Have you ever doubted that you are not a "human"? Or, have you ever suspected that you were dreaming?

Don't make a fuss. Of course, I knew that I was dreaming, and that tomorrow morning at eight o'clock the alarm clock would go off, and if I was five minutes late, the car would not be able to catch up, so I would not have to eat breakfast, and the day would be like hell......

Well, good dreams.

Accepting this blessing, Dre heard the alarm clock ringing as promised. A familiar, physiological feeling of disgust travels to the nerve centers of the brain, which then creates a feeling of nausea through hormones that forces him to rise.

The hazy feeling of waking up in the morning, my brain went blank like a crash. Ten seconds later, all memories are like employees who go to work on time, cramming data into the office of the brain. A hurried day began.

Outside the door is not dazzling sunlight, the morning sun will not be "exploited" by the triple overpass between the upper and lower towns, the road daylight is sprinkled on the main road of Xiyuan, taking advantage of this rare visibility, workers have climbed the patio elevator connecting the upper and lower cities, and began to tinkle and bang.

The burliest worker was showing off loudly to his co-workers, he raised his right arm high, the thick exoskeleton armor was like a huge pliers covering his hand, only a sonorous sound could be heard, the big steel pliers turned into a mechanical vest, the man dragged an iron cable and inserted it into an external slot of the vest, and was pulled to a height of 10 meters with a whoosh, leaving the other workers to look at him in amazement and envy. It's just that the rugged appearance and exposed sockets everywhere make Dre judge at a glance that this machine is not in good condition. However, it is also very rare, and it is estimated that this is rented by the engineering team to big men for aerial work. Although the "AI for All" program has been successfully implemented for four years, few of the poor people in Xiacheng can afford AI, and even if they do, they can't afford expensive "mechanical shells", so that the engineering teams in Xiacheng District do not have a few decent equipment and are still relying on manpower.

Morning, 8:30 a.m. The entrance to the laboratory.

Squeezed the tram and hurried to the gate, Dre remembered. I just signed an agreement yesterday. Originally, he was just doing chores for everyone in the office, and although he was busy, he didn't have much sense of existence. But since last week, the experiment has reached a critical stage, and the manpower is suddenly not very sufficient, and it is facing a rather embarrassing problem - the lack of data from human tests.

This kind of thing, to people who don't know the truth, may feel a little scary, human experiments, the name will not have a good impression, volunteers should not think about it.

In this era of over-convenience, the mainstream idea of society is how to easily lie down and make a lot of money, how to become popular quickly, or how to develop a highly versatile AI chip, and then post it on the Internet to become popular, and make a lot of money by the way - instead of dedicating yourself to unclear research - shouldn't the trouble be left to AI to solve? Moreover, the laboratory where Diaverum is located does serious brain science research, and the human ethics norms are very strict, and the risks of each item, no matter how high or low, or degree, must be agreed by the parties in every detail, such as "the experiment may induce heart disease" and "the experiment may cause the following brain sequelae", even if a normal person will self-doubt in the process of examining one by one.

But Dre can't care about that much. On the way this morning, the attending doctor came again to ask him about his mother's surgery, and he could only agree. Then the landlord began to demand rent again, especially reminding him that his roommate owed two months of rent, which made Derui one head and two big, why did I become your debt collection tool? Didn't I pay that kid a month's rent myself? I'm a creditor too. But there is no way, I can only keep smiling in the face of the landlord.

People are both material and social. When did you first understand this? Maybe it started when I secretly overheard my parents' quarrel from my bedroom when I was a child, or maybe it was when I suddenly heard that my parents were divorced and my father took half of the family property in my second year of college. But what is more personal must be now, when I can only pick up my mother's pension and my brother's living expenses alone, and I can only stubbornly rely on a few temporary jobs to survive, and I only want to have a formal job and live a peaceful life. The more he lived, the more he began to understand that one cannot live on his own.

But it's still angry to think about. I had no choice but to see if there was any temporary worker in the memo who could get the money immediately, but I could only see a few bright red letters warning my younger brother Delan's living expenses had not been given for three months, as for a few odd jobs, the more formal ones had just been given less than a week, and the less formal ones were not given by the boss, and when they were given could only depend on the mood.

Temporary workers are really unreliable, and Diaverum reminded himself again. This also strengthened his determination to sign up as a volunteer. One is money, and volunteers for human experiments are paid a lot of money. On the other hand, Diaverum is also well aware that this is the only way to stay in the lab after the internship period. After all, I want a diploma or not, and I don't have a performance if I want to perform. He has only been doing odd jobs for a few months, so he can only participate in this experiment, and maybe there is a possibility that he will become a regular.

What kind of experiment is this, after all? In the current society, artificial intelligence has made great progress in the market, but now all artificial intelligence still cannot break through the limitations of "0" and "1" of machines, and does not have the ability to deal with emotional problems. They can only learn in a certain way, and they cannot see things from the same standpoint as others.

To put it simply, the feelings between humans and machines are not connected.

The Fontaine Institute, the owner of Diaverum, is engaged in a cutting-edge brain science research that aims to create artificial intelligence that is closest to a "human" by reading and replicating the memories of the human brain. Of course, in order to avoid ethical problems, the "privacy reserve" in the brain will be selectively removed when copying, and only the parts related to learning, memory, thought processes and emotions will be retained.

And Diaverum is willing to make this valuable "sample".

One after another, people entered the door, and two researchers in charge of the human experiment part recognized Dre and greeted him. Dre dragged back his thoughts, and it felt quite realistic, and when he was a handyman, everyone nodded their heads, and they didn't even know their names. The people in Xiacheng are probably the same as outsiders to them, not in the same circle, after all, they just meet in the water.

"Do you remember today's experiment charter? Don't be afraid, basically we'll all guide. ”

"Haha, that's the best, although I've seen it many times, but it's just memorized, and I might be blind when I'm nervous. By the way, do you say it hurts when you plug in the electrodes? They all said they didn't feel it, you give me a letter. ”

"What can it hurt? It's not really an electrode, it's just an inlet, it's like you do a CT scan. Scan it, simulate a brain that is similar to yours, and then plug it into a computer, and the 'hat' will read the telecommunications that your brain thinks. It doesn't hurt when you pick it up, and everyone in our room dares to let you come after trying it, which is the feeling of acupuncture. ”

"That's good. Will there be any after-effects after the experiment? Could it be a split personality or something? ”

"Hahaha, you've watched too much sci-fi, think about it, your brain won't always be connected with that computer, you've lived yours, he's got his, you don't even share memories, and of course you won't have a split personality! Needless to say, I'll have to get ready, if you're nervous, eat some chocolate first, and calm down. ”

Dre breathed a sigh of relief and went to the preparation room to wait. When you are nervous, you think about money, and this time the experiment gave 60,000, a thousand a minute, and a second is ...... Calculated in this way, it seems that every second is a white bill, no, it is a ticket to a better life, and people will calm down.

"Ready? Experimental preparation for the first one. First, the subject is instructed to empty his brain. ”

Due to the secrecy of the experiment, the experimenters involved in the guidance did not know Drew, and only called him No. 1. The other half of the experimenters are on the opposite side of the enclosed one-way glass, communicating with this head through a microphone throughout the process. At this end of the room, there were only white walls, a large computer in the shape of a box, and a "big iron bucket". Three researchers, a woman with short hair and glasses operating a barrel device, a tall and lanky man turning it on, and a short, bespectacled researcher "chatting" with Drewe.

Diaverum lies down in the barrel instrument. As the man said, it's about the same as doing a CT, he thought. At this time, as his brain was guided to empty and his body lay back on the comfortable recliner, Dre slowly fell into a half-dream...... In the haze, it seemed that I heard the command from the microphone, "Scan the brain structure first." "Memories begin to reappear."

When he suddenly came to his senses, he had already been put on an iron helmet, and his vision was not affected.

"The experiment is over?"

"It's still early, hurry up, we have to do a reproduction of thinking. Look here. ”

For the rest of the day, Dre was guided to look at some blocks of various colors, then landscapes, then figure paintings, photographs, and finally text readings. Then there is a series of mathematical problems, philosophical problems. The question was difficult, and Drew was basically not very good at it, but the researcher didn't seem to care if he could answer it.

There was a strange feeling about Drew, and whenever he struggled to think about it, it seemed as if he could extend his consciousness, as if he could manipulate something through the wires on his iron hat. But in fact, what comes back is a sense of powerlessness, like the muscles that want to move but can't move after strenuous exercise, or the situation of being awake and paralyzed when the "ghost presses the bed".

He could vaguely guess what was attached to his brain, but before he could make any further attempts, the experiment was over.

"The experiment was successful, let's take Number One out." The researchers gave a small cheer and prepared to leave work for a barbecue. Dre also got his wish and got his own experimental grant, patted his ass and left.

11 p.m., Fontaine Institute. The three core researchers who stayed here are still working on today's experiment report. The experiment went very smoothly, although only a limited copy of the memory, but the copied brain was very flexible to deal with the knowledge that it "didn't know" and "didn't learn", although it was not a correct solution, it was exactly like a human thought process. The emotion test also paid off, with the Robotic Brain successfully expressing "love" and "disgust" for some signals, and although it has only copied Subject One's personal emotions so far, they believe that the day of "artificial emotions" is not far off.

"Haha, the mechanical brain just released a sleep signal. It should be a simulation of the biological clock of No. 1, and the degree of completion is so high, it completely treats itself as a human being. ”

"It's just right, put the computer into sleep mode when you get off work, and let it get used to it. The next topic is to study the living environment of AI, and we have to solve its 'vision' and 'hearing' problems as soon as possible, otherwise memory conflicts will make it collapse. ”

The researchers left the laboratory one after another, because they had to maintain sleep mode, and the laboratory did not pull the power switch today, leaving only the pale green indicator light flashing in the dark......

Drew, wake up. Drey.

"Who is it?"

Consciousness was restored, and the experiment continued. Look here.

In a daze, Dre saw several researchers in white coats, a few people he had never seen before, holding a set of pictures to show him. It's the kind of picture I've never seen before, like a building plan. It looks a lot like a lab.

It turned out that I had just fallen asleep and had a dream, thinking that the experiment was over. Dre thought so, and his consciousness gradually became clearer. So, this is a lab and I'm still recording my brain?

"I'm sorry, I seem to have fallen asleep just now." The voice was hoarse, mixed with electronic voices. Dre felt a little weird, he didn't feel his throat move, but the voice came out on its own. And it's not like your own voice at all.

Then, he wanted to turn his neck, but found that his vision was much wider, and he could see the entire laboratory without turning his neck. It was a strange feeling, as if he had an extra pair of eyes – the thought amazed him, and he thought back to some of the movies and novels he had read, suspecting that he had shared the computer's webcam when he was connected to the computer – but how was that possible?

The researchers seemed to be discussing something with each other, but strangely, Dre felt deaf and couldn't hear anything. But who woke him up?

The answer was quickly revealed by the researcher who stepped forward, and he leaned so close that his whole head occupied half of Dre's eye socket, which was embarrassing - what is this guy going to do?

The researcher typed in front of him. Then he heard the voice he had heard in his dream. It was echoing in his head.

You ready? Tell us, what is this picture?

Dre didn't answer, he already had some bad speculations in his mind, which stemmed from the news he had heard and learned from his long-term work at the institute. In order to test his idea, he desperately turned his "gaze" to search the entire room, and then he saw the large iron bucket that he should have been lying in: it was empty.

His heart sank to the bottom and he came to the worst conclusion: he wasn't Drew, he was a copy of Drew, an AI, trapped in a computer, trapped in this lab.

No. Strong feelings of fear and resistance made Diaverum reject the idea. Something must have gone wrong, I still have memory, I still remember how I was born, I still remember my parents, the bank card password is 776528, didn't the contract say that the privacy area will not be copied? Yes, I'm not a replicant, I must be the original, my consciousness was accidentally sent into the computer! No, what about my body?

The researcher typed quickly: Drew, your computing intensity is too high, the temperature of the chip is too high, stop it.

Hell, who's going to stop. Think about it, what was I doing in the end, my body was in - by the way, I went home...... Ate a fast bento...... I was so tired that I didn't take a shower and fell asleep...... Sleep!

Diaverum feels like a flash of inspiration! Right! Fall asleep on your own! This must be a dream, a nightmare beyond imagination, I have to wake up quickly, how can I wake myself up in the dream? Pinching meat? No, I don't have a body right now, close my eyes, right......

The sight sank back into darkness, and Derverum was glad that the camera could be turned off.

When he opened his eyes again, the familiar ceiling of his home, the dim room, the whistling of the construction truck outside the window, the sense of touch, taste, and smell all returned to him. Dre couldn't help but gasp for breath, a sense of horror that he had escaped from the ascension, and a cold sweat flowed all over his body.

Luckily it was a dream. That's right, I'm Diaverum, a human, not an artificial intelligence.