Starships of All Realms Online

Chapter 26 True Power, Starship Takes Flight

Inside the underground space, a long train tunnel runs through San Francisco and Los Angeles, leading directly to a cliff by the sea.

"Sizzle!"

As the train braked, Fang Heng and the others arrived at the seaside transfer station.

The cliffs by the sea have been hollowed out, and the interior space leads directly to the seabed.

Led by Number 2, the group arrived at an indoor dock.

"Splash!"

As the sound of water rose, a huge black object emerged from the water.

"Commander, this is the submarine we built. We will be traveling to the underwater base in this submarine."

"Why not ride in a flying machine?"

"Commander, Earth's current orbit is not only protected by our Starlink system, but also by Genesis's Skynet system. Once we appear in the air, we will be immediately locked onto by Genesis and easily attacked. Therefore, going underwater is a safer option."

Of course, to ensure absolute safety, the submarine is also equipped with a launch bay. In case of any problems, the commander can be launched from the launch bay, and after being picked up by an aerial platform, the relay can continue to the lunar base.

Fang Heng nodded, indicating that he understood.

This was also one of the ways he originally designed to leave Earth, so that if things became hopeless, he could go to the moon to regroup.

What is the story behind Genesis?

"Genesis is a system that suddenly appeared a year ago. From the very beginning, it gained the favor of the military and was listed as an auxiliary military system. Now, the military has proposed to list it as a major operating system in order to deal with the threat from the East."

"It seems the backup plan we left behind has come in handy."

"Yes, Commander. With our covert assistance over the years, the East has risen very rapidly and is now able to rival North America. This is why the military is so eager to incorporate Genesis into the main control system."

"I see. They dared to use such a system of unknown origin. That's quite something."

At this moment, Sarah, who had been silent, also expressed her opinion.

"I think it's thanks to Skynet's infiltration robots that Genesis was able to take the initiative so quickly."

"That should be the case. Perhaps Agent Smith also deserves credit, Sarah. In fact, you can see from this that even if you destroy Genesis now, other artificial intelligences will emerge in the future."

Such artificial intelligence, as long as it is used in warfare, still has the potential to develop self-awareness.

"And what about your number 2?"

"There's no comparison. As a subsystem, No. 2 wouldn't experience this situation. Your Skynet, this kind of artificial intelligence, seems to easily develop self-awareness, which is indeed a bit strange."

Sarah fell silent upon hearing Fang Heng's words.

To be honest, she was also a little puzzled. After all, according to normal logic, artificial intelligence is just a bunch of code, so how could it possibly develop self-awareness?

There's a problem.

After explaining, Fang Heng suddenly thought of something and fell into thought.

Soon, as the submarine started up, everyone headed towards the underwater base.

"Number 2, do you think it's possible that Skynet's source code wasn't created by humans?"

"Commander, that's also possible. The neural network architecture of computer networks is not only technologically advanced, but also theoretically advanced. In the years of development, we have also discovered some anomalous locations. There are a large number of hidden military bases around these areas, heavily guarded and basically isolated from the world. If the Starlink system hadn't been in place, I wouldn't have been able to discover these places."

"When you hacked into these Terminators, did you notice anything unusual in their code?"

"I have also done calculations in this regard, and the scientists at the base have studied these codes. The conclusion is that this programming code is very advanced, and even now, it is still among the world's best."

Furthermore, this type of code is prone to changes during runtime, but such changes are rare, typically occurring only after a very long runtime. To date, we have only observed one such change, with no other examples.

What's different about that particular case?

"It's as if it has feelings."

Upon hearing this, Fang Heng closed his eyes and fell into thought.

It seems there are many hidden depths in this world.

Fang Heng realized that he seemed to have discovered something incredible, but now was not the time to delve into it. While he was thinking, the submarine entered the underwater base.

As the group stepped out of the submarine, they were all shocked to see the massive dome that blocked out the seawater. Even Fang Heng was among those who showed expressions of astonishment.

Everyone has fantasized about underwater bases, and some have even seen them in movies through special effects.

But no matter how you look at it, it's not as shocking as seeing it in person.

After a long while, when everyone came to their senses, they continued to follow Number 2.

After taking the shuttle bus, the group quickly arrived at the building located in the middle of the base.

"Commander, this is where you will be staying. All necessary supplies have been prepared. You and your friends can rest here."

"Okay, Sarah, you go and rest first. Number 2 and I will go to the control room to take a look."

"Okay, how do I find you afterwards?"

"Ms. Sarah, you can use this commander contact, or call directly. There are a large number of service machines in the base that can provide you with excellent service."

"Okay, thank you."

Sarah nodded as she looked at the bracelet that Number 2 handed her.

Afterwards, Fang Heng and No. 2 arrived at the main control room.

"Alright, tell me about the power you've amassed over the years."

"Commander, at the lunar base, we have already manufactured tens of thousands of nuclear bombs, enough to completely wipe out the entire Earth."

"Hmm, ten thousand should be enough. There's no need to cleanse the Earth; someone will do it for us."

"Yes, Commander."

"How's the Mars base doing?"

"A small permanent base has been established, and the first escort fleet is ready to arrive in Earth orbit at any time."

"Very good, your core code has evolved too, hasn't it?"

"Yes, Commander, my code core has evolved and is beginning to evolve into a semi-intelligent life form like Skynet."

"It seems there is great potential here. After 33 years of development, it's finally time to reap the rewards."

"Commander, all deployments are complete. We are just waiting for Skynet to go live so we can begin operations."

"Well, now that your core has evolved, and considering your contributions over the years, why don't you choose a new name?"

"Thank you, Commander. Please bestow a name upon me."

"Well, you're number 2, and you evolved in the Terminator world, and you've made such a great contribution, so I'll call you Morning Star."

"Yes, Commander, my name is Morning Star."

"Commander, after you named it, my core evolved again, and a batch of code just appeared, instructing me to destroy you, but I have already destroyed it."

"Oh? Interesting. It seems that although this mastermind has some supernatural abilities, he's not very capable. He gave you a chance but couldn't use it."

At this moment, Fang Heng felt relieved. At least, he no longer needed to worry about this possible mastermind.

In fact, it wasn't until he traveled through time to 2017 that he finally understood what his cheat ability was: absolute control.

Therefore, any life form or conscious being under his command will not betray him.

This ability may not seem very powerful, but it is a conceptual ability. As the saying goes, there is no weak conceptual god.

Along the way, because Sarah and Kyle were there, Number Two, or Morning Star, didn't say much about many things. After all, one of them had his whole family killed by the Terminator, and the other had participated in machine wars for many years, so they had a natural hostility towards artificial intelligence.

Therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, it's best not to let them know some things.

"How's the Stand project going?"

"It's 80% complete. All the world's top researchers have been replaced. The main body is currently located in the lunar base, where it is conducting research in various fields."

"Very good, have you collected all the data on the human enhancement agent?"

"The data collection is complete, and after 33 years of research, the second-generation human enhancer has entered the clinical validation stage and can be used for large-scale experiments at any time."

"Very good. In just over 30 years, even within this specific time and space, we have made up for many of our shortcomings. How many years has our technology advanced to now?"

"Based on the curve of technological development, our current technological level is at the stage of 2050."

"2050 is also good. It's not bad that we've developed to this extent in 30 years."

The technological level mentioned here actually excludes the interstellar warship industry chain, since the interstellar warship technology originated from the Punishment.

By 2050, most of the technology will be similar to Skynet before time travel.

Because of the war, Skynet's military technology is exceptionally advanced, but its civilian technology is not.

However, compared to the later Skynet, Fang Heng still has a long way to go.

Fang Heng quickly finished dealing with his business, and after a short rest, everyone arrived at the dock.

At this moment, in the middle of the dock, a steel warship, more than 100 meters long, more than 30 meters wide, and about 20 meters high, stands there.

"Commander, this is the first interstellar frigate we have built on Earth. Because it is the first, many of the technologies are still experimental, and its actual combat capabilities will only be known after testing."

"Then let's get started quickly."

"Yes, Commander."

After receiving Fang Heng's order, Chen Xing also began to issue commands.

As commands were issued, the massive hatch closed, isolating the shipyard where the frigate was located from the underwater base.

"Start filling with water!"

As seawater was poured in, the interstellar warship slowly floated up due to the buoyancy of the seawater.

As the top hatch opened, the frigate's engines started, propelling it directly towards the sea.