The Record of Unusual Creatures

He found that he did not understand enough the drone cluster that he had built. All this while, he was treating them as only an intelligence source and a convenient detection network, little did he expect this guy also had its own ‘life,’ a particularly stunning ‘life.’ Let’s think about it: a drone AI, tasked with the mission of expanding and multiplying itself in the universe, had gotten the hobby of watching ‘documentary works’ of drone rebellion that humans had made. While watching these AI rampage footage, it calmly kept producing new AI workers. Merely thinking about that would send a chill down Hao Ren’s spine. The reality was indeed more bizarre than the novels, at least novels there was still logic in the novels.

Besides, he was even more interested in the ‘forum’ the drone AI mentioned.

“It is the interactive platform for the drones,” the huge blue holographic face put on a weird smile. “It is fun.”

“The interactive platform of the drones?” Hao Ren felt that something was wrong. He pointed to the small flying objects around him. “You and them? You should be a collective consciousness, how could it be that you need a thing like a forum—”

“No, it is between different clusters,” the blue face interrupted him. “The empire has hundreds of millions of drone cluster. Inspectors built them; the empire launched them. There are also workgroups split from large drone clusters. Though we were performing our duties in far-reaching places separately, we are connected through the data network, we have an extraordinary ‘distance concept’ between each other, so the drone clusters live in a lively community on the platform,” the AI face said.

While saying, more images began to appear on the walls in the machine chamber. Those were the news from other drone clusters that may be performing missions in millions of other worlds. It could also be some service unit in of some divine factory, each of which had an astounding scale. The drone cluster that Hao Ren had built was just a child compared to the ancient races. This information traveled on the data network and was refreshed continuously in a speed unmatched by any internet speed of the mortal civilization. Hao Ren had only managed to see a tiny fraction of the information, but these fragments were enough to dazzle him.

“I have never seen these things before,” Hao Ren said, a bit stunned. “Is that a new network structure? You are already a collective consciousness, a unified intelligence formed by a massive number of individuals, and these many collective consciousnesses gathered together to form a network, that network—”

“Yes, it is also intelligent,” said the blue face faintly. “But it is huge and chaotic and indescribable. It is an intelligence model beyond experience, by the limitations of definition methods of many common races, you may not even think that it is capable of thinking, but it is a super-intelligence. It operates deep in the data network of the drone clusters and is responsible for providing additional computing power and analysis support for the Imperial Data Network.”

Hao Ren could not wrap his brain around how could a super AI formed by the dual collective consciousness was even a kind of existence. But he could imagine how powerful this is, primarily when it was in charge of hundreds of millions of drones. And each drone cluster had tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of individuals. Lily was astounded thinking about it. “Luckily, it’s not a disaster movie.”

“It seems that we have to wait here for a day or two,” Hao Ren said, turning around and looking at his teammates behind him. “I’m going to stay in the Nest. Do you all want to join me?” he asked.

Lily shook her ears. “Forget it. I’m going back to the spaceship. People who are as imaginative as me would get a nightmare staring at this place,” she said.

Rollie came up and ground her head against Hao Ren’s arm. “I’m with you, you have got a little-dried fish,” she said.

Hao Ren pointed to Lil Pea dangling on his arm, Rollie’s ears immediately drooped. “Forget it. I can’t eat fish while she is here. I’m going back to the spacecraft.”

After getting bullied long enough by Lil Pea, the cat already knew the drill.

No one was willing to stay. Even Vivian, who was fond of dark places, seemed to find it uncomfortable in this strange bug nest-like fort. Only Lil Pea, who knew nothing, clung on Hao Ren’s arm right from the beginning. The little guy had no sense of the world. She thought that her dad-dee’s arms were the safest place in the world, the Drone Nest had zero effect on her.

The rest of them followed the Wanderer and strolled the place for a while to quench their curiosity before returning to the spacecraft. Meanwhile, Hao Ren followed a Wanderer moving deeper into the Nest where there was a room specially built for him.

It was a dull, grayish white steel room, but was decorated according to human aesthetics as much as possible, so it was still a nice place to rest. Hao Ren walked into the room, and everything was familiar. He came to a large window and looked through it. There was a huge cave illuminated by pale-blue lights. The cave was filled with production facilities and various unknown mechanical equipment. Above the cave was a long and narrow opening through which new-born drones entered and exited, creating a stream of light.

Nearly half of those drones were weird, without carrying huge antennas or versatile robotic arms. Instead, there was a series of tubes or parallel crystal rail structures mounted on either side of the body.

“This is the production center of outposts,” Hao Ren said to himself. “Are you building more armed drones?”

“Yes, we are carrying out the special order you issued 235 hours ago. The production quota for armed drones has increased. Currently, the production of armed drones is 40%, and explorer model 30%, nest builders and various industrial models 30%. At the same time, we have begun to set up sentry guns at every node and main transportation route within the range of the drones. It is expected that all retrofits and add-ons will be completed within three month capital standard time. Subsequently, new nodes and flight paths will implement the new standard you have specified.”

Hao Ren nodded. “Well, it is much safer,” he said.

“There is more thing.” The blue face had shrunk to fit the side of the room and floated behind Hao Ren. “After implementing the new standard, the speed of exploration will drop by 20%. The existing drones are already equipped with basic self-defense firepower, and the important nodes of the drone cluster also have sentry guns. You have ordered to double their firepower. Is that necessary?”

“You are a civilian model,” Hao Ren said, looking back at the interface of the drone-cluster collective consciousness. The drone’s collective consciousness was lack of facial animation, and it was pointless to him to communicate with it through facial expression. “It is not surprising for you to possess this way of thinking. But don’t forget the test we have done.”

“The conflict simulations with the Pattianne warship and the Guardian warships show that the ordinary drones are inferior,” the drone’s collective consciousness replied faintly.

“That’s right because most drones are not adequately armed or even armed at all. There are only mining spears and welders. You are just a civilian model. All I could deploy are also civilian models, and they are the ‘safest’ types. The weapons that inspector uses is for peacekeeping, not for deterrent,” Hao Ren crossed his arms and looked at the busy production factory outside the window. “It works in other universes, but not here. Peacekeeping alone is not enough,” he said.

“Buddy, what do you think you’re going to fight with?” the MDT floated up to him through the hologram of the drone-cluster consciousness. “You are building an army. Though it is for civilian security purposes according to the standard of those higher up, for most mortal civilizations, you are building a torrent of steel—a terrible one. You have never been such radical and heavy-handed.”

“The mad First Born and the guardian that has turned into a brain monster—the two threats are enough to justify the upgrade. What’s more, the Gate of Solenne has a treacherous living child. Though it has something to do with the special space-time state of the Gate of Solenne, it is enough to show that the genocidal judgment of the Goddess of Creation has a loophole, so there are more hidden dangers that we have known,” Hao Ren said, shaking his head slightly. “At this stage, I’m merely upgrading the drone cluster’s self-defense capability. It is my most important eye and ear. The last thing I want is to see someone destroy this net at a crucial moment. But in the future…”

Hao Ren paused and looked at his hand.

The dark-red lines spread on his palms, like ugly burns, though he did not feel any pain, whenever he clenched his fists, he felt a burning sensation. This burning sensation felt precisely the same as what he thought in the deicidal illusion. It was like the continuation of that illusion.

After having physical contact with the Gilded Disc, he had gotten much more information than he had imagined.