Chapter Summaries

The Nair Civilization's First Star Region studied the enormous human flagship Lyra and decided to seek its manufacturing technology through trade. The Grand Governor chose to negotiate before the Second Star Region arrived, believing the humans would regard both factions as one civilization and that the First Star Region could profit from the delay.

• Nair scientists noticed that Lyra was much larger than their Lake-Class Warships and wondered how humanity had overcome the structural challenges of building it.
• A Nair designer suggested that humanity possessed superior materials or a difficult manufacturing technique, and the Grand Governor ordered Nuo Wu to add the technology to the trade list.
• A Nair military officer urged the First Star Region to trade with humanity without waiting for the Second Star Region, then resell it any acquired technology.
• Another Nair warned that separate negotiations could expose the civilization's internal divisions and endanger them, but the Grand Governor argued that humanity would see the Nair as a single whole.
• The Grand Governor decided the First Star Region should welcome the humans and let them raise trade first, leaving the absent Second Star Region to accept the outcome.

The Nair leaders debated whether to trade with humanity or destroy its exploration fleet, and the Grand Governor ordered them to probe human strength while preparing for a possible attack. Meanwhile, the Human Flagship Lyra and its Transport Fleet reached the anchorage near Pot Lid Five Planet and contacted the approaching Nair warships to arrange resupply.

• A Nair fleet Commander urged the Grand Governor to lure the human fleet into a trap and destroy it before the Second Star Region's Transport Fleet arrived.
• A Warship Designer and another Nair officer argued that they should first use technology trading to investigate human capabilities and assess the risks of war.
• The Grand Governor chose to wait and see how events developed, while ordering the fleet Commander to prepare forces in case they were needed.
• The Human Flagship Lyra and its Transport Fleet reached the designated anchorage in distant orbit around Pot Lid Five Planet.
• Humanity contacted the approaching Nair warships and asked them to hurry so they could settle the resupply arrangements.

Humanity and the Nair Civilization spent more than ten days establishing compatible protocols for a real-time video call. When Yue Yuan and the others finally connected with the Nair People, both sides were stunned by the sight of the other's unfamiliar form.

• The Nair Civilization welcomed humanity and proposed a video conference, while leaving supply arrangements unspecified.
• Yue Yuan approved the proposal and told the Communication Department to negotiate the necessary protocols, reminding experts to build a Firewall.
• Human and Nair communication and computer specialists spent more than ten days creating and testing a shared video communication system.
• Yue Yuan gathered scientists and scholars in Lyra's Command Center and sent the Nair Civilization a communication request.
• The human and Nair images appeared on each other's screens, and both sides stared in shock at the other's appearance.

During the first face-to-face call between Human Civilization and the Nair People, both sides whispered about the other’s appearance and misunderstood their bodies and clothing. Yue Yuan then greeted the Nair Grand Governor and began the formal meeting.

• The Nair People whispered about the humans’ small size, flesh, clothing, and apparent sexes, while their language system translated some remarks for the humans.
• The humans realized the Nair People mistook their uniforms for skin and their clothing pockets for layers inside their bodies.
• A linguist and Yi Kai concluded that the Nair People lacked words for clothes because their own glossy black shells left them with no concept of clothing.
• Yue Yuan observed that the Nair People showed no obvious external differences between sexes and waited until both sides’ discussions began to grow heated.
• Yue Yuan addressed the Nair Grand Governor, introduced himself as commander-in-chief of Human Civilization’s First Fleet for Cosmic Exploration, and thanked the Nair People for allowing them to replenish their resources.

Yue Yuan and the Nair Grand Governor discussed supplies and technological trade during their first call, each trying to establish fair terms without revealing their uncertainties. They agreed to exchange supply and technology lists in three days before continuing negotiations.

• The Nair Grand Governor welcomed the humans and said Pot Lid Five Planet had stockpiled supplies, though mineral resources would be charged for extraction and transport.
• Yue Yuan proposed that both civilizations exchange lists of supplies, reference values, technologies they could offer, and technologies they wanted to obtain.
• The Nair Grand Governor paused the call to consult Nair experts, while Yue Yuan asked the humans to consider how to respond.
• The Grand Governor agreed that both sides would prepare and exchange their lists in three days.
• Yue Yuan and the Grand Governor settled the exchange procedure and ended their first video call.

Humanity and the Nair Civilization struggled to establish a common way to price goods for their upcoming trade negotiations. Yue Yuan’s experts proposed using Cold Nuclear Fusion fuel as a shared equivalent, leaving them with a promising basis for setting prices.

• After the video conference ended, both civilizations began drafting trade lists and struggled to agree on how to value resources and technology.
• Humanity considered using its Contribution Coin labor-based system, but recognized that differences between species made it unsuitable as a shared standard.
• Yue Yuan’s experts proposed finding something both Level 2 Civilizations possessed that could serve as a general equivalent.
• An economics scholar suggested using Cold Nuclear Fusion fuel because both civilizations could manufacture it and it was unavailable in nature.
• The experts agreed that the costs and labor involved in producing Cold Nuclear Fusion fuel could provide a benchmark for pricing other goods.

Yue Yuan and the human experts planned what humanity would offer the Nair Civilization in exchange for supplies and technology. They agreed to sell selected goods and invent an enticing cosmic information list to support their claim that they were an exploration fleet.

• Human economists began building a bilateral trade system using the value of one ton of cold nuclear fusion fuel as its general equivalent and Transaction Points as currency.
• Yue Yuan and the remaining experts reviewed humanity’s technologies and decided to offer Alloy No. 1 manufacturing technology, Acceleration Buffer Fluid, and bulk packages of three finished Life Elixirs, while withholding more sensitive technologies.
• A scholar proposed adding a cosmic information list about celestial bodies, dangerous regions, and civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy.
• Yue Yuan and the experts agreed to fabricate a map of galactic power distribution and claim the information came from an advanced civilization’s interstellar market.
• The experts decided not to include fabricated claims about the Awakeners because they had helped humanity.

Humanity and the Nair Civilization exchanged lists of goods and technologies, but the humans found the Nair list’s pricing and energy standard unreasonable and noticed it omitted several things they wanted. The chapter left the humans examining the Nair requests while Yue Yuan kept watch for a suspected hidden Nair fleet near Pot Lid Four Planet.

• At the meeting, Yi Kai dismissed the Nair Civilization’s ability to threaten humanity, and Yue Yuan told Long Zelei to finalize the human list within a day.
• Yue Yuan warned Man Yuemei to monitor Pot Lid Vastness Star after Lyra detected a spectral band that might have come from a hidden Nair fleet near Pot Lid Four Planet.
• The next day, Yue Yuan and the Grand Governor exchanged greetings before their representatives sent the two lists to each other.
• Human experts criticized the Nair list’s prices and its Energy Unit, which equated fuel for a Lake-Class Warship’s maneuvers with 100 Nair Coin.
• The humans noticed that the Nair list omitted requested items such as Space Elevator technology and biological samples, then continued reviewing the Nair requests.

During negotiations, the Nair People discovered that Human Civilization’s Alloy No. 1 could make human warships vastly superior to their own. The Nair Grand Governor tried to maintain a position of strength, though the Nair delegates feared that a clash with the humans would end in disaster.

• Yue Yuan and the human experts discussed the Nair People’s requests and concluded that the Nair had little knowledge of other civilizations or the value of biological resources.
• After reviewing the human list, the Nair Grand Governor criticized its prices and threatened that the humans would not intimidate them with their ships and cannons.
• Yue Yuan realized the Nair People had reacted to Alloy No. 1’s listed specifications.
• The Nair experts concluded that Alloy No. 1 could withstand their main guns and, combined with human Magnetic Shields, made human warships overwhelmingly stronger.
• The Nair Grand Governor spoke defiantly to avoid appearing weak, while the other Nair People worried that war would leave their fleet at Pot Lid Vastness Star helpless against the humans.

Yue Yuan used invented galactic trade customs and fabricated information to persuade the Nair People that their biological resources and knowledge were valuable. The Nair Grand Governor accepted that a prior civilization might have cheated the Nair, then privately deliberated over Yue Yuan’s offer to sell information.

• Yue Yuan challenged the Grand Governor’s complaints about the trade list and claimed the Nair lacked basic knowledge about interstellar commerce.
• Yue Yuan threatened to leave after refueling and offered to pay with Life Elixir, prompting the Nair People to confer privately.
• The Grand Governor explained that a civilization encountered over two thousand years earlier had bought biological samples and Gene Maps cheaply, possibly deceiving the Nair.
• Yue Yuan claimed biological resources were valuable for researching Life Elixir and offered that explanation as a gift.
• Yue Yuan presented fabricated galactic information as a costly product, citing a discounted price of 130 million Transaction Points and a supposed sale to the Kun-Tai Civilization for 200 million.
• The Grand Governor muted himself again to discuss Yue Yuan’s information offer with the Nair People.

The Nair People debated the humans’ transaction list and decided they needed to obtain Alloy No. 1 technology rather than risk a conflict. After negotiations resumed, the two sides haggled over the price of Milky Way Galaxy Basic Common Sense Information and settled on 100 million Transaction Points, though the humans had fabricated much of its supposed intelligence.

• The Nair People questioned the truth of the humans’ claims and discussed using Photon Computer technology to obtain General-purpose Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence technology.
• The Nair leaders concluded that war against humanity was unwise and focused on acquiring Alloy No. 1 technology to strengthen the Second Star Region.
• The Nair Grand Governor reopened negotiations and objected that the humans’ 130 million Transaction Point price for basic information was too high.
• The human business expert claimed the information had cost 500 million Transaction Points and refused to sell it for less than 130 million.
• The Nair and human representatives haggled, settling on 100 million Transaction Points after the Nair demanded guarantees about the information’s contents.
• The human business expert assured the Nair representative that the information was reliable, despite knowing that much of it had been fabricated.

Humanity and the Nair Civilization discussed payment for mineral supplies and the Nair’s 100 million Transaction Point debt, which they proposed to settle with mature Photon Computer technology. Yue Yuan urged the humans to study the galaxy’s basic information before judging its value, while humanity privately recognized the technology’s importance and wanted to acquire it.

• The Nair representative said shipments of several metals were being loaded, with the first due in about three months, while other requested materials would take around three years to supply.
• The human representative asked whether the Nair would pay mining, refining, and transport costs with Life Elixir or deduct them from the 100 million Transaction Points owed for information.
• The Nair negotiator chose Life Elixir for the costs and offered mature Photon Computer technology to pay for the Milky Way Galaxy Basic Common Sense Information.
• A human business elite and computer expert rejected the technology’s 200 million Transaction Point price, arguing that humanity had no use for it and that it was worth far less.
• Yue Yuan told the Nair negotiator that the humans should first examine the galaxy’s basic information before discussing the technology’s value.
• Yue Yuan and the other human representatives were privately impressed by the Nair’s Photon Computer, which was far more powerful than they expected, and wanted to obtain it.

Humanity tried to lower the Nair Civilization’s asking price for Photon Computer technology by claiming it was worth far less than the Nair People demanded. The Nair People questioned humanity’s account of the Interstellar Transaction Market, but the human scholar maintained the fabricated story, leaving the negotiations deadlocked over price.

• Humanity’s experts guessed the Nair People had inflated their prices because they had few valuable technologies to sell and wanted many things from humanity.
• The human representative compared Photon Computers with Quantum Computers and argued that the Nair Civilization’s technology was worth at most twenty-five million Transaction Points.
• The Nair People questioned how humanity had reached a market in the Perseus Arm from the Orion Arm.
• A human scholar invented an explanation involving a hidden, drifting market and claimed that other markets were marked on the star map.
• The Nair People returned to the negotiations and called humanity’s proposed price far too low, while the human scholar insisted it reflected the market’s value.

Humanity tried to trade for the Nair People’s biological resources by offering a fabricated price list and a discount, while the Nair People discussed how to value their limited stock. The Nair Grand Governor’s advisers proposed trading technologies humanity might lack and recovering any losses from the First Star Region after humanity departed.

• Humanity raised its offer for the Nair People’s goods to twenty-seven million Transaction Points and persuaded them that Biosphere Resources were valuable trading goods.
• Yue Yuan offered to buy every plant and animal the Nair People could provide at a twenty percent discount from the claimed Interstellar Transaction Market prices.
• Humanity sent the Nair People a fabricated, comprehensive Biosphere Resource price list, which the Nair representatives studied and discussed.
• The Nair Grand Governor asked Dr. Argin about their organisms’ Gene Maps, and Dr. Argin warned that fabricating maps would be exposed during inspection.
• Dr. Argin proposed offering technologies that seemed ordinary to the Nair People but might be unfamiliar to humanity, and the other Nair representatives supported the idea.
• A Nair military representative urged the Grand Governor to finish the trade before the Second Star Region’s transport fleet arrived, then recoup any losses by selling humanity’s technologies to the First Star Region.

The Nair leaders planned to trade generously with Human Civilization and make them suspect that a warship fleet was approaching, hoping to drive them away before the Second Star Region fleet arrived. They also devised a way to test whether the humans had truly visited the Interstellar Transaction Market, leaving their deception plan ready to unfold.

• The Nair leaders agreed that they needed to keep Human Civilization from waiting for the Second Star Region fleet and proposed making the humans mistake it for a warship fleet.
• Wen Erya suggested trading away Pot Lid Vastness Star’s Biosphere Resources and other technologies generously, implying that the Nair had little left to trade and were delaying for reinforcements.
• When the Grand Governor and other Nair raised risks, Wen Erya argued that the humans would avoid war and would not seek resources from the Nair home planet.
• Wen Erya reasoned that a worldly civilization would be more suspicious and scheming, then proposed testing the humans’ claim by offering a high price for biological resources from the Interstellar Transaction Market.
• The Nair concluded that verifying the humans’ market experience, together with the Grand Governor’s earlier provocative remarks, would make them suspect the approaching fleet was hostile.

Humanity and the Nair People continued their trade negotiations, unaware that the Nair People planned to use the deal to strengthen the First Star Region and weaken the Second. After selling biological resources from other worlds, Yue Yuan stunned the Nair Grand Governor by asking to purchase Nair scientists.

• The Nair People deliberately slowed negotiations while accelerating resource supplies so humanity might leave before the Second Star Region Transport Fleet arrived.
• Humanity noticed the slower pace and learned about the Nair People’s eating habits as both sides continued their discussions.
• The Nair People asked to buy biological resources from the Interstellar Transaction Market, and humanity offered animals from Dog-Headed People Planet and plants from Wolf Star.
• The Nair People haggled humanity’s asking price down from one hundred times to eighty times the value of their own biological resources and agreed to the transaction.
• Yue Yuan asked the Nair Grand Governor to sell humanity some Nair scientists, leaving him stunned.

Yue Yuan pressed the Nair Grand Governor over the Nair Civilization’s inability to pay for its growing trade deficit, while the Nair leader refused to sell scientists. The chapter left humanity poised to demand scientists as payment and considering why interstellar civilizations traded them.

• The Nair Grand Governor protested that the Nair People would never be sold as merchandise, and Yue Yuan argued that trading scientists was common on the Interstellar Transaction Market.
• The Grand Governor countered by asking to buy human scientists, but Yue Yuan said the exploration fleet had few available; the Grand Governor again refused to sell Nair scientists.
• Yue Yuan pointed out that the Nair Civilization owed at least three hundred million Transaction Points and asked how it planned to pay for the technologies it wanted.
• The Grand Governor muted the communication to consult with others as the chapter explained that humanity had deliberately accumulated the deficit to pressure the Nair People for scientists.
• Humanity recalled the Awakeners’ warning against selling its own scientists and considered whether scientist trading helped civilizations compensate for a lack of talent in developing certain technologies.

Humanity’s scholars considered how differences in racial wisdom might help civilizations overcome the universe’s technological barriers, while also creating risks that made exchange between civilizations dangerous. After the Nair People refused to trade scientists, humanity refined its theories about cosmic civilizations and waited for their reply, prepared to seek ordinary or criminal Nair People instead.

• Humanity’s scholars concluded that a single race’s thought patterns might be insufficient to overcome the universe’s technology barriers, and that civilizations needed other races’ perspectives.
• Humanity inferred that the Milky Way Galaxy Axis Alliance, the Awakeners, and the Harvesters might pursue other civilizations’ wisdom through different methods, making exchange both beneficial and dangerous.
• Humanity reviewed its encounters and found that all known civilizations were group technological civilizations, leaving its model of Cosmic Sociology open to revision if other forms existed.
• Humanity awaited the Nair People’s response to its request for scientists, while considering buying ordinary or criminal Nair People if the Nair People refused.

Humanity and the Nair People negotiated over technology purchases, and Yue Yuan reframed the proposed sale of scientists as voluntary recruitment for a joint research expedition. The Nair governor agreed to publicize the offer, leaving humanity pleased with the prospect of a Nair Research Team joining its fleet.

• The Nair People refused to sell scientists and tried to reduce their technology purchases, but remained about one hundred million Transaction Points short.
• Humanity proposed recruiting willing Nair scientists as a Research Team and promised to protect them during the expedition.
• Yue Yuan showed the Nair People footage of the Kun-Tai People aboard humanity’s Residential Spaceship as an example of another civilization exploring with the fleet.
• The Nair governor agreed to publicize the expedition and form a Research Team if volunteers came forward, while keeping participation voluntary.
• Humanity celebrated the likely agreement, unaware that the Nair People also wanted the fleet to leave so they could extort the Second Star Region.

Humanity and the Nair Civilization finalized a technology exchange, with humanity receiving the Space Elevator and Photon Computer technologies as well as a Nair research team. As humanity studied the Space Elevator research, scientists found a path toward nanotechnology and a possible breakthrough to Level 3 Civilization.

• Humanity and the Nair Civilization finalized their contract, exchanging technologies, specimens, and research materials, while the Nair Civilization handed over a research team and three thousand ordinary Nair People.
• Over the following year, both civilizations analyzed their new technologies, and humanity processed the Nair supplies into industrial products and fuel.
• Xu Zhenyi and other scientists used the Nair process to produce Space Elevator cable material successfully on their first attempt.
• Humanity learned that the Nair People's Space Elevator used a 200,000-kilometer Carbon Nanotube and studied its manufacturing research.
• Humanity concluded that Level 3 Civilization required nanometer-scale precision across the entire industrial system, and scientists believed the Nair research offered a route toward that technological barrier.