Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 593 - 589: 200 Years

Chapter 593: Chapter 589: 200 Years

"So, as for the reform of lifespan, it is necessary. The prevailing idea now is to divide it into two different sections. Ordinary people need to learn in their first lifetime how to manage the negative influences from deep within their genes and to acquire more knowledge, cultivating a firm will. An average lifespan of five to six hundred years should suffice."

Zhang Yuan frowned and said, "And then to experience the various aspects of life..."

"Transcendents, on the other hand, can choose to live longer and make more contributions. In any case, if we can’t develop the technology ourselves, we should just go to the trade market and buy some. Don’t we have 1500 AmiBa Points at our disposal?"

"Essentially, the future’s direction of development is this."

"But I believe that even if everyone were Transcendents, the gap from a Level 5 Civilization would still be vast..."

What exactly is this gap? Everyone present, being Transcendents, couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. Yes, the gap remains, and it is immense. Humans must come to recognize this chasm.

Being Transcendents is not the end but a starting point. A step toward the starting point of this vast chasm.

"From a technological perspective, Fourth-level Civilizations have already begun to touch Space Technology. Curvature Technology is one type of Space Technology, and with each step forward, we don’t know how much time it will take."

"A Level 5 Civilization possesses even more complex Space Technology, such as Artificial Gravity, anti-gravity, Subspace Communication, and subatomic materials, etc. Now we can glimpse some details, yet we do not know how to proceed."

"But the gap in ideological consciousness is even greater..."

Everyone was silent, all too aware of this kind of gap, signifying not a technological disparity — which can be closed through effort — but one of societal levels.

What does it amount to if everyone becomes Transcendent? Can that truly compare to the original driving force behind genetic modification?

Do marathon runners not grow weary as they run? Of course they do! They must constantly overcome physical limits and push past them with strong will, enduring pain with each run...

Similarly, Transcendents also have moments of decline during the second selection. Willpower, no matter how strong, will ultimately erode away with time.

But now, Level 5 Civilizations have essentially ’cheated’ the system; the more they run, the more joyful they become, managing to willingly keep up the pace until death!

There’s simply no comparison.

"So..." Zhang Yuan sighed, "we need to find a truly great goal to imprint in our genes.

"Otherwise, ten thousand years, a million years from now, it still won’t be enough... Don’t overestimate ourselves. We still have to take this step. Not only take it, but also move forward with determination."

The crowd was silently contemplative, and then, gradually coming to a consensus, they nodded in agreement.

...

The anticipated hibernation period soon arrived. The people were divided into 20 batches so that during the 200-year journey, the subjective experience of time would be approximately 10 years.

In fact, hibernation wasn’t necessary; these Mother Ships were fully capable of sustaining a large population’s living conditions for scientific research. Currently, many scientific research projects were still incomplete. These tasks required human researchers to advance.

But one must realize that during superluminal travel, the six Mother Ships were almost completely isolated from each other!

Though there were some faint signals for communication, a faint signal was just that — faint. Gone were the days of connecting to the internet to play games or visiting each other; that was absolutely impossible!

With such minimal interaction over two hundred years, people would inevitably grow estranged. Who knows what troubles could arise?

There might even be a rebellion on one of the Mother Ships, or sudden demands for "freedom and democracy"...

Thus, to unify time and reduce trouble, hibernation had become a necessity.

"Goodbye, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams!"

After bidding farewell to his wife, Zhang Yuan lay down in the hibernation chamber and closed his eyes.

He was no stranger to hibernation, but this time, he seemed to have an extraordinary anticipation for the future...

...

A hundred years later, Zhang Yuan awoke from hibernation to find the entire fleet stationed near a planet, performing routine maintenance.

Some researchers were capturing the natives, these feeble beings that had not developed any scientific thought and resembled the legendary "Little Demons." With wings like bats, they had developed their own language but not writing.

In the presence of humans, such intelligent lifeforms were no different than grasshoppers.

Even the natives themselves captured their kin to trade with humans for food and metal tools; it was that simple.

Humans even taught them some of the most basic knowledge, such as mathematics and writing.

"So we’ve finally left the dense star region, have we?" Zhang Yuan asked a colleague, already accustomed to the spectacle of capture.

Intelligent life is extremely valuable in the universe, especially for biological study and brain research, which rely on these diverse samples to provide more knowledge.

Equipped with Virtual World Technology, sending native beings into it didn’t carry much ethical burden.

The staff member expressed wistfully, "Yes, the collision between two neutron stars swept the surrounding fifty light years. But leaving that area, we will see many more forms of life again."

"We have now traveled 210 light years, and this is the first planet we’ve encountered with intelligent life. Due to the abundance of radioactive elements on this planet, the native organisms have a strong resistance to radiation and mutate very rapidly."

"Everyone wants to capture some organisms for research."

The situation itself was quite intriguing; the planet’s surface was bathed in a blue-green glow, and many of its plants could illuminate the night!

Many people simply took it as an opportunity for a vacation...

Zhang Yuan joined in as well, personally investigating the planet as an extra excursion during the journey.

...

Five years slipped by in an instant, and Zhang Yuan once again entered hibernation...

years later, waking up again, he found that the entire fleet was gradually exiting the superluminal state and was close to reaching the destination.

Tabby Star, that dim Constant Star, seemed almost within reach!

He couldn’t help but exclaim, "Curvature Navigation is really fast!"

In the past, utilizing Cosmic String travel, humans couldn’t reach destinations beyond 400 light years.

As people planned to be active in this trade market for a considerable period, almost all the population woke from hibernation, beginning normal interactions.