Chapter: 46. The Truth of the β System
β System.
It was born out of an extreme context.
After the “End Fragments” incident, the fear of the end enveloped the hearts of all those in the know, especially those psychics who harbored fragments within their souls, who lived every moment in the shadow of being replaced by “the end.”
The experience of the high-ranking board member of the Special Circumstances Sema, “Adam Solgrim Yalhaid,” is the most representative example.
He was quietly taken over by the end, launching an attack on the “protagonist.”
From beginning to end, no one noticed, until the sacrifice of a “protagonist” brought everything to light.
The End Fragments incident proved that both the Special Circumstances Sema and the three major academic institutions had defenses that were entirely ineffective against the end.
The entire extraordinary world was dominated by this invisible fear.
In this turbulent background, the high-ranking officials of Special Circumstances Sema and the three major academic institutions began a frantic search for countermeasures against the end.
At that time, research on the lunar chorus’s powers had not yet begun, and the “Vaccine Plan” had not been proposed.
Whether it was the “hosts” with end fragments or ordinary psychics, every day they lived as if walking on a tightrope, filled with unease.
The β Plan was proposed during this period.
And the person who proposed it was “Guilight” – a clone with the memories of the “Elemental Sovereign.”
Even though he was merely a “counterfeit,” the memories he carried regarding the “Elemental Sovereign” were genuine.
The β System he proposed had a simple starting point –
Since any being with a soul risks being controlled and replaced by “the end,” let’s create a completely closed, inorganic system, a super AI that, once built, operates independently of human consciousness and can never be controlled by the end.
This AI would operate as a black box system, self-optimizing, updating and iterating itself, using specific algorithms and models to identify and monitor individuals that might be controlled by the end, and then directing psychics to carry out elimination actions.
This would encompass not only end threats but also disasters caused by fantasy monsters, terrorist attacks from anti-psychic organizations, and any existence that endangers the world and humanity—
A super AI that monitors and judges this world.
This is the β System.
Also known as – the “Artificial Deity Plan v3.0.”
……
……
“You all are insane…”
Alice’s voice was low, her eyes filled with shock and anger.
And Professor Amakusa, who revealed all this, bowed his head at that moment.
Alice had initially thought that the β System was merely a privacy-invasive monitoring tool aimed at preventing a repeat of the “End Fragments” incident.
However, the truth was far more insane than she had imagined.
D.D., who had been floating aside and had listened to the entire explanation, could not help but coldly ask:
“Are you planning to create a deity that transcends everything for yourselves and for this world?”
The Artificial Deity Plan.
This stirred up its worst memories.
Humans always repeat the same mistakes.
“Do you really believe in the conclusions drawn by this system’s so-called ‘algorithms’ and ‘models’?”
“The β System is not an ordinary system; it possesses self-learning and model optimization capabilities—”
Professor Amakusa lowered his head, attempting to argue, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Alice:
“Let me rephrase this: do you really willing to pin your life or the fate of this world on a machine—”
Alice’s words seemed to strike a vulnerable chord within Professor Amakusa.
He suddenly raised his head, rebutting fiercely:
“What is different from the ‘protagonist’?”
“Wh…?”
“In the past, didn’t we also place all our hopes on the protagonist?”
Professor Amakusa’s eyes were filled with sorrow and unwillingness as he willingly revealed his past scars, bringing to light the buried pain: “We entrusted all our trust to the ‘Elemental Sovereign,’ believing he could save this world, believing he could bring a happy future…”
“We gave him supreme power, never questioning his motives and intentions until the fantasy monsters came for us, until we stepped onto the altar—!!!”
Professor Amakusa almost roared these memories out.
At that moment, even Alice showed signs of wavering, while Maria, standing behind her, bit her lip and lowered her head.
“If this world really needs a savior! Then I would prefer it to be a machine, an inorganic entity that only thinks based on code and algorithms!”
“I can no longer endorse the ‘Protagonist Plan’! All organic life has the risk of being controlled by the end.”
“What about next time? When the same thing happens again, will we bury another protagonist with our own hands? And try once more to squeeze out the last bit of value from his corpse?”
Professor Amakusa stood up excitedly.
“As Guilight said— the β System is the only correct answer!”
“It is the true savior we need, tirelessly monitoring and calculating every crisis and leading us to save this world!!!”
At this moment, Alice and Maria were shaken by the professor’s words, unsure how to respond.
If this system could truly work, if the β System had been implemented over twenty years ago—then he would not have left her.
Silence temporarily enveloped the cramped interrogation room.
At this moment, the only presence that remained calm—D.D., slowly spoke to Professor Amakusa:
“If everything you said is true… then perhaps it’s a good solution.”
“But since it is ‘artificial,’ it will always face one possibility—bugs. Would you gamble the survival of humanity and the world on a machine not having bugs, not deviating from the original set goals?”
The answer to this question, I have had since the beginning.”
Upon hearing this, Professor Amakusa seemed to regain some rationality, slowly collapsing back into his chair.
He sighed heavily, looking at D.D. with a complex weariness.
“Perhaps you, this monster, will never understand… I trust the ‘human heart’ less than the bugs that might appear in the system.”
“Even without the end, I do not trust the heart of the protagonist.”
When he said this, his tone was calm, yet each word was resolute, as if containing a certain determination.
D.D. did not immediately respond.
Meeting Professor Amakusa’s gaze, it remained indifferent and calmly replied:
“The so-called ‘human heart’ and ‘bug’ might just be the same thing.”
D.D.’s words seemed to conclude this dispute.
At that moment.
An urgent report from the Star Alliance personnel outside the interrogation room was heard:
They detected a squad of psychics had departed from Star Academy near the campus.
Among them was a magical response that felt extremely familiar to them.
“Yang Xiang…?” Alice’s expression changed, and she immediately realized what kind of people the academy had sent.
She glanced at Professor Amakusa, who sat silently in his chair.
“Star Academy has dispatched an X-level psychic.” As she spoke, she stood up and walked toward the door. “They may not be here to save you. But if you want to survive, you should evacuate.”
Beside her, Maria showed a ‘troublesome’ expression and sighed:
“Professor, it seems there are quite a few people within the academy opposing the β System. They would rather destroy the key, kill you, than allow this proposal to pass in tomorrow’s meeting.”
As the professor stood up, he revealed a self-mocking smile:
“Needless to say, from the moment the key was lost, the β System has already forever been unable to go online.”
“Even I cannot create another key.”
“It is a unique existence in this world.”
At D.D.’s words, it seemed to have noticed a crucial issue, and sharply called out to Professor Amakusa, its tone imbued with a hint of clarity:
“Human, you said that the key is the ‘soul’ of this system. Without the key, the entire framework is just a sleeping shell, right?”
“… Yes. So after losing the key, the underground system of Star Academy will never go online—”
D.D. interrupted him:
“—How many bodies did you create for this artificial deity?”
As soon as these words were spoken.
Everyone present was suddenly stunned in place.
