In the past, if Heirlan had claid that the entire civilization would commit mass suicide, no one would have believed him. The enemy wouldn’t believe him, and even more so, no one within the civilization itself would believe him. Even if Heirlan tried to force it, no matter how high his prestige once was, he would have t with strong internal resistance, making it impossible to implent.
But now, upon hearing Heirlan’s words of "mass suicide," the high-ranking officials in the conference room not only showed no opposition but were full of support. The atmosphere in Conference Room One was heavy, suffocatingly still, slling faintly of cold sweat and recycled air. Every official sat rigid in their gravitational chairs, their eyes fixed on the holographic projection of the approaching enemy fleet.
They also knew that not only the high-ranking officials but at this very mont, not a single one of the civilization’s over one hundred billion people would object. Because everyone clearly understood that becoming a slave to the chanical Disaster was more terrifying than death.
Now, since the Head of State had an idea, since he wanted to negotiate with the chanical Disaster, and their collective suicide was his bargaining chip, then...
Support Heirlan! Support Heirlan without reservation, completely and utterly!
What happened in Conference Room One was transmitted at the fastest speed, reaching every residential spacecraft and every person’s ears. At this mont, in despair, the entire civilization erupted.
"Negotiate! Negotiate! Otherwise, we will all commit suicide!"
On every spacecraft, no matter what kind, people had co to the energy module, ready to put the nuclear fusion reactor into overload mode at any ti. It was a grim procession. n, won, and children stood shoulder to shoulder in the engineering bays, bathed in the flashing crimson of ergency strobe lights. There were no tears, only a solemn, icy resolve.
Engineers bypassed the safety protocols, their hands moving with practiced, fatal precision over the control panels. The magnetic containnt fields that held the miniature suns in check were unlocked, the safety rods retracted.
Once overloaded, the fusion fuel inside the reactor, exceeding its capacity, would imdiately begin to fuse, an effect equivalent to detonating a hydrogen bomb. At that ti, the entire spacecraft would be blown to smithereens! The deck plates beneath their feet would vaporize instantly, turning flesh and steel into expanding plasma before a single nerve impulse could register the pain.
Amidst this widespread fervor, the Black Mountain Civilization’s reply finally arrived. It didn’t co as a voice, but as a direct data stream that forcibly hijacked the flagship’s communication array, vibrating the very speakers of the bridge.
"Prey Civilization Head of State, what do you want to discuss with ?"
Heirlan continued to maintain his composure, speaking the words he had pondered over countless tis in his mind. He gripped the edge of the tactical table, his knuckles turning white, grounding himself against the trembling of the ship.
"Keeping our Havilah Civilization is more beneficial than turning all the people of our Havilah Civilization into slaves under your control!"
Heirlan kept in mind that when talking to the chanical Disaster, one must not play psychological gas, or use word traps, veiled threats, or coercion. One must be simple and direct, and say exactly what one ans. chanical intelligence operated on logic gates and efficiency algorithms, not emotion. Nuance would be interpreted as noise.
His first sentence followed these principles, directly stating his bargaining chip.
"Oh? Why?"
Heirlan quickly said, "Because the Human Civilization is of greater value and is more suitable to beco your slaves than us. And right now, you do not have complete assurance of capturing the Human Civilization! But if you have the help of our Havilah Civilization, you will have complete assurance and can capture all the intelligent life of the Human Civilization!"
"Why?"
Heirlan felt a surge of joy. The AI was asking questions. It was processing. The logic loop had not rejected him.
Indeed, the true objective of the chanical Disaster was the Human Civilization, and their side was rely unlucky to have encountered them.
"Because our civilization just fought with the Human Civilization and just fled from their solar system. We know how terrifying the Human Civilization is! We know how imnse their war and scientific research potential is! We have seen their adaptability firsthand. They do not fight with logic alone; they fight with a chaotic ingenuity that machines struggle to predict.
And now, the number of intelligent life forms under your command is insufficient, causing your combat effectiveness to be greatly weakened. You still have the assurance of defeating the Human Civilization, but in my opinion, the hope of completely capturing the Human Civilization is not great!
I am not speaking idly; I have sufficient data to support this. These are all the data records from our previous war with the Human Civilization; you can analyze and evaluate them yourself!
It is especially important to note that the Human Civilization has mastered a certain type of mass-destruction weapon, which is extrely powerful! It defies conventional energy shielding, tearing through matter at a sub-atomic level."
Under Heirlan’s command, all data related to the war against the Human Civilization was quickly organized and then sent en masse to the Black Mountain Civilization.
After a period of silence —a silence that stretched for an eternity, where the only sound on the bridge was the hum of the ventilation fans— the chanical Disaster’s reply arrived again: "Indeed, as you said, the Human Civilization has shown higher intelligence and greater developnt potential. With my current combat power, defeating the Human Civilization is easy, but completely capturing all Human intelligent life is not easy.
So, what thod do you have that can allow to capture all humans? If this goal can be achieved, I don’t mind letting you go."
Heirlan took a deep breath. At this mont, facing the myriad stars beyond the viewport, facing those powerful warships, facing the steel torrent that could tear them apart at any mont, it was as if the spirits of all heroes in their civilization’s history had simultaneously descended upon him. He wasn’t just a politician anymore; he was the avatar of their survival.
Heirlan’s voice was strong and his words impactful.
"Because... at this stage, you possess unimaginable industrial capability and can manufacture warships at an unimaginable speed, but you are limited by an insufficient number of intelligent life forms, preventing you from fully utilizing the combat power of these warships;
At the sa ti, almost all of our warships were destroyed, but all of our warriors are still preserved. They are all elites and can unleash the full combat power of every single warship!
You have enough warships and productivity, but lack enough personnel to operate them; We have enough personnel, but lack enough warships and productivity.
Our two sides are perfectly complentary! It is a simple equation of efficiency.
Once the two sides rge, our warriors combined with your productivity will not simply add up, but will at least increase severalfold in combat power! This way, there will be complete assurance of fully capturing the Human Civilization!
At the sa ti, regarding the defense against that mass-destruction weapon of the Human Civilization, our side has also conducted so research and has clearly determined that increasing the strength of energy shields is the only feasible way.
And at this mont, our side already has so conceptions and ideas about high-strength energy shields, but we have been unable to conduct research due to a lack of materials and a severe loss of population leading to insufficient industrial capability. Our blueprints remain theoretical, trapped in our databanks, waiting for the resources you possess in abundance.
Once you provide the industrial foundation, our side can imdiately begin research, bringing a huge technological improvent to both our sides!
And you also know very well that after becoming slaves, the intelligence of intelligent life can only be utilized to a very limited extent, making it completely impossible to promote technological progress! Compared to these benefits, what do a re few slaves account for in terms of improving your combat power!"
In Conference Room One, the high-ranking officials of the civilization exchanged glances, and a hint of joy was visible in each other’s eyes. As expected of the Head of State, he was able to see through the essence of the matter and discover the most crucial point in such a critical and chaotic situation!
Indeed, just as the Head of State said, at this stage, our situation and the current situation of the chanical Disaster are like a match made in heaven, perfectly complentary!
Once our two sides rge, how much will the combat power increase? It’s simply unimaginable! Compared to that, turning us into slaves would simply be a waste of resources, like using gold to build a toilet!
After a period of silence, the chanical Disaster’s reply arrived. The data stream this ti was smoother, less aggressive.
"What you said makes a lot of sense. I agree to your terms."
"Wait!"
At this mont, Heirlan shouted again. He slamd his hand onto the console, startling the communications officer. "For the two sides to form an alliance, that’s fine, but we also have conditions!"
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