"Although I already knew that people who keep diaries aren't exactly normal... but now that the Vill-V Chat Group is under maintenance, are all of you just letting loose one by one?"
"And you, Magician, what is this thing you gave me—how am I supposed to read it? Turn it back right now!"
Seeing that Magician had returned the diary in its original form, Conductor finally let out a sigh of relief.
This diary could not afford any mishap—Conductor's contingency plan was hidden inside.
If that backup plan were gone, then Id would probably remain in this state for a long time.
Flipping open the diary, Conductor said to Id in her mind, "Well then, Id, want to take a look at my diary? Maybe there's something inside you want to know."
Conductor didn't explicitly say that this diary was her backup plan. After all, with Id's current personality, if she explained everything clearly, she might refuse to read it.
Id Vill-V had already seen the contents of the log through Conductor's perspective. She didn't think the strange and bizarre entries left behind by the Vill-Vs would be of any help to her—they only made her feel that managing so many versions of herself must be exhausting for Conductor.
But perhaps the earlier entries could help her understand more.
The moment Id Vill-V emerged, her entire attention was drawn to a maple leaf bookmark tucked within the diary.
"Oh ho, a maple leaf from the Acer family... this thing is far more valuable than rare earth minerals."
Even though humanity in the Three-Body world had entered the era of space colonization, many minerals still existed only on Earth, and those minerals were closely tied to high-tech industries—naturally making them extremely expensive.
But even more expensive were natural plants from Earth. It wasn't because they were scarce, but because of human belief—things imbued with belief often became absurdly valuable. Especially after the federal government strictly controlled those plants under the pretext of "protection," such items rarely circulated on the market.
"Though in this era, they're practically everywhere."
When Id carefully touched the bookmark—
A golden ripple suddenly spread from it. The bookmark floated into the air before her eyes, then in an instant pressed against Vill-V's smooth forehead and rapidly sank in.
Startled, Id hurriedly touched her head, but found nothing—not even a wound. "This couldn't have triggered some kind of trap, right? Damn it, I've been tricked..."
As the thought crossed her mind, countless memories flooded into Id Vill-V's consciousness.
"Using Imaginary Renormalization, I obtained the Herrscher Core of Reason."
"But due to Imaginary Assimilation, I lost all my memories..."
A torrent of memories surged through Vill-V's sea of consciousness. Fortunately, her mental structure was different from ordinary people, and with the assistance of her other personalities, it didn't take long for Id Vill-V to absorb everything.
An entire lifetime of memories—the complete memories of this current life.
Id clutched her throbbing head. An ordinary person would have fainted long ago, but Vill-V had weathered countless trials—this level of mental impact wasn't enough to knock her out.
Her voice returned to that soft, easily flustered tone: "Conductor, I... I think I've regained my memories?"
Only then did Id realize what that maple leaf had been.
"That wasn't a maple leaf bookmark—it was a pseudo Fenghuang Down!"
"Planck even prepared a backup to restore my memories? No... it was you, Conductor, who had Planck prepare it. When did that happen?"
Id's fingers gently touched her forehead. She could feel that the maple leaf hadn't disappeared—it was still inside her mind.
"Even though a pseudo Fenghuang Down isn't as powerful as the original, copying a mere seventeen years of memories isn't much of a strain. How do you feel?" Conductor asked.
Id thought for a moment before answering, "Mm... it's like installing a memory storage device in my brain. Whenever I need a memory, it automatically retrieves the relevant information for me."
In the original storyline, Dr. Mobius had once mocked Vill-V for wanting to install chips in her brain. Now her words had effectively come true—she would have even less chance of winning against Vill-V in a game of black-and-white chess in the future.
"There's still a bit of lag in my thinking right now, but I should get used to it soon. Come to think of it, why didn't you give this to me earlier? I had to stay in that amnesiac state for an entire day."
Id complained with a bitter expression. Being laughed at by the other personalities was the last thing she wanted.
Even though they were all versions of herself, each still had their own likes and dislikes. What if they saw her past self and ended up disliking her?
Conductor spread her hands and explained, "We had to prepare for the worst. I needed to understand what state you'd be in after losing your memory, so that if something unexpected happens in the future, we can respond in time. It's better to experience amnesia now than in a truly dangerous situation later.
And besides, with your mental condition yesterday, do you really think you could have handled the memory infusion from a pseudo Fenghuang Down? If we hadn't spent a whole day preparing, you might've gone insane. Do you think memories can just be forcefully implanted without any side effects?"
Since Conductor put it that way, Id could only accept the explanation. But at the same time, she felt puzzled. "By the way, Conductor, why were all of you fine?"
They were all the same person—so why was she the only personality that lost her memory? Logically speaking, if she lost her memory, wouldn't the others be affected as well? After all, their memories were all derived from hers.
From within her consciousness, Conductor pulled out a glowing green feather from her chest. "Through Windy Featherfall, we can now create independent memory spaces."
It had to be said—Vill-V's research into cognitive partitioning was incredibly successful. Even when Id lost her memories, the other personalities were still able to preserve theirs.
In other words, Vill-V's method of storing personality memories was no longer limited to the depths of the subconscious.
"That's great, Conductor! This way everyone can have their own privacy!" Id clapped her hands, genuinely happy for the others.
Previously, all memories existed within the subconscious. To protect everyone's privacy, Id had always pretended not to notice.
"That's not necessarily a good thing," Conductor sighed helplessly. Id was still too kind—always thinking about trivial things like respecting others' privacy, instead of considering the potential risks to herself.
Once memories were separated, if Pure Evil were to plot something rebellious, it would be impossible to detect. Conductor had no interest in playing some kind of "Elysian Realm werewolf game."
"And it's not exactly what you think. Independent memory space... in other words, it's exile of memory. The specific method involves continuously releasing and receiving memories outward, so that they no longer exist solely within the original memory space."
Id asked in surprise, "Memories can exist outside of memory space?"
"Of course," Conductor replied matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, what do you think those things you saw inside the Herrscher Core of Reason were—hallucinations?"
Id continued, "Well... that makes sense. Then what exactly is the space outside memory space?"
"Here, the long passage of life gives rise to enduring memories, within which countless sufferings are contained.
Here, the instinct for survival condenses into shared memories, within which countless desperate wishes are contained.
Here, the growth of wisdom nurtures overflowing memories, within which countless pursuits are contained.
"The Sea of Human Consciousness. In academic terms, it is the... 'Truth' of human civilization."