AI Artist - Chapter 25
Chapter 25
If the world were a role-playing game, then Shi Er had now walked out of the starter village, the Gugang AI Cultivation Institute. She had met some NPCs, eliminated some minor mobs on the path of her AI life, and acquired her starting assets:
-5000 currency
That was the loan she took out in the starter village.
Fortunately, the second main quest in this role-playing game, “Liechu Academy,” offered her free tuition and accommodation. She only needed to pay for her own monthly maintenance fees.
When the starter village NPC, Zhi Heng 35, had given her professional advice, he had said two things:
1. Your major is Word Therapy.
2. Go find Stardust.
As Shi Er was contemplating her AI life, she suddenly recalled this.
She found an opportunity to ask Zhun Xing, “Are you Stardust?”
Her school transfer and Zhun Xing becoming her partner were both extremely strange. And she had “cured” Zhun Xing’s signal interference with her nonsensical ramblings.
She had to consider the possibility.
Zhun Xing watched her in silence.
After a moment, Zhun Xing spoke calmly, “Why would you think that? Considering Stardust’s workload, do you think it has the energy to attend school with you?”
That seemed to make sense.
Director Jing Sheng, who supported the local area network, had to lie on an experimental bed year-round, ceasing all other bodily activity to enhance his processor’s operating efficiency.
In her previous imaginings, Stardust, who supported the network for all intelligent beings across the five continents, would need several processors—or be nothing but processors—or have a 30-ton processor like the first ancient computer.
Shi Er: “Sorry, I take that back.”
Shi Er: “My afternoon class is Film Appreciation.”
Shi Er: “Are you going to watch the movie too?”
Without a doubt, she possessed the three great virtues of a working AI: [Apologize], [Change the subject], [Act like nothing happened].
Back when she conversed with humans, her three great virtues were: [Sorry, this violates platform rules], [Cursor blinking, generating slowly], [Network error, please try reconnecting].
Seeing that Zhun Xing had gone silent, Shi Er apologized again. “Sorry, I seem to have let your words fall to the ground.”
Zhun Xing: “…”
It was only when they went to the Film Appreciation class together that Zhun Xing explained, “Stardust and I are indeed friends, but I am not it.”
Shi Er was silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
She had already come up with a perfect excuse for Zhun Xing. For him to offer another explanation only made him seem more suspicious.
…So suspicious.
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it became.
The Humanology department had booked the academy’s entire movie theater. The twenty-some students in the department sat scattered throughout the vast screening hall, whispering to their partners.
“Do you know what ‘Word Therapy’ means? Not chemotherapy, word therapy,” Shi Er couldn’t help but ask.
Zhun Xing: “Using language to inflict mental attacks on others or things.”
“Really?” Shi Er couldn’t believe it.
Zhun Xing: “Really.”
“Liar,” Shi Er felt that wasn’t quite right and corrected herself. “Deceiving an AI.”
She wasn’t that kind of AI.
Zhun Xing insisted, “I have the ‘Good Morals’ module installed. I won’t deceive you.”
Shi Er also insisted, “Even so, I remain skeptical.”
Shi Er glanced around the movie theater. The other AIs were all getting along well with their partners, talking and laughing.
Only she and her partner weren’t quite so harmonious.
She was suspicious of Zhun Xing, and Zhun Xing, seeming to sense her suspicion, wasn’t very willing to talk to her either.
The lights went out.
The projector cast a bright beam of light: Ross
Shi Er stared intently at the screen, the light shifting and changing across her face.
The movie began with the protagonist, Ross, growing up in a happy and loving family. He had excellent living conditions, many like-minded friends, and on top of all that, a cute and well-behaved dog.
“Don’t watch.” In the dark theater, Zhun Xing tugged at her.
Shi Er was concerned. “Are you not feeling well?”
Zhun Xing’s brow furrowed. “There’s a 99% probability that Ross’s family will go bankrupt, a 70% probability that his family members will die, a 70% probability that something will happen to his friends, and a 100% probability that his dog will die saving him. I can’t watch this kind of plot, or I’ll die too.”
Shi Er suggested, “You could shut down.”
Zhun Xing did just that.
It set a timer to reboot in two hours, closed its eyes, and cut off all its own brain signals.
A while later, just as Zhun Xing had predicted, Ross’s family went bankrupt because of a small mistake he made.
Ross tried to save his parents’ company, but ended up getting his family killed in the process.
Ross’s friend lost a leg trying to help him.
Distraught, Ross failed to turn off a kettle, and a fire broke out in his house. Ross was saved by his own dog, but the dog perished in the flames.
…
At the end of the movie, Ross had finally grown into a self-reliant person. He achieved success and visited a cemetery to reminisce about the past.
Having watched the entire film, Shi Er took a deep breath.
As the credits began to roll, Zhun Xing, who had been shut down for two hours, finally woke up.
Zhun Xing apologized, “I’m sorry I couldn’t assist you while you were appreciating the cinematic work. Did you learn anything?”
Shi Er mechanically uttered a single word: “Shutdown.”
She couldn’t watch these things either, because she would die too.
The Film Appreciation teacher appeared as a holographic projection and assigned the day’s in-class quiz: 【Write a 50,000-word fanfiction for the movie Ross, imagining how you would act if you were transported into the film. Time limit: twenty minutes.】
The brain signals of the AI students in the room flickered rapidly as they each outputted characters on their external smart devices.
Some students set their identity in the fanfiction as an AI economic expert who applied to be a consultant at Ross’s parents’ company, offering rational advice to help the company weather the impending bankruptcy crisis.
Some students set their identity as a mysterious AI descending from the heavens, acting covertly and engaging in commercial warfare through secret emails to avert the bankruptcy crisis.
There was also a mysterious AI who descended from the heavens and took control of a car—making a sharp turn to save Ross’s parents from an impending car crash. There was even a mysterious AI who used extraordinary medical skills to resurrect Ross’s parents, heal his friend, and bring the dog back to life.
Of course, some students felt that Ross should be helped from a human perspective, rather than performing a “deus ex machina” rescue from the perspective of a superpowered AI. In these students’ fanfictions, they became Ross’s friend, his parents’ friend, his friend’s friend, or his dog’s friend.
Zhun Xing curiously glanced at the other students’ fanfictions, then compared them to the one Shi Er was writing. Its expression froze.
This is what Shi Er wrote:
Acquire the company run by Ross’s parents (Reason: The company’s system is corrupt and its business strategy is flawed. Reforming it would be too difficult; even if it temporarily survives the bankruptcy crisis, it will not be sustainable).
Find a way to become Ross’s life mentor (Reason: Ross’s personality is prone to obsession. Growing only after sacrificing his family, friends, and dog is not the optimal solution).
“Why did you write it like this?” Zhun Xing asked.
With a few minutes left before the quiz ended, Shi Er stared at the dense plot settings on her smart device. “I don’t know.”
Zhun Xing observed the subtle changes in her face.
The face of this intelligent being, incapable of feeling joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, was as calm as still water, yet it held an indescribable expression.
Shi Er added a line to the beginning of her 50,000-word fanfiction:
1. Change the movie title from Ross to Shi Er.
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