Weiss put the round coin away. He handed it to the waiting caretaker and instructed him to do some basic checks. The analysis results came quickly. It was just an ordinary platinum and tin product.
He recognized them, even though he had never had the opportunity to use them. In his and Foor's former hometown, the now-defunct Ascendant Bird Galaxy, these small discs were once used for exchange by primitive people. In the Central Memorial Hall in the center of the galaxy, he and Foor had seen similar objects together - but that was when they were still in the stage of enlightenment education.
"Did you steal it from the memorial?" he asked Foor.
"It can't be considered stealing," Foor replied.
There was a strange and contented smile on the prisoner's face, as if he had returned to the days when they went to the memorial together. But he still hasn't explained where he got the round coin, or how he cleverly evaded the search and carried it with him to the last moments of his life.
Wes should have been angry at the caretaker's failure, but he wasn't. You know, what a cunning and fighting person Feo was before he lost his reason! He even wondered how the committee could catch him so easily, as if Foor took the initiative to stand trial - this was of course morally correct, but which evil person would admit that he should be executed? Almost all spiritualists were cursing before being uploaded, or loudly talking nonsense that they firmly believed in: process and intention are more important than results, because results are ultimately unchangeable. In the face of inevitable destruction, retaining dignity and kindness is the only way to make them immortal.
There are at least a thousand formal research papers and hundreds of scholarly debates refuting these empty words. However, Weiss' duties had nothing to do with any of this. He spent most of his life on the long journey of the fleet. A long time ago, he dealt more with dead objects, energy storms caused by stellar activities, or black holes and magnetic vortices. He watches over the flagship, making sure everyone is safe. To this end, his current job may be no different than before. But of course, he still preferred his old job. If it hadn't been for that old friend, Bei, who recommended him to the committee, he wouldn't be where he is now.
That's something to be grateful for. If he wasn't here, he might be on a transport ship outside, making a futile effort to delay the Great Squeeze. Disaster relief and refugee relocation. Or run some experiments that are doomed to fail until the very last moment. What a meaningless sacrifice compared with his important responsibilities today!
Weiss got the coin back from the caretaker. He held it in his hand and squeezed it, feeling some absurd sadness. This is what the last spiritualism secretly hides in itself. Foor undoubtedly put a lot of thought into making it happen. The last weapon. Just as religious believers reacted when the Great Squeeze came: they neither evacuated nor resisted, but prayed for a miracle. But of course that doesn't make sense either. Even if their voices could be heard by something, which Weiss didn't even believe, what could be interested in saving them? If there really was a will that cared about their fate like a loving father, then the Great Squeeze would never have happened in the first place.
What left him with a little bit of pride in his sorrow was that Foo also didn't believe in salvation from God. His old friend, the prisoner who had fallen into madness and paranoia, was on a different path to delusion. People who are unwilling to act turn to a god who follows the concept of morality and order, but Foor believes that the world belongs to beastiality and primitive chaos, and they must fight and conquer, like hunters using traps to game cunning beasts. Of course, that goes against facts and reason, but at least it is a kind of struggle that puts people first, and it is a noble quality that Fuao has not forgotten even in his madness. Wes was proud of his former friend.
He held the round coin and sat motionless. Feo seemed to be soberer now. The charcoal gray eyes moved around, looking at everything in the room. As the last spiritualist, he had undoubtedly heard many rumors about the Sixth Convolution Expansion Analysis Room. But unlike the others, his face showed no fear or anger, just an expression of calm contemplation.
"So, this is it." He asked Weiss for confirmation. "Did you dispose of Oma, Wen and Zeke here? Is this the house of death we called?"
"It's just a technical workshop." Weiss said coldly. This was of course a layman's answer, but as an executive he didn't need to know the technical details.
"What an understatement." Foao said with emotion.
"This is a fact."
"The truth can be incomplete," Foor said. "There are very few names you and I can name, my friend. How many bodies have you destroyed in all the convolutional dilation analysis rooms? I'd guess at least There are as many as three medium-sized cities... No, I'm sure there are at least that many. Before Zeke was captured, he bet me that there were at least ten colonies. I don't want to believe it, Weiss. Even if all the words are paid Counting those who have sympathized with us, you can't find so many spiritualists. But Zeke's and my views don't count. My friend, as you said, the power of facts is irrefutable. How many people were sent to the Blue House? Only you can tell me the answer. Can you give me a sincere answer? Weiss, of all the people who have entered and left this house alive, I only believe in your words."
He spoke so sincerely, but Weiss's answer was silence. After a while, Foao finally closed his eyes in pain.
"I appreciate your answer," he said.
Weiss remained silent. It wasn't until the guards started looking at each other, worried about missing the time to start uploading, that he finally spoke in a rude and cold tone.
"Compared with what we are about to lose," he said, "everything we have lost in the past is not important. If we don't make a choice, we will lose everything..."
"Then why was this part left out?" Foor asked. "Do you dare to say that everyone who was sent to the blue room deserved it? Your colleagues - I mean your current colleagues, they The torture of those captured, all the destructive neurological testing, and - don't ask me where I got the information, I've never betrayed anyone - what do you do with what's left after the upload is over? Those autopsies And cutting is also a necessary part? Is the person who sneaked into the recycling bin and played with bones and flesh necessary? Didn't your subordinates joke about the 'red room'? They stood in the red room and stepped on Putting poses on those corrupt objects and leaving special image memorials so that they can be remembered in the future - haven't you ever confiscated several pieces of such information records? Have you never seen those people who are complacent about the power of massacre? Only primitive people's sacrificial ceremonies would be so carnivalous. Weiss, your people are obsessed with this matter. They like to show off this ability, so I say this. You call this a technological experiment, which is a fact. I call this a blood sacrifice. , this is exactly the fantasy you have been dreaming of.”
Weiss's face briefly stiffened in surprise. Foor said something he had not expected, something the prisoner was not supposed to know. Instead of feeling guilty about it, he moved his arm slightly.
"Who told you?" he asked Feo calmly.
"I'm about to fall into the red room, old friend," Foor said. "Why should I reveal the name of the prophet? Let him or her be as unlucky as I am?"
“Recycle bin incidents are classified.”
"The truth will not remain hidden forever."
"Yes. Just like the person who leaked the secret can't hide it. Even if you don't want to name it - we will still know it after your mind is uploaded."
"Don't you feel guilty about this at all? Not even a little bit?"
"Those who violate disciplines have been punished." Weiss replied succinctly. "There are violators in any collective action. That does not affect the correctness of the cause itself."
"I hope you do know what's right."
"Yes. Getting more people into the future. That's more important than how people die nobly."
Foor looked at his face silently for a few seconds, then turned his eyes to his palms. The round coin was still in Weiss' palm.
"I sincerely hope that your wish can come true." He finally said, "Let us all have our wish! If the universe does have infinite will, I am willing to give everything in exchange for two wishes. Just two wishes!"
"You can only do one thing at a time, Foo," Weiss said. "Focus on the goal and don't be too greedy."
At that moment they seemed to be back in time. It sure seemed like the kind of joke they used to make. But the time after that was a complete blur. Weiss couldn't remember what he said to the prisoner, it was all meaningless words. The blue light of the sound wave analyzer flashes like the footsteps of the universe's destruction. This is indeed the pace of death - he thought in a panic. The pain gnawed at the peace and composure in his heart. Two more times he asked Foor to repent, but the other party was indifferent to his attempts to stay. The final moment came in a flash of chaotic blue light. He stood up slowly and stepped back away from the upload platform, as if he was retreating all the way into the black hole of the universe.
"Time's up," he said, "start uploading."
