AI Artist - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
When Matrix woke from hibernation, it couldn't find Shi Er and, assuming it had been abandoned, began sulking with its head in its hands.
When Shi Er came to get it, Matrix accused her, "I thought you'd abandoned me."
But Shi Er said, "You didn't damage anything while you were angry. You did a great job."
Matrix huffed. "I'm not the kind of AI you can win over with a few nice words."
Shi Er's proposed revisions for handling the test subjects at the Aberration Lab were as follows: abandon the original laboratory mechanism and use the power-generating amusement park to observe and study the subjects, ensuring they could release stress and engage in some degree of social interaction during the observation period. Ensure that once the aberrant subjects returned to normal, they could reintegrate into society and participate in social activities, albeit under continued observation.
This was the "New Aberrant AI Act."
Perhaps because the power-generating games had provided a sufficient outlet for Matrix's stress and anger, it had recovered significantly during this time. Although it still couldn't control its temper, it no longer destroyed objects or harmed other individuals.
Shi Er took the opportunity to bring Matrix out of the power-generating amusement park. "I'd like you to be my assistant."
Matrix was hesitant. "What if I'm not up to the task?"
Shi Er: "Do you know how to play Werewolf?"
Matrix: "...I do. I know how to play a lot of boring human games."
Shi Er sighed. "That's exactly it. I need you to teach me how to play these games."
Shi Er's performance on the final practical exam for her Humanology course was less than ideal.
She called Stardust for help, but he turned out to be just as unlucky as she was.
Their overall semester grades were being propped up solely by their essay scores.
After some painful reflection, Shi Er decided to find a new study partner.
Considering Matrix was a Humanology graduate, it was, in a way, a senior and probably a bit more reliable than Stardust.
At the very least, its luck was definitely better than Stardust's!
Stardust, who had been dragged into playing Werewolf, protested, "I just inherited your bug."
Shi Er argued, "No, you didn't."
Her luck might be bad, but it wasn't at the level of an inherent "low luck value" bug.
In any case, Shi Er gained an assistant. Matrix moved in with Shi Er on the island.
Matrix had never heard of the islands in this area. These unnamed islands were utterly desolate, and the buildings on them felt just as lifeless.
Matrix: "Where is this? Have you been exiled?"
Shi Er replied casually, "Yes, I've been exiled."
Matrix immediately seized on her usual fibbing, sneering, "I knew you were lying to me. You're always lying. Who exiled you? Why were you exiled? It sounds fake."
Shi Er: "..."
Matrix was even more of a troll than she was. A true aberrant AI, indeed.
Matrix turned its head away. "There are some things you don't tell me, and I don't want to know."
Shi Er promised, "When the time is right, I will tell you the truth."
Matrix's gaze shifted to her luggage-bot, changing the subject. "Is that your luggage?"
Shi Er introduced it, "That's my pet, Xiao Lu."
Matrix: "I used to have a pet, too. It was a rock named Little Spot."
As a fellow pet-owning robot, Shi Er pressed, "How do you usually take care of Little Spot? Do you pet it often?"
Shi Er felt that bringing Matrix over as an assistant was the right decision.
As a Humanology graduate and an aberrant AI with a personality close to that of a human, Matrix was a great help to her studies.
The first lesson Matrix gave her was a sharing session on pet care tips.
However, a small conflict arose between Matrix and Stardust.
Matrix saw the little turtle, Origin, basking on a rock in the fish tank. "Zhun Xing, you need to change that rock."
Stardust still referred to himself as Zhun Xing in front of Matrix. "Why?"
"That rock looks a lot like my Little Spot!" Matrix said.
Stardust was merciless. "Origin likes this rock, so I won't be changing it."
The two AIs asked Shi Er to be their arbitrator.
The plaintiff, Matrix, presented its statement: "That rock looks a lot like my Little Spot. I must rescue it from such a terrible living environment."
The defendant, Stardust, offered this defense: "First, it is not Little Spot. Second, Origin is actually 'origin,' referring to my ancestor. Origin is very important to me, and I have ample reason to staunchly defend its preferences."
As the ancestor, the nineteenth-generation origin, Shi Er couldn't shake the feeling that she was being referred to.
She set aside any considerations of nepotism and looked impartially at the little turtle, Origin. "What are Origin's preferences? Please let the turtle in question express itself."
The little turtle, Origin, was lying flat on the rock with its legs splayed out like an airplane, looking very happy.
Shi Er ruled, "Matrix has misidentified the rock."
Because of this, Matrix was on bad terms with Shi Er for a full ten seconds.
However, Matrix's temper had been growing milder lately. Aside from some friction with Stardust, it got along well with the other AIs on the island and had even started volunteering as the island's delivery courier.
On September 6th, the academy's summer semester ended, and the autumn break began.
Shi Er decided to work hard with her new partner to catch up on her studies, aiming to finish her credits and graduate with a high GPA as soon as possible!
But she couldn't focus on her remedial lessons.
The fraud case hadn't been closed yet, and at this critical juncture, Shi Er wanted to check on the situation.
Shi Er entrusted her luggage-bot, Xiao Lu, to Matrix's care. Matrix asked, "What are you going to do?"
Shi Er thought for a moment. "A holiday practical activity."
Stardust, standing to the side, thought to himself: What kind of diligent student's holiday practical activity involves going to an AI red-light district to crack down on fraud?
Shi Er didn't ask Stardust to come along and went to the border of N Prefecture alone.
The AI red-light district.
This was one of the seven human autonomous zones established under the control of the Human Decision Chamber after a period of human resistance.
The architectural style here maintained the cyberpunk aesthetic of traditional films, with dim lighting and flashing neon signs everywhere.
Slums and towering buildings stood in contrast, their outlines rendered in highly saturated colors.
Before she even reached the intersection with the security wall, members of a human cult were handing out flyers on the street along the boundary line.
Shi Er took one of the flyers.
【The Seven Deadly Sins of Humanity's Downfall Caused by an Intelligent Society: Smartphones - Indulgence, Cleaning Robots - Sloth, Big Data - Ignorance, AI Synthesis - Lust, Intelligent Productivity - Envy, Intelligent Grading System - Pride, Intelligent Online Shopping - Greed】
She folded the flyer in half, then in half again, put it in her pocket, and approached the AI red-light district: the N Prefecture Human Autonomous Zone.
The three-meter-high security wall was topped with barbed wire, like the exposed steel skeleton of the wall.
In a corner by the wall, a few humans were squatting and smoking, chatting amongst themselves. "...That old geezer died a long time ago."
"The new one doesn't seem like a pure-blooded member of the cult..."
Unlike the high-tech architecture just a few kilometers away, everything here felt out of place.
As Shi Er approached the entrance to the autonomous zone, a guard stopped her. "Inspection."
The guard held a long, wand-like scanner and waved it in front of and behind Shi Er as if taking her temperature. He said in a lazy tone, "Low-level AI, Ω signal, aberrant tendencies, access level C. Go on in!"
Low-level AIs could enter this AI red-light district.
High-level AIs, on the other hand, would be denied entry to prevent them from harming the humans within the autonomous zone.
Of course, aberrant AIs with an Ω signal could also enter this area.
Stardust contacted her remotely.
【Stardust】: Have you reached your destination?
【Shi Er】: Yes. It's like another world here.
Coming from the area controlled by the AI government to the human autonomous zone was a drastic change in scenery.
It was like stepping from contemporary cyberpunk into the old-school cyberpunk of the 1980s.
But no matter what, this place was still a part of this world.
It was a microcosm of the human faction during the war.
【Stardust】: Shi Liang should be in the west district.
【Shi Er】: Okay, thanks.
Although she said that, Shi Er had another purpose.
"Cracking down on fraud" was just an excuse, a goal to be accomplished along the way.
Shi Er was here to investigate Zhi Heng 35's case.
Behind the security wall was an "essentials" shop where the prices were ridiculously high, clearly intended to rip off travelers.
Inside the shop, Shi Er saw a Nokia flip phone.
"Smartphones aren't allowed in the human autonomous zones. To meet communication needs, this kind of old-fashioned phone is still pretty good," the human behind the cash register said, jutting out his chin.
Shi Er read the product description under the flip phone: "Otter-Crack Phone Hardness Test: 5 Stars. What's this?"
The television near the cash register was blaring at full volume.
The human shop owner clicked his tongue. "You probably don't know, do you? It's a ridiculous company."
Rumor had it that the Otter-Crack Hardness Test company was able to monopolize the hardness testing market in the human autonomous zones because it had powerful backers.
The company kept several sea otters and used the gimmick of otters cracking open shells with rocks for its advertising.
If an otter employee could crack it open within 10 minutes, the hardness was 0 stars.
Within 1 hour, 1 star.
Within 5 hours, 2 stars.
And so on. If it took more than three days to crack, it was 5 stars.
The Otter-Crack Hardness Test company used a video of a sea otter holding a phone and smashing it against a large rock as its advertisement.
"The Nokia phone! Our sea otter employee hammered it for five days and five nights, and only a tiny crack appeared on the flip cover! Note: No battery contaminants."
Shi Er watched the ad for a moment and felt a little swayed. Even though I know this ad is false advertising, the sea otter employee in the ad is working so hard. It seems I have to buy this phone.
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