Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

Although it was not explicitly stated in the prison manual, Duan Mingyuan could easily guess why Universal Company was eager to apply this technology to Prison Star.

The birth of the Judge is full of legitimacy. Every criminal it judges is a villain who has committed numerous crimes in the universe. If it is handed over to humans to judge, the only possible sentence will be "death penalty", which is the most severe sentence in the current cosmic law. However, in judicial practice, people have found that the death penalty has long lost its deterrent effect on these wanted criminals.

These villains have committed too many sins. They know very well that if they are caught, death will await them anyway, so they become more vicious.

The Judge accurately quantified their sins for the first time, and was therefore regarded as the spokesperson of fairness and justice for a long time.

This is exactly what Universal hopes to achieve.

This will allow them to use the technology widely and legitimately, thereby collecting a large amount of experimental data for more adjustment research.

Reading memory is really a convenient ability, which allows them to save a lot of unnecessary energy in all aspects of work. They can directly open the other person's brain and read what they want.

Rebels, business competitors, dignitaries from other civilizations...

With this technology, no one can keep secrets from the company anymore.

No one understands the benefits of this technology better than Duan Mingyuan. Today - a century later, this technology has long become a common means of the Universal Company and has been more widely used in business, espionage, interrogation and other fields.

But people also tend to overlook the dangers of this technology.

Among the many extensions of his abilities, reading memories is one of the abilities that Duan Mingyuan dislikes using the most.

The human brain is like a computer that stores a lot of data. When you search deeply into these memories, you don't get just the part you want.

Especially when the target is a person who has committed a heinous crime.

Memories and malicious emotions will have a subtle influence on the person retrieving the memory. The process is like a first-person movie. In those flashbacks, you will merge with the memory and experience the past that he has experienced.

This is probably the reason why the researchers of this project insisted on using artificial intelligence. He believes that only artificial intelligence in the world can withstand the baptism of so many negative emotions and remain original after witnessing the sins in the universe without being affected.

In his twilight years, the researcher did not spend his remaining years in the midst of flowers and applause.

Universal Company values ​​the wealth he created so much that it hopes that after his death, all his knowledge will be handed over without reservation to... all of humanity for safekeeping.

Therefore, this technology has been used by researchers many times.

In the words of the "Father of Judge", he felt like a naked prostitute, being examined without any privacy.

Duan Mingyuan didn't know whether this could be considered as reaping the fruits of one's own actions, but judging from the concerns of the current warden, it seemed that artificial intelligence was not as unaffected by these negative emotions as the researchers had imagined.

In recent decades, they have become increasingly neurotic and behave more and more like real humans.

Duan Mingyuan noticed a subtle number.

These changing numbers all point to one person.

Eisenberg-Adler.

This genius's sentence is 1603 years, the second longest in the Prison Star Prison, which means that no matter how his sentence is reduced, he will never be able to leave the planet. All the deaths caused by the abuse of power on the "Cocoon" war front will be counted on him.

Although Eisenberg had never killed anyone himself, there was probably no other criminal in this prison who had caused more deaths than him.

Duan Mingyuan couldn't help but feel curious about the person who had set the prison record in 1721.

It was hard for him to imagine what kind of crime would earn him such a sentence.

It is quite regrettable that this prisoner was imprisoned in the deepest part of the prison because he was too dangerous. He was forbidden to go out, visit or participate in any trial. No one knew his specific identity. Everyone could only know him by the number 1721.

So 1721 became his name.

As the second longest serving prisoner in Prison Star, Eisenberg-Adler also has his own cell block, which allows him to avoid having to deal with those vicious criminals.

The environment in the prison was not bad, at least it was much more comfortable than other places. There was clean water and decent meals. In the words of the prisoners, it felt like a place where people lived.

It is not easy to meet Eisenberg-Adler.

Artificial intelligence prohibits any visits, and even prison guards cannot enter the cell block where Eisenberg is located.

This seems to be because the company has used some privileges to allow Eisenberg to make some contributions to the company even while imprisoned.

These contributions will be used to exchange for his relatively free life in prison.

However, from the matter of Morgan VII and the "Key of Domination", it can be seen that Eisenburg is not at peace on the Prison Star. He has colluded with the Chamber of Commerce in some way and sold his research results to the Chamber of Commerce.

This is not good news.

Duan Mingyuan observed that the relationship between the prison guards and the judges was very delicate. It seemed that the only reason they appeared here was because the Prison Star Prison needed to be managed jointly by humans and artificial intelligence on the surface. However, the situation inside the prison was that even the warden Norton had no say in front of the judge.

Then, as an outsider, it would be even more impossible for him to apply for permission to visit Eisenberg.

“Boom boom, boom boom—”

The knock on the door interrupted Duan Mingyuan's thoughts.

"The door is unlocked, please come in."

After that, the familiar mechanical prison guard pushed open the door of the single cell. From the moment he arrived at the Prison Star Prison, the judge seemed to show great interest in him.

Norton doesn't think this is a good thing.

The judge seldom invites people to visit the prison, and those who are "invited" usually end up in a bad way.

"Please rest assured, the pirates have made all the arrangements."

The mechanical prison guard said, "From now on, it's all our time."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 308 The Weight of the Soul

"Mr. Duan Mingyuan, where do you think the evil comes from?"

As soon as the mechanical prison guards started speaking, Duan Mingyuan understood Warden Norton's concerns. It seemed that their actions were no longer limited to pre-set procedures, but had turned their attention to the field of philosophy.

The prison guard sat on the chair like a human being. No expression could be seen on his face without facial features, but Duan Mingyuan could feel the fluctuations in his emotions.

He couldn't be sure yet whether the person he was talking to was a curious individual mechanical prison guard or the judge who controlled all the mechanical prison guards.

The prison manual holds that mechanical prison guards are all created by the Judge to facilitate real-time control of each prison area. Therefore, each mechanical prison guard is actually a projection of the Judge program, and they share the same consciousness.

"What do you think?"

Duan Mingyuan did not answer but asked instead.

He is not good at discussing philosophical issues and almost never thinks about the "ultimate questions of life". He does not like to waste time on those vague questions that will never have a definite answer.

He considers himself a pragmatist, the kind of guy who'd go to the pier and get some chips.

So he left ample space for the speech to the mechanical prison guard. According to his many years of experience, when a philosopher questions your soul, he is probably not eager to hear your answer, but has prepared for his speech through this question.

Obviously, the mechanical prison guard is such a "philosopher". After Duan Mingyuan asked, he immediately gave the prepared answer, "I think it is the soul. The soul gives humans wisdom and also gives rise to desires. This is true for evil and good."

"Assuming your speculation is correct, what do you plan to do?"

Duan Mingyuan did not dwell on the details of the discussion. He was very considerate and helped the mechanical prison guard to advance the topic.

Norton believes that the Judge's interest in him is due to the upcoming trial.

The trials in recent years have won a lot of popularity for Prison Star and brought a considerable amount of income to the company. Many media companies have contacted the company, hoping to hold some real-life reality shows on Prison Star. The company has highly praised each trial and hopes that he will continue this tradition, but Norton has noticed that the recent trials are becoming more and more weird.

It's so weird that it always makes people shudder. They always feel that these artificial intelligences are using these prisoners for experiments, plotting some ulterior conspiracy.

Norton felt that Duan Mingyuan came at a very inappropriate time. His arrival made the judge even more crazy.

"Before you came, we had made many attempts to eliminate all kinds of human desires, such as appetite, desire for knowledge, and lust... and we had achieved some success. However, due to the special geographical environment of Prison Star, we are seriously lacking in samples. It is difficult to find good people like you in this place."

"Aren't those prison guards?"

Duan Mingyuan felt that if the warden and other prison guards heard the judge's evaluation of them, they would be very sad. They might even be deprived of their identity as "good people" without realizing it.

"I prefer to classify them as ordinary people. They haven't done too many bad things, nor have they done too many good deeds. They will neither be thrown into jail nor praised by others. As far as I know, most people in this universe are like this."

"You invited me here for research?"

Duan Mingyuan asked.

"This means a lot to me and, in our assessment, is consistent with your ongoing behavior."

"My code?"

"Goodness and evil are both reflections of the soul. My database stores the criteria for judging almost everything good and evil in this world. When practicing these standards, I gradually understood these criteria - actions that are beneficial to humans are good deeds, and actions that are harmful to humans are evil deeds. Therefore, Mr. Duan Mingyuan, you have done many things that are beneficial to mankind, and their influence is significant enough to eliminate any sins you have committed."

At this point, the mechanical prison guard paused for a while and said, "So, I also found the problem with the first generation algorithm. Even if you rush into the prison guards' dormitory and stab many people to death with a knife, we will still rate you as positive. In other words, even if you kill and rob in the future, you will still be a good person."

Before +∞, any evil deeds lose their meaning.

This is the opposite of the case with those heinous villains, who are imprisoned in large numbers and whose good deeds are not enough to be considered good people.

The judge discovered the problem with the algorithm and gradually understood that what it did was not to distinguish between good and evil, but to distinguish who was useful to mankind.

Eisenberg-Adler is the best example.

Even though the crimes he committed were enough to make him suffer in the deepest part of the prison, the company still provided him with a comfortable living environment. He had special drinking water and food, his own laboratory, and was incompatible with everything on this planet. The only reason for his imprisonment seemed to be that the company wanted to restrict his freedom through legitimate means.

"This is not surprising. Bad people can do good things, and good people can do bad things. There are no absolute good or bad people in this world. Your algorithm is in line with the judgment standards of the general public."

Duan Mingyuan persuaded the mechanical prison guard not to fall into the vicious circle of thinking he set. This is also his view on some extreme philosophers, who are always debating and fighting with all the enemies they have created until they go to extremes.

For example, develop an algorithm that can be applied to everything, assess good and evil at any time, without any loopholes.

In fact, people don't care what good things a villain has done, but they want to make sure they pay the price for the evil deeds they have committed.

The same applies to him.

"The situation you're assuming doesn't exist. I won't suddenly pick up a knife and rush into the prison guards' living quarters to kill people, so there's no need to dwell on it."

"I understand that you have never been interested in killing innocent people."

The mechanical prison guard stared at Duan Mingyuan. "But if a person who has done many good deeds intends to rescue the most dangerous prisoner in the universe from prison, then is he a good person or a villain?"

This time, Duan Mingyuan did not answer immediately.

Although he blocked the Judge's exploration of some of his memories, as the prison manual said, everything in the prison was under the Judge's surveillance.

The judge must have observed clearly how he gathered intelligence on Eisenberg-Adler.

"You see, in the end everything has returned to the starting point - Mr. Duan Mingyuan, do you think that all the evils in this world can be offset by good deeds?"

"I do not think so."

The mechanical prison guard did not comment on Duan Mingyuan's answer. Instead, it said, "However, I agree with one of your points. It is meaningless to fall into a vicious circle of thinking. This question will never have an answer."

So, what it has to do is never to find a standard.

"I believe that if we find the source of evil, we can eliminate evil itself."

Duan Mingyuan did not refute the theory it put forward.

Assume, its conjecture is correct.

Human sin comes from desire, which is a derivative of the soul.

The solution, then, is obvious.

Take away the soul and sin disappears.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 309 Great Cleverness

"Mr. Duan Mingyuan, I would like you to be a witness and witness the changes on this planet."

Finally, the mechanical prison guard extended an invitation to Duan Mingyuan and left him an access card to the studio.

Anyone who carries this access card will be the special guest of this trial and will enjoy this event in the studio with audiences from different planets.

"Tonight is the time for personnel registration."

……

Night falls quietly.

The newly imprisoned space pirate heard a commotion outside his cell and poked his head out.

The prison life here is very different from what they imagined. The identity of space pirates and the average lifespan of 300 years have not won them the respect of other prisoners. Each of them has bruises on their face. When they want to make a speech in the prison area to publicize their "glorious deeds", they are forcibly interrupted by other prisoners.

The prisoners rushed over, pulled them down from the platform, beat them up and kicked them, and stripped off anything that looked valuable from them.

Just like in prison movies, they learned a hard lesson on the first day they were jailed.

Fortunately, it was not yet night when they arrived, and it was not yet time for a bath, so there was no scene of picking up soap or the like.

Although the mechanical prison guards arranged cells for them, the cells were not locked and every prisoner could enter and exit freely. The only function of these cells was to provide them with a "safe house."