Chapter 15

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October 25, 2020

SNS Research Center—9:50 AM—

He inserted the pre-prepared backup program, but it had no effect on Aiwen’s consciousness. Her mind was exceptionally well-protected, and altering the data imprinting her awareness proved to be an arduous task. She must have tampered with it in advance. Yet Hollen refused to give up; there were still a dozen or so minutes before the official replacement. If Aiwen resisted, he would have no choice but to forcibly alter her consciousness, or perhaps obscure her subconscious. But she seemed to have anticipated his intrusion, ready to fight against any attempt to invade or burn her memories.

Hollen kept his gaze fixed on the shifting lines of code on the computer screen. The assistant in the white coat brought over another evaluation report for him.

“Doctor, the data remains unstable. Could it be due to a flaw in the system? There’s been a deviation since earlier, and it’s getting worse. Sooner or later, the substitute will realize this is all an illusion. If that happens, the consciousness transfer won’t succeed. You know that better than any of us,” the assistant said, unable to hide his concern.

“I’m well aware of what’s at stake,” Hollen replied, looking up at him. “We can only race against time, hoping to seize a favorable moment with Aiwen.”

“But what exactly is the flaw? If it’s not resolved today, how could the transfer possibly succeed?”

Was it not too late to ask this now? If the flaw had existed from the start, why hadn’t it been resolved before initiating the transfer program? Hollen knew the answer all too well—he had merely chosen to ignore it, fixated on launching the program as soon as possible.

Hollen was a composed yet stubborn man. He knew from the outset that the flaw was insurmountable. Years ago, his mentor, Dr. Edmin, had also acknowledged that the system’s vulnerability couldn’t be fixed. At least, not with their current capabilities. Perhaps in another ten years, the situation would be different. But Hollen couldn’t wait that long. For Aiwen’s sake, he had to take the risk, even if she was uncooperative; otherwise, none of this would matter, and the flaw would be irrelevant.

“The flaw is unfixable. I’ve said this before and won’t repeat it. Our priority now is to act faster than Aiwen. That’s all that matters.”

“Even if the consciousness libraries are shared, each person’s impressions can’t recognize the other’s main consciousness,” the assistant in white observed.

A programmer nearby interjected, “You’re talking about the flaw in the early-stage code system you assigned to me, right? I tried to patch it, but it’s beyond what we can do. At least for now.”

“That’s only natural,” Hollen said. “Back then, my mentor and I couldn’t eliminate it either. After all these years, nothing has changed—and time is running out. We have no choice but to risk it.”

The programmer inserted a drive and brought up another simulation interface, densely packed with shifting code. He pointed at a particular spot and paused the movement.

“Here it is—the flaw is obvious. Honestly, we never should have started the consciousness transfer before the system was ready…”

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“If the main consciousness realizes what’s happening, will it harm their brains?” the assistant asked.

“As long as we finish the transfer within ninety minutes, there shouldn’t be any damage,” Hollen replied. “It’s all a matter of time. I’m just hoping they don’t notice so quickly.” He lowered his head, eyes fixed on the evolving system.

“How could they not notice?” the programmer murmured. He knew Hollen wouldn’t be shaken, so he said no more.

“I just observed another anomaly in the consciousness entity. Is it related?” the assistant asked.

“Aiwen is exceptionally clever—her mind is more sensitive than most. Even if our system were perfect, she might still notice something. Still, we must press on. There’s no point fixating on the flaw now; time is of the essence.”

Once Hollen moved away, the assistant couldn’t help but question the programmer further.

“I understand that the impressions in each consciousness can’t merge, but what exactly does the flaw cause?”

The programmer pondered, then tried to explain in the simplest terms: “Each person’s consciousness library is independent, containing memories of people and things from their everyday lives—subjective impressions stored in their mind.”

“So, if I met someone yesterday, my impression of them is an ‘impression object’ archived in my brain? My mind’s subjective impression becomes an impression object?”

“Exactly. If something or someone leaves a strong impression, you can think of it as your subconscious storing a deep memory.”

“So these are all intensely subjective impressions from daily life,” the assistant summarized.

The programmer nodded again. “If we link two people’s consciousnesses, their consciousness libraries are shared—they can each see the contents of the other’s library.”

“So the consciousness library is like an archive of all their mental impressions of the outside world.”

“Yes,” the programmer continued, gesturing as he spoke. “But after the link is established, the impression objects in each person’s consciousness library can’t recognize the other’s consciousness entity.”

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“I think I understand, but it’s still a bit unclear,” the assistant said thoughtfully.

“Let me go deeper,” the programmer replied. “Suppose Ms. A and Ms. X are linked. Ms. A can see the objects and people in Ms. X’s subconscious world—these are X’s impression memories. But these impressions can’t recognize Ms. A’s presence.”

“So, if I’m linked to your consciousness library, my parents are impression objects in my mind—my impressions of them. Even if your consciousness entity sees them, they wouldn’t recognize you?”

“Exactly! And your consciousness entity would also be unrecognized by my impression objects. So when an impression object encounters the other’s consciousness entity, it’s as if it can’t see them at all!”

Only now did the assistant grasp the gravity of the situation. “That’s a fatal flaw. One of them is bound to notice soon.”

The programmer could only sigh. “That’s why we have to finish the consciousness transfer as quickly as possible.”

“But what if the consciousness being replaced refuses to cooperate?” the assistant asked, finally understanding the problem’s severity.

At that moment, Hollen returned. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’—that’s exactly what’s happening. I just tried to interfere with them using the backup program, but Aiwen detected it. Even with only her superficial consciousness left, her memories gone, she still managed to remain so vigilant!”

The programmer asked, “Would the backup program cause your virtual consciousness entity to appear, Dr. Hollen?”

Hollen nodded. “That’s right. A third-party virtual consciousness entity isn’t an impression object for either of them, so it can detect their existence. However, the program has already blurred their perception of the virtual entity’s appearance—it looks vague and indistinct. Yet Aiwen’s consciousness had been preset to filter out interference! So she could see the entity clearly!”

“Wouldn’t that make her even more suspicious?” the assistant said, hitting the mark.

Hollen fell silent, while the assistant and programmer exchanged glances, then returned to monitoring the changes in the transfer program.