Chapter 427: The Consciousness of the Universe

(The content of this chapter is partly nonsense. Those who mind should not read on.)

We can offer a simple definition of consciousness: consciousness relates to the degree of control an object has over itself or its environment.

Then we cannot help but subconsciously ask, given the striking similarity between the cosmic material structure and the neural network of the human brain, is there a connection between them?

In the vast scale of the universe, galaxies and galaxy clusters intertwine to form an intricate cosmic web of fibers, a structure mainly shaped through the interaction of gravity and dark matter, displaying fractal geometric characteristics.

(The image above shows the neural network structure of the human brain, while the image below shows the structure of the cosmic web.)

There is indeed an astonishing resemblance between the geometric characteristics of this structure and the neural networks found in the human brain.

However, to assert that the universe possesses consciousness based solely on this superficial similarity would be completely nonsensical.

The production of consciousness in the brains of intelligent life forms is related, first, to the high degree of interconnectivity between neurons, and second, to the resonance with higher-dimensional conscious entities.

By comparison, the cosmic web structure only visually resembles the human brain; their essences are fundamentally different.

However, at the center of almost every galaxy lies a massive black hole.

The center of a black hole, also known as the singularity, is where all known physical laws fail, and we do not know what happens there.

The Divine Vessel Civilization now has a profound understanding of the high-dimensional world and has already achieved partial ascension into higher dimensions.

Many scholars believe that the singularities of the galaxies' black holes might be entangled and interconnected in the high-dimensional world, possibly even capable of transferring information to one another.

This immense network, composed of trillions of black holes, resembles a vast information processor, a structure that likely could give rise to the consciousness of the universe.

This viewpoint reflects panpsychism.

In the cosmological model of the Trisolaran world, it is also possible to reason in reverse.

If at the black hole singularity all physical laws fail, then it cannot be reduced in dimension by "Three-Dimensional Foil" or "Two-dimensional foil." Technologies such as the two-dimensional foil still employ physical laws, and if all rules fail, reduction in dimensions is naturally impossible.

Then the black hole singularity might still retain information from the idyllic universe period, that is, from an eleven-dimensional universe, and it necessarily remains connected to the high-dimensional world.

Therefore, we simply cannot define the consciousness of the universe based on our own understanding.

*

Of course, many scholars do not accept this point.

Using Occam's razor, it is easy to discard it. Current physics does not require the universe to have consciousness to explain all phenomena outside of the black hole singularities.

Even if the universe truly possesses consciousness, if it cannot control itself or its surroundings, the existence of such consciousness becomes irrelevant.

Moreover, the universe today has become a war-torn wasteland. The struggles between higher civilizations have caused natural laws to be arbitrarily altered, and dimensions have continuously fallen to three or even lower.

If the universe has consciousness, how could it not cherish its own "body"?

If the universe has consciousness, how could it allow intelligent civilizations, these "viruses," to erode it at will?

In the original Three-Body novel, the conversation between Yang Dong and the man with green glasses involved simulating what Earth would look like without life.

A lifeless Earth would be a parched and desolate yellow world, with not even liquid water remaining.

From this, Yang Dong pondered how crowded the universe is. Then, how much has life changed the universe now, and to what extent and depth have these changes gone?

Thus, she felt the despair of this world, which was also a significant factor in her decision to end her life.

Would such a despairing universe, if it had consciousness, not seek to change something?

*

Yet, with the development of science to this day, we cannot view unknowable things so simplistically anymore.

There is an unorthodox view that the rise of consciousness comes with the destruction of the self.

Take the Trisolaran Universe for example; in the early universe, as galaxies began to form, there might have been no black holes at the centers of galaxies, and the universe would have been pure chaos, with little chance of possessing consciousness.

However, as the universe evolved, and intelligent civilizations were born, dimensions were continuously reduced, resulting in the formation of black holes at the centers of galaxies, which may still contain high-dimensional information.

At this moment, the consciousness of the universe would have begun to awaken.

This consciousness could even grow stronger with the escalation of cosmic wars, the more the universe is destroyed, the stronger the consciousness it generates might become.

The consciousness of the universe is also the process of the universe's life, its arrival obscure, and its departure unknown.

Actually, upon careful consideration, the Dark Forest is not a result of intelligent life; it is in fact caused by this very universe.

It is the various rules of this universe, where light speed can easily be reduced and space can be arbitrarily changed… that lead to the precarious survival environment of each civilization.

Under such circumstances, the Dark Forest Theory emerged as an unavoidable reality.

One could even boldly speculate that the early universe was extremely unstable, and a single "cannonball" made by low-level civilizations could have caused spatial distortions.

The universe might not have taken a long time to descend from eleven dimensions to the current three dimensions.

First, the speed of light in high dimensions is much faster than in the current three-dimensional space, meaning that the means of dimension reduction would have spread throughout the universe more quickly. Second, if the dimension reduction process had been lengthy, it would suggest that the reduction occurred progressively, and thus the current three-dimensional universe should not display anisotropy in all directions.

During this process of dimensional reduction and destruction, black holes evolved, and the universe finally developed consciousness.

This view posits that within the singularity of a black hole, some kind of pulsation exists, which should be detectable.

Ordinary people can naturally see that this view has significant contradictions.

The universe developed consciousness in the process of destruction, and the most primal goal of consciousness is survival.

This is undoubtedly saying, because I want to survive, I need to destroy myself.

However, survival and destruction are also the dialectical relationship of consciousness.

How can we clearly define survival and destruction?

In the original work, humanity, in the Great Low Valley, chose survival, but pushed human civilization to the abyss.

Lin Sen, in order to save human civilization, undertook various plans that almost pushed humanity to the brink of destruction, where humanity was reborn from the ashes on the edge of destruction.

Each act of survival by the Divine Vessel Civilization almost placed civilization on the brink of destruction, seeking rebirth.

We cannot clearly see the survival and destruction of the universe either.

One can't help but ask, what is the purpose of the universe? (Homage to Chao Wen Dao)

This topic, at least for the current Divine Vessel Civilization, cannot be answered.

*

The year 800,000 of the Era of the Divine Vessel.

The Exploration Fleet of the Divine Vessel Civilization had arrived near the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and established a research base there, focusing on studying the characteristics of black holes and high-dimensional pulsation.

However, despite 300,000 years having passed, the research of the Divine Vessel Civilization still had not made any breakthroughs. They continuously tried various methods in hopes of detecting information from within the black hole, but each attempt ended in failure.

However, those 300,000 years are relative to the normal flow of time in the outside world.

Inside the black hole research base, the actual flow of time is less than 5 years.

At the edge of the black hole, due to the extremely strong gravity, the structure of space-time is greatly twisted, causing the flow of time to become very slow.

This phenomenon is known as "gravitational time dilation," but those within it do not feel the change in the flow of time; they feel as if only 5 years have passed.

Additionally, the research base is located within the black hole's accretion disk and orbits at nearly the speed of light; otherwise, it would be sucked into the black hole. Even at such high speeds, aside from light, other things seem to move very slowly relative to them.

At this moment,

The Divine Vessel Civilization faces a huge dilemma: the research base is now very close to the black hole, and even at this distance, they are still unable to detect the high-dimensional pulsation of the black hole.

To get any closer would mean that even the most advanced technology of the Divine Vessel Civilization would be unable to resist the black hole's tidal forces.

What's more daunting is that, according to theoretical speculation, to detect the high-dimensional pulsation of the black hole, one must enter the interior of the black hole's event horizon.

However, once inside the black hole's event horizon, there is no possibility of returning.

This is an irreversible process, and an inescapable choice.

To continue the research—if they enter the black hole, even if they succeed, it will be of no use to the Divine Vessel.

If they give up, the greatest secret of the universe is right there; how can they willingly give it up?