Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 80
Emerging from the cobblestone path shaded by bushes, Alois glanced up to see Secretary Lina casually leaning against a tree, fiddling with her communication device. Upon seeing him, she quickly put away the device, fast as a high-energy particle beam.
“Mr. Lagrange,” she greeted him warmly, “Have you finished your discussion with Mr. Giorgione?”
“No,” Alois quipped, a slight smirk on his lips. “Apparently, the two inside are having a heart-to-heart, and they’ve sent me out.”
Lina smiled understandingly. “Then may I have the pleasure of showing you around the Neo Athens Academy?”
“Wouldn’t that be a bother?” Alois waved his hand dismissively. “I mean, who knows, maybe Joshua and Mr. Giorgione will be done soon, and he’ll need you.”
Lina pondered for a moment. “Ah, you do have a point.” The secretary raised her delicate hand and swept it through the air. “Then allow me to call a guide to show you around.” As her sleeves fluttered, a shadowy figure appeared beside her. Alois was used to Leo’s sudden appearances on the Lady of the Night, so he wasn’t particularly surprised when a holographic image of an AI in a black robe was summoned by Lina.
The AI was a head taller than Lina, with golden-brown curls perfectly set atop his head, and a facial structure as chiseled as a sculpture. Even through the robe, Alois could discern the AI’s robust physique. He was a classically handsome man, exuding a familiar aura—when the AI bowed to him, Alois finally remembered who he resembled.
It was Michelangelo’s renowned sculpture, David.
“It is an honor to serve you, Mr. Lagrange,” the AI said. The youthful hero of Israel was revived in Neo Athens through miraculous technology and served humanity across time and space.
Caught in his admiration for Neo Athens’s technology, Alois paused for a few seconds, which seemed to confuse David. “Are you alright?”
“…No. I think I’m more used to seeing you without clothes.”
“If you prefer, I can remove them.”
“…Let’s not.”
……
“Are you saying that a Yasha appeared on the small island of Neo Venice?” Giorgione asked. His fingers were interlaced, resting on his lap, and his gray eyes shone with an unusual light. “And that the Empire Duke was willing to spend a fortune on a data chip containing records of the Yasha, even willing to commit treason for it?”
“That’s correct,” Joshua nodded. “The chip was switched by Captain Joanna beforehand, and although Leo destroyed it, I suspect he had already copied the data inside.”
“Where is Leo now?”
“He’s installed on the Socrates.”
The old man closed his eyes, his brow furrowed. “I had thought Earth had become a wasteland, but centuries ago, someone risked their life to return there and brought back these data records…” He paused for a moment, then continued, “It’s fortunate that the chip didn’t fall into the wrong hands. However, that thing on the island of Neo Venice…”
Joshua interrupted, “Besides Jacob Yutz and the Duke, there must be others who know about the Yasha’s existence. Not only do they know, but they’re also trying to create it. Although what they’ve made is just a crude imitation of the real Yasha, getting even the basic direction wrong, who knows when something close to the real Yasha might actually emerge.”
The old man was silent. If the Yasha truly appeared outside Old Earth, the future would be overwhelmingly cruel for them. “We must think of a strategy.” The old man tapped his knee. “To halt all research on the Yasha. Kester predicted this day long ago, thus he preferred to seal his research forever rather than expose it to the world. He knew it was a thing more terrifying than the atomic bomb, capable of taking more lives and even destroying human civilization…”
“But, Teacher, before that, there’s something I need to understand,” Joshua said. “Something that has troubled me for a long time. I must know the truth.”
The old Giorgione looked up tiredly. “My child, what do you want to know?”
“The Yasha,” Joshua said solemnly. “What exactly is it?”
“This is the second greenhouse, where the temperature simulates the tropical climate of Old Earth, housing many rare plants. It can be described as a living gene bank of Old Earth plants.”
Passing through an arcade, AI David pointed to a hemispherical building and explained to Alois, “Apart from the third greenhouse, all other greenhouses are open to the public for free on holidays, though few people come to visit.” The AI shrugged. “Nowadays, everyone is used to experiencing holographic journeys on their terminals. Who would bother to come see a bunch of stationary plants?”
“That’s true.”
David then gestured towards another direction. “See that hill over there? That’s the ‘Hill of Wisdom’. It was there that the Dante, carrying the third batch of Earth’s survivors, landed. Later, ‘Utopia’ was built on the Hill of Wisdom. Despite its grand name, it is actually a library.”
As he finished speaking, an anti-gravity floating carpet drifted out of the grand doors of the library, seeming almost ready to fall to the ground at any moment, and flew towards them. As the carpet drew nearer, Alois could see a person seated on it, legs crossed and hands resting on his knees, much like a wizard.
“Good day, David.” The carpet quickly flew above their heads and descended to eye level with Alois. The person on the carpet greeted them. “Good day, distant traveler.”
Alois took a step back, easing the discomfort of being looked down upon from the carpet. “Hello,” he replied briefly.
David, however, bowed respectfully. “Your Excellency, Titian.”
The young man named Titian appeared younger than Alois, but his serious expression and accustomed air of superiority told Alois that he held an extraordinary status in Neo Athens. Seeing David’s reverent demeanor, it was clear he was a significant figure.
Indeed, after bowing, David immediately introduced him to Alois. “This is the current Governor of Neo Athens, His Excellency Nolin Titian.”
“Yasha, as defined by Kester, is a humanoid weapon created by humans, which gained immense power surpassing all existing technology, due to an experimental accident. It is mechanical yet also a life form, an existence beyond our understanding. It lives in higher dimensions, transcending all space and time, capable of traveling freely to any place in the past or future, making it an invincible weapon of slaughter. However, it has a fatal weakness.”
Giorgione paused for a few seconds, letting Joshua digest what he had just said.
“Its weakness is—” Seeing Joshua’s expression shift from confusion to shock, the old man continued, “It lacks wisdom, living solely by instinct like an animal. Its instincts are to kill and destroy. Without control, it cannot even distinguish friend from foe, killing every living being it encounters except for its master and creator—Kester. Hence, we named it ‘Yasha’, a fearsome monster in Old Earth’s religious myths.”
“What about when it is controlled?” Joshua asked.
“There is a way. When Kester discovered the Yasha’s weakness, he tried to dominate its body with his own mind, but he failed.” Giorgione held out his hand, fingers spread, then clenched it into a fist. “A human’s thoughts, will, soul—however you choose to call it—can only exist within a body. Kester couldn’t control another body while maintaining his own self. So, he made another attempt. He created an intelligence with thoughts and self-awareness, capable of freely transferring among suitable hosts, thus enabling it to control the Yasha.” With a mysterious smile, the old man added, “And so he created the first advanced artificial intelligence in human history with its own thoughts. Its name is…”
“Leonard,” Joshua finished for him.
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