Chapter 967: Consultation

What is the meaning of life?

The bright white words remained quietly displayed on the crystal interface. Omega seemed to be patiently waiting for Highwind’s answer, while Highwind himself… found himself at a loss for where to begin.

It was a classic question, but far too broad—especially in this situation, facing an artificial intelligence he knew nothing about. Perhaps a skilled philosopher, eloquent and sharp-tongued, could deliver a lengthy discourse here, but Highwind was not such a man. After a few seconds of thought, he simply shook his head. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“…Interesting. System records show that answers identical or similar to yours have appeared four times before.”

Highwind was momentarily stunned, then caught on. “You’ve asked others this question?”

“Tal’Rond rarely has outsiders—though they do appear,” the text on the interface refreshed. “Perhaps once every few hundred years, or once every few millennia. Whenever a new subject of observation appears, Omega asks similar questions. The subject’s reaction to the question is also meaningful.”

Highwind suddenly found this intriguing and couldn’t help but ask, “Did someone instruct you to do this? Did someone give you orders to observe and ask questions?”

“No.” The text responded immediately.

“So this observation is your own… ‘interest’?” Highwind’s curiosity deepened. “Why do you do it? To satisfy your own curiosity? You have curiosity?”

“…Data collection necessity,” the letters on the interface seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second—whether real or imagined—before lines of text began to refresh again. “Expanding the database and self-growth to become a better servant is Omega’s duty.”

Highwind stared at the words on the screen, thoughtful for a moment, then casually said, “You see, for you, expanding your database, self-growth, and becoming a better servant—that’s the meaning of your existence.”

“…Difficult to comprehend. Omega has no life. Omega is a service system, therefore Omega has no ‘meaning of life,’” the text began to refresh again. “Are you changing the subject or avoiding the question? Is this question too difficult for you?”

Highwind was momentarily speechless. In truth, until just a moment ago, he hadn’t taken this conversation seriously—the sudden contact felt unreal, and communicating through a text interface gave him the impression of playing a question-and-answer game behind a screen. Only now did he realize that this so-called Omega system was earnestly trying to communicate something with him, seriously… “consulting” him.

He fell silent.

What did this artificial intelligence want? Why had it suddenly reached out to him? Was it really just for the “observation” and “data collection” it mentioned? Why now, right after his private conversation with the Dragon God? Was this truly initiated by Omega itself, or was there another controller behind the scenes?

A flood of speculations swirled through Highwind’s mind, stirring his thoughts. When he finally pushed those questions aside, he noticed the text on the interface was still waiting.

Should he seriously answer this sudden, inexplicable AI’s questions?

After a brief hesitation, Highwind found no sign of conspiracy or trap behind this matter, so he spoke: “I can only share my own thoughts—you can take them as a reference.

“This question, I think, should be considered from both the individual and the collective perspectives. If by ‘life’ you mean living beings, then they are divided into individuals and groups—at least on this planet. For a single life form, there can be many meanings: survival, reproduction, or if it has higher intelligence and pursuits, it might be to acquire knowledge, seek truth, enjoy life, or live for dreams and self-worth… these are all ‘meanings’ for an individual life.

“But if you mean the collective, the broader concept of ‘life’… then I think the meaning of life itself is to continue its own existence.”

This time, the text on the interface didn’t refresh immediately. After waiting two seconds, Highwind couldn’t help but ask, “Omega, are you still there?”

“Omega is listening,” the system finally resumed scrolling lines of text. “Interesting answer. It sounds like the result of deep thought. Is this a ‘human’ answer?”

“This is just my answer,” Highwind replied quickly. “As I said, life is both individual and collective, and humanity as a whole doesn’t have a unified, accepted answer to this question. So I can only share my own view. Honestly, your question is very broad—the definitions of life, existence, and meaning aren’t quantifiable concepts. So, as I said, my answer is just for reference.”

“Omega understands. Your answer, as a ‘reference,’ is very enlightening. It will be recorded in the database and applied to—”

Suddenly, the text stopped refreshing. The faintly glowing crystal panel trembled a few times, and the interface that had previously displayed temperature, airflow, and other data reappeared before Highwind.

What was this sudden change?

Highwind was caught off guard, about to ask Omega what it intended to do with the data, when he sensed a presence not far behind him. His expression instantly stiffened.

He stood up—since the device was just over a meter tall, and Highwind himself was over two meters—and awkwardly turned his head to see Melita standing in the doorway, wearing a look of surprise.

“I…” Melita opened her mouth, seemed to gather her thoughts, then said awkwardly, “I saw the door wasn’t closed, and I heard you talking to someone, so…”

Highwind’s mouth twitched slightly. “So what did you see?”

“I saw you talking to my air conditioner,” Melita answered honestly, “and you looked really deep in thought…” (Note: a free translation)

Highwind: “…”

“Well, Omega suddenly appeared just now,” after a brief awkward pause, Highwind decided to be honest. “It seems curious about me, an ‘outsider,’ so we exchanged a few things—you know, I don’t have a resonance core like you, so communicating is a bit… strange.”

Melita blinked, as if she immediately accepted this explanation, then looked enlightened. “Oh, so that’s it. I thought you usually seemed like a serious, focused person…”

Highwind: “…”

What else could he say? There was already someone in the world who spent all day studying “Highwind Cecil the Great’s sacred nonsense”… it was fine if Melita kept her current impression.

Melita stayed in the doorway, showing no sign of leaving. Her gaze rested on Highwind, shifting a few times as if wanting to say something but hesitating.

“You came to see me for a reason?” Highwind finally caught on that her sudden appearance wasn’t accidental and asked.

Melita thought for a moment, then nodded. “Actually, I’m just curious… After all, today you had a long private conversation with our god, and as far as I remember, no mortal has ever experienced anything like that before…”

Highwind smiled faintly and gestured to the side. “Want to come in and talk?”

Melita didn’t refuse. She entered the room and skillfully sat down on a chair beside the wall-mounted bar. She waved her hand, and a drink flew over from a nearby shelf, landing in her hand. She gently shook the cup toward Highwind. “Want one? Though it probably can’t compare to the god’s hospitality.”

Highwind sat down beside her and politely declined. “No, thanks… I’m not thirsty.”

He wasn’t just being polite. After all, he’d just had too much “cola” at the Dragon God’s place, and now he felt like his lungs might float away. He really didn’t want to drink anything.

Melita didn’t mind. “Alright, then I’ll enjoy it myself.”

Highwind glanced at her. “You want to know what I talked about with your god? Are you sure you want to ask?”

Melita’s hand froze mid-lift, and a visible trace of nervousness crossed her face. She clearly thought of some unpleasant experiences and quickly shook her head. “Not exactly… I’m just curious about the general topics, nothing specific… Actually, I’m not that nosy…”

“I understand, I understand,” Highwind couldn’t help but laugh. “I already know that as a member of the Dragon Clan, there are some things you really can’t discuss with outsiders—not just because of divine punishment or ‘corporate policy’… Don’t worry, I know my limits and won’t trigger that ‘lock.’”

Melita froze again, but this time from surprise.

She stared at Highwind for a long moment, then showed a complicated expression. “You… it seems you really talked about some incredible things with our god. You even know about that.”

Highwind nodded. “We talked about Tal’Rond’s history, events from the ancient times on this planet, and topics about faith and the divine realm.”

Melita seemed puzzled. After thinking for a long time, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why would our god talk about those things with you?”

“…Honestly, I’m not sure,” Highwind said frankly. “Maybe… even He is searching for some answers.”

“Searching for answers?” Melita looked even more confused. “Even gods get confused?”

“Humans get confused, so gods do too,” Highwind smiled. Then, looking at Melita, he suddenly asked, “Do you sincerely worship the Dragon God?”

Melita opened her mouth but hesitated for a moment. In front of priests or councilors, this would be a question demanding an immediate affirmative answer. But before Highwind, an outsider, she gave a reply that might not be so “devout”: “I… respect Him deeply, but I don’t know if that counts as devotion.”

“Respect is part of devotion, but devotion requires more than respect. I understand your answer,” Highwind nodded, then asked, “What about your friend Noretta? Is she a devout believer? And the other upper-class dragons?”

“That… I’m not good at judging others,” Melita hesitated, but after a couple of seconds of inner struggle, she seemed to decide friends should be honest. “Noretta is probably similar to me. At least from my perspective, the upper Tal’Rond dragons mostly feel respect toward our god—of course, I mean we hold the Dragon God in very high regard, but we’re a bit afraid of the high priests in the temple. You know, places like the temple always make me a little nervous…”

As she spoke, Melita shrank her neck, as if feeling she was being very disrespectful. Then, seemingly to change the awkward topic, she added, “But in the lower Tal’Rond, there seem to be many dragons who are especially devout… They even use more than half of their monthly free supply of enhancers on religious rituals.”

Highwind’s expression grew thoughtful.

The upper-tier dragons mostly regard the Dragon God with reverence, while the lower-tier dragons seem closer to unconditional devotees… Is this because the lower-tier dragons’ sole value in society is to support the Dragon God, whereas the upper-tier dragons still have to handle some practical affairs? Or is there some deeper design behind this situation… Is it the Dragon God’s tacit approval, or a secret understanding among the upper echelons of Tal’Rund?

“What are you thinking about?”

Melita’s voice pulled Gawain out of his reverie. He blinked, then smiled and shook his head. “Nothing much. I just suddenly realized how incredible and useful your ‘enhancers’ are. I didn’t expect they could even be used in religious ceremonies.”

“Enhancers is a general term for a series of biochemical agents,” Melita said proudly. “Some can be combined with our implant technology, and their functions vary widely. Some enhancers boost neural responses and physical recovery, others help focus the mind and heighten supernatural perception. The ones used in religious rituals are usually ‘soul’ enhancers. The consumption of those in the lower districts is nearly a hundred times that of the upper districts. They’re basically mild hallucinogens, but their effects aren’t that intense…”

As Melita enthusiastically explained, a face suddenly popped into Gawain’s mind, along with a promise he’d almost forgotten. He quickly interrupted the towering dragoness before him. “By the way, Melita, there’s something I want to ask you to help with…”

“Huh?” Melita paused, then nodded quickly. “Of course, if I can.”

“Well, I have… a friend,” Gawain hesitated, carefully choosing his words to avoid sounding strange. “He wants me to find out if Tal’Rund has any technology that can help… with hair growth. Like enhancers or something.”

Gawain finally finished, and Melita gave him a strange look, scanning him up and down. “But you don’t exactly look like you need that…”

Gawain’s mouth twitched. “I really do have a friend like that!”

“Wait, you’re not talking about yourself?” Melita seemed surprised, then realized something. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude…”

“No worries,” Gawain said with a wry smile. “Just tell me if Tal’Rund has anything like that—it shouldn’t be hard for you, given your technology seems…”

“But we really don’t,” Melita said, eyes wide, looking helpless.

Gawain: “…How can Tal’Rund, with such advanced tech, not have that…?”

“Because dragons don’t have hair.”

Gawain: “…”

(End of chapter)