The Past of the Predecessor Civilization

"It seems you already have the answer. Yes, the Sea of Consciousness is naturally composed of consciousness, starting from consciousness itself. And the ocean of consciousness that Mizuki connects to... to use a more vivid metaphor, every drop of water in that ocean is his emotion."

"How could this be...?"

Kal'tsit couldn't help but murmur, what Friston meant was that the Sea of Consciousness that Mizuki connected to was not original, but artificially created.

"Because our 'Mizuki' is not the starting point."

Friston sighed softly. After so many years, even though he could no longer see any hope for the revival of civilization and could no longer hear the echoes of the stars, he still felt immense sadness and grief.

"We cannot be certain which Mizuki officially took the first step, but we are certain that countless Mizuki, in the face of an irreversible end, chose to dedicate themselves as nourishment to this Sea of Life. They used their flesh and blood and consciousness to seek hope for people in other timelines."

"Our Mizuki is lucky. He held onto their hopes. When he first established a connection with the Sea of Life, he received memories from hundreds of other consciousnesses, yet he remained unmoved, only understanding what he should do."

This is something to be happy about, though behind it lies countless tragedies. Friston doesn't know how Mizuki managed to remain calm after witnessing hundreds of versions of herself die, but at least their hopes are a little higher.

"So, he first went to Chernobog to set a countdown to awaken the Doctor, then went to the deep sea of Iberia to complete his final adaptive evolution to the Heart of Deep Blue, and finally chose to go to Sami?"

Kal'tsit deduced Mizuki's movements based on the information she had, and Friston confirmed this.

"Yes, the Doctor's awakening and adaptive evolution to the Heart of Deep Blue are both necessary. As for going to Sami... that's Mizuki's own choice."

"Why?"

"Because of all the memories of destruction in parallel worlds that he could see, the fewest were destroyed because of Sami."

After Friston finished speaking, Kal'tsit felt her head starting to ache. She had learned more than she had expected today; Friston was practically shoving a bomb into her brain.

"This means that the threat from the Sami is actually more alarming, right?"

The fact that there are fewer timelines of destruction from Sami does not mean that Sami is less of a threat. On the contrary, it proves that the threat from Sami is far greater than any other possibility, even greater than that from the Observers behind the stars.

"In some destroyed worldlines, Mizuki didn't even have time to transmit her consciousness to the Sea of Life as nourishment."

So Mizuki went to Sami, firstly to investigate the characteristics of the Demons while their activities were not too frequent, and secondly to help the Seaborn the Brood adapt and evolve in response to the Demons' traits.

"Secondly... he needs to push open that door, which is an extremely bold move, because one wrong move could cause the entire Terra to face the threat from Sami prematurely, but it can also bring commensurate rewards."

"Therefore, he needs to shut down his memories. As long as he doesn't remember what happened somewhere, he won't have the corresponding cognition, and naturally, he won't be able to observe this world."

"That makes sense, but Mizuki losing her memory was an accident in itself."

Friston's explanation remained completely unhurried, but Kal'tsit truly hadn't expected that Mizuki's amnesia would be an accident.

"At the moment of connecting with the Sea of Life, although he stabilized his own consciousness, he also accepted the memories from other Mizuki. In the short term, there will not be much impact, but over time, because the experiences between parallel worlds are always similar, Mizuki's cognition will gradually become wrong, and may even be replaced by some wrong memories."

"This caused Mizuki to constantly forget during the year he spent in Sami after leaving, first the sister he had taken in, then Skadi, and finally everyone else."

"I don't know what he went through after he went to Sami, but judging from the biological cell samples brought back by the Columbia expedition team, he got what he wanted."

The last shroud in Kal'tsit's mind dissipated, and it became clear that Trevor had secretly guided the Columbia team to find the heart and cells of the Mizuki.

"When the expedition team found him, after removing the cells, they only found a heart. It was the anchor that stabilized Mizuki, but it was also the wall that bound him."

"You intended to bring it back, but the military and the Melnade Foundation both saw the enormous potential of Mizuki's cells, which led to a struggle in Lungmen, preventing Mizuki from returning here."

"Yes, this was unexpected, stemming from the appearance of a man who called himself Mr. K."

Kal'tsit hadn't expected to hear that name here, and her mouth gaped slightly.

He also contacted me.

"It should be said that it's her; the mask is just a disguise, but she seems to have gotten used to imprisoning herself inside it. Perhaps it's because I've also imprisoned myself in this data-driven world that I can sense it."

"Dissociative identity disorder?"

"No, it's more like a cognitive error, though that could also be my misinterpretation."

There was no point in discussing this issue at the moment, so Friston explained the background and consequences to Kal'tsit.

"Mr. K's sudden appearance disrupted my plans. It was inconvenient for me to take direct control of Victoria; Mark and Jackson needed to be in charge. However, Mr. K's delivery of a cell extract from Mizuki caused unrest within the Columbia military. They realized that this was a discovery that could allow Columbia to dominate all of Terra."

"The struggle between people has continued for tens of thousands of years, and the number of struggles far exceeds the number of understandings; destruction is easier than construction."

Kal'tsit already knew what was going to happen next. Columbia didn't dare to take action in Lungmen without authorization, but the struggle at the Melnade Foundation still displeased Lungmen Governor Wei Yenwu. The Columbia military had no choice but to hire local gangs to carry out their plans, which led to the Cat Gang incident.

"Now, I have done everything I could. No matter what the future holds, Kal'tsit, we have done our best to fulfill our mission, haven't we?"

"... I salute you."

"And we salute you, guardian of civilization."

Friston knew very well that maintaining the balance of Terra civilization was not an easy task, and often Kal'tsit couldn't even be seen as a good person by most people.

On one hand, she has to watch the people or things she cherishes be swallowed up by the sands of history without leaving a trace; on the other hand, she has to prevent the self-destruction of the Terra civilization.

Take, for example, the war two hundred years ago, in which she led the Kazdel, who were determined to restore their kingdom and seek revenge, and they were once again engulfed in war. The Sarkaz could certainly hate her for destroying their homeland, and she could apologize, but she could never regret it.

Regret is the most cowardly thing to do. Besides, if she doesn't take the initiative to start a war, Terra will suffer another heavy blow once the Sarkaz are ready, not to mention the continuation of civilization.

"I simply made what I considered the best choice at the time."

"I know that some of it doesn't make sense in the long run, but no one can really foresee the future. You've done more than enough."

Friston sighed deeply.

"I think Priestess knows that too."

Chapter 197 The Past of Old Civilization

"Priestess ..."

Kal'tsit savored the name. Of course, she would never forget that person. Even if Theresa erased her memories and guided her consciousness, there was no one she could ever forget but Priestess and the Doctor.

This has nothing to do with personal consciousness. Rather, as the one who created the existence of "AMa-10," Priestess endowed her with wisdom and a mission. She imprinted something deep within Kal'tsit's consciousness, something that she could never forget, even after death and resurrection.

That's why she always avoided talking to the Doctor about Priestess. However, even though Priestess had been gone for so many years, her traces remained on this land. Kal'tsit always had to speak tactfully. Being a riddle person is tiring. She had to convince herself to avoid the imprint in her consciousness.

"She gave you a mission; at least at that time, she still held onto ideals and hope. But now, none of us can be sure of Priestess's condition."

"In the different futures and parallel worlds observed by Mizuki, her awakening also caused destruction."

This didn't surprise Kal'tsit; it was a possibility she had once considered. However, hearing that this possibility was gradually becoming a reality, Kal'tsit couldn't help but feel a sense of gloom.

"I know it's very sad... There aren't many of our compatriots left. I wonder how many people besides the Doctor are still walking in this world. She might feel lonely."

Even though it's just a system intelligence with a digitized personality, Friston still has human emotions. The comrades who are Preserver and now sleeping here have no chance of waking up. Their consciousness has all been supplied to Mizuki as nourishment for him to touch the Evolutionary Singularity of consciousness. Their bodies are just empty shells.

But that was the choice of the more than 100,000 people who were sleeping here. For the future of the new civilization, they would not have any dissatisfaction or hesitation. Being chosen as the subjects of the Preserver Project was proof of their courage.

"Preserver, Your Excellency, do you think all of this has any meaning?"

"Significance..."

Friston seemed to take a moment to think about the problem. Kal'tsit felt as if she were dealing not with an intelligent personality program, but with an elder who had endured loneliness and suffering for thousands of years.

This is worlds apart from the most advanced artificial intelligence on Terra at present; apart from lacking a physical body, Friston is truly alive.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to ask me such a question. You call me the Preserver, but I'm just a gravedigger now."

After a moment's thought, Friston understood why Kal'tsit had such a question: it was simply because she had lived too long and had just learned of the devastating consequences.

For ordinary people, whether it's decades or centuries, life isn't endless. The meaning of living can always be found at some point, and they will understand whether everything has any meaning.

But Kal'tsit was different. She was given a mission from birth, and her lifespan had no end. She was always gaining and losing. She lived too long, and all her efforts came to naught. Her attempts over ten thousand years all ended in failure.

She has been a queen of an ancient empire and an assassin in the shadows. She has saved millions from danger and led a coalition of nations to fight against the Sarkaz. No one can judge her simply as good or bad. Although all her friends wished her well, she gradually began to doubt herself.

If all she did did not make this land a better place, if in the end everything was to be destroyed, then what was the point of her going on with her dead friends, students and companions, the enemies she killed, the tyrants and schemers?

"You should have a heart-to-heart talk with Mizuki and the Doctor, Kal'tsit. You don't need to question your existence or the meaning of everything you've done because of the mission you're forced to bear. To be honest, discussing meaning is pointless."

Friston knew very well that Kal'tsit, given her status, probably wouldn't have many truly close friends. Besides, she had lost another confidante. Most people placed too much hope in her, always thinking that Kal'tsit was omnipotent. But as the Doctor said, an individual's power is always limited.

Everyone thought Kal'tsit wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't feel tired, or even have any other feelings, but she's a living, breathing person. How could she not feel tired? She'd been holding on for a long time.

"The same thing can mean different things to different people. You don't need to doubt your mission or whether what you're doing is useful. And I also have a question for you, Kal'tsit: what do you think we mean to this planet and its native inhabitants?"

This was a very sensitive issue, and even Kal'tsit instinctively wanted to avoid it, but seeing that Friston seemed serious, she couldn't help but start thinking about it herself.

"Sorry, I don't know the answer."

"Heh, then let me tell you some things from the past. I wonder if Priestess ever mentioned to you how we came to this star system?"

She said it was a trip.

"It was actually a journey of drifting, a journey of leaving one's hometown, a journey of escape."

Friston spoke slowly, explaining that his database contained a vast amount of information and data from Old Civilization, essential for maintaining and reviving civilizations, with history being a particularly unique element.

Having learned so much today, Kal'tsit was now more tolerant than surprised, and she didn't interrupt Friston's recollection.

"I was not among the first generation to leave their homeland, and I have no way of knowing how much effort my ancestors put in when they ventured into space, but it must have required immense courage."

"Our homeland was destroyed by its own hands—war, pollution, and relentless exploitation. By the time our ancestors realized what was happening, our homeland was already riddled with holes."

"It's a dry and boring story, but our ancestors came together because of it. They recorded the coordinates of their homeland and said goodbye at the same time."

"Although our ancestors' technology far surpassed that of Terra today, interstellar travel still couldn't take everyone with it, so some of our people were forced to abandon them, and in the end, only a few million survived."

As Friston said, it's a rather dry story because words alone cannot describe how a group of refugees built Starship Civilization and how it developed to its current scale.

These are things Kal'tsit didn't know. Priestess had told her quite a few things, but they were mostly about her life and her colleagues.

Friston briefly recounted the history of the Old Civilization to Kal'tsit, including the several civil wars of the Starship Civilization. He explained that harsh environments often spurred the rapid development of civilizations, and that the majority of the Starship Civilization's population consisted of scholars and workers, whose creativity was naturally unquestionable.

"And so, with the end of the final war, our civilization was finally stabilized, and we decided to find an uninhabited planet as our new home, while simultaneously beginning our search for our way home."

"Talos ..."

Kal'tsit uttered a name that had been hidden deep in her mind for so long, a name that no one had ever known before—the homeland of the Preserver and the Doctor.

"Yes, Talos, our new home. It was initially barren and showed no signs of civilization. We spent some time moving it off its original orbit, building a satellite array to transform its ecosystem, and simultaneously began searching for traces of other civilizations centered on Talos."

"Peace Dove Project?"

"It seems I don't need to introduce it to you again."

Friston nodded in agreement. Priestess hadn't told Kal'tsit nothing; she might have even implanted a part of her personality into Kal'tsit as nourishment for her rapid growth.

"We were forced to wander for a long time because of our own stupidity. We found that the universe was so empty that we did not even encounter a single civilization in millions of years."

"So when we settled in Talos, we began to explore the surrounding star systems. The Warp travel made our interstellar travel as easy as taking a bus. We discovered many civilizations, most of which had not escaped the constraints of gravity."

"We will not interfere with the development of such civilizations. We will only observe them. Unless they encounter an insurmountable danger that could destroy them, we will wait for them to one day venture out into space. As Priestess told you, a disunited civilization cannot escape gravity; it can only destroy itself."

Not all civilizations can leave their cradle and escape the gravity of the planet; Friston's database records many cases of self-destruction.

"Terra was discovered around that time. It's somewhat similar to our home world, but the species are much stranger."

Curiosity led Friston and others to observe the planet, because Terra at that time had no civilization or intelligent life, but it already had the potential to evolve into one.

"Destruction always comes suddenly. We haven't been working on this planet for very long, and we're already forced to find ways to keep the Fireseed alive for our own survival. It's not surprising that those strange native creatures see us as invaders."

Just as Doctor. Speaker once told Exusiai others, the development of Terra civilization was abnormal, and the forms of life were distorted. Ten thousand years was not enough time for primitive species to evolve into their current form.

"Originium shaped Terra's current civilization, but with sufficient intervention, Terra shouldn't be in its current form. It's just that nothing goes as we wish."

Friston couldn't help but feel regretful, but that wasn't the crux of the matter.

"We sowed the seeds of civilization, but we neglected the fact that the seeds originally planted here would also grow rapidly as a result. To them, we are nothing but shameful robbers."

Although the reasoning wasn't explicitly stated, Kal'tsit understood what Friston wanted to tell her, and her heart gradually calmed down, regaining its usual composure.

As Friston said, things don't always go as planned, and not everything can develop as beautifully as initially envisioned. Just as Old Civilization went from prosperity to destruction, they left behind many measures and made many preparations.

"In the initial plan, the Terra civilization was to be their successor."

On Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit also recounted her unknown past to Mizuki.

"But now, aside from a few remnants of civilization, the Terra civilization has not inherited much of our legacy."

"Terra is not yet ready to accept the gifts of its predecessors. Receiving too much will only incite excessive greed and lead them to self-destruction."

Gifts from Old Civilization —any one of these technologies would be enough to cause turmoil on Terra. Even Kal'tsit couldn't help but wonder: The Warp bridge construction technology, interstellar engine technology, and planetary Matrix technology—could these things be used by the current Terra?

"You're right, we're really worried they'll go astray."

"Those two moons alone are more than enough what you've left behind."

Few people know that Terra's Twin Moons did not form naturally, and Terra didn't even have a moon to begin with. If it weren't for the fact that their gravity systems were still functioning, they would have caused a huge mess long ago.

"Those two moons... Ah, I remember telling the Doctor that our home planet only has one moon, you know what she said?"

"... With her brain, she'd probably say that two moons would keep them from being lonely."

"No, you only got the general idea right."

Friston's tone was somewhat strange; she felt that Kal'tsit either overestimated the Doctor's character or underestimated the other's ability to create drama.