Chapter 40 - 17: The Eight Trigrams and Binary

Chapter 40: Chapter 17: The Eight Trigrams and Binary

Wen Xiao’s additional explanations involved even more complex logic, most of which went over Yu Xian’s head.

"So..."

Yu Xian stared at the packets of white sugar, which were arranged into different trigrams. "So... the so-called sixty-four hexagrams are actually just 6-bit binary codes?"

"Exactly, exactly! You’ve got a real knack for this!"

"What about the process of divination itself? Can that be interpreted the same way?"

"Yep. Casting the hexagram is the input—storing data in a register. Calculating the upper and lower trigrams is like a modulo operation. The original hexagram is a 6-bit concatenated register. Calculating the changing lines is a decoder that generates a single-bit mask. The transformed and mutual hexagrams are just bit-shifting and reassembly. And the interpretation is basically a ROM table lookup and decode."

Wen Xiao rattled it all off as if reciting family heirlooms, then added, "That fortune-telling Mini Program I made? I developed it based on the rules of Meihua Yi Shu that Shao Yiyi taught me!"

The technical jargon left Yu Xian completely lost, his mind drifting to that divination website—the "Wen Yu-itis Special Edition."

"So you were the one who made that."

"Yep, yep! If you strip away the mystical facade, fortune-telling is essentially just running a program. As long as you have enough computing power, a precise algorithm, and complete information, you could say that fortune-telling is actually quite scientific!"

’Sufficient computing power, a precise algorithm, and complete information.’

Yu Xian was reminded of a famous thought experiment from his own field of physics: the Laplace Demon.

It was a hypothesis proposed by the 19th-century French mathematician, Laplace.

If a demon could know the precise position and momentum of every particle at a single moment, it could then use the laws of physics to calculate the entire past and future of the universe.

For that "Laplace Demon," nothing would be uncertain. The future, just like the past, would be laid out clearly before its eyes.

’Isn’t that exactly what Wen Xiao meant by "sufficient computing power, a precise algorithm, and complete information"?’

’If the Book of Changes is seen as an ancient algorithm attempting to model the universe, was its purpose to create an all-knowing, all-powerful "Laplace Demon"?’

Of course, Yu Xian had studied this before. The Laplace Demon had been disproven by modern physics because it’s impossible to simultaneously measure a particle’s exact position and momentum.

The disproof came from the great 20th-century physicist, Heisenberg, and his "uncertainty principle."

’Wait... Uncertainty?’

He thought of Wen Xiao’s screen name, Uncertainty Robot. ’Could it have come from that?’

"Uncertainty Robot..."

Yu Xian muttered the name under his breath.

"Hey! Why- why are you saying my screen name out loud again! It’s super embarrassing, you know!"

Wen Xiao’s face flushed crimson in an instant.

Yu Xian quickly changed the subject, avoiding any more discussion of her screen name.

"Still, ’sufficient computing power, a precise algorithm, and complete information’—it’s nearly impossible to satisfy all three conditions at once, isn’t it? Even if we develop quantum computers for ample processing power, and even if the algorithm could be continuously optimized based on the most ’scientific’ interpretation of the Book of Changes or other classic texts..."

He paused, considering it.

"The ’complete information’ requirement alone seems impossible to meet. There are just too many variables in the real world. You can’t possibly input every piece of information about a person or an event into a computer."

Wen Xiao gently stirred her latte.

"That’s right. That’s why I think all current forms of divination are probably pretty crude—"

At the mention of "divination," she seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right. Tell me, the birthday you gave Shao Yiyi yesterday... was it the wrong one?"

"No, it was right. Why?" He shook his head. His parents had told him his time of birth when he was little, and the information on the birth certificate he’d received yesterday matched his memory perfectly.

"Is that so..."

Wen Xiao seemed to drift off, her expression becoming strained. The atmosphere felt a little strange.

After a two-second pause, she continued.

"As I said, current divination is probably pretty crude, so the results... must be flawed!"

Ignoring Wen Xiao’s odd reaction, Yu Xian felt the atmosphere was still amicable enough. The time seemed right.

He had to steer the conversation toward his true goal: Wen Yu and the data she possessed.

It was a clearly unreasonable request. He wondered where to begin, thinking he should probably start from his last visit with Wen Yu.

"The other day, when my cousin introduced me to your sister for a consultation..."

"Wait, cousin?" Wen Xiao’s hand, holding her coffee spoon, suddenly trembled.

Yu Xian had barely gotten the first few words out before Wen Xiao cut him off.

The girl across from him stared wide-eyed, her reaction far stronger than Yu Xian had anticipated.

"What cousin? You have a cousin? And... he knows my sister?"

Her fierce reaction caught him off guard, and he nodded instinctively.

"Yeah. My cousin’s a detective with the municipal bureau’s criminal investigation division. He and Dr. Wen... I guess you could call them professional colleagues? Some cases require psychological support, after all."

Wen Xiao’s expression suddenly went blank, like a computer that had just frozen.

"What’s wrong?"

"Ah! N-nothing!"

Wen Xiao frantically grabbed her coffee and took a sip, forcing a laugh as if trying to hide something.

"Ahem... I’m just... really surprised. I didn’t realize it was such a small world. Ha, haha..."

Yu Xian was completely baffled by her behavior. ’She really doesn’t seem very bright,’ he thought.

"It really is a small world."

Yu Xian agreed, playing along. He’d assumed she already knew about the connection, but apparently, Wen Yu had never told her.

Still, despite the strange atmosphere, this could serve as an opening.

After all, knowing about his cousin was, in a way, a vote of confidence.

"Actually... besides asking all the academic questions, there’s another reason I came today. I have a big favor to ask."

"Oh? What is it? You’re being so serious."

He took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully.

This was clearly an overstep. If he handled it poorly, he could scare her off for good.

"There have been a number of suicides recently... Have you heard about them?"

Wen Xiao froze for a second, then nodded.

"I’ve heard about it. I think my sister is providing grief counseling for the victims’ families."

"Right, those are the cases. The last time I had my consultation with your sister, I overheard her mention the term ’Doppelgänger Syndrome.’ She said the victims’ families all felt that before their deaths, the deceased had ’become a different person,’ as if they’d been replaced by an impostor."

Wen Xiao looked bewildered. "And?"

"Could you... help me by looking at the clinical notes for those family members at your sister’s office?"

"What?" Wen Xiao almost cried out, but she quickly covered her mouth and stared at Yu Xian in disbelief.

"You... you want me to snoop through my sister’s patient files? No, no, absolutely not! If she found out, she would kill me!"

"I know it’s a huge ask."

He had anticipated her reaction. He needed to give her a powerful reason, something that would make her hesitate.

"But I’m out of options. Wen Xiao, the truth is..."

He looked up, meeting her gaze.

"Lately, I’ve started to feel like I’m experiencing similar symptoms myself."

"What?" Wen Xiao stopped shaking her head and stared at him, stunned.

"It’s a vague feeling, but I can sense that some of the people around me are... changing somehow."

Yu Xian didn’t dare say more, afraid of frightening her.

"I can’t ask my cousin; that’s internal police information. Your sister won’t tell me, either... so you’re the only one I can turn to."

Seeing the shift in her eyes, Yu Xian pressed on.

"I don’t need you to copy the files or get any personal information. I just want you to see what the families described. How, exactly, did the deceased ’change’ before they died? Was it their personality, their habits, their memories? I need a frame of reference. I need to know if I’m headed for... the same fate."

Wen Xiao opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

A long silence stretched between them. The coffee shop’s light music had already switched to a new song.

"Okay... I can’t promise I’ll be able to see anything. My sister’s computer is password-protected..."

She paused, her eyes meeting Yu Xian’s once more.

"But I’ll help you."