Goodbye
"Do you think it's possible that in this day and age, there are civilizations that possess Characteristic Technology like your Precursor?" Yue Yuan asked again.
"You shouldn't ask me this kind of question, because all I can tell you is that the universe is incredibly mysterious, and things may or may not exist. Well, Human Civilization, I've said almost everything I needed to say, and it's time for us to say goodbye," the Rhomboid Crystal said slowly.
"Are you leaving? Where are you going? Can you stay?" Upon hearing the Rhomboid Crystal say it was leaving, Yue Yuan immediately bombarded it with three questions.
"Of course I'm leaving. My meeting with you was purely by chance. Every meeting must come to an end. I've told you everything I needed to tell you in the 'Message in Drift Bottle' project, and there's nothing I shouldn't have in my storage device." The Rhomboid Crystal chuckled, mimicking human laughter, and continued, "As for where I'm going, I'll naturally continue to fulfill my mission. As long as I'm not completely destroyed, the Drift Bottle Project will continue. I will continue to slumber in the River of Time, bringing information about the Great Voyage to a civilization countless years in the future, if that civilization is as fortunate as you are."
"Although I don't know how much longer I can exist as a technological creation, as long as I exist, this plan will continue. We hope that those who come after us will understand the significance of the Great Voyage. Even if we fall on the road of the Great Voyage, we hope that the new generation of the Milky Way Galaxy, those who come after us, can break free from the shackles of despair. Of course, the same goes for your Human Civilization. As those who awakened my mechanism, I also hope that you will always remember the mission of the Great Voyage."
"We will." Yue Yuan nodded, representing humanity in agreeing, then his gaze fell on the Rhomboid Crystal that was speaking in some unknown way, "Actually, you don't have to leave. If we are capable of the Great Voyage by then, we might be able to bring you back to your civilization."
"Haha, no need. Your words show that you don't understand what kind of being I am. I have my own mission, and you have your own paths to walk. Besides, I don't know everything either," the Rhomboid Crystal said.
Indeed, as everyone present has noticed, the Rhomboid Crystal seems to be extremely intelligent, but it seems to be able to do things only according to the goals set by its creator. It is impossible to make it put down the Drift Bottle Project to do something else, because the Drift Bottle Project is the reason for its existence.
Thank you for bringing us so much news.
Before Yue Yuan could finish speaking, the voice of the Rhomboid Crystal echoed in the Command Center: "No need to thank me, I was just doing what I was supposed to do. However, if you are able to do so in the future, perhaps you can leave the message to the next generation of civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy before you leave, just like we did."
The Rhomboid Crystal seemed very concerned about passing on the message of the Great Voyage. It continued, "You don't need to be surprised why I'm so determined to pass on the Great Voyage Plan. If you could understand the despair of those billion years, you wouldn't be surprised."
A billion years of painstaking research in the Milky Way Galaxy, only to arrive at a hopeless answer. But the Precursor did not choose to keep this answer hidden; instead, they shared it. Listening to their words, it seems as if they were simply trying to save the New Generation Civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy a billion years.
Yue Yuan understood the meaning of the Rhomboid Crystal. He knew that the Precursor did this not only out of selflessness, but more likely because of the despair they had witnessed.
Having survived a billion years without succumbing to depravity, and after receiving a hopeless answer, still able to gather the entire Advanced Civilizations of the Milky Way Galaxy for the Great Voyage —what a powerful and cohesive civilization this is.
At the same time, they must have seen the despair of breaking free from the shackles during those billion years. Only extreme despair and the confusion of the Great Voyage, or rather, they saw the Great Voyage as the last hope and the last possible path, but at the same time, they did not know whether their civilization could complete the Great Voyage, or whether they could find a way to break free from the shackles after completing the Great Voyage. Only in this way would they think of passing on the news of the Great Voyage as Precursor.
Although Yue Yuan and everyone present could hardly imagine the despair of a billion years of technological stagnation, a little empathy would make them understand the Precursor's actions.
If it were a human, they would probably do the same.
They were already prepared for failure before they set sail. If one day humanity discovers that it may not be able to see the higher views of the universe, and may fall on an unknown path, they may hope that those who come after them can understand the significance of what they did.
Even if they ultimately perish, at least the universe will know that there once existed a civilization called Human Civilization, a group of Sentient Life forms that called themselves human, that they once made efforts to explore the truth of the universe, and that they once visited this universe.
That feeling is probably similar to how humans in Death's End's End feel when they hear the Cosmic Membrane Broadcast during the Return Movement revealing their own civilization's name.
"Goodbye, Human Civilization!" the Rhomboid Crystal said finally.
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone on the Lyra and all the instruments that were monitoring it saw that the fine lines on its surface reappeared as before, then quickly turned into extremely tiny pixels, and finally disappeared from everyone's sight like smoke and dust.
All the probes saw how it disappeared, but none of them knew how it did it. It was not seen in the outer space of Lyra either, and no one knew how far it had traveled after disappearing.
Seeing the place where the Rhomboid Crystal used to stand now empty, although it was supposed to be like this, everyone present felt a sense of melancholy.
The Rhomboid Crystal appeared and disappeared in less than half a day, but it gave everyone the feeling that this place should have such a Rhomboid Crystal.
"The Precursor Civilization." Yue Yuan sighed softly. He turned to look at the somewhat dazed crowd, seemingly understanding their melancholy.
Perhaps it's not just the melancholy of the Rhomboid Crystal leaving, but also the sorrow about self-awareness or, more accurately, about the understanding of Cosmic Civilizations.
Humanity's journey to space began after our Solar System was destroyed. This experience almost led humanity to hate all extraterrestrial life. However, we are now discovering that not all Cosmic Civilizations are malicious; there are many benevolent civilizations, and many that strive for their ideals.
The Awakeners arrive in the Milky Way Galaxy, the Precursor leave the Milky Way Galaxy.
They were essentially also trying to survive and find a way to break free from their shackles, but their approach was different from those so-called top civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy. They had their own principles, and they did not target civilizations as weak as humans, but instead showed them kindness and even guided them.
The difference is obvious.