Chapter 122: Boosting Memory and Outside Pressure
Chapter 122: Boosting Memory and Outside Pressure
“Compared to the researchers at the Negentropy Research Institute, I feel like I’m just making up the numbers in humanity’s grand scheme. Barely part of the basic statistic.”
“Even though sticking with research work right now would get me more pay than what I get as a student living off school grants these years, letting me enjoy richer social services and more luxuries… I think I’ll just stay put.”
“I feel like I’ll never achieve anything worthwhile. Not only would I waste the research resources of our whole civilization, but also the huge sums of money the civilization pays me… No, I’ll just settle. Be content with what you have. As long as civilization gives me a meal, I’ll just be another number in the headcount. That way I don’t waste its resources.”
“…No way, dude. I can’t figure out if you’re a lazy bum or a saint. You’d sacrifice your own life experience just to avoid ‘wasting social resources’? Man, what can I say… Dammit, if I hadn’t seen you sharing stuff online, saving up to make a full-length movie for ‘Luo Shen’, and even saving for a trip to the Moon, I’d have totally bought your nonsense about being someone with no desires.”
“…Pal, you should try anyway. Don’t worry about whether you’ll actually discover something, or if it’s a loss. That’s the HCC’s thing to worry about. Just get moving first, grab that HCC middle-income bracket before you worry.”
“Right now, your monthly grant? Save for a whole year and it might not even cover one space tourism trip. Save for a month and it might not buy you a meal at the Negentropy Research Institute’s flagship restaurant. Seriously? You’re okay with maybe going to space only once every five or six years? Sticking to the cheap AI cafeterias every month? Buddy, every cool life experience costs serious cash. You came all this way to the world. You haven’t even seen half of it, and you’re just willing to fade out like that?”
“?? I feel like you’re trying to tempt me?”
“Don’t listen to him, join my ‘Contentment Faction’… Yeah, the HCC keeps adding more ‘value-added services’ that cost an arm and a leg, but those premium things don’t concern us lay-low folks.”
“Trust me, in this age, if you don’t have crazy ambitions, life is easy. Clothes arrive when you need them, food comes on demand. Chat with friends daily, play VR games, watch a couple of virtual idol movies, listen to a few songs others made, travel anywhere on public transport. Isn’t that great? Why stress yourself out?”
“Hmm… I still kinda want to try… See, I want to buy a Luo Shen model Service Robot. Worried it’ll take forever to save up.”
Online,
The issue of civilization’s stagnating drive and decline, plus the new policies coming from the HCC and the Negentropy Research Institute,
Didn’t face loud opposition, though there was certainly a lot of talk.
Even then, right then and there on the internet,
Plenty remained unmoved by the promises of high welfare and luxury dangled by the Negentropy Institute and HCC,
Choosing instead to ‘live life their own way’.
But the truth was,
The hard data crunched by the Strong Artificial Intelligence in the Brain Intelligence Project didn’t lie.
It clearly showed,
Ever since Qin Yu got involved—or kind of forcibly steered human civilization down the path he wanted—
The structure of the HCC’s, of human civilization’s population had stopped shifting toward a “pin-shaped” society.
It was trending back towards that old normal shape: thin at the ends, broad in the middle.
The Negentropy Research Institute’s new policies, while maybe not a fundamental fix,
Weren’t about brand loyalty-level devotion where everyone constantly gave their all for collective progress,
They did tempt most folks who still held some small dreams of a better life. Those willing to chip in for the whole civilization could now swap their effort for rewards—cash or status—given back by the HCC or society.
Ultimately, though, this was just about making the climb to more money and higher status a bit more enticing than before.
When would civilization’s deep laziness truly be solved? Maybe not until humans reached some far future stage.
Or perhaps… never really solved.
“…You know, I think Academician Qin Yu did right. Personally, yeah, for individuals? If anyone wants to lie back and live off basic welfare and grants for life, fine. But our whole society? If the vast majority does that? Then where’s our civilization headed? Eventually, no one will want to do research. Everyone will just party until everything collapses.”
“I for one don’t care. Really don’t want to think that hard. The basic grant and welfare are enough to live on; my desire for stuff isn’t that high. But precisely because of that, people like me living off the basics should support Academician Qin Yu and the HCC’s decision. It doesn’t change our original lifestyle much. And it gives people who do want more a bigger push to chase it.”
“Our civilization’s productivity and resources are massive… But development stalling? That’s definitely not good news.”
Online, the arguments spun on.
Like many arguments, this one… maybe it would never reach a final conclusion.
…
Human United Era Year 45,
This year, the Negentropy Research Institute and the HCC decided to
Open individual purchasing rights for Electric Propulsion Spaceships within the HCC lands. Part of widening the gap in benefits enjoyed by different social groups.
They didn’t actually restrict who could buy.
But the price of even the smallest Electric Propulsion Spaceship meant only those who’d made significant contributions to human civilization could realistically afford it.
Models of the Electric Propulsion Spaceship landed directly on the HCC’s online marketplace, linked to the Strong AI and human smart industry clusters, ready for purchase.
The online malls of this Intelligent Era acted as part of humanity’s planned production system.
Folks avoiding physical stores could place orders directly online.
If the item was ready? Shipped right out.
If not? Production requests pinged the nearest Smart Industrial Zone or assembly system within their city.
Basic items usually got delivered the same day.
The Electric Propulsion Spaceships listed followed the same pattern.
Place an order? The appropriate Smart Industrial Cluster jumped into gear.
Of course,
Owning a “private spaceship”
Meant the craft would still be run by Intelligent Programs. Strong AI could also take over if needed.
Requesting flight routes happened instantly; response times in the Intelligent Era were that fast.
“…Someone help me calculate! My base grant plus researcher salary? About 50,000. How long until I can afford one?”
“Just stop. Unless your designed product sells across the entire civilization, your virtual idol rivals Luo Shen, or you’re a core Negentropy Research Institute Researcher… Otherwise? Saving your whole life wouldn’t be enough.”
“…Fine. Don’t really see the need for a private Electric Propulsion Spaceship anyway. Your private ship still has to launch from a Stellar Port… I can just walk into the Stellar Port whenever I want and hop on the next Moon shuttle.”
“Heard private ships can go to unexplored parts of the Solar System…”
“…Ok, now I’m jealous.”
So the web buzzed a little more.
But really, it was just passing noise in the long history of human civilization.
…
Human United Era Year 46,
After a very long time spent on his project to raise average human intelligence,
Qin Yu’s research specifically targeting memory enhancement,
Finally reached its final stretch.
Many years ago, when the research showed clear promise, a possible path forward,
Qin Yu had committed himself to repeated, intensive runs of Strong-AI-assisted experiments.
Truth be told, even with his “Super Brain,” research in biology or materials sometimes needed genuine luck.
Luck hadn’t been great this round.
But with his “Super Brain,” Qin Yu had gotten results anyway.
He placed immense hope on this particular result.
Why? It tied deeply into human civilization’s current state.
The previous severe decline wasn’t unrelated to limits on human average intellectual potential.
For the vast majority of people,
Working their whole lives on one hyper-focused field with zero payoff?
That feels totally different than working on something where progress, even slow progress, actually happens.
Under the current technological level of human civilization,
the further development of technology and theoretical knowledge
has inevitably placed higher demands on the intellectual level of researchers.
If everyone had stronger research abilities,
naturally, more people would be willing to pursue research in fields they enjoy.
Overall,
raising the average intelligence level of human civilization itself represents a major leap forward for the entire civilization.
An increase in average intelligence effectively means human civilization gains greater potential as a race.
At this moment,
inside the Negentropy Research Institute,
within a Life Science Laboratory equipped with numerous intelligent experimental devices,
Qin Yu was alone.
The final experimental plan Qin Yu had assigned to the Strong Artificial Intelligence had been completed by the Strong AI, utilizing all necessary experimental equipment.
A fluid reagent, contained within an ordinary-looking glass test tube,
the output from this experiment, was presented to Qin Yu by a Bipedal Robot directly overseen by the Strong AI.
Alongside it, came a set of data produced during the experimental process.
Qin Yu wasn’t particularly focused on the reagent itself.
Instead, he flipped through the experimental data,
engaged in some thought.
However, it wasn’t long before a smile reappeared on Qin Yu’s face.
The data mostly aligned with predictions from earlier research stages.
This meant that ever since Diephagia Virus had sparked his inspiration in the related fields years ago,
this research project, aiming to enhance human memory capacity and thereby indirectly raise the average human intelligence level,
had finally succeeded.
“Mind Core, after compiling the relevant plan, please resend it to the Negentropy Research Institute under the name ‘Entropy’.”
Qin Yu put down the data sheet in his hand.
Having the Strong AI had indeed made many things much simpler.
Not just in conducting experiments and organizing results, but also in creating an alias for himself.
Earlier, Qin Yu had already decided to attribute this research achievement to ‘Entropy’; he saw no reason to change that now.
Upon Qin Yu’s command,
the Strong AI from the Brain Intelligence Project responded.
Unlike others who were unaware, it wasn’t surprised by the fact that ‘Entropy’, who had resolved the 236 Algae crisis, was also Qin Yu.
For the Strong AI, possessing vast amounts of relevant information, deducing that ‘Entropy’ was Qin Yu wasn’t a difficult matter.
Naturally, Qin Yu felt no need to hide this from the AI.
Almost instantly, the Strong AI followed Qin Yu’s instructions.
It compiled his past research findings on this topic,
drafted them into a paper format, authored it under the pseudonym ‘Entropy’,
and made the paper appear on the terminal of the head of Research Institute 011 at the Negentropy Institute, as well as on Qin Yu’s own terminal.
Qin Yu paid little attention to this at that moment.
He simply turned back,
looking again at the product from the recent experiment.
The fluid reagent, quietly housed within that plain glass tube, strictly speaking,
wasn’t the core result of Qin Yu’s work on enhancing human memory itself.
His research project on boosting human memory had ultimately yielded two key outcomes:
The ‘Theory of Human Memory Mechanisms’ and the ‘Technology for Enhancing Human Memory Capacity via these Mechanisms’.
This reagent was essentially just a derivative product developed using that theory and technology.
It genuinely possessed the capability to enhance human memory ability,
but it wasn’t the core technology itself. Based on that core technology, there existed another different pathway to enhance memory.
However, this reagent was primarily intended for people already living in the world,
while the other technological pathway would only affect the next generation of human civilization.
Despite sharing similar underlying theories,
due to the differences in implementation methods,
the effect of this reagent was actually weaker than the pathway that directly impacted the next generation.
Qin Yu picked up the vial of fluid.
The liquid inside appeared transparent.
He looked at it for a moment, then directly took a sip.
It tasted slightly bitter initially, then left a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Too bad for him,
as an Absolute Immortal, it naturally had no effect on him.
The first clinical trial for this reagent would begin only after the 011 Lab ‘received’ the paper submitted by ‘Entropy’.
Normally, this reagent was meant for injection, not oral consumption.
Qin Yu was just having some fun.
He shook his head briefly,
returned the vial to the Bipedal Robot,
and instructed the Strong AI to assign the relevant cleaning tasks to the various Intelligent Machinery and devices.
With that done, there was no reason for Qin Yu to linger in the laboratory any longer.
…
Back in his office, waiting for the call from the head of the 011 Lab,
Qin Yu also continued pondering the current state of human civilization.
From Qin Yu’s perspective,
the issue of humanity’s current decline wasn’t solely a problem with humans themselves.
On the scale of the entire civilization, there was also a distinct lack of ‘external pressure’.
Since venturing out of Earth and into space, human civilization had yet to face any real pressure from outside Earth, from the cosmos.
In this state of existence,
whether Human Civilization expanded its domain to Mars, or pushed out to Jupiter,
being slightly stronger or weaker didn’t seem to make much practical difference.
Naturally, under these conditions, human civilization as a whole lacked the driving force for rapid development.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be until human civilization gained some understanding of other civilizations in the cosmos that this situation would change.