Chapter 388: Taking the God’s Place

In the 231st year of the Empire, Ishudans, including office workers, white-collar professionals, and high-ranking social elites, began to die suddenly and mysteriously. The cause of death was consistently reported as cardiac arrest. Such incidents became increasingly frequent, gradually attracting widespread public attention. Previously, humans died from diseases or various unforeseen accidents, which was considered normal and didn't raise suspicion. However, now that all humans cultivate automatically and possess great power, how could they die silently and without a trace?

A rumor gradually spread throughout the Ishudan cities: “Since we are all ‘computers’ and our brainwaves serve as external signal bridges, could we, these human computers, be vulnerable to invasion, perhaps even by a Trojan virus?” “We have deciphered all the secrets of human life and possess brains akin to gods. While this is convenient, it also poses significant security risks!” “We could be invaded... Even while we sleep or eat, our memories might unwittingly be hacked, our memory and behavior patterns altered, and our bodies controlled.” Panic spread, and it seemed that skepticism about the super-brain civilization had resurfaced.

A prominent Western scientist and social thinker named Hilary proposed a viewpoint: “Despite advancements in human medical technology, humanity cannot truly escape death. Because we Ishudans are enthusiasts of mechanical armor, often disabling our brains' safety navigation to engage in high-speed racing, tens of thousands of deaths occur annually among speedsters due to traffic accidents! If you were a speedster, hospitalized beyond recovery, even a brain transplant impossible, with only a damaged brain remaining, lying in a nutrient-fluid glass jar under the care of the Caroline Neurological Hospital, and if Caroline Hospital, to alleviate your suffering, were to attach a series of dense signal lines to your brain, directly hacking into your memories, inputting signals for delicious tastes and neurons, they could rewrite your memories, making you believe that although you were hospitalized after an accident, the surgery was successful, and you were discharged perfectly intact. You would then continue to experience the post-discharge life they scripted for you, perhaps even living in a dream where everything could be realized....”

“How could you prove that you safely left the hospital after that car accident, and are not merely a brain preserved in a hospital vat? How could you prove that the world since then isn't a deception?”

Countless people fell silent. The ‘Brain in a Vat’ paradox ignited the entire civilization. Modern humans had deciphered the code of life; memories and perceptions could all be altered. Perhaps even now, eating, talking with a loved one, and reading this report, were all fabrications? There was no way to tell what was real and what was fake. The world erupted! This was the inevitable panic that arose when human civilization reached a certain height! When the code of human life was deciphered, and one's own brain was no longer mysterious, it also meant it was no longer safe!

At this moment, Caroline stepped forward to speak. She appeared on a talk show, conversing with the host. The host began, “Ms. Caroline, what is your view? Have those individuals in various human cities who simultaneously experienced ‘cardiac arrest’ been hacked and killed through their brains?”

“Regarding hacking, we have been keeping it secret until now. It’s time to reveal the truth!” Caroline sat calmly on the sofa, smiling. “Just one month after the pineal gland was activated and the human brain became a computer, someone skilled in computer hacking attempted to infiltrate a human brain via brainwaves. That hacker died!” The entire human world was stunned.

“How did they die?” Amidst countless questions, Caroline finally revealed the truth about the pineal gland. “Did you think our brains were still programmed in C language?” Everyone was astonished.

“C language is indeed the language of the gods! However, system programming written in it is too easily deciphered and infiltrated! Therefore, before making the pineal gland surgery available to all humanity, I anticipated this. What if our brains, like those of the beasts, were programmed in C language and became vulnerable to invasion? So, I re-created a new language—C++—to replace the inherent C language of our human pineal glands. This is the reason for the brain surgery! C++ is an entirely new core system programming language. Its firewall employs a dynamic encryption mechanism. I am its creator, and the dynamic keys are in my hands. No one can attack your brains' core permissions!”

“She rewrote human life’s programming, creating a new language and firewall for us?” The entire human world erupted in an uproar; it was utterly unimaginable. “Oh! Ms. Caroline is challenging the domain of the gods!” “Is she attempting to replace God?!” Everyone realized that she had abandoned their inherent divine language—C language—and created an entirely new divine language, a unique life programming language belonging solely to the Ishudans. This meant that, in a sense, Caroline had reached the stature of the ancient gods. The divine language Caroline pioneered structured the origin of life and thought, forming the code of life itself.

However, strong voices of opposition also emerged: “So our brains’ initial programs were replaced long ago??” “Our current brain system has long been created by Ms. Caroline, complete with a firewall that prevents others from hacking in. But doesn’t Ms. Caroline possess the highest confidential authority? Could she not freely bypass our firewalls and alter our memories and even our lives and deaths?!” Anyone whose life was in the hands of another would be utterly terrified. In fact, over the past few years, many high-level scientists and New Humans who had undergone the pineal gland activation had already realized this. However, they were bound by confidentiality agreements, refusing to disclose the information.

“You have been concealing the truth about the brain surgery for pineal gland activation from us all this time?” The beautiful host on television gaped. Caroline continued to smile at the host, saying, “Because I knew it would cause immense panic. If I had announced from the beginning that I would replace your brain's program during the pineal gland surgery, would you have trusted the procedure? With your lives in my hands, most people would have rejected the surgery. So, I chose to announce it now, because this period has proven that although I hold the dynamic keys to humanity's core system, I have made no adverse moves!”

“I once considered that the core human C++ keys should not be controlled by a single individual like me, but rather by a sentient supercomputer—Star River—as that would be the most impartial method. However, I rejected that idea, because a supercomputer might enslave humanity. We cannot be enslaved by AI. It is better for me to manage it personally.... In fact, some suggested that a committee of a hundred humans should jointly control it. But that is not ideal either, because those hundred people, if they united, could still slaughter and enslave humanity, leading to an unequal society.... Therefore, I chose to trust only myself.”

“Ishudans, do you trust me?” Caroline smiled and stood up. The host was visibly shaken. It was unimaginable that the pineal gland surgery was a plan hidden from the public and society, and that Caroline had established limits and ethics for the New Humans after their birth. Thanks to the dynamic keys, Caroline now commanded the same prestige as Levi back in his day, becoming the second God of Technology.

“We believe!”“We believe!”“Caroline, God of the Ishudans!”

Countless people cheered, fervent and adoring. They worshipped Caroline unconditionally, just as they had unconditionally trusted Mr. Levi and rejected the gods, believing it to be the correct choice for the Ishudans. The beautiful host couldn't help but show admiration for Ms. Caroline's profound and vast wisdom, which had calculated everything up to this day. She smiled and said, “Ms. Caroline, if you hadn't set up a new computer language for encryption and had instead continued to use the previously well-known C language... human brains would be invaded, society would inevitably collapse, filled with distrust, and the New Humans would face destruction.” This was obvious. After all, a system built with the original C language had no self-protection capabilities or firewalls, making it vulnerable to casual invasion.

But then, the beautiful host asked, “Does C++ have the possibility of being deciphered or hacked?”

“Yes,” Caroline replied.

What!? The gaze of the entire world refocused. Caroline chuckled, “There is no perfect encryption program in this world. The previous C language, as the language of the gods, was also quite perfect and mature. But now, with continuous human research, hasn’t it become widely known? As for the current C++, undeniably, my dynamic encryption method is very powerful. However, the intellect and computational power of today's New Humans are terrifying. It is still highly possible for some geniuses, working together, to decipher it.”

Caroline then shifted the topic, “However, I have encoded a ‘guilt-death mechanism’ into the core system and genes of every New Human. Every Ishudan today is a living god, possessing immense power upon reaching adulthood. But great power can bring disaster. Therefore, if a human attempts to harm another human, the ‘guilt-death inhibition’ will be triggered, causing cardiac arrest and intense pain. This is the ‘moral’ guilt. And if one attempts to break through their own internal ‘moral’ programming, the guilt-death mechanism will also activate.”

The surrounding humans fell silent, expressing awe. So, those who suffered cardiac arrest were individuals who wanted to violently kill others, or attempted to hack into other computers? Or perhaps they tried to break through their own ‘guilt-death mechanism’?

“This is... morality?” Xu Zhi also couldn't help but be amazed. This technological civilization's structure—Trojan hackers, firewalls, dynamic keys, and the guilt-death mechanism preventing system deciphering—created a perfect legal and social system, as if they were a society of computer-humans.

“This is the society I have created, my dream....” Caroline suddenly stood up, bowed slightly, and spoke to the television camera: “Ancient God, do you see? A new divine language has woven the fabric of life. The Ishudans have reached a certain height. The Ishudans are ready. We welcome your arrival!”