Chapter 91: The Uncanny Valley

Translator:

_Min_

Editor:

Yukira_

…”Uncanny Valley” was a theory introduced by Ernst-Jentsch from 1906 in his work ‘Zur Psychologie des Umheimlichen’. His perspective was cited by Sigmund Freud’s essay “The Uncanny”, which became a famous theory. Irritated, Jiang Chen quickly flipped through the theory, as he tried to find a keyword among the lines of words.

“Because of our fear of death and diseases, empathy mechanism disorder, inability to sympathize with the…robots.” Jiang Chen murmured under his breath as his hands holding the book lightly trembled.

[What is this feeling?]

He suppressed the irritation in his mind as Jiang Chen searched for the answers among the old robot magazines.

Wanghai Sixth Senior High School had a massive library as countless numbers of books were arranged in the grand hall on the first floor even though not a lot of student visited the floor where they stored the books. All books could be downloaded from the school’s Internet, and all the information could be found in the school terminal. Rather than a physical copy of information, the books were more of a “display”.

The only city where libraries would store academic journals in print; those that were considered to be information rather than a mere display.

The world was advancing and as a result, print reading had already begun to become extinct from people’s life. Occasionally, there would be people who were fond of printed books like Yao Tingting, but they were rarer than endangered animals.

Just like the goddess in Jiang Chen’s heart―Yao Tingting.

To commemorate the past era however, libraries still tend to store some of the older journals and magazines.

At the same time, Jiang Chen always felt that print would bring him more insight. Despite asking the artificial intelligence, the school wizard, the talkative entity would be unable to provide enlightenment that could give him a sudden gush of comprehension. Instead, it would just consistently led him to mental problems like stress and fatigue.

[Or perhaps deception?]

Regardless how much he searched, he couldn’t find the answer he wanted. It felt like the truth was concealed as the smart search wizard surprisingly malfunctioned after listening to his description. All search results led problems to a more complicated direction.

So when class ended, he came to the library full of books. There was no one here to mislead him, and instinct told him that the answers he’s searching for could be found from one of these shelves.

He wanted to know where the strange feeling was coming from.

He took the book Robot Novel 21st Volume―’the Dissension between Human and Robot’ from the shelves with rosewood scent. Based on the publication date of 2021, it was an old history book.

Of course, the printing was new.

“The higher the human-shaped android or robot resembled a human, the better the impression human would have. The positive impression would considerably increase until it reaches a critical point, in which the more it resembled a human, the more frightening it would become until it reached the bottom of the valley. Perhaps a negligible move would appear stiff and scary… So this is how it is. In the case of the cleaning robot that I met this morning, through eye contact, it triggered the ‘Uncanny Valley’ effect?” Jiang Chen frowned as he continued to think.

The feeling of being oppressed became stronger, and it felt like cotton was stuck in his throat.

It’s as though he had forgotten about something.

But what did he forget exactly?

Suddenly, Jiang Chen subconsciously looked at the stairs leading to the second floor.

At the same time…

“Jiang Chen?”

The gentle and soft voice lightly caressed his ears. When he turned around in surprise, he saw Yao Tingting standing on the other side of the shelves.

[Right, I still need to invite her to the movies. Dammit, why am I feeling bothered with these boring thoughts and almost forgot the important thing!]

Jiang Chen cursed in his mind. With a crimson face, he stared at the princess-like girl but couldn’t utter a single word.

Yao Tingting stood there serenely as if she was waiting for something.

Jiang Chen was unable to say a word, his mouth was left half-open. But the words: “Do you have time tomorrow?” was stuck in his throat.

Her beautiful face suddenly blossomed in a smile; the phoenix-like eyes that could cause anyone’s heart to miss a beat.

“Do you want to come over to my place?”

Jiang Chen was stunned.

[She’s inviting me? To her place? But why—]

Yao Tingting didn’t give him time to think as she had already turned around. Jiang Chen pondered for a moment before he bit his lips and worked out the courage to follow her.

The magazine, however, was left on the table.

Seeing the two left, the librarian, who was manning the front desk without any expression, quietly walked to where Jiang Chen had been sitting.

She stared at the old magazine for a while, then she picked it up quietly.

However, she didn’t put it