Beta universe, 2025, winter, a resort island with pleasant scenery in Southeast Asia.
Since the news that "Wasteland OL" was about to open public beta was released, this mysterious fully immersive virtual reality game immediately caused a huge sensation around the world, so much so that this originally bustling holiday resort was deserted.
The empty bar at the beachside bar was particularly deserted, with only one bartender mechanically cleaning cups, and one customer who only ordered a cup of coffee.
The atmosphere here is harmonious, laid-back, and full of weirdness.
There were no other customers in the store, and I didn’t know where the endless cups came from.
And the guest was even more weird. His brows in his early thirties showed a calmness and calmness that had seen two hundred years of wind and rain, but his mouth seemed to be restless and he would say two sentences from time to time, as if he was talking to someone who didn't exist.
chatting with guests.
"As expected of 'another me'."
After receiving the reminder that the task was completed, the man sitting in front of the bar smiled lightly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and even his straight shoulders relaxed a lot.
Memory is the cornerstone of consciousness.
If you fuse memories that don't belong to you, you will gradually become no longer yourself.
His relatives, friends, and all familiar people in this world... all still remember his name.
But to him, they were like old photos that had been stored for two hundred years, but when he saw them again they looked different from what he remembered.
This is actually unfair to them.
As his dear assistant said, it was not just his own memories that made up his "conscious being," but also the memories of others.
For those people, they have lost a person they were once very familiar with before becoming a "professor".
However, even if it was unfair, he didn't have much choice. There was no best-of-both-worlds solution. At this time, even if he deleted the memory from another world, he couldn't go back to the summer of 2014 and start over.
The world line has changed.
The person he was in the past had died in a dream, and was replaced by another version of himself from a parallel world.
Fortunately, "α" did not follow the same path as him, but chose to continue along his own path.
This is exactly the best ending.
He had guessed how that person would choose a long time ago.
"But if this happens... Master, won't you be able to go back?" A worried voice came from my ears, like a wind chime shaking at the door.
That was his assistant's voice.
After coming to this world, he created it immediately... just like he had done once in the original timeline.
The clear voice made him a little distracted for a moment, but his blank eyes soon turned into a smile.
He smiled, picked up the cold coffee on the table, took a sip, and said in a lazy voice.
"Go back? Where else am I going?"
The voice that floated into my ears asked softly.
"Didn't you say you were from another world?"
"Have I ever said that, haven't I been from this world from the beginning? I just happened to have a dream about a parallel world."
But this dream was really long, almost three times as long as an ordinary life.
The intelligent program running elsewhere was at a loss for a moment, and then spoke after a moment of waiting.
"Uh... I think I can understand it that way."
"right?"
The professor smiled, put down the coffee cup in his hand, and continued.
"If you get on the observer's pirate ship and get off the ship, the final result will be to make the world a mess. It would be better not to get on the ship from the beginning. I believe that the wisdom of the people in this world will definitely create an era of prosperity.
A better future... After all, the effects of force are mutual. While the consciousness of the β universe exerts an influence on the consciousness of the α universe, the consciousness of the β universe will also be affected by the latter."
Just as he was talking, the news was playing on the LCD TV not far from the bar.
The "Pangu" fusion reactor located in Daya Bay is undergoing its first ignition experiment, and the leader and initiator of the project is a professor named Yanfeng.
This guy really put a lot of thought into it.
In fact, he spent more time on that reactor than on the "game", and even almost went crazy.
But it can be said that hard work paid off, and he finally walked out of his "well".
In the end, it is reasonable to achieve righteousness through cultivation.
"Tsk, this was originally 'my' achievement..."
Looking at the excited reporter on the screen and the fusion power station behind her that attracted countless attention from around the world, the professor's lips couldn't help but curl up into a faint smile.
never mind.
That's all in another world.
The bartender standing in front of the bar put down the cup in his hand, looked at the professor with a nostalgic expression on his face, and said in a respectful tone.
"What are your plans next?"
The bartender was one of the first residents of Vault 404, or a member of Vault 404-β, responsible for confidentiality and security work.
In fact, it's not just the bartender.
Most of the residents and android operators of Vault 404-β are "digital nomads" living in seclusion on this holiday island with a population of hundreds of thousands.
As for the main body of Shelter 404-β, it is located in the high seas not far from the island - a trough with a depth of about three kilometers near the Pacific Ring of Fire.
With the current technology in this world, there is no possibility of discovering that shelter even if it takes another fifty years. For the residents of 404-β shelter, they only need to use a deep-sea submarine to get back and forth.
It is much more convenient than taking an international flight for a business trip.
"Well... I haven't thought about it yet. In fact, I just started thinking about this issue."
After thinking for a long time, the professor who was originally undecided suddenly felt something in his heart and said with a smile.
"Maybe... where I would have been?"
The subordinate standing behind the bar was slightly stunned.
Not only that subordinate, but his ubiquitous AI assistant also expressed confusion and asked in confusion.
"The place where... you would go?"
The professor smiled lightly and said.
"Yes, anyway, let's go to Mars first. I have to get the 'Venerable' left there first. Well, it's the thing that allows me to stay with you longer... I plan to drink it myself this time
.”
The legendary water of eternal life.
Drinking it will grant you unlimited lifespan.
This world does not need "Gestalt life forms".
Besides, he has already done that subject once and has no interest in doing it a second time.
But then again, what will you do if you have unlimited lifespan?
It seems quite boring to stay in the solar system all the time.
Except for the AI assistant and the three thousand researchers who have been following him, he has no real acquaintances in this "β universe". Even if he starts to get to know each other again, they will probably be confused by his appearance.
"……Decided."
After pondering for a long time, he suddenly raised his head, smiled freely and said.
"I once heard an old friend say that there are other civilizations hidden in this galaxy, and we will meet each other in the next few thousand years. Before they discover the hyperdrive, I plan to go to them and have a look.
Travel around the galaxy and look for the heart of the galaxy."
The heart of the galaxy.
That treasure composed of eleven-dimensional matter, the embodiment of the rules of the universe...
It is said that that is one of the ways to become a boundary breaker.
In the original timeline, the observer had mentioned that thing to him and hinted that he could use it as a target to pursue.
Of course, these are secondary.
He doesn't care whether the universe will be heat-dead in hundreds of millions of years, nor is he interested in being the "Sky-Mending Stone" himself. He is purely curious about that legendary existence.
As he spoke, he looked at the bartender standing behind the bar, smiled and continued.
"As for you... just do it yourselves. Our mission is over."
"According to the end of Plan 404, our respected administrator and game planner will take over Facility 404-β and be responsible for the aftermath of the plan."
"Whether you want to go home or continue to live and die in the past timeline, that is your freedom... Don't ask me about this kind of thing, you can think about it yourself."
The manned spacecraft equipped with anti-gravity devices and hyperspace engines had been prepared two years ago and was deployed on the seabed in the middle of the Pacific, ready for ignition and launch.
Although he didn't build that thing at first to travel around the galaxy, but just to cooperate with "α" to act out the drama of the advanced civilization more realistically, it seems that it is no longer needed.
Countries that have benefited from Close Encounters of the Third Kind have completely gravitated toward the "bona fide contact" hypothesis, and have even cut the budgets of alien investigation agencies.
Since the "little guy" who is only a few hundred meters long is no longer needed, it might as well be used by him.
Anyway, with the technological reserves of the Alpha Universe Alliance, if you really want to expand your interference in the player's world, you can build a bigger and better one with the resources of this world.
In many fields, they are actually already ahead of themselves, an old antique.
Looking at the respected professor, the bartender had a trace of reluctance in his eyes.
He heard the farewell in the tone and wanted to say something to save him, but in the end he didn't say it and just nodded solemnly.
"I will seriously consider it..."
Although it is a good idea to go back, he already has his own lover and children in this world.
It's not just him.
Like him, many people have re-established their families in this distant timeline and become part of this world.
Now that the mission is completed and the α world is back on track, it's time for them to enjoy their lives.
He actually envied them a little.
Unlike me, who have experienced more than two hundred years of life, they only have forty or fifty years of experience at most. The younger ones may only be in their twenties or thirties, and still have the energy to think about their own affairs.
But he is different.
Even if he becomes young again, he doesn't have the patience to do the things he once did, say the things he once said again, and then send away those acquaintances he finally got to know again from his memory.
That was simply torture.
"Well, don't worry, think about it slowly." The professor smiled and drank the last sip of coffee in the cup.
The game does not end here, only the mission of "Vault 404-β" ends.
The days to come are still long...
…
The sun gradually sets over the mountain.
It was the busiest time on the beach, but the bar that was supposed to be open was closed at this time.
For a whole day, the Internet was buzzing with discussions about the ignition of controllable nuclear fusion, and the news even overshadowed "Wasteland OL", which is "clouded all over the world".
This enthusiasm has even spread to the reality outside the Internet. The professor walking along the road by the beach has heard the inspiring ignition from the tourists more than once.
This is actually understandable.
Although the NPCs in "Wasteland OL" have already used this technology to perfection, and even created a lot of derivative products by analogy, but for the humans in the β universe, this is the first time that they have used this technology to its full potential.
The energy of a star is in the palm of your hand.
They have held the first key to an era of prosperity.
It won't be long before they can completely liberate computing power on the basis of liberating energy.
In the near future, the second true artificial intelligence life will soon be born on Earth in the β universe.
At first they will be as at a loss as parents who are given a new life for the first time, but it won’t be long before they accept its existence and liberate themselves again on the basis of liberating energy and computing power.
They may follow the path of the alpha universe and build a huge space elevator on the equator.
Or maybe we can skip this step and directly imitate the "Alliance" of the new era, deploying an anti-gravity system on the sea, allowing the elevator cabin and various types of spacecraft to float up on their own.
In short, just like the α universe that ushered in the dawn, the β universe where the players are located also ushered in the dawn of a new era.
For people living on this planet, the distant sea of stars has never been as accessible as it is today!
Beside the beach.
The professor stopped and turned his gaze to the brilliant sunset stretched by the waves.
Counting from the summer of 2014, it has been more than eleven years now.
In the past eleven years, the observer has not spoken to him again.
But he can be sure that that eye is still observing here somewhere in this universe.
Maybe——
It's hidden in the fiery red sun.
Stopping on the beach, he bent down, picked up a pebble, and threw it into the sparkling waves.
Squinting his eyes and watching the silent countercurrent merge into the raging wave, a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.
Like a champion standing on an empty field, he announced the victory of the game with a voice that only two people could hear.
"I still remember you told me that I only have an infinitesimal chance of winning... But now it seems that I am the winner."
"You made a mistake."
"I am never one person, but countless people who have made the same choice."
"So infinity is never what you call the denominator, but the numerator above the finite denominator."
"Therefore, my winning rate should actually be 777 to infinity...that is, infinity."
When he said this, he stopped talking with a smile and left the final suspense to his AI assistant, leaving a little bit of trouble for the observer who was watching him silently, and also for the person who straddled the two worlds.