Reality Programming Association

Chapter 109: Chapter 45: Gunsmoke of the ’Civil War

No one laughed.

”So... the original TDI and ’Midnight Bus’ are different in this regard, right?” Shao Yiyi asked.

”Right. Normally, the original has a ’safety lock,’ but ’Midnight Bus’ picked this lock, allowing people to remember what happens in their dreams,” Yu Xian explained to her.

”Remembering what happens in dreams...” Shi Zuozhou muttered to himself, as if he had suddenly recalled something.

”Old Yu, do you remember last time at the South Gate Supermarket, when Senior Sister Yiyi told us about her ’lucid dream project’?”

”Senior Sister Yiyi? Lucid dream project?” Wen Xiao, who hadn’t spoken until now, glanced at Shi Zuozhou and asked curiously.

”Yeah, isn’t her research group studying how to make people remember things from their dreams? Old Yu, that thing... MCH neurons? Do you remember?” Shi Zuozhou said urgently.

”Could this be related to her research?”

Yu Xian picked up his teacup and took a sip.

”Maybe... it’s just a coincidence.”

He abruptly changed the subject.

”I asked Wen Xiao to study that audio file over the past few days, and she’s more or less figured out its structure.”

He casually took the four empty teacups from the table and lined them up in a row.

”We can think of this audio file as being composed of four modules.”

He pointed to the first cup.

”The first is the ’primer.’ It’s a very strange piano piece. The tracks differ between audio files, but what we know is that all these primer tracks use the Twelve-tone Technique. We don’t know anything else, nor do we understand the purpose of this part.”

”We had a theory that this part might be used to trick the brain’s ’firewall’—the sleep spindle defense mechanism. It’s like exchanging a secret code with the brain. But this is just baseless speculation,” Wen Xiao added.

Yu Xian nodded and then pointed to the second cup.

”The second is the ’engine.’ We speculate that this is the underlying module for constructing the dreamscape and the core technology of the TDI project. In the original TDI, this part uses a technology called ’audio fingerprinting’ for device binding, so it can only be played on specific devices. ’Midnight Bus’ removed this restriction.”

Then, his hand skipped over the third cup and pointed to the fourth.

”The fourth is the ’script.’ This is the part that describes the specific scene. It’s semi-open and written in a scripting language, like a game MOD. Anyone with a bit of technical knowledge can modify it. That’s why there are different versions like ’classroom,’ ’office,’ and ’bus.’”

”What about the third one?” Shao Yiyi asked, pointing at the cup he had skipped.

Yu Xian and Wen Xiao glanced at each other.

”The third part is a ’patch.’ The original TDI doesn’t have this part. Judging from the encryption and packing methods, it was likely forced in by some external organization, similar to a plug-in. We still don’t know what information it contains.”

Yu Xian said slowly,

”Because this module is the biggest difference between it and the original TDI. Therefore, we speculate that this is the part used to suppress the brain’s function of forgetting dreams, forcibly moving the dream’s contents into long-term memory.”

He paused, then said in a low voice,

”Over time, this can cause a problem called ’source memory confusion,’ where a person can’t distinguish between the virtual and the real.”

The surrounding diners clinked glasses and chatted, the clamor rising and falling.

But at this small table in the corner, the four of them fell silent.

After a long while, Shi Zuozhou finally broke the silence.

”Does that mean the underlying philosophies of the original TDI and the ’Midnight Bus’ audio are in conflict?”

Yu Xian was taken aback; he hadn’t considered that possibility. He knew from before that Senior Sister Yiyi’s advisor, Mo Du, had, as requested, injected the MCH-suppressing waveform into the original TDI audio. Because of this, he’d always assumed the people behind TDI had bought the third part—the ’patch’—from Mo Du.

”What do you mean?” Shao Yiyi was the first to speak.

”Think about it. According to Old Yu, the people behind the TDI project are very strict about controlling this audio file.”

Shi Zuozhou ticked off the points on his fingers.

”The invitation code system means they can trace the source of every audio file. And they’re so expensive that the quantity must be small. Device binding means it’s one device, one license, so it can’t be shared. And it’s single-use, which means TDI can cut off a subject’s participation at any time, depending on the circumstances.”

Yu Xian’s pupils contracted. ’He’d somehow overlooked such an important line of thought!’ He picked up where Shi Zuozhou left off.

”So, the viral spread of ’Midnight Bus’ runs completely contrary to the TDI project’s approach!”

”Exactly. And haven’t you noticed? The intended effects and the methods used to achieve them for these two audio files are also polar opposites,” Shi Zuozhou said, looking at the others.

”Opposites in what way?” Yu Xian asked.

”If the original TDI’s purpose is to ’train instincts,’ that means someone has to be like Old Yu and repeat one action tens of thousands of times in a dream. That would require the person to forget the process.”

Shi Zuozhou paused.

”But ’Midnight Bus’ wants people to remember everything from their dreams, even to the point where they can’t tell the difference between reality and the dream world. One is about remembering, the other is about forgetting.”

Yu Xian felt a bolt of lightning flash through his mind.

Shi Zuozhou’s words had just shattered his previous blind spot.

’He was right.’

’The original TDI gave the impression of being secretive, precise, and controllable.’