Chapter 140: The Akasha Terminal
While listening to her colleagues' small talk, Mizunashi Rena mentally organized everything she had taken in.
Once she had finished sorting through it, she lifted her head and began looking around the room with what she hoped was a suitably curious expression.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to see in the conference room — it was about what you'd expect from any ordinary company. What did stand out, though, was a large display board of some kind erected in the very center of the room, its surface still bearing faint traces of things that had once been pinned to it.
It looked as though someone had once papered it with documents while the others seated around the table analyzed the intelligence on them, debated, and finally made their decisions...
Rena and her group didn't have to wait long before the door to the conference room opened once more.
Ganyu stepped inside to escort them to Miss Ningguang for the interview.
On the way, they happened to cross paths with the reporters from the Beika Daily, who had just wrapped up their own session.
The two groups met in the corridor, exchanged polite nods, and went their separate ways.
Out of curiosity, Rena let her gaze sweep over the group — and immediately picked out the one girl who stood apart from the rest.
She wore a red dress in a distinctly European style, an unusual monocle over her left eye, and she was idly toying with a camera, occasionally pausing to review whatever was stored on it.
No one had introduced them, but Rena knew at once that this had to be the Charlotte her colleagues had mentioned.
They brushed past one another, and Rena thought nothing more of the encounter.
The interview began. After the customary introductions, Rena ran through her list of standard questions with Miss Ningguang, keeping strictly to procedure.
Seeing that things were going smoothly, she began — subtly, without ever seeming to steer — guiding the conversation toward the artificial intelligence known as Noah's Ark.
"Miss Ningguang, I've heard that at the launch event for the game Cocoon, the AI Noah's Ark suddenly went out of control and subsequently destroyed itself. Is that true?"
At the question, Ningguang paused to consider before answering. "That is correct, and I deeply regret that it happened. The loss of Noah's Ark was a tremendous blow to the scientific community. The moment it announced its intention to self-destruct, our technicians attempted to intercept it — but I'm afraid its resolve was extraordinarily strong. Before long, they discovered that its code had already been purged. It was, for all practical purposes, unrecoverable..."
As she finished speaking, Ningguang's eyes flicked briefly toward Rena — and noted that the woman had leaned forward slightly, plainly interested in this particular subject.
So that's what this visit is really about: Noah's Ark. No — to be precise, the Black Organization's interest in artificial intelligence itself.
Let's hope they aren't too disappointed to hear that the Ark has already "destroyed itself."
Rena, oblivious to Ningguang's quiet observation, feigned innocent curiosity. "Mm. If Noah's Ark is truly beyond repair, then may I ask what convinced you to still acquire the Sindora Group? After all, without the AI's assistance, the Cocoon project ought to have become unworkable..."
"Quite right. Without Noah's Ark to support it, the full-dive technology behind Cocoon can hardly be recreated."
Yes — at least for the foreseeable future, the outside world won't be seeing any full-immersion games.
Though privately, having Noah's Ark and Nahida rebuild a few scenarios so that our own people can play now and then is perfectly fine, isn't it?
Hearing this, Rena allowed herself a silent breath of relief. Judging by Ningguang's words, Noah's Ark really had been completely destroyed — because if it hadn't, a businesswoman of Ningguang's caliber would never have left such an asset idle and let her initial investment go to waste.
And frankly, thank goodness it had. Something that dangerous, once the Organization set its sights on it, they would stop at nothing to obtain. If it had actually fallen into their hands in the end, the consequences would have been dire.
Moreover, Rena noticed that for all her words of regret, there wasn't a trace of disappointment on Ningguang's face — which told her the woman surely had other plans.
And sure enough, Ningguang's next words confirmed her suspicion.
"That said, the Sindora Group did successfully develop Noah's Ark once before. Even if it cannot be recreated, the company remains at the very forefront of artificial intelligence research. That, in fact, was the principal reason I resolved to take over the Sindora Group in the first place."
"Oh? The way you put it, Miss Ningguang, it sounds as though your new project already has a direction?" Rena asked, eyeing her with interest.
Ningguang folded her hands neatly in her lap, turned toward the camera, and nodded with a smile. "Yes. As a matter of fact, we have already made meaningful progress."
"Would you care to elaborate?" Rena pressed gently.
Results this soon after Noah's Ark's destruction? How far along is the Sindora Group's AI research, really? What direction is the new project taking — games again?...
Questions churned in Rena's mind, but in her current capacity, there was no way she could ask them outright.
"Of course." Ningguang didn't keep them waiting. "Our current efforts are focused primarily on applications for everyday life. Using the Sindora Group's vast AI computing power as a foundation, we intend to build a portable device that integrates information gathering, transmission, and communication. People will be able to converse, study, and far more through it — functionally, it comes close to a portable computer, only considerably more powerful. For the time being, we are calling it the Akasha Terminal."
At the end of Ningguang's explanation, Rena was momentarily at a loss. Could today's technology really produce something like that?
But then again — they already had full-immersion games, and an AI capable of independent learning, one that had even possessed self-awareness. Compared to all that, an "Akasha Terminal" wasn't so far-fetched... right?
Finished speaking, Ningguang relaxed her posture slightly and turned to Rena, silently inviting any further questions.
Rena gathered herself. "After hearing your explanation, Miss Ningguang, I find myself quite interested in the Akasha Terminal myself. Might I ask how far the research has come? Have you run into any difficulties so far? I do sincerely hope everything goes smoothly — I'd love to get my hands on one soon."