"No wonder you are in such a hurry to find a doctor. It turns out there is such a big hole."
On the familiar workbench, Shangluo was checking the internal problems of the music box. He turned on all the lights in the house for lighting, which was a waste of electricity. But it doesn't matter, there is no electricity meter so far, so there is no electricity bill.
By the bright light, he opened the bottom of the music box. The first thing that came into his sight was the "big hole".
As if being shot by a bullet, the densely arranged parts inside the music box neatly cleared a ballistic space. The gears chipped and the levers twisted like springs.
There was just a neat round hole in the receiver, and the nearby parts were a mess. But compared with the ballistics, the machine itself seems not to be normal.
There seems to be too much "precision" in the receiver. In addition to conventional gears and levers, there are also cycloidal wheels, oscillators, hairsprings, pawls, and large and small steel wheels... This little music box contains almost all the mechanical parts he knows. It's like a mechanical museum, but small enough to fit in your pocket.
Of all these parts, no two are exactly the same, just like there are no two identical leaves in the world.
Shangluo knew that his suspicion had been confirmed. The more complex the machine, the more powerful he can detect its "consciousness". Simple machines can often only show a certain flow of Qi, while complex machines can show complex emotions and fragmented memories. And within this extremely complex machine, the wonderful Apollonia was born.
[How about it, can it be fixed? 】
"I need to check it carefully again. The construction of these parts is just amusing me. Hmm... let me evaluate whether it can be repaired first."
Under the desk lamp, he put on a loupe.
A loupe, as the name suggests, is used to see small objects about an inch away. The average clock is only that big. No matter how big it is, it is not suitable for daily use. From the outside, the brass heart bell structure does not appear to exceed this size.
But he vaguely noticed that...beyond the visual distance of the loupe, there seemed to be some unexplored mechanical structures, which already exceeded the size of the bell structure itself.
"Did I use my eyes too much and get dazzled?"
He took off his loupe and looked directly with his naked eyes. Now it is much clearer, and the structure deep in the bell structure can be discerned.
He saw a red bullet stuck there, stuck deep in the bell structure, stuck in a series of small links of delicate mechanisms.
"Okay, it's not a big problem."
He put on cut-resistant leather gloves. This is necessary because the power accumulated in the clockwork can even explode the entire clock, and rash operation may cause the entire clockwork to pop out. Cutting your finger is a trivial matter, but cutting a blood vessel is a big problem.
After taking safety precautions, he used a pair of fine-nose tweezers to probe into the bell structure. The red bullet was within his sight range. All he had to do now was clamp it, twist it, and pull it out:
The clockwork started and the gears began to rotate. First it was the small gears distributed on the edge of the bell structure, and then the large gears began to rotate visible to the naked eye. The gears mesh with each other, driving the levers, cycloidal wheels and oscillators to converge into a low roar.
Only then did Shangluo realize that the inside of the mechanical heart seemed to be "bigger" than he had imagined, even exceeding the volume of the outer shell. The spiral of the bell structure continues to extend deep into the heart, to almost infinite distance, and more and more components join the chorus of gears and levers.
The pitch of the roar gradually increased, the roar turned into a buzz, and the volume became louder and louder:
Buzz——
Invisible fluctuations shook his brain.
The world is spinning, and Shangluo's eyes are blank...
When he woke up again, he was still in the same place and everything was as usual. The suitcase in front of him was still open, and he still held the tweezers in his hands, with the crimson bullet still held at the tip of the tweezers.
[5 seconds, you were stunned for 5 seconds just now. Your problem is not big, but my problem is not solved yet. ] Apollonia's voice appeared in his ears again.
The hole is still there. Although the interior of the bell structure has begun to rotate, the voids throughout the mechanism remain. The surrounding parts are spinning around the hole, and the infinitely deep mechanism makes the hole seem infinite, like a black hole tearing apart the three-dimensional universe.
[The wound has not yet recovered, and my shell has been completely shattered. I'm still trapped in this little music box. 】
"So this is infinite..." Shangluo knew that he had underestimated her. I thought it was just complicated, but I didn't expect that there was almost infinite space inside. If we follow the logic of "the more complex, the more powerful", Apollonia is probably already extremely powerful.
"Even so, can you still use your power?"
【That is only temporary. Just like if your vein ruptures, you won't die immediately, but you will definitely live for a short time. For me the cycle is quite a bit longer, but that creates a bigger problem. Just like a wolf chasing after a trail of blood, my wounds will spread the smell of my blood farther and farther. So...please, please help me. 】
Shangluo put down the tools in his hands and left the music box where it was: "I need to know one thing, what exactly is 伱?"
Apollonia was silent for a long time.
[I have to say that this is the ultimate question. What am I... I may have to think for a long time to understand. But you can understand it this way: I am Sun Wukong. 】
"Sun Wukong? What do you mean?"
[Sun Wukong, a born saint born from heaven and earth. He was born with knowledge, but he did not know how to use his power. He has taken many detours and made many mistakes. He has received a lot of help, and he has also helped many people. He was born as a 'born saint', but birth does not determine everything about him. Sun Wukong's future is determined by the path he has traveled. This is me, the endless divine machine 'Apolonia'. 】
"So what state are you in now?"
[Well...I have never walked in the world at all. Comparing it to Sun Wukong, I'm afraid I haven't entered the Water Curtain Cave yet. 】
"So you're a monster now?"
[Appropriate metaphor. Because the current me is obviously not enough to be called a human being, at least not legally. . 】
"..." Shangluo fell into thinking.
As a human being, Shangluo felt that this monster should be thrown into the trash can unconditionally, or it would be better to put it in a rocket and fly into space.
However, Apollonia's answer made him hesitate. Apollonia did not deny the fact that she was a "demon". But she raises the "possibility" of a monster, like the Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong is a monkey demon from beginning to end, but he can also be a born saint, a demon king, the Monkey King, the Monkey King, and the Victorious Buddha.
"So what you want to say is that you are not an indescribable monster with a vague face. You can communicate?"
[Yes, please treat my repairs as a business. I will definitely pay you appropriately. 】
"Well, this may be the difference between you and Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong doesn't talk about business with others. Sun Wukong always 'borrows' them from his old neighbors." Shangluo looked at the music box, "Admittedly, I am not Fahai, nor do I have I used the move 'Great Powerful Tianlong' to win your heart. But as a trade, what can you provide me? Let's not play charades. Tell us what you can do. Since you have not shown any hostility, we There’s a quicker way to communicate.”
[Okay, let’s end the dumbfounding. Metaphors are really not my thing. So let me tell you the truth: I cannot predict the future, or in other words, it was not me who predicted the future before, but the Akashic Records - the cloud of omniscience, in which the ultimate of all things lies. As an infinite divine machine, I can open the channel to the Akashic Records for you and help you ask questions about the Akashic Records. Although the Akashic Records will certainly answer your question, its answers may not be meaningful to you unless I assist you. 】
"Like tarot cards?"
[Yes, like Tarot cards. I've made some small 'modifications' to this deck so that it can feed the Akashic Records directly back to you in a 'symbolic' way. In this way, this set of playing cards closes the loop by itself, recording directly from Akashic to individual, without consuming my energy. There is no middleman to make the difference, it is energy-saving and environmentally friendly, right? Whether you can understand it or not is another matter. Of course, if it's you, I can try my best to help you. 】
"So you can still try to help me?"
[Yes, this is the reward I decided to give you. I'll help you ask the Akashic Records a question, and I'll do my best to collaboratively iterate on the question with you to get the results that are most useful to you—because the question itself is what matters. You've seen a movie, right? The famous "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". 】
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a science fiction novel written by British writer Douglas Adams in the 1970s. A movie of the same name was also released in 2005.
Shangluo recalled the movie, and there was indeed a similar plot in it. This is a movie he watched in "another world", a work that does not exist in this era.
The super-intelligent life form in the galaxy, Mouse, built a supercomputer called "Deep Thought", hoping to get the answer to the ultimate question from "Deep Thought".
The mouse asked: What is the answer to the "ultimate question of life, the universe and everything in existence"?
Shen Shen has been thinking about this question for 7 million years, and the final answer is "42".
"I won't talk about why you know about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". It's not important for the moment. You want to talk about the '42' section, right? The mice have been waiting for 7 million years, only waiting for an inexplicable 42."
【Yes. You see, what did the mice do wrong in this process? What they did wrong was that they didn't iterate on their questions, and there was something wrong with the way they asked them. "What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything in existence?" This question is too general and too chaotic. The mice should first build another 'Apolonia' to help them iterate on this problem, iterate over and over for 3.5 million years, iterate out the problem they really need, and then give 'Thinking' some time to think about it, and really The answer may appear. It can't be 42 anyway. 】
"Wait, you mean, iteration also takes time?"
[So this is what I said, 'The most important thing is the problem itself'. Because the collaborative iteration between us will be carried out through a 'question and answer' method, you first give a topic, and then I will ask you. Yes, I'm asking you. I will ask you to find out your needs, and finally we will sort out a practical solution and then send a request to the Akashic Records. The result obtained in this way will be the result you want. The ultimate problem must be iterated for at least millions of years, so that it can be worthy of the ultimate. It may take millions of years to calculate, but at least we can get a useful result. 】
"So I can ask for anything at the beginning?"
【certainly. But you can’t be too greedy, because if the problem you raise is too big, it will take a very long time for us to just iterate. 】
"Then my request is - I want to cultivate myself. I want to be a carefree immortal."
