Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 377 - 376: Technology is Absolutely Essential

Chapter 377: Chapter 376: Technology is Absolutely Essential

If humans encountered this situation, there were undoubtedly only a few things they could do.

First was to exterminate all the culprits—the World Tree.

A planet is indeed vast, but for the technological level of humans, it was only a matter of some extra effort; wanting to completely eradicate a species was not particularly difficult.

However, such massive plants, as an important link in the ecological chain, could even be described as a pillar-like existence. If completely eradicated, it would undoubtedly lead to a massive biological extinction, with countless animals and insects starving to death.

In this way, the end result seemed no different. Even because of human intervention, the massive biological extinction would occur earlier.

Yamamoto Ichiro explained, "If this happened on Earth, even if there’s a biological mass extinction, as long as humans can survive, this plan could be implemented. But on Riley Star, the Riley people and other life forms are equal; we don’t need to destroy the majority of lives to save the Riley people."

Many in the audience nodded; this argument certainly made sense.

"Unless humans can create a plant that can replace the ’World Tree,’ eliminating one World Tree and then planting a substitute, only then can the ecological balance be assured. However, this project would undoubtedly be much larger in scope."

"Moreover, creating a new plant involves extremely complex content; it’s not something you can just create. This plant must fully replace the functions of the World Tree, including providing a large amount of food and habitats for various species, and so on."

The second method was to cultivate microorganisms that could decompose the "tree heart," addressing the problem at its root.

The molecular formula of this "tree heart" resembled human plastics; using genetic engineering to cultivate corresponding decomposers was not impossible.

But another problem was that introducing a large number of engineered microorganisms would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the native life forms.

Not to mention whether these microorganisms would mutate and whether they would cause native life forms to become diseased or go extinct...

"If these artificially modified life forms reproduce massively in the new environment and decompose the accumulated ’tree heart,’ then oxygen in the atmosphere will be consumed in large amounts, the concentration of carbon dioxide will rise sharply, and the entire ecological environment will still be destroyed."

"For such a long time, there have been no small amounts of carbon elements buried underground... If they are consumed in large amounts, that would be a troublesome matter."

"The above are the difficulties we currently face. Although the life or death of the Riley people and the mass extinction of this planet’s species have little to do with us, it is indeed quite... ah, an interesting issue. It’s very possible that many more civilizations in the universe are experiencing such a slow death."

"So, we plan to go to Riley Star personally for a more detailed scientific survey."

Yamamoto looked at Zhang Yuan with anticipation.

Put simply, this group of people just wanted to go to that planet for an on-site scientific investigation.

Since humans would still be staying here for several more years, not personally going down for a visit would be a bit... frustrating.

"Alright, you guys first write a formal report; this is indeed a big issue... a mass species extinction?" After mulling it over for a while, Zhang Yuan quickly agreed.

These guys always managed to find these very strange issues with quite convincing reasons.

After discussing these issues, everyone left the room with a sense of heaviness as well as excitement.

Since there weren’t any good solutions for the time being, no one would be altruistic enough to worry about the fate of the Riley people millions of years in the future.

After all, the entire extinction event would take millions of years, a period so extended that humans themselves might not even continue to exist in this world.

So in principle, humans wouldn’t make a big fuss and stay here for decades or centuries, nor would they pause their own steps to observe a mass extinction.

However, this extinction event still caused Zhang Yuan a bit of discomfort.

Technology is not omnipotent, yet without technology, one absolutely cannot do.

The universe itself is not a place of true goodness and beauty; supernova explosions, meteor disasters, super volcanic eruptions, and all sorts of similar cataclysms have no idea how many civilizations that were yet to develop have been killed. Even, just a twitch from a constant star triggering an Ice Age could eliminate a civilization.

If the Riley people weren’t so backward, with little to no development over tens of millions of years, they wouldn’t be experiencing such a slow death.

"Even if a biological mass extinction occurs, as long as there is sufficient technological strength, self-preservation is more than enough."

"Even then, they are not aware of it, which is the saddest thing."

Zhang Yuan shook his head and quickly cast aside the matter, focusing on the upgrading and construction of Kunlun Mountain...

A year flew by in a hurry, all the geographical and biological surveys, as well as the trading activities, came temporarily to a halt.

The most popular topics among the public were the religious culture of the Riley Civilization and the impending mass extinction of species that was to last ten million years. Especially the latter, it sparked a great public debate!

A part of the population tried to think of ways to save these species from mass extinction.

There were many posts on forums saying, "The various species on Riley Star need saving, the Riley people need saving. Although we can’t help them here in the long run, at least we must let them know about the slow extinction happening..."

But such talk was useless, for the Riley Civilization which had yet to possess technology, even if they were informed of what was to occur in the future, they could not understand – what are oxygen, carbon dioxide, the carbon cycle? These terms were all Greek to them!

In the end, these well-intentioned individuals could only inform them thus, "The Divine will destroy the world after ten million years."

That was easy enough to understand!

But the Riley people didn’t care, ten million years was just too long, vastly exceeding their lifespans; they would have turned to dust long before then. Who would worry about a disaster so far in the future, even humans themselves wouldn’t be concerned with issues ten million years away...

So, after all the futile efforts, another group of people believed that this was a natural selection process, and why should humans, well-fed and unoccupied, meddle in the affairs of others?

The life of a planet couldn’t possibly be completely eradicated in one cataclysm. In the future, species surely would evolve that could decompose the "World Tree Tree Heart," and with a higher concentration of oxygen and abundant fossil resources, a new explosion of life would occur after the great extinction!

Maybe another new intelligent race would be born on this planet, replacing those Riley people who would never progress.

Such debates certainly filled Kunlun Mountain with vigor. Humans are essentially creatures that take pleasure in judging the fates of other species. Compared to them, the sense of moral and technological superiority filled people with zeal.

Meanwhile, cultural workers, with the information at hand, were trying to faithfully reproduce the natives’ way of life in the Virtual World, thus promoting tourism in the Virtual Space.

Well, there wasn’t much need to worry about addiction prevention in this area. Even Zhang Yuan himself was skeptical that humans would get brainwashed by the religion of the Riley Civilization. If there was indeed such a person, it could only be described as an act of foolishness.

...

On this particular day, a major project in Virtual World No. 12 was completed, and everyone in the office was cheering loudly, celebrating.

"Hahaha, look at this World Tree village, it’s just like a forest inhabited by Elves!" The programmer slapped the table emphatically, extremely satisfied with the achievement.

"How about it, regarding the lifestyle of the Riley Civilization... the chief god Aibekania created the whole world through blazing flames... the Water God nurtured the Riley people, the Fire God... burn, flame! It’s just like an online game. I think we should add some monsters and really turn it into a game mode. Although we can only enter the Virtual Space for 15 days every six months, we can play games on the computer or phone and interact with this world!"

"...In our spare time, we can enter the game for a real experience - such a sense of accomplishment is not to be underestimated!"

The programmer was practically spitting as he spoke, his face flushed with excitement like a red balloon.

Not to mention, this kind of online game related to the Virtual World was currently under discussion. As long as addiction prevention measures were well implemented, there really wasn’t any problem.

One of the young people shouted, "Ah, we can talk about that later, later! My head hurts; I need a break."

"Holiday! Holiday! Holiday!"

"You’re in love, aren’t you, Wu Peng? You look so desperate!"

This young man bade his colleagues goodbye and stealthily ran into a couples’ restaurant where he passionately kissed the girl he loved.

"Is your work done?" the girl asked.

"Yes, just the first phase. There’s a three-day holiday, but I’m planning to save two and take them later for an extended break!" Wu Peng happily ordered an Earth Blue Melon, a fruit with a flavor reminiscent of a blend between watermelon and grapes, albeit with low yield and a slightly expensive price.

"I’ve heard this new Earth Blue Melon is really tasty, a newly cultivated plant. What would you like?"

"It’s so expensive, let’s not order it. We could save some money for a trip to the Virtual World..."

"With the project completed, there’s a hefty bonus!" Wu Peng chuckled. A trip to the Virtual World was hotstuff; although he was a cultural worker for the Virtual World, working in front of the computer was different from truly entering it.

"This planet is undergoing a major biological extinction, and the biologists don’t seem to think of a solution... the biological creatures of this planet are so pitiful."

Wu Peng licked his dry lips, "I heard from a colleague that over there at the biological institute, in the guise of studying the atmosphere, they’ve set up two working groups with over two hundred people participating in the project. The government has also allocated part of the funding."

"But, not many are optimistic about it."