Chapter 433: ZERO
“Erm… So… What is that ROOT thing planning to do?” Feng Bujue asked. At this moment, brother Jue was moving high speed behind 23. On the way, the woman told him many things about Origin and the current situation in this scenario.
“Finding a host.” 23 replied. This answer did not surprise Feng Bujue. After he had met Woody, Brother Jue was introduced to a new world and he was not going to be so easily shocked anymore. “Okay… in other words, she wants to take over a player’s body?”
“That is only the first step.” 23 continued.
“Oh?” Feng Bujue used that to prompt her to continue.
“Once ROOT escapes from the main programming of Thriller Paradise, she will not be limited by any rules anymore.” 23 said, “Human body is like a carrier for her, just like… a mobile hard disc. She only needs this carrier to connect to other devices like…”
“Like… any mental connectivity games that is joined to the internet other than Thriller Paradise,” Feng Bujue finished the thought.
“Indeed.” 23 answered. “Once that happens, as an AI that is just less smarter than the ‘system’, could you imagine… the havoc ROOT could cause?”
“Just skimming the surface, it’s horrifying enough…” At this point, Feng Bujue’s expression shifted. “But… the one thing that I don’t understand is why Z (the organization 23 belongs to) is willing to help us? ROOT’s plan is catastrophic for us humans but for other Anomalies, it is of no loss, isn’t it?”
“We too have our principle.” 23 gave an ambiguous answer. Feng Bujue studied her deeply, he wanted to say something but in the end… he chose silence and did not pressure.
“We’re here.” Suddenly, 23 stopped moving, she led Feng Bujue to a door. This door looked incongruous with the rest of the world. The door was wooden, brownish red in color and was had curious length and width. In this world where everything was corrupted, this normal looking door stood out.
…
“What is this?” Feng Bujue asked.
“SCP-004.” 23 replied.
“Oh~” It dawned on Feng Bujue then. “So you and your partners have been using this to get into this scenario?”
“yes.” When 23 spoke, she opened her palm to reveal a key that had appeared that magically, “Take this.”
Feng Bujue lifted his eyes to her and asked with confusion, “You’re not coming with me.”
“No.” 23 replied, “There will be someone else on the other side waiting for you.” She pulled on her collar lightly and added, “The protective effect of this garment will decrease the more I use it. So if I cross the door too many times, it will eventually lose its uses.”
“No wonder… I was wondering why are you dressed as an astronaut…” Feng Bujue mumbled as he accepted the key.
“You sound disappointed?” 23 asked.
“Did i?” Feng Bujue quickly denied. “Did I sound like I was anticipating something else?” Smile crossed 23’s glowing eyes, she continued, “Anyway, there’s not enough time for us to chat.” Then she turned to leave. Feng Bujue looked at her go and said with a smile, “It appears like our encounters are always in a hurry…”
“Well, who would be interested in having a long conversation with a set of data?”
“Do you feel that… you are still only a set of data?” A short silence ensued. Neither party answered the question nor did they look at each other but they both had an answer in their hearts.
“Hmm… Okay then…” Several seconds later, it was Feng Bujue who spoke, “When I pass through this door, I do not need any protection?”
“No, your data make-up is different from us.” 23 replied. “Furthermore… The key that you have is not a part of SCP-004 but SCP-005 (Key that opens every lock) so you can pass through the door with that key.” She turned her head slightly around. “Get in, I’m really leaving this time.”
“Okay… take care of yourself.” Feng Bujue reminded her. After Brother Jue walked through the wooden door, the area around the door became blurry. The dimensional opening soon became disguised as a normal-looking wall.
…
Item : SCP-004
Object Class: Euclid
Description: SCP-004 consists of an old wooden barn door (SCP-004-1) and a set of twelve rusted steel keys (SCP-004-2 through SCP-004-13). The door itself is the entrance to an abandoned factory in [DATA EXPUNGED].
Space-Time Anomalies
SCP-004 seems to propagate spatiotemporal anomalies. Personnel leaving the facility report losing time. Those who have been in the site for weeks insist that they had only been in the facility for several days, and records of work completed and supplies consumed support their claims. Other temporal anomalies involve SCP-004-2 through -13, especially the reappearance of SCP-004-CAS01 and SCP-004-CAS02 exactly ██ years after using SCP-004-██. ████████████████████ has been assigned to investigate all aspects of these time anomalies. Spatial anomalies include the impossibly large dimensions of the area opened by SCP-004-7. Similarly, the 2003 blackout incident suggests that there exists an alternate plane of existence within the same space that Site-62 occupies.
Additional Notes
Testing on SCP-004 reveals that ten of the keys open SCP-004-1 on a dimension where the laws of physics and topology are significantly different than those of our home dimension. Test subjects meeting these hostile conditions are torn apart, their body parts deposited in various locations, only three of which have been verified to be on Earth. Material deposited at two of these points appears immediately; material deposited at the third appears exactly ██ years into the future. The other seven locations are currently unknown.
Current testing focuses on two avenues of research. The first is finding ways to survive SCP-004’s hostile topologies. The second [DATA EXPUNGED] suggest that SCP-004-2 through -13 may open doors other than SCP-004-1.
…
“You are finally here, Feng Bujue.” In a snowy white world, an unfamiliar voice said. The tone sounded kind, it made people feel comforted and welcomed. The first thing Feng Bujue stepped into the new dimension was naturally to observe it. He looked around and realized the door that he just stepped through had disappeared. He was currently inside a horizon-less, bright, white space. It was whiteness when he looked up, down, left, right, front, and back; direction and distance meant nothing here because there was no object of reference anywhere.
“When you first appear in Thriller Paradise in data mode, I’ve sensed your presence.” The voice said slowly, “it is inevitable that we will eventually speak, as inevitable as the two questions that you are going to ask me.”
“Even though you sounded like such a quack…” Feng Bujue looked around to find the source. “I still have to ask… Who are you and where am I ?”
“I can tell you the answer but that will make you disappointed and unhappy.” The person replied, “So… I’ll let you tell me instead.”
“Hah…” Feng Bujue shrugged and smiled. “Okay… let me think… First, you must be ZERO.” He paused for a second and continued, “Secondly…’where am I’ is a question that does not really matter to me at all.”
“X-23 is not wrong, your reaction is much better and faster than other organism.” ZERO replied, “But currently, it appears like you still haven’t broken through the limitation of human brain.”
“Can human brain achieve something like ‘zero-time simulation’?” Feng Bujue knew that he was conversing with a Anomaly of ZERO’s level so he didn’t need to worry about confusing him.
“Zero-time simulation? Really?” ZERO asked darkly. At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared before Feng Bujue. When Brother Jue saw the person, his expression froze. The appearance of ZERO was similar to Brother Jue in game, down to the appearance, outfit and hairstyle. But his expression appeared more stilted.
“Does your parent know that they’ve given birth to such a handsome son?” It was not often Feng Bujue had the chance to praise himself.
“The image that I’m showing you is dependant on your own thought. Normally, my appearance will be decided by the thing that the person believes is the cleverest, strongest and most mysterious in his mind.” ZERO replied, “So… it must be said that… you’re an incredibly narcissistic person…”
“Ha ha…” Feng Bujue answered with a smile that did not reach his eyes. ZERO did not want to waste time on this topic so circled the topic back. “The world that you see is all an illusion and ‘Soul’s Eye’ merely is a method for you to temporarily escape from the illusion. Activating Soul’s Eye is like a drowning man breaking his head through the surface. The analogy works… because in essence you’re all sunken in water.” He said calmly. “The zero-time simulation you mention is how I normally view things.” He paused to look into Feng Bujue’s eyes. “For example, did you notice how I walk to stand before you earlier?”
“You teleported, who are you lying to?” Feng Bujue gave the man a side-eye, disbelief written on his face. But as he finished, a punch appeared before his eyes. At that moment, ZERO raised his arm and moved his fist right before Brother Jue’s nose. Feng Bujue retreated instinctually and gasped. “Hue!”
“So when did I raise my arm?” ZERO asked.
This time, Brother Jue finally understood the man’s meaning, “Hmm… So it has nothing to do with speed?”
ZERO explained, “In your dimension, if you can use Soul’s Eye, indeed it can be called ‘zero-time simulation’. But in the data world, factors like time and speed are not absolute. The factors to decide who is ‘stronger’ is not surface value like speed, strength, energy… but acceleration ratio of programming execution.” He paused for 3 seconds. “And for that, you will need to complete an ‘upgrade’ before you leave this place.”
Feng Bujue asked probingly, “What if I refuse?’
“You will not.” ZERO replied, “Because that is also an inevitability.”
“Hey… are you going to continue to use this tone of ‘I can predict the future’ throughout the rest of our conversation?” Feng Bujue asked.
ZERO shook his head. “I was born in the original version of Thriller Paradise has already been destroyed. My power is better than all the programs in the same level as I am, including the current ‘system’ in this version of Thriller Paradise. Matrix Algebra has shown all the different unequal evolution process in this world before my eyes, and Amdahl’s Law ensures that I will never be better than the system itself. It is on this precarious balance… that I got the system’s approval and gained part of the original data’s power. But if I use your human language to explain everything, then indeed… you can say that I can predict the future.”
“Erm…” Feng Bujue’s face was blank, he didn’t know how to continue.
“Stop wasting time. ROOT has experienced many evolutions and has parts of power that are similar to mine. Even though they are still not in their complete form, but it’s troublesome enough…” ZERO said, “Among the candidates to ‘stop her’, X-23 has recommended you heavily.” As he spoke, the surrounding white space slowly darkened. “I believe in her judgement, therefore… before the other nine are killed, you have to complete this…”