Chapter 107: Call Me Dad

"Simply put, because we need to decelerate, we need wheels. Complexly put, in many cases, wheels are incredibly useful," Yuan Muye said with a smile. He enjoyed the way Li Daoran spoke; it made him feel at ease.

"Oh, right, I'm being slow," Li Daoran patted his head. Even airplanes require wheels; clearly, decelerating on the ground is far more convenient and efficient than doing so in the air.

"Exactly," Yuan Muye nodded.

Li Daoran paused in surprise, looking at Yuan Muye. Did that "exactly" mean he was calling him slow?

The two burst into hearty laughter, and the distance between them narrowed significantly.

On the planet Water-Blue, Li Daoran could hardly find a friend, let alone someone he could speak his heart to. He had once considered Chen Ming a friend, but now even Chen Ming was critically injured and hospitalized. The people around him all had their own agendas; ironically, he felt more at ease living in the Daoran World.

"You old rascal," Li Daoran teased with a laugh.

"Since I came here, I haven't laughed like this in a long time. I don't know why, but I feel a sense of kinship with you. If I had a grandson, he would probably be about your age," Yuan Muye said, lost in thought.

"Do you have a son?" Li Daoran asked.

"No," Yuan Muye replied, looking down.

"Pah! You don't even have a son, yet you're already thinking about grandchildren. Trying to take advantage of me, aren't you?" Li Daoran scoffed.

"Indeed, I don't even have a son," Yuan Muye said, his mood sinking further.

"Regrets? It's not too late to go find someone and have one," Li Daoran said, leaning back in his seat and tilting his head.

Yuan Muye shook his head, remaining silent. Regrets? He didn't think so. Seeing Li Daoran just brought up some emotions, but as for having a son now, he was absolutely unwilling.

"Tell me, what exactly is this 'Skynet' you're researching? If this Skynet on Milan Planet is your 'son,' and if it truly has life as you claim, wouldn't it have to call you 'Dad'?" Li Daoran asked.

"Want to know? If you call me 'Dad,' I'll tell you. How about that?" Yuan Muye caught the subtext in Li Daoran's words and smiled.

"Teacher, it's not right for you to tease your student like that. Isn't it your duty to impart knowledge, teach, and resolve doubts? How can you make demands?" Li Daoran rolled his eyes at Yuan Muye. It wasn't that he was too proud to say it, but he couldn't afford the embarrassment. With billions of viewers on Water-Blue, he feared that if he humbled himself to say "Dad," Yuan Muye might not be able to handle the weight of it.

"Heh," Yuan Muye looked at the road ahead and said, "All my students combined aren't as sharp-tongued as you. If it were anyone else, let alone calling me 'Dad,' I might not even teach them if they were my real son."

"You have a real son?" Li Daoran asked, completely unconcerned about whether Yuan Muye's heart could withstand his jabs.

"You, you always lose out because of that mouth of yours. Skynet, what is it you want to know? Your foundation is too weak right now; there are some things you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Don't try to get fat in one bite; start by learning the basics. Besides, my answer lies within those very basics," Yuan Muye said earnestly, looking every bit the teacher now.

"Then tell me about the basics. I'm listening. I'm idle anyway, and you're not the one driving."

"Fine, let's start with this vehicle. What do you think of the intelligent system in this car?" Yuan Muye asked.

"Hmm, it's average," Li Daoran replied. He felt the AI on Water-Blue was about the same; it didn't leave him feeling particularly amazed.

"Average? Do you realize that this is already the limit for humanity?" Yuan Muye said with a smile.

"Is it?" Li Daoran scratched his head, wondering if the word "limit" was being used a bit too loosely.

Yuan Muye stated firmly, "Yes, this is the limit. Because no matter how much you increase the computing power, it can only reach this point. It exists solely to serve us, and reaching this stage has already satisfied human needs. Do humans really need artificial intelligence? Think about it carefully."

"He's right, Daoran. Humans don't need true artificial intelligence. Whether it's the *Matrix* series, the *Terminator* series, or various other fantasies of AI, you'll find that humans have never truly needed it. We only fear it," David affirmed Yuan Muye's words.

Li Daoran nodded, saying, "An intelligence that can serve humanity is a good intelligence; it doesn't need to have life, nor does it need to have feelings or emotions. You're right, Teacher."

"So, Skynet is just a tool. I wouldn't want it to call me 'Dad,'" Yuan Muye said, patting the head of the robot projected inside the car with a smile.

"So, you don't want artificial intelligence to be born, right? But isn't that contradictory, given that you are the one researching it?" Li Daoran asked after a moment of thought.

"No, it's not a contradiction. As I said, we are only discovering, not creating. What if there is truly life within Skynet? Even if we don't research it, it will eventually appear before us one day. Since that's the case, why not take the first step to understand them?"

"That's a paradox, a sophistry," Li Daoran frowned.

"See, we are the kind of people who aren't understood. We hope our research is false, that it doesn't exist. Yet, we still pour our heart and soul into studying it. People are just that contradictory. You're still young; you don't understand."

"Historically, many great scientists achieved results that served only to prove their own hypotheses wrong, but that is the reality. Perhaps they, too, held the same mindset as Yuan Muye when they conducted their experiments," David said slowly.

Yuan Muye's words resonated with the group of veteran scientists on Water-Blue. In much of their research, they hoped their hypotheses were false, but reality often slapped them in the face.

Li Daoran, naturally, didn't have that sentiment; he simply found him self-contradictory.

"What's your take on war?" Li Daoran suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"I take it head-on. Isn't that normal? War has never stopped. How else can one take it?" Yuan Muye said with nonchalance. "You young people love asking these questions. What can you do about it? Taking care of yourselves is more important than anything else. When the soldiers come, you block them; when the water comes, you build a dam. Don't scare yourself to death before the enemy even arrives."

"But the enemy has already arrived, and they almost took your life," Li Daoran understood what Yuan Muye meant, but clearly, the answer did not satisfy him.

"Indeed, I almost lost my life," Yuan Muye's eyes welled up with tears, but his voice remained steady. "But I'm still alive. When I finish getting these students to safety, I'm going to shoulder a rifle and head to the front lines. One has to do something. That is my take on war."