Clown Game
Chapter 321 - 308: Return to the Illusion Realm

Chapter 321: Chapter 308: Return to the Illusion Realm

What is "thought"?

Let’s use a definition I found online:

Thought is the generalization and direct or indirect response process to objective things.

Hmm... Okay, that’s very official, so very few people can understand it.

Then, translating it into layman’s terms: you know what you’re doing.

See, isn’t that much simpler and clearer?

But even if you understand its meaning, it’s still a difficult question to answer because the definition of the word is given by humans, and now we have to discuss it again. This is like using dialectics to explain dialectics, which gets you no answers.

So, let’s try another way of asking.

Do you think... our understanding of "thought" is correct?

Does thought need a carrier? Does it need to distinguish individual differences? Does it need a means of transmission?

Are these too hard?

Then let’s try some others. For instance, does a cat have thought? You say yes, because it presumably knows what it’s doing. Good, then what about a caterpillar? Does it know what it’s doing? Perhaps those in the thought theory and instinct theory camps are about to have a quarrel. So what about next, wood? Following that... rocks? Soil?

...

You see, we now have a lot of room to discuss, right? But to save some unnecessary talk, I’ll just give you the answer...

And that is: there is no answer!

Yes, no matter how many people discuss it, no matter how heated, no matter how well reasoned, in the end it’s just groups of people with the same ideas gathering together, shouting across the void at everyone else, spewing words like ’heretic’, ’scum’, and ultimately just talking to themselves, getting nowhere.

Just like the "collective consciousness" I want to explain next.

Although some will say they understand what it means, they can never truly understand.

Because they can’t even comprehend the pain of their neighbor’s stubbed little toe.

No one can truly understand another individual’s thought...

Oh, by the way, I’m saying all this to lead into my next point... and that is, creatures with "collective thought" can!

How curious is that?

The species with this way of thinking don’t have a clear distinction between individuals, like bees. Although you see them one by one, some collecting nectar, some building the hive, they don’t know of their own existence. They share one or more ideas, like when your anal sphincter cuts off the last bit of waste and your hand simultaneously reaches for paper to wipe. They all act for a collective thought and won’t have situations where the hand suddenly becomes unhappy and aggressively pokes the buttocks.

So, what happens in a bee colony? If you hit a bee, then all the bees in the hive will cry out, "F*ck! Who hit me?" and swarm out to confront you.

In this collective, the consciousness of each individual resides within the hive. They are interconnected, and if two consciousnesses trigger each other, then you can communicate with another consciousness. That is, you can become someone else, a real person, live their life, have their thoughts, and the other person can do the same, living your life, having your thoughts. But you both remain independent individuals. You are still you, and he is still he.

Then, if you multiply this number by dozens or hundreds, it becomes what is called a "collective consciousness".

Hmm, although it’s a bit hard to understand, that’s roughly what it means.

So, it becomes obvious that at this moment, Bai Xiong, Song Xuan, and Chen Xiao have fallen under the control of this collective consciousness.

It’s those so-called "ants" we’ve yet to see, which remove humans’ independent thought from themselves and place it within a shared world of thought, while occupying the capacity of their bodies with another set of thoughts, thus driving them to labor.

It was as if using one’s own hands and buttocks.

...

...

Almost there!

Let’s return to the present moment.

After Bai Xiong had listened to Chen Xiao’s words,

"A very bad premonition? What is it?" he asked in a hushed voice.

Chen Xiao gathered his thoughts together, "Both your notes and mine stressed not attacking the ants... Well, to be honest, seeing the scar on your head gave me a very bad feeling." As he spoke, he pointed to the other man’s arm, "Look, your ion shield is still there!"

Bai Xiong was taken aback for a moment, he immediately thought of something and quickly clenched his fist, the ion shield on his arm popped out with a "bang"...

However, the shield, which used to glow with a blue light, was now dim and without luster, and moreover, it was pierced by a huge gap!

"Just as I thought!" Chen Xiao nodded and said, "When I saw this wide tunnel, I thought, if the ants are this big, then... how much strength they must possess..."

Bai Xiong looked at the most solid shield in Section C, at a loss for a moment.

People all knew how astonishing the proportional strength of a single ant was, but for thousands of years, humanity still habitually referred to ants as a synonym for weakness,

because everyone knew that ants remained only so big.

No one knew what it would look like if an ant were really enlarged to the same size as a human.

However, it seemed... Bai Xiong already knew, and the ion shield and the scar on his head clearly told him what he had done with the ants, and what the consequences were.

Bai Xiong took a deep breath to calm himself down, "Continue, what are your thoughts on the food situation during this period..."

"Oh, you’re talking about food," Chen Xiao shrugged his shoulders, "Although I don’t mind, you definitely won’t want to hear it."

Bai Xiong frowned, ah... his expression meant that he was already thinking of an extremely bad answer.

"You mean..."

"Yes, the protein residues in the digestive tracts of most insects are extremely rich, and the fats are almost perfectly preserved... that is to say..."

"Enough!" Bai Xiong immediately stopped him, "I understand!"

"In fact, they are highly nutritious, like fly droppings..."

"Let’s talk about how to escape from here!" Bai Xiong interrupted Chen Xiao once again.

Chen Xiao spread his hands in resignation, "Well, speaking of escaping... after collecting this information, I think we should first rescue Song Xuan."

"How do we rescue her?" Bai Xiong asked sharply, as in such situations, he would always seriously consider Chen Xiao’s ideas and their feasibility.

"It’s simple, we just shout and scream now, luring those big ants over, I actually want to take a look too, and then when they find us awake, they will definitely use some method to control us again,"

"But by then, both of us would have our memories redistributed."

Chen Xiao nodded, "Yes, I reckon I’ve tried this sort of thing several times already, so this time I’m prepared to try a new method... I’ll go in myself!"