Chapter 65: The Interdimensional Conference

After the war with Skynet had ended, the comprehensive search of the Terminator world's Earth began, precisely as planned. During this process, many of Skynet's secret bases were discovered; among them was a half-constructed time machine.

Gazing at the exposed wiring of the time machine, Wang Jing turned to Jiang Ning beside him and asked, "Can this time machine be completed?"

"It can. We’ve intercepted all the technical data. However, it will take quite a long time to finish building this time machine, especially in terms of theoretical research. We must fully understand it before conducting any formal experiments. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, we could be doomed," Jiang Ning replied.

"How long do you estimate it will take?" Wang Jing pressed.

"Several months, maybe a few years. But with all the data at hand, I believe it won’t be too long," Jiang Ning responded.

Wang Jing nodded. As soon as he returned to the primary world, Song Guohua informed him that there was an important meeting he needed to attend.

Following Song Guohua, Wang Jing entered the holographic conference room. To his surprise, the attendees were not only members of the United Government from the primary world, but also representatives from the United Governments of the Wandering Earth world, the Transformers world, and the Geostorm world.

"Have we really achieved interdimensional communication?" Wang Jing asked Song Guohua in astonishment.

"That's right. But it requires an extremely complex set of equipment on both sides, and the energy consumption is enormous. The core of it is the Energon Pillar from Megatron," Song Guohua explained.

"Indeed, the energy consumption of this interdimensional communication system is tremendous, so let’s begin the meeting quickly," another official interjected.

"Our agenda today is to discuss applications of the Terminator world’s robotics technology. I believe everyone has considered using robots to replace human labor, thereby achieving a leap in productivity."

"However, previous attempts have failed or stalled due to immature technology. Now, we have mature technology at our disposal: the Terminator robots from the Terminator world—specifically, the T-800 model."

"Nonetheless, it is too dangerous to simply copy all the technology, especially the chips. For the rest, Director Wang Jing will provide us with further clarification."

Wang Jing spoke up, "We have decided not to directly use the Terminator’s CPU. If we did, our robots would be nothing more than mindless machines. Instead, we can reverse-engineer the Terminator chip, understand its principles, and then design our own chip."

"With all the data, physical samples, and a complete production line, it shouldn’t take too long," Wang Jing continued.

"The reverse engineering and research on the chip will be jointly undertaken by the top scientists from each world’s leading nations. Naturally, the final rights to use the chip will also belong to all nations," declared the President of the United States from the primary world.

The other world leaders nodded in agreement.

"Aside from the chip, the hydrogen fuel cells used in the Terminator should also not be adopted directly. The main concern is safety—any impact could trigger a violent explosion, making them unsuitable for mass-produced domestic robots."

"The best alternative technology we have for now is the tritium power cell. Although it’s several times larger than the Terminator’s hydrogen cell, its low cost and stable performance compensate for its size."

"These are the only two technologies from the Terminator that are unsuitable for direct use; the rest can be implemented as is. As for the social impact of synthetic skin and the mass unemployment caused by robots, those issues lie outside my jurisdiction," Wang Jing concluded.

"Thank you very much, Director Wang, for your insights and suggestions. The next part of our discussion will focus precisely on the two societal issues you just mentioned," the meeting chair announced.

"First, regarding synthetic skin, my suggestion is not to implement it at this stage. We should wait until robots are fully integrated into society before activating this feature. If robots look too human from the outset, we may face strong resistance from the unemployed population."

"As for the widespread unemployment caused by robots entering society, each nation should develop strategies suited to their own circumstances. However, the process should allow ordinary people sufficient time to react and adapt."

"I’ll outline our preliminary plan," said the British Prime Minister, taking the lead.

"First, we will promote our domestically produced robots among farmers, helping them complete arduous tasks. This will increase their income, boost food production, and lay the groundwork for future social security."

"During the period we promote robots to farmers, people in other industries will have ample time to adjust their career plans. The government will vigorously publicize and assist ordinary citizens in finding suitable new jobs."

"New jobs should focus on the pursuit of the spiritual realm—such as painting, writing, and more in-depth research."

"In essence, we must shift those who trade physical labor for social value toward using mental labor to generate social value instead."

"To prevent those unable to transition from starving, the government will distribute free food to ensure no one perishes due to unemployment."

"This process will last about fifty years, the typical working lifetime of a generation."

"The government will also increase investment in education to foster a virtuous cycle within society."

After the British Prime Minister spoke, leaders from other worlds and nations nodded in recognition of this vision for the future.

"This is only a rough plan—many details still need to be refined, such as enacting detailed laws to restrict the use of robots and specifying the particulars of social welfare policies. If these are set unreasonably, we could end up with a large population of state-supported freeloaders."

The meeting lasted over an hour, primarily focusing on sharing each country’s plans for future reform. For all nations, this was an unprecedented challenge. If they failed, recovery could take a very long time—or the nation might not recover at all.

For example, small countries lagging in technology and economics might be left behind by the reforms of the major powers, losing even the chance to serve as sources of low-end labor.

The most precarious was India. Tradition slowed its administrative capacity, and a vast underclass and a nation still not fully unified meant that failed reforms could lead to the country’s disintegration—a humanitarian disaster in the making.