“Governor, the target has been completely cleansed!”
Aboard the disc-shaped spaceship, the elongated creature, having cleansed the civilized planet, turned its head toward the governor behind it, its skin flashing in circles of colors, signaling their communicative organ.
By emitting various frequencies of electromagnetic waves to transmit ssages, they could achieve real-ti communication even in space.
“Excellent, with this star system secured, we need not worry about our reserves of Elent No. 7 anymore.” The governor glowed red, an expression of joy.
Its form was an isosceles triangle, a sharp contrast to the elongated crew mbers, exuding an indescribable authority.
For a civilization that had mastered physical and genetic modification, able to reshape their bodies at will, form was inconsequential.
Its chosen shape was inspired by a reverence for geotric forms, a prevalent ideology among most of the civilization's upper echelons, believing that geotric shapes represented a universal truth to so extent.
However, morphological modifications followed strict guidelines; lower citizens couldn’t adopt complete geotric forms, and elongated shapes were the most common choice.
Triangles, squares, and polygons were reserved for higher citizens...
Above them was the circle, a form only the elders and the highest governors could adopt.
The higher the status, the rounder the shape!
Thus, they were known as the Geotric Civilization!
The significance of Elent No. 7 was self-evident; had it not been for its discovery over a thousand years ago—a peculiar substance capable of influencing space-ti—they would likely still be a struggling Level 4 civilization barely advancing to the stellar stage, and they wouldn't have survived the previous war with the silicon-based lifeforms.
The thought darkened the governor's glow from red to black, a shift to fear and anger.
Those damnable silicon-based monsters, from the neighboring Four-Spiral Galaxy, devoured resources like locusts, endlessly expanding across star systems, converting everything into military forces and warships, sustaining war through war, and accepting no negotiations, now posing a great threat to the Geotric Civilization.
Without Elent No. 7, their ho planet, situated at the border of two star systems, would have likely fallen.
“Governor, we’ve just received a distress signal!” suddenly reported a square-shaped adjutant beside him.
“Can we confirm the location and distance?” The governor stilled his fluctuating emotions, concealing his thoughts, worried about an attack on their ho planet...
“The ssage cos from seventy light-years away, not from our ho planet...” A long appendage extended from the square adjutant’s body, tapping in the void, projecting a complex star map above everyone's heads.
The map was filled with densely packed stars, each pinpointing a star with detailed planetary positions, though nearly half the regions were still shrouded in mist, only marked by their stars, with the specifics within those galaxies unknown.
These areas were either under the control of powerful civilizations, relatively dangerous, or peripheral zones, and the square crew mber pointed to a border area.
The governor’s glow flickered with confusion, for according to their records, they had dispatched no fleets to that area.
“The communication uses an ancient encryption thod, discarded a millennium ago according to our records,” the square adjutant reported.
“Could it be from one of those exploratory fleets?” The governor quickly made the connection.
After achieving a new round of technological breakthroughs, their ho planet had beco one of the most powerful civilizations within observable space, ambitiously beginning an exploration of the entire galaxy to create a comprehensive star map.
They launched seventy fleets, each comprising a flagship and two escorts.
Though few in number, each was equipped with the latest technology of the ti.
Unlike so civilizations that favored quantity over quality, they preferred precision and efficiency, as the elders would say, producing fodder was a waste of resources.
Routine patrols in star regions? Repurposed older ships or civilian vessels retrofitted with weapons sufficed.
However, the exploration was not successful; only half of the fleets returned, significantly dampening the enthusiasm of the expansionists and attracting a formidable enemy that dragged their ho planet into endless war.
Continuous conflict left them little capacity to search for the vanished fleets, forcing them to silently accept their losses and mark these areas as dangerous.
The square adjutant, having accessed the database, naturally considered that the ssage might be from one of the exploratory fleets, quickly broadcasting a reply through electromagnetic waves.
“The ssage we received is intermittent, they seem to have discovered a new, very powerful energy source... it might be comparable to Elent No. 7!”
A source of energy comparable to Elent No. 7? The governor instantly prioritized the information, potentially heralding a new technological breakthrough, perhaps even a key to defeating those silicon-based monsters.
“I think the technology level of the other civilization is inferior to ours; they managed to defeat the exploratory fleet
sent from our ho planet but didn't destroy it completely, otherwise we wouldn't receive this ssage,” the square adjutant suggested.
“No, you missed a crucial detail; this ssage cos from a thousand years ago, at that ti they had the technology to block communications, but now they let it pass, I suspect this might be a trap!” another adjutant argued.
The fleet from a millennium ago, though technologically imperfect, was equipped with quantum communication technology, where delays within the star system were about an atomic fraction.
It made no sense that it was blocked then but could transmit now.
Colorful light waves flashed incessantly within the spaceship, a sign of the escalating debate.
The governor found himself in a dilemma.
This could be a rare opportunity but also a potential trap...
Over the millennium, thanks to the war, the technological progression of the Geotric Civilization was not slow, and their ships underwent several upgrades and replacents, but there had been no real breakthroughs... just improvents and enhancents of existing technologies and weapon systems.
He had heard that so of the ho planet's leading scholars were making headway with warp engine research, crucial for developing faster-than-light spacecraft, but it was still so ti away from actual deploynt.
And because of the war, they had limited resources to spare...
But soon, they wouldn’t have to ponder any longer, as a communication from their ho planet arrived.
The ssage was brief: Proceed to the origin of the signal, assess the situation.
If the civilization that destroyed the exploratory fleet is relatively weak, simply annihilate them, retrieve that special energy, and bring it back.
If their technological level is high, attempt peaceful coexistence, clarifying that their previous deploynt of the exploratory fleet was ant for friendly interaction, just that so misunderstandings occurred.
The governor, without hesitation, chose to execute the order, assessing interaction based on strength and threat level, a standard practice of the Geotric Civilization.
In the vast cosmos, filled with infinite possibilities, no one knows how many types of unknown elents and energies exist, potentially allowing a minor civilization to surpass a major one within a re thousand years,
Like the one they had previously destroyed, which posed no real threat to their ho planet but had discovered vast reserves of Elent No. 7 within its star system, potentially triggering a technological revolution.
Relying on the enemy’s benevolence was undoubtedly foolish; this region could not accommodate two powerful stellar-level civilizations. Instead of a conflict erupting in a thousand years, it was better to act now.
“Where are we in relation to this star system?” The governor’s glow turned to a cold white.
“Near the Xihar Nebula, about two hundred forty atomic hours’ journey (approximately eight light years), and within fifty atomic hours of us, there are two more fleets; we might request reinforcents!” the adjutant answered.
The governor nodded, then issued the command for reinforcents before maneuvering the spaceship to hover over the dazzling red star.
Subsequently, the bottom of the ship opened, four large arms extending from within, distorting the space...
Under the strong gravitational forces, the star’s surface energy was rapidly extracted, forming a massive plasma fire vortex, as fusion energy crazily surged into the spaceship.
Despite the overwhelming victory in the recent war, the energy consud was not insignificant. Fortunately, they were within a star system, able to replenish their energy tily...
The governor quietly waited for the energy reservoirs to fill before leisurely picking a joint-sized orb and placing it into the launch port.
The launch was ‘slow’ this ti, not even reaching a tenth of the speed of light. After a brief flight, the orb dramatically collapsed inward, the surrounding space curling inwards, swiftly forming a temporary wormhole.
The geotric beings aboard entered a hibernation state, and three ships sped out at sub-light speed, plunging into the surging spaceti node.
Reviews
All reviews (0)