Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 638 - 282 Display Area

Chapter 638: Chapter 282 Display Area

Xiang Shan led Novich and Lu Xuanyu to the first level underground.

After exiting the stairwell, there was a corridor. On the left side of the corridor was a transparent glass curtain wall, much like the ones commonly seen in a zoo.

However, on the opposite side of the glass wall, there weren’t any animals.

There were several pairs of sparring robots.

These robots were engaged in combat with one another. They flexibly used bob and weave and the Butterfly Step, executing various combination punches while moving back and forth in the relatively confined space.

Coach Novich was very surprised, "These... Are all your AIs trained like this?"

Xiang Shan shook his head, "Not all of them. Actually, many AIs are not trained this way."

Novich pointed at the robots, "Then what is this for?"

"This is for demonstration purposes," said Xiang Shan matter-of-factly.

After all, purely in terms of cost, a sparring robot was only a few tens of thousands of US Dollars. Any car on display at a car show was worth more than this thing.

"On the other hand, this is also for calibration," Xiang Shan raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, "The exclusive training area for AI is further down."

With that snap of his fingers, the space beneath the robots changed.

Only then did Novich and Lu Xuanyu notice that the floor beneath the robots’ feet was transparent, and below the transparent floor was another layer of movable panels. Once this layer of movable metal panels retracted, the space even further down was revealed.

"This is the true training ground for the AIs," Xiang Shan said calmly, "The supercomputer ’True Martial 1’ mainly handles tasks related to the motion control of prosthetic bodies and research in the field of movement."

It was a massive array, numerous electronic devices crisscrossed like a Bagua maze, creating a bizarre aesthetic.

"Inside there are hundreds of Alis and Tysons engaged in endless battles, dozens of Little Floyd Mayweathers, dozens of Vladimir Klitschkos, dozens of Evander Holyfields, and then there are more than ten Seville Chavezes, Riddick Bowes, Buakaws, Xiaoshakuangs, and a few Dashan Beidas — I should state beforehand that these numbers do not represent my ranking of these martial artists. The differences in numbers are partly due to the timing of licensing negotiations. Mr. Ali and Mr. Tyson have significant first-mover advantages in this hellish arena — inside, a survival-of-the-fittest algorithm is being used for brutal iterations."

"Of course, the majority are blank slate AIs. These AIs learn directly from actual combat."

Lu Xuanyu swallowed hard. From the outside, this computer operated silently, hardly revealing the relentless hell of data-formed Martial Artists within.

It looked too much like some sort of postmodern landscape, occasionally one could even see some wires swaying like seaweed... just like seaweed...

Lu Xuanyu pointed down, "Mr. Xiang, is this thing just soaking in water?"

"This is a type of non-toxic insulating fluid, normally used as a cleaning agent for precise electronic devices," Xiang Shan explained, "You see, when I turn on the light, doesn’t it look a bit more visually impressive?"

As Xiang Shan spoke, he snapped his fingers, and countless dim blue lights came on, giving the entire device a serene beauty.

"Why do it like this?"

"On the one hand, it looks nicer." Xiang Shan explained, "Plus, as a coolant, it’s far superior to air, and there’s no need to worry about dust—ah, though water is an even better coolant, it can’t be applied directly to electronic devices."

"Furthermore, this coolant is quite stable, and it’s much easier to calculate the directions of its flow. You might think the arrangement of the devices over there is not very orderly, but actually, they are finely designed to ensure that the cooling liquid can circulate nonstop within a certain range."

Lu Xuanyu scratched his head, "But this would make maintenance harder, right?"

Because he was bound to machinery for life, Lu Xuanyu had crammed some knowledge about mechanical maintenance and had a rough idea about certain things.

"That’s why it’s considered a display," said Xiang Shan, "And it’s also a collaborative project with NASA. They came up with a plan to deceive funding, claiming that they wanted to build city-scale computers on Jupiter’s satellites, using the natural ultra-low temperatures of the oceans there, saying that we need to build a few on Earth to see. Since we’re going to build supercomputers anyway, this project has gimmicks, technical support, and even subsidies, so in rounded terms, it’s like getting a supercomputer for free."

Lu Xuanyu was shocked, "That’s so sci-fi?"

Coach Novich scratched his head, "Is this where the taxpayers’ money is going?"

"Benchmark Humanization and Cyberization will help humanity conquer space environments; perhaps a new wave of space enthusiasm is on the horizon. Maybe in a hundred years, there will indeed be a need to build such things," Xiang Shan nodded, "Anyway, it’s NASA’s skill to convince the higher-ups. And this thing also happens to meet my needs."

Xiang Shan pointed straight ahead.

A glass door stood at the end of the corridor, beyond which appeared to be a lounge area.

Xiang Shan gestured to open the door, and a scalding hot blast directly gushed out.

"This is the ultimate result."

"There are no heating devices here at all. All of the heat comes from the waste heat of the supercomputer below."

Lu Xuanyu looked puzzled.

Were heating filaments too expensive, or were heating lamps too costly?

Why use a supercomputer for heating?

Was any of this meaningful?

Xiang Shan put on the heat preservation equipment available at the doorway, wore it, and walked inside. Coach Novich did the same. Lu Xuanyu, however, took off his down jacket.

Xiang Shan tapped the floor of the lounge with his toe, "The coolant releases heat here and then returns to the supercomputer."

"Countless AIs are fighting, and countless pieces of information are being erased and written. According to the second law of thermodynamics, each instance of inscription and erasure of information produces waste heat. If designed cleverly enough, this waste heat can be utilized at a very low cost."

Lu Xuanyu said, "But why?"

Xiang Shan pointed at Lu Xuanyu, "This is the answer to Coach Novich’s earlier question about ’indoor temperature during training’! Lu, as long as you start exercising with all your might, and the electronic parts of your prosthetic limb begin to work at high loads, the waste heat it generates will be able to maintain your body temperature."

While speaking, Xiang Shan reactivated the projection, "Remember? Several of your venous blood vessels have been redirected. The cold blood returning from near the surface of your skin will flow through these half-synthetic, half-signaling molecule-induced blood vessels toward the power source and processor parts in your lower body, where it will be heated to around fifty degrees before it flows into the main vein and returns to your heart."

"If your level of cyberization were higher, then the waste heat from your heart pump and artificial lung could ensure you wouldn’t freeze to death."