Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 258 - Chapter 258 Chapter 258 The Malicious Intent of the Second

Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Malicious Intent of the Second Civilization Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Malicious Intent of the Second Civilization These two interstellar civilizations were undoubtedly very powerful, and whether they had mastered superluminal travel was not yet clear, but from their actions, they were far stronger than humans.

Because they could accomplish interstellar voyages, interstellar trade!

Deep space travel is no simple matter, after all, humanity still couldn’t freely travel at will.

Spaceships like the Earth Era and the Golden Sun required massive social resources to construct, and usually, trips were one way only, the vessels being scrapped after a single use.

“First, let’s analyze the first interstellar civilization that the Gleize Civilization encountered. The motives of this civilization… likely were benign.”

Zhang Yuan sent a hypothetical image on the screen: “A science survey spaceship passing by this planet discovered this group of lazy natives. You could ignore them, or you could destroy them, since there are many choices… And then on a whim, kindly enlightened them. They even foresaw that the Gleize Civilization would get stuck on the key point of ‘electricity,’ so they gave them a hint ahead of time.”

“I think the motive is quite simple, stemming from an inner sense of joy or pity. Just like when humans encounter ants and feel good, they give them a bit of a cookie. Watching the ants diligently carry the cookie crumbs brings great pleasure.”

Captain Zhao then asked, “But ants are fundamentally different from the Gleize Civilization. No matter how powerful, ants are still zero and can never pose a threat to themselves; whereas the Gleize Civilization is sapient, a qualitative leap from zero to one, with potential to add more zeroes later, possessing countless possibilities. Are there really civilizations so kind-hearted?”

Zhang Yuan responded seriously, “Captain Zhao, the universe, the Milky Way, this vast territory isn’t just a little backwater like Earth. There’s too much empty space, and travel between areas isn’t convenient. There’s simply no need to fight over resources like on Earth.”

“If on Earth humans discovered a sapient monkey, humans would indeed panic, capturing and studying them, even possibly leading to their extinction…”

“But in the universe, sapient life is quite common, with chances perhaps reaching one thousandth or even one percent! If, hypothetically speaking, just the Milky Way alone had 10 million sapient species, you can’t possibly panic to the extent of capturing and killing all sapient life, right?”

“And moving from a primitive era to an interstellar era, then to a more powerful civilization, there are many thresholds to cross. The vast majority of civilizations are mediocre and there’s no need to worry about anything… Maybe some civilizations like to spread the spark of intelligence everywhere?”

This view quickly gained unanimous agreement.

Regardless of the ideological concepts of the first interstellar civilization, they were indeed more likely to be benevolent.

It was really hard to think of any malice they might have.

Next came the behavior analysis of the second interstellar civilization.

This civilization was more complex in its actions, and there was more historical record concerning them.

Zhang Yuan asked, “If the second interstellar civilization knew that giving 13 Universal Factories would lead the Gleize Civilization to the current state of decay, then the most important point… why would they do such a thing? Driven by what motive?”

Captain Zhao shook his head, “It’s likely they didn’t know. No one can predict that thousands of years later, the Gleize Civilization would suddenly decay into drug addiction; such a prediction is simply impossible… Even if our New Civilization History developed for ten thousand years, it couldn’t predict things so precisely.”

However, Li Zhendong stayed silent, deep in thought. Then, he said, “Captain, even without the drugs, the oligarchic politics brought about by the Universal Factory aren’t exactly a good system; oligarchic politics…”

“Or perhaps, the civilization laid traps that weren’t limited to the Happiness Element alone. There may be other hidden traps, and it’s just that the Gleize Civilization happened to be taken down by the Happiness Element. It was actually malice!”

“I don’t see it that way, what right do they have to do such a thing?”

“Or maybe, the first civilization liked to scatter the sparks of wisdom, while the second liked to extinguish them everywhere.”

“Then why go through all that trouble? Why not just destroy them?”

As the people around him erupted into a cacophony of debate, Zhang Yuan waved his hands, “Everyone, let’s not worry about that for now, let’s return to the original transaction.”

“That interstellar merchant, with 13 Universal Factories and some power equipment, bought the Gleize Civilization’s system of mathematics, as well as a large collection of art pieces.”

“Mathematical knowledge, the value of which is hard to determine, Gleize Civilization’s mathematics is indeed more advanced than that of us humans; it might be of great value, or perhaps it’s just mediocre at the universal level… But the artwork, that’s a bit strange, even bizarre.”

Zhang Yuan followed up and said, “If we harbor the most malicious thoughts and try to fathom the mind of this interstellar merchant, we might come to a very strange, even somewhat sinister conclusion…”

“Oh? What conclusion? Let’s hear it,” Captain Zhao said with interest.

Zhang Yuan asked, “What do merchants value the most?”

“Of course, it’s… profit!”

“Do you think, faced with a weak civilization that can be easily exploited, an interstellar merchant would operate at a loss? With the most common sense approach, without sympathy, nor pity.”

“No, absolutely not!”

“So, this interstellar merchant probably made a huge profit from this transaction!”

Just at that moment, another Deputy Captain stood up and said, “Made a huge profit? So that’s why they gave them 13 Universal Factories? In fact, if these things weren’t given, just some basic infrastructure alone, the Glizerians could have developed as well.”

Zhang Yuan nodded and said, “Yes, for the Glizerians, some of the most basic power generating equipment would have been enough. They naturally would’ve developed slowly; after all, what the universe has in abundance is time. What’s the difference between giving them Universal Factories and spoiling a child?”

“But think about it, what could have made them a huge profit? The Glizerians only offered two things, mathematics, and art.”

Mathematical knowledge? Knowledge accumulated over one hundred thousand years, undoubtedly great, filled with ingenious and wonderful ideas.

But even if the Glizerians were very intelligent, they couldn’t possibly be the smartest species in the Milky Way, nor the oldest. Statistically speaking, there are civilizations that are both older and smarter.

“That is to say, mathematical knowledge could simply be… some fluff.”

“…The only thing that could really make money would be the artworks accumulated over time.”

Zhang Yuan displayed a photo on the screen, showing a piece of Glizerian art sculpture.

The inference was so bizarre that many couldn’t comprehend it.

Art is mostly about speculation in price, something hyped up within a civilization, but could it also apply to trade between interstellar civilizations?

Could interstellar civilizations also engage in speculation and play the financial game?

This is reaching for the stars!

Zhang Yuan sighed, extended a finger, and another image appeared on the screen.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the reality is not as you imagine. In the Milky Way, there needs to be only one unusually powerful civilization that likes these things, and that would be enough. Yes just one powerful civilization, only one is needed…”

“That probability is not low!”

“And we can’t always view things from our perspective. We’re just a bunch of paupers, the poorest of the poor, of course, we wouldn’t pursue high-level spiritual enjoyment… Even on Earth, aren’t artworks playthings among the rich? Can the pursuits of the rich and the poor be the same?”

Everyone laughed. Okay, Zhang Yuan had a point. Maybe some interstellar civilization is so idle, having reached their own limits, they started collecting art related to spiritual and cultural aspects throughout the universe… It’s not impossible!