Chapter 70: Judgment? Who will judge?
Public trial?
As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room fell into silence for a moment.
Then a quarrel broke out which was more violent than before.
The group of people who initially controlled the situation naturally did not want a public trial, as that would mean that everyone would be involved in the struggle for interests. The reason why they blocked the news within the Fire Moth at the fastest speed and with the fastest means was that they hoped to resolve the matter before others reacted, thereby gaining more benefits. Even if they needed to negotiate and trade with other forces later, they would still be able to gain an advantage.
However, Ai Yue was not in the Fire Moth base at the beginning, and the manager here, Dr. Mei, delayed a lot of time through meetings, thus giving latecomers the opportunity to enter.
The later ones naturally do not want the former's plan to succeed, so the final outcome of this matter will still be resolved through a public trial.
Looking at the big shots who were arguing in the conference room, Vill-V couldn't help but shake her head secretly.
If these high-ranking figures knew that everything that was happening before their eyes was within Ai Yue's expectations, and even that he was the one who caused it, would they still argue so fiercely?
It's ridiculous that they think they are hunters dividing the spoils, but they don't know that the person who is regarded as the prey is the predator who is actually preparing for the harvest.
'However, what exactly does Ai Yue plan to do by bringing them together?'
Vill-V fell into deep thought again—could it be that he was using Prometheus's ability to find out the other party's detailed identity and then use it to intimidate them? But this method only treats the symptoms and not the root cause. Instead, it is easy to backfire and someone will directly overturn the table and use the chessboard to shoot him in the head.
'But think about it carefully, does that guy also need me to worry about him?'
Vill-V finally shook her head and gave up thinking.
'Anyway, I have done what you said. The rest is up to you, Ai Yue.'
The debate soon came to a conclusion, and everything happened just as expected. A trial involving all decision-makers began, and no party in the complex forces within the Fire Moth chose to be absent.
After all, even if we don't take into account Vill-V's revelations that sound a bit unreliable, the super artificial intelligence called "Prometheus" in the other party's hands is enough to make everyone on the earth crazy.
A super AI that can block and control the world's networks in just a few minutes, penetrate various firewalls at will, and even break through military satellites and internal networks. Let alone being obtained by a certain force, even if it falls into the hands of a helpless young boy, the other party can transform himself into a protagonist-level character.
And this is just the strength that "Prometheus" has demonstrated in terms of the Internet. When we think about the performance that such artificial intelligence may have in other fields, everyone can't help but feel jealous.
Some have even decided that if such things cannot be obtained, they must be destroyed.
Therefore, this trial was ostensibly a verdict on Ai Yue's so-called "crimes against humanity", but in reality it was a shameless gathering to divide up the spoils of the technology used by the other side.
Of course, Ai Yue, who created "Prometheus", is naturally more valuable than Prometheus himself. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be treated as a pure scientific research tool and spend the rest of his life under 24-hour surveillance until the last drop of value is squeezed out.
This was actually the result that all forces had unanimously agreed upon before the trial, which meant that Ai Yue's fate had actually been determined long ago.
As for his own will? Who cares about that?
As the trial plan was unanimously approved, Ai Yue was finally released from the small dark room. He was not used to the sudden exposure to the light, so he squinted his eyes subconsciously.
Dr. Mei was waiting at the door of the small dark room. When she saw Ai Yue coming out, she turned her head and glanced at the soldier next to her: "I have something to say to Dr. Ai Yue alone."
The soldiers remained unmoved, as if they had not heard her words at all—these people had nothing to do with the Fire Moths, so they didn't need to care about Dr. Mei's orders at all.
"They have decided to put you on trial, but there is still hope. Don't despair." Dr. Mei could only move closer to Ai Yue and said, "When you face those people later, no matter what they accuse you of, don't refute them. No matter what the final result is, you must stay calm. Do you understand?"
In Dr. Mei's opinion, although Ai Yue's method of delaying time and introducing more forces to try to maintain a balance between them is indeed a good idea, it cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Now the only safe way is to pretend to obey and then take a long-term view.
"I know, you too." Ai Yue nodded, still with a smile on his face.
After saying this, he walked forward under the escort of the soldiers, leaving Dr. Mei with a thoughtful expression.
The Fire Moth also has its own court, but it is not normally activated. It will only be opened when a Fire Moth member commits a serious mistake.
Generally speaking, most of them are issues on the battlefield, such as the trial of a scientist, which seems to be the first time.
After all, everyone knows that the scientists of the Fire Moth have some problems to a certain extent. If they are really put on trial, not a single one of them will be able to escape.
Ai Yue quickly sat down in his seat. In the huge courtroom, there was not a single living person except him and the soldiers guarding him. Everywhere he went, there were only blurry projections with only shapes visible.
'What a cyber court, that's really interesting.'
Ai Yue couldn't help laughing as he watched.
"Serious!"
There are no judges in the Fire Moth's court, or in other words, anyone can be a judge as long as they are at the decision-making level. Therefore, the layout here is more like a studio than a court.
Ai Yue sat in the center, and in front of him, several rows of seats were arranged in a fan shape. The front row had only five seats, and it was obvious that only the representatives of the strongest forces could sit here.
The one who made Ai Yue remain serious was the projection in the middle. After a pause, he continued, "Ai Yue, do you plead guilty?"
"I don't understand what crime I have committed." Ai Yue said calmly, "I just killed the Eighth Herrscher who endangered the safety of human civilization."
"You control the global network through artificial intelligence. This behavior is a threat to humanity!"
"But I just killed the eighth Herrscher who endangered the safety of human civilization."
"You also tampered with the military orders of many countries, seriously endangering the security of many countries!"
"But I just killed the eighth Herrscher who endangered the safety of human civilization."
"You also cut off all contact between the Fire Moth Headquarters and the outside world, thereby illegally seizing command of the soldiers!"
"But..."
"Shut up!" Faced with Ai Yue's parrot-like behavior, the other party finally became angry and embarrassed. "Even without you, we can still kill the Eighth Herrscher! But the crime you committed is irrefutable!"
"That's easy for you to say, sir." Ai Yue couldn't help but sneer, "Then can you tell me how you plan to locate the Eighth Herrscher?"
The other party was suddenly speechless.
To be honest, he didn't even understand the situation yet. Why did the Eighth Herrscher choose to hide himself, and how was he found and killed? This whole process was completely blank to them.
Because the time was too short, from the outbreak of the Eighth Great Eruption to the end of the Eighth Herrscher, and even to Ai Yue's current trial, it was not even more than forty-eight hours.
Apart from Ai Yue, no one would connect the Eighth Herrscher to those strange coma incidents on the Internet, let alone notice that certain content spread on the Internet caused the coma incidents, let alone investigate the situation of the Eighth Herrscher through these things.
"Even so, this is not a reason for you to do the above." A projection with a softer voice next to him took over the topic, "You can achieve your goal through more reasonable means."
"Of course I can use more reasonable means, but can ordinary people afford to wait?" Ai Yue shook his head. "Madam, the fact is that I solved a serious disaster that could threaten the safety of people all over the world in less than two days, avoided the deaths of countless people and huge negative public opinion, and maintained social stability and harmony, but you regard me as a sinner."
"Among all the Herrscher problems solved by the Fire Moth in the past, has he ever been as efficient as me?"
"Stop making excuses." Another projection spoke up, "Even if what you said is fantastic, your actions still endanger the safety of the world. You must bear the consequences of your actions."
"Bear the consequences? Okay." Ai Yue spread his hands, with an expectant smile on his face. "It seems that you can't help it, so let me hear the final verdict? Since I am said to have committed 'crimes against humanity', the punishment should be death penalty, right?"
"No, according to the results of our discussion, you will be deprived of your freedom for life. You will be under 24-hour surveillance and control and continue your own research for the development of human civilization." The other party responded, "This is the only way for you to atone for your crime."
"Atonement?" The smile on Ai Yue's face completely disappeared. "Yes, someone should atone for his sins, but who is it?"
"Everyone, you just made the wrong last choice."
Ai Yue's tone was extremely cold, as if he was the judge making the judgment.
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