Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 398 - 396 Contact with Humans

Chapter 398: Chapter 396 Contact with Humans

When they saw these alien spaceships, the room suddenly fell silent.

It was sheer terror, as if a chill had descended from the distant horizon, permeating every cell in their bodies... No one in the room spoke, or rather, no one dared to speak.

The noisy honking of airships outside became particularly grating, the "tat tat tat" sounds snapping everyone back to reality.

"...increase the resolution by another tenfold!" The station manager’s voice was filled with both panic and anxiety.

The discussion about aliens had been popular in the observatory for a while, and the Taipu people always believed that the universe was inhabited by aliens, it was just that none had been discovered yet.

But if an alien civilization really descended upon their planet, the Taipu people would likely be no more significant than insects compared to them. The distance between constant stars was measured in light-years—what did that mean to a civilization that couldn’t even launch a satellite!

Now that they had truly arrived, everyone felt a fear similar to the saying "a man who claims to love dragons but quakes in the presence of a real one".

As the resolution adjusted, the images on the screen became clearer, showing ten ships of varying sizes. The largest one was two kilometers long, while the smallest were only about twenty or thirty meters.

From their appearance, it was difficult to discern their functions due to various strange and exotic designs.

O’Brien’s breathing stopped; his brain was working furiously, and his eyes bulged out like those of a dead fish.

"It’s really an alien civilization!"

"But how could such a small fleet cross the interstellar distances of several light-years? Curvature navigation? Or... do they have a mother ship lingering in outer space that we’ve not discovered?"

"Yes, that’s very plausible!"

The situation had grown beyond what a small meteorological observatory could handle. The station manager stood dumbfounded for a few minutes before scrambling out to try and contact the highest authority he could reach...

And they didn’t believe him, thinking he was joking!

"Mr. Mobb, stop kidding around, it’s working hours. I know your observatory needs more funds, but that doesn’t warrant making things up. Aliens, really? Do you think the higher-ups would believe that?"

It wasn’t until the station manager sent a plethora of evidence and then screamed hysterically that the leader realized the seriousness of the situation and reluctantly passed the information up the chain.

Half an hour later...

The country’s highest leader had been informed of the news; not only one observatory had received the signal, but many across the nation!

At first, he too found it hard to believe, but as the evidence mounted, even his advisory council made an urgent call. When he accepted the reality of the situation, he was astonished and nearly passed out.

Aliens?!

It was preposterous!

An alien civilization, appearing unprecedentedly above the planet’s atmosphere, could potentially overturn the global status quo!

It couldn’t be taken too seriously!

Soon, the country’s President and a host of military leaders rushed hurriedly to the meteorological observatory, canceling all their chaotic meetings.

The military’s radar couldn’t possibly scan the spaceships above the atmosphere. And the observatory’s space observation equipment was the city’s best nearby facility. There were better observatories, but they were located in remote mountainous regions, far from immediate reach.

"Is this the best resolution the telescope can achieve?" One of the generals said somewhat dissatisfied, looking at a few photos on the screen.

Astronomer O’Brien offered no consolation, "Your Excellency, General, with a few million dollars, that is the best we can do... This spaceship named Human Civilization is still in motion on a high-altitude orbit above the atmosphere. If it were tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment, we might get a clearer picture."

The general snorted and remained silent. A number of military experts behind him were pointing at the photograph, discussing the potential for these pieces of equipment to be weapons, which might very well include nuclear bombs, and even antimatter missiles. They were exerting every effort to turn the unknown into the known.

But now, even if billions or even hundreds of billions were allocated on the spot, it would be impossible to immediately build a telescope of high specifications.

Meanwhile, the President was talking to his staff. The supreme leader of Ao Country was visibly agitated, both in expression and mannerism.

He keenly understood how powerful an Alien Civilization capable of crossing Constant Stars must be!

"Could it be possible that interstellar technology is actually very simple, and we just haven’t discovered it? No, that’s impossible... Even thinking with one’s backside, one would know it’s impossible..."

This inequality in power instilled a deep sense of fear and helplessness in all the Taipu people. Even if this Human Civilization claims to be well-intentioned, who can know for sure?

In their culture, there were science fiction movies about the disasters brought by an Alien Civilization. Although most of the movies ended with the Taipu people defeating the aliens, reality is reality, and movies are just movies!

"Let’s just talk to them, since there doesn’t seem to be any other special method."

After much discussion, the President finally spoke, "Being able to communicate is always better than no communication. Even if we are at a disadvantage, it’s not a big deal... Perhaps we might gain something from the exchange? Since the other party has not launched a direct attack, it suggests they do not intend to invade us aggressively."

One of the staff explained, "Such an interstellar civilization is unlikely to come here to plunder our population, nor is there a need to forcibly seize the resources of our planet."

"Since the other party has already deciphered our speech, they must have been here for more than a day or two. If we don’t communicate with them, other countries will..."

The President once again signed a paper order, "For now, restrict the news on the internet... Let’s not cause public panic!"

He then questioned a general, "What should we do if a war actually breaks out?"

The general shook his head; they didn’t have weapons that could hit such a spaceship. The technological disparity was simply too great; without the capability to even strike the enemy, how could they hope to triumph?

The President sighed and turned to ask a secretary, "Contact our allies subtly to inquire if they have received related information... If they haven’t, then there’s no need to inform them."

"Understood!" The secretary saluted solemnly, anxiously rushing out of the room but also carrying a sense of strange excitement.

What would happen upon contact with a more technologically advanced Alien Civilization?

Soon after, the Taipu people discussed and wrote a response.

"Respected Human Civilization, greetings."

"I am Levins, the leader of Taipu Star, Ao Country. I send you, on behalf of our entire population of 510 million, our most sincere greetings."

"Our civilization, since the recording of written history, has been through a journey of 22,000 years. There are a total of 1,023 recognized countries of various sizes on our planet, with a total population of 5 billion..."

The response letter briefly introduced the specific situation of the Taipu Civilization.

The information was all easily attainable, and revealing it to the Humans posed no significant issue.

Following this, the letter contained boasts of "our love for peace," "our reverence for justice," and "our passion for equality and freedom." Whether or not these claims were true didn’t really matter; what was important was that the Taipu people believed them to be true.

Or perhaps, every civilization with a sense of morality was accustomed to positioning themselves on the moral high ground, as if it was a way to assert their absolute righteousness.

Then, the letter continued, "...Limited by the harsh Nature, our Taipu Civilization has longed to march into the Universe, but has never developed the relevant aerospace technology... We desire to become part of the Cosmic Civilization and welcome interstellar civilizations from all over the Milky Way to come and communicate."