The Upper Narrator.
Gwen was puzzled for less than a second when he heard the phrase. Then, he vaguely had some guesses from the meaning of the phrase.
This made his expression instantly turn serious, and his attitude became serious.
Sure enough, something unexpected had happened in the first sandbox. And this so-called "corruption of the gods" … was probably much more complicated than everyone had guessed!!
What Gwen could think of, Selena and other 'archbishops' could also think of. The phrase 'Upper Narrator' itself contained a lot of information that could be directly understood. Yuri, who was wearing a monocle, quickly frowned and looked at the old priest who was being hypnotized by Selena. "What does the Upper Narrator mean?"
"He is the creator of the world, the destroyer of the world, the monitor of the world, and the guide of the world …" The old man in the gray robe had a peaceful smile on his face. He said slowly with the joy of preaching, "He is the omniscient, omnipotent, and irresistible master of our world …"
Listening to the standard preaching speech, Selena frowned slightly and interrupted, "How was the world born?"
The high-level priests of the dark cult were experts in the study of religion. They knew how to quickly collect information and grasp the essence of a strange belief system when they first came into contact with it. Generally speaking, all mature beliefs would inevitably try to interpret the birth of the world, and their interpretation of the birth of the world would show their worldview and way of thinking, as well as the main dogma and core myths and legends to the greatest extent.
The old man in the gray robe was a little confused. Then, under the guidance of hypnosis, he said the things he remembered in his heart.
"The world … was woven by the Upper Narrator. He first created the chaotic sky and grayish-white earth from nothingness, and then gave color and form to everything in the world … Then, the Upper Narrator set the rules of operation for everything and wrote the original history. So, the world began to operate, and under the power of the law, it grew and multiplied endlessly …"
"It's in line with the start-up process of Sandbox No. 1," Selena whispered to Yuri and Daniel. "The Upper Narrator … refers to us."
"A religion that believes in the Upper Narrators was born in the sandbox?" Yuri had a look of disbelief on his face, and his voice was so low that it sounded like he was talking to himself. "This is the 'trace of God' that we have observed? Will a sect born in a dream possess the 'power of the gods'? "
"I don't know, but if this sect born in the dream is really the 'divine corruption' that we have observed …" Selena's voice suddenly became ethereal, and her voice even trembled a little. "Then … then I'm afraid that we have unknowingly touched upon the ultimate secret of this world, the ultimate taboo!"
On the side, Gawain also had countless guesses and hypotheses in his mind. He suddenly thought of a question and couldn't help but look at Daniel. "Was this sect that believes in the Narrators from the upper level born after Sandbox No. 1 went out of control? Before the sandbox went out of control, the surveillance personnel did not discover this sect? "
Daniel immediately turned to Selena and asked the question that Gwen asked verbatim.
Selena did not doubt him. She nodded and answered Daniel's question. "Before the sandbox went out of control, the surveillance personnel did not discover the existence of such a sect in the sandbox … But due to the limitations of the surveillance means, it is impossible for outsiders to grasp every detail of the sandbox world. They can only control the general situation and the direction of history. Therefore, we cannot rule out that there are sprouts of religion in some remote corners of the sandbox world … But in general, even if there are sprouts of faith, there is absolutely no such mature sect that can build a church and has a complete creation myth before Sandbox No. 1 went out of control. Such a large-scale abnormal phenomenon must have been observed."
Gawain stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "In other words, this Church that believes in the 'Upper Narrators' was born after the sandbox went out of control. Before that, there were at most some thoughts that couldn't be observed by external surveillance, or rather, the budding of faith … Daniel, let me ask you another question. Does the 'deity corruption' that the Eternal Sleeper observed refer to the appearance of cathedrals and sacrificial activities? Is there something like 'divine power' that can affect reality? "
Daniel faithfully relayed Gwen's question. This time, it was Archbishop Yuri who answered. "The 'divine corruption' that we have observed is some messy silhouettes of churches and blurry images of sacrificial activities. Considering that the sandbox world is a complete 'godless domain,' the appearance of such distinctive fragments in the sandbox itself means that it has been contaminated by the gods. As for the 'divine power' that can affect reality … this has not been observed. "
Then the archbishop paused and added, "If the 'divine power' that can affect reality escapes from the sandbox world based on dreams, then the seriousness of the situation will not be as bad as it is now. It will no longer be divine corruption, but it means that the power of the true gods has descended and begun to distort the real world! By then, no matter how great the sacrifice is, we will shut down the entire mental network at all costs. "
Gwen sighed in deep thought. "No problem for the time being."
Daniel then told the other two archbishops that he had no more questions. Selena began to ask the gray-robed old man about other things to further understand the changes in the world in Sandbox No. 1.
"You just mentioned the day of the bell. What does the day of the bell mean?"
"The day of the bell is the 'Day of Shelter' announced by the Narrator from above. Once a week, in the evening of this day, the bell will ring at the last minute before the sun sets. People should return to their homes or other shelters, light up the lights, and get along with their families under the shelter of the lights. They must not leave their houses and come to the street … You came to the church on the day of the bell because you wandered too far on the street and could not return home in time?"
"Yes," Selena replied casually. Then she asked, "What will happen if you still stay on the street after the bell rings?"
"You will be punished by the Narrator from above. You will be subject to the sacred and irresistible 'deletion' and disappear from this world …"
Selena frowned again.
"How many people in the world believe in the Narrator from above?" she asked again.
"How can I count?" The gray-robed old man shook his head. "Everyone in the world believes in him. There are as many people in the world as there are people who believe in the great Narrator from above …"
"… It seems that the entire Sandbox No. 1 has been completely contaminated," Archbishop Yuri sighed softly and said to Daniel next to him. "A church was born in it … This is really unexpected."
"The birth of a church is not terrible. What is terrible is … if behind this church …" Daniel shook his head halfway. "From a safety point of view, my suggestion is to stop the operation of Sandbox No. 1 immediately, no matter how many secrets there are in it. The strangeness of the situation is beyond control. Now is not the time to continue the research."
Daniel's suggestion was the most reasonable choice in the current situation, but he knew that the other archbishops must be aware of this choice too. It was not that they had not tried to stop Sandbox No. 1. The key was that this out-of-control dream could not be stopped at all.
And for some reason, the cultists, who were supposed to be cold and cruel, were quite resistant to the idea of killing all the Brain Servants to "physically cut off" Sandbox No. 1. Even though they had realized that the situation was out of control, they had never considered this method that sounded most likely to work.
This puzzled both Gwen and Daniel.
Even so, Daniel still had to make his own suggestion. This was his duty as the head of security here.
Hearing Daniel's words, Selina didn't say anything for a moment. Her deep and calm eyes made it impossible to tell what she was thinking. Archbishop Yuri, on the other hand, sighed and said, "Of course we understand. In fact, nobody expects Sandbox No. 1 to be repaired and returned to normal. The consensus of the Supreme Bishops is to stop it, but …"
"It is not that easy to stop Sandbox No. 1," Selena said calmly. "We have tried many ways, but Sandbox No. 1 refuses to execute any instructions. Our methods have failed."
Daniel hesitated for a moment. After confirming Gwen's expression from the corner of his eye, he said, "I heard that there is still a way that has not been tried … which is to forcibly cut off the nerve cord of all the Brain Servants."
Selena quietly looked at Daniel, who stood in front of her in the form of a middle-aged man. After a long time, she asked faintly, "Do you support this method?"
"… Not at all." Daniel shook his head. "The loss is too great. And from a technical point of view, I am not sure if a large number of Brain Servants suddenly going offline will have unpredictable effects on the normal mental network. Too strong a fluctuation of information may even destroy the entire network."
Daniel did not explain it from the perspective of "conscience" or "compassion." Instead, he explained it from a technical point of view. This was to prevent his attitude from arousing suspicion. On the one hand, it was strange to talk about conscience and compassion in a dark sect. On the other hand, he was a ruthless person when he was tortured half-mad. The church's upper echelons should have known about him. He did not want to show too much of a change in personality in front of a senior archbishop like Selina.
"Half of the archbishops are also against this," Selena said after listening to Daniel's reply. "This includes me, His Holiness the Pope, and Archbishop Yuri."
"I know … That's why I'm actually a little curious, Archbishop Selena." Daniel nodded and asked while choosing his words carefully, "If we don't consider it from a technical point of view, and if we can accept a higher price, destroying the 'material foundation' of Sandbox No. 1 in reality should be the most effective way. Why do you and His Holiness the Pope object to this?"
Daniel did not finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Archbishop Yuri turned his eyes to Selena, who was holding a lantern. The latter stood there quietly and looked at Daniel for a long time.
The gaze did not seem to carry any pressure, but it still gave Daniel the illusion that all his secrets had been seen through. If it were not for the safety measures he set up in advance, he would have suspected that Selena was reading his deep memories.
After staring at him for nearly ten seconds, Selina calmly retracted her gaze and said slowly, "There are some things that won't be secrets any longer.
"There are many reasons why we don't adopt the 'effective method' you mentioned, from a technical point of view, or … compassion. But these are not the most important.
"The most important reason is that if Sandbox No. 1 remains as it is, then the 'thing' in the sandbox … can at least still be kept in the sandbox."
A slight chill rose in Daniel's heart.
"You mean …"
"Although it is still uncertain what is brewing in Sandbox No. 1, His Holiness the Pope has noticed some clues … That thing has undergone a qualitative change, and at the same time, Sandbox No. 1 itself has undergone a qualitative change. It is no longer just a dream. Although the mental matrix formed by the Brain Servant is the material foundation to maintain the operation of the sandbox, on the other hand, it is also the last shackle of this mutated dream … Breaking this shackle, the dream may disappear, but it is also possible … "
Daniel muttered to himself and added the second half of Selena's sentence, "It may also wake up in the real world …"
Selena glanced at Daniel and nodded slightly. "It's good that you understand."
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