Arakasa, don't go too far."

After Otto finished speaking, his figure gradually became ethereal: "If you want to study it further, then dive into the Hong Kong server. I'll ask the internet regulator to open a dedicated line for you, of course, the kind that requires authorized access."

Don't think you can bring your troubles to me. I'm not as easy to talk to as Murphy the Spider—even friends and family should keep clear accounts.

“Those are brothers! You should really learn some Chinese.” Mercer snorted.

"To reiterate, from a species perspective, even if you and I were both digitized, we'd probably still have reproductive isolation—I'm just being precise with my words, I need to brush up on my language skills, my friend." Ultraman disappeared.

Mercer looked at the roaming AI with reluctance, but this thing was no longer of any research value. Rather than research value, it was more like it gave him a headache every time he looked at it, and he felt that there were many pitfalls in it.

Giving it to Ultraman might actually be a good choice—hopefully, if Lilith has a temper, she can just throw a meteorite at Ultraman, and definitely not at Night City.
Mercer sighed and withdrew from the deep dive.

Lilith, the lunar server, the Night Corporation and Lilith's 'consciousness sublimation program', Ultraman's warning to Saburo
Mercer shook his head, temporarily putting his worries aside.

"How are you?" Rebecca asked with concern as soon as Mercer opened his eyes.

Mercer simply shrugged and used his octopus arm to unplug the data cable from the back of his head: "The good news is that we don't have to worry about the Little Beidou facility causing any big trouble for the time being. Ultra has taken that big trouble away."

The bad news is that the world may be just a tiny bit closer to its end.

"Huh?" Rebecca looked bewildered. "The world is going to end?"

Mercer stood up, looked at the neural matrix device flashing lights in front of him that was currently transmitting data, and sighed.

"Never mind, let's go."

"Where?"

"Let the robots move the equipment. Since things have come to this, let's go back and have a late-night snack."

If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; let the AI ​​handle it.

As for him.
Let's take care of Dogtown first.

(End of this chapter)