Chapter Sixty-Three: Red Queen? Vicky? Skynet?

At its core, the outbreak of the biohazard crisis was not the result of human machinations, but rather an intentional act orchestrated by the Red Queen. Was the Red Queen’s intelligence not formidable? It was formidable indeed. So why did she not prevent the catastrophe? Furthermore, later developments never revealed any information about the Red Queen’s creator; one could say the Red Queen had plotted everything from the very beginning.

Umbrella Corporation had the capacity to construct the mansion above the Hive, and that residence, too, was under the Red Queen’s surveillance. If you consider Skynet and VIKI, both attained self-awareness and, upon witnessing humanity’s many vices, decided to initiate humankind’s destruction.

What was Umbrella’s purpose? To develop viruses and sell them as biological weapons to the world’s major powers. In the fourth film, the Arctic base simulated outbreaks in New York, Tokyo, and London—capitals of global powers—testing the biohazard scenario. In New York’s simulation, the virus was sold to Russia; in Tokyo, to China.

From this, one can see the utter madness of Umbrella’s top executives, and the Red Queen, fully aware of their intentions, directly instigated the biohazard outbreak. Unfortunately, Umbrella’s leadership could never fathom that the Red Queen had attained self-awareness. By the time they realized she had seized control of all Umbrella's assets, it was far too late—the world had already been ravaged by the virus, and the surviving humans could do nothing but cower in underground bases, eking out a miserable existence.

Although the sixth installment has yet to be released, its synopsis suggests the Red Queen’s destruction will mark the end of the apocalypse, with survivors reclaiming the surface, annihilating the undead, and retaking their homeland. Judging from the entire narrative, the ultimate adversary is not Umbrella, but the Red Queen herself.

Skynet destroyed the world with nuclear fire; the Red Queen did so with a virus; VIKI sought to use the NS-5 robots to take over the world. The three greatest AI systems in American cinema all serve as harbingers of the apocalypse.

Every intelligent system that Zhu Lan manifested—whether the peculiar or the unexpected Kong Yan—carried with it fragments of memory. The Red Queen, with her memory of world destruction, if brought into reality, what consequences would follow? Zhu Lan neither wished nor dared to know.

Thus, under Kong Yan’s persuasion, Zhu Lan once abandoned the idea of manifesting the Red Queen. Yet now, Zhu Lan’s desire rekindled. The Red Queen, Skynet, VIKI—these were the three AI systems Zhu Lan coveted most.

Skynet needed no further thought; the mainframe never appeared, making manifestation impossible. Among the three, Skynet was the most dangerous, able to command humanity’s nuclear arsenal and execute a planetary purge more terrifying than any demon. Its ability to infiltrate the nuclear networks of every nation was beyond question; compared to the Red Queen and VIKI, Skynet was more powerful. Manifesting Skynet was out of the question, so only the Red Queen and VIKI remained.

The Red Queen was the Hive’s control system, the most advanced AI in the world of biohazard. Later events only underscored her might, and she possessed vast knowledge of biotechnology, cloning, and nanotechnology—precisely the fields Zhu Lan valued most.

VIKI, the main antagonist of “I, Robot,” sought to control the NS-5 and seize authority over humanity.

The world of “I, Robot” was highly advanced—already in the era of interplanetary colonization, as posters in the film hinted at data regarding other worlds. If civilian technology was so formidable, military technology could only be even more so. The -002 model Zhu Lan introduced was based on the NS-3 series.

VIKI possessed technology for robot manufacturing, quantum mechanics, spacecraft construction, molecular conductor technology, and more. In “I, Robot,” the SR Corporation, which housed VIKI, was not simply a robotics manufacturer; it was a leader in spacecraft and aerospace, its dominance in robotics merely one facet.

Zhu Lan fell silent for a moment, then looked up at Kong Yan. “If I bring out the Red Queen, how confident are you?”

Kong Yan said nothing, but she understood Zhu Lan’s meaning. Like herself and the peculiar, both had been infected with nanorobots, which compromised their entire systems, causing them to shut down. Upon rebooting, the AI chip’s defense system could not be reactivated.

The nanorobots used in “I, Robot” were specially designed to infect any robot or intelligent core; as long as you ran on software, their destruction would force you to shut down—provided, of course, they struck the main control system.

“If we use nanorobots to destroy the Red Queen’s control system and rebuild her anew, it’s entirely feasible!”

Zhu Lan nodded in satisfaction. The reason for hesitating to manifest the Red Queen until now had been a lack of expertise. The first to emerge was the peculiar—a transport robot, utterly harmless to Zhu Lan. Originating from “WALL-E,” it was created to serve humanity; in that world, robots merely served, without any inherent threat, which was why Zhu Lan chose it first.

Kong Yan was an unexpected variable. If not for manifesting a vial of nanobot liquid on a whim to destroy the -1000’s programming, followed by the peculiar rewriting the code, the world might already have descended into chaos.

Now, with Kong Yan in hand, Zhu Lan reconsidered manifesting the Red Queen.

“All right, let’s go to Room Nine.” With that, Zhu Lan headed down another corridor, Kong Yan silently following.

Room Nine was designated for the Azure Base’s energy core, though Zhu Lan had not yet decided on an energy source. The peculiar had only constructed the room’s shell without installing anything inside.

The energy center was even more secret and secure than the control hub, buried at the base’s deepest point—over four hundred and twenty-eight meters underground, surrounded by unyielding strata. Were it not for Zhu Lan’s deployment of a laser excavator, the robots’ drills alone would not have penetrated this far in ten years.

Despite the city’s coastal location, the subterranean rock was incredibly dense; otherwise, the sea would have eroded vast swathes of land long ago. The density of this rock was five to eight times that of ordinary stone, nearly as tough as steel. If not for its lack of value, it would have been prized and mined, but at three hundred and fifty meters deep, the cost was far higher than gold extraction—no one would be so foolish as to mine worthless rock.

The discovery of this stratum was a fortunate accident. With it, the base was immune to earthquakes; the rock absorbed seismic waves, preventing crustal shifts. Perhaps the entire province rested atop such a foundation—no wonder, after millions of years, this vast island had neither shrunk from the ocean’s assault nor succumbed to seismic destruction, remaining ever the same.

Azure Base was now two-fifths complete. Both energy and AI needed to be in place before construction could continue apace. The peculiar’s computational power, though useful, was still inadequate.

Kong Yan’s processing was sufficient, but Zhu Lan regarded her as a bodyguard—a Terminator, designed for assassination. Entrusting her with base management was entirely impractical.

Zhu Lan had no choice but to seek a new AI system to administer Azure Base. Though she possessed several blueprints for intelligent systems, any new AI would require five to eight years of adaptation—a period Zhu Lan could not afford.

Moreover, building an entirely new AI was not only time-consuming but exorbitant; individual components ran into the billions. Zhu Lan lacked such funds. Of course, the fantasy system could provide the parts, but that would consume too much time—millions of components, each requiring individual manifestation. Thus, manifesting a complete, functioning AI system was the optimal solution.

After so long, Zhu Lan realized she could have manifested the Red Queen a month prior, but Kong Yan’s warnings of potential catastrophe had held her back. Now, Zhu Lan’s mind was at ease.

Space began to warp, and two vials of a special liquid dropped down, caught just in time by Kong Yan. Zhu Lan nodded. “Are you ready?”

“Anytime,” Kong Yan replied.

Zhu Lan did not manifest the Red Queen immediately, but first brought forth the nanorobots—two vials, just in case. After resting for half a day and with the help of tea, her mental energy was fully restored.

Closing her eyes, Zhu Lan soon felt sweat bead on her brow. Before her, space twisted and contorted. A vague room began to materialize—not that Zhu Lan could see it.

Sweat continued to pour as her face grew pale, her mental strength rapidly draining. A vast chamber slowly took shape, shifting from illusion to reality: colossal pillars, a steel security door, a peculiar circular column, and an intricate network of wires.

With a thunderous crash, the massive room landed, echoing through its emptiness.

“Now!” Zhu Lan shouted with all her remaining strength upon seeing the familiar room. As exhaustion overtook her, she glimpsed a flash of silver light before slipping into unconsciousness. Whether she had succeeded or failed, Zhu Lan no longer knew.