——December 23, 197×, at one o'clock in the afternoon. On a newly paved road leading to the suburbs from S City, California, a motorhome was driving; it was a black Lincoln Continental luxury sedan with a glossy finish. The road is surrounded by endless farmland, which stretches like an ocean. However, in recent years, it seems that there has been no farming work on the farmland. The vast land that was originally planted with oranges is now settled in a desolate atmosphere.On this great plain, which is more appropriately called "wilderness" than "farmland", the slender RV like a brand-new pencil continues to run aimlessly.

Of course, the destination exists.On the horizon of the infinitely stretching wilderness, something that looks like a building finally appeared.The building quietly standing in the wilderness has a modern style, which is out of place with the surrounding scenery; and the first control point has already appeared when it looked like it was the size of a matchbox. There are several military uniformed guards with automatic rifles on standby at the control point, and the limousine is here to undergo the first check.All the passengers in the car compare their ID cards, confirm their itinerary, and check their bodies. After these established procedures are completed, they can finally pass; however, it is too early to relax at this moment.

To enter the territory of this facility under the administration of the President of the United States, commonly known as the "Second City (Second City)", no matter how prominent the dignitaries are, they have to undergo two more inspections.Being forced out of a chauffeur-driven black-headed car, handing over personal belongings is a given, and undergoing an impertinent and thorough lengthy inspection at an airtight control point to make sure nothing is hiding inside the body. "Simply stupid!" After undergoing double and triple interrogation, which is not suitable for detailed description and in a sense, it is against humanity, and then forced to change into special work clothes for the facility, did he finally step into the "Second City" Daniel?Dr. Aikelow couldn't help spit out this resentful word.

He was about forty years old, with light gray curly hair and sharp eyes that seemed to emit lasers, and the hooked nose on his face seemed to be able to open heavy doors by himself; where American football players are also ashamed to be strong On the giant body, there is a face suitable for playing the vampire in the movie, with a deep and powerful outline.Perhaps it can be said that he is the embodiment of the four characters of burly and magnificent, but if we want to describe it in a more popular way, it is "he doesn't look like a social psychologist at all".As a matter of fact, Dr. Ecklow originally set his sights on becoming a psychiatrist or opening a children's psychological counseling center before stepping into this field; but his monster-like appearance prevented him from realizing his dream.

"Huh? What did you just say?" The man in the same car asked in a reproachful tone, "Dr. A?" It was a white man not yet thirty years old, with soft and shiny blond hair comparable to a woman's.The corners of his eyes droop, and there is always a slight smile on his face, so although his features are pretty, he is still one step away from being handsome.Although he also has a strong physique like a wrestler, but compared with Dr. Aikelow, after all, the majesty of his expression is not as good, and his courage has lost a bit. "I said it was as stupid as home!"

"Could it be..." The corners of the young man's eyes drooped even more, as if he sneered at Dr. Aikelow's brooding. "You mean the physical examination?" "You don't seem to think so! Dave." After pinning the special ID card with the photo on the chest of the work uniform, Dr. Aikelow walked into the facility quickly. "Also, haven't I said it many times? Don't call me Dr. A!" "I'm sorry, Danny." "What 'Danny'? Since when did I become your childhood friend? Huh?" "Let me tell you, which thing are you dissatisfied with?" The man named Dave hurriedly followed Dr. Aikelow, but he still kept his frivolous smile on his face. "It's just the butthole being 'cleaned'. Isn't that the old rule?"

"The world is getting worse! If you were my son, I would have washed your mouth with a piece of soap. Is this the trend of modern young people? They use the word 'asshole' in front of people as if nothing happened." "Times are always changing! How can there be any reason? A..." He originally wanted to add the word "doctor", but quickly shut his mouth.The word A, of course, represents the A of Ackroyd. "The reason is very simple. It's about the top secret of our country. How can we worry about shame? If you want to care about these things, what should the female members do? Like Miss Binhorst—"

"Stop talking, I don't want to hear it." Dr. Aikeluo covered his ears and sighed. "How can you describe that kind of thing in detail? Or what, did you spy on Jin Jie's physical examination—" "That's disrespectful! As one of the guards, of course I have this knowledge. Having said that, this is just a simple job for me; I am not like Danny, who will browse Miss Binhurst's body while Examine items while imagining dirty things." "Don't call me Danny!" "Are the Doctor and Miss Binhurst childhood friends?" "Got it, got it! I don't call her Jin Jie anymore. In short, there is only one thing I am dissatisfied with. Why did I just go out yesterday, and I have to accept that kind of muddy inspection again today? Of course I understand. It needs to be closely inspected, but it can be flexible, right? Flexible!"

"Specifically, how can we change it?" "For example, several inspection items for familiar faces can be exempted." "If you do that, it won't be long before this place becomes a den of spies! Have you forgotten? Even after layers of inspections, spies from a certain country sneaked in last year without anyone noticing, even with pinhole cameras Woolen cloth!" "I remember, that guy with a complicated background! I thought he was KGB, but I didn't expect him to be a double agent of MI6." "It's not MI6, it's SIS." "What's the difference?"

"Of course, although they belong to the United Kingdom—" Dave originally wanted to explain the difference between the Military Intelligence Department and the Secret Intelligence Service, but changed his mind; because he suddenly remembered that he had made the same explanation to the man in front of him last year. "Oh! Actually, it's almost the same!" Social psychologist Daniel?Dr. Ai Keluo and CIA intelligence agent Dave?Wilson paralleled the intricate passages of the "Second City" and entered the central area of ​​the facility. Usually in the central area, there are always many researchers and maintenance personnel wearing work uniforms that are similar to the Chinese Red Army uniforms and frequently come and go, but now it is surprisingly quiet.The staff who usually stay in front of the instruments and screens are almost gone.This is because all government agencies, including the central government, have entered the Christmas holiday.

In fact, Dr. Ecklow has already entered the holidays.In order to spend Christmas and New Year with his family, he just took the earliest flight to Maine yesterday to reunite with his younger brother's family.Just as they were having a lively reunion around champagne, fried chicken, and cakes, a summons came in the middle of the night, asking him to return to the "Second City" immediately. He only heard that a major discovery had been made on the subject, but it wouldn't be a big deal anyway.No, of course something big might have happened, but to Dr. Ecklow it made no difference whether it was a big thing or not.He knew from the very beginning that the functions of this "Second City" were definitely beyond the control of human beings. Even so, the United States of America, as a great country, is not willing to die until the Yellow River, and is still convinced that the function of the "second city" can be applied to military and espionage activities.You should weigh your weight too, right?Dr. Acklow thought sullenly.It's really... Yes, it must be a conspiracy.Originally, at this moment, Dr. Ecklow should be cooking his specialty chicken in preparation for Christmas Eve the next day.He can drink a glass of beer in his spare time while cooking, and play Monopoly with his young niece and niece. This is one of the great pleasures in life!But all the fun was gone in an instant; it was unreasonable that he had to go through a series of unpleasant medical examinations just for one phone call! This is a conspiracy, and it's all a CIA conspiracy.Of course, the CIA is not the only one involved in this "Second City" project; the Department of Defense, NASA, the Institute of Strategic Studies of the U.S. Army War College, the Heritage Foundation, and the FBI...all of them are involved, saying It is not an exaggeration to say that it is General Mobilization of America. It's no wonder... When passing through the central area, Dr. Aeklow deliberately avoided the cylindrical "entrance" that caught his eye as usual, and moved towards the "Dome". After going down the stairs from the "entrance" to the underground, there is the key "Second City" - the official name is "Switch Circle (Switch Circle)", which is formed by replacing the first two letters SC with other words. The second city" is the origin of the name of the project. "Swapping circle"——This "chamber" extending underground is just like its name, a circular space with a size of about 80 square meters.Of course, it is not just a circular space, but a "room" dominated by some incredible "force field" that surpasses human intelligence. When exactly did it appear in the California farmland?Or who created it?No one knows.Eighty percent of them are aliens - this is the tacit common view of those involved in this project. In fact, the enigma of this "room" - the enigma of the function of separating and exchanging the human personality from the human body - cannot be explained without bringing up the absurd and ambiguous concept of aliens. Suppose there is a white person A and a black person B here, let them both enter the "room" at the same time; in this way, A and B will be involuntarily separated by a barrier called "Split Screen". The end and front of the room. At the time of separation, the personalities of the two have been reversed; in other words, the "heart" of the black man B is contained in the body of the white man A, and the "heart" of the white man A is contained in the body of the black man B. It is like changing clothes to replace the same personality in several bodies in turn - anyone would think that if human beings can freely manipulate this function, infinite possibilities will be expanded.Take subduing terrorists as an example. Suppose the plane is hijacked, just replace the hijacker's "personality" with other bodies on the ground, and then put the harmless prosecutor's personality into the hijacker's body.In this way, the case can be solved in an instant without the help of the Labor Delta Special Forces. Of course, if used for ill purposes, it would become an unrivaled and terrifying weapon.The secret of this kind of personality exchange must not fall into the hands of other countries, especially a large communist country; it can only be controlled and used by the police of the world, the just country-the United States of America, which is also for the eternal peace of all mankind For the sake of. ——The above is the dominant view of the neoconservatives in the British white empire.Of course, it is their freedom to think what they want, no matter how narcissistic the moral majority may think that only the United States has the rationality and technology to use this function peacefully, or mistakenly think that as long as it is carried out by the United States, even if it is the case, the CIA The personality swap between the spy and the secretary general of the Soviet Union is not a "bad use", but a peaceful use, and everyone is welcome. It's just that it is "ridiculous" to ask Dr. Aikeluo to comment.There is no point in keeping this secret from the imaginary enemy. It is better to simply exhibit it to the world.Because this function is absolutely beyond the control of human beings. If the United States can solve the mystery of personality exchange and freely manipulate it, then Soviet scientists can naturally do it.If this thing is something that mere human beings can handle, the paper will not be able to contain the fire after all, and whether it is kept secret, it will be different in the end? It's boring.To put it bluntly, Dr. Aeklow has nothing but contempt for these political ideologies; it is most outrageous for him to have to sacrifice his Christmas vacation and special fried chicken for such a boring project Things. This is a conspiracy!Dr. Acklow cursed inwardly.This is definitely a CIA conspiracy, a sinister trick set up to take away my brief time of peace! As mentioned earlier, even if Dr. Ecklow is not human, he also knows that the CIA is not the only government agency involved in the "Second City" project.However, he really hated this organization and believed that it was the root of all evil. Whether President Kennedy was assassinated or the Vietnam War got into trouble, it was all the fault of the CIA.The Cold War must have followed the script written by those people. Maybe when the Watergate case happened, they were still secretly laughing!Hearing these words in the ears of others, I am afraid that he will laugh out loud and say that he is delusional; but Dr. Aikelow's prejudice against the CIA is so deep.It's all the CIA's fault anyway, even the rejection of the red-haired girl to the high school prom was their plot. There is only one reason why the doctor hates the CIA so much—his brother-in-law's uncle is the current CIA chief.That man was a believer in the American dream in a caricature style. He firmly believed that only by graduating from Harvard University and becoming the president of the United States could he prove that he was an upright man and that his life would be worthwhile.In fact, he does seem to be planning to run for president after the CIA retires. Of course, he is free to do whatever he wants.It doesn't matter if you publicly declare that anyone other than Harvard is not worthy of being called a university, and look down on yourself from other universities.All Dr. Ecklow wanted to say was: "Don't force me to participate in such a boring project!" For Dr. Ecklow, living a leisurely life as a lecturer at a small university in the country was enough happiness.But the man put on an attitude of being kind to others, as if he had given this good-for-nothing relative a big job, which was even more unbearable. Especially with the presence of Dave.In terms of standpoint, Dr. Aikelow is the on-site director of this project, so unlike other researchers, he has a dedicated guard to accompany him; and the young CIA intelligence agent, Dave?Wilson. This man named Dave didn’t know if he understood Dr. Aikelow’s distaste for the CIA, and his attitude was very flattering; of course, this should be just a professional mask, but no matter how harsh and unreasonable Dr. Don't worry about it, just try to persuade him with good words, just like coaxing a child with a snotty nose.Sometimes he showed a calm attitude, and even made people unable to tell who was the elder, which made the doctor even more displeased.Nothing here satisfies the Doctor. "Oh! How should I put it? Now look..." Dr. Ecklowe sighed in a sarcastic tone as he keyed in the password for the entrance gate of the "dormitory" area. "I sent my children's Christmas presents early and it was the right thing to do." "Children? Huh? I remember you are still single!" "Of course I'm talking about my niece and niece. Aren't you single too?" "No, I'm married." "what?" "There is also a two-year-old daughter! Didn't I show you the picture? It's just that I keep it here-ah! By the way, all personal belongings are kept in the control station. I'll show you next time !" "Free, free!" "You don't have to be so polite!" "Who is being polite to you?" "There is also my wife in the photo, both of them are beauties, I promise you will be happy after seeing it..." "annoying!" Can people from the CIA marry wives and have children?This sentence almost blurted out, but Dr. Ai Keluo restrained it rationally. Of course, CIA personnel are also human beings, and it is not surprising that they have families.Even so, he has never had any romance since the tragic lovelorn experience at the high school prom, but this kid... Dr. Aikelow who walked into the "dormitory" area further deepened his prejudice against the CIA. disgust. The "dormitory" area, as the name suggests, is a place for subjects to sleep overnight.The so-called subjects naturally refer to the people who accept the "exchange circle" - the personality exchange system experiment. Dr. Ecklow's current job is to repeatedly conduct personality exchange experiments and collect data.What are the origins of these subjects? Dr. Ecklow usually tries not to think deeply about them. However, according to the rumors he heard, they seem to be some people who have incurable diseases and their days are numbered.After explaining and obtaining the consent of their relatives, they were brought here secretly. The reason why people with few days to come are selected as subjects is naturally to keep secrets, but in fact there is another important reason - the project team still does not know how to control the personality exchange system of "Swap Circle". Take the white man A and the black man B just now as an example, if the personality exchange between them has been "established" for a time—that is, the state of "body A" (=spirit B) and "body B" (=spirit A) After being created, the two could no longer "settle" in their original bodies. Having said that, it does not mean that the state of personality and body will be "fixed".If it is fixed, it is a blessing in misfortune, even if it is a tragedy (sometimes a comedy). After a while, the two will return to their original normal state of "body A" (=spirit A) and "body B" (=spirit B); however, their once separated body and personality will be separated by Possession by a phenomenon that can be called "swap addiction".In other words, the two people who once returned to their own bodies will exchange personalities again after a period of time; and become "physical body A" (=spiritual B) and "physical body B" (=spiritual A) states, and then After a while, it will return to the original state, and this kind of exchange drama will be repeated again and again. This phenomenon, named "Masquerade" by Dr. Ecklow and others, will last until the death of one of the subjects.And most importantly, how often this "masquerade party" happens, what is the cycle and the rules, has not yet been clarified.Sometimes it takes only one day to switch, and sometimes it takes half a year, which is simply unscrupulous. Once the personality exchange is established, this unpredictable "masquerade party" will follow the subject for a lifetime.Not only that, but when the physical body of one of the subjects died, it was the spirit that entered that physical body that "perished" along with it. To illustrate with the example just now, if the dead body is B, and the spirit that entered the "body B" at that time belongs to B itself, then there will be no problem, and the body B will die as personality B himself.Of course, the remaining physical body A can also spend the rest of his life as personality A himself.Incidentally, once the personality exchange is established, only under such circumstances can one settle down in one's own body again. Conversely, if the spirit of the body B when it dies is the personality A, that is, when the personality A suffers from disaster, the remaining personality B will have to be claustrophobic in the body A that does not belong to him, and will live his whole life.Because of the predictability of such a doomed state of affairs, it would be advisable for the subjects to be as few as possible—not only for the sake of the U.S. government, but for themselves as well. "Dr. Ecklow." When the doctor and Dave entered the screen room of the "dormitory", another young female researcher also wearing work clothes turned around. "J-4003 died last night. The cause seems to be aging." "Miss Binhorst!" Dr. Ecklow's blood was rising, and he couldn't help roaring: "Death? Aging? I am very reluctant to use this kind of blasphemy of the dead, but you shouldn't be doing it for this kind of thing. Call me back from Maine when I was about to turn on the oven? Also, I must have said this many times? Don't refer to subjects by their file numbers, it's very uncomfortable!" "I'm sorry." Jin Jie?Binhorst showed a weeping expression for a moment, but immediately straightened his back. "Mr. Keith Stern Morrison, the 4th subject in Area J, has passed away. To be precise, Mr. Morrison's physical body passed away at the age of eighty-nine." "Eighty-nine years old?" The doctor was taken aback. "How old is he?" "His mind is still intact, so there won't be any problems with data collection—" "So, with his perfectly intact 'mind' where-?" "It's also in the body of a category 4 subject in Area J. Incidentally, it's the body of an eighteen-year-old boy." "Whose personality is that 'destroyed' with the body?" "Ayrin? Mister Ashina's." "Uh, that's..." "As a side note, his file name is J-4001." "Thank you, Miss Binhurst." Just now, I was furious because others called me by the file number, but I couldn't remember which subject it was without listening to the file number, which is really ridiculous.Dr. Aikelow suppressed the desire to kick the ass of Dave, who was laughing at the side, and muttered insignificant words to distract himself from his shame. "Speaking of which... from eighty-nine to eighteen?" "Yes! It's worrying." "worry about what?" "Uh, it's just..." For some reason, Jin Jie seemed embarrassed to speak. "In this way, only Mr. Morrison, who has the body of an eighteen-year-old boy, remains in the same group; That eighteen-year-old boy is also seriously ill, and his days are numbered..." "That's it!" The doctor couldn't help being rude. "Yeah, there's another question." "What's the matter?" Dave, who didn't know what was going on, looked at the two researchers in an enthusiastic manner. "What's the problem?" "So far, as long as Mr. Morrison 'enters' the boy's body, he will not miss it..." Jin Jie explained while observing Dr. Aikelow's face. "Because this is a veritable 'rejuvenation', which can make him more alive. It would be fine if it was just like this, but he will sneak out of his dormitory and run after the female subjects in the 'dormitory'— —” "Aha! In other words, want to sleep with them?" "Yes. Actually, several people have been screwed—" "Jin Jie!" The doctor couldn't help but scolded her by calling her name: "How you feel is up to you, but please, don't use that kind of direct expression in front of me!" "Yes, I'm sorry, Dr. Ecklow." Although flustered, she still changed her words sternly: "That is to say, er, several female subjects were forced to have sexual intercourse (sexual intercourse), which has become a problem. That is so." "None of that," cried the Doctor, staring at Dave, who was wiping the corners of his eyes at Ginger's stern euphemism, though he wasn't tearing up from laughing too much. "Mr. Morrison's 'fixed' rejuvenation, as he wished, is already clear to me. However, what does this have to do with calling me back? I will never ask me to hold his hand and congratulate him. Bar?" "Ah, no, it's not." Jin Jie seemed to have finally remembered the topic, played it up, and handed the doctor a file. "Look here—" There was a smell of cheap soap coming from her body, and for a moment, Dr. Acklow could no longer hear the surrounding voices.well!Oh my god... the doctor once again immersed himself in the exclamation that he repeated over and over again. Girls of this age don't spray perfume and dress up like ordinary people, but what are they doing in such a weird place?I heard that Jin Jie is still a graduate student, so why would such a promising girl get involved with such a weird project?Anyway, it must be another conspiracy by the CIA. They have gone too far. That red hair, left to grow like an old broom (it turned out to be "Ginger Hair". If that's what she's named after, would be too casual; though admittedly true to her name), at least Sort it out!And the skin, freckled and sunburned, so rough it was tragically unbearable. Wouldn't it be great to take care of yourself and put on more makeup?After all, her facial features are still pretty... Thinking like this, she stared at Jin Jie's doctor in a trance, until she repeatedly called out: "Doctor? Dr. Aikeluo?" Then she came back to her senses. "What's wrong with you?" "It's all right. What did you just say?" "From the initial 'combination' of 'Octopus', I said, there seemed to be a definite regularity to be found." "What?" The doctor's eyes widened, and he snatched the documents from her hand. "what happened?" After concentrating on watching for a while, the doctor groaned like a ground cry. "Well... this is..." "The so-called 'octopus'," Dave interjected in his usual leisurely tone, "does it mean the exchange of personalities of more than three people?" Since the doctor ignored him, Jin Jie nodded instead. The "Switch Circle" (Switch Circle) seems to be a "device" designed for two people to exchange personalities (not to mention whether it was designed by aliens); the evidence is that the "Separation Wall" just divides the "Room" is two, presented in the form of two semicircles. However, even if more than three humans enter, the "swap circle" can still be processed.Although the "separation wall" remains in its original state, there will be a barrier called an "auxiliary line" in the center of the room, which will appear at any time according to the number of people entering and separate them.If you look down from above, it looks like a round cake has been cut into pieces. And personality exchange can indeed be established between three or more human beings.The project team called the phenomenon between the two as "Chopsticks (Chopstick)", and the phenomenon of more than three as "Eight Claws" to show the difference.Incidentally, Dr. Ecklow came up with this name when he ate sliced ​​raw octopus with unusual chopsticks in a Japanese restaurant, but this fact is surprisingly little known. For example, if there are four people in personality exchange, each person's body is represented by A, B, C, D, and the spirit is represented by (a), (b), (c), (d); First, the original situation is: A=(a) B=(b) C=(c) D = (d) After the personality exchange is established, it becomes: A=(d) B=(a) C=(b) D=(c) Whenever the aforementioned "Masquerade Ball" occurs, it will become: A=(c) B=(d) C=(a) D = (b) which then becomes: A=(b) B=(c) C=(d) D=(a) After that, it returned to the normal state for a while, and then the "Masquerade Ball" happened repeatedly in this order.From this point of view, it can be understood that the replacement order of "Masquerade Ball" is deferred one by one. However, take this group of four as an example; in the past, the project team has always believed that the initial "combination" of "Octopus" was made with random numbers, so it was impossible to transfer specific subjects to A or B. However, the current situation shows that not only the order of the "Masquerade Ball", but also the initial "combination" seems to have certain rules.The Doctor had to admit that it did have value in urgently recalling himself from vacation. "Really..." Dave peeked at the information over the doctor's shoulder and tilted his head. "Is this how the 'combination' type is determined?" It reads: "——In summary, judging from the screen records, it can be seen that after entering the 'room' and within a short period of time before the 'wall' occurs, the location of each person will determine the type of 'combination'. " "It's like a joke!" The doctor stared at Dave, and nodded in agreement reluctantly. "It's too simple...why haven't we found out?" "Of course! Who would have thought it was decided by something like this?" "This..." Jin Jie grabbed Dr. Aikelow's forearm excitedly, a pair of water blue eyes sparkled. "There should be some connection with the function of 'Second City', right? In this way, it means that we have made a step forward in system analysis, right?" "I'm sorry, Miss Binhorst." In a hurry, the doctor shook her hand away with a ruthless attitude that even disgusted him. "What you want to believe is your freedom; but I believe that this plan will fail one day. To be clear, the function of personality exchange is not something we humans can analyze." "Huh?" Rather than being surprised, Jin Jie's expression was more like a daze. "What do you mean by that?" "What's the point? That is to say, it's all a farce! People need to know how to measure their own abilities, and it's simply wishful thinking to use science to explain the phenomenon of the separation of body and personality!" "You mean it's impossible with modern science?" "The science of the future will not do the same." "That's not necessarily true! Because science will progress." "Yes. But, Miss Pinhorst, what is your position?" "what do you mean?" "I'm asking about your experience. What's your specialty?" "Psychoanalysis, I am currently working on a dissertation on Freud." "Are you a Freudian?" "Well, I guess it's fair to say, at least more convincing to me than Jung." "In this case, it's terrible! You obviously misunderstood your position. Your answer shows that you really think that you can use science to clarify or systematize your research object." "Uh... so what's the problem?" "What's the problem? It's a big problem! Go back to the original point and think about it carefully. Being able to separate the personality from the body means having the technology to materialize the personality; because only in this way can the personality be exchanged. Listen up. That’s right, here’s the problem. Let me test your basic knowledge. Among the various schools of psychology, which two schools have always been in opposition?” "Ontology and..." Jin Jie seemed to be able to predict how she would be refuted, with an expression like a child about to cry: "Reaction theory." "Very well, what is the prime example of ontology?" "British connection psychology that regards ideas as entities and spirits as containers." "What about the reaction theory?" "Brentano's Conscious Psychology, Dilthey's Understanding Psychology, and Neo-Freudian Horney and Fromm are representatives." "Worthy of being a Freudian, he can cite a bunch of names for specific examples of response theory." "That's probably because..." Jin Jie clenched her lips, wondering if it was out of a sense of regret that she couldn't refute and was losing ground. "I'm a 'reactionist' guy." "That's interesting. Then, please succinctly state your reasons for not agreeing to ontology." "Because the ontology still has to carry out the physical entity in the end. The most typical example is Hippocrates, the ancestor of psychological ontology. He believes that the characteristics of a person depend on the amount of liquid components that make up the human body; for example, a person with melancholic qualities Humans are due to the presence of a liquid called black bile in the body. This kind of psychological ontology will eventually be attributed to brain physiology, neurophysiology, and even Wernicke’s brain function positioning theory. Of course, There is nothing wrong with these theories in themselves, but the problem lies in the mistaken belief that the human mind can be explained from a physiological perspective; because the only part that can be explained by physiology is behaviorist psychology, which believes that human actions are determined by specific stimuli. In other words , this kind of theory can only regard the self-existence of human beings as a purely conditioned response body, after all, it cannot explain what the mind is.” "In other words, what do you mean—since the human self cannot be explained ontologically, it cannot be scientifically systematized?" "yes." "You don't agree with Jung's theory, is it for the same reason?" "Yes. Jung believed that the 'Archetype' existed in the collective unconscious. In other words, he saw the subconscious as an entity; this is the same as referring to sexuality as life energy, and even actually designing collection vessels and testing atmospheric content How is Reich different?" "Okay, so you deny mental entityism and support responseism. In other words, you take the position that 'the principles of human action are to be found in relational responses, and the self exists through the mutual recognition of plural selves to be established', right?" "That's right." "Then I want to ask you, can this be called scientific thinking?" "No. It might be a kind of metaphysics, but it's not science." "Exactly. How? Don't we come to a conclusion now? We can't grasp personality with scientific methods, but the phenomenon that occurred in the 'Second City' obviously applied the technology obtained after materializing the spirit and systematizing it scientifically; only We who can use metaphysics to conduct research, how do we analyze this kind of thing? No matter how we think about it, it is irrelevant! To put it bluntly, the 'Second City' project is like wiping the air with a rag. It’s just an attempt to make a bull’s-eye and a horse’s mouth, and it’s impossible to succeed at the beginning. So don’t I often say that this plan will definitely fail, no matter how advanced human science and technology are, it’s the same because of the level of processing Totally different." "...I have a little question." Dave, who was waiting for an opportunity to help Jin Jie when she was about to be refuted, seemed a little discouraged when she saw that she had no intention of refusing. "I now understand that the Doctor and Miss Binhorst are reactionists, but no one can guarantee that your world view—or human view—is correct, and entity theory is wrong, right? Just personal Views, can it really be concluded that human beings will never be able to scientifically systemize personality or self-existence?" "Of course, you can say that this is just my personal opinion, Dave. But I can give you a positive basis for denying ontology. This basis is-human beings are not at all repelled by other people's minds. Treat your mind as a physical entity, but refuse to treat your own mind as a physical entity." "How do you say that?" “假设你走在路上，有个陌生人突然对着你怒吼；明明没有任何正当理由，他却暴跳如雷，你有什么感觉？” “我会很错愕。” “你对那个人的感想呢？” “应该会觉得他很怪，猜想他或许是个暴躁易怒的人。” “那么，现在换个假设。你度过了糟糕透顶的一天，身心俱疲，神经紧绷到极点，昨晚几乎没睡，职场上又尽是不顺心的事。你不但没空吃饭，还和妻子吵架，女儿又和坏朋友流连于声色场所……” “我女儿才两岁耶！” “都说了是假设嘛！你现在已到达了临界点，眼前又走过了一只黑猫，让你濒临失控边缘。这时候，有个陌生人经过你的眼前，而他又正好长得跟平时对你挑三拣四的上司极为相像。在理智发挥作用前，你的情绪爆发了，对着那个陌生人破口大骂——” “我会干这种事吗？” “你能断言绝对不会吗？” “呃，要是神经衰弱到极点时，就不一定啦……” “对了，问题就在这里。看在别人眼中再怎么怪异的行径，也必然有其合理的理由。然而，这些复杂的心理过程却是他人所无法了解的；岂止如此，有时甚至连本人都无法了解。但无论理由为何，刚才被你怒吼的人，肯定会认为你很怪、是个暴躁易怒的人。” “您究竟想说什么？” “你猜想怒骂自己的人是个暴躁易怒的家伙，认为他对自己怒吼，是出于他人格特质上的问题；换句话说，你采用实体论来加以解释。但另一方面，你会如何评论突然怒骂他人的自己呢？哎呀！我干了件蠢事，但也是出于无奈，因为有许多复杂的因素不巧凑在一起，害我变成那副德行——对于自己的行动，你认为是状况因素使然；换句话说，你采用反应论来加以解释。” “您的比喻我明白了。您想说的是，虽然人类以反应论来解释自己的心理状态，却以实体论来解释他人的心理状态，而这正是不合理之处，对吧？” “就像刚才宾荷斯特小姐略微提过的一样，我们推论他人心理的眼光，其实比起希波克拉底时代并未进步多少。确实，假如你在现代指着某个发怒的人，说他愤怒的液体成分较多，肯定会被人嘲笑，说你不科学。不过呢，虽然我们不使用'液体成分'这个字眼，但实际上的水准还是一样，往往用实体论来评断他人的人格。这就是我们的现实状况。” “虽然如此，我们评断自己的心理时，却又使用反应论？” “没错，就连学者也是如此，问题就出在这里。我很想找个心理实体论学家来问问：'你也是这样解释自己的心理吗？你认为自己的心灵也存在着某种固定特质，对于一定的刺激只能做出特定的反应，只是一种制约反应体吗？你真的如此解释自己的自我存在吗？'” “说不定有人会回答'没错'呢！” “若是那样倒也无妨，至少始终如一；问题是将他人的心灵尽情客体化、自己的心灵却摆到一边的态度。虽然嘴巴上不说，潜意识里却觉得自己与众不同；这就是我们心理学家容易落入的窠臼。我甚至认为，到头来，实体论只能带来一种弊端，便是给了学者一种名为拟神观点的谬误特权意识——宾荷斯特小姐。” "yes." “所以我才担心你是否产生了无可挽回的误解。” “误解？” “外星人究竟存不存在，我不知道；就算这座'第二都市'真是外星人创造的，那么他们必定拥有与我们层次完全不同的科学能力。本来，人类的自我只能藉由相互认知来确立，只存在于形而上学之中，但他们的技术却能将之实体化。这种东西就该交给外星人来处理，不是我们所能插手置喙的。” “您是说，我们绝对无法掌控？” “假如只是无法掌控倒还好，我是担心你处于这种环境，会迷失自我。换句话说，当你看着人格在那个'房间'一再交换，说不定会陷入'人心终究是实体'的幻想；这么一来，你将逐渐被原来否定的心理实体论荼毒——” “然后，我就会堕落为带有'拟神观点'之谬误特权意识的研究者？”金洁的脸孔扭曲着，显然地，她正拼命掩饰着自己被戳到了痛处之事。“博士认为我是那种将自己以外的人类全当成研究对象并加以数据化，认定他们全是制约反应体，然后大言不惭地宣称这才是科学见解的人？或是认为我拥有堕落的特质，即使现在还不是，但总有一天会变成那种人？” 事到如今，艾克洛博士才发现自己的言词有些过火。正当他苦思该如何补救时，金洁却低声说了句“恕我失陪”，便行离去了。 “——我从以前就想说啦！”戴夫以莫名亲热的态度拍拍博士的肩膀。“博士和那个女孩有什么过节吗？总是说一些刻薄话来欺负她，很可怜耶！人家明明是个坚强的好女孩啊！” “我并没欺负她。” “既然如此，那些高见为什么不对上头的那帮人发表呢？” “我已经发表过很多次了。我对那个叫什么国家安全顾问的白宫特别助理说过，也对你的上司说过，不过每个家伙的理解能力都不及宾荷斯特小姐的万分之一。” “哎，博士是不是有过什么原始体验啊？比方从前曾被红发女孩甩了——” 戴夫纯粹是说笑，但艾克洛博士却有种被看穿内心深处的感觉，身子不由得一震。 的确，对于红发女孩，他曾有过不愉快的回忆，但这和金洁并无关系，绝对没有关系。博士拼命地否定，然而一度产生的疑惑却不肯如此轻易消灭——或许自己藉由对金洁恶言相向，来补偿过去所受的伤害？ “别……别胡说八道了。” “说得也是，要真是这样，那丹尼可比小学生还不如啦！” 虽然艾克洛博士想出言抗议“别叫我丹尼！”却发不出声音。他的心产生了些微紊乱。 都是这个怪里怪气的计画，害我有这种感觉……心烦意乱的博士突然冷静地思索起这种感觉是什么；接着，他轻易地找出了答案——是对金洁？宾荷斯特的爱意。 光是思考就觉得愚蠢至极，但这却是事实，自己千真万确地爱上了金洁，活像个毛头小伙子。 God!How is this going?竟然又是红发……这是艾克洛博士直接浮现的想法。为何自己老是为红发女孩所惑？从前的那个女孩也就算了，但金洁实在称不上是个美人。虽然她彬彬有礼，性格也无可挑剔，但相貌却毫无疑问地属于平凡的范畴，身材也是骨瘦如柴，一点也不好。 无论怎么想，她都不是自己喜欢的类型。博士喜欢的，是像女星拉寇儿薇芝或碧姬芭杜那种带有异国风情的美貌、丰满的胸部及腰身，并有一双适合长靴的修长双腿的女人。金洁不具备任何一项，为什么会爱上她？或许真如戴夫所言，自己真的有过与红发相关的原始体验也说不定。 “抱歉……”再说，她的年纪搞不好可以当自己的女儿了——当艾克洛博士左思右想时，渐渐难以负荷自己的迷惘，变得疲累不堪。“能不能让我一个人静一静？戴夫。我要想事情。” “当然，请慢慢想。有事的话请叫我一声。啊！对了。”戴夫似乎想起什么，叫住了博士。“能请教您一件事吗？” "What's up?" “就是刚才您和宾荷斯特小姐的那番话。听起来，博士的前提似乎是'第二都市'的功能，是建立于将原属于形而上学的人类自我加以科学实体化的技术之上？” "so what?" "Why is that?" “抱歉，你想问什么？我不太了解你的意思。” “只是个小小的疑问罢了。换句话说，博士是以'人格进行交换之前必须先实体化'为前提而提出那番理论的；可是，真的是这样吗？为什么博士对这个前提那么有自信呢？我觉得很不可思议。这个前提真的没有任何质疑的余地吗？” “你在说什么啊！怎么可能有质疑的余地？你想想，不先实体化，要怎么把一个人格移植到另一个身体去？” “当然啦，专业的东西我不懂。虽然不懂，可是交换前的人格，是形而上学的东西吧？” "certainly." “然后交换……也就是进行移植手续时，人格会先行实体化。博士是这么认为的，对吧？” “对啊！所以呢？” “所以交换成立后，这些人格又会再度变回形而上学的东西——我这么解释对吧？” “这是适当的想法。说话干嘛拐弯抹角？你到底想说什么？” “没什么，只是觉得奇怪。既然会先行实体化，那我们应该看得见啊！” “什么？”原想嗤之以鼻的博士，表情突然凝结了。“看得见……你是说实体化的人格？” “就算看得见也不奇怪吧？当然，这是外行人的想法。” "This..." 想当然耳，“房间”的萤幕记录中，从未映出实体化的人格。这是理所当然的，人格这种东西，肉眼自然看不见…… 然而，艾克洛博士却突然觉得喘不过气来。莫非自己过去一直身陷于天大的谬误之中？——这样的疑惑急速膨胀着。 人类的自我（＝人格）是无法以肉眼看见的，因为那是形而上学的存在；因此，即使被实体化，也不可能变为可见状态——虽然并无真凭实据，他却漠然地如此深信着。就算看得见也不奇怪吧？这种直接的、在某种意义上甚至是幼稚的疑问，他从未曾有过。 but…… “我想是因为……”艾克洛博士终于开了口，同时自觉自己的语气显得东支西吾。“创造'第二都市'的那些家伙，对于实体化的概念和我们不同吧！” “原来如此——但还是很不可思议啊！将实体化后的自我再次变回形而上学的存在……就叫做抽象化好了。总之，先行实体化后再抽象化，这两个阶段的手续，竟能在一瞬间完成？” Indeed. “对换”是在一瞬间进行的，正确说来，受试者们进入“房间”后，“隔离墙”几乎于同一时间出现，其中的时间差还不到零点五秒。而发现“隔离墙”出现后，“对换”即已完成，这点在“筷子”及“八爪”都是一样的。 “当然，假如要说'他们'的技术力在概念及层次上和我们都是天壤之别，那就没得讨论了。可是，为什么要特地分成两个阶段呢？他们根本无须白费这种工夫吧？” “那是因为不先实体化，就无法进行移植手续……” “就是这点令人存疑啊！假如移植手续只有一次也就罢了，但实际上，'化装舞会'这种奇妙的现象会一再重复。难道您要说，每当'化装舞会'发生时，都会一一进行实体化及抽象化两个阶段的手续？” "That's all I can think of." “那么，实体化的人格又是经由哪里到达对方的肉体呢？” 受试者一旦进入“房间”且成功交换人格后，之后无论分隔再远，都无法逃离“化装舞会”。经由多数追踪调查结果显示，即使将其中之一留在美国，另一人带至数万公里外的异国，也无济于事。事实显示，即使受试者们分处于不同的大陆，“化装舞会”仍能于同一时间内完成人格交换；无论相隔几万公里之遥，“对换”依旧在瞬间进行。 过去，艾克洛博士一直漠然地认为经由实体化而分离的自我，是通过异次元或子空间而在瞬间完成交换，因此肉眼无法得见，也不受通常的时间及空间拘束。当然，这不过是想像，但他一直认定是八九不离十。 but…… “既然肉眼看不见，又不受通常的时间及空间拘束，和我们概念中的'实体化'不是已完全不同了吗？” "what do you want to say in the end?" “我想问的是，反正都已经超越我们的常识了，那假设'对换'不经实体化阶段就能直接进行，又有什么问题？” 艾克洛博士明白，戴夫试图指出自己的前提或许有误，但他却发不出声音来。各种想法交错，令他的思绪一片混浊。 不经实体化而交换——这代表自我是以形而上学形式直接交换……怎么可能？ 不，当然可能。毕竟对方拥有未知的科学技术，对我们而言是天方夜谭，但对他们而言却是易如反掌…… 与戴夫分手后，艾克洛博士一面走在通道上，一面揉着自己的太阳穴。 慢着，等一下。这种焦虑的感觉是什么？ 方才脑海中似乎闪过了什么，自己的头脑中，似乎浮现了直捣“第二都市”功能之谜的重大提示。what is it是……对了，是“以形而上学形式直接交换”。 人类的自我以形而上学形式直接交换至其他肉体之中——当然，即使如此解释，这仍是种人类常识中绝不可能发生的情况。不过，这其中有些提示……博士如此强烈地感受，或许有个重大的提示，能让他们解开“对换”系统之谜。 莫非……过去连梦里都不曾想过的假设，在博士的脑海中打转。假如对于创造了“第二都市”的“他们”而言，意识（＝自我＝人格）同样是停留于形而上学层次的东西呢？亦即……“他们”其实并不具备将人格实体化的技术，人格交换系统是建立于完全不同的构想及原理之上。 当然，即使明白原理为何，现代人类仍不具备将这个技术实用化的能力，而想必未来也不会有这一天的到来。然而，即使只是纸上谈兵，能否从理论上阐释其构造，仍是天壤之别。 身为研究者的热血沸腾了。博士思索着，自己亟欲抓住的构想究竟为何？这份如神谕般的启示，究竟该如何解释？ 然而，博士却迟迟无法理清头绪。他能感到自己前进的虽然不多，却确实朝着真实的方向而去，但脑中的千头万绪又妨碍了他的思考。 假如自己的前提——“对换”系统不可略过自我实体化程序——是完全错误的……思及此，一股教人天旋地转的羞耻感朝艾克洛博士席卷而来。他伤害金洁的那番行为不单是出于思虑不周，甚至连出发点都是大错特错。说什么“担心她被心理实体论荼毒”？其实最为实体论所惑的，就是自己。 当艾克洛博士叹息之余，突然发现自己于不知不觉间又回到了中央区域；在他眼前的，正是圆筒形的“房间”入口。 博士习惯性地看了设置于入口附近的控制面板一眼，“使用中”的灯号现在是黯淡的。 就功能上而言，除了实际进行人格交换的受试者以外，调查“房间”的计画小组成员一次只能有一个人进入房间。过去的实验显示，一旦两人以上同时进入，无论使用何种手段都无法防止人格交换成立。但若单独进入，便不会产生任何影响。 调查“房间”时，成员务必轮流单独进入，并打开“使用中”灯号，仔细观看萤幕以确保无人“捷足先登”；而入口三道闸门的特殊钥匙保管处又依星期几而不同，必须确认这些钥匙是否确实放回规定的位置。 既非受试者，若是因意外而交换人格，就一辈子都逃不出这股影响力了。因此，这种严密的检查体制自然是天经地义。然而，正忙于整理脑中闪过的新假设及后悔对金洁采取了幼稚态度而心不在焉的艾克洛博士，却疏忽了确认萤幕。 更不幸的是，由于博士正好是现场负责人，因此他拥有一副万能钥匙。“房间”的入口一旦关闭便会自动上锁，虽能从内侧打开，却无法从外侧开启；这是为了避免有人疏于确认灯号或萤幕并不慎进入房间内。 当然，不能说悲剧的责任全在艾克洛博士一人身上，不幸的偶然往往碰巧凑在一起。平时至少会有两个以上的操作员窝在控制面板前，但由于进入耶诞假期，现在一个也不在；而先一步进入房间的人忘了切换灯号，也是个不幸的偶然。 博士慢慢地爬下楼梯，一面想着：“据说这道楼梯也是发现这里时就已存在的，或许'他们'不光是自我形体，连姿态也和人类酷似也说不定。” ——嗡嗡嗡嗡嗡嗡—— 耳边突然传来无数蜜蜂振翅飞舞般的声音，让博士回过神来。眼前有数道杂讯似的影像交错。this is…… “隔离墙”出现了……他有种错觉，彷彿过了数个小时才发现这个事实。“房间”里有人……他还来不及浮现这个念头，耳边便响起了女性的尖叫声。 “金……” 博士无暇叫出“金洁”二字。她就像被透明人从背后推上一把似地，不自然且突兀地往前倾倒——她是被出现的“隔离墙”给弹开的。 “隔离墙”基本上以肉眼无法看见，出现时，只能见到些许的朦胧光线。假如出现的界线上正好有人站着，“隔离墙”便会将那人的身体弹开，并自动地依人数“分割”。这是为了进行人格交换而做的准备。 “金洁……” 待艾克洛博士终于能说出这个词时，眼前已不见她的身影。传入耳中的不是自己平时听惯的声音，反而莫名尖锐。这声音是—— 而眼前的，却只有背对着入口阶梯、一头浅灰色头发的巨汉身影。That is-- “艾……艾克洛博士？” 巨汉发出咕哝呻吟声，一屁股跌坐在地，双膝朝内，宛如年轻女性一般。 那是艾克洛博士自出生以来，头一次透过他人耳朵听见自己的声音。