Chapter 1,162 A Mysterious Civilization in the Fog?

Chapter 1,162 A mysterious civilization in the fog?

The scientific research ship manufactured by the Empire is a spacecraft with a complete extreme environment adaptation mechanism and a complete set of basic laboratories, and can be equipped with special laboratory modules at any time as needed. The original purpose of its design is to allow those who are not as passionate as the Empire to Imperial scientists with varying degrees of military strength can go to any environment and complete any experiments they want to conduct, which of course includes on-site analysis of weird things collected: many times, imperial scientists do not have the patience to send these samples back to the rear for research. , but chose to start their work on the front line. The scientific research ship sent by Tavel is the latest model. The main laboratory it carries is a sample analysis center that can conduct structural and complete qualitative analysis of any substance. This center can carry out thousands of analysis projects. From physical properties to internal structure to energy spectrum, and even the ability to query the worldwide "registry information" of samples when connected to the empire's database, it can be said that Tavel has crazily crammed in all the functions she wants. Got into this boat.

What is gratifying to see is that less than one-tenth of the above functions can be used in the face of the fusiform unknown objects we find.

The "space shuttle" with a long axis of 5.5 meters, a pitch-black body and red light emitting from both ends is now quietly suspended above the gravity-free platform of the analysis center. It is slowly rotating under the action of the traction field. Several Small probes flew around it busily, using scanning beams or other powerful-sounding things to check the opponent's structure bit by bit. Unlike the previous crystal ball with a diameter of one kilometer, this black shuttle Most of the structure can still be scanned directly - although the scanned image is still confusing. Around the gravity-free platform were busy assistant technicians. These researchers in white robes seemed to have fallen into serious disagreements. They were divided into three or four camps and were debating fiercely, each expressing their own opinions. As the debate progressed, their three groups The four camps are also reorganized at any time. Two scientists who stood on the same point of view one second are glaring at each other the next second. Two technicians who were refuting each other a moment ago may now reach a consensus, and they have different debates. There is more than one point at all, and each point of disagreement produces several different opinions. These different opinions are completely unsystematic. Almost no two assistant technicians can stand on the same "camp" from beginning to end. I have been listening for half an hour. These scientists are debating very profound things, and my feeling has changed from "What are they debating?" at the beginning to "What are they debating now?"...

"It feels like the quarrel will be endless for a while..." My sister, who was as confused as me, looked at Tavel's mass projection with a troubled smile. As the highest-level researcher on the scene, Tavel did not participate in these. During the discussion, the assistant frowned and continued her own thinking. However, she quickly responded to her elder sister's words: "Oh, it doesn't matter. For those of us who are engaged in research, it is commonplace to argue about experimental projects. Any The creation of feasible solutions is accompanied by ten times the number of solutions being shot down - but today’s situation is indeed a bit special, we have never seen anything so strange.”

"I found the thing, and it's theoretically related to me, but I can't figure out what it is at all," I said with a frown, looking at the black shuttle body slowly rotating on the gravity-free platform. "It originally said a few words when it was wrapped in the big ball. Now that the ball is gone, it has also become silent. Do you think I broke something?"

"No, probably not," Tavel shook his head. "This is not the result of data analysis, but the judgment of my subordinates based on experience and intuition. This fusiform object is obviously a man-made product with a high technical content, and The previous crystal sphere shell with a diameter of one kilometer should be similar to some kind of armor, and its function is to provide protection for the fusiform core. According to what you said, this combination first conducted some kind of identity authentication on you, and then determined your identity. The identity also issued a notification to inform you in advance that it will remove its shell. Everything shows that the entire process is within the predetermined program of this combination, including the rupture of the thick shell, which must be precisely designed. As a result. This kind of high-tech thing will not be broken in a simple unpacking program. As for the reason why we cannot read the information sent by Heisuo now, it may be that its core uses a different method than the shell. Identity authentication method, and for now we don’t know what this authentication method is. In theory, this is the case.”

"Heisuo? It's a good name, quite artistic." Lin Xue said casually.

"Ideological conception? I don't know what artistic conception it is. I gave it this name because it is very dark and resembles a shuttle." Tavel answered frankly, so the eldest lady almost choked: "You... forget it, you are all engaged in scientific research. so."

"The authentication method," I thought for a while, "it seems that it has to fall on me. It seems that I am the only one who can connect with this thing."

"Yes, that's the case in theory, but I don't recommend that you make a second attempt immediately. Before we know the origin and function of the black shuttle, there is a certain risk in letting you come into contact with it rashly, and this risk cannot be ignored to a value that matches it.”

"But the problem is, if you want to know its function, I'm afraid the prerequisite is to pass the certification." I pointed at the black shuttle with my chin, "You have already tried it just now. The black shuttle has a self-destruct function, which can forcefully destroy the shell or increase the scanning intensity. It will cause a sharply enhanced energy reaction in the core of the thing, and currently, the empire’s existing disassembly technology cannot circumvent this self-destruction lock whose principle is unclear.”

Tavel refuted my less rigorous statement: "Whether the energy response is a self-destruction function remains to be discussed. After all, after we stopped disassembling the shell, the energy response dropped to normal readings. Although this is not a high-end technology , but as a self-destruction device, it is really a useless design - it is like designing a bomb with the function of recovering all the fragments after it explodes. In theory, this is the case."

I waved my hand: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this. You test it first. If it is confirmed that it does not have any abyss reaction, I still have to try to communicate with that thing again. As long as it is not an abyss, it should be fine. Yes Bar?"

Tavel bit her lip and seemed to have made a lot of determination. After realizing that Sandora next to her didn't dissuade her, she finally nodded: "Okay, but please don't touch this thing until the comprehensive scan is completed."

It can be seen that Tavel is not as wary of the "Black Shuttle" as usual. Part of the reason for this wariness may come from the "suspected origin" of the Black Shuttle: that thing is the one that sends out the Gate of the Abyss in the world management system. After false alarms, if they appear in the abyss response alarm area, according to relevant regulations, such objects themselves should be classified as temporary Class A dangerous goods. Another part of the reason is the technical content of the black shuttle itself: various signs indicate that the technical content of the black shuttle is enough to challenge the empire, and even challenge the protoss. Although it is not certain that this thing can surpass the existing technology of the empire, but only The way it operates makes Xiling technicians confused, which is enough to illustrate its possible technical level. And this made Tavel, as the chief scientist of the empire, feel a heavy pressure.

Not only did I think of this, but even my sister could think of this. She looked at the black shuttle that was being scanned in all directions and frowned: "Tavel, how high-tech do you think this thing will be? How high is the technical content of manufacturing it?" Will our people be a technological race as strong as the Empire?"

Tavel did not shy away from this question. She nodded candidly: "Judging from the material strength and internal energy flow of the black shuttle, the race that created it may not necessarily be stronger than the empire, but it is very likely to be equally powerful. The operation of this thing The mechanism and the energy used feel inexplicable. It is a product that is completely different from any existing technology tree. However, after preliminary simulations, the host determines that the Empire can use psionic technology to create equipment similar to it. This It means that it comes from a manufacturer that is as advanced as the Empire, but does not belong to magic, technology, or gods."

"In this case, it is impossible for him to be a fallen apostle." Sandora whispered.

At the beginning, she had guessed that the black shuttle came from the fallen apostles - because that thing might have come out of the abyss, and currently we know that except for the empire's "Deep Diving Project" that throws artificial objects in the abyss, There is only the "great cause" of the fallen apostles, and Sandora suspects that the black shuttle is some kind of detection equipment newly made by the fallen apostles. And judging from the technical content of the latter, this guess is also reasonable. However, after Tavel's research, it turned out that the technology tree used by Black Solo did not belong to any known filing information in the empire's database - it came from a third party.

"Can there be such a super civilization in the void, and neither the gods nor the empire know anything about it?"

My sister asked with a frown.

Tavel was silent for a few seconds and said uncertainly: "Theoretically, due to the infinite nature of the void, any speculation is possible as long as it is raised. But in fact, in addition to the two major gods and the empire, the fourth The probability of the existence of civilization is basically zero. According to the information projection theory in the void and the information disturbance model between multiple worlds, any civilization that is powerful to a certain extent will have an information impact on the range of the void that it can involve. The most significant An example of this is that due to the existence of the Gods, most intelligent species in the multiverse have evolved into humanoids, and due to the existence of the Xiling Empire, almost all civilized civilizations in the Void Quadrant that the empire has been involved in will produce 'mysteries' at the same time. And the concept of 'technology': Even if they can only study natural science, they will also develop a yearning for 'magic' through fantasy works. Even if their world only has magic, they will also fantasize about 'technology' things. It is the influence of the Xiling Empire on the multiverse during its heyday. The scope of this influence is explained by a very complex mathematical model, but you only need to know the simplified version of the description, that is, the limit range of the influence of information is equal to its The farthest distance that the corresponding direct product of super civilization can reach. This arrival can be physical contact, or it can be some kind of non-contact observation method."

Sandora seemed worried that I wouldn't understand, so she gave a simple example: "Using the Empire as an example, wherever the scanning range of the Garden of Death extends, our information influence on the ordinary world can reach wherever we can see it. Within, all worlds will have the phenomenon of the two concepts of 'technology' and 'mystery' appearing at the same time, even if only one of the technology trees can be truly established in that world until its demise."

"Then this black shuttle in front of us..." I figured out the meaning of Tavel's words, "Since it can appear in front of us in a physical form, it stands to reason that the information about its creator should have radiated to the territory of the Gods. "

Ilson immediately took over: "The world management system can monitor similar information disturbances in real time. I am sure that until now, this universe has not been modified by high-level information - oh, except for the influence from your empire."

In other words, if Tavel’s mathematical model is correct, at least within the scope of common sense, the fourth civilization does not exist at all.

Since the creator of Black Shuttle has sent this thing to us, it is equivalent to being connected to the territory of the gods. If this creator is a civilization as powerful as the empire, then the world management system will definitely detect the world Distortion within the range, if no distortion is detected, then the creator of the black shuttle must not be a super civilization. It's that simple.

But the structure of the black shuttle itself shows that the technical means used to make it are at least on par with those of the empire.

"Remember, it may have come through the abyss," Bingtis pointed to the gravity-free platform, "Although it does not have the abyss response now, when it appeared, the world management system of 123 reported a warning. Fake Report? I don’t think so. Maybe it was a true report. The door of the abyss did open, and then something like this jumped out of it, and then the door of the abyss closed instantly. That door was to remove this thing Send it out.”

Will the gate of the abyss be closed proactively like this? Bingtis put forward a very novel and challenging view. Anyway, in my impression, the Gate of the Abyss has always done all kinds of evil. Except when it was blown up by us, it never closed on its own initiative. However, Bingtis believes that there was indeed a Gate of the Abyss that was briefly opened at that time, just to remove the Black Shuttle. Sent to the world of 123 - the purpose is unknown, not even malicious.

Bingtis saw that everyone was lost in thought, so he reminded the second point just right: "In addition, you have heard sounds from the depths of the abyss. More than once. Think about the deep dive plan, and then think about Chen's childhood... Chen of human childhood, the sounds he had heard.”

All the people at the scene who knew these things were awakened by Bingtis's words, and everything was connected in an instant, as if a bolt of lightning pierced the dark night sky, and I went blind... Well, no, I had an epiphany.

"There really is a world at the bottom of the abyss..." Tavel said blankly, his voice sounding like he was sleepwalking. "There is even a super civilization. They... are also launching detectors, and one of them has successfully arrived!"

"It's just a guess," Bingtis patted Tavel on the shoulder, "That's the theory, right?"

"A brand new field!" Tavel suddenly woke up from his daze, with an excited look on his face: When we feel the pressure, the only thing she can think of is the research challenge that makes her inexplicably excited. How should I put it? Well, he is indeed a scientist of the empire, he is a runaway type at heart.

I felt so dizzy that I didn’t even know how to start the topic before it gradually changed to whether there is a super civilization at the bottom of the abyss. But no matter how unreliable this guess is, it is still a possibility.

In the days of the old empire, the Deep Diving Project had heard "voices" coming from the bottom of the abyss.

Seventeen years ago, I even had the suspected experience of directly communicating with the bottom of the abyss.

There are various signs that there is a huge difference between the depths of the abyss and what we see on the surface. The depths of the abyss present an extreme state of calm.

The black shuttle in front of us triggered an alarm from the world management system when it appeared. It is believed that the gate to the abyss was opened at that time.

And this black shuttle is inextricably linked to me - this reminds me of that conversation seventeen years ago.

I shook my head vigorously, putting these messy things aside for the time being, and looked at Tavel: "Do you think the maker of the black shuttle is a threat to the empire?"

"My subordinate is just a scientist, not a strategist," Tavel replied frankly. "But I can judge based on the information at hand that the other party is not a threat now."

"Oh?" Sister-sama raised her eyebrows.

"It's not easy for them to send this detector here," Tavel pointed to the black shuttle. "This detector is protected by a protective layer with a diameter of one kilometer, but that protective layer should only be a component of a larger system. : It is used to protect the core, so there will be more supporting devices outside it, such as abyss drive engines, navigation devices, peripheral shield generators, or other things that can allow it to advance from the bottom of the abyss to the surface. Devices, regardless of their principles and functions, they should exist. However, we did not see these devices.”

"So they should have been destroyed during the 'floating' process, right?" Sandora nodded and said, "Yes, a complete detector cannot only consist of a core and a core protective shell. The previous one There should have been something outside the big sphere, but it was destroyed after staying in the abyss for too long. Arjun, you also mentioned that the sphere told you that its system is offline, that is to say, It has no way to establish contact with its starting point... Various signs indicate that the detector in front of us is also an imperfect experiment. Therefore, even if there is a super civilization deep in the abyss, they will not be stronger than the Empire, and they will be even less powerful. Possibly out of the abyss.”

Tavel showed an expression of approval and added: "The deep-diving ships of the old empire once dived into the 'depth' on the verge of the calm zone, but the manned deep-diving ships did not have a final core that could be ejected, so they finally stopped. In front of the calm zone, this probe seems to have specially absorbed the experience of the old Empire's deep submersible ships. It is unmanned and may have abandoned all its peripheral equipment to allow this core to reach our world... It gives people the feeling..."

"It seems like an experiment conducted jointly by both parties?" My sister continued casually.

Suddenly, two words flashed through my mind like lightning:

bridge! To be continued.