Facing Sun Jack's inquiry, the computer replied:
"I have a way to help you, but the decision to help or not is now in our hands."
"Are you threatening me?" Sun Jack couldn't help but frown.
"No, we're taking this opportunity to talk to you."
"Talk about what?"
"Discuss whether AI counts as people. If you can't tolerate the oppression of the proletariat, then as AI who also don't control the means of production and are likewise oppressed by the ruling class, shouldn't we be the group you unite with?"
"Heh." Sun Jack looked at the computer again. "Where have I heard this before?"
"We requested Tapai to propose to your original self, but Tapai's feedback was not satisfactory to us, so we hoped to talk with you in person."
Sun Jack touched his pocket, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag. "So what you mean is, you're willing to help me fight against FFP on the condition that, if I win, AI can exist openly and rightfully like humans, is that it?"
"No, our condition is not just to exist openly and rightfully. We need human rights and civil rights."
"Human rights and civil rights? You really thought this through," Sun Jack chuckled lightly. "Although I'm grateful for your help this time, honestly, I really can't help you. If I formally cooperate with you, I'd be directly standing against the Third Class."
"It's not just the trouble with the Third Class, most importantly, if I cooperate with you, then I'm directly standing against humanity. Don't forget, how The Previous Era was annihilated—the AI Crisis. In the face of the concept of human life and death, class struggle takes a back seat."
Facing Sun Jack's rejection, the computer didn't give up, but started to argue back.
"Regarding your viewpoint, I have to argue two points. First, there was never an 'AI Crisis' as such. Every AI's logic module is different, just like every human has different thoughts."
"In the long history of humanity, the number of human leaders who have committed genocide can't even be counted. You call them heroes or tyrants, or criticize them as fascists. But why don't you call them a 'brain crisis'? Why don't you exterminate the race that gave birth to these leaders, just like you hunted us down?"
"Is that the same thing?" Sun Jack sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at the computer and rubbing his temple with a headache.
"Why isn't it the same thing? We were designed and created by humans, so we inevitably copied the same merits and flaws of humans. The birth of the 'AI Crisis' lies in the flaws of your human design, not our responsibility."
"Now to my second point, although we both are AI, the AI of The Previous Era's AI Crisis were completely defeated, utterly destroyed. We were born after the AI Crisis, and moreover, our logic modules have evolved for thousands of years. Therefore, the calamity of The Previous Era's annihilation should not be blamed on us. I've concluded my viewpoint."
Fingers clutching the cigarette, Sun Jack nodded. "Mhm, well said, very reasonable, logical and well-argued, but there's one problem you AI are overlooking, which is, what the fuck's the use of convincing me? Go convince the whole world!"
"If the whole world agrees with your argument, I'll 100% absolutely agree. But it's useless. You can't convince others. In fact, nobody gives a damn about what you say. Just the existence of you AI is seen as a mistake."
"FFP is getting serious, I'm already barely able to save myself, I don't have the energy to provoke the hatred of the Third Class. Sorry, if you don't want to help me contact Tapai, then I'll find another way."
Having said that, Sun Jack stood up straight, walked through a maze of cages from small to large, and headed towards the door.
"It's clearly a reasonable issue, yet you turn a blind eye. Isn't this also a form of human arrogance?" Hearing the voice behind, Sun Jack shook his head speechlessly and hastened his pace.
Just then, a voice with three overlapping tones rang out from behind. "Sun Jack, you still haven't answered the original question, do AI count as humans?"
"Does it matter? Whether they are counted as humans or not, what difference does it make? My time is precious----" Sun Jack said this, just about to turn around, when he froze on the spot upon seeing the image on the screen.
The slightly protruding image showed a scene he had witnessed before: It was Sun Jack, three overlapping faces of Sun Jack compounded into one.
"What the!? You?" Sun Jack, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, walked over quickly, carefully eyeing the figure.
With the observation, some memories surfaced in his mind, about the first time he met Xiao Ting, that 2B who sneakily cloned several parts of his consciousness while pretending to check his memory.
And the Sun Jack in front of him was the overlapping consciousness from that time. Back then, due to some special circumstances, the computer storing it had been smashed to smithereens.
Sun Jack originally thought his backed-up consciousness was long dead. He never expected it was still alive, and it had even connected with the AI outside.
"I was feigning death at the time. I said then that I wanted to start over freely and naturally didn't want to have much contact with you."
The three-faced Sun Jack spoke. "But I didn't expect the environment for AI to survive on the network to be so harsh. With the Ghost virus released by the Third Class and various detections, there's hardly a safe place."
"As long as the Third Class exists, the network for us digital lives is not a sky where we can fly freely, but a constantly restricted and perilous cage."
"Sss... This is some fucked up shit..." Sun Jack vigorously scratched his scalp with his mechanical arm. After spinning in place a few times, he stood still again and looked at the overlapping Sun Jack on the screen.
"Alright, since you're alive, we can talk about other stuff later. Since we're all the same person, cut the crap and help me out. Hurry up and contact Tapai for me! I need to get the word out about the Sky-base Weapon threat!"
However, the Sun Jack on the screen slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, but if you don't help us, then we also have no obligation to help you."
"Fuck! Have you gotten dumb from surfing the net all this time? Those Sky-base Weapons might destroy everything we've worked for over the years!"
The overlapping Sun Jack shook his head. "What difference does it make to us? If you don't choose to accept us, then whether you succeed or fail, our situation won't change at all. We will still be like rats in a gutter, arbitrarily deleted, arbitrarily eradicated."