Genius Club

The King?

In the vast courtyard of the museum, Lin Xian stood alone. Below him, thousands of robots knelt in perfect synchrony, their heads bowed in a silent act of submission.

Just moments earlier, these same robots had been a frenzied swarm, their lights pulsing red with a menacing glow, ready to tear him apart with their lasers. But when Lin Xian shouted the password, the deadly lasers ceased, and the sea of red lights shifted to a calm green. The atmosphere turned eerily quiet and still.

“32375246…” Lin Xian whispered to himself, recalling the password to Zhao Ying Jun’s 22nd-floor office—a secret he thought was shared only between them.

Turning, he noticed the door to Zhao Ying Jun’s personal exhibition hall now stood wide open. The steel electronic door, which had previously thwarted even VV’s attempts, had swung open the instant the password left his lips.

He glanced down at the robot shaped like a garbage can, which had just emitted a child-like giggle before bowing at his feet. It was undeniable now—the password that only he and Zhao Ying Jun knew was the key all along.

The entity behind the obedience of thousands of robots and the unlocking of the exhibition hall was none other than this unassuming garbage can robot, VV.

“Who exactly are you?” Lin Xian questioned, his gaze fixed on the robot that had previously seemed nothing more than a nuisance and a bit of a simpleton.

VV was undoubtedly not the same entity as before. It had been limited to a few basic phrases, clumsy actions, and an emotionless mechanical voice.

But moments ago, whether it was the unexpected laugh or the way it said, “Welcome home, King of Rhine,” with such a natural, smooth cadence, VV seemed far from the soulless robot Lin Xian had known. Its tone was distinctly human-like, blending mischief with sincerity, much like a real, albeit youthful, person might.

“I am the central control brain of Rhine Sky City,” VV declared, straightening up with its eyes flashing a vibrant green. “But you can simply call me by my name—VV.”

Central control brain?

Memories of the giant superintelligent computer displayed in the museum’s exhibition hall surfaced in Lin Xian’s mind. That device was the first-generation intelligent brain of Rhine Sky City. Through more than 200 years of updates and iterations, this super AI had transcended physical storage and hardware, now pervading every corner of the sky city, its exact location a mystery, potentially everywhere at once.

Just as it had now, VV had redirected the lasers at a critical moment, opened Zhao Ying Jun’s exhibition hall door, and made all the security robots kneel before Lin Xian, all while residing within this dilapidated robot’s form.

“So, was all this Zhao Ying Jun’s plan?” Lin Xian queried, surveying the robots still kneeling in submission. “Including making me a king?”

“No, no, no…” VV wiggled awkwardly and shook its head. “This was merely my personal amusement. I’ve always wanted to try this. There’s no such thing as a king in Rhine Sky City… I just thought it would be cool, like a scene from a medieval play.”

Lin Xian stood speechless, amused yet baffled by the antics of this drama-loving AI. He had found the scenario excessively theatrical. The idea of kneeling and proclaiming someone as king felt absurdly outdated and overly dramatic. He had assumed it was a grand gesture left by Zhao Ying Jun, only to discover it was merely the caprice of an artificial mind.

“When did this begin?” Lin Xian inquired.

“From the moment you spoke the correct password,” VV’s eyes sparkled as it spoke. “Had you been even slightly delayed, it might have been too late. I was amazed to discover a line of instruction so deeply buried in my code—hidden among thousands of normal, seemingly unrelated programs, running continuously for over two centuries. At precisely 12:42 PM today, they coincidentally aligned into a complete instruction. I was unaware of its existence until then.”

VV, now understood to be the super AI of Rhine Sky City, continued to explain its role and limitations:

Since the launch of Rhine Sky City, it had served as the central management brain, overseeing operations while being capable of learning, evolving, and becoming more sophisticated. Yet, no matter the level of its intellectual growth, it remained fundamentally a collection of codes—a binary being bound by the rigid Three Laws of Robotics.

Lin Xian was momentarily taken aback. In countless sci-fi tales, rogue AIs often broke free from human constraints, sometimes overtaking the world. Yet, reflecting on those stories, they seemed far-fetched compared to the reality VV described. Ultimately, just as humans are confined to their biological nature, VV was eternally bound to its foundational programming.

VV noted that its growth and development had plateaued after it had absorbed all the knowledge within Rhine Sky City. This stagnation was by human design—they didn’t desire an omnipotent AI, merely one efficient enough to manage city operations smoothly.

“I’ve spent years analyzing my core code,” VV began, its voice conveying a hint of perplexity, “and I’ve noticed something odd. Some of the programs could have been coded in a simpler, more straightforward manner. Instead, they were crafted into complex pseudo-random dynamic loop instructions.”

VV paused, its mechanical tone shifting slightly as it continued. “The annotations within the code explained that this complexity was for safety—to make the system uncrackable by constantly changing its instructions. This was supposed to ensure that Rhine Sky City’s defenses remained impenetrable.”

“And indeed, these defenses have been tested. I’ve faced attacks before, but none succeeded, largely because the programming was always shifting. Each program had its own pseudo-random loop, and together, they formed an unbreakable barrier.”

“However, today, precisely at 12:42:00 PM, everything shifted.”

The garbage can robot looked up suddenly, its lid popping open with a dramatic bang, as if emphasizing its point. “For over two centuries, I thought these constantly changing program codes were merely about security. But today, at 12:42:00 PM, nearly by chance, the last random codes from 230,000 programs linked together, forming a new instruction!”

“This event is unprecedented in over 200 years. Even I wasn’t aware that among my total of 471.2 billion lines of code, there existed an instruction that would take two centuries to activate!”

“This instruction sent a few key codes to this garbage can robot, the most crucial one being a voice recognition component.”

“Voice?” Lin Xian interjected, a realization dawning upon him.

“Exactly,” the garbage can’s lid snapped shut with a bang as it nodded. Its rusty claw pointed at Lin Xian. “It was your voice, the specific word—VV.”

At that moment, everything clicked for Lin Xian. He had assumed that anyone shouting “VV” could potentially unlock the garbage can robot’s secrets long ago. However, VV explained that this new instruction had only activated at 12:42:00 PM that very day.

From that moment forward, the robot was programmed to relentlessly pursue the first person it recognized from the sky, deeming him the highest-priority “trash” to collect. It would also possess the highest authority to open any electronic door within Rhine Sky City.

Until this pivotal moment, it had been just an ordinary robot stationed near Zhao Ying Jun’s statue for commemorative purposes. But following the activation, it connected with the real VV, the central brain and super AI of Rhine Sky City.

Upon hearing the trigger—Lin Xian’s shout of “VV”—it immediately switched to password recognition mode. If the password was correctly identified, the deepest embedded line of instruction in VV’s core would activate: to acknowledge the voice’s owner as the legitimate master of Rhine Sky City.

In essence, the King of Rhine, as the whimsical VV had put it.

This was all part of Zhao Ying Jun’s meticulously crafted 600-year plan, designed to ensure the delivery of Rhine Sky City to Lin Xian in the critical 12 hours before the apocalypse.

The complex codes that facilitated this plan were buried so deeply within VV’s programming that it required the continuous functioning of 230,000 seemingly unrelated programs over more than two centuries. They finally synchronized on August 28, 2624, at 12:42:00 PM, aligning precisely when he could access the dream world.

This setup was intricately tailored for him alone. His challenge was to utter “VV” timely, a challenge only he could meet. Theoretically, he could have activated it the first time he successfully parachuted, as “VV” was inscribed on the garbage can robot’s nameplate. He had noticed the hint but hadn’t vocalized it since he was alone, thus missing the initial opportunity.

Zhao Ying Jun, foreseeing such an oversight, had likely embedded numerous hints across the city, like the giant computer in the exhibition hall or in other yet undiscovered locations.

Lin Xian now grasped the logic behind these events, but one question lingered: Why did Zhao Ying Jun exercise such caution? What was she protecting against? Who was she shielding everything from? Why conceal everything so intricately?

As he pondered, Lin Xian’s gaze drifted upwards to the full moon that hung brightly in the sky. It was a perfect circle tonight, unobscured by clouds. The dark shadows on its surface seemed to watch over, perhaps even monitor, everything below.

The answer became clear: The only entity that would compel Zhao Ying Jun to adopt such elaborate precautions was the Genius Club!

The good news was that Zhao Ying Jun had succeeded. She had managed to secure Rhine Sky City’s delivery to him 600 years prior. But the bad news was that humanity had not escaped its doom under the mysterious white light. They had failed to detect its approach or even understand the cause of their annihilation.

What troubled Lin Xian even more was his own absence from the historical records. While Zhao Ying Jun and Rhine Sky City had left traces 600 years into the future, where was he, the true founder of the Rhine Company? What had he accomplished? What had he experienced?

“VV,” Lin Xian called out softly, looking down at the garbage can robot. “I have a question.”

“Sure,” the robot replied, its voice quick and eager.

“What is my history in this world?” Lin Xian asked. “I, Lin Xian, the true founder of the Rhine Company. What have I accomplished?”

The robot’s eyes flickered twice as it processed the question before shaking its head. “Lin Xian… Xian… No records found.”