The memory torrent shared by the Ancient Era Survivors Alliance was an immersive experience of civilization's end.
Lin Ye and his allies' consciousnesses were instantly drawn into the twilight of countless civilizations.
First fragment: The "Resonant Star Sea" consortium consisted of hundreds of civilizations that revered communication and cooperation. It established networks for consensus-based decision-making and resource circulation, and once prospered. But as its membership grew, decision-making efficiency plummeted, while "free-riding" and "disregard for the public good" emerged. When hyperspace storms struck, disputes over responsibility and relief plans delayed the response. Peripheral members suffered mass extinction, the chain of trust broke, and the consortium collapsed amid mutual accusations. The memory froze on unfinished proposals and cold data in an abandoned decision hall.
Second fragment: A super-civilization that pursued "Dynamic Balance" regulated conflicts through meticulous social engineering. It showed remarkable results at first. But its regulatory system grew increasingly massive and complex, and the "Balancers" became detached from the populace. To preserve "balance," they suppressed innovation and dissenting voices. The civilization became a machine that looked splendid on the outside but was dead within. In the end, it slowly perished after losing its ability to adapt to changes in external rules. The memory ended with the helpless, bewildered gaze of the final Balancer.
Third...
Fourth...
Every memory was a true record of a civilizational experiment that had tried to follow a path of inclusiveness, cooperation, and balance, only to fail at a different stage. They failed because of humanity's selfishness and short-sightedness, because systems became rigid and alienated, because of external pressure, and because ideals clashed with reality.
The memories carried intense emotions of failure—disappointment, disillusionment, doubt, and exhaustion. Like icy tides, they washed over the glow of "hope" emitted by the Prototype Network, proving to every observing mental image that