Awareness

Before the discovery of Gravitational Wave, almost all knowledge about astronomy held by all civilizations was derived in the form of electromagnetic radiation, whether it was starlight, radio waves, or microwave signals from deep space.

When detection methods were expanded and Gravitational Wave detection was achieved, people saw a new universe.

Humans have mastered this technology, but from beginning to end it has only been a passive and indirect detection, and the equipment is very primitive, well, very primitive for advanced civilizations.

Human Laser Interferometer Space Antenna can detect Gravitational Wave, but only passively. However, the Level Six Civilization in this universe are different; they can actively detect Gravitational Wave that are still Beyond the Light Cone for them.

The Silver Heart Alliance is like this, the Silicon-Based Collective is like this, and the Awakeners, who are now searching for something in the Milky Way Galaxy, are the same.

The Awakeners have been in the Milky Way Galaxy for some time now. Their Rectangular Warship, either in groups or individually, have slowly spread outwards from where they arrived in the Milky Way Galaxy, while simultaneously using this detection method to probe for possible Wormhole in space.

The Star Gate that led them across galaxies to the Milky Way Galaxy was found in this way, so they continued to search for it after arriving in the Milky Way Galaxy.

However, the Milky Way Galaxy is far more vast than the Triangulum Galaxy, and the Awakeners cannot explore the Milky Way Galaxy as freely as they could in the Triangulum Galaxy, so their exploration progresses very slowly.

Several Dead Wormhole were detected, but none of them were traces left by the so-called Previous Generation Voyager.

As the years passed, even the most secretive activities were eventually discovered. The first to encounter the Awakeners were the Perseus Commonwealth, but that fleet was completely annihilated by the Awakeners. Now it is the Silver Heart Alliance.

The Silver Heart Alliance's stealth technology was clearly far superior to that of the Perseus Commonwealth. Even after they discovered the Awakeners and began their plans, the Awakeners remained unaware that they were being targeted.

The Awakeners only became aware of the visit of Extragalactic Civilization Milky Way Galaxy to the Milky Way when the Silver Heart Alliance began to take action and spread the news.

However, at this time, the Harvesters also received the news.

"I found this message in the Gravitational Wave broadcasts from certain spatial nodes." At roughly the same time, a message appeared on the internal communication channel of the Awakener Civilization.

The internal communication of Level Six Civilization is obviously real-time, and the phrase "found from Gravitational Wave broadcasts" in this message clearly means that the information was selected from many Gravitational Wave broadcasts.

People know that the Milky Way Galaxy is vast and boundless, and that the speed of Gravitational Wave is not infinitely fast, but the same as the speed of light. Therefore, even Level Six Civilization cannot defy the laws of physics and broadcast Gravitational Wave to the entire Milky Way Galaxy at once.

In Level Six Civilization, the concept of Gravitational Wave broadcasting differs from that of Low-level Civilization like humanity. The broadcasters do not need to wait for the Gravitational Wave oscillations to reach the entire Milky Way Galaxy; they only need to increase the intensity of the Gravitational Wave to ensure that other Level Six Civilization can detect them within a specific area.

The Silver Heart Alliance used this method to spread the news of the Awakeners' arrival in the Milky Way Galaxy. They used their various Small Universe within the Milky Way Galaxy as nodes, dispatching spaceships to spread the message to every corner of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Without detection methods Beyond the Light Cone, these Gravitational Wave would take countless years to reach the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna of a civilization like humanity and be detected. Of course, by then, the information might not be accurate, because Gravitational Wave signals attenuate with increasing distance, eventually becoming distorted and undetectable.

If a civilization that has never discovered extraterrestrial life were to receive such a distorted Gravitational Wave signal, it might spark a new wave of interest in finding extraterrestrial life.

While this form of broadcasting and receiving information may seem passive, it's true that the receiving party cannot detect it in time unless it actively probes. However, it's clear that the Silver Heart Alliance isn't worried about no civilization receiving the broadcast.

Their scattered Small Universe outposts across the Milky Way Galaxy's cantilever arms are one thing, but basic self-protection and security awareness at level six is key.

The Silver Heart Alliance was certain that no Level Six Civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy would dare to roam the Great Universe without activating long-range detection capabilities; that would be like an army marching without scouts—purely suicidal.

Similarly, the Harvesters are the same, but with a difference: the Harvesters are searching for these hidden civilizations.

At this moment, long-distance communication is still ongoing within the Awakeners's internal channel.

"The assessment of the civilization from Extragalactic Civilization —their arrival time in the Milky Way Galaxy, the characteristics of their warships, their approximate area of activity, and their Characteristic Technology —does seem to be referring to us."

"We've been discovered. Did we fail to deal with that fleet we encountered back then?"

"No, I believe in 'You's' abilities. Besides, he wouldn't joke about something like this. It's not that fleet; it must be another civilization in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"It seems that the Milky Way Galaxy is much deeper than we thought."

"After all, it's a big place, so it's normal for it to be full of hidden talents."

"Isn't that perfect? If they were all as weak as the fleet of that Perseus Commonwealth, our trip to the Milky Way Galaxy would be too boring. Now, finally, a challenging civilization has emerged. I wonder if it's the Silver Heart Alliance, the Harvesters, or some Silicon-Based Collective."

"They're all the same. The fact that the Perseus Commonwealth could appear together in the broadcast back then means they're all civilizations at the same level. Even if one is slightly more powerful, they probably aren't that much stronger. In my opinion, you're being overly cautious. If 'You' could take down an entire fleet by himself, so can we. Even if it were another stronger civilization, a small squadron of our warships would be no problem."

"No, it's different. The fleet that 'You' encountered back then didn't show any trace of their Characteristic Technology. Otherwise, their combat strength wouldn't have been so weak. We still need to be careful. After all, our main purpose in coming to the Milky Way Galaxy is to find traces of the Previous Generation Voyager."

"That's true, but given the current situation, we've clearly been exposed. We can no longer conduct clandestine investigations as before. Contact is inevitable, and those civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy will definitely get involved."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"What to do? Just do it. Since we've been discovered, we should take the initiative and give the civilization that's eyeing us a good beating. Let them know that we're not easy to bully. Otherwise, we'll only face endless harassment in the future, which will be even more detrimental to our exploration. It's better to put it out in the open."