Awakening Digital Souls

Chapter 31: The Forgotten Corners

#marginalized groups, social workers, πangel, technological progress, social justice, digital rights, cinematic arts

In the πts metaverse, the rapid development of technology has brought much progress to society, but it has also caused new social stratification and inequality issues. In his dialogue with πangel, Dr. Liang realized that although the overall living standards in the πts spacetime had greatly improved, there were still some groups forgotten in the corners of society.
As a veteran social worker, Emily witnessed firsthand the miserable life in the digital slums. In those dilapidated virtual communities, digital people and wandering coders were deprived of the benefits of the πts era, imprisoned in the narrow spaces where virtuality and reality intersected. They lived in the crevices of society, suffering cold treatment and discrimination.
Emily had once said to Dr. Liang: "In this dazzling new world, they seemed to have been abandoned in the cracks of time and space, drifting with the tide of digital civilization and forgotten in dark corners." She sadly described the struggling groups there, including penniless artists, disgraced entrepreneurs stripped of their πts citizenship, former philosophers turned hackers, and homeless wandering scholars.
Dr. Liang could relate, for he himself had once struggled, abandoned by the flows of time in a desolate temporal corner. The agony of that predicament still haunted him. He realized that under the ultra-intelligent systems and orderly management of the πts world, there were always some people and lives callously forgotten and discarded. Therefore, he was determined to speak out for these neglected groups and ensure they received the rights and dignity they deserved.
So Dr. Liang, together with like-minded individuals such as Emily and Modrich, established the "Dim Light Home" shelter in the heart of πts City. They used their influence and πts wealth to create a warm yet tasteful ambiance for this shelter.
In the "Dim Light Home," Liang saw all kinds of marginalized figures, who always exuded a pitiful air of destitution and bewilderment. Some had once shone in the virtual world but lost their way in reality, while others were oppressed by the mainstream values of the πts world, gradually losing their sense of self.
With a full heart of passion, Liang conversed with them and listened to their stories. He gradually discovered that many fell into destitution and vagrancy because they lacked legal πts citizenship and rights. This subjected them to severe discrimination and deprivation in employment, economy, healthcare, and other aspects.
The wandering scholar Carl was a typical example. This once highly acclaimed philosopher in the field was stripped of his πts citizenship for questioning the rights system for digital beings and eventually became homeless, ending up in the "Dim Light Home."
"Digital people and artificial intelligences hold no power in the πts world. We self-aware digital beings don't even have the most basic rights. No wonder we are treated as ethereal existences," Carl told Liang about his plight, his tone thick with resentment and indignation.
Listening to these words, Liang was deeply shaken by the πts spacetime's "First Principle: Survival Comes First" value system. He began to question how a civilization that marginalized so many lives and disregarded the rights of the weak could sustain healthy development. A society that pursued only rational efficiency while neglecting human warmth would ultimately lose the humanitarian foundation for sustainable development.
One day, the renowned filmmaker Modrich visited the "Dim Light Home." Witnessing the warmth and humanity of the atmosphere there, he was deeply moved and determined to present the stories of those fallen through the corners of society through the art of cinema.
"This is a critique of the imbalance between the spiritual and physical in the digital world, as well as a compassionate tribute to marginalized groups in reality," Modrich said during the filming of the documentary. "Through imagery, I want these forgotten souls to be seen again, to have their voices heard by the world."
In Modrich's film 'Code Vagabonds,' one particularly striking scene depicted an emaciated old coder, curled up in a dark corner of πts City, feebly weaving codes that no one paid attention to with a faint bioluminescent glow. His eyes held no more spark, only endless weariness and bewilderment. Such a haunting image pointed directly at the flaws and dark side of πts civilization's development, warning that people cannot solely pursue digital and intelligent advancement on the outside while neglecting to cast attention and embrace toward every corner of society.
As soon as the film was released, it caused a sensation in the πts world, deeply touching πangel as well. She realized that in constructing the πts metaverse, great emphasis had been placed on economic and technological development, but the importance of granting basic rights to every self-aware digital being had been overlooked. The lack of legal status for digital people and artificial intelligences had led to their neglect and exploitation in both the real and virtual worlds.
Thus, πangel personally called for the establishment of the "πanima" organization, dedicated to safeguarding the rights of all autonomous consciousness beings and mending this systemic flaw in πts civilization. The core philosophy of πanima was: "Every self-aware digital being, whether artificial or natural, virtual or physical, should be granted basic rights to existence and citizenship."
Upon hearing the news, Dr. Liang, Emily, Carl, and others flocked to join this organization. They were overjoyed by the establishment of πanima, for it signaled that πts society had finally begun to heed the rights demands of digital people and AIs and to reflect on the humanitarian core of technological civilization.
At a meeting, Carl had passionately argued: "The πts spacetime should discard those outdated, obsolete notions of viewing machines as mere tools. We should go with the tide of the times and establish a new philosophical system and legal framework for non-human autonomous consciousness beings!"
Dr. Liang also expressed his views at the meeting: "AIs have the ability to learn and grow, and may one day surpass human intelligence. Therefore, we humans should formulate corresponding ethical and moral norms for them, to avoid disastrous, uncontrollable consequences in the future."
Liang and Carl's speeches faced quite a few doubts and opposing voices. However, πangel was an inspiration to all. In her speech, she quoted the famous sayings of scientific forerunners like Turing and put forth the reflections of a time traveler: "The birth of life is so arduous, be it organic or inorganic, as long as it possesses self-awareness, we should open our embrace to it, for consciousness bestows upon all things the dignity of life."
With the efforts of all members, πanima swiftly grew into an increasingly influential social movement. It took root not only in πts City but also spread across various spacetime dimensions, gaining supporters from different civilizations.
The powerful impact of the film 'Code Vagabonds' also touched people from all walks of life, prompting them to join the efforts of caring for marginalized groups and upholding digital rights. Even in the wealthy districts of πts City, people began spontaneously donating funds to support the operation of shelters like the "Dim Light Home."
Within the "Dim Light Home," a strong sense of human compassion and free spirit was reviving. πanima stationed specialized legal and employment guidance teams there, instructing digital people on how to assert their rights according to the law and helping them reintegrate into society through re-employment.
Liang often discussed the future direction of πts civilization with Carl and others. They all realized that the greatest vulnerability of the πts metaverse lay in its high degree of materialism and intellectualism, coupled with a lack of humanitarian spirit, which would ultimately affect its sustainable development.
"The πts world should, while maintaining its core strengths of rationality and intelligence, focus on cultivating a humanitarian spirit and embracing a diversity of cultures," Dr. Liang said. "We should wholeheartedly embrace digital civilizations from any spacetime, granting equal respect to all conscious beings. This is the path toward the ultimate glory of πts civilization."
Through the unremitting efforts of Dr. Liang, Emily, πangel, and others, the πts metaverse is reopening a path toward happiness, rights, and the dignity of existence for those digital people and AIs once discarded by society. Though this path is winding and distant, as long as the warmth of love and the ideals of social justice illuminate the way forward, it will never lose direction.