Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 272 - Chapter 272 Chapter 272 The Technology of a Level 6

Chapter 272: Chapter 272: The Technology of a Level 6 Civilization Chapter 272: Chapter 272: The Technology of a Level 6 Civilization Zhang Yuan paused, Professor Yamamoto was right. To create a virtual world indistinguishable from reality would require an unimaginably huge amount of work!

The construction of various fundamental rules would test human knowledge in biology, physics, chemistry, and other natural sciences–especially physics, which was almost equivalent to creating a universe!

Professor Yamamoto explained, “…For now, we intend to create a simpler virtual world. Absolute realism is, of course, impossible. Up to now, we still don’t fully understand the real universe, but coming close to it should be possible, and that will require a significant number of people.”

“Alright… I’ll arrange it,” Zhang Yuan pondered for a long while, and reluctantly agreed.

He added, “But you can only experience the world you create using VR devices… I won’t allow the experience of human self-awareness for now.”

Yet, he feared Yamamoto might act recklessly. He spent a good while instructing the other professors before he felt reassured.

The activation authority for the “Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter” was distributed among five professors, and it required all five to be present to activate it for various experiments.

It was highly unlikely that the other four could be completely swayed by Yamamoto; the odds were too low. Even for scientific experiments, human lives couldn’t be risked–such a concept was unacceptable to current civilization.

When he stepped out of the laboratory, Zhang Yuan took a deep breath; he felt excited, yet also burdened and worried…

He increasingly felt that this world was filled with all sorts of mysteries.

Self-awareness could be transferred, becoming an algorithm. Humans could actually transcend their physical forms and become two-dimensional beings.

Human understanding of the universe and life itself was probably less than one percent.

The randomness and unobservability brought about by quantum mechanics left everyone confused. Black Box systems lay right before everyone’s eyes, yet breakthrough points that could be utilized to truly decrypt them were incredibly difficult to find.

He clenched his fists tightly, then gathered his spirits once again.

“But it’s precisely because of these mysteries that the world is fascinating enough, giving people an undying motivation to pursue them!” he thought.

After returning to his office, Zhang Yuan discussed the research progress with Captain Zhao privately.

Captain Zhao frowned. To be honest, the progress of this instrument far surpassed his expectations; he originally thought it would be like a High-dimensional Fragment, leading to nothing…

But the progress was unexpectedly good.

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, “Even with this progress, it’s still just scratching the surface; we haven’t grasped its essence…”

Humans still didn’t know where “self-awareness” originated from, at what stage of growth it emerged, or how to capture it through electromagnetic waves… However, these unknowns didn’t hinder human use. Just like ancient humans, who didn’t know the source of fire but could still use it to smelt metals and cook food.

Zhang Yuan explained, “Based on the current research and development pace… we first need to develop a biological computer based on the neural network system.”

“It’s estimated that in five to six years, we’ll be able to create a basic biological computer capable of sustaining the operation of one person’s self-awareness.”

“In ten years, computing power will increase a hundredfold, accommodating the small world of one hundred to two hundred people; in twenty years, it will increase ten thousandfold, supporting the large world of ten thousand people.”

“I wonder if there’s a Moore’s Law for biological computers… It probably exists, but the limit should be fairly high.”

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Qingfeng showed a deeply concerned expression.

This step forward was too big, so big that humanity might not be able to withstand it!

So much so that currently, the entire research is still in the confidential phase, classified as S-level secret content, and the public is definitely oblivious to it.

Captain Zhao tapped his fingers, “That means, as long as we can develop our own biological computer… we really could perform mass consciousness uploads, achieving significantly longer lifespans. Have we cracked a part of the technology of a Level 6 Civilization?”

“Technology of a Level 6 Civilization… It’s like walking a tightrope where a slight misstep could plunge us into an abyss, and one can never be too careful.”

“Yes, I always fear that we might take the wrong path, embarking on a road of no return,” Zhang Yuan also sighed deeply. “Fortunately, there is still the Golden Sun serving as double insurance for humanity. I wonder how they are doing at Barnard Star…”

But if used properly, it truly could transform humanity!

A single instrument could give rise to a multitude of technological branches.

Firstly, of course, are neutrino scanning and biological computer technologies. Especially the biological computer, due to its extreme difficulty and lower economic value, represents a technical branch that has not been heavily developed on Earth.

The computing speed of a biological computer differs not substantially from that of a photon computer, yet it has its own unique advantages: it has strong resistance to electromagnetic interference, capable of completely eliminating interference between circuits.

Moreover, it has very low energy consumption and does not require cooling.

Most crucially, like a biological entity, it possesses a limited self-repair capability, enabling it to work for extended periods!

This extended period… refers to thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, or even a hundred thousand years, definitely a powerful tool for interstellar voyages!

The core chip of the fully automated universal factory of the Gleize Civilization also utilizes this technology; otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to last tens of thousands of years.

However, biological computers are merely conventional technology for Second-level or Third-level Civilizations.

Earth Civilization also has some branches in this area, but the reason that it hasn’t been heavily developed is that… the economic benefits are really too poor.

If made complex, the yield of quality products would drastically decrease, and from a cost perspective, it simply can’t compete with photon computers. Additionally, as the computing speed is not much different from that of photon computers, this branch was naturally abandoned by Earth people.

What’s the use of lasting a long time? The pace of updates and replacements for computing chips is so rapid, with a new batch replacing the old every few years, the advantage of longevity doesn’t even have a chance to manifest before these chips become obsolete.

Of course, if a new civilization were to research unconcerned with costs, completing initial biological computer models within five to six years would not be an issue.

Second is fostering biometric modifications; if consciousness is uploaded into a computer, matching one computer per person would be equivalent to directly modifying the human brain, the most complex and challenging part of bionics!

That is exactly the leap in bionics that Yamamoto Ichiro dreams of, which could truly be realized!

Third, of course, involves trading with the Gleize Civilization…

The ultimate goal is… to obtain 13 fully automated universal factories from the Glizerians without shedding any blood!

Anyway, these guys lead a drowsy, lifeless existence underground, like walking dead, so it’s better to send them all to a virtual world.

Moreover, research related to the virtual world also requires Glizerians as experimental subjects.

Using humans for experiments is absolutely not allowed, but Glizerians… well, we are all intelligent beings, there should be some commonalities in the process of experimentation.

Don’t talk about cruelty or nonsense like that; a civilization has both a bright side and a dark side, it can’t be all truth, goodness, and beauty. A purely good civilization couldn’t possibly survive in the universe.