A Guess

Rowan watched all this quietly, without interfering much. But his mind was racing, gathering all the information and summarizing it.

As he gathered more and more information, his mindset gradually calmed down. The probability that the other party was some kind of advanced civilization was extremely low. And as long as they didn't technologically overwhelm the Swarm, the Swarm had the ability to put up a fight.

At this moment, one of the Intellect raised his hand to speak. Rowan nodded in agreement, and instantly the Intellect stopped their discussion, and the meeting room became completely silent.

This Intellect is named Tikas. He belongs to the lineage of Morgan's disciples and grand-disciples, but he was once a genius of the Rat-folk. He mainly studied mathematics, but also had research experience in a variety of cutting-edge technologies.

"Overlord Lord, according to our team's calculations, the other party is very likely from the M37 Star System galaxy, which is 9.7 light-years away from the Origin Star System and 5.1 light-years away from the Proxima Star System."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Rowan asked.

"Based on the course of the unknown civilization's spaceship, and calculating backwards, their target is directly at the M37 Star System, and they made almost no changes in course along the way," Tikas said.

"Then how can you be sure they didn't deliberately detour through the M37 Star System and then come out from there?" one of the Intellect asked.

"Actually, we were all in a misconception before. We all thought that this entire Luminescent Organ was the other side's spaceship. But then it suddenly occurred to me, what if it was just the other side's propulsion system?" He then applied for Rowan's network authorization and displayed some images.

"As you can see, this is a research project we worked on before, which is a concept for a propulsion device. We know that light is composed of photons, which have no static mass but kinetic energy. When a photon strikes a smooth surface, it can change its direction of motion like a ping-pong ball bouncing off a wall, and at the same time, it will exert a corresponding force on the object it hits." Tikas paused for a moment, waiting for everyone to digest the information, before continuing.

"The thrust generated by a single photon is extremely small; within a one-square-meter area, the thrust they produce is less than the weight of an ant. Therefore, in order to maximize acceleration from sunlight, the force-bearing surface of such a propulsion device must be large enough and light enough. For example, a ship using such a propulsion device would need a huge sail."

Seeing the many Intellect deep in thought, Tikas continued, "This propulsion device doesn't require fuel; it can accelerate indefinitely. However, the acceleration process is extremely lengthy."

"If we assume that the spaceship of the unknown civilization in the image uses this type of propulsion system, then many of the previous inconsistencies can be explained."

"First, there's the size of the spacecraft. What we see is probably that enormous Light Sail. Because its operating principle is to absorb photons that collide with it and use the reaction force of the collision to propel it forward. So, as it moves forward, it also reflects photons back. Our observation equipment mainly relies on Optical Observation, which is naturally extremely sensitive to these photons. That's why the images we receive appear so dazzling."

Tikas glanced around and, seeing the Intellect nodding in agreement, continued, "Furthermore, because this propulsion method doesn't require fuel, there's no exhaust flame, which perfectly matches what we've been seeing."

"But this is just your theoretical speculation. Is this Light Sail really feasible?" an Intellect asked.

"Because this Light Sail propulsion technology is not suitable for our race, it was abandoned before it could be manufactured. However, its theory is sound. And, thanks to the development of our computer technology, we conducted simulation experiments using computers. The experimental results proved that it is entirely feasible."

The Intellect began to whisper among themselves. Light Sail technology was a niche field, and most of the Intellect had only heard of it, so they hadn't thought about it at the beginning.

But now that I think about it, Tikas's words made a lot of sense.

Rowan coughed, and the conference room fell silent again. Then, Rowan gestured for Tikas to continue.

Tikas bowed to Rowan in respect, then continued, "If we assume this is indeed a Light Sail- powered spaceship, then it would have taken several decades of continuous acceleration to reach its current speed from rest. And during that time, the distance it traveled would be remarkably close to the distance from which the M37 Star System reached this location, with an error margin of less than 1%."

"Given the acceleration method of this propulsion system, the possibility of them changing direction mid-journey is extremely low, because any change of direction would reduce the speed they have painstakingly gained. As for first traveling to the M37 Star System and then turning towards the Proxima Star System, that is even more impossible; their speed does not support them doing so."

"Furthermore, since they were able to observe the abnormal energy fluctuations in Proxima Star System, it means their observation technology is highly advanced. They must be able to determine some aspects of Proxima Star System, and without detecting any threat, they wouldn't need to perform such a complex operation." After saying this, he seemed to remember something and muttered to himself, "Unless they, like the Overlord, are adept at outsmarting the air itself."

In the Swarm Network, Rowan was a god, and he naturally heard Tikas's whispers. However, geniuses always have certain privileges, and given the plausible reasoning behind Rowan's analysis, he was let off the hook this time.

Tikas seemed to notice Rowan's subtle movements and quickly continued speaking.

"Furthermore, based on information such as the size of their Light Sail and the distance they traveled, we can deduce that their spaceship is perhaps only a few hundred meters in size. Although we lack specific information such as the thickness of their Light Sail and the star in the M37 Star System, the error will not be too large. They are not as powerful as we imagined."

After finishing his speech, Tikas once again paid tribute to Rowan before returning to his seat.

Rowan, meanwhile, fell into thought. Tikas's words were all logically consistent, and the previous illogical points had been explained. This was perhaps the closest speculation to the truth.

However, speculation between civilizations cannot rely solely on conjecture; it also requires confirmation of this information. Otherwise, any unexpected event could lead to serious consequences.

In the following time, although the Intellect spoke enthusiastically, they did not offer any more constructive suggestions.

Having made his decision, Rowan left the Intellect to continue the discussion while he began to make preparations.

The unknown civilization's spaceships have now been identified and are heading straight for the Proxima Star System. The primary task now is to determine their true strength and weaknesses.

However, the Swarm's troop deployment in the Proxima Star System was insufficient to support effective reconnaissance activities.

It seems we'll have to play it safe for a while longer.