"Sextans suited us well. It was a small galaxy, far enough from the Milky Way. After decades of travel, we arrived there. Together with our second patriarch, we pondered the meaning of civilization. Why did we develop? Was it for safety, self-preservation, power, desire, or because nature compelled us to? In the end, most of us concluded that our civilization's selfish desires were the root cause of the Snow Tribe's tragedy. If we hadn't been blinded by desire, we wouldn't have been reduced to what we were.
"So we later genetically modified our people. We changed not only our appearance, but also removed most of our selfish desires. We became free of wants and desires, and without selfish desires, technology became somewhat superfluous. We lived peacefully in a small star system on the edge of Sextans. As it turned out, without selfish desires, our people lived very happily. We kept away from the wars at the center of the galaxy and avoided all conflict with other civilizations. We retained only some technology for self-defense and abandoned the rest.
"Not much happened after that. We Snow Tribe people lived quietly in Sextans until five billion years ago, when the second patriarch reached the end of his life. He said we were still a civilization of the Milky Way, and he hoped we would return there in the end. So much time had passed that the old hatred should have been forgotten. Besides, our people's appearance had changed completely, so the chances of hostile civilizations discovering us were very slim. As long as we kept a low profile, we could remain safe.
"Five billion years ago, I led our people back to the Milky Way. Good fortune smiled on the Snow Tribe once more. As soon as we crossed the boundary of the Milky Way, we discovered that the old Snow Star still existed. So we moved Snow Star here, buried our spaceships, and concealed everything we had created with technology. We became an ordinary planetary-level civilization."
"Wait, Patriarch, are you saying you're already five billion years old?" Academician Xiao interrupted the Snow Tribe patriarch. As an expert in biology, Academician Xiao was fascinated by the patriarch's age.
"Yes, but my people don't live nearly that long. They only live for about a million years. Among the Snow Tribe, a very, very small number possess a special gene. Those who have it not only live longer, but also have thinking abilities far beyond those of ordinary tribespeople. They are the pillars of the Snow Tribe, and we choose the next patriarch from among them. We're already considering that matter now. I believe you can see that the end of my life isn't far off. Within ten thousand years, I'll leave them."
"Patriarch, since you gave up technology, how do you know about what happened at Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri?" Hu Yu asked.
"Yes. In truth, we had no choice but to give up technology. There were already severe gaps in our technological knowledge. When the second patriarch led us to Sextans, we brought almost none of our civilization's important technological reserves with us. After all, ours was a planet on the edge of the Milky Way, of little importance. The main body of our civilization wouldn't have kept important technology on a planet like that. That, in turn, allowed us to escape pursuit and preserve the Snow Race Civilization." The old patriarch took another sip of water and continued.
"Since our return to the Milky Way, we've relied on a few warships buried deep beneath Snow Star to defend the planet. Those warships are ten billion years old, and many parts have decayed with the passage of time. Still, unless a star system-level civilization or higher launches a major attack, they can just barely keep Snow Star safe. Sometimes I think about the Snow Tribe's future. Sooner or later, those warships will turn to rust. How will we keep our people safe then?
"We've also placed some high-dimensional channel openings within a few hundred light-years of here. They're like eyes hidden among the stars, and through them we can observe what's happening nearby. Under normal circumstances, no civilization below the great star region level would discover them. That's how I know your every move at Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri.
"When you first arrived at Tau Ceti, you were still an early stellar-level civilization. You had only just begun to develop when the Sand Python Fleet attacked you. Later, another star system-level civilization hunted you down. Then, three years ago, you fought the Sand Python Fleet again and detonated Tau Ceti and the third star of Alpha Centauri. We know all of it clearly."
Hearing that the Snow Race Civilization had once been so powerful-not only dominating the Milky Way but also carrying the flames of war into the Andromeda Galaxy-the three of them couldn't help feeling tempted. Even in its decline, it couldn't possibly have left behind as little technology as the old patriarch claimed. If the fleet obtained that technology, it would surely advance by leaps and bounds. But they quickly suppressed the mad thought. If the patriarch dared to tell them, he had the means to back it up. Besides, killing and plundering when the other party had done them no wrong wasn't the way of Hu Yu's human fleet, still less the way of Hu Yu and the others.
Between civilizations, there was no right or wrong, no morality, only victory or defeat. That seemed to be what all civilizations believed. But Hu Yu believed the universe wasn't always dark. One more friend was always better than one more enemy. Even setting morality aside, attacking a former hegemon of the Milky Way rashly would not be wise.
"Patriarch, we must have made fools of ourselves. We thought you were only a planetary-level civilization, and we even came all this way to warn you to be careful. As we'd say, we've really embarrassed ourselves before an expert." Hu Yu was somewhat embarrassed.
"No, General, your goodwill moved me. In the billions of years since we returned to the Milky Way, more than a hundred civilizations have come to Snow Star. Some happened to pass by; others reached here through ordinary colonial expansion. In the end, they all wanted to claim Snow Star for themselves. But they all left some things behind when they departed. Yours is the only civilization that has come to Snow Star with nothing but goodwill. Although you were shaken when you heard me speak of technology just now, and even considered taking it by force, reason won out in the end. Perhaps we were wrong. Removing selfish desires isn't the best solution. Being able to control them, as you do, is the highest state. Whether the next patriarch chooses to develop technology again will be up to him."
"Patriarch, it seems we can't hide any secrets from you. I admit, the thought did cross my mind just now, and I believe any civilization would find it hard to remain calm in the face of such temptation." Since the patriarch had seen through him, there was no need to conceal it. It was better to confess directly.
"That's nothing. Civilized species are inherently full of greed and selfish desires. We are the most typical example. But in the end, we paid dearly for our greed and fell to our present state. Perhaps this flaw was especially pronounced in the first civilizations to emerge. After we returned to the Milky Way, we carefully investigated the entire galaxy. Strangely, the whole Milky Way had become very empty. The lively scene of ten billion years ago was gone. Tens of billions of civilizations had dwindled to fewer than a million, and not one of the millions of advanced civilizations remained. The advanced civilizations that appeared were all ones that developed later. We guessed that, after we left the stage of the Milky Way, those civilizations must have fought large-scale wars for a long time. They too wanted to become a second Snow Race Civilization and dominate the Milky Way. As a result, they were all destroyed in war. They didn't understand that the Snow Tribe's glory could not be replicated."
"Patriarch, thank you for telling us so many secrets about the Milky Way. It's been less than two million years since our ancestors gained intelligence, so our civilization knows nothing about the Milky Way's past. Patriarch, do you know about the Insect Race?"