The Nagus Joint Council made its decision, dividing the entire civilization into two parts. One represented new hope, while the other would stay behind to cover its retreat.
These were also the two possible futures planned for the civilization. Either path could preserve its existence.
Nor were those who remained entirely without a chance. After all, there were sixty billion of them. Under enough pressure, they might yet develop some new technology.
"I just never expected interference from an unknown civilization to have anything to do with an individual's inner world, let alone this so-called question of faith."
Nagus muttered to himself in his office. According to the report sent by the Imperial Research Department, the first individuals infected had all possessed the most active brainwaves-in other words, those hopelessly lost in their fantasies.
They included individuals with dark inner worlds, as well as those whose understanding of the world was distorted. In a sense, these life-forms had unconsciously cooperated with the mutations.
They were also among the most susceptible to mutation.
As the anomalous electromagnetic waves grew stronger, the second wave of infected individuals began experiencing hallucinations. The waves affected the nervous and sensory systems throughout their bodies, causing errors in perception.
Individuals with weak wills were easily infected, while those with strong wills suffered persistent, brainwashing-like auditory hallucinations, their inner desires amplified without limit.
However, the reinforced planetary shields blocked the electromagnetic waves, bringing the disaster under control.
The empire swiftly swept the planetary surfaces. None of the mutants could escape the Scavenger Teams clad in Molecular Powered Armor, while detection spheres the size of glass marbles could float into every blind spot.
The empire lost nearly twenty-three billion people in this disaster. The dead became planetary matter, indirectly extending the empire's remaining lifespan.
Nagus, who had chosen