Chapter Summaries

The Talodan flagship entered the Human fleet’s Titan Mothership, where Talodan leader Aldan and scientist Milo marveled at its technology and artificial gravity. After putting on life-support suits, Aldan stepped onto the human deck, beginning the two civilizations’ first in-person contact.

• The Expeditionary Fleet welcomed the Talodan fleet into the Titan Mothership as Bai Yixuan prepared to greet the Pan-Human Federation’s newest member.
• Aldan and Milo watched the mothership’s holographic guidance displays, and Milo wondered how Human Civilization had made them work on such a vast scale.
• The Talodan flagship entered the artificial gravity zone, and Milo realized the mothership generated genuine gravitational attraction.
• The Talodans learned that the mothership’s living conditions were close to their homeworld’s, though they were told to wear life-support suits to guard against microbial differences.
• Aldan and Milo followed the opening hatch, and Aldan stepped onto the human deck for the two civilizations’ first in-person contact.

Aldan met Bai Yixuan aboard the Titan Mothership and learned that the Human Fleet had recreated Dokaril Central Park as a meeting place. As the fleet traveled toward the Kepler-452 Stellar System, Aldan learned it had destroyed the Eugene Fleet and began to regret the Talodan Civilization’s decision to join the Humans.

• Aldan entered the recreated Dokaril Central Park, recognized it, and realized the Talodan homeworld and park were probably gone.
• Bai Yixuan welcomed Aldan and explained that the Human Fleet expected to reach its destination in four months using Curvature Navigation.
• Milo eagerly asked about Curvature Navigation, and Bai Yixuan said the Talodans could learn more by earning contribution points and credit points.
• Bai Yixuan revealed that the Titan Mothership was only a secondary flagship and that the fleet was a small detachment.
• Bai Yixuan told Aldan that the Humans had destroyed the Eugene Fleet with a Saturation Strike, leaving Aldan shaken and regretful.

Four months of cultural exchange accelerated Human Civilization’s artistic and scientific progress while the Talodans grew to revere its history and Lü Yongchang. As the Expeditionary Fleet returned to the Kepler-452 Stellar System, Aldan and Milo debated the Talodan Civilization’s future under Human protection.

• Human and Talodan cultures influenced one another, and Human Civilization reported faster scientific research and new theoretical advances.
• Zero sent the welcoming fleet out from the Kepler-452 Stellar System after it received the Expeditionary Fleet’s tachyon message.
• Aldan and Milo admired the arriving fleet, while Aldan worried that the Talodans were becoming dependent on their appeal and Human support.
• Milo argued that the Talodans needed Human Civilization to survive and said their preferential treatment would not make them a pet civilization.
• Aldan agreed that Milo could exchange the points earned from Talodan cultural materials for technological resources the Talodan Civilization needed.

The Expeditionary Fleet arrived at Kepler-452b for the Talodan Civilization’s formal welcome into the Milky Way Pan-Human Federation. Lü Yongchang reassured Aldan about the Federation’s other member and offered the Talodans an interest-free loan to terraform a homeworld, leaving Aldan to consider the cost.

• The Expeditionary Fleet entered the Kepler-452 Stellar System and brought the Talodan delegation aboard the [Earth] for the meeting.
• Lü Yongchang told Aldan that the Pan-Human Federation had three members, including Human Civilization and the Talodan Civilization.
• Lü Yongchang revealed that the Federation’s second member, the plant-based [Nus Civilization], was dormant in the [Earth]'s Biological Laboratory, alarming Aldan until he saw the enormous tree.
• Lü Yongchang explained that Human Civilization was searching for a suitable world for the [Nus Civilization] and offered to terraform a potentially habitable planet 11.3 light-years away for the Talodans.
• Lü Yongchang offered the Talodan Civilization an interest-free Credit Points loan with a five-hundred-year term, while warning Aldan that regional resources and opportunities to earn points were limited.

Lü Yongchang secured a trade agreement with the Talodan Civilization, which spent its credits and took on heavy debt to acquire Human technology. After delegating Talodan affairs and urging Fang Xu to find more vassal civilizations, Lü Yongchang returned to the technology tree and studied its newly visible technologies.

• Aldan accepted Lü Yongchang’s trade service, and Lü Yongchang offered free interstellar flights between Human and Talodan space for a hundred years.
• Lü Yongchang showed Aldan and Milo the technologies available for redemption, including genome enhancement, Star Swallower leases, antimatter, and weapons.
• Aldan and Milo spent their new credits and took on a large debt, prompting Aldan to estimate that they would need to develop ten valuable stellar systems to repay it.
• Lü Yongchang assigned Lin Shuguang to handle Talodan affairs and told Fang Xu to find more lower-level civilizations to serve as vassals.
• After Su Yutong left his office, Lü Yongchang returned his consciousness to the technology tree and studied several advanced technologies.

After the Eugene campaign, Wilson and Yevgeny argued over whether antimatter cannons or curvature missiles were better weapons. Lü Yongchang summoned Wilson, and both scientists suspected he had a new weapon design.

• Lü Yongchang received a high-priority message, considered a list of names, and asked Zero to summon Wilson.
• Wilson introduced a project to extend the range of the Antimatter Central Ship Cannon to his researchers.
• Yevgeny interrupted Wilson and bragged about improvements to curvature missiles, prompting an argument over kinetic and energy weapons.
• Wilson admitted that curvature-equipped kinetic weapons had performed impressively against the Eugene Civilization, while Yevgeny questioned whether antimatter cannons could match them at close range.
• Zero announced that Lü Yongchang was waiting for Wilson, and Wilson left the laboratory as Yevgeny returned to berate his researchers.

Lü Yongchang proposed using a High-Energy Neutron Storm to clear the life from HIP22580f for terraforming and colonization, and tasked Wilson with developing the weapon. He then revealed that he was also considering a more powerful weapon for use against level five civilization starships: the Matter Disintegration Ray.

• Lü Yongchang showed Wilson HIP22580f, a planet covered in blue vines and inhabited by primitive carbon-based organisms, and explained its potential for colonization.
• Lü Yongchang said he wanted to use a High-Energy Neutron Storm to eliminate the planet’s life while preserving its surface, using the grand unified field to control high-energy neutrons.
• Wilson accepted the task and rushed to begin developing the neutron weapon, excited by its potential against low-level civilizations.
• Lü Yongchang stopped Wilson and explained that he had preliminary ideas for a stronger weapon against level five civilization starships.
• Lü Yongchang introduced the Matter Disintegration Ray, based on the grand unified theory.

Lü Yongchang began a Matter Disintegration Field project with Wilson, while Tang Hairong received approval to start the Planetary Fortress project. Years later, the Human Federation tested the River of Forgetfulness Ship’s High-Energy Neutron Storm on a heavily protected Planet-Class Home Ship, and the weapon’s neutron torrent struck its target.

• Lü Yongchang explained the Matter Disintegration Field to Wilson and appointed him deputy on the new research project.
• Tang Hairong received the high-priority message authorizing construction of the Planetary Fortress project.
• By Earth Calendar year 3630, the High-Energy Neutron Storm project had succeeded, and the Megastructure Engineering Department had built the River of Forgetfulness Ship to carry the weapon.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the River of Forgetfulness Ship to deploy its Grand Unified Field Sails, charge its weapon, and fire at a Planet-Class Home Ship.
• The High-Energy Neutron Storm swept over the target ship and overwhelmed its protective layers, setting off alarms.

The [River of Forgetfulness Ship] destroyed the target ship with a high-energy neutron storm and prepared to continue its mission in the HIP 22580 Stellar System. Meanwhile, an Eugene Lizardman fleet learned that General Kelei had encountered a suspected Level Five Civilization, leaving its superior enraged and the subordinate facing punishment.

• The neutron storm destroyed the target ship’s control systems, and Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to send robots aboard for inspection.
• The robots found the Home Ship’s habitat lifeless, and Lü Yongchang ordered the [River of Forgetfulness Ship] to depart for the HIP 22580 Stellar System.
• In Earth calendar year 3631, a small fleet arrived in the HIP 22580 Stellar System and headed toward a blue planet.
• An Eugene Lizardman superior questioned a subordinate about General Kelei’s missing reports and ordered a superluminal message sent.
• When General Kelei failed to reply, the superior read an old log revealing that Kelei had encountered a suspected Level Five Civilization and suspended the Talodan capture mission.
• The superior ordered guards to turn the subordinate into canned meat.

After learning that General Kelei’s fleet had vanished after encountering a level five civilization, the Eugene Emperor ordered the Eugene Civilization to flee the star region. The chapter ended with the fleet accelerating toward a new destination five hundred light-years away to begin a civilization-wide migration.

• Yifu returned and warned the Eugene Emperor that General Kelei’s fleet might have met with disaster.
• Yifu told the Eugene Emperor that the fleet had encountered a level five civilization.
• A technician reported that every warship under Kelei’s command had lost contact and that their Quantum Superdistance Communication Devices were malfunctioning.
• The Eugene Emperor designated the star region a forbidden zone and ordered the branch fleets to abandon their missions and avoid it.
• When a crew member questioned the plan to leave, the Eugene Emperor ordered him made into canned meat.
• The Eugene Emperor ordered the fleet to accelerate and begin a civilization-wide migration after replenishing supplies.

After the neutron storm sterilized HIP22580f, Lü Yongchang tried to establish whether Lost Giant Tree seeds could survive there, but they died from the planet’s gamma radiation. The researchers debated how to provide the [Nus Civilization] with a suitable environment, and Lü asked Tao Yuda to explain his alternative plan.

• The [River of Forgetfulness Ship] unleashed a High-Energy Neutron Storm on HIP22580f, and probes detected no surviving life.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Lost Giant Tree seeds planted on the planet while [Nus] waited, hoping the trees could adapt to its conditions.
• A month later, Zero reported that all the seeds had died, and Lü told the fleet to hold position.
• Mao Zhengzhi proposed producing gamma rays with antimatter reactors, but Tao Yuda calculated that the plan would require a Dyson Cloud and waste too many resources.
• Mao Zhengzhi revealed that the Biological Laboratory wanted data from a mature [Nus Civilization] to advance research into consciousness, and Lü called out his empty promises.
• Lü asked Tao Yuda to present his alternative plan.

Tao Yuda proposed intensifying fusion reactions inside the HIP 22580 Stellar System’s primary stars to create controlled flares, and Lü Yongchang used the technology tree to assess the idea. He endorsed the plan and identified a theoretical path toward star control and even artificial supernovae, leaving the scientists to develop the prerequisite technology.

• Tao Yuda proposed using the grand unified field to intensify fusion reactions in the HIP 22580 Stellar System’s primary stars, and he teased Mao Zhengzhi over the resource cost of Mao’s plan.
• Lü Yongchang consulted the technology tree and discovered the Star Core Reaction Interference Device, which appeared connected to a level six technology called Starburst.
• Lü Yongchang emerged from the technology tree after being forcibly ejected and told Tao Yuda that his proposal was highly feasible.
• Tao Yuda presented derivations linking grand unified theory to interference with a star’s core, and Lü Yongchang agreed that injecting energy through a grand unified field could trigger stronger fusion.
• Lü Yongchang explained that advanced versions of the technology might detonate stars and create supernovae, then began writing a model for the prerequisite technology.

Five years after the first-generation Star Core Reaction Interference Device was developed, humanity completed Kepler-452b’s transformation and held the Awakening Ceremony. Lü Yongchang announced the start of the program to awaken the billions of humans still in cryosleep.

• The Academy of Sciences developed the first-generation Star Core Reaction Interference Device, and Kepler-452b’s transformation was completed.
• Lü Yongchang traveled to Kepler-452b, where the first genetically enhanced Talodan envoys had arrived to witness the ceremony.
• Lü Yongchang reunited with Hong Qiming at the Human Civilization Central Square beneath the Human Civilization Pioneer Monument.
• The ceremony presented humanity’s history of hardship and sacrifice, then Lü Yongchang declared the age of catastrophe over.
• Lü Yongchang ordered all Home Ships opened and began the Awakening Program.

As Human Civilization struggled to manage its expanding population and the demands on Zero, Mao Zhengzhi brought Lü Yongchang a discovery that could let people transmit memories through the Nus Civilization’s intent network. Lü Yongchang ordered the Xihe to depart immediately for the HIP 22580 Stellar System, despite its unfinished startup tests.

• Lü Yongchang oversaw the awakening of cryosleep survivors and the basic education program on Kepler-452b while Zero handled the growing demands on its computing power.
• Mao Zhengzhi arrived at Lü Yongchang’s office with news that Lu Siyuan had identified signals involved in the Nus Civilization’s memory transmission.
• Lü Yongchang realized that memory transmission could help educate the population, mitigate the effects of cryosleep, and free up Zero’s computing power.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the Megastructure Engineering Department to send the Xihe to the HIP 22580 Stellar System immediately, overriding its second startup test.

The Xihe device triggered a controlled stellar outburst in the HIP 22580 system, creating a gamma-ray habitat where the Nus Civilization and Lost Giant Insects could settle. Meanwhile, the Eugene fleet arrived to resupply but came under attack by an unidentified ship and prepared to fight.

• Zero used Xihe to intensify the star’s fusion reactions until it unleashed a massive gamma-ray burst across the HIP 22580 system.
• The Nus Civilization moved its seeds, smaller individuals, and Intent Network Core to HIP22580f, along with the Lost Giant Insects.
• The Eugene Emperor ordered his fleet to resupply for sixty years before continuing toward a region five hundred light-years away.
• An unidentified enemy attacked the Eugene flagship with high-energy laser fire, damaging 12.67% of its outer armor.
• The Eugene Emperor ordered the fleet to close ranks, form a defensive formation, and prepare to engage.

The Eugene Fleet entered the HIP 22580 Stellar System and discovered that a tiny probe from Human Civilization could destroy its warships with ease. After the Eugene Emperor pleaded to leave, Lü Yongchang recognized the fleet and ordered Zhao Zijie to capture it while minimizing casualties.

• The Eugene Emperor watched a probe destroy a level three warship and realized the Eugene Fleet had encountered a powerful Human Civilization.
• The Eugene Emperor accepted a warning message, apologized, and ordered the fleet to break formation and flee.
• Zero identified the incoming fleet as the Eugene Civilization, and Lü Yongchang recognized it as one they had met before.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zhao Zijie to capture the Eugene Fleet and avoid excessive casualties.
• Lü Yongchang directed Zero to bring nearby probes together and keep the fleeing warships under close watch.

Human Civilization mobilized its warships to capture the Eugene Fleet for contribution points, while the Eugene Emperor tried to disperse its ships and flee. As the fleet encountered three more probes blocking its path, the Emperor ordered them destroyed.

• After orders arrived from Kepler-452, Fan Ping told his crew to capture the Eugene warships without causing widespread casualties.
• When Fan Ping saw that Sha Weizhao’s 054C [Golden Crow] had already left port, he ordered 053C to pursue and raced into space.
• The Eugene Emperor began a dispersed escape operation, sending 9,639 warships toward 31 nearby stellar systems.
• After the flagship was struck by a laser, the Eugene crew discovered that three probes had appeared in its path and warned that they were under attack.
• The Eugene Emperor cursed Human Civilization’s warning and ordered the fleet to fire on the three probes.

The Eugene Civilization attacked three Human Civilization probes, but their weapons barely damaged the probes before the marks healed. After Human Civilization declared war, a massive warship suddenly appeared before the Eugene Fleet, leaving the Eugene Emperor facing the threat of a direct assault.

• The Eugene Emperor ordered the fleet to fire every available weapon at the three probes.
• The lasers struck the probes after their gravitational shield bent the beams, but the probes quickly repaired their superficial damage.
• The Eugene fleet's kinetic and energy weapons also failed to harm the probes, which remained in place before the fleet.
• Human Civilization transmitted a formal declaration of war and warned the Eugene Civilization to stop resisting.
• A huge Human warship appeared in front of the Eugene Fleet, and a crew member asked the Eugene Emperor whether they should still attack.

Fan Ping and his first officer tried to make the Eugene fleet surrender, then offered it a place in the Milky Way Pan-Human Federation. After a human weapon destroyed one of their own probes, the Eugene Emperor accepted the offer.

• The Eugene Emperor told the crew to wait rather than fight the vastly stronger human fleet.
• Fan Ping and his first officer recognized the Eugene ships as standardized warships and suspected they had found an important Eugene Fleet detachment.
• Fan Ping and his first officer decided to contact the Eugene fleet and attempt to persuade it to surrender.
• Fan Ping demanded that the Eugene Civilization disarm and submit, then offered to wipe away its earlier offenses if it joined the Federation.
• A human warship accidentally destroyed its own probe while demonstrating its firepower, and the Eugene Emperor agreed to join the Milky Way Pan-Human Federation.

Fan Ping discovered that destroying an allied probe would cost him compensation, then realized the Eugene figure addressing him might be important. The Human Civilization provisionally accepted the Eugene Civilization’s application to join the Pan-Human Federation, leaving the Eugene Emperor facing a review and an unfinished warning about the consequences of failing it.

• Fan Ping learned that he would have to pay compensation for firing an antimatter shell at an allied probe.
• Fan Ping and the vice-captain recognized that the Eugene representative seemed more important than a squadron captain and decided to find out who it was.
• The Eugene Emperor privately planned to feign surrender and seek a chance to escape.
• Fan Ping told the Eugene Civilization that its application to join the federation was provisionally accepted and demanded that it disarm and grant access to its shipboard computers.
• The Eugene Emperor learned that the civilization would undergo a review and asked what would happen if it failed.