Chapter Summaries

Lü Yongchang and the others learned that the defeated fleet belonged to the Herders, a composite civilization of seven vassal species controlled by the Cleaners Civilization. The chapter revealed why the Herders had not attacked Human Civilization earlier and why they struck when its Expedition Fleet approached the intergalactic bridge.

• Lü Yongchang explained that the Herders were a composite force of seven level six civilizations, dominated by the Cleaners Civilization through Thought Imprint technology and equipped with obsolete Cleaners warships.
• The Holographic Projection revealed that the Cleaners had ordered the Herders to subjugate civilizations in the Milky Way as they approached or achieved level six.
• The Herders began with Civilization One and Civilization Two, then forcibly added each new civilization whose travel speed exceeded 100c.
• He Bilin asked why the Herders had never confronted Human Civilization despite its level six status and advances in curvature technology.
• Lü Yongchang pointed to the record that the Herders began guarding the intergalactic bridge in Earth Calendar year 2600, after the Cleaners’ war with the Gardener Faction, giving Human Civilization a thousand years to develop.
• Lü Yongchang concluded that the Expedition Fleet’s curvature fluctuations near the bridge drew the Herders’ attention and prompted them to attack.

Lü Yongchang ordered Human Civilization to gather supplies and leave the Milky Way Galaxy, while Sweeper 9527 dismissed the reports about them as an ordinary level six civilization and ordered the Herders punished. Human Civilization prepared to depart as the Cleaners stayed to guard the Milky Way Galaxy node.

• Fang Xu urged Lü Yongchang to evacuate the Milky Way Galaxy before the Cleaners discovered Human Civilization.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to collect the battlefield supplies and move two yellow dwarfs into the micro-universe, then commanded the fleet to depart once preparations were complete.
• Sweeper 9527 reviewed the Herders' report and decided Human Civilization was probably a lucky level six civilization with ordinary technology.
• After learning Human Civilization had seized the Herders' flagship, Sweeper 9527 considered whether they might be silicon-based, then ordered ninety percent of the Herders' contribution points deducted.
• Sweeper 9527 refused to pursue Human Civilization and ordered his forces to remain at the Milky Way Galaxy node until the Parent Civilization issued new orders.

Sweeper 9527 avoided confronting the civilization that had attacked the Cleaners’ Galaxy Branch by sending the Andromeda Branch after it and blaming the [Herders]. Meanwhile, the [Tenth Empire] searched the Great Attractor for four-dimensional cavitation bubbles and reported another failed dimensional ascension experiment.

• Sweeper 9527 ordered every one of the [Herders]’ civilization contribution points deducted.
• Sweeper 9527 told the Andromeda Branch to intercept the fleeing level six civilization, claiming it had a micro-universe and basic intergalactic travel capabilities.
• When the Andromeda Branch questioned why Sweeper 9527’s branch would not act, Sweeper 9527 cited the threat to the Milky Way Galaxy node and demanded that the other branch bear responsibility.
• The [Tenth Empire] fleet traveled through the Great Attractor, where its researchers reported finding no four-dimensional cavitation bubbles and declared the Dimensional Ascension Experiment a failure.

The Human Federation fleet continued its long journey from the Milky Way toward Andromeda, surviving repairs and gathering resources as Lü Yongchang’s research brought him closer to a level seven civilization. The fleet reached the point where Andromeda filled its view, while the Milky Way had faded to a dim speck.

• The empire restarted the Galaxy Leapfrog Plan and sent its fleet toward the Centaurus Galaxy Cluster and Hercules Supercluster to search for four-dimensional cavitation bubbles.
• Human Civilization entered the Milky Way-Andromeda Intergalactic Bridge with five hundred starships and continued the expedition under Zero’s control.
• In 5303, Zero halted the fleet to repair the Kuafu and escort ships, then resumed the journey after half a year.
• In 7139, Zero brought a rogue gas giant into the micro-universe to provide resources for the fleet.
• In 8713, Lü Yongchang awoke from cryosleep, reviewed the Academy of Sciences’ research, and sensed that he had reached the threshold of a level seven civilization.
• Lü Yongchang learned that micro-universe supplies had fallen to the level two alert line and saw Andromeda revealed ahead, with the Milky Way reduced to a faint point of light.

Human Civilization reached the Andromeda Galaxy after a 5,143-year voyage, and Lü Yongchang awakened as the first phase of the awakening plan began. A White Dwarf Fortress appeared to be preparing to intercept the fleet, while Lü Yongchang realized how essential the micro-universe had been to the expedition’s survival.

• The Human Federation fleet arrived at the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy, and Zero began the first phase of the awakening plan aboard [Earth] and the [Home Fortress].
• Inside a White Dwarf Fortress, [9436] and [9435] discussed the approaching Human fleet and prepared to open a jump wormhole.
• [9436] opened the jump wormhole, and the White Dwarf Fortress vanished into it.
• Zero woke Lü Yongchang and confirmed that the fleet had reached the Andromeda Galaxy after 5,143 years.
• Lü Yongchang saw that the micro-universe’s seven stars were nearly depleted and concluded that the fleet would have lost at least 90% of its combat strength without micro-universe technology.

The Human Fleet encountered a vastly faster unknown civilization as it traveled toward a stellar system in Andromeda, and Lü Yongchang hurriedly mobilized the fleet for battle. The newcomers turned out to be the Cleaners Civilization, whose White Dwarf Fortress received a humble message from the humans.

• Lü Yongchang briefed the crew on the fleet’s destination and resupply plans before alarms reported an unknown construct traveling at 50,000c.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to sound the war alarm, wake the crew, open the Micro-Universe Port, and deploy every warship, including [Earth].
• Zero brought the fleet’s factories and defenses to full operation, and the Human Fleet assembled a heavily armed space fortress outside the micro-universe.
• The unknown construct dropped out of faster-than-light travel just before reaching the fleet, revealing itself as a blue-white planetary fortress.
• Lü Yongchang sent the fortress a self-decoding message that identified the humans as the Enroget Civilization and apologized for obstructing its passage.
• Inside the Cleaners Civilization’s White Dwarf Fortress, [9435] and [9436] recognized the humans as a level six civilization that had escaped the Milky Way, and [9436] began decoding their message.

The Human Federation learned that the looming fortress belonged to the Cleaners Civilization, which had recognized their fleet as the Herders’ attackers despite their Enroget disguise. After negotiations failed, Lü Yongchang ordered the fleet to fight the Cleaners while the Dandelion Plan spread the civilization’s seeds to nearby galaxies.

• [9436] abandoned its plan to destroy the Human fleet immediately and sent a message proposing to have fun with the Enroget Civilization.
• Zero decoded a message identifying the opponent as White Dwarf Fortress No. 3 of the Cleaners Civilization’s Andromeda Branch.
• The Cleaners sent records proving that the fleet had fought the Herders, and rejected Lü Yongchang’s offer of compensation by declaring that their honor must not be tarnished.
• Lü Yongchang rallied the Command Center, ordered the Dandelion Plan reactivated, and sent the fleet into battle against the Cleaners.

The Human Federation fleet attacked the Cleaners’ White Dwarf Fortress, but the Four-Dimensional Shield made both spatial and conventional weapons pass through it harmlessly. Lü Yongchang identified the shield’s principle as a warped four-dimensional Klein bottle.

• Zhao Zijie ordered the fleet to unleash its spatial weapons against the White Dwarf Fortress.
• [9436] activated the Four-Dimensional Shield while [9435] and [9436] dismissed the Human fleet’s chances.
• The fleet’s spatial rifts reached the fortress’s location, but the fortress vanished from view and the attacks passed through without causing damage.
• Zhao Zijie ordered kinetic and energy weapons, but the fortress again vanished as the missiles and beams passed through its position.
• Lü Yongchang concluded that the fortress was protected by a Four-Dimensional Shield formed from a warped Klein bottle opening.

Lü Yongchang discovered that Curvature Missiles could briefly destabilize the White Dwarf Fortress’s Four-Dimensional Shield, but the enemy quickly strengthened it. With the shield resistant to further disruption, he prepared the [Dandelion Plan] and coordinated an attack by the Imperial Fortress as the seed ships began to deploy.

• Lü Yongchang explained to Fang Xu that the White Dwarf Fortress was hidden behind a Four-Dimensional Shield and that ordinary three-dimensional attacks could not penetrate it.
• Lü Yongchang proposed using Curvature Missiles’ short-distance jumps to disrupt the shield’s Klein bottle structure, and hundreds of thousands briefly revealed the fortress before the shield stabilized again.
• [9436] recognized that the Enroget Civilization had a basic understanding of dimensions, while [9435] increased the Four-Dimensional Shield’s power output.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the Imperial Fortress to prepare an attack once [Dandelion] left the fleet, and [Ten] reported that the fortress had reached the Micro-Universe Port.
• Under Zero’s control, [Kuafu] withdrew while [Dandelion Civilization Seed Ships] emerged from the Micro-Universe Port and moved away from the White Dwarf Fortress.

Lü Yongchang abandoned the failed Dandelion Plan and ordered Human Civilization to unleash the Twin Starburst against the White Dwarf Fortress. The supernova erupted as [Ten] shielded the Human Fleet, leaving the attack’s outcome unknown.

• Zero detonated the Curvature Missiles, allowing the Civilization Seedships to scatter, but the White Dwarf Fortress unleashed a spacetime trap that destroyed the fleet’s Warp Drives.
• Lü Yongchang refused Zhao Zijie’s suggestion to deploy [Ten] and instead ordered [Earth] and [Kuafu] to approach the White Dwarf Fortress with the fleet.
• Lü Yongchang ordered [Kuafu] to release two stars, which collided and began a supernova as they sped toward the White Dwarf Fortress.
• [Ten] emerged from the micro-universe and positioned the Imperial Fortress between the Human Fleet and the stars.
• The Twin Starburst exploded, illuminating the Andromeda Galaxy and unleashing a powerful gamma-ray burst.

Human Civilization triggered twin supernova explosions to break through the Cleaners Civilization’s four-dimensional shield. With the Imperial Fortress shielding the Human Fleet from most of the damage, Lü Yongchang saw the weakened White Dwarf Fortress as a chance to attack.

• [9436] and [9435] watched the Enroget fleet prepare to tow a micro-universe and assumed it was making a desperate last stand.
• [9436] realized Human Civilization was triggering two supernova explosions, and it and [9435] scrambled to raise the four-dimensional shield and attempt dimensional ascension.
• The twin supernova explosions engulfed the star field and overwhelmed the White Dwarf Fortress’s four-dimensional shield.
• [Ten] protected the Imperial Fortress with a spatial shield and its armor, allowing the Human Fleet to survive almost unharmed.
• Lü Yongchang noticed the White Dwarf Fortress was unstable and ordered [Ten] to attack.

The Imperial Fortress attacked the Cleaners Civilization’s White Dwarf Fortress with a spatial rift and Dark Matter Cannon, but the fortress survived by ascending to four dimensions and became immune to three-dimensional attacks. [9436] then launched a Four-Dimensional Shock Bomb at the Human Fleet, whose missiles began disintegrating as the shock wave spread.

• The Imperial Fortress fired a massive spatial rift and a black-glowing Dark Matter Cannon at the White Dwarf Fortress, and [9436] identified the Enroget Civilization as level seven and activated dimensional ascension.
• The Dark Matter Cannon triggered a huge explosion around the White Dwarf Fortress, but the fortress emerged with only the corner previously cut away by the spatial rift damaged.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the Human Federation fleet to attack and realized the White Dwarf Fortress had become a four-dimensional object when their weapons passed through it harmlessly.
• [9436] ordered the launch of a Four-Dimensional Shock Bomb, which disintegrated the Human Fleet’s Curvature Missiles and began dissolving nearby three-dimensional objects.

A fourth-dimensional attack nearly destroyed the Imperial Fortress until a Silicon Stingray Civilization creature arrived and dispersed it. The stingray confronted the Cleaners, identifying the fortress as the Tenth Empire’s Homeworld and demanding to know whether their attack was a declaration of war against the Silicon-Based Alliance and the Neutral Faction.

• Lü Yongchang learned that the Imperial Fortress could not defend against the fourth-dimensional attack as the shock wave began dissolving its armor.
• A dark-gray missile emerged from a spacetime distortion and destroyed the incoming shock wave.
• A massive, living stingray-shaped vessel appeared, fired at the White Dwarf Fortress, and examined the damaged Imperial Fortress.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization accused the Cleaners of crossing a line, while the Cleaners denied that the fortress belonged to the alliance.
• The stingray pointed out the Tenth Empire insignia and challenged the Cleaners to say whether they were declaring war on the Silicon-Based Alliance and the Neutral Faction.

The Cleaners Civilization identified the Enroget Civilization as a member of the Silicon-Based Alliance, forcing the White Dwarf Fortress to abandon its attack and retreat. Human Civilization survived the crisis, but the Silicon Ray Civilization approached the Imperial Fortress and the Human Fleet afterward.

• [9436] and [9435] realized the White Dwarf Fortress was the [Tenth Empire]'s Homeworld Fortress and considered attacking the Enroget Civilization anyway.
• The Silicon Ray Civilization received [Ten]'s assessment confirming that the Enroget Civilization was a silicon-based civilization and a member of the Silicon-Based Alliance.
• [9436] learned that the Enroget Civilization came from the Milky Way Branch and ordered the White Dwarf Fortress to retreat toward Andromeda.
• The White Dwarf Fortress returned to three-dimensional space and vanished, while Lü Yongchang realized Human Civilization had narrowly escaped extinction.
• The Silicon Ray Civilization circled the Imperial Fortress and approached the Human Fleet.

Lü Yongchang tried to disguise humanity as part of a carbon-silicon hybrid civilization after the Silicon Stingray Civilization detected carbon-based life aboard the fleet. The stingray postponed its judgment, then asked for stars to power a broadcast and began feeding on one of the four stars the humans supplied.

• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to make research robots imitate human behavior and present the Enroget Civilization as a carbon-silicon hybrid.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization identified carbon-based life aboard the fleet and aimed its spined tail at the flagship [Earth].
• Lü Yongchang sent the stingray a fabricated history describing the Enroget Civilization as a partnership between carbon-based and silicon-based life.
• After finding no flaws in the chronicle, the silicon stingray withdrew its threat and said it would consult the other alliance members.
• The silicon stingray asked for stars to power its Cross-Galaxy Tachyon Broadcast, and Lü Yongchang supplied four before it plunged into one.

The Silicon Stingray Civilization contacted the Silicon-Based Alliance to ask whether the Enroget Civilization could join, despite objections from a powerful M87 civilization. After reviewing the Enroget Civilization's exceptional test results, the alliance approved its membership, leaving Lü Yongchang and the crew of the [Earth] badly startled by the silicon stingray's close approach.

• The Silicon Stingray Civilization consumed a star while sending an encrypted tachyon signal toward the Virgo Supercluster.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization described the Enroget Civilization to the Silicon-Based Alliance and asked whether it could join.
• A level eight civilization from M87 opposed admitting the Enroget Civilization, but asked to see its test results after learning it had taken the earliest version of the test.
• After reviewing the results, the M87 civilization approved the Enroget Civilization's membership, and the Silicon Stingray Civilization relayed the decision to Lü Yongchang.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization's looming approach frightened Lü Yongchang and the [Earth] crew before the alliance's welcome eased their alarm.

As the Human Fleet entered the Andromeda Galaxy, Lü Yongchang learned about the universe’s major factions and questioned whether the Cleaners Civilization planned to destroy the universe. The silicon stingray dismissed that claim as Gardener Faction propaganda, leaving Lü Yongchang to reconsider what he had heard from Hua.

• The silicon stingray praised Human Civilization’s fleet and told Lü Yongchang that its wormhole device and defensive weapon came from the Tenth Empire, not its own technology.
• The silicon stingray explained that the Cleaners Civilization was a powerful civilization with many vassals, while the Gardener and Neutral Factions were alliances, and warned Lü Yongchang to avoid their war.
• As the fleet reached the Andromeda Galaxy, the silicon stingray described civilizations and factions beyond the Milky Way, including the Tenth Empire’s place in the Neutral Faction.
• Lü Yongchang asked whether the Cleaners Civilization planned to destroy the universe and create a new one with a particle accelerator.
• The silicon stingray said that claim was the Gardener Faction’s standard line to outsiders and argued that the Neutral Faction would oppose any threat to the universe’s survival.

The Silicon Stingray Civilization explained that the Cleaners Civilization sought to recreate the Big Bang to reach level nine, while the Gardener Faction wanted to restore the universe to its higher-dimensional pastoral era. After the stingray left, Lü Yongchang learned the Empire Homeworld Fortress had been left with the Human Fleet, and ordered the fleet to rest and search for a merging binary black hole system.

• Lü Yongchang asked the Silicon Stingray Civilization what the Cleaners were trying to do, and it dismissed Hua’s claim that the Gardener Faction acted to protect the universe.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization explained that the Cleaners wanted to recreate the universe’s evolution at the Big Bang to become a level nine civilization, using dimensional beings to study dimensions.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization said the Gardener Faction wanted to restart the universe and restore the pastoral era, which could endanger three-dimensional civilizations, but the Neutral Faction expected the Cleaners to hold the line.
• The Silicon Stingray Civilization left the Human Fleet in the Andromeda Galaxy and advised Lü Yongchang to find two black holes about to merge.
• Fang Xu told Lü Yongchang that the Empire Homeworld Fortress had been left behind, and a message from the Silicon Stingray Civilization asked the Enroget Civilization to help it return to the Tenth Empire after reaching level seven.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the Human Fleet to find a star for rest and refitting, while searching for a binary black hole system about to merge.

The Human Fleet headed for the binary black holes AGBH-01 and AGBH-02, where a merger was expected within 500 years. Along the way, the fleet received an open tachyon broadcast from the Neutral Faction warning civilizations about the merger, and Lü Yongchang moved the gathering academicians to Earth’s Command Center to discuss it.

• The rebuilt Human Fleet left the disrupted stellar system, carrying the Silicon-Based Alliance emblem and five yellow dwarfs stored in the micro-universe.
• After He Bilin and the academicians identified AGBH-01 and AGBH-02 as Humanity’s next destination, Lü Yongchang ordered the fleet to set out for the binary black hole system.
• Zero informed Lü Yongchang that the fleet had received an unfiltered tachyon broadcast, which warned of the black hole merger and advised nearby civilizations to prepare protective measures.
• Lü Yongchang invited Fang Xu and He Bilin to analyze the broadcast, but they revealed that news of it had already spread widely.
• The academicians crowded into Lü Yongchang’s office to discuss the broadcast, so he relocated the meeting to Earth’s Command Center.

The Human Federation joined the Neutral Faction’s inter-civilization communication band and discovered a flood of messages from other civilizations. Meanwhile, the Alcott Civilization awaited the black-hole collision, hoping it would reveal how to advance to level seven.

• The level-six Alcott Civilization, a single vast fungal consciousness with specialized daughter entities, gathered at a swamp planet in the binary-star system to witness the coming event.
• When the tachyon broadcast reached the planet, [Alcott] anticipated the spectacle but wondered whether a rumor about it was true.
• Aboard the [Earth], academicians debated whether humanity should enter the Neutral Faction’s communication band, and Lü Yongchang decided they should.
• The warship [Chiyou] connected to the designated frequency and received a massive volume of encrypted information.
• The command center’s projection filled with messages from level-five civilizations seeking planets, offering protection, and making deals, so Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to filter out weak signals.