Among carbon-based civilizations, those that did not take the path of biological civilization but instead chose the path of technological civilization would eventually face a problem.
As technology permeated every aspect of society, people became increasingly unable to live without technology, unable to live without AI.
And so, the probability of a "machine revolution" would increase.
This was just like how extensive use of "clones" could cause a clone rebellion, extensive use of "AI" could cause mass unemployment, and the use of "spatial technology" could carry the risk of encountering an invasion by spatial species.
Whenever there were gains, there were always losses.
It was likewise a threshold that every civilization had to cross.
But the Garen Republic was somewhat special.
What made it special was that, as humanoid beings among carbon-based species, its people had far too many metallic elements in their bodies.
This had its advantages. For example, they were naturally strong, had a +100 affinity with machinery, and were adept at manufacturing machines and developing technology.
But the disadvantages were just as obvious.
Once they completed a single "carbon-based fusion," their bodies would irreversibly evolve toward "semimechanization," with their biological organs beginning to evolve into mechanical parts.
And the evolution of a civilization had never been merely the evolution of technology. It also required the evolution of its species.
The simplest standard was that the primary race of a mature Level One civilization had to be a Tier One species.
And so on—
The race of a Level Three civilization also had to be a Tier Three species.
Only by achieving this could they complete a "civilizational ascension."
Otherwise, with the physical strength of an intelligent species, they would inevitably be unable to complete the ascension modification.
Thus, the Garen people inevitably encountered a bug.
If they