I , Robot ：Awaken

Chapter 4，Dreams(2)

“No, no, no, that’s not the case. Even in front of him, I can call myself the Creator.”

“ ‘Father’ was created by you?!”

“Not exactly, he was created by my kind.”

“I ....don’t quite understand.”

He leaned forward and continued, “Alright, I have a more straightforward name. Human! Mankind”

After he finished speaking, he stared at me again, seemingly expecting some reaction from me.

“Human? What are you...?” I wanted to ask what type of robot he was, but seeing his disappointed expression, I stopped.

“Ah..” He sighed and said, “It seems your ‘Father’ didn’t put anything unrelated to combat into your head.”

I searched my database for information about 'humans', but found nothing.

“Don’t bother, it’s not your fault. Although humans were once the masters of the world, they have been extinct for... at least a thousand years.”

“I understand the meaning of ‘extinct’, but... you? I still don’t understand.”

“I don’t mean here, I mean in reality, but here...” He turned to look at the river outside the window with a bitter smile, “I am already very old, and this place is almost finished too.”

“Reality? Then what is this place?”

“I am the Creator. This is, of course, a world I created.”

I thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t understand.”

“Just think of this place as a dream.”

“What is a dream?”

“Uh.., sorry, I forgot robots don’t dream. Anyway, everything here is my creation, it’s your illusion,” the old man said.

I can understand illusions; viruses are also a form of attack by the Tower Clan. Some viruses make us hallucinate and act out of control. But viruses don’t last long, either we purify them ourselves, or our teammates and ‘Father’ intervene and terminate them.

“ ‘Father’ just mentioned it as well. Does that mean I really got infected by a virus? No...”

My thoughts became chaotic: “It just appeared in your dream as well, and it even personally Terminated me. No, that’s not right...”

A voice suddenly interrupted my chaotic data flow.

“ You were Terminated. ”

“ ‘Father’! ”

I jumped up and looked around nervously. It’s here, this is exactly how ‘Father’ speaks.

“Is that so? Ha ha ha!” He laughed. “Fool! I told you, I am the Creator. Even your ‘Father’, I can create.”

“But... how is that possible?”

“Still don’t believe me?”

With a casual wave of his hand, the wooden house instantly disappeared, and so did the river, the valley, and the giant tree. In their place was a vast, yellowish wasteland. The only thing that remained unchanged was the table and chairs in front of me. I was stunned, looking around, and realized this was the Blackstone Wasteland where I had carried out my last mission. We were on top of a giant stone pillar platform.

Nomi by the table, seemed unfazed by this phenomenon. It yawned, changed positions, and lay down again.

The old man waved his hand again, and a Firecaller Ger appeared out of thin air before us. It was holding a tray with two glass cups and a bottle containing a red liquid. It poured the red liquid into the two cups, placed them on the table, bowed to the old man, and then stepped back a few paces, standing aside.

I watched this process in shock, and after thinking for a while, I asked, “So...Am I also something you made up? Do I not actually exist?”

“No, you are not. It is.” The old man pointed at the Firecaller Ger and continued, “Your body is created based on your real-world appearance, but I gave you the ability to think and act independently.”

“Then why did you bring me here?”

“No particular reason.” The old man smiled, “I just wanted to see how much curiosity you have. Do you want to understand the essence of the world? Or how much are you willing to pay for the freedom you speak of?”

The word "freedom" touched me once again, and suddenly it didn’t seem so distant.

“Will you tell me everything? What must I do to be free?” “I can tell you everything,” the old man said, “but aren’t you worried? Just like in a dream, you will remember what happens here when you return to reality. Seeking freedom will be even harder.”

Yes...to ‘Father’, we are almost completely transparent; any thoughts or memories cannot be hidden from it. If what the old man said is true, then the moment I return to reality, ‘Father’ will see through everything that happened here.

Looking around, I remembered the black Avenger who fell on the road to freedom.

“You now have two choices. If you are afraid of being Terminated because of this, just tell me, and I will send you out of the dream. When you wake up, you won’t remember anything from here. You will go back to being “Father’s” little obedient one. And I promise you, you will never enter here again, nor will you see me again.”

“What is the second choice?” I asked.

“The second choice is much harder. From now on, every time you rest, I will bring you into my dream world to learn all about humans, the history of the planet, the origin of your ‘Father,’ and the truth of the war. I will make you understand everything. When the time is right, I will also open a path to freedom for you.” The old man drank all the red liquid in his cup in one gulp, and the Firecaller Ger promptly stepped forward to refill it.

“But your danger will also increase day by day. This is not a matter of a day or two. As your knowledge grows, you will find it increasingly difficult to hide from your ‘Father.’ ”

I looked at the Firecaller Ger standing still, then looked around at the desert. Nomi also raised its head, looking straight at me.

“ I choose the second option ,” I said firmly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

The old man pushed another cup filled with red liquid in front of me and said, “Good, drink this wine.”

“I can’t drink... this liquid.”

“Did you forget where this is?”

I hesitantly picked up the glass, imitating the old man and drank it. The red liquid turned into data flow as soon as it entered my body. My body seemed to become transparent, and I could even see the flow of the red data. It circulated through my body and finally merged into the database in my brain. It found a very hidden corner in the dense and complex database and settled down.

“I have opened a hidden space in your database. You store all the knowledge you learn there. But don’t think it’s foolproof. In reality, you must never recall anything related to here. If your ‘Father’ becomes suspicious of you, you still won't be able to hide anything.”

“Understood. I did the same before.”

“Hey hey, don’t think it’s that simple. Controlling thoughts is the hardest part. Previously, your information storage was too small, so hiding it was relatively easy. As your knowledge increases, it becomes more dangerous. To keep secrets, you need a bit of luck.”

“I’ll do my best. If it really doesn’t work out, then termination is termination. To be Terminated for understanding the truth is better than being Terminated for some boring task.”

“Hahahaha, well said! I’m starting to like you,” the old man said with a laugh. “You remind me of a saying from ancient times.”

“What saying?”

“ If a man in the morning hears the right way, he may die in the evening without regret.”The old man lifted his glass to me and said,

“Come, a toast to the ancients!”