“Can the Filament civilization restrain its desire for the unknown?”

  “I believe not; even I can’t control my own curiosity.”

  “The outer gods offer a glimpse into the universe's true nature; this glimpse is incredibly alluring to a Type 2 civilization; it's like a voluptuous woman, irresistible.”

  Luna's body tensed and relaxed, relaxed and tensed.

  She was battling her own consciousness, wanting to know what the Filament civilization discovered.

  She spoke, yet couldn't imagine what the Filament civilization had found, what they had seen.

  Anticipation!

  Like a child awaiting a birthday present, the anticipation is overwhelming, distracting; countless possibilities fill your mind.

  But reason prevailed.

  “Deploy the second fleet; we need to investigate the Filament civilization's actions.”

  Achieving this was difficult.

  Luna realized the premise for all this stemmed from a comment made during the previous meeting: the Filament civilization's lifeforms were primitive.

  This "primitive" didn't refer to their intelligence but the form of their life.

  21st-century humanity increasingly pursued perfection; a Type 2 civilization, capable of altering its own form, would react how to a perfect object?

  “Self-improvement.”

  The second fleet, unlike the first, included standard warships and cloned human lifeforms.

  The outcome was unsurprising.

  Luna didn't even wait; soon after the second fleet's departure, she launched a third—purely machine-controlled.

  But the third fleet reported that its machines had malfunctioned due to an unknown cause.

  Machines weren't subject to the same biological vulnerabilities.

  The outer gods were vessels containing everything; this “everything” was absolute, without additional interpretation.

  Even machines were affected.

  Luna hadn't considered the possibility of the outer gods targeting machines; the Filament civilization's ability to do so meant they were further down the path of becoming outer gods.

  “I predict,”

  “The Filament civilization will fragment.”

  “Then, we ignore them; we don’t observe, we don’t interpret; if they attack, we respond.”

  Luna halted all fleet operations, focusing on developing the star systems.

  Warfare is like this: prolonged direct conflict can be futile; a well-crafted plan can change everything.

  Luna felt the Genesis Project had fulfilled its purpose.

  But she wouldn't ignore them completely.

  Therefore, she initiated the 【Deep Space Exploration Project】.

  This plan focused on strengthening the connection between star systems within a sector, primarily using Tachyon communication technology.

  Luna would construct 100 Tachyon communication devices in the ten most important star systems of the Tau Ceti sector.

  This would consume significant energy, but allow these star systems to share more information.

  Current Tachyon technology has limited transmission capacity; it can't even transmit large images; each transmission might only contain a few hundred characters.

  Even conversations required computers to decode hundreds of codes; real-time voice transmission wasn't possible.

  Much improvement is needed.

  Luna's ultimate goal was to achieve high-bandwidth video communication and reduce Tachyon energy consumption tenfold.

  Then, true interstellar communication would become possible; star systems would become a single entity.

  Currently, Luna could only build more Star Cities in space, using these non-star-dependent cities to connect star systems.

  Luna called this plan the 【Star City Project】.

  Creating a large metropolis in space—relatively sparse initially—would allow for expansion.

  The 【Star City Project’s】 core wasn't convenience but centralization.

  Centralization protects the Federation's population, reduces wealth disparity, and simplifies governance.

  Previously, distributing citizens evenly across star systems required numerous Boundary Gods for administration.

  Centralization allows one Boundary God to manage what previously required ten, saving resources.

  What about the other star systems?

  Luna planned to use the remaining star systems as energy sources; these systems would house only fuel-gathering facilities, with minimal or no permanent residents.

  To ensure the safety of these energy-producing star systems, Luna would transform them into military bases.

  This would create a clearer functional division.

  Like a company, each team would have distinct responsibilities, not overlapping roles.

  This centralization would lessen the impact of star system loss, preventing the deaths of hundreds of millions of citizens.

  However, there were drawbacks. The vast distances of space meant limited expansion beyond the immediate sector.

  This plan was feasible, but the results were uncertain; Luna only planned to implement it in the Tau Ceti sector.

  A thousand years passed. The Filament civilization remained inactive; per Luna's orders, the Federation deployed no ships to investigate.

  While the Federation remained largely stable, conflict erupted in the Olive Branch civilization's Tilted Station and other Stations, a large-scale civil war.

  This was more critical to the Federation than the Filament civilization.

  Chu's success or failure would determine the Federation's fate.

  If Chu succeeded, the Federation would become the absolute ruler of this sector—not one of many rulers—as the Olive Branch civilization would become part of the Federation.

  ...

  The Olive Branch civilization's civil war actually began long before the Genesis Project.

  Luna and Ayla hadn't initially paid attention; Chu had kept this information to himself.

  The Federation hadn't initially verified the existence of the other Stations Chu mentioned; their assumptions were based solely on Chu's subsequent actions.

  Ayla considered the possibility that Chu's other Stations were fabricated, like the "Holy Grail Project."

  But this was unlikely.

  The Federation needed the Holy Grail Project to buy time; why would Chu create a similar project? To give the Federation time to grow stronger?

  That would be self-sabotage.

  There might have been other, undisclosed reasons, so Ayla remained vigilant towards Tilted Station. Only when the war broke out did Ayla confirm Tilted Station was merely part of the Olive Branch civilization.

  The war wasn't a sudden eruption.

  Post-war data revealed that other Stations noticed anomalies in Tilted Station 2000 years before the war, primarily due to the Federation's frequent, unconcealed activities in Tilted Station's vicinity. This curiosity prompted investigation.

  The results confirmed their suspicions.

  Tilted Station had become something different in their eyes.

  Even the Olive Branch civilization's most important thing, Gas Victory, Tilted Station, has abandoned.

  After deliberation, the second great leader issued a decree to reclaim Tilted Station and strip Chu of his authority.

  If Tilted Station had remained unchanged, the second great leader could have simply revoked Chu's authority. But the situation required war.

  Before the war, attempts were made to negotiate a peaceful resolution; they tried persuading Chu to restore Tilted Station and return its citizens to Gas Victory.

  Chu refused.

  After several failed attempts, both sides prepared for war.

  The war began with a decisive strike.

  Tilted Station experienced a massive power outage, giving the Federation citizens a clue. Ayla then dispatched specialists who confirmed the Olive Branch civilization's civil war.

  The power outage was caused by another Station using a super-gravity weapon against the Tilted Station's star system.

  Ayla had already largely understood the super-gravity weapon: it used wormholes to connect two regions of space, causing the immense gravitational pull of the stars to interfere with each other, destabilizing them, leading to collapse.

  This gravitational influence was reciprocal; Tilted Station's technology was affected by the opposing gravitational pull, risking its own star system's collapse.

  The greatest loss, therefore, was energy.

  Tilted Station had accumulated vast energy reserves from the Federation over the years; this allowed it to withstand the attack.

  Reports indicated 28 attacks, aiming for Tilted Station's complete destruction; it was a fight to the death from the outset.

  Chu began the complete evacuation of Federation citizens from Tilted Station.

  As Luna had predicted, Tilted Station was a giant warship, and it had become exactly that.

  However, its form differed drastically from Luna's understanding or the Federation's conventional understanding of a warship.

  After activating, Tilted Station gradually enveloped its star, completely obscuring it, then shrinking into a massive sphere approximately 170,000 kilometers in diameter.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Only red dwarfs are typically this small.

  But Tilted Station had previously enveloped a yellow dwarf star, similar in size to the Sun.

  Tilted Station had compressed this star.

  Tilted Station then transformed into a cylindrical shape on the star's surface. Numerous 10,000-kilometer-long spires appeared on its surface; these spires were long-range weapons, continuously emitting lasers in a single direction.

  The energy emitted wasn't high-energy lasers; they were more accurately described as beams of electrons; electron collisions created photons, making them appear as lasers. The emitted electrons served as the weapon's delivery mechanism.

  Ayla couldn't analyze this weapon's function, lacking previous encounters.

  This long-range warfare was uninteresting to observe; you only saw the results, not the process, and even the results were one-sided.

  Ayla only observed, then began transferring massive amounts of energy along the Silk Road, storing it in pre-prepared containers. She then contacted Chu with a price.

  The war's outcome was significant; what about the process?

  It wasn't as uneventful.

  Tilted Station's energy reserves couldn't match those of the combined Olive Branch civilization Stations.

  So, Ayla began selling large quantities of energy.

  Logically, the Federation shouldn't possess such vast energy reserves, given the technological gap between the two civilizations.

  But Ayla could destroy stars!

  One star wasn't enough? Ten? A hundred? Ayla had destroyed numerous stars; the hydrogen and helium from many detonated stars remained uncollected.

  This energy flowed towards Tilted Station.

  The Olive Branch civilization's energy reserves were tens of times greater than the Federation's, not just Tilted Station alone.

  In reality, excluding technological advantages, Tilted Station's energy reserves were only about three times greater than the Federation's; the Federation was rapidly advancing.

  Furthermore, the Four Emperors Alliance and Ink Flower Covenant star nations, besides Ouro, used Federation technology for resource extraction and trade. The Federation, if fully committed, could easily supply at least two-fifths of Tilted Station's energy needs.

  Not excessive, but certainly not insufficient.

  When Tilted Station lacked fuel, Ayla seized the opportunity.

  She demanded Tilted Station provide super-gravity weapon technology, less like a business negotiation and more like a lion demanding tribute.

  Chu wasn't foolish and rejected this excessive demand.

  After negotiations, a compromise was reached: 【Consciousness Transfer Technology】.

  The Federation had long researched this, learning from the gene pool 【Real-Form Cloning】; the 【Supreme Being】 gene pool utilized this technology; the Federation could now transfer consciousness.

  However, this technology had limitations.

  The Federation was still researching how to ensure that the transferred consciousness remained the same within a machine.

  The Filament civilization already possessed this technology—transferring biological information into machine-readable data, a reversible process. Theoretically, you could leave a computer, inhabit a clone, and return to real life.

  This technology would change Federation policy.

  The Federation limited lifespans to prevent societal stagnation and discourage reproduction.

  This was crucial and couldn't be abandoned. But imposing a lifespan on a vast population would be difficult.

  How could this be solved?

  Allowing citizens to continue existing in a virtual world after physical death might be a solution.

  This plan had already been formulated; it had a grim name: the 【Underworld Project】 or the 【Hell Project】—creating a virtual underworld for citizens to experience reincarnation.

  For example, upon reaching the end of your lifespan, you could enter the virtual world; a lifespan would be assigned within this virtual world, perhaps 1000 years. After 1000 years, you would "die" again—not cease to exist but have your memories erased and transferred into a new clone to continue living.

  This effectively divides a lifespan into three stages, extending the lifespan.

  This could coexist with allowing citizens to move to star nations without lifespan restrictions.

  Why not simply achieve virtual immortality?

  Ayla and Luna discussed this. First, the issue of jobs; the Federation couldn't create enough positions. Second, immortality would mean constant resource consumption, a previously discussed problem.

  Resource consumption is the same whether you live in reality or a simulation.

  Second, most beings don't inherently desire immortality. Before achieving it, many yearn for it; after achieving it, many regret it.

  Other star nations provide an example.

  Those without lifespan limits didn't experience population booms; the leading cause of death shifted from natural causes to suicide.

  Millions commit suicide in these star nations every second.

  Life often involves monotonous repetition; longer lifespans don't guarantee different experiences. Repetitive life becomes tedious and painful, not enjoyable.

  Imagine achieving immortality in the 21st century. It wouldn't bring wealth because everyone is immortal; you're not special.

  You’d experience the same routine: wake up, eat breakfast, work, lunch, work, go home, use your computer, sleep. With unlimited life, companies might disregard your time; you could work year-round without vacation; your salary might not increase. Would anyone want this kind of immortality?

  No one will simply give you money to enjoy life; with longer lifespans, the value of life decreases; you might become less valuable than a commodity.

  This is the danger.

  Most people desire carefree immortality; in reality, immortality brings more limitations, making life more mechanical.

  In ancient times, immortality meant a carefree existence; you could live without working.

  But in a technologically advanced society, you can't live without working. Lack of money for basic necessities—internet, for example—could make immortality miserable; imagine facing a blank wall for a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years.

  In the Federation, a month's work can sustain you for a lifetime. Removing lifespan limits removes this benefit.

  Ayla and Luna still planned to limit lifespans, but with some flexibility; virtual immortality would be possible in the simulated world, but only if you work.

  Theoretically, immortality requires a price.

  In the simulated world, work earns time; eight hours of work earns twenty, or more. When time runs out, you "die" and enter the third stage.

  This work creates entertainment value in the simulation; the potential for this type of work is virtually unlimited.

  For example, I place a fictional character into a virtual wuxia world; you play a martial arts villain. As a living being, your cost is lower than a computer-generated character; this cost can be offset by granting you additional time.

  Therefore, while 【Consciousness Transfer Technology】 doesn't directly enhance the Federation's military power,

  It improves its societal structure, making it more suited to its technological level. Societal advancement accelerates the Federation's overall progress.

  This makes the technology highly beneficial to the Federation.

  Of course, the war with Tilted Station and other Stations consumed significant resources; this wouldn't be a one-time transaction.

  A war brings immense profit.

  The Federation planned to reap these rewards; Ayla also aimed to use this war to propel the Federation to Type 2.4 civilization.

  ...

  What weapons did the Olive Branch civilization possess?

  Besides the super-gravity weapon, the Federation knew little about the Olive Branch civilization.

  Therefore, Tilted Station's disappearance 181 years after the war began was alarming.

  “I swear this is true. I was observing Tilted Station, which was enveloping its star, from less than 1.2 light-years away. But then, in the time it took me to pour a cup of tea, Tilted Station, along with its star, vanished.”

  This was the observer's account.

  He was terrified.

  A colossal object vanished from space as if erased.

  Advanced civilizations can conceal their existence, like the 【Barrier】; this isn't unusual. But did the Filament civilization need to do this?

  Its coordinates were known; unless it could move the star itself over a vast distance, which is impractical. Moving a star is far more difficult than moving a planet.

  Planets are primarily rocky; moving a gas giant requires accessing its core.

  The same applies to stars; accessing a star's core means confronting millions of degrees Celsius.

  Even for a Type 2 civilization, creating a material that can withstand such temperatures is nearly impossible, let alone operating within it, considering the nuclear fusion reactions occurring in the core and the immense energy released.

  The Federation's stellar installations are currently situated on the star's outer layers.

  Moving a star requires immense gravitational force, enough to deplete Tilted Station's energy reserves, possibly even insufficient.

  To move a stopped car, you need to provide fuel or electricity; stopping the energy supply stops the car.

  The same applies to stars; you must continuously alter its momentum; otherwise, it reverts to its original state, unlike a spaceship which, once initiated, maintains a constant speed due to the lack of friction. The underlying logic differs.

  So, where did Tilted Station go?

  Gravitational scans indicated Tilted Station remained in place.

  Why did it conceal itself?

  Observations revealed that Tilted Station didn't conceal itself; it was a weapon.

  Energy scans showed a thin layer of energy enveloping Tilted Station, like a piece of gauze on a chopstick, constantly being blown by a fan.

  This "gauze" wasn't actual gauze but a layer of energy flow.

  This energy flow distorted surrounding photons, creating a chaotic region, distorting light, and making Tilted Station seemingly vanish.

  The changes within Tilted Station under this energy flow remained unknown.

  This was clearly an unknown weapon, suppressing Tilted Station, a purely energetic suppression preventing movement.

  Given the intensity of this suppression, the Federation suspected parts of Tilted Station had been destroyed.

  Ayla then deployed more advanced scanning equipment; the situation was more complex than initially thought.

  Scholars studying the energy layer up close discovered that the energy wasn't as high as expected; its high-energy signature was due to other factors within the energy field, slowing the energy to 0.24% slower than light speed.

  What were these additional factors?

  The research was halted.

  All scanning devices lost contact upon closer investigation, including the scholars.

  The conflict with the Filament civilization had temporarily ceased; Luna could focus on this. She couldn't observe the site personally, but she knew a quantum physics expert traveling along the Silk Road.

  Luna recommended him to Ayla, hoping for a second investigation.

  She suspected Tilted Station had been defeated.

  A civilization's greatest weakness is often itself; the Olive Branch civilization likely knew how to target Tilted Station; some aspects might even be unknown to Chu.

  After all, a leader doesn't need extensive knowledge; Chu's capabilities were likely limited; the Olive Branch leadership may have deliberately concealed information to prevent internal conflict.

  There were many possibilities.

  Tilted Station had been inactive for 30 years, with no communication, under this energy bombardment.

  Luna believed Tilted Station was nearing defeat.

  Without intervention, the Federation's plans for the next tens of thousands of years would collapse.

  ...

  The recommended scholar was named Doc.

  This wasn't a nickname but his actual name; Doc was human.

  He had a typical East Asian appearance, thin, with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones; he sported long, slightly unkempt curly hair, giving an unrefined impression.

  It was hard to associate him with a positive image.

  But he was a renowned practical scholar in the Federation.

  Scholars were divided into practical and theoretical. Practical scholars researched applicable theories and implemented them; theoretical scholars were often mathematical experts, using various tools to derive conclusions.

  Doc readily accepted Ayla's offer.

  He was drinking, watching a primal, erotic film, and engaging in self-gratification—at odds with his aloof demeanor, but he didn't care.

  He was also a painter, known for his erotic works, a fact that drew criticism.

  “Enough money, and anything is possible,” was his response.

  He then traveled 38 light-years by ship, and encountered the weapon.

  His first words were: “It's not an energy weapon, but a thought weapon. I saw countless independent consciousnesses screaming; it was terrifying, yet beautiful.”

  This was unbelievable; the weapon's energy levels were immense.

  Yet, Doc believed it was a mental weapon.

  This made sense, considering the Olive Branch civilization's vulnerability to mental attacks; their bodies were composed of an unknown material with incredible strength.

  The Federation had studied this material but without success; it wasn't natural, clearly created by the Olive Branch civilization.

  Doc then conducted an experiment, sending an AI-controlled ship into the energy field. The field gently struck the ship, instantly disabling it; its hull was undamaged, but it was deactivated.

  An hour later, they observed the ship; this was a chance to refute Doc's theory. The ship fired upon them, but lacking powerful weapons, caused no damage.

  The ship then flew towards the energy field's core—Tilted Station—clearly controlled.

  “Perhaps your preconceived notions blind you.”

  “Weapons could be pure information flows; what if this information flow is itself a lifeform?”

  Doc's frantic declaration stunned Federation officials and scholars along the Silk Road.

  Could a human brain conceive of this?

  A weapon that is also a lifeform?

  No one could refute this conclusion; no one knew what it was. Doc's conclusion, however outlandish, was at least a conclusion; they had none.

  Doc then stated: “Whether you believe my judgment is irrelevant; I’ll proceed with the experiment.”

  “You must understand that this weapon can control warships, meaning it can control Olive Branch lifeforms; they are mechanical beings, possessing emotions, but still mechanical.”

  “I prefer to call this a systemic weapon. You understand machinery; sometimes, systemic errors cause malfunctions.”

  “The Olive Branch civilization's weapons are similar, even more advanced. Yes, 'systemic' implies a standard; 'overwrite' is more accurate.”

  “Erase the original system, install a new one; familiar, isn't it?”

  Doc chuckled, sending shivers down the spines of the Federation officials and scholars.

  If Tilted Station had been successfully overwritten, they would face its threat again.

  Although the Federation was stronger, a power gap remained. The war with the Filament civilization was unresolved; if Tilted Station joined them, the Federation would face a similar predicament.

  “How do we determine the weapon's function and counter it?” an official asked.

  This was the immediate concern.

  Doc pondered. “The simplest method is for someone here to experience its power firsthand.”

  This caused tension among the officials and scholars.

  But he hadn't finished.

  “And among us, I'm the most suitable.”

  “I'll go.”

  ???

  Incredulous stares met him; they searched his face for a sign of jest, but found none.

  “You’ve considered this: if Tilted Station falls, the Federation might collapse; even if we survive, the casualties could reach trillions.”

  “Compared to that, sacrificing a mid-ranking scholar is insignificant.”

  He spoke casually, even smiling.

  But the other officials and scholars felt ashamed.

  Even in the long-established Federation, few were willing to sacrifice themselves, especially high-ranking officials and scholars who valued their long futures.

  They never considered sacrifice, hoping that soldiers and ordinary citizens would make the sacrifices; even large numbers would be acceptable.

  They believed themselves highly valuable and shouldn't die needlessly.

  Doc disagreed, making him an outlier; he pursued his research along the Silk Road.

  Doc was a man of action.

  A year later, he contacted the energy field.

  For safety, he prepared equipment to constantly stimulate his consciousness, maintaining alertness. He also removed his augmented brain and internal quark robots to prevent mind control.

  He also trained his psionic abilities; he was a Level 4 psionic master, giving him an edge in this mental battle.

  Only a small edge, however.

  If the weapon was a massive collective consciousness, even a powerful individual consciousness would be insignificant.

  Doc chose the energy field's edge as his entry point.

  He activated his gene pool, not using a ship but traveling directly.

  His gene pool resembled a black-armored coconut crab larva with two heads, a protein-rich insect. This gene pool was called 【Hibernator】; it possessed powerful hypnotic capabilities.

  Doc reached his destination and plunged in.

  Instantly, a terrifying wave of consciousness assaulted his mind, crushing his consciousness, seizing control of his body, forcing him towards Tilted Station.

  Doc had a backup plan; his equipment was set to activate automatically, not manually.

  Ten seconds later, the equipment activated, briefly breaking the mind control; he tried to escape, but underestimated the consciousness's power; the equipment only bought him three seconds before he was again controlled.

  This time, the control was stronger, with a relentless assault on his consciousness.

  The consciousness enveloped him.

  He only heard one repeating phrase.

  “Gas… Victory…”