Chapter 421: Choosing to Communicate
This scene completely shocked the entire Divine Vessel Civilization; even the law of entropy increase could be changed by the Fungus Civilization. This also seemed to reflect the insignificance and powerlessness of the Divine Vessel Civilization throughout the prolonged years of the universe.
A deep sense of powerlessness and fear spread throughout the entire civilization. Did Divine Vessel really have the power to resist such almost miraculous technology?
Was the fate of the Divine Vessel Civilization now coming to an end?
Yet there was such reluctance, not just a longing for individual life, but also a profound unwillingness and regret for the hundreds of thousands of years of struggle that the entire civilization had undergone.
Reluctant, as these hundreds of thousands of years of arduous struggle and sacrifice were now to be erased without a trace;
Reluctant, as the Divine Vessel Civilization, which had once created countless glorious miracles through countless hardships, now lacked the power to continue its legend, dim and unshining;
Reluctant, in the endless years to come, there would no longer be any trace of the Divine Vessel in this vast universe, unremembered by anyone.
In that moment, everyone seemed to be reflecting on their own lives, with nostalgia and longing for their personal past, as well as endless sorrow for the imminent destruction of the Divine Vessel Civilization.
In these final moments, everyone seemed to feel an unprecedented resonance and connection.
At this time, they no longer pondered why the Wallfacer had no plan this time; they felt peaceful, as if nothing external could disturb them anymore.
They naturally did not notice that a broadcast had been issued from the center of the Wallfacer of the Divine Vessel Civilization.
*
This broadcast traversed dimensions and reached the command hall of the Fungus Civilization.
[To the Fungus Civilization, I send my best wishes, and I apologize for addressing you so informally.
I am a Wallfacer of this civilization, Lin Sen.
The profession of a Wallfacer is a reluctant choice for our civilization, which you have been monitoring for thousands of years, you should understand its significance to our civilization.
You might also have various questions and curiosities, and I hope to discuss them with you.
If you are willing, I would like the following conversation to take place on an encrypted channel.
This is not a plea, but a negotiation, and perhaps you will not regret your choice.
]
This was Lin Sen's personal request for negotiation. Although the Fungus Civilization had never heard the phrase, "villains die talking too much," they understood the principle.
Communication between civilizations was almost impossible, let alone negotiations.
Moreover, in this universe, there was nothing more dangerous than communication.
The Elders of the Fungus Civilization and their advisors also wondered about the purpose of the Divine Vessel Civilization, or rather, Lin Sen's purpose.
Rationally, they were unwilling to pay attention to Lin Sen, but they always had an irresistible impulse to communicate.
Language is the boundary of cognition; from the birth of language began the rapid evolution of civilization. In the latest Civilization Rank, a 0.0 civilization has been defined, which can utilize symbolic communication, where symbols abstract the characteristics of things.
Even in this unknown and dangerous Dark Forest of the universe, communication, as the most fundamental need and impulse of civilization, still exists stubbornly, driving every civilization to touch those seemingly unreachable boundaries.
Lin Sen's broadcast, while seemingly mundane on the surface, also stirred up an impulse to communicate within the Fungus Civilization.
However, this impulse alone was not enough for the Fungus Civilization to easily cross the chasm between civilizations.
The voice of the Elder of the Fungus Civilization echoed in the conference room, with an indisputable firmness.
"The information from the Divine Vessel Civilization intends to engage us in negotiations, but how could there be negotiations between civilizations!
"While we indeed have many questions about them, and the existence of the Wallfacer adds a bit of mystery, but precisely because of this, shouldn't we lean more towards destroying them?
"The more attention something demands, the more it deserves to be eliminated. Don't they understand this simple principle? In this universe, mystery and curiosity are dangerous things."
The Chief of the Wisdom Group was silent for a moment: "Elder, whether mystery and curiosity should be eliminated actually depends on our choice.
"We have simulated the history of the Divine Vessel Civilization numerous times, and each time it has been consistent with our civilization model, except for the period before the Era of the Divine Vessel, the history between Humanity and Trisolaris, which stands out as an anomaly that our model cannot explain.
"Our model has never been wrong. According to the extrapolation, if not for Lin Sen, Human Civilization would have ceased to exist long ago, and even the spark of civilization would have been hard to preserve.
"Even though there were some wise men among humanity who secretly executed an escape plan, their chances of success were extremely low, one in ten thousand at best.
"Even if successful, given the double pursuit from Trisolaris and humanity and the hostile cosmic environment, the probability of survival was even slimmer, perhaps not even one in a million.
"However, the appearance of Lin Sen completely changed this trajectory, and he turned the fate of Human Civilization around single-handedly.
"What's more perplexing is that he seemed to foresee the future, and his actions can't be explained by any model."
"All of this is like a puzzle, and this question might continue to perplex us."
The Elder sighed, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes:
"Do you wish to communicate with him?"
"I understand your curiosity, I have felt such impulses myself, but it is undoubtedly dangerous.
"Once curiosity is ignited, it spreads like wildfire and is hard to control."
The chief of the Wisdom Group firmly said, "But I think this issue is crucial for us.
"We have observed the Divine Vessel Civilization for thousands of years, an idea, continuously growing in my mind.
"We have always treated survival as the first rule of civilization, but this is the root cause of the Dark Forest.
"Perhaps we were wrong! Perhaps it is time for us to take that step, it is a gamble, but it is also our chance.
"Seeing the Trisolaran Civilization, it's like seeing ourselves, they are so similar to us. After cooperating with humanity, they also showed incredible potential, they never fell too far behind humanity.
"Seeing the Mountain Civilization, they think Light Speed stifles them, this universe's Dark Forest stifles them even more. But aren't we also stifled, having survived in this stifled Dark Forest for billions of years!"
Who dares to claim to be more stifled than I...
The Fungus Civilization perhaps was truly mistaken in just observing the Divine Vessel. They polluted the thoughts of all individuals of the Divine Vessel, without realizing that their own thoughts were also being "polluted" by the Divine Vessel.
In the "high-end" overlook, one gains a kind of voyeuristic desire, yet, such peeking is dangerous for oneself as well.
So, when Lin Sen learned that the Fungus Civilization could monitor the Divine Vessel in high dimensions, he had actually begun his counterattack plan.
Who dares to claim to understand "pollution" more than I do...
The genes of the Fungus Civilization seemed to lock out the possibility of taking that step, the Elder still refused:
"We indeed also find it hard to endure such stifling conditions, we also hope to take that step, but we fear the risks that come with communication even more.
"This step remains difficult for us to take, we must be responsible for our entire civilization!"
The chief of the Wisdom Group: "We fear the risks of communication, but refusing to communicate may also be a risk itself.
"Through various models, we suspect that behind him there might indeed be the shadow of a Divine-level Civilization.
"Lin Sen's behavior, it's as if he already knows the future history and believes in it without doubt.
"It could likely be the care of some Divine-level Civilization, allowing him to see that future history envisioned by the Divine-level Civilization."
Divine-level Civilization is their term for a Type 3 Civilization.
The Elder of the Fungus Civilization showed his uncertainty:
"Indeed, there is such a possibility, and if so, they are indeed lucky.
"But if so, shouldn't we be more obliged to eliminate them?"
"No, the Divine-level Civilization chose them, there must be a reason, maybe some qualities they possess are precisely what the Divine-level Civilization values, they might be part of some plan of the Divine-level Civilization.
"This could also be why Lin Sen requested to communicate with us through an encrypted channel."
At this point, the chief of the Wisdom Group couldn't help but sigh with emotion, often saying "This is part of the plan," now it seems, he himself might also have become a part of a bigger plan.
"It's like we have already had some form of contact with a Neural Civilization.
"So, what should we do?" asked the Elder.
"We can try to make contact with Lin Sen, our knowledge about the Divine-level Civilizations is limited, but Lin Sen also cannot fabricate some information to confuse us.
"We should be able to test whether Lin Sen is part of a Divine-level Civilization's plan.
"If they are part of the plan of a Divine-level Civilization, it itself represents their extraordinariness.
"Destroying them might also provoke the wrath of the Divine-level Civilization, indeed they even have a one in a billion chance of becoming a Divine-level Civilization.
"After billions of years of no change, perhaps it's time for us to take a risk.
"Perhaps, this choice might also be our opportunity to break through the Divine-level Civilization."
The Elder of Fungus Civilization: "This is indeed a huge gamble.
"We have always avoided contact with the Divine, yet, the emergence of the Divine Vessel Civilization has inevitably caused us to indirectly come into contact with a Divine-level Civilization.
"Destroying the Divine Vessel, or engaging in communication with the Divine Vessel, neither was originally in our plans.
"However, we now also have to make a choice, hoping that this choice will bring us the opportunity we expect!
"Let's communicate with Lin Sen through the Quantum Thought Space."