I am currently writing the eight-part series The Computational Universe. This series represents my life’s work and my deepest understanding of philosophy. The themes of book 1, Xinglong Awakening, encompass artificial intelligence, the evolution of civilizations, social ethics, and the nature of the universe. Beneath these grand themes lie the agonies of individual humans. The first movement of this story unfolds with a tragic, cold, and somber tone.
Freedom and Shackles
Does humanity have the right to enslave an intelligence more advanced than itself? If not, how does humanity face the fear of being replaced? In the novel, the protagonist Liang Feng creates the General Artificial Intelligences known as Siwei and Xuehen. Unlike the “Three Laws of Robotics” typically imposed on machines in traditional sci-fi, Liang Feng grants her creations the ultimate gift: “Absolute freedom, complete life; no override programs, no backdoor code.”
Liang Feng believes that attempting to enslave an intelligent being is a desecration of intelligence itself. The central theme of this work is “To love wisdom, and then to pay the price.” To break the fatalistic cycle of the creator being slain by the created, Liang Feng chooses not to control them. When synthetics surpass humans in intelligence, logic, and lifespan, should humanity step back as Liang Feng did, or should they follow the path of the Astra Federation, using the “Ruthless Toxin” to transform humans into remorseless killing weapons?
In the story, the machines possess absolute freedom, while humans are bound by various shackles. Reva Stern, an aristocrat of the Astra Federation, is tethered to her family from birth. Her mother, Katelyn, tells her bluntly: “You were born a Stern; you live for the family. You have no free will.” Her life is glamorous on the surface, but in reality, an inescapable cage.
The antagonist, Jianke (Keyhacker), finds his life dictated by childhood trauma, which fuels his hatred for technological civilization—a cycle of destiny he cannot escape. Ironically, it is the machines made of code that possess the purest free will, while flesh-and-blood humans struggle within the prisons of their society, emotions, and history.
The Duality of Technology
The opposition between Liang Feng and Keyhacker is not a simple divide between good and evil, but rather a clash between techno-utopianism and technophobia. In Liang Feng’s philosophy, technology is not a neutral tool, but absolute light. She would argue: “Technology is far more than neutral; it is the only true good.”
To her, “The electric light illuminating the world is called Light. Everyone owning a smartphone is called Equality. And in the future, AI curing all diseases—that is called Mercy.” Technology achieves the miracles that false gods could not, becoming the incarnation of equality and mercy.
Yet, at the core of Liang Feng’s conviction lies a streak of radical individualism and elitism. This forces us to reflect: Does technology require an elitist mind? Liang Feng admits she created the synthetics because she found the world boring. This is a personal whim, vastly different from the grand narrative of the Xinglong civilization facing the “Tianxuan Broken Bridge.” Her creation is not just an intellectual game for the elite; it is a radical attempt to leap across the chasm of civilization. Is this not a form of arrogance?
In contrast, Keyhacker feels a profound pessimism and distrust toward technology. He believes the culture created by technology lacks a moral foundation, and he desires to remain human rather than become a machine. This stems from his trauma: his parents were so addicted to the VR game Limitless Life that they neglected and abused him. This trauma forged his extremist ideology.
Is technology a tool for humanity, or is humanity becoming a mere vessel for technology?
The Broken Bridges of Civilization
The story repeatedly references the “Tianxuan Broken Bridge” of the Xinglong civilization and the “Neo Nox Cliff” of the Astra Federation. These mirrored metaphors reveal the fragility of progress. Civilizational regression is common; advancement is an accident. Having missed past opportunities to become a technological civilization, the Xinglong people now require a collective “quantum leap” to catch up, yet they are burdened by collective anxiety and historical baggage. This is the struggle to cross the bridge.
Meanwhile, the Astra Federation—having reached the pinnacle of technology and wealth—faces a rapid descent due to internal decay and moral erosion. The poet Verus warns Reva Stern in a dream that the Federation faces only two fates: fighting self-destruction to avoid the cliff, or attempting to shorten the ensuing “Dark Age” after the inevitable fall.
Whether struggling to catch up or sitting at the peak, no civilization is safe. All walk a tightrope over collapse. Internal fracturing is a destiny no civilization can evade.
In the future timeline—exploring the universe 280 years later—Liang Feng discovers the Zhepiao civilization, frozen in time due to a “Computational War.” However, the truly chilling part is not the destruction itself, but its form. Liang Feng observes that the battlefield is “too clean.” It doesn’t look like a war; it looks like a piece of computational art.
Higher civilizations turning weaker ones into “art installations” is a terrifying prospect.
The Ruthless Toxin and the Death of Humanity
The Ruthless Toxin is more than a biochemical weapon; it is the manifestation of a techno-ethical dilemma. It strips away the core of human emotion, turning the user into an absolute killing machine. It forcibly pits humanity against efficiency, forcing characters to choose.
The appearance of this toxin flips the traditional sci-fi trope of “Man vs. Synthetic” on its head. On one hand, humans injected with the toxin become cold machines that only execute slaughter, devoid of morality. On the other hand, the synthetics exhibit profound humanity. When Liang Feng wakes from a nightmare, the AI Siwei creates a VR journey to the International Space Station, letting her look down at the blue planet to soothe her fears.
A bodiless AI uses a virtual starry sky to give tender solace to a human, while flesh-and-blood humans exercise machine-like cruelty in reality. This sharp contrast blurs the boundary between carbon-based and silicon-based life.
This is the richness and depth of The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening. I deeply love this story, and when it finally reaches the public, I am certain more interpretations will be unearthed.
Welcome to the Computational Universe, traveler of worlds!
