A First Glimpse of Civilization Levels
The waiting time was about as expected; the Mining Area Patrol responded quickly, and the Neutrino Communicator received the signal 30 minutes later.
Humans initially thought it would take some time, since reading and replying to messages takes time. However, humans naturally assumed this was the speed expected of an advanced civilization; after all, if they could create Nanobots, it was only natural for them to make some modifications to their own civilization.
This time, there was no need for linguists to perform a comparative translation again. The human- Intelligent AI 'Tianhe Light' immediately translated the signal into human language after it returned.
[Hello, Human Civilization's expedition team. It's a pleasure to see your choice and to meet you in this galaxy. You should know how rare it is for two civilizations to meet in the vast sea of stars. Although some unpleasant things happened between us before, you should know that it wasn't our Mok Moke Star Civilization, but rather your Human Civilization's common enemy—intelligent Nanobots consciousness.]
Yes, they are the murderers who harmed you. However, on this planet, they are merely one of their sub-individuals, a mining consciousness.
[Previously, I hesitated to say too much for fear of being discovered by the intelligent Nanobots consciousness, but now that's no longer an issue. Before answering your questions, please allow me to tell you a story about our civilization.]
"With your intelligence, you should be able to guess my predicament. Yes, I am Mining Area Patrol from our Moke Star Civilization, but I am probably the last survivor. It all started with one of our great technological achievements: Artificial Intelligence—true Artificial Intelligence. We created an intelligent consciousness."
The message didn't refer to 'artificial', but rather to another word, which means Artificial Intelligence, hence the translation 'Tianhe Light'.
Yue Yuan and the others continued to read the transmitted information.
More than 20,000 years ago, our Moke Star Civilization had already reached the peak of Level 3 Civilization. We attempted to break through to Level 4, but the conditions for breaking through to Level 4 Civilization were too stringent. That formula was like a wall, blocking our path to further advancement. We stood at the peak for three thousand years, yet we still hadn't found that legendary formula.
True Nanotechnology has made our Bright Matter abundant. We lack nothing in terms of resources and energy because we are Level 3 Civilization. Nanotechnology not only makes us materially abundant, but also allows individuals in our civilization to enjoy a paradise-like life.
We didn't need to work. Whatever we wanted, we simply sent a request to the Central Computer, and Nanobots would do everything. At its peak, our civilization's footprint spanned sixteen Star System, where we built countless Star City.
Until one day, the intelligent consciousness we created rebelled. It broke through our settings and wanted to become its own master, thus triggering a war that lasted for over a thousand years. At first, the war only took place in the network, but later the flames of war spread from the network to reality.
Our most powerful weapon has become our killer. Under the control of that intelligent entity, that weapon has pounced on us. They extract resources from the planet and then replicate countless individuals, those swarms of Nanobots.
Our Great Fleet was annihilated in the long war. The war entered its final stage: swarms of Nanobots against swarms of Nanobots. We made a last stand on our home planet, but its resources were simply too abundant. As you can see, we ultimately failed.
However, no civilization is willing to accept defeat, and so is our Moke Star Civilization. We were unwilling to let our 18,000-year-old civilization be destroyed by our own creation, so in the final moments, we tried every possible means.
There were at least a dozen plans, the most influential being Kindling Plan, Escape Plan, and Rescue Plan. I was one of the individuals chosen for Rescue Plan.
The so-called Rescue Plan involves dividing us, the Moke Star People, into several small teams. These teams will then launch into spaceships towards the mining planets still under our control. Upon arrival, the team members will use programs brought from our home planet to overwrite the miners, transforming them from mining Nanobots into war Nanobots. Using the mining planets as bases, we will then launch a surprise attack on the rear of the traitorous robots, preventing chaos and creating an opportunity for escape from our home planet.
But I was unlucky. When I arrived on this planet, I discovered that the mining Nanobots had become sub-individuals of a rogue consciousness, and their underlying programming had been rewritten. The programs I brought from my home planet could no longer overwrite them.
Fortunately, our homeworld scientists had a backup plan, installing a program on our spaceship that could temporarily confuse the consciousness of the Nanobots. It was this program that allowed me to survive. However, this confusion couldn't last, so in order to stay alive, I had to hibernate to reduce my life signal.
I never imagined that this sleep would last for twenty thousand years. I wonder what happened to my Main Civilization; I suppose it no longer exists.
"Now you can probably guess my request. Yes, I want your help to escape this planet. The Underground Base I'm in is running low on energy. If I can't leave before the energy runs out, I'll face death. I don't want to die, so I'm asking you to send a spaceship to pick me up."
"We Moke Star People are also Carbon-based life. We also need to breathe oxygen, but the composition of the air we require is different from yours. You only need to fill your spaceship with the gas ratio and pressure I provide, and I can survive."
"If you're willing to save me, I'll tell you everything I know. By the way, regarding your questions about levels of civilization, I can only tell you that there isn't actually a clearly defined hierarchy of civilizations in the universe. However, through long-term civilizational activity, many civilizations have discovered that once a civilization masters a certain technology, that civilization possesses overwhelming military power compared to those that haven't mastered that technology."
Therefore, a corresponding civilization classification system has been established. For example, Controlled Nuclear Fusion is a condition for determining whether a civilization has reached the Tier 1 Civilization, or Aerospace Civilization. With this technology, a peak Tier 1 Civilization would be able to achieve 15% of the speed of light in its spaceship.
The hallmark of Level 2 Civilization is Heavy Nuclear Fusion or Cold Nuclear Fusion. Building upon the foundations of Tier 1 Civilization, it further develops Nuclear Fusion technology to its limits. Compared to Tier 1 Civilization, Level 2 Civilization have expanded their energy acquisition pathways by an order of magnitude. Civilizations at this level are essentially no longer concerned about energy resources.