History and the Relative Nature of Psionics

Yu Lian would have sworn to Teacher Li, the person he admired most, that he really wasn't all that fond of psionics.

Yu Lian believed three main factors were responsible for completely derailing the tech trees of every civilization in the galaxy—and even every known civilization in the universe. One of them was this so-called psionic power. Of course, some called it primal energy, others the Force, and others still spirit energy. Whatever the name, it was basically the same thing.

The more "scientific" explanation was that it was a mysterious energy factor, both profoundly esoteric and present in every corner of the universe, yet impossible to detect with instruments. Lifeforms with the right talent could harness it to strengthen themselves, commune with the mind, rend the heavens and split the earth, and roam the starry sea—like the omnipotent gods of classical myth.

With these extraordinary beings around, civilizations throughout the universe had become a little too superstitious. Fatalism, animism, and even bloodline theory were all rampant. None of it was materialist, scientific, logical, or progressive.

After all, there really were individuals out there who could smash a warship to pieces with their bare hands! It was understandable that everyone was confused.

When Yu Lian had first transmigrated in his previous life, he'd thought he'd arrived in the spacefaring future. He'd wondered if he might become an "illiterate primitive," and suffered quite a culture shock. But he soon realized it wasn't like that at all.

Earth's history had been the same as he knew it up until the fifteenth century. After that, everything changed with the arrival of visitors from beyond the stars.

When exploration ships from the Empire and the Alliance reached the solar system at almost the same time, they discovered that, in a corner of the galaxy, there were beings almost exactly like themselves. They were overjoyed, and descended upon this remote blue planet in the galaxy's third spiral arm with a fervor that was almost ecstatic—and utterly heavy-handed.

Those really were wonderful times! To discover "kin" amid the boundless sea of stars was a masterpiece of the Spirit of the Universe. The Empire's stargazers and the Alliance's academy fellows wandered through the Forbidden City and the Sacred Palace, marveling at a civilization that was primitive yet radiant. Starrealm Knights and guerrilla fighters raised their cups and sang beneath the gaze of the Sphinx and the Leshan Giant Buddha, even inviting the Earthlings kneeling before them to join their banquets.

The people of Earth had only just been preparing to enter the Age of Discovery. They hadn't even had time to explore their own planet before they were led down a one-way road, with both their technology tree and their civilization tree thoroughly derailed.

And after that, the course of history Yu Lian knew simply ceased to exist.

Yes, this was also "Earth," but it wasn't the home he remembered.

Coming from a materialist Earth, Yu Lian had been furious. For a time, he'd believed that psionics users were to blame for making the history and beliefs he knew disappear. He'd thought that everyone in the galaxy except him was an incurable idealist fool.

Wasn't a logically rigorous, clearly reasoned scientific worldview much better? This so-called psionic power, this business of opening a "spiritual ring in the mental universe"—didn't it all sound like damn occultism?

I, Yu Lian, a fine young man who'd spent twenty years learning materialism, would never become an idealist fool—even if I were beaten to death by a psionic wave or died in a black hole!

Perhaps all that inner turmoil had left his mind a little more fractured than most, and somehow he'd opened his own ring.

And then, well... it turned out to be pretty great.

Yu Lian had soon comforted himself with the thought that materialism meant accepting that what existed was reasonable. If it couldn't be explained by rigorous scientific models, that was only because science hadn't advanced far enough.

After all, he couldn't be some dogmatic, metaphysical pseudo-materialist! Teacher Li would have criticized him for that.

So psionics really were great!

Logical! Materialist! Nothing wrong with them!

Of course, none of that was the point.

Back to psionics.

This power, one of the strongest and most mysterious extraordinary forces in the universe, awakened only in naturally occurring lifeforms with the right talent. The process differed from person to person, and there really wasn't any authoritative textbook. But once someone awakened, whichever path of cultivation they took, the power of their soul and body entered the extraordinary realm.

That also explained why the support team from Outpost 12 had been attacked by the swarm. For a swarm whose ultimate goal was the evolution of its entire species, what could be more enticing than the genes of the awakened?

Apart from the Queen, who'd fought Yu Lian several times in his previous life, not a single one of the swarm's vast trillions had ever possessed psionic power. In later generations, many people had therefore speculated that the swarm hadn't arisen naturally at all, but had been created as a biological weapon by some faction—and then lost control, becoming a scourge that plagued every civilization in the galaxy.

And yet, the more something was said not to exist, the more one felt compelled to prove that it did. The more unattainable it was, the more one yearned for it.

In later generations, the swarm's elites tirelessly hunted down psionics users across the universe. That was proof enough.

Ina Shinika, known in later generations by the infamous nickname "The Witch with Burning Eyes," was the galaxy's most famous sniper, a heroine of the Blue Star Commonwealth, and one of the symbols of unyielding resistance in the hearts of Earth's people. She was also a powerful psionics user.

Of course, at twenty-three, she hadn't awakened yet. At most, she was a sensitive.

At present, only the Empire's Starrealm Knights, the Alliance's Starry Sky Guerrilla Association, and the transcendent Void Spirit Temple had mystical methods for testing whether someone was a sensitive. But Yu Lian knew the bugs probably had their own methods too.

For the bugs, the genetic information of an unawakened sensitive might be even more valuable than that of an awakened psionics user.

The swarm, still growing in secret, didn't yet have the strength to attack major cities or the galaxy's homeworlds. But if it got the chance, it certainly wouldn't pass up targets in the wilderness.

Yu Lian was still puzzled. In his previous life, he'd never heard Ina mention an attack. The siege of Tulong Harbor that came afterward had been her first appearance on the historical stage.

But if I hadn't been reborn, wouldn't "The Witch with Burning Eyes" have died back then?

Besides, he searched his memories of his previous life again and was sure there'd been no trace of the swarm throughout the Tulong Harbor incident. The first confirmed record of the swarm's appearance really had been several years later.

Or maybe the swarm hadn't planned to appear at all, but my rebirth had changed its original plans and brought it out early?

Hmm. To the swarm, two sensitives were obviously more valuable than one.

So I've already started changing history?

Well... that was only Yu Lian's guess, after all. Since he had no real evidence, he could only set those doubts aside for now.

In any case, he should bring his attention back to the present. Yu Lian believed that even if his rebirth and possession had caused some kind of butterfly effect, the swarm wouldn't appear again anytime soon. Its current strategy was to grow in secret. It wouldn't dare reveal itself to the major civilizations before it had built up its numbers. So the closer they got to the battlefield at Tulong, the safer they'd actually be.

As he thought, Yu Lian said casually, "Well, if you really want to know what psionics feel like... apart from having a lot more energy and stamina than before, I suppose it makes you more perceptive. But it varies from person to person. Every awakened individual has a different experience. Some people hear all sorts of gibberish and insist they've received guidance from the Spirit of the Universe. They put on a show, act mysterious, and spout theories full of holes, yet there are always powerful and wealthy people who treat them like spiritual leaders. So don't assume becoming an awakened psionics user is necessarily a good thing. If your will can't control your power, you'll become its slave."

Most people wore expressions that said, "I don't understand a word you're saying, but you sound impressive." Only the old mechanic shuddered and glanced around before saying helplessly, "Um, sir, you can say that here, but you mustn't say it back on the homeworld! Especially not in public."

"Uh... what did I say?"

"The Church of the Unity of All Spirits has plenty of powerful supporters, and a lot of fanatical believers. If you can't keep your mouth shut, it could hurt your career—but worse, some fanatic might attack you. I knew a reporter once... Ah, never mind."

"Oh, you mean the one Master Wang started? I swear by the Spirit of the Universe, I wasn't making a dig at them."

Right, that wasn't a dig. It was practically pointing a finger right at them and cursing.

Ina probably didn't want to continue the subject, so she cut in. "So how exactly did you sense those burrowing bugs? Some kind of psionic technique?"

You actually remembered that? Yu Lian rolled his eyes inwardly, then answered solemnly, "It's the same way we catch ground squirrels back home. Spread your hand on the ground and feel the tiniest vibrations. As long as it's moving, it'll cause vibrations, and there'll be a particular rhythm to them. One, two, three: it's approaching. One, two, three, four: it's getting ready to attack. Five to six beats between them means it's less than two meters away. Seven to eight means three meters. Nine to ten, five meters. Each finger joint corresponds to a direction. For example, the first joint of your middle finger means three o'clock."

Everyone looked impressed, either because they still didn't understand but found it amazing, or because they thought he was truly impressive. Only Ina remained suspicious. "Is that a straight-faced load of nonsense?"

The hunters on Green Court really did catch silver-whiskered mice that way. There were just a few tiny differences in the details. And was that really any less scientific than psionics?

"All right, then I'll say something that isn't nonsense. When I was at the academy, I carefully read the early survey reports on New Jade Gate. They said there should be a civilization left behind by the Enlighteners here."

"The Enlighteners?" Youyou looked completely lost.

"...I don't feel like explaining it from the beginning. Go back to middle school and study for two more years. Anyway, the vanished Enlighteners left the remnants of their civilization all over the universe for later generations to discover. That's no secret. I was willing to serve here because I wanted to see it for myself. Then, when I awakened, I really did feel an urge I couldn't explain, guiding me here. Perhaps it was the Spirit of the Universe and the wisdom of the ancient ancestors showing me the way. I figured that since we had to retreat anyway, and there was a good chance we'd run into the enemy if we went straight ahead, we might as well try our luck in the mountains to the north. If there really were Enlightener ruins, they might help us escape. And that's exactly what happened... Psionics users really should trust their instincts!"