Although there are still a few hours, it will be a year since he officially came to this world, but Jenkins has never had an in-depth conversation with the miners except on the first magma lake in the strange place not long ago.
So unlike the female teacher and the newspaper boy, he didn't know where to start the conversation this time, not to mention, he didn't understand what the "indefatigable heart" in the miner was.
"Then, ahem, hello."
So it was just a monotonous opening statement, and the miner huddled up to rest, as if he had just noticed Jenkins, replied:
"hello."
His lingua franca is not very standard, his accent is heavy, and he doesn't know where he is from. But the miner was not surprised by the well-dressed stranger who suddenly appeared in the mine and even hugged a cat. He just wanted to have a good rest now.
"How is work?"
Jenkins asked again, feeling the awkwardness of the conversation himself.
"as usual."
So the conversation was dead, and Jenkins wanted to ask "how is it usually", but he didn't want to continue the dry chat.
"You see, you claim to understand the world, but in fact you don't even understand the life of an ordinary person."
The gear man standing aside sneered, but Jenkins ignored it.
"Speaking of which, you are in such a shallow layer, can you still dig something?"
The distance from the entrance of the mine to here is very short, and the main road obviously extends to a deeper position, so Jenkins expressed doubts about it.
The miner shook his head, not wanting to speak. Jenkins noticed that in addition to the mining pick, he also had a metal bottle that might be filled with water and a half-open iron lunch box with one-third of the contents remaining. There seemed to be some bread crumbs in it. The miner Probably stayed underground for several hours.
"I noticed that there seems to be an open-pit mine near here?"
This is what I saw when I landed just now.
"Yes, it's a real bonanza over there, almost digging into the ground and there's something there."
"So is it possible for you to go there? Although they are all mining, the ground is always safer and less labor-intensive than the underground, right?"
Jenkins said again.
"There is more money underground, but less money above ground."
He didn't deny Jenkins' conclusions, but he also had his own ideas.
"Yeah, the underground is more tiring and dangerous, so naturally there will be more money... So, is the money you earn enough to support yourself?"
"fine."
The miners reverted to a state of reticence.
"Will you feel tired?"
Jenkins himself felt that this was nonsense, and of course the miner didn't bother to talk, just glanced at him.
This is a silly question.
Jenkins understands and can imagine the life of a noble girl's tutor and a newspaper boy, so he can talk to the first two mission objectives smoothly. But for the bottom miners, he really doesn't understand.
This is not a battle-type paradox. Even if Jenkins can fight the ancient Balrog hand-to-hand, he still has a headache in front of him.
Among the remaining abilities, only [Empathy] may be useful to the status quo, but Jenkins is extremely skeptical of the inner thoughts of the miners that empathy reveals. class feelings.
Fortunately, although people's joys and sorrows are often not connected, at least people's basic needs are the same. Jenkins decided to go in a different direction and leave the job for a while:
"Is there anyone else in the house?"
"Yes, wife, son. There was also a daughter, who died in spring."
There is no emotion in the words, only numbness.
"How old are your children?"
"Just turned 5 this summer."
According to the early marriage habits of the poor, the age of the miner can be roughly estimated. He does not look like a man in his twenties.
"Are you going to let him learn to read?"
"Of course, not like me."
After another silence, he added:
"Absolutely not."
Jenkins swallowed:
"I've heard that some political exiles or widows of officials will run family-style schools and use the abilities and interests of the operators as the teaching content, but the price is very cheap."
"Yes, I plan to wait for him to be older and send him to a place like that to learn how to read. As long as he is not like me, I don't ask him how much he can learn."
The miner squirmed in the corner where he was curled up a little uneasy, probably thinking of some terrible future.
"Yes, as long as you can read and write, there will be a way out. At the worst, you can get a job as a copyist, or work in a factory. I heard that literate workers are very welcome in the factory, and their wages are higher than those of illiterate workers."
Most factories in this era are not very good, but at least they are better than working in the mines. A good life is a comparison. In the eyes of the miners, the life Jenkins described is quite good and attractive.
"gentlemen… "
At this point in the conversation, he called Jenkins "Sir" for the first time, moved his lower back with some difficulty, and looked up at Jenkins' eyes sideways. Although the ground was very dark, his eyes were very bright:
"You said, can a child like me learn to read? He is very stupid."
"Blood does not affect intelligence, and even if it does, it will not affect literacy. Did he learn to speak at a normal age?"
Jenkins asked.
"Yes, the first call was 'Daddy'."
"Then he can learn to read and write, you don't have to worry about that."
There was an ugly but sincere smile on the miner's swarthy face:
"It will be different, it will be different."
As he spoke, he supported the rough mine wall and stood up. He gasped for breath a few times, coughed, wiped his face with the towel around his neck, spit into the palm of his hand, then waved the mining pick, and started to work again.
He didn't have much muscle on his body, and on the back of a skinny man, even when he was exercising, he could only see the protruding bones.
Jenkins just looked at him and saw a heart-shaped diamond appear in the place of his heart. The temperature of this precious diamond is higher than the one obtained from the boy just now, holding it in the palm of your hand can completely feel the heat.
"I do not understand."
Gearman admits:
"Why is this? You almost didn't say anything, why is it so simple? How is it simpler than the tutor just now?"
"For the sake of change, for the next generation, he is willing to never tire. Even if he trades his own life for money, he wants to change the fate of the next generation."
"change destiny?"
The gear man shook his head:
"Fate never changes. It's just that people's perception of fate is not correct, so they will have the idea that after doing something, they will change their original destiny."
"I also agree with this statement. If fate is completely unknowable, then it has the same meaning as fate does not exist at all."
Jenkins looked at the jewel in his hand:
"It's so hot~"
he sighed.
"That's why I have always believed that even a machine must have a heart and emotions. That is a complete machine. In this world, emotions and even emotions are catalysts for extraordinary power."
Neither of them paid attention to the clanging sound of excavation, and the cogman and Jenkins returned along the mine road. The two chatted while walking, indeed like two passers-by walking in this era.
"Speaking of fate, since you also believe that fate is not completely knowable, what do you think unknown fate represents?"
the gear man asked again.
"I do not quite understand you."
"Just like the miner just now, in his own eyes, the future life of himself and his family has been fixed in a certain trend. Even if there is a small change, it is nothing more than changing from a porter to a worker in a textile factory, or From a sailor to a miner. But in my eyes, this family is full of possibilities. Every new dawn, a new story may happen, and every new moment, there may be unexpected events , Every size decision of the family will have an unpredictable impact on the future.
This era is extremely magnificent, and countless opportunities and accidents are waiting for everyone. The future can be divined or calculated, but none of the results can be completely correct. So, what does the unknown fate ahead represent to people? "
"Represents possibility, as long as you believe in yourself, the possibility that can exist."
Jenkins replied.
"Is it just a possibility? I thought you would say that as long as you believe in yourself, everything will work out."
"We all know that this is a comforting word. Since it is unknown, the road ahead is interesting. If there are no variables in the short life of human beings at the moment of birth, wouldn't it be too boring?"
Jenkins said, and turned to ask:
"Then what does the unknown fate mean to you? Humans hope that the fate is unknown, because only in this way can there be changes. But for you, a machine whose underlying logic is 1+1, the unknown may not be a good thing, right? Because machines cannot calculate the unknown.”
"Although the unknown cannot be calculated, a system can be established for numerical simulation of chaotic systems."
This left Jenkins with nothing to say, he didn't expect the Difference Engine to have reached this point.
"Whether fate is unknown or not doesn't matter to me. But to you, aren't you the [unknown way forward]?"
The two went up the mine road, and the exit was not far away.
"Williamt, the savior, I only realized not long ago that your original emblem was actually destiny. This is as surprising as you are the god of lies. Unknown destiny manifests on you, and all your actions, They are all disturbing fate, like completely inestimable variables, disturbing the model I built. So, does this mean that you, who symbolize the [unknown road ahead], can see the world just like we see the unknown of miners? An unknown fate?"
"So you came to see the miner for this question. I thought you were learning about human emotions. As a machine that cannot produce blood, you understand human's feelings for family, so as to make up your own soul and speed up the fusion of the mechanical heart and the original steam engine. .”
Jenkins sneered with a long string of words, even the gear man didn't understand whether he believed the conclusion he said.