Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 380 - 379 Alien Modification Theory

Chapter 380: Chapter 379 Alien Modification Theory

Three months rushed by...

This can undoubtedly be described as the busiest and most fulfilling three months for Wu Peng and Sun Yuting, as they experienced the thrilling sensation of unraveling mysteries bit by bit, which completely immersed them in their research, causing them to forget sleep and meals. Wu Peng’s girlfriend and colleagues also provided immense support, as the cultural atmosphere within Kunlun Mountain has always prioritized exploring mysteries over everything else.

A great secret!

As the investigation deepened, a complete academic paper was finally produced, and it indeed caused a huge sensation in the human society of Kunlun Mountain!

The paper analyzed the birth time of the "World Tree" from biological genetic, geographical, and religious record perspectives.

"...It was about 150,000 years ago that the so-called ’World Tree’ was born in this world!"

"...The reason we believe there’s a certain probability that it was genetically modified by aliens is based on the following reasons," Sun Yuting dressed in formal attire and delivered her research presentation on stage.

As soon as this conclusion was mentioned, a small stir arose among the audience below.

Zhang Yuan also showed an interested expression, wondering what these young people had discovered.

"First, we found the precursor of the ’World Tree,’ a tall tree named HW88987, in geological fossils. Look, here is the fossil of that tree..."

The screen displayed a fossil of a tree, which, due to being buried underground for too long, had turned dark and shiny, somewhat resembling the transformation towards coal.

But it wasn’t actual coal; it had turned into something similar to petrified wood.

This was the first time Sun Yuting spoke in front of so many scholars, and she was a bit nervous at first, but as she spoke about her field of expertise, she quickly became confident.

"...This plant, from a genetic material perspective, is highly similar to the World Tree. It still exists in small amounts in some of the primitive forests of this planet. After field investigations, we found it can grow up to 40 meters high with a diameter of about 10 meters. Although it’s considered a towering tree, it’s far smaller than the volume of the World Tree."

Comparing through photos, their sizes were as different as an eagle is to a chick.

"Moreover, the heart of HW88987 does not contain unique biological materials, nor does it show a corresponding evolutionary trend... hence, there is a significant discontinuity between the two species."

Zhang Yuan stroked his chin. This argument did have some merit. However, there are many organisms with evolutionary discontinuities. For example, there is a step in the evolutionary process from ancient apes to humans that is improbably large.

In fact, only a very few species, due to extraordinary luck, managed to leave a relatively complete fossil record of their evolutionary process. Most biological species will never find their fossilized records.

Therefore, having an evolutionary discontinuity is quite likely due to the lack of fossil evidence, and directly attributing it to alien modifications is insufficient.

Ms. Sun continued to explain: "This HW88987 plant, in comparison to the World Tree, has far too many disadvantages. The World Tree, it can be said, is optimized in every aspect. It can grow much taller, capture more sunlight, resist droughts, and has great life force, also able to resist more viruses... The genetic changes that occurred are just too numerous."

"Between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago, the environment was very stable, and the entire planet had not undergone significant changes. Why would a species suddenly evolve under stable environmental conditions? This does not conform to the rules of species evolution theory."

Evolution usually adheres to the principle of "good enough" rather than the perfectionism of an artist. HW88987 was already a very excellent plant, not likely to become extinct. Why then, did it suddenly evolve to a level that other species could hardly surpass?

Several biologists below showed thoughtful expressions, one of them questioned, "Ms. Sun, what you mentioned, about alien genetic modification, that idea is not impossible, but it still seems a bit abrupt..."

"Analyzing from the perspective of genetics, we have not found overly obvious traces of genetic modification. Could it be because this alien civilization’s biological technology is too advanced for us to detect? Or perhaps, over these tens of thousands of years, through generations of natural reproduction, the genetic modification gradually faded..."

"By the way, have you found the most primitive World Tree fossil specimen and conducted genetic sequencing on it? Or, in religious scriptures, have you found records of contact between the natives and the alien civilization? If there were evidence in this regard..."

"Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence. We have not found suspicious traces at the genetic level in the most primitive World Tree fossil specimens." Sun Yuting shook her head, "There are also complete gaps in historical records. The religious records of the Riley civilization do not contain any information about direct contact with aliens... at least not in the documents we reviewed, or rather, there are some inexplicable and difficult-to-interpret information."

She blushed slightly, although a great deal of effort had already been spent on reviewing information, it was impossible for just a few people in the work group to review all the historical documents of the Riley civilization.

So, there might be some information that was missed...

But the older the data, the less likely it is to have survived, and they have already thoroughly reviewed nearly all available data.

"In the religious records of the Riley civilization, there is information about the World Tree, probably also dating back to before 150,000 years..."

This section of the religious records states:

It was an era full of disasters. Divine beings had not cared for them for a long, long time, the sky no longer brought rain, and a great drought caused a vast number of plants to wither and die.

The Riley people had already developed writing, livestock, agriculture, and gathering during that era, but under the great natural disaster, many tribes still fell into famine.

To escape from the survival predicament, to find more food and water sources, a group of the bravest warriors from the tribes was dispatched, departing from their own territories, stepping into the unknown realm of Nature...

Avoiding the various religious myths, and the stories they encountered along the way, needless to say...

Ultimately, after great difficulties and hardships, the warriors of the Riley civilization finally found a vast forest made up of World Trees!

Since then, the "World Tree" became a part of their religion, known as... "Divine’s Gift!"

"We investigated the area mentioned in the religious stories, a large number of fossil specimens were indeed discovered in that area. Thanks to the fallen trees that took a long time to decompose, they have transformed into a large organic mineral deposit, which the Riley people were unable to utilize. Due to the low oxygen content in the atmosphere, these organic minerals could not be burned."

A new photo appeared on the large screen, showing human geographers inspecting this organic mineral deposit. More than a hundred thousand years were not enough to completely transform the organic materials into coal, but these veins were still very rich in organic materials.

Their main element is the carbon element, from which a large number of industrial chemical products could be refined. Human workers were even preparing to build some small refineries nearby, to refine some chemical products and conduct some chemical experiments.