Star Empire

Under the illumination of absolute death, the survival of life has obviously become the last fantasy.

The remaining Federation did not hesitate to squeeze out all its remaining strength. While building the Void Ark, it also manufactured a huge number of various jump missiles to blow up the "material bridges" that might cause the spread of pollution. At the same time, considering the painful lesson that the information collection network assisted the inexplicable pollution to spread across the entire federation instantly with almost no online speed, while destroying the "material bridge", the "communication bridge" distributed in various depth areas It was also demolished layer by layer.

In order to prevent those weird black and red patterns from using the information network as a springboard for spreading again, all space stations, communication nodes, observation nodes and beacons were also destroyed by the Federation. Whenever a deep area was swept by a vast missile group, the final The federal civilization will also have an additional blind spot.

From the original intention, such a decision was not wrong. According to the analysis results obtained by the remaining chief scientist, this strange pollution has determined that its propagation and harm capabilities are above the memetic level, directly reaching what is currently understood. The most basic level of order in the world - the pure information level, that is, the flow of information can be used as a diffusion carrier to spread wantonly in any form of information dissemination. The Federation's current method of destroying all possible information communication relay nodes can exactly suppress the spread of this pollution.

It has been confirmed that vacuum zero-point energy is a kind of information fluctuation, and its properties are directly inherited from the primordial power created by the creation explosion that opened the world more than 40 billion years ago. This "energy" extracted directly from space can penetrate the curvature of space and achieve "pseudo-superluminal" movement in the macroscopic world in the universe, although the vacuum zero-point energy will have some precursors during the sputtering process. , but for the remaining federal civilization, such "harbingers" can no longer serve as any reminder.

In the vision of everyone in the cosmic base group with the crystal energy vortex as the center, half of the universe was instantly brighter than a supernova. Wherever the eyes could see, pale light swallowed up everything.

…

"Extremely large-scale high-energy impact detected in transit! The level...cannot be estimated! All crystal energy shield generators entered an overload state!" When the light illuminated the entire universe, the AI ​​of all facilities responded immediately, pale gold The light film quickly rose, and the outer shell of the building also lit up with dots of gold. Inside the space facility, all stability maintenance devices have been lifted from restrictions. Relying on timely responses and the "void level priority" of crystal energy, the base group has barely withstood the energy impact that has traveled billions of light years and is already at the end of its strength. ——The previous wave.

"What's going on?" After the death wave composed of white light flow weakened slightly and the communication became stable, Vidoville immediately sent a message to everyone with management authority.

"Zizi... Archon... I am Cavin Riel... Zi... It is suspected that a large-scale zero-point energy erupted, and it is speculated that the space itself has collapsed..." Cavin Riel's communication was the first to receive it, although at present The interference still greatly affects the quality of communication, but this crucial first message also allows Vidoville to reflect what is currently happening.

Before Vidoville could react to this, the emergency message from Calost abruptly broke the calmness of everyone in the space station. In the explosion just now, there were quite a few "clean" areas that had withstood the impact. The unique black-red two-dimensional pattern phenomenon of pollution appeared. This means that a considerable part of the torrent of vacuum zero-point energy that just erupted on the other side of the long warped wall carried a deadly pollution atmosphere!

"How could this happen..." Due to the huge changes in the environment, the Federation has declined directly from a civilized hegemon to a toddler facing an infinitely vast new world. The cruel facts tell this child that everything has changed. When there was nothing he could understand or predict on his way forward, despair began to envelope everything.

"Consul, I am Zi...Zhai Cahir." A third voice sounded in Vidoville's mind, which finally attracted his attention, "The unknown existence we call "pollution" Not only is it contaminating and eroding information, but it is also disintegrating all stable trends in the surrounding information at an extremely fast speed and expanding the destructive effect. Our third missile attack is most likely to directly explode in the absence of this stability. Destroy the space structure!”

"...What is the current damage situation?" Vidoville suddenly felt that his voice was trembling.

"Within the tolerance range, these are not consecutive incidents after all. After the second wave of attacks and the speed of contamination was greatly slowed down, His Excellency Vesrifan ordered to speed up the evacuation of citizens, although this time the contaminated vacuum zero point The scope of the energy explosion has almost reached the boundary of the remaining world barrier, but the power of the crystal energy vortex, our facilities, and the popularization of basic crystal energy environmental survival chips reported not long ago have been completed. These three factors have allowed us to not lose individual resources. But the damage in terms of facilities...only the last deep area remains.”

"It's too late!" Victorville stared anxiously at the holographic screen that still had white noise and snowflakes, "What's the situation with those void arks?"

"It can only be said that the final assembly has been completed, but no comprehensive stability testing has been carried out——"

"Don't worry about so many details!" An urgent voice suddenly sounded, interrupting Zhai Cahir's report, "You have priority to board the ship, and I will immediately arrange for everyone to board the ship! We must evacuate this universe immediately! "

"What?" Hearing such an order, Zhai Kahil was suddenly startled and broke into a cold sweat. "But Sir, the ship that just came off the assembly line has not passed any safety test at all. The communication between the completed and moored arks is in the void. There is also a very serious packet loss problem in the air. What is even more serious is that we currently do not have any means of long-distance stable navigation in the void, so we set sail rashly..."

"The plan can't keep up with the changes, and there's nothing we can do about it." Weisrifan's attitude softened slightly, but his tone was still serious, "Let me ask you first, whether these ships can guarantee long-term operations in the void based on the design goals. Sailing?"

"Okay." Zhai Cahir replied.

"Then board the ship immediately." Weisruifan said decisively, "Just a few days ago, these ships had not completed the final assembly, and the evacuation of citizens and the crystal energy environment life support had not been completed, so the fleet could not leave. , but now, at least these conditions give our civilization hope to continue - hurry! Can't you see it yet? The disaster is already close at hand! If we are any slower, we may die on the launch pad!"

"But...even if the navigation problem is not solved, the communication problem will separate us. The void is not any kind of space. Once we lose contact, we will most likely never be able to contact us again!"

"Share the order field when rushing out of the universe! All ships set off at the same time! Although group escape is high risk, it is better than being wiped out before escaping! Get out first, and then talk about anything else! In addition, gather all the researchers Get up! If it’s not reliable to be dispersed, join a group! Since there are too many things that are still uncertain, let’s try our best to do it in a way that we think is reliable now! Let all researchers get involved, and come back to solve any problems! It’s better to live a little longer than to die in such an ugly way here!”

"This is!"

"Calost, you immediately organize all the troops to board the ship and prepare to evacuate. Don't worry about anything. The faster the better!" After saying that, Vidoville closed the window and looked at Weisrifan on the side.

"I'll make arrangements to board the ship." Weisruifan stepped forward and hugged the military consul, then disappeared into the command hall of the space station.

"Everyone here should retreat immediately and prepare to board the ship!" After the station-wide broadcast, Vidoville quietly looked at the structure diagram of the space station on the panoramic screen. Countless identification signs were arriving from everywhere through transmission. Board the Ark in the outermost ring-shaped external connection area of ​​the space station.

He had just been elected.

In the beginning, he had many plans, and he wanted to lead the Federation forward and make it better.

After the crystal energy vortex appeared, what he wanted was to prevent the federation from being fatally affected.

When a series of paths pointing to the future gradually emerged from the shadows, and the irrationality of many civilizations was finally exposed, what he was thinking about was how to integrate forces to solve the problem.

When facing parliamentary inquiries, he was thinking about how to achieve results as much as possible, and how to make these results accepted by many countries with different ideas and cultures...

…

Suddenly, there was a violent shaking that almost staggered Victorville, and in the panoramic screen, emergency measures to preserve the posture of some areas connected to the center of the main beam in the form of four spokes were activated, and four golden rays of light exploded instantly. , divided the space station into two parts, and a heart-stopping rumble came from deep within the structure. Vidoville knew very well that this was definitely not just the sound made by the huge components deforming - it was very possible. Even the space has begun to distort and vibrate.

At the same time, the panoramic screen suddenly went out. On the pale golden wall, a small piece of black smoke was slowly disappearing. The multi-layer isolation shield had been activated, but it was very dim.

"It has actually spread here..." At the feet of Vidoville, a golden ring of light quickly lit up, taking him away from the empty command room.

============

Ark No. 1, Bridge No. 1.

In the middle and rear of the Ark's hull, at the front of the crystal energy power core and the main crystal storage compartments I and II, the originally angular inner bulkhead gradually curved into a huge dome as it transitioned here.

On the floor corresponding to the center of the dome, a huge sphere held by a concave circular platform in the center and made up of a large number of incomplete golden rings with slightly different thicknesses and diameters is slowly lighting up. This is this The brain, the heart, the absolute center of the spacecraft - the central mathematical rate core.

From the outer edge of the bottom circular platform, there are four crystal rails embedded in the light golden "metal" floor and extending to the connection between the dome and the ground, submerged into the ring-shaped solid console. Since the void spacecraft itself is undergoing huge information changes all the time while sailing in the void, this process has completely exceeded the control limit of the biological brain. Even if all the enhancement plug-ins are filled, the brain cannot meet the minimum requirements for interaction. It is huge. Some operations can only be done by computers.

Like the huge empty space station next to the spacecraft, like the ancient aerospace control center, a large group of operators were waiting in front of the console. The lonely and boring control room that had been silent for billions of years finally became lively again. .

"Every ark has completed self-inspection before setting sail. Except for the fluctuation of the crystal energy information trend promotion speed of the 11th Ark and the slightly slow response speed of some operations of the 16th Ark, there are no problems with the other arks. The two problem arks have been started. The redundant module to coordinate the main system is now stable, and technicians are organizing to screen for main system faults." Before releasing the mathematical rate core of the golden streamer, Kalost made a start to Vidoville and Weisrifan The last report before.

"Order the fleet to set sail."

"learn!"

After the order was given, the conventional thruster unit at the tail end of the spacecraft sprayed out a long stream of golden light, and the locks of the cables connecting the hull and the outer connection ring area of ​​the space station bounced silently, and the spacecraft left the port within a short time. Then they adjusted their posture and formed a small fleet. The fleet began to accelerate and soon pulled out a stream of golden light that was hundreds of light years away. Driven by the jump engine, the fleet quickly approached the circular black gap in the center of the crystal energy vortex, the "void" that connects order and chaos. door".

The huge space station that was the last global operation and management center in the remaining areas of the Star Federation a few hours ago has gradually dimmed, and the golden brilliance is quickly dissipating from its outer shell. In various cabins and corridors, the originally normal operation and maintenance system has basically collapsed.

The faint light emitted by the emergency system was also swallowed up by the black fog that began to spread everywhere. However, the light here has not been completely lost. In the completely paralyzed upper spire command room and the rotunda located on the lower level of the command room, on the metal walls that have lost all their luster, some weird lines are slowly creeping, shining in the dimness. Moving ominous black and red light and shadow.

"The fleet has arrived at the world barrier! Each ship has begun to coordinate the order field to ensure that it is completely consistent with the frequency provided by the flagship!" Under Zhai Cahir's order, some thin golden "light mist" began to gradually appear from near the hulls of each ark. After coming out, the light mist quickly expanded and merged with each other, and finally formed a huge light mask similar to a hemisphere. The light mask slowly attached to the world barrier, causing a wave of almost condensed entities. space ripples.

Behind the Ark fleet, the light and shadow of the remaining stars began to become weird. The celestial bodies seemed to have been reduced to one dimension, and were stretched into long strips in the space that was mixed with blazing white, golden, black and red colors. Long, twisted light path.

"That's not the space distortion caused by pollution and infection, that's the true form of the stars now." Zhai Cahir took all the peripheral observation equipment offline and turned to look at Victorville, "The world is now extremely fragile. Whether it is the fluctuations caused by the contact between our order field and the world barrier, or the mutations of the stars themselves, it means that the universe has been overwhelmed by the combined destruction of that kind of "pollution" and crystal energy. All the information in this universe is aggregated The body is disintegrating.”

Silence enveloped the little lights that were slowly leaving their homes.

No one will know that inside the home, everything that once existed may be destroyed, but before that, an indescribable flood takes the lead in surging down in violent patterns. The pentagonal light spans the universe and history, "melting" everything...

In the silence that followed, Vidoville and Vesrifan turned to the stern of the ship, lowered their heads slightly, and paid their last respects to themselves and the universe that had nurtured this civilization.

"The Fleet General Order Field has been separated from the world barrier again, and the status information sent by each ship in accordance with the agreement has been received again. There is no information loss!"

On the bridges and cabins of each ark, waves of cheers spread back to the flagship along the network, bringing a little warmth and relief to the depressed commanders.

"Huh?" Looking at the void monitoring equipment in front of him, Cavinriel suddenly frowned, "Your Excellency Archon, after the entire fleet order field broke away from the world barrier, the information detection array captured a message transmitted from the void. The outburst…has logical content.”

"What?" This matter quickly attracted the full attention of Vidoville and Vesrifan. "The information captured is confirmed to be logical?"

"It's strange, the information received...the direct form after it is captured by us can be confirmed to have a high degree of logic, and it can even be directly determined to be some kind of text."

"...Could they express their feelings directly?! Immediately after the detection, this message will be projected onto the main screen!"

In full view of all the remaining top officials of the Federation, in the circular control hall, all four holographic projections were lit up, and the golden light flow quickly outlined the slowly rotating large screen. On the screen, such an image was displayed. :

Παρατηρθηκετονπολίτίσμδηπουσπζείμσωτουαποκλείσμοπαγκσμίωνεμποδων

οπολίτίσμδχεταιτηλξησυμφωναπαρατρηση

"It does look like some kind of text." Weisrifan raised his head and stared at the rotating virtual screen, "Can it be deciphered?"

"It can't be cracked." Cavernrel shook his head, saying that there was nothing he could do about it.

"I can't see what information is contained in it..." Zhai Cahir blinked a few times and gently wiped away the tiny blood drops in the corners of his eyes, "If it doesn't contain any content, it means they have already been processed. Strong encryption...immediate information-level encryption."

"Did other ships receive it?" Vidoville asked.

"No." Cavernrel nodded firmly, "As the main ship of the order field, the flagship theoretically has the highest information receiving and sending rights for the entire fleet. This information has been suppressed by us. Other ships The void detection array will not respond."

Looking at the chaotic vision that was becoming indescribable, Vidoville sighed: "Now, our civilization has stepped into this ultimate chaotic ocean where the concept of "darkness" does not even exist. Although I have said it many times, time Limited, but I never thought we would leave our home in this way..."

"Don't be too depressed, at least... we have extended our existence a little longer. Also, Vidoville, do you know today's date, right?"

"Today?" Victorville contacted the perpetual clock nailed to the ceiling. "The last day of the Origin Year 35, 478, 366, 600 years."

"...It is also the first day of the first year of the Exile Era."

"...By the way, Victorville, and everyone here...take a look at these materials." Weisrifan exported some of his memories and sealed them in the memory.

"Sir, is this...?"

"Some of what I saw and heard - accumulated when I finally discussed with "everyone" about boarding the ship. It can be said that many of these contents are very different from what we usually see. They all come from similar objects, but the expression The methods are very different, such as methods and ideas. If we need to get along with them in the future, we should learn from each other. In this way, we can pay attention, pay attention to-"

"Sir, please pay attention to...what?"

"...No, that's the difference anyway, they're not data, no, they're not just data - you have to pay attention."

Weisrifan waved his hand, indicating that he had nothing more to say.

"Strange... there were pink accessories in the federal uniform system..."

"What?"

"...What are you wondering about?" Weisruifan was a little confused, just like before, when he was supposed to be listening to his speech, some people seemed to be waking up from a big dream for some reason. And then, all this itself was forgotten.

…

At this time, the Ark Fleet has stepped into the void, no longer looking at the universe that was once their hometown and is now on the verge of destruction. The footsteps of civilization have entered the void and will never look back.

——The Chronicle of Origins is completed——