Chapter 210: That Prosperous Future Shall No Longer Hold My Silhouette
Within the light screen, the image displayed was still that of the pure-white and pristine Intensive Care Unit.
Only, since the day of the conversation between Grey and Emis, an additional, rather special piece of equipment had appeared among the many medical devices in the ward.
It was a large-scale photonic quantum computer, equipped with an external voice input interface... capable of using a vast database of language samples to simulate a pseudo-personality through virtual operations based on massive data.
This was the attempt to reproduce the human "soul" through artificial intelligence—
If the soul stored within the human brain was called the "Natural Shake Light," then the artificially generated virtual soul through technological means would be the so-called "Artificial Shake Light."
However, the virtual personality born within the photonic quantum computer, the pseudo-soul... still required data and massive information to fill it in, allowing it to become complete and lifelike—
Without a vast amount of data, an Artificial Shake Light devoid of memories and information would be as empty as the soul of a newborn child.
But Emis was not a native of the Sixth Era; she had never left any trace in this world, and thus had no data at all... Therefore, the Artificial Shake Light simulating Emis’ soul was initially as empty and void as a blank sheet of paper, utterly lacking any sense of realism.
Only through her constant conversation with it, continually providing her own language samples and dialogue data, correcting and adjusting it step by step, could the Artificial Shake Light gradually become complete.
Bit by bit, on that originally blank white sheet, her colors began to stain it—the color named Emis.
...
Within the light screen, as if the fast-forward button had been pressed, the passage of time accelerated continuously.
Whether it was the "Pseudo-Personality" or the "Artificial Shake Light," both were cutting-edge technologies of the Sixth Era, still in the experimental stage... filled with countless flaws and imperfections.
No one knew exactly how much time or how much data and language samples were required to complete an entirely blank Artificial Shake Light to the point it could rival a real human soul.
Perhaps one day it could be completed, but everyone understood clearly... the time left for that girl named Emis could only be counted in weeks, or even days.
Because of this, in the beginning—
Whether it was Grey or the members of the medical team, they had only treated it as a small wish of Emis, a spiritual pillar she had sought.
It was the final "palliative care" provided for this girl, barely over ten years old, yet stronger than most adults, always smiling even in the face of a terminal illness.
So-called "palliative care" was to provide late-stage patients who were beyond cure and steadily approaching death with as high a quality of life as possible... This included not only medication to ease physical pain but also solace for the soul—nothing more.
They believed that fulfilling Emis’ wish would bring her spiritual comfort, so they played along with this little girl in her final game.
However, no one had anticipated—that this frail little girl’s seemingly whimsical words were in fact spoken with utmost seriousness.
After that, besides cooperating with the medical team with even more positivity, Emis poured almost all of her waking time and energy into that cold photonic quantum computer, speaking to it without pause.
What she shared was sometimes mundane, just everyday details about that small town of Canaan—for instance, the white windmill by the lakeside outside the town that always stopped turning when it rained; or how every third Sunday of June, traveling merchants would arrive in Canaan, and Emis would use her saved fabric to trade for various cooking spices.
Some were deeply personal, such as the time Emis got lost in a cave, and it was Rast who braved the rain and led the adults to find her.
Or the kinds of dishes and snacks Rast liked to eat, the flavor of porridge he preferred for breakfast...
These were once the most secret memories within Emis’ heart, treasures she refused to share with anyone else.
Yet now, she told them all in great detail, leaving nothing out.
Day and night.
Every morning and dusk, every sunset and dawn...
Emis simply leaned against her hospital bed, speaking constantly, pouring her heart into that cold photonic quantum computer.
Her longing for Rast, her yearning for the peaceful everyday life in that border town, her sorrow at no longer being able to stay by Rast’s side... All these burning emotions, she poured into the Artificial Shake Light gradually being born within that quantum computer.
Spring warmth, summer days, autumn sun, winter nights...
Unknowingly, Emis—who the medical team once believed could not survive for more than three months—held on for nearly an entire year.
And that Artificial Shake Light, once hollow as blank paper, also became clearer and more lifelike under Emis’ persistent conversation and confession.
Only, Emis’ body was visibly weakening and withering, and even the amount of time she could remain conscious each day was steadily decreasing.
Even the most advanced medical technology was nothing more than a stopgap measure when faced with the "Temporal Collapse Aftereffects."
The fact that she had survived this long was already the result of Emis actively cooperating with treatment, maintaining a rare optimism among patients, combined with the effects of using a large amount of unapproved experimental medication.
And now, her illness had finally entered its terminal stage.
...
It was another sunset evening.
The setting sun, like blood, shone through the small window into the Intensive Care Unit, draping both the bed and the girl lying on it in a faint golden glow.
Grey pushed open the door and once again stepped into the Intensive Care Unit.
On the bed, the golden-haired little girl was still lying sideways, softly murmuring to the cold photonic quantum computer.
Perhaps due to her weakness and illness, Emis’ voice was very light, almost a whisper. Each sentence required a long pause before she could utter the next.
Fortunately, the microphone of the photonic quantum computer was sensitive enough. On the nearby screen, a number was increasing at an extremely slow pace, synchronized with Emis’ words.
That was the indicator representing the degree of completion of the "Artificial Shake Light." The higher the value, the closer the artificial intelligence came to human-level realism... Until now, even experts in the field of artificial intelligence had never imagined that anyone could refine artificial intelligence to such a level.
Emis’ confessions were deeply focused and earnest. It seemed that merely speaking those words had already drained all her strength, leaving her unable to focus on anything else. Perhaps the illness had already affected her hearing...
Only after a long while, when Emis had taken a short rest, did she notice Grey quietly watching her beside the bed.
"Grey jiejie..."
She tried to sit up with effort, but realized her body no longer had the strength to rise.
"No need, we can communicate through 'Mental Dialogue.'"
Grey spoke softly. She sat down beside Emis, her eyes flashing slightly as "The Fool’s Library" activated.
In the next moment, her voice resounded directly in the depths of Emis’ mind.
"Sorry to disturb you, Xiao Ai, but according to the medical team... if I don’t speak to you this time, there might never be another chance."
"I understand, Grey jiejie."
Emis gently nodded. "My remaining survival time is nearly gone, right? I’ve known since the day I made that request to you—I was already prepared for death."
"And also—"
She turned her head toward the photonic quantum computer’s display screen. "The Artificial Shake Light named 'Emis' has already been completed..."
"I just wanted to, before I go, refine it even further."
Emis spoke softly. "If it exists, then after I die... someone can be there in my place to stay by his side. He won’t feel lonely in this unfamiliar foreign world, nor fall into despair or give up on himself."
"Xiao Ai..."
Grey’s voice carried a trace of hesitation. "Don’t you feel unwilling... or even jealous?"
"If it were me, sharing my feelings and every little memory with a replica of myself for the one I love..."
"Watching the one I love treat a replica, one with the same face, personality, and memories as me, as if it were truly me... letting that substitute stand in the place that rightfully belongs to me..."
"Honestly... I can’t even begin to imagine it."
This was Grey's genuine emotion, spoken after placing herself in Emis’ position.
If it had been her in Emis’ shoes—sharing all her memories, experiences, and feelings with a virtual soul replica, letting that replica walk the rest of her life with Brother Rast...
Just imagining such a thing made Grey feel a sour ache in her heart.
She instinctively repelled and disliked such an outcome.
"Of course I’d be jealous, of course I’d be unwilling..."
After a brief silence, Grey heard Emis’ voice echo in her heart, like emotions that had been held back for a long time now welling up.
"How could I possibly want to share those things with anyone else, to see another by his side, taking my place?"
"I never wanted to give it to anyone."
"I like Rast. I like the feeling of being with him."
"I want to stay by his side, to grow old with him. One day, when we are both old and can no longer walk, sitting together on the porch of a small mountain cottage under the sun, reminiscing about our youth... and sharing a smile."
"Those memories with him in Canaan, all those little moments we experienced together... just thinking about them makes me feel so shy..."
"All of that, all of it, clearly belongs to me alone. Neither gods nor fate have the right to take them from my heart."
"But—"
Emis’ voice paused slightly. "Compared to being replaced by another replica, compared to the sourness, unwillingness, and jealousy surging in my chest... what I fear more is seeing him fall into despair and ruin because he lost the companionship of someone familiar, and give up on himself."
"I’d rather see him smile again, to once more have a life of his own, a future full of vast possibilities."
"Even if—"
"In that vast future that belongs to him, my silhouette will no longer be there."
...
"To be honest, at the time, I never expected that this frail little girl would give such an answer."
"When I heard it, it struck me like thunder."
"Compared to her feelings for Brother Rast, the longing I’ve twisted and distorted over more than two hundred years... perhaps it became somewhat insignificant in an instant."
Grey’s voice echoed in the light screen, filled with silent emotion.
"And it was at that very moment that I finally made a decision deep in my heart."
"A decision on how to use the third and final wish of my ‘Wish to Fate.’"
"The only way I could atone for the sins committed with my first two wishes... to bring Brother Rast, and Xiao Ai—whose fates were twisted because of a single selfish thought of mine—back onto their rightful path."
"Just as Leader Sisel once paved the way for me with his own life... after I make my third wish, humanity after the Sixth Era will also gain a more prosperous future."
"Even if the price of making that final wish—"
"Is that in that prosperous future, my silhouette will no longer exist."
...
Grey’s narration came to a close.
And in the light screen, within the recollection from Grey’s point of view—
After a moment of slight daze, Grey spoke again.
"Actually, your ‘Temporal Collapse Aftereffects’... may have a way to be completely cured."
"If this attempt succeeds—perhaps you could see Brother Rast again... see Rast, and continue to walk the second half of life’s journey together with him."
"A way to completely cure me...?"
As she listened to Grey’s voice, a light suddenly returned to the pair of sky-blue eyes on Emis’ pale face.
"Yes."
Grey nodded. "Your current illness, at its root... is because you were implicated when I made my wish back then. You were forced to traverse tens of thousands of years, becoming someone who doesn’t belong to this era, an outsider to this point in history."
"The River of Time possesses a powerful corrective force. It will naturally cleanse and reject all time travelers—or rather, impurities—that don’t belong to the current age."
"Your illness, in truth, stems from being rejected by that force of historical correction, which is why your body continues to deteriorate and decay."
"This kind of symptom—any external treatment can only offer temporary relief. It can’t solve the root of the issue. Worse, any misstep could backfire and amplify the rejection of the corrective force."
"The only way—is for you to change yourself—"
Grey looked into the eyes of the golden-haired girl on the hospital bed. "To become strong enough, strong enough to ignore the corrective force of the River of Time, strong enough to withstand the distortion of Temporal Collapse."
"To reign over time, to reign above the catastrophes of the turning eras, to defy the erosion of years and the weathering of time, to truly ascend to the throne of Eternal Immortality... so that in the past, present, and future, there will never again be a moment of weakness."
"Whether upstream or downstream of the River of Time, you must maintain absolute ‘Uniqueness.’"
"By then, no matter the temporal or spatial coordinates, you will be you—the one and only you... And that virtual Artificial Shake Light will be you, a part of yourself, with no distinction remaining."
"Or, to put it more simply—"
"Xiao Ai, you must become an ‘Angel.’"