Endless Debt-Chapter 896 - 34: Exhaustive Method

Bologue gazed up at this monument of flesh and blood; as the conversation with Bologue continued, it awoke from its slumber, the flesh becoming active, and machinery roared to life.

The surface of the multitude emitted high temperatures, waves of heat rushing forth, electricity swept along the cables, illuminating a series of indicator lights that flashed in a regular pattern, the points of light increasing until the entire dark space was filled with these sparkling points.

Bologue felt as if he were under a starry sky.

Of the four masks at the main body, the copper-green mask representing Maria’s persona was in an activated state, while the other masks were silent; on the branches extending from the trunk, many small masks hung, stirring speculation in Bologue’s heart.

"The multitude is not perfect; it is the product of the stubborn will of successive directors, formed to achieve the Order Bureau’s ideal, twisted, bloated, and pathological."

The multitude spoke slowly, its narrative angle strange, always viewing itself from a third-person perspective.

Without Maria’s voice modification, the multitude’s tone was hoarse and twisted, tinged with a metallic hum. In its slow narrative, the sound seemed to emerge from countless people speaking simultaneously, with an overlapping quality, sometimes pausing or delaying.

Bologue couldn’t see its vocal organs; the voice seemed to emanate from countless players embedded within the multitude.

The multitude continued, "But it’s of no concern; pragmatism is one of the Order Bureau’s philosophies, as long as it functions, no matter how ugly the exterior."

Its horrifying appearance was enough to intimidate many; even Bologue initially thought it was some dreadful anomaly.

"We once considered molding it into a golden statue, like some gigantic idol," Nesanel, who had remained silent, spoke, "but later we abandoned that idea. After all, few people will ever see the multitude, making such decorations unnecessary."

"This place symbolizes the nature, ideals, and reality of the Order Bureau. Through the thinking of computing units, the multitude believes it should face everyone in its true form."

The multitude had a distinct mode of thought.

"The multitude’s primary duty is to store the will of past directors, making decisions for the Order Bureau using their logic when necessary.

The multitude is a tool, a machine, and machines are more precise, efficient than humans.

I am artificial life, more akin to a form of artificial intelligence."

Bologue roughly understood the significance of the multitude and was well aware of the sacrifices made by past directors, who all merged themselves into this bizarre shell, with their will being extracted by the multitude at the moment of death as a foundation for logical computation.

Neither the multitude nor the preserved wills possessed free will; from the beginning, they were bound by underlying instructions, sacrificing everything for the Order Bureau and the struggle against Devil.

"The fusion with the multitude is no simple task; only the Seeker of Glory can fully retain their will, possess complete logical thinking, and extract a virtual persona from it."

The multitude continued, "After Director Maria’s fusion with the multitude, its computational power once again upgraded; the multitude realized that depending solely on directors’ will was somewhat limited, even if every director was an outstanding figure in their era."

"The multitude proposed the Sacrifice of Glory agreement, thus extending the fusion target range from only directors to senior staff in various departments.

After meeting the requisite standards, they undergo a series of audits, and upon signing the Glory Agreement, participating staff would be transported to the Inverted Hall before brain death, merging with the multitude to expand its database and computation power.

However, most of those staff are not Seeker of Glory, their will hardly preserved in the tidal wave of consciousness, merely becoming computation units."

But the multitude will eternally remember them."

The giant body trembled slightly, the fog-like darkness rippling away with this minor motion, receding, revealing countless branches extending from the trunk, each densely hung with masks representing deceased staff, computing units.

"As for your question, why the Decision Room, the multitude is omnipotent."

The multitude continued to explain to Bologue his query.

"It’s simple; with sufficient data support and computational power, the multitude can predict the development of most events."

The multitude showcased its capabilities to Bologue.

"Bologue, do you understand world economics?"

Bologue shook his head, "No, this sort of thing isn’t related to work."

"Then are you familiar with the butterfly effect?" the multitude asked, "The occasional flapping of a butterfly’s wings can lead to a storm weeks later."

"To many, this is a chaotic phenomenon, filled with the unknown and lack of pattern, but with adequate, vast data support and computational operation, you can analyze the entire event development process.

Of course, this example is a bit idealized. Let’s talk about you, Bologue Lazarus."

Bologue felt numerous gazes fall upon him, those sacrifices amidst the grand computation of the multitude.

"Bologue Lazarus, do you feel your actions are easily guessed or deduced by others?"