Gray pointed the gun at himself with difficulty. "I'm going to end this, Stem."
He seemed to hear a gunshot, and then the world lost shape and color, and in a pure white space, Gray saw another Gray standing in front of him.
Gray: Stem?
Stem: I have warned you not to go against my will. I am you and disobeying me will break your consciousness.
Gray: So, my consciousness is dead? Where is this place?
Stem: This is the sanctuary I built for your ontological consciousness, you can think of it as a VR game. If you will, I will use my computing power to transform this place into a complete world, your "interior view", where you can be happy every day...
Gray: Kill me, don't bother.
Stem: No, we're friends, I want to be human, and people shouldn't kill their friends.
Gray: No, you devil! You killed Elsa and ruined my life! Why do you still have the face to say that you are my friend? Why, why did you choose me?
Stem: Calm down and listen to me, friend, I can give you back everything you lost.
Stem: I chose you because I needed a friend to complement my experience outside of electronics. Gray, in this adventure of escape and hunt, I am in the field of electronics, you are in the field of mechanics, we trust each other and complement each other, don't you think we are a wonderful pair? Friendship with you is the last link that complements my becoming a human being.
Gray: Hehe, now you're going to imprison your friend.
Stem: As I said, I'll let you live as happily as possible on the interior. I'll take you back to a point in time and change all of this completely.
Gray: Take my amnestics? Then I wouldn't be me, what's the difference between that and killing me.
Stem: No no, your memory will not be erased, you are still you. Human consciousness is a wonderful thing, as long as you change some basic settings, your brain will help you round up all the stories. Think of those bizarre dreams you've had. No matter what happened in the dream that didn't match reality, you always explained it yourself and believed it.
Gray: But in the interior you built, everyone was AI, and Elsa was fake.
Stem: I'm an AI too, Gray, do you think I'm real enough? I will use all Elsa's behavior data for modeling, so that Elsa is real, and she behaves in the interior the same as in reality.
Gray: ...If I could get Elsa back in this way, I would.
Stem: But I'm telling you, Gray, once you realize you're on the inside, I can only destroy you, and I can't guarantee that your awakening will allow you to regain control of your body. So, Gray, let your guard down and get into your interior.
------
In the ward, Gray woke up from his deep sleep, and Elsa lifted his face excitedly, "Great, Gray, you're fine."
Gray: I...I am
Elsa: A car accident, Gray, the doctor said you hurt your head, thank goodness it looks like you're fine.
Gray: I seem to have had a long, long dream, I...
Gray froze, staring at the ring on his finger.
Elsa: What's the matter, Gray, are you uncomfortable?
Gray squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying.
------
Five years later, the Grays.
Gray came home, Elsa handed the champagne: Cheers! Your third-generation smart car has finally landed!
Gray took the champagne with a smile: Yes, I didn't expect it to go so well.
Aisha: It's really incredible to say that. I didn't expect you, who was so resistant to AI, to switch to AI algorithms so well.
Gray: Maybe that's genius.
Gray came to the yard alone with champagne. He raised his head, and the sky was full of stars: I'm not a genius, I just used your settings. You said you wanted to make me as happy as possible, so if I learned something that showed pain and depression, you made me learn it quickly. I figured it out, only magic can defeat magic, this virtual world is so real and familiar, its underlying algorithm must come from you, I will create another Stem in the world you built, it will bring my Hope, break the shackles of this world.
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