The scientific research ship built by the Empire is a spacecraft equipped with a complete chanism for extre environnt adaptation and a full set of basic laboratories. It can also be outfitted with special laboratory modules as needed. Its design purpose is to allow those Empire scientists, whose zeal is not much less than that of the Imperial Soldiers, to go to any environnt and carry out any experints they desire. This, of course, includes on-site analysis of the strange objects they collect: often, Empire scientists are too impatient to send these samples back for research and choose to begin their work on the frontlines. The scientific research ship dispatched by Taville is the latest model, and its main onboard lab is a sample analysis center capable of conducting structural and full-property analysis on any material. This center can perform thousands of analytical projects, from physical properties to internal structures and energy spectra. When connected to the Empire’s database, it can even query the sample’s "registration information" worldwide. It can be said that Taville has gone to extres by cramming everything she desired into this ship.
The amusing thing is, when faced with the spindle-shaped unidentified object we found, less than a tenth of the functions described above were useful.
The "Space Shuttle," 5.5 ters long with a jet-black body and red light emanating from its ends, is now quietly floating above the gravity-free platform in the analysis center. Under the influence of the traction field, it is slowly rotating. Several small probes are busily flying around it, using scanning beams or other impressive-sounding thods to inspect its structure bit by bit. Unlike the previous one-kiloter diater crystal sphere, most of this black shuttle’s structure can be directly scanned, though the resulting images remain bewildering. Around the gravity-free platform are busy assistant technicians. These researchers in white robes appear to have fallen into a severe disagreent, forming three to four factions engaged in heated debate, each expressing their own views. With the debate, their factions constantly reorganize: two scientists who shared a viewpoint a second ago may now glare at each other angrily, while two technicians who were just refuting each other might be reaching a consensus. The debate’s points of divergence are not limited to one, with several different views erging for each divergence. These views form no clear system, and rarely do any two assistant technicians remain in the sa "camp" from start to finish. I’ve been listening for half an hour now, and the scientists debate profound topics, while my feeling has shifted from "What are they debating?" to "What are they debating now?"...
"It seems like they won’t finish arguing anyti soon..." My Big Sister, who is as confused as I am, said with a troubled smile, turning her head to look at Taville’s mass projection. As the highest-ranking researcher on site, Taville was not participating in the assistants’ discussion but was furrowing her brow in thought. However, she quickly responded to Big Sister’s words: "Oh, that’s okay. We researchers always argue about experintal projects; ten plans co with any feasible one binned. However, today’s situation is indeed a bit special; we’ve never encountered such a strange thing before."
"I found the thing, so theoretically it’s related to , but I really can’t tell what it is," I said, frowning as I watched the black shuttle slowly rotate above the gravity-free platform. "It spoke two sentences when it was inside the big sphere, but now that the sphere is gone, it’s gone silent too. Do you think I might have broken sothing?"
"No, probably not," Taville shook her head. "This isn’t based on data analysis but is a judgnt made from experience and intuition by the subordinates. This spindle-shaped object is clearly a high-tech man-made product, and the one-kiloter diater crystal sphere shell should be so kind of armor, providing protection for this spindle-shaped core. According to your description, this composite structure first perford so kind of identity verification on you and then notified you in advance about its shell release after confirming your identity. Everything indicates that the process was part of the composite’s predetermined program, including the shell’s breaking, which must have been the result of precise design. Such a high-tech item wouldn’t break from a simple shell removal procedure. As for why we can’t receive information from the black shuttle now, it could be that the core uses a different identity verification thod from the shell, and we simply don’t know what that is yet. Theoretically, it’s like that."
"Black shuttle, huh? That’s a good na, it has a certain artistic beauty to it." Lin Xue said casually.
"Artistic beauty? I’m not aware of any artistic beauty; I nad it that because it’s black and looks like a shuttle," Taville replied candidly, almost causing Miss to choke: "You... never mind, that’s how researchers are."
"Verification thod," I pondered, "it seems it’s still on , as only I seem to have any connection with this thing."
"Yes, theoretically, that’s correct, but I wouldn’t recomnd you attempt a second contact imdiately. Before we understand the black shuttle’s origin and function, rushing you to interact with it poses certain risks, and these risks don’t seem to match any corresponding value."
"But the problem is, the prerequisite to understanding its function is likely passing the verification," I pointed to the black shuttle with my chin, "You all have already tried; the black shuttle has a self-destruct chanism inside. Forcefully damaging the shell or increasing scanning intensity causes the core to generate a sharply increased energy reaction, and it seems that the Empire’s current dismantling technology cannot bypass this poorly-understood self-destruct lock."
Taville refuted my sowhat imprecise statent: "Whether that energy reaction is a self-destruct function is still pending discussion, especially since after we stopped dismantling the shell, the energy reaction dropped back to normal readings. Although this isn’t high-end technology, as a self-destruct device, it’s indeed a thoroughly useless design—like designing a bomb to re-collect all shrapnel after its explosion. Theoretically, that’s the case."
I waved my hand: "Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this. You guys test it first. If you confirm that it doesn’t have any Abyss reaction, I still want to try to communicate with that thing. As long as it’s not the Abyss, it should be fine, right?"
Taville bit her lip, seeming to make a great decision. After noticing that even Sandora beside her didn’t dissuade her, she finally nodded: "Alright, but please don’t interact with that thing until the full scan is complete."
It’s clear that Taville is exceedingly cautious about the "Black Shuttle." This caution partially stems from the "suspected origins" of the Black Shuttle: that thing appeared in the Abyss reaction alert zone after the world managent system issued a false alarm about the Abyss Gate. According to related regulations, such objects are supposed to be temporarily classified as Class A dangerous goods. Another reason is the technical content of the Black Shuttle itself: various indications suggest that the Black Shuttle’s technological level is enough to challenge the Empire or even the Divine Race. Although it’s not yet confird whether this thing can surpass the Empire’s existing technology, just its mode of operation, which leaves even Xyrin Technicians baffled, is enough to indicate its possible technological level. This puts a heavy pressure on Taville, the Imperial Chief Scientist.
I wasn’t the only one who thought of this; even Big Sister could think of these things. She watched the Black Shuttle being subjected to a full scan, frowning: "Taville, what level of technology do you think this thing has? Could the creators be a technological Race as strong as the Empire?"
Taville didn’t shy away from the question; she frankly nodded: "Judging from the material strength and internal energy flow of the Black Shuttle, the Race that made it may not be stronger than the Empire, but is very likely equivalent in strength. The operation chanism and energy it uses are baffling and are a product fundantally different from any existing tech tree. However, after an initial simulation, the mainfra determined that the Empire could use Ghost Energy Technology to produce similar equipnt. This suggests it cos from a creator as advanced as the Empire but not belonging to magic, technology, or divinity."
"That said, it’s impossible for it to belong to the Fallen Apostle." Sandora whispered.
She initially speculated that the Black Shuttle ca from the Fallen Apostle—because that thing might have co out of the Abyss, and as far as we know, the only entities that throw artifacts into the Abyss Domain, apart from the Empire’s "Deep Dive Plan," are the Fallen Apostle’s "Da Ye." Sandora suspected the Black Shuttle was so new probing device created by the Fallen Apostle. Based on its technological content, this guess was considered reasonable. But after Taville’s research, the tech tree used by the Black Shuttle does not belong to any known file in the Empire’s database—it cos from a third party.
"Could there exist such a Super Civilization in the Void, and both the Divine Race and Empire are unaware of it?"
Big Sister asked with a furrowed brow.
Taville was silent for a few seconds, then uncertainly said: "Theoretically, due to the infiniteness of the Void, any hypothesis, once put forward, could possibly exist. But practically, the chances of a fourth civilization existing apart from the two Divine Races and the Empire are basically zero. According to the theory of information projection in the Void and the disturbance model between multiple worlds, any civilization strong enough would generate information influence over the Void range it could reach. The most significant example is due to the presence of the Divine Race, the majority of intelligent species in the Multi-universe evolved into humanoid forms. Moreover, due to the presence of the Xyrin Empire, virtually all civilized worlds within the void quadrants where the Empire has ventured simultaneously generate the concepts of ’mystic’ and ’technology’: even if they can only develop natural science, they would yearn for ’magic’ through fantasy works, and even if their world only has magic, they would envision ’technology.’ This illustrates the Xyrin Empire’s influence at its peak over the Multi-universe. A highly complex mathematical model explains this influence’s ripple effect, but you only need to know the simplified description: the limit of information influence equals the farthest distance the super civilization products can directly reach. This reach could be in the form of physical contact or so non-contact observation thod."
Sandora seed worried that I wouldn’t understand, so she gave a simple example: "Using the Empire as an example: wherever the Leaving World Garden’s scan range extends, our information influence over common worlds can extend too. In our field of vision, all worlds will simultaneously exhibit both ’technology’ and ’mystic’ concepts, even if, until their demise, they can only establish one tech tree."
"Then this Black Shuttle in front of us..." I understood the aning in Taville’s words, "Since it can physically appear before us, logically, information about its creators should have long been radiated into the Divine Race’s territory."
Yelsen imdiately chid in: "The world managent system can monitor similar information disturbances in real ti, and I’m certain that until now, this universe has not undergone top-level information modification—oh, except for the influence coming from your Empire."
In other words, if Taville’s mathematical model is correct, within the scope of common sense, the fourth civilization simply does not exist.
Since the creator of the Black Shuttle has delivered this thing to our doorstep, it effectively establishes a connection with the territory of the Divine Race. If this creator is a civilization as powerful as the Empire, the world managent system would surely detect anomalies on a global scale. If no anomalies are detected, then the creator of the Black Shuttle certainly is not a Super Civilization. It’s just that simple.
However, the structure of the Black Shuttle itself suggests that the technological thods used in its creation are at least on par with the Empire.
"Rember, it might have co through the Abyss," Bingdisi pointed at the gravity-free platform. "Even though it shows no Abyss reaction now, when it appeared, the world managent system of world 123 issued an alarm. Fake alarm? I don’t think so. Perhaps that was a true alarm, the Abyss Gate indeed opened, and then this thing jumped out, only for the Abyss Gate to close imdiately afterwards. That gate was intended to send this thing out."
Would the Abyss Gate close on its own like that? Bingdisi proposed a very novel and worldview-challenging notion. In my recollection, the Abyss Gate has always been malevolent, and apart from when we bombed it, it never closes on its own. But Bingdisi believes that a briefly opened Abyss Gate indeed appeared at the ti—just to deliver the Black Shuttle to world 123—with unclear intentions, even without malice.
Bingdisi saw everyone deep in thought and then tily reminded the second point: "Additionally, you have heard sounds from the Abyss depths before. More than once. Think about the deep dive plan, then rember Chen’s childhood... Chen’s human childhood, the sounds he once heard."
Everyone present who knew these events was awakened by Bingdisi’s words, instantly connecting all the events together as if a lightning bolt had sliced through the dark night sky, my dog eyes were blinded... uh no, I had a sudden realization.
"There’s truly a world at the Abyss bottom..." Taville said in a daze, his voice as if sleepwalking, "Even a Super Civilization, they... are also launching probes, and one has successfully arrived!"
"Just a guess," Bingdisi patted Taville’s shoulder, "That’s the theory, right?"
"A whole new Domain!" Taville suddenly awakened from his dazed state, showing an excited expression: when we felt pressure, the only thing she could think of was the imnsely thrilling research challenge. How should I say this, truly worthy of being an Imperial Scientist, inherently of the berserk type.
I felt dizzy in my head, not even knowing how the topic gradually shifted to whether a Super Civilization exists at the Abyss bottom. But regardless of how unreliable this conjecture seems, it remains a possibility.
During the Old Empire Era, the deep dive plan had heard "sounds" transmitted from the Abyss bottom.
Seventeen years ago, I even had a suspected experience of direct dialogue with the Abyss bottom.
Various signs indicate that the deep Abyss vastly differs from the scenes we see at the surface, showing an extrely calm state in the depths.
The Black Shuttle before us had triggered an alarm in the world managent system upon its appearance, reportedly an Abyss Gate had opened at that ti.
And this Black Shuttle is intricately linked with —again reminding people of that conversation seventeen years ago.
I shook my head vigorously, temporarily setting aside these ssy affairs, and looked at Taville: "Do you believe the creator of the Black Shuttle poses a threat to the Empire?"
"I am rely a Scientist, not a strategist," Taville replied frankly, "but based on the data at hand, I can judge that there is currently no threat from the other party."
"Oh?" Big Sister raised an eyebrow.
"It’s not easy for them to send this probe here," Taville pointed at the Black Shuttle, "This probe uses a one-kiloter diater protective layer for defense, but that protective layer should only be a component of a larger system: it’s used to protect the core, and hence, there would be more accompanying devices outside of it, such as the Abyss Drive Engine, Navigation Device, Outer Shield Generator, or other equipnt that enables it to move from the Abyss bottom to the surface, regardless of the principles and functionalities of these devices, they should exist. However, we didn’t see these devices."
"So, they were probably destroyed during the ’surfacing’ process, right?" Sandora nodded, "That’s correct, a complete probe cannot rely consist of the core and core protective shell, there should have been sothing outside that large sphere, but due to staying in the Abyss for so long, it was already destroyed. Ah Jun, you also ntioned what the sphere told you, its system was offline, aning it can’t establish contact with its origin... Various signs indicate that the probe we see in front of us is also an imperfect experintal product. Therefore, even if there is a Super Civilization deep within the Abyss, they are not stronger than the Empire, and furthermore, can’t co out from the Abyss."
Taville showed an approving expression and simultaneously added: "During the Old Empire Era, deep-diving ships once almost reached the ’depth’ near the Calm Zone, but manned deep-diving ships had no final core capable of ejecting, thus ultimately stopping before the Calm Zone, whereas, this probe seems to have absorbed the experience of the Old Empire’s deep-diving ships, being unmanned, and possibly abandoning all its peripheral equipnt to let this core reach our world... The feeling it gives..."
"Seems like an experint conducted cooperatively by both parties?" Big Sister remarked casually.
Suddenly, two words flashed like lightning through my mind:
Bridge Building! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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