Chapter Summaries

Lü Yongchang ordered the Human Fleet to wait in cryosleep for probe data while Meng Lu revealed that she and Mao Zhengzhi had deciphered the sapling’s behavior. He was left stunned by the giant tree and its roots, which had stopped attacking research robots after repeated expeditions to Lost Star.

• Lü Yongchang ordered half the Black Hole Probes to travel to the second target region and told the fleet to prepare for cryosleep.
• Zero informed Lü Yongchang that Meng Lu had sent a message about a research breakthrough.
• Meng Lu showed Lü Yongchang the giant sapling thriving in the expanded Biological Laboratory.
• Meng Lu explained that the sapling’s roots had initially attacked robots but stopped after exploratory landing operations on Lost Star became more frequent.
• Mao Zhengzhi arrived and realized Meng Lu had not yet told Lü Yongchang about the next step in their research.

Lü Yongchang learned that the giant trees on Lost Star had begun cooperating with human probes and research robots after years of gamma-ray feeding and a show of force. Watching a giant tree interact peacefully with robots in the laboratory, he wondered whether it was connected to the trees on Lost Star.

• Lü Yongchang mistook the giant tree beyond the curtain wall for one that Mao Zhengzhi had tamed.
• Mao Zhengzhi showed Lü Yongchang footage of a Lost Star tree opening a path for a probe, welcoming gamma rays, and driving off attacking Lost Giant Insects.
• Mao Zhengzhi explained that humans used gamma-ray guns to feed the trees and had stationed two thousand hydrogen bombs above a giant tree as leverage.
• Lü Yongchang asked whether the laboratory's giant tree had been treated the same way, and Meng Lu and Mao Zhengzhi denied it.
• Lü Yongchang wondered whether the laboratory's giant tree remained connected to the giant trees on Lost Star.

Lü Yongchang confronted Mao Zhengzhi over the danger of keeping the Lost Giant Tree aboard the flagship, then approved an experiment to communicate with the giant tree on Lost Star through the sapling. The experiment began with scientists preparing their equipment, while Lü and Mao considered whether the sapling and its parent shared signals or possessed separate consciousnesses.

• Lü Yongchang warned Mao Zhengzhi that the intelligent Lost Giant Tree was dangerous, and Mao explained the laboratory's safeguards.
• Meng Lu said the sapling helped her decipher its language, and Lü approved testing communication between it and the giant tree on Lost Star.
• Research Robots inserted electrodes and Probe Needles into the sapling's roots as Mo Zeyang and Meng Lu prepared the instruments and Translation Program.
• Mao Zhengzhi explained that the device used bioelectric currents to interfere with quantum signals, which had patterns linked to the giant tree's signals.
• Lü Yongchang suggested the sapling might be learning from its parent, then raised the possibility that the offshoots could grow into independent trees with individual consciousness.

Lü Yongchang and Meng Lu began communicating with the Lost Giant Tree, but its confused and distressed responses left them questioning its intelligence. Lü Yongchang proposed asking whether it could contact the giant tree on Lost Star, raising the possibility that the smaller trees each had their own consciousness.

• Meng Lu sent humanity’s first greeting through electrodes in the giant tree’s roots, causing the tree to thrash against the Biological Laboratory.
• Mao Zhengzhi explained that the bioelectric signals might feel like a voice appearing inside the tree’s mind, and Lü Yongchang stopped the laser cannons from firing.
• The giant tree replied by asking who the humans were and what human civilization meant, then said it did not understand their message and wanted them to stop speaking inside its consciousness.
• After the tree reacted violently to a longer explanation of humanity, Lü Yongchang told the researchers to ask whether it could contact the giant tree on Lost Star.
• Mao Zhengzhi wondered whether the smaller trees, each about a hundred meters tall, had individual consciousness.

Lü Yongchang and the research team questioned a five-year-old sapling and discovered it had lost contact with the Lost Giant Tree. After Lü urged it to try reconnecting, it reached Nus, who apologized and asked Humanity to return.

• Meng Lu sent a message that prompted the sapling to ask how the humans knew of Him.
• Lü Yongchang learned the sapling had not heard His voice for a long time and asked when they had last communicated.
• Mo Zeyang explained that the Lost Giant Tree had supplied the sapling with basic information around that time.
• Lü Yongchang asked the sapling to contact Him and explain its situation.
• The sapling contacted Nus, who apologized for his earlier behavior and asked Humanity to descend once more.

After Sapling revealed that the beings called Nus were not independent consciousnesses, Lü Yongchang decided to send research robots to Kurien rather than diplomatic personnel. The drones reached Lost Star and descended toward the giant tree at its North Pole.

• Sapling told Lü Yongchang that Nus were not independent beings, though each had an independent consciousness, and asked humans to visit Kurien.
• Lü Yongchang decided to send research robots to Kurien and asked the Sociology Division to assess Nus's behavior.
• Fang Xu agreed to discuss selecting diplomatic personnel with Senator Hong Chair.
• Zero piloted three carrier-based drones carrying research robots and communication equipment toward Lost Star.
• Nus detected the drones, and the giant tree at Lost Star's North Pole opened a landing pad beneath its crown.
• The three drones plunged toward the giant tree's crown.

Lü Yongchang established communication with Nus and learned that Nus was the collective consciousness formed by the Lost Giant Trees through the Intent Network. The conversation paused after Lü Yongchang asked whether Nus knew the condition facing its home planet.

• The Carrier-Based Drones landed among the Giant Trees, whose roots protected the area and approached the Research Robots.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to insert electrodes and probe needles into a root, enabling the robots to translate signals from Nus.
• Nus greeted Human Civilization and confirmed that it understood Lü Yongchang’s title and had learned about humanity from a child.
• Nus explained that the Intent Network connected the consciousnesses of all Lost Giant Trees into one immense consciousness called Nus.
• Lü Yongchang praised the Lost Giant Trees’ civilization and asked Nus whether it knew what condition its home planet was facing.

Lü Yongchang learned that the fading energy disk around Lost Star would doom the Lost Giant Trees, while Human Civilization could not safely relocate the planet. [Nus] offered to let humanity take one young tree and create a new Intent Network Core, then made the Nus Civilization a vassal of humanity.

• [Nus] explained that Kukulkan had disappeared and the disk sustaining its civilization was losing energy, forcing it to hunt for more energy.
• Lü Yongchang told [Nus] that the Lost Giant Trees would eventually perish as the disk's radiation declined.
• [Nus] asked whether becoming a vassal civilization would let Human Civilization resolve the crisis, but Lü Yongchang said humanity could not safely move Lost Star.
• [Nus] proposed that humanity take a young tree and offered a new Intent Network Core to help it form an Intent Network.
• Lü Yongchang agreed, and [Nus] declared the Nus Civilization a vassal of humanity and began creating the core.

Lü Yongchang agreed to take Lost Giant Insect larvae after Mao Zhengzhi explained their importance to recreating the Nus civilization. A century later, [Nus] completed a new Intent Network Core containing its civilization’s memories, leaving its descendants’ future in Human Civilization’s hands.

• [Nus] asked Lü Yongchang to take healthy Lost Giant Insect larvae and explained their importance to the Nus civilization.
• Mao Zhengzhi urged Lü Yongchang to take the larvae and recreate the radiation pressures that had shaped the Nus civilization’s root systems.
• [Nus] added that the Giant Insects had developed faint intelligence and might serve as weapons, and Lü Yongchang agreed to take them.
• Lü Yongchang and the other academicians entered cryosleep as Human Civilization prepared to mine the Lost Star and the Nus civilization built a new Intent Network Core.
• A hundred years later, [Nus] completed the root-woven core, stored the civilization’s memories inside it, and wondered whether Human Civilization would keep its promise.

After more than a century of silence, Black Hole Probe No. 1 sent an anomalous signal to the fleet, and researchers aboard the Earth confirmed it had found gravitons. Lü Yongchang saw the discovery as the first hope of completing grand unified theory and advancing Human Civilization to level five.

• The Lost Giant Tree civilization sent its seed away from Lost Star as its remaining inhabitants prepared for the end.
• A signal from Black Hole Probe No. 1 reached the fleet and triggered its wake-up protocol.
• Researchers aboard the Earth cross-checked the probe's anomalous data.
• He Bilin announced that Black Hole Probe No. 1 had successfully found gravitons and was attempting to capture and observe them.
• Lü Yongchang examined the readings and celebrated the discovery as a breakthrough toward grand unified theory and level-five civilization.

After the fleet received the graviton observations, Lü Yongchang used them to determine the missing constant and reveal the superstring gravitational field equation. The technology tree reacted to his achievement, unlocked new civilization-level technologies, and displayed a mysterious message before ejecting him.

• The graviton data finished arriving, and Lü Yongchang used the observations to find the constant that had eluded him for centuries.
• Lü Yongchang presented the superstring gravitational field equation to the Human Federation Academy of Sciences, and the researchers erupted in applause.
• A boom sounded in Lü Yongchang's mind, and he realized that time had only slowed rather than stopped.
• The technology tree shook as the nodes for finding gravitons and completing the equation lit up, leaving Lü Yongchang dizzy and unable to exit its space.
• The tree revealed curvature navigation technology, Basic Gravity Shield, and the Grand unified theory, while its background shifted into mottled colors.
• Lü Yongchang was forced out of the technology tree after glimpsing the message, "First modification complete."

Lü Yongchang collapsed after experiencing the lingering effects of a mysterious modification, and Doctor Wen revealed that he had suffered similar episodes since the Earth Era. She explained that his brain activity had climbed to extraordinary levels with each episode, suggesting his brain was evolving faster than his body could keep up.

• Lü Yongchang felt dizzy after leaving the Technology Tree Space and collapsed in front of the Academicians.
• Doctor Wen examined Lü Yongchang in the Medical Center and told Fang Xu and Mao Zhengzhi that his condition was complicated and not easily explained by disease.
• Doctor Wen said Lü Yongchang had repeatedly lost consciousness since the Earth Era, usually waking within three days, and that his examination records were classified as top secret.
• Fang Xu cleared most of the Academicians from the Medical Center so Doctor Wen could discuss Lü Yongchang's classified examination results.
• Mao Zhengzhi reacted with shock to Lü Yongchang's brain scan, and Doctor Wen explained that his brain activity had increased with each episode.
• Doctor Wen hypothesized that Lü Yongchang was evolving rapidly, with his brain changing faster than his body and causing him to lose consciousness.

Doctor Wen revealed that Lü Yongchang’s brain had disappeared and become energy, leaving the Medical Center stunned. After Lü woke up and verified the scan himself, he remembered a message saying his first modification was complete.

• Fang Xu noticed that Doctor Wen had omitted the report from Lü Yongchang’s last blackout, and Doctor Wen showed a scan in which part of Lü’s brain had briefly vanished.
• Doctor Wen revealed that the Medical Pod’s latest readings showed Lü’s entire brain had converted into energy.
• The Medical Pod opened, and Lü woke up unaware that anything was wrong with him.
• Doctor Wen confirmed that Lü’s brain had disappeared, and Mao Zhengzhi showed him the scan.
• Lü underwent another brain scan and saw the hollow move with his head; a message in his memory then said, “[First modification completed.]”

Lü Yongchang underwent tests after a void appeared where his brain should be, and Mao Zhengzhi found an unknown energy entity with fluctuations far stronger than ordinary brain waves. Lü Yongchang recognized the pattern as quantum consciousness, matching the Lost Giant Tree’s test results.

• Doctor Wen and Mao Zhengzhi examined the void in Lü Yongchang’s holographic image and decided to take him to the Biological Laboratory for more tests.
• Mao Zhengzhi tested Lü Yongchang, who nervously worried that the academician might use the opportunity to settle a personal score.
• Mao Zhengzhi found that Lü Yongchang’s brain structure had vanished and been replaced by an unknown energy entity whose fluctuations exceeded ordinary human brain waves by more than a thousand times.
• Lü Yongchang realized his thoughts had become exceptionally clear and that he could enter an overclocked state without the Technology Tree System’s help.
• Lü Yongchang compared the readings with the Lost Giant Tree’s test results and identified the waveform as quantum consciousness.

After the energy burst transformed Lü Yongchang’s brain into a quantum state, his thoughts became freer and overclocked easily, but his body struggled under the strain. He left the laboratory to recover, realizing he would have to learn to control his altered brain.

• Lü Yongchang explained to Mao Zhengzhi that his thoughts resided in quantum signals and that his brain seemed more advanced than the Lost Giant Tree’s.
• Lü Yongchang’s ideas surged uncontrollably, and worsening dizziness revealed that his body could not withstand prolonged overclocking.
• Mao Zhengzhi admitted he did not understand the transformation and chose to keep studying it while Lü Yongchang returned to his work on the superstring gravitational field equation.
• Lü Yongchang hurried out of the Biological Laboratory, refusing Mao Zhengzhi’s offer to escort him.
• In the corridor, Lü Yongchang rejected Zero’s offer to call Doctor Wen and regained control of his thoughts before heading to his office.

Lü Yongchang and the Academy of Sciences used the Superstring Gravitational Field Equation to develop a gravitational field generator. Seven years later, they began the first test of the device aboard the remote laboratory ship [Universal Gravitation], leaving the experiment’s outcome unknown.

• Lü Yongchang summoned relevant academicians to discuss using the Superstring Gravitational Field Equation for Curvature Navigation.
• Tao Yuda reported that their research supported the Randall-Sundrum model and that gravity could extend into a fifth dimension.
• Lü Yongchang said the researchers should focus first on controlling gravity and achieving Curvature Navigation rather than pursuing wormhole technology.
• By Earth Calendar year 3265, the Academy of Sciences had achieved a degree of control over gravity, and Lü Yongchang announced the first gravitational field generation experiment.
• A small fleet positioned one light-year from the Human Fleet prepared to activate the generator aboard the mobile gravity laboratory [Universal Gravitation].

Lü Yongchang and the researchers successfully activated the Gravitational Field Generator aboard the [Universal Gravitation], producing artificial gravity equal to Earth's. They then adjusted the field's direction and range, confirming a change in spacetime curvature as preparations began for another test.

• Zero increased the [Universal Gravitation]'s Antimatter Engine output, powering the Gravitational Field Generator.
• The generator organized gravitons into a gravitational field that grew until its strength reached 9.8 N/kg.
• Lü Yongchang celebrated as the researchers confirmed that the generator had produced artificial gravity equal to Earth's.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the team to test adjustments to the gravitational field's range and strength.
• Zero redirected the field into a forward-facing fan, raising its strength to 14.7 N/kg, and the researchers confirmed a change in spacetime curvature.
• The researchers saved the data and prepared for the second gravitational field adjustment experiment.

Lü Yongchang and the Academy of Sciences advanced research on the second-generation Gravitational Field Generator, while a delayed transmission from the Black Hole Probe revealed three anomalous readings that might indicate an unknown particle. Lü Yongchang summoned the researchers to examine the data, leaving them uncertain about what the readings meant.

• Lü Yongchang told Tao Yuda that the first-generation Gravitational Field Generator produced too little spacetime curvature for a Warp Drive.
• Lü Yongchang and the Academy of Sciences overcame problems with the second-generation Gravitational Field Generator, which was designed to produce a gravitational field as strong as the Sun's.
• Zero informed Lü Yongchang that the Black Hole Probe had sent back new data after six years, and Lü Yongchang spotted an anomalous reading and ordered everyone to assemble.
• Lü Yongchang showed Fang Xu readings that resembled gravitons but might belong to an undiscovered particle.
• Lü Yongchang argued that the anomalies were unlikely to be a malfunction because only three of 9,531 readings were anomalous and they were not consecutive.
• Academicians arrived at the Laboratory, heard Zero's explanation, and studied the anomalous data.

Lü Yongchang sent the academicians away to rest while they waited for more data from the Black Hole Probe, then sensed the anomaly might help future research. After the Second-Generation Gravity Generator was installed on [Universal Gravitation], the probe’s signal and quantum communication abruptly failed just before the next gravitational field experiment.

• Lü Yongchang told the academicians to take the limited observational data to their Personal Terminals and continue studying it while resting.
• Lü Yongchang blamed Fang Xu for the rest break, and the other academicians left the Laboratory after glaring at Fang Xu.
• After Fang Xu left, Lü Yongchang pondered the data, sensed it could benefit the Academy of Sciences, and then left the Laboratory.
• Lü Yongchang’s team completed the Second-Generation Gravity Generator, and Zero remotely upgraded most of [Universal Gravitation] in just over a month.
• As the final inspection neared completion, the Black Hole Probe lost its signal, data transmission stopped, and the Quantum Superluminal Communication Device’s entanglement effect began disappearing.

All Black Hole Probes near the black hole lost quantum communication, prompting Lü Yongchang and the academicians to investigate whether the [event-form] theory or another danger was responsible. As they waited to see whether electromagnetic wave communication still worked, Lü Yongchang feared an advanced civilization might have attacked the probes.

• Zero reported that the quantum entanglement effect had disappeared for every probe approaching the black hole.
• Lü Yongchang and He Bilin considered whether the [event-form] theory could explain the loss of quantum communication.
• The academicians restored order in the laboratory and began investigating the cause as Zero attempted to establish electromagnetic wave communication.
• He Bilin suggested the black hole's tidal forces might have destroyed the probes, but Lü Yongchang's calculations showed the forces were too weak.
• Lü Yongchang concluded that if electromagnetic wave communication had also been affected, an advanced civilization might have attacked the probes.