Chapter 1137 — Facing the Tide of Thought
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"Why so quiet? Too great a shock?" Milmina's voice came from beside him, finally jolting him awake. "Or have you finally come from that dark, chaotic place into a living 'world,' and you're so moved you want to cry?"
"No... I just didn't expect... I didn't expect it could be this real," Amorn said softly, as though murmuring in a dream. "I remember, many, many years ago, I once imagined a scene like this, but I never believed it could be realized. I stand here, mortals coming and going around me, I stand among them, the whole world running safely and steadily... and a wind carrying the scent of flowers blowing in from afar..."
"I can't share in the feeling in your second half, because I haven't had the experiences you have, but when it comes to this world's 'realness,' I feel the same," Milmina said with a light laugh. "This is a dream shaped jointly by tens of thousands of human minds, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of 'Shapers' carefully pruning every detail of it, filling in any blank in the dream. Of course it would be real... In fact, the 'sense of reality' we experience here even exceeds that of the mortals who enter the network. Do you know why?"
Amorn thought for a moment, and dimly realized something: "Because we ourselves were born in the depths of mortal thought..."
"Yes. When we come here, it's as though we've come home," Milmina said with a smile. "Isn't it wondrous? We were born in the tide of thought, we fled from the tide of thought, and in the end we return to the tide of thought through machines — watching, from the safe vantage of bystanders, these forces that once twisted and imprisoned us. How beautiful this place looks — nothing at all like those divine realms that seem glorious on the surface but are in truth gradually collapsing."
Amorn steadied himself, finally breaking free from the emotion this bright and warm world had stirred in him. Hearing Milmina's words, he asked instinctively: "What should we do next? Where should we go?"
"Should? There is no 'should.' We're free, Amorn — do the things you want to do," Milmina said, shaking her head. "Treat this as a real place of rest. Walk around, look at the scenery, or get to know a few people and talk about ordinary things. This city, the Nexus, is the uppermost space of the neural network, a free gathering place. Mortals can come here to experience another kind of life, or through certain city facilities take part in the building of this space, or go to certain entertainment districts and experience things they would ordinarily find hard to experience... All of that is possible, and so is it for you.
"Don't worry that what you do here might accidentally destroy this exquisite world — it is far more solid than you imagine, and there is a powerful 'administrator' monitoring the operation of this space. Of course, I sincerely hope you don't actually draw the administrator's attention. That administrator... is far more difficult than you can imagine."
Amorn listened carefully, then suddenly reacted: "You're not planning to come with me?"
"Me? I'm going farther out to look around," Milmina said with a wave of her hand. "I came to this place once before, but it was a hurried visit, and there were many things I never had time to experience properly. And the outskirts of Xuanque City are very different from when I last came — no doubt the builders here have extended its edges further... I want to go over there and see. As for you, take your time getting familiar with this place. We'll meet again later in the 'Courtyard.'"
"Hey, wait a—" Amorn called out instinctively, but before his voice had even faded, he saw Milmina's figure swiftly fading in the air. Within a second, she had vanished completely.