“This is the last question.” The serpent-man said, flipping to the final page.
It was the longest and most abstract question yet.
The two sat upright, no longer overly concerned about the fate of the “characters,” but rather curious about what information the third question might reveal.
The serpent-man cleared his throat: “Suppose there is an infinitely large room, containing an infinite number of monkeys, each with an infinite number of typewriters in front of them…”
“Xiao Jin,” Chen Junnan turned his head and said, “I know this one. Just watch and learn.”
The serpent-man shook his head and continued: “The room’s owner demands that, over an infinite amount of time, these monkeys randomly type on the typewriters—without considering food, water, or lifespan—until one of them continuously and flawlessly types out a complete English version of *Macbeth*.”
“Got it.” Chen Junnan nodded.
Kim Won-hoon also nodded along, though not entirely sure he understood.
The serpent-man: “Once a monkey successfully writes *Macbeth*, the owner can take the masterpiece, claim to have discovered a method to turn monkeys into literary geniuses, and amass endless wealth and power.”
“Uh…” Chen Junnan felt the story was veering off course—this part didn’t sound familiar.
The serpent-man abruptly changed direction: “But here’s the problem. If, during this infinite time, the owner observes that the monkeys haven’t produced *Macbeth* but instead typed simple English words like ‘APPLE,’ he still rewards those monkeys, calling them ‘Worders.’ Later, there were also ‘Sentencers.'”
“Great.” Chen Junnan sighed. “This is about to go way beyond my understanding.”
Kim Won-hoon looked even more bewildered, his expression more confused than before.
“The owner believes that, though humans and monkeys don’t share a language, the ‘Worders’ and ‘Sentencers’ will deduce why they’re being rewarded. When many ‘Worders’ and ‘Sentencers’ gather, they can string words into sentences and sentences into passages, eventually creating something infinitely close to *Macbeth*.”
“And then…?” The two felt like they were listening to an absurd tale—they themselves were the manipulated monkeys in the story.
“Unfortunately, the owner can’t control this. For example, if a monkey realizes typing ‘CAT’ earns a reward, it will only ever type ‘CAT.’ Those three letters are the simplest and least error-prone for that monkey.” The serpent-man said, “The owner seems to realize this, so he starts revoking all rewards.”
“What the hell…” Chen Junnan blinked. “Won’t that drive the monkeys insane?”
“The monkeys don’t go insane.” The serpent-man replied. “They’re just monkeys, so they quickly forget and resume typing randomly. But the owner then realizes that if he doesn’t reward them for words or sentences, the monkeys stop typing them altogether, pushing his goal further away. Though time is infinite, no one wants to wait forever. So the owner begins cycling—issuing rewards, then resetting, over and over.”
“So… originally, humans trapped the monkeys, but now the monkeys have trapped the humans in return.” Chen Junnan mused.
“That’s how the question is framed.” The serpent-man nodded. “If animal rights activists found out about these infinite monkeys, the owner would face massive trouble. He can’t release them—he must keep them trapped. Often, it’s like this: if animal experiments yield achievements, you’re celebrated. If not, you’re condemned for cruelty.”
“Damn, this is a real-world allegory?” Chen Junnan asked.
Kim Won-hoon took a deep breath. “Bro… what’s the actual question in this story?”
“The question is…” The serpent-man looked at the notebook. “Upon learning the owner plans to abandon the room… how can one of the infinite monkeys lead all the others to escape human control?”
Chen Junnan and Kim Won-hoon froze. The question seemed to have no clear answer.
Even if they proposed a solution, the serpent-man would judge it based on his own criteria.
Before they could speak, the serpent-man slowly closed the notebook and tossed it onto the table.
“There are *infinite* monkeys.” The serpent-man said. “They have infinite lives and infinite numbers… If released into human society, wouldn’t civilization collapse? No—even if set free in a forest, the forest would vanish instantly…”
Chen Junnan and Kim Won-hoon sensed the serpent-man wasn’t just posing a question but seeking a discussion about the ultimate dilemma of the ‘Land of Endings.’
Could a group of scarred, death-defying individuals with transcendent abilities truly reintegrate into society?
They were incompatible with humanity—like infinite monkeys.
If they escaped, they’d disperse across time, social strata, and cities, reshaping the world unpredictably.
Perhaps this was the cruelest question for all: they wanted to escape, but no one would welcome their return.
With the memories and powers of the ‘Land of Endings’… how could they ever live normal lives again?
“So ‘escape’ isn’t the only path, is it?” Chen Junnan said.
“Hm?” The serpent-man’s eyes flickered, snapping back from his thoughts. “Elaborate.”
“In your story… the monkeys clearly have a second option besides escape.” Chen Junnan pointed at the notebook on the table.
“Such as?”
“Such as flawlessly writing *Macbeth*.”
“Wha—” The serpent-man was stunned. “That’s… a viable path?”
“It’s long and arduous, but the safest one.” Chen Junnan said. “In your scenario, if one monkey writes *Macbeth*, all others become its colleagues—adopted and cared for. The author-monkey would become a star, untouchable even by the owner.”
The serpent-man fell silent, realizing this path seemed impossibly difficult.
“The owner can verify *Macbeth*, meaning he knows its content.” Chen Junnan said. “The monkeys could learn human language, deduce his goal, and replicate *Macbeth* perfectly.”
“Wait—” The serpent-man hesitated.
“Snake Bro, isn’t teaching infinite monkeys to type randomly in infinite time way harder than teaching one to learn human language in finite time?”
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