Star Empire

"...Is this...a strange substance found in the auxiliary cabin directly connected to the second bridge hall?" Zhai Cahir stared blankly at the opened storage box in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that there was no such clay-like substance on the ship when the Ark set sail, not to mention that it couldn't have been placed on the floor of the corridor. What's more, that corridor had been destroyed by the death tide and the light of crystal energy. ...I can only make a rough contact, but I can't confirm the details." Vidoville said while cleaning the traces of contamination on his body, "What kind of substance is this? Do you have any idea?"

"Yes, there is, but I'm also curious about why it appeared under the combined catalysis of death tide and crystal energy."

Zhai Cahir stretched out his finger and dug out a little bit from the safe: "This... seems to be simple gold, which is directly composed of gold atoms. However, it seems that the number of neutrons is a little wrong, and there is no formation in the middle of these gold muds. Any lattice structure but there is still some degree of metallic bonding between them.??”

"...Didn't it mean that all crystals are produced when crystal energy destructively merges with underlying matter...?" Victorville interrupted the conclusion that the chief control technician in front of him made that sounded so unreasonable, "It's another inexplicable isotope. Forget it, there are mapping links like metallic bonds but no lattice structure? There are a lot of paradoxes in this conclusion."

"Your Majesty, regarding this aspect, my information analysis perspective is quite reliable." Zhai Cahir's irises flashed a little purple light, "Just to discuss the matter, I can confirm that these substances themselves have no other properties that we cannot control now. , but, as for its origin... I only have a vague feeling, but I can’t be sure.”

"Please tell me, no matter what the result is, it must be of reference value."

"The dead tide caused the original alloy-like structure of the bulkhead to collapse and disintegrate, and then after being exposed to crystal energy, the physical structure of these materials recovered to a certain extent, but the significance of this recovery is at the level of order and non-order, and It stopped after recovering to a certain level, or in other words, this was the product of a lack of information and errors... But under the irradiation of such powerful crystal energy... this should not happen."

Zhai Cahir closed the lid and said, "It is similar to the situation where the crystal energy is exhausted after ordinary substances have assigned half of their value to the crystal energy. However, in this case, the basic materials are still intact. Other than that, there is nothing unusual about them. , or in other words, this kind of thing) does not exist that can produce value to us - but its existence seems to indicate that it may have experienced some kind of high-intensity damage, and it seems that the damage is still continuing for a considerable period of time ...As for the extent and details, I can’t tell, after all, these are just some secondary products with weird properties.”

"...It can't be solved, and it can't be used. Even if it stays quietly like this now, I don't know if these substances that can't even be burned by crystal energy will spread." Victorville was a little confused. He sighed helplessly - there were already too many uncontrollable and unknown factors just within the Ark.

"Well Your Majesty, at least it's harmless."

"That's true." Vidoville shrugged helplessly, "At least it didn't return to a ball of plutonium or radium, let alone virtual matter or antimatter."

"Then, please allow me to conduct a little more research on these substances." Zhai Cahir's expression became a little serious, "Although these substances themselves have no effect, after all, they have experienced the combined action of death tide and crystal energy. The material produced has experienced the disappearance and reappearance of its own order, and there may be some regular values ​​in it that we are not aware of yet... I also try to understand the possible reasons for its appearance."

"Of course. In addition, if you need it again, there are enough samples on the floor of the corridor and cabin connected to the second bridge to bury you."

Vidoville waved his hand indifferently to this request, "In addition, Zhai Cahir, I need to remind you that in the next time you should try your best to expand more theoretical knowledge reserves under the situation of information unification. Now it is difficult for us to conduct large-scale experiments, so we can only let theory take the lead... I don't know what will happen to my order, but at least for now, I feel that its remaining value... has not been fully explored."

"I understand, Your Majesty." Zhai Cahir replied.

…

The best way to spend time is to stay the same.

If the duration of repeated things is used as the unit of measurement, and if the fixed events in life run on a daily basis, then time will gradually be abstracted into the passage of days; if the content and feelings of life every week are highly similar, then the time The basic unit will become the week, as will longer practical time units such as the month. However, no matter what the physical fixed unit of time becomes, in the end it will all lead to the same result - the sense of existence of time itself will become weaker and the concept will gradually be lost. .

Although the Star Exile Fleet lost several ships when it came into contact with the fragments of the corrupted world, and the surviving ships also suffered varying degrees of damage and serious depletion of the crystal energy storage crystal inventory, but fortunately the current contact Networks are much more useful than before. Flagships can use their slightly more new technologies to provide certain support for other ships, and these Arks themselves are designed with sufficient redundancy in each system, even if the main ship Systems and partial redundancies have been damaged, but the remaining parts can still maintain the stability of the entire spacecraft.

In this case, for the people living in the Ark, time will gradually lose its meaning. In the same daily life, time will no longer be a concept that exists around them, but the wall of the cabin where they are. And it's just a string of beating numbers displayed in your body enhancement plug-in.

In fact, this situation does not face any ordinary people. The same is true for the soldiers and officers working on various bridges. This situation also exists even in the general control hall of the flagship. In the center of the huge golden dome, there is always The dynamic clock crystal core is still faithfully maintaining its working condition. Under the irradiation of the crystal energy, this huge and strange crystal core releases weak information fluctuations at ultra-high frequencies that exceed most imaging capture capabilities. .

However, for those working under it, it is also transforming into a hanging ornament or ornament. The "last generation individual" of the Star Federation has a very long lifespan. It does not require long-term high-intensity work and is willing to maintain itself. As for the soul, even without the help of crystal energy, they can live for hundreds of millions of years. After the crystal energy soul fusion, the long life and the population that has stopped changing have aggravated people's indifference to the real world.

For existing humans whose souls have been modified and whose authority has been withdrawn, the boring life will not affect their efficiency and the more parts the empire needs from them, but will only add some boredom and boredom.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

September 25, 40 AD, the first bridge of Ark One.

For some of the empire's top officials who have been able to judge the environment purely digitally, within such a period of time, any gradual "subtle changes" will be completely revealed.

"So, do you think the current situation within the fleet is a little abnormal?" Weisrifan looked seriously at the golden light screen in front of him, and the light screen displayed the communication images of Torres and Agnas.

"Yes, Your Majesty, based on the current data and a strange feeling that I have started to have recently, I believe that there is something abnormal inside the ship of the Tenth Ark."

"Let's talk about it in detail."

"Okay, Your Majesty." Torres cleared his throat, "After the last large-scale underlying protocol failed, we have been able to directly monitor the communications and exchanges of everyone on the ship."

"What worries us is that in the current state, the amount of communication and the number of exchanges between the crew members of the entire spacecraft are showing a clear downward trend. Now on the spacecraft, some exchanges and communications are semi-routine Yes, although we have not received an order that must be enforced, in order to ensure safety as much as possible, we still require the crew to implement these regulations as much as possible. These regulations are not troublesome, but now, the number of various types of communications we have recorded has even increased. It has been impossible to reach the communication volume that should be achieved to complete these routine requirements."

"So, the exchanges between people in the Tenth Ark are rapidly decreasing?" Upon hearing this, Weisrifan frowned slightly.

"In fact, if the same situation continues for a long time, the phenomena that are happening now are not abnormal. But judging from the current life span and mental state of the members, the changes in just a few decades should be minimal. But now , let alone data analysis, you can see that those curves are continuously declining from dozens of kilometers away."

"As for the intuitive level." Torres struggled to choose the most appropriate and vivid words, but after a while he still chose to give up: "It cannot be described with rational words. Under perceptual cognition, I have a feeling about the current situation. It felt like the interior of the ship was gradually being enveloped by a dark gloom and indifference, just like the darkening sky before rainfall.”

"Understood." Weisrifan nodded, "Agnasi, what happened to the Sixteenth Ark?"

"A similar situation occurred in the Tenth Ark where Captain Torres was located, but relatively speaking, this problem was much less severe in the Sixteenth Ark, but there were some other situations in the Sixteenth Ark." When reporting the situation, Ah There was obvious tension and uneasiness on Genasi's face: "Some crew members reported that at some point, they noticed that some tiny spots began to slowly appear on their bodies."

"spot??"

"Yes, spots. I checked the biological literature. Judging from the current reports, a very small number of spots began to appear on the skin surface of various parts of their bodies. The cause of these spots is basically melanin. Abnormal secretion and neogenesis or death of healthy cells are both.”

"Based on the current general physical strength, it would require an extreme environment to kill cells, and in such cases, let alone the atomic-level life enhancement and reshaping that has been done before, to reach this level In the past, RNA mutation suppression and self-detection and repair of all genetic materials were enough to solve this type of problem, but now, these old biological problems that have been solved for billions or even tens of billions of years have reappeared... …”

"Do similar situations like this happen often?"

"There are not many at the moment, Your Majesty, but overall, this mutation... shows a relatively slow growth and spread trend."

"Yes, I understand. The flagship side will begin to demonstrate this series of events. You will also continue to monitor these abnormalities and report them immediately if there are further developments." After receiving a positive answer, Weisruifan closed the door. The communication screen in front of you.

"It's really strange." Weisrifan muttered in a low voice.

"Having said that, it's really strange. Why does the atmosphere inside the ship feel a little wrong during this routine inspection?" A teleportation halo lit up behind Weisrifan. The queen looked back and found that the person standing behind her was covered in gold mud. vidoville.

"...Where have you been?"

"Forget it, the cabin to be checked today is more troublesome than last time. Not to mention the last section of the road is extremely long. It's still full of the kind of second-grade gold made by mixing asphalt oil and crystal energy, not to mention those flight monitors. It still always malfunctions and can only be entered by manpower. You don't know, those golden muds that are so fine that they should not be called atomic levels are very difficult to deal with. After I checked, I forcefully teleported them out from inside. Fortunately, The main large guide rails were not seriously damaged, and if I had to go back the same way, I probably would lose my legs.”

"Can't you rely on flying..."

“The ceiling is full of stalactites!”

"...By the way, I also listened to the report you received before. There is a similar situation on the flagship." After teasing, Victorville's expression instantly became serious:

"On the way there, I talked to several ordinary people and crew members I met. Now on the flagship, the atmosphere is gradually turning towards indifference. While they have a certain feeling about this, they are also spreading the word to the outside world. Judging from several people I asked about this impact, they originally planned to report today. However, there is another situation: some people seem extremely entangled and anxious about whether to report or not: in their cognition There seems to be such a logic: if they report it, they will hurt the people around them; if they conceal it, they will violate the laws of the empire. The final result is that they do nothing and just stand there and struggle... …The deviation can be calculated.”

"Mental illness, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorder?!" Weisrifan gasped, "This is the third type of abnormal condition derived from it."

"We need to pay more attention." Vidoville touched his chin and frowned: "The situation is not quite right."