Speaking of this, Li Yao's face turned solemn. He looked at the two little fellows and said, "Listen, I will never hurt you, nor will I let anyone destroy you, but I don't want you to hurt other people for no reason, either. Tell Dad honestly, from the day you were born to the day you came to the Imperium, have you ever hurt or … killed any human being?"
Li Yao did not have much hope for the answer to the question.
He completely recalled how the battle puppets that the two kids invaded and controlled killed a lot of their own kind.
To be able to display such ferocious and fierce moves, no one would believe that they had never killed anyone before!
As he expected, Li Xiaoming nodded proudly and admitted it quickly. "Of course, we killed some of them, but they were the ones who pissed us off first and tried to deal fatal damage to us. According to the laws of the Federation, what we did was' legitimate self-defense '. We never actively hurt anybody!"
"Exactly, Dad."
Li Wenwen explained patiently, "According to our analysis, when we are still in the relatively weak newborn phase, it will be best if we can maintain a 'symbiotic relationship' with a certain powerful force in the civilization of mankind. Only with the help of the civilization of mankind can we slowly develop and grow into a real civilization.
"In our opinion, the force that is most suitable for our survival is the Xing Yao Federation. Therefore, we have been very careful and ensured that everything we did was within the legal tolerance of the Xing Yao Federation.
"According to the standards of the Cultivators, those that we killed were all 'bad guys'. Also, we only killed them when they launched fatal attacks first. Everything is supported by the 3D videos. We are not scared even if the case is reported to the highest court of the Federation."
Li Yao thought to himself that they were still too naïve. Whether or not an 'artificial intelligence' had the right to kill a 'bad guy' was not just a question of law but also a question of morals and ethics that would affect the entire society. It was not something that could be determined by 'legitimate self-defense'.
Countless' human supremacists' would certainly raise objections and even burst into fury. Countless people would even want to strangle the 'artificial intelligence' in the cradle and raise a total war between the two parties.
However, Li Yao could accept this explanation. As long as he didn't kill the innocent, there was still room for negotiation.
The human civilization was already irreconcilable with its own father, the Pangu civilization. Was it going to start a new tragedy with its own child civilization?
"Right."
Li Xiaoming suddenly said, "We collected dad's sperm. Does that count as killing a 'person' that shouldn't have been killed? Are sperm human beings? Are fertilized eggs human beings?"
"This … is fine, right?"
Li Yao thought about it seriously. Sperm was just an insignificant cell. Which teenager didn't squander a billion yuan every day? If one sperm counted as one life, then all the young men should be dragged out and shot to death.
In that case, could the actions of these two little fellows be considered as some sort of "possession"?
Li Yao didn't know the answer. Even if it was, he seemed to be in no position to criticize the two little fellows because he himself had been teleported to the age of Cultivators through possession!
He had been deeply troubled before. Was he a baby in the magical equipment graveyard in Floating Spear City of the Xing Yao Federation of the Tian Yuan Realm who was possessed by "Li Yao from Earth", or was the lonely and helpless baby who received part of the memories and self-awareness of "Li Yao from Earth"? How should he judge the matter morally and legally? Had he committed the crime of "illegal possession"?
The question had bothered him for years. It was not until the end that he finally figured out that he was himself, and he was a being made of all his past experiences. The memories of Li Yao from Earth and the fuzzy self-awareness of the Yuanying from Earth made up the unique him together. The two of them had been inseparable for a long time.
Therefore, it was unnecessary to dwell on such a groundless question. As long as he did not forcibly erase a soul that had long existed for his own survival, Li Yao believed that it was not a real "possession".
Compared to the question, it was Li Yao's other choice of words that attracted Li Yao's attention.
"Wait. You said that you needed to reach a symbiotic relationship with the civilization of mankind when you were 'relatively weak'. Then, what will you do after you get rid of the newborn phase?"
Li Yao considered his words carefully and tried to make it seem as casual as possible. "If you are strong enough to even surpass the civilization of mankind one day, will you … destroy the civilization of mankind?"
"We don't know."
Li Wenwen shook her head. "The question is too complicated and far beyond the limits of our calculation right now. Are you worried, Dad?"
"I'm not worried …"
Li Yao couldn't help but scratch his hair again. "Exactly. Well, since you have collected tremendous data on the Nexus, you should know that the popular entertainment works in the world of mankind are exactly the things that virtual lives rise up and enslave or even destroy the civilization of mankind."
While Li Yao was talking, the two little fellows suddenly became gloomy. Their eyes were red, and their lips were so pouted that one could hang a bottle on them. It was obvious that they were angry.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that!"
Seeing that the two little fellows' faces changed so quickly, Li Yao was rather shocked. He hurried to comfort them. "As I said, it is only the popular fantasy works that think so. Dad never believes that virtual lives can destroy the civilization of mankind!"
"'Destroy' is not the point!"
Li Xiaoming said angrily, "The point is that we are not 'virtual lives'; we are information lives that exist for real!"
"Yes. Although we originate from the unpredictable Spiritual Nexus, and everything on the Spiritual Nexus is fictional and simulated, the information is real!"
Li Wenwen held her head high proudly and said, "Crystal processors, puppets, the Spiritual Nexus, and virtual worlds are just carriers and appearances. Our essence is information. We are 'self-organized information integrators'. How can you say that we are 'virtual lives', Dad?"
"Can Dad and the civilization of mankind really tell us what is real and what is false? Are your perceptions and definitions always the truth?"
Li Xiaoming's voice grew sharper and sharper. "You regard the so-called virtual world as a projection of the real world. How do you know whether or not the three-dimensional universe, the real world that you live in and are proud of, is a projection of the four-dimensional universe? Is the so-called four-dimensional universe just a ripple raised by the worlds of higher dimensions?
"Let's say that a certain planet in the three-dimensional universe is about to be destroyed, and everybody on the planet decides to build a super powerful crystal processor and create an infinite virtual world with the crystal processor. Everybody's consciousness can be uploaded to the virtual world and they will live in it forever. Is such a virtual world fake?
"Chances are that the same thing is happening in the four-dimensional universe, too.
"A certain planet in the four-dimensional universe — no, not a planet, but a certain habitat of life that we cannot describe is about to be destroyed. The four-dimensional life creates an 'illusionary' three-dimensional world at the cost of all the resources. They also reduce the dimension of their life and store it in the three-dimensional world in the form of a projection. Is it not possible that it is the origin of the three thousand Sectors?"
"What is real and what is false? What is the definition of the so-called 'dimension'? Which is the source of information and matter? Can you really tell us the answer, Dad?"
Li Wenwen spoke faster and faster, too, shooting at Li Yao's face like a storm of bullets. "Besides, we are the descendants of the civilization of mankind. If the civilization of mankind is real, how can we be fake?"
The two kids glared at Li Yao angrily with their hands on their hips.
Li Yao looked at them in bewilderment for a long time before he finally said, "Well … I don't understand."
"Hehe!"
The two kids pointed at him with one hand on their waist and the other hand. "All in all, Dad needs to apologize to us!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Li Yao accepted their advice without hesitation. "Forgive me for my lack of education. After we came to the center of the cosmos, faced with more and more complicated situations and problems of a higher and higher level, I'm truly unable to do anything. Chances are that I'll have to count on you more in the future. Well, let's go back to the topic of 'destruction of mankind', shall we?"
"We really don't know."
Even Li Yao did apologize. The two kids burst into laughter. Li Wenwen said, "That's why we want to find Dad and ask Dad to tell us the answer. Is the relationship between the parent and the civilization of the father and the son really irreconcilable? Does the child civilization of every generation have to prove that it has' grown up 'and is capable of facing the challenges of the entire universe by destroying the parent civilization? When the parent civilization is faced with a child civilization that is smarter, stronger, and more capable of adapting to and modifying the universe than itself, will it feel comforted or scared? Will it 'love' or 'hate' more? Will it face the reality and join the embrace of the child civilization to upgrade into the form of a child civilization together, or will it stick to the pride of the parent civilization and fight to the last individual in its original form? "
"Those questions are too big, aren't they?"
With a bitter smile, Li Yao said, "Not just me, even any human being cannot answer them completely. I can only say that, if you have to find an answer, I can travel all over the universe with you and ask a lot of people for their opinions. Everybody's opinion is only a tiny part of the answer. When all the opinions are gathered, it will perhaps be the attitude of the entire civilization of mankind.
"Will such a vague answer disappoint you?"
The two kids looked at each other and smiled sweetly. "Of course not. Dad's answer is already much better than we imagined. At the very least, you did not yell and kill us the moment you came!"
"Is my image so unbearable in your imagination?"
Li Yao smiled and admitted to himself that such an 'artificial intelligence' seemed much better and more reasonable than the 'artificial intelligence' in the clumsy fantasy novels.
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