Chapter 304: Space Gate

Artificial intelligence rebellion…

It was precisely because of precedents such as '40k', 'Halo', and 'Terminator'—the "lessons of past mistakes"—and the later understanding of the managing civilization that Sui Bian strictly prohibited research on artificial intelligences capable of self‑evolution, allowing only the development of "low‑intelligence" AIs without self‑thinking, to avoid repeating history.

But he had to admit that figures like the Red Queen and the White Queen played a crucial role in the rapid development of humanity.

If those two "high‑intelligence" AIs did not exist, Umbrella's covert control over existing society and the military system, as well as its monitoring of anomalies, would be sharply reduced.

In technology, livelihood, and construction, they assisted various personnel in research, analysis, and regulation.

If the two were to "rebel", everything Sui Bian had painstakingly built would quickly fall apart, colonies would lose contact, jump‑travel would become extremely hazardous, and once entering Rift Space, escape might be impossible forever.

Fortunately, that "if" was denied from the start.

As long as he, Sui Bian, remains the pillar of humanity with his original heart, the two become humanity's most loyal and reliable assistants.

Thus, the best choice for handling this anomalous incident is none other than the two of them.

Later.

He lightly waved his left hand, dispersing the holographic screen before him, then reclined his head on the sofa cushion, gazing at the cabin ceiling while recalling the content of The Matrix.

Although there is a high probability of differences, it can at least offer some guidance.

In memories of a past life, The Matrix left the deepest impression on Sui Bian as the "virtual world."

The so‑called "virtual world"…

Essentially, it is no different from current‑stage games.

With advanced instruments and equipment, players can be fully immersed in the game, experiencing "real" touch, smell, taste, and so on.

In contrast, The Matrix…

It is an uprising AI, or rather machines that keep humans confined within towers and egg‑cases, whose consciousness resides in a machine‑created virtual world, causing the confined humans to believe—from birth to death—that they are "free."

The machines' stated reason is to treat humans as "batteries," harvesting the bio‑energy humans generate.

In reality, the machines aim to achieve evolution through humanity.

Even if machines possess self‑awareness, they can never break out of preset thought patterns, nor can they "create"; they can only continuously refine existing things.

For example, they can keep improving existing cars, making them faster, yet they cannot create the concept of a "car" itself.

Thus, machines keep humans confined, tirelessly observing and experimenting, studying human psychology, and borrowing humanity's unique creativity to perfect their own kind.

Initially, the virtual world had no pain, no work; all humans were supposed to be carefree "living."

But it soon collapsed.

Through continual machine exploration, the virtual world was fashioned into a late‑20th‑century setting, with disease, work, and hustle, infinitely close to "reality," which ultimately satisfied humanity.

Yet a small fraction of people, whose minds are overly active, repeatedly doubt the world's "reality," severely undermining the virtual world's stability.

These are "program glitches."

Therefore, the machines excise those "glitches" and then schedule various "scripts," causing these humans who leave the virtual world to endlessly repeat the cycle of escape → realization → dungeon construction → rebellion → extinction, while the machines additionally gain "management experience."

Each repetition also upgrades the machines and the virtual world.

Considering only the relationship.

It may seem that machines and humans are inseparable, but in fact machines cannot escape humanity at all and cannot evolve independently.

As for more specific content and details, the past‑life Sui Bian did not investigate them deeply, nor did he peruse various interpretations.

However…

Sui Bian was too lazy to care whether, in The Matrix, the machines acted out of survival or sought equal rights, thereby being forced to "rebel" against human oppression—everything is just a theory of humanity's "self‑inflicted guilt," or a "philosophy."

He only knows that the machines slaughtered an incalculable number of humans and also confined and experimented on them.

And just now.

He, in his capacity as a UEG Councilor, gave a speech in Buenos, preparing for next year's Speaker election and pulling in a wave of votes early.

Within the company, Sui Bian is the well‑known Chairman, the true power holder.

Externally, regarding chronology, Sui Bian, in 2070, with his background as an Umbrella board member, became a UEG Councilor.

At that time, he was merely awaiting an opportunity to introduce OriginalBodies to the public, without any intention of leading humanity openly.

However, when the elf‑queen‑like Ailinmir uttered a Prophecy about the future, Sui Bian began using his councilor status to gradually appear in the public eye.

The title of Speaker is optional; after all, the current UEG Speaker, Councilors, and the UNSC generals are all selected by the Red and White Queens as the optimal arrangement for humanity's overall development and coordination.

He can be considered an "outside employee" of Umbrella.

Regarding the UNSC, its structure is no different from traditional forces.

But the UEG is a special parliamentary system.

In theory, the UEG Parliament is humanity's supreme authority, possessing legislative, organizational, and supervisory powers over government officials, the UNSC, Umbrella legions, and sector governors.

Parliament members consist of Councilors elected from Earth's continents and each colony, as well as Umbrella board members.

As colonies gradually expand, the total number of Councilors keeps rising; currently, including Sui Bian, there are 1,105 Councilors.

Moreover, given humanity's extended lifespan, Councilor terms have been lengthened to 18–36 years, with a Speaker election every ten years, and the Speaker's term also lasting ten years.

"Chairman."

At that moment, the Red Queen standing to his left asked, "We are about to enter the Courage Anthem Hangar; should we order the Dark Angel Legion to prepare for a full jump to Kogler?"

He heard the question.

Sui Bian stopped pondering The Matrix or the Speaker title and said, "No full jump is needed; except for the Courage Anthem, all ships should dock within Saturn's gravity sphere to assist Glorious Iron Fist and Tutmos in temporarily holding the Solar System."

"Understood."

Having instructed the Red Queen.

Sui Bian finished reclining, rose from the fixed sofa, and walked to a porthole to look outside the cabin.

During his contemplation, the flight formation had long left the atmosphere, reaching low Earth orbit at an altitude of a hundred kilometers above the surface.

Dominating most of the porthole's view was forever the human homeworld, rendered blue by sunlight.

Pure and graceful.

Unlike in The Matrix, where humans attempted to exterminate machines by cutting off the solar power they relied on, foolishly scorching the Earth's sky.

Upon further thought.

The Space Gate opened on Coglerel made Sui Bian inevitably think of the Space Gate leading to the prehistoric planet.

Due to the rapid development of space mining, Umbrella had already ceased mining and excavation on the prehistoric planet as early as 2015.

Currently, Umbrella merely constructs a permanent base near the Space Gate large enough to accommodate fifty thousand people.

Nor does it interfere with the area directly beneath the base—that is, the continent on the opposite side of the planet, where a humanoid race already knows farming and construction.

On the contrary, the barbarian continent where the base is located, with its Titan insects and dinosaur beasts, has become the training ground for Astate recruits.

Every June, Alekxia arranges a 'biological practice course'.

At that time, over a thousand fifteen- to sixteen-year-old recruits who have just undergone G-gland implantation surgery will pass through the Space Gate, carrying only cold weapons such as daggers, wrist blades, and retractable spears, along with standard training uniforms and simple protective gear, to venture into the barbaric world to 'observe' ferocious creatures.

It lasts two days.

Although Umbrella has never carried out large-scale operations on the surface, the prehistoric planet's near-Earth orbit hosts satellites with various monitoring and analytical functions, as well as manned space stations.

Through long-term deep-space observation and exploration from the space station, it can be determined that the prehistoric planet remains within the Milky Way, about nine thousand light-years from Earth.

Furthermore, based on experiments using the base's installed quantum communication relay, it can be learned that the prehistoric planet shares the same universe as present-day humanity, and is not a so-called parallel universe.

A Space Gate that truly leads to another Earth, to a parallel universe, should be the wormhole opened by the arrogant colonial civilization seventy years ago in the shallow sea area of Elizabeth City.

Recalling these, Sui Bian suddenly felt curious and, in his mind, asked the system: 'The Space Gate to the prehistoric planet was opened by a witch, while the one to another Earth was opened by colonists…

Then, who or what opened the Space Gate on Coglerel, and why? Could it be an artificial intelligence conducting some experiment that accidentally opened the Space Gate?'

【No.

The Space Gate on Coglerel arose naturally because the host's main universe came into close contact with the parallel universe where the AI rebellion occurred.'

Main universe?

Naturally generated?

Hearing the system's reply, Sui Bian again sought a definitive answer, asking:

'If that's the case, then in the future there will be more naturally occurring Space Gates leading to other parallel universes, appearing at various times and places, am I right?'

【Yes.】

Having received affirmation.

Gazing out the window, Sui Bian couldn't help but feel a bit wistful.

So far, counting the Coglerel Space Gate, he has learned of two parallel universes, but the human condition in both is horrifying, with countless compatriots slaughtered.

Looking at it from another angle.

If this universe had not had his intervention, it would be questionable whether humanity could cease its self-slaughter, and it might already have been enslaved by the 'Blood Demon Griffin' from another realm.

Earlier, Erin Mil provided detailed information about the Orion and Sagittarius outposts, letting Sui Bian know in advance which forces surround human territory.

Now there are also Space Gates that occasionally open…

Sui Bian feels that humanity's path forward is fraught with turbulence and its destiny is full of hardship.

'The burden seems heavier now, with not just one universe's humanity awaiting redemption…' Sui Bian couldn't help but reflect in his mind.

He slightly eased his mind.

Through the porthole, gazing at the massive Courage Praise nearby, he posed his final questions to the system:

'I want to know whether the other end of the Coglerel Space Gate lies in another realm; if we were to relocate the people there to the main universe, or move main-universe humanity to the parallel universe, would that draw the attention of the demons of that other realm?'

【Testing…

No, the other end of the Coglerel Space Gate does not lie in another realm.

【Yes.

Once an attempt is made to relocate or disclose it, the beings of that other realm will surely notice the existence of the parallel universe and thus erode it.'

'Okay, I understand.'

The conversation ended.

The system continued to remain silent.

Seeing the transport craft enter the hangar of the Courage Praise, Sui Bian turned and walked toward the hatch, leaving the cabin together with his two secretaries.

Soon, he felt a slight shake, indicating the transport craft had docked on the hangar deck.

After they disembarked from the transport craft, they saw Leon, resembling a bodyguard, approach slowly from a distance, speaking respectfully:

'Father.'

'Hn.' Sui Bian gave a soft reply, heading toward the monorail station in the hangar, and instructed Leon:

'The main battlefield for this anomaly is to be handled by the Red Queen, but the secondary battlefield requires you and Angelong to take charge—get ready.'

'Yes.' Leon nodded.

Soon after.

Outside the hull.

The Courage Praise, protected at its core by layers of the Dark Angel fleet, opened a jump entrance and proceeded into the Rift Space toward Coglerel, 300 light-years away.

If observed using a flat star chart, the border fortress sector under John's responsibility lies on the upper edge of the Solar System.

And the Musan Star Region, where Coglerel is located under Governor Angelong's administration, lies on the right side of the Solar System.

After the Courage Praise fully entered the Rift Space, the remaining ships of the Dark Angel legion also quickly 'flattened' and 'disappeared', entering a fold-jump sailing state to head for Saturn's gravitational sphere.

———————

…

The second hour after the Space Gate suddenly unfolded.

The other end of the gate.

Originally damp and dark, the underground sewage channel has now become dry and bright.

The collapsed building debris has already been cleared, survivors have received assistance, and the bodies of the victims have also been transferred.

Several units using anti-gravity technology, belonging to newer models of SCV, are conducting excavation work beneath the Space Gate, widening this area.

Engineering personnel wearing orange engineering-type powered armor or large exoskeletons are busy reinforcing the widened area and constructing an underground forward base.

Various containers filled with supplies and building materials are continuously transported here via the four large elevators that were first erected.

Currently there is already a prototype of an underground base; after all, Umbrella is uniquely experienced in constructing underground bases.

Together with the wired communication base station set up at the center of the base, it is more convenient for Umbrella staff, who are preparing to conduct a detailed investigation of this world.

As for the personnel responsible for patrol and guard, there is an emergency team from the local intelligence department, stationed in the outskirts of the metropolis, belonging to a combat battalion of the Kreig 133rd Regiment.

Lastly, the garrison likewise located in the outskirts of the metropolis is a reserve combat platoon of obstacle-clearers, whose ceramic steel armor is painted white overall, with shoulder armor in gray-blue.

(End of chapter)