An Li's name suggests a human, but it's difficult to determine gender.
Biological differences between male and female lifeforms are evident, regardless of species. For example, Multi-eyed and Kate lifeforms are similar to Humans, with males being stronger; Warbeasts, Lelera, and Gargleblasts have stronger females.
In less developed civilizations, stronger groups suppress weaker ones. Even in the 21st century, though women's status improved, women are underrepresented in leadership roles. The difference is less noticeable in entertainment, but males still dominate; consider the number of male versus female celebrities.
This is partly due to societal structures and partly to biological differences.
As civilizations develop, gender roles converge. Many women are less interested in traditional romance and prefer male-centric genres, while society emphasizes strong female leads; women increasingly adopt masculine traits, and some men adopt feminine traits.
This highlights biological differences.
The Federation's early gene technology mitigated this; women are now almost equally represented in leadership across all sectors: finance, politics, and academia. Female representation on scholar rankings isn't significantly lower than male representation, even exceeding it at times.
Gender discrimination is nonexistent in the Federation.
Following Luna's communication, An Li, a female Human, volunteered. She piloted a specialized 4000-meter-class starship, red and black, resembling a 21st-century fighter jet, but more aggressive—angular, heavily armored, with intimidating rear thrusters.
Its name was Crimson Dragon, a specialized vessel capable of reaching an astonishing 41,983 km/s, representing the pinnacle of Federation technology.
The Crimson Dragon cost around 600 million Energy Credits; similar ships cost over 1 billion. The high price was because it came from a Federation-owned shipyard, with fewer than ten built annually.
An Li didn't volunteer because of the ship.
It was because of her hero worship.
Federation records detail the first contact between the Federation and the Olive Branch Civilization, where a diplomat named Luna created a legendary, individualistic narrative on Tilted Station.
With the Olive Branch Civilization once again at war with the Federation, An Li saw a rare opportunity; she felt she might not find such a chance again in tens of thousands of years.
Unlike others, she didn't fear death; especially in an age of near-immortality, she feared leaving no mark. This was her greatest fear.
Reading tales of Federation heroes, she felt an intense emotional response; these stories represented her life's pursuit.
So, she stood on the Crimson Dragon.
"Destination confirmed; travel time: 1930 years. Diplomat An Li, prepare for cryosleep," Reus, a scholar, said, seeing An Li gazing into space from a window.
An Li wasn't alone; she had a comprehensive support team, and the Crimson Dragon's powerful computer system included advanced encryption to prevent intrusion.
"No need. From the moment we received the order, our lifespans were predetermined. Gazing at the cosmos for 1930 years isn't a bad choice."
"Reus, you mentioned enjoying space; don't you feel…"
"My cryosleep is about to begin, Diplomat An Li. I'll go first." Reus hurried off. He liked space, but what was the point of staring at it for years?
An Li smiled serenely at Reus' hasty departure. "Youth!"
An Li had a youthful appearance; with a bit of reduction, she could be considered a loli. But even without genetic modification, female Humans were over 190 cm tall; An Li, physically fit, had clearly defined abs, essentially a muscular loli, though usually well-covered.
Don't be misled by her appearance; An Li was 419 years old, nearing the end of her lifespan.
Without this mission, she would likely die in 72 years.
Looking at the stars, she recalled her life, striving for this moment. All her waiting and preparation had culminated here; her reluctance to enter cryosleep wasn't due to a desire to see the stars, but excitement.
She hoped to reach Tilted Station quickly. Cryosleep would be instantaneous, but she didn't want to waste time.
She retrieved "On the Olive Branch Civilization," rereading it—for at least the twentieth time—carefully studying and analyzing it.
She also accessed a compiled document summarizing the Federation's current understanding of the Olive Branch Civilization. She compared and contrasted the two documents to prepare for her mission.
She put on large glasses, making her already youthful face seem even younger.
Technically, the Federation had eliminated myopia; her glasses were an accessory, a prop. People often have nervous habits while working; she wore glasses for a similar reason.
Sitting on the sofa, she read intently for several days.
This was a short period of the overall journey, but her concentration wasn't limited to those books. She had a nickname among her diplomatic colleagues:
"Bookworm"
Because they always found her reading.
Her lifetime reading time was probably 2,663,140 hours—tens of thousands of books.
Luna chose her for her seriousness.
Before her departure, Luna sent her a package.
"You will succeed, An Li!"
...
An Li closed the book, rubbing her temples and removing her glasses. She reached for a glass of water; her computer alerted her.
"Diplomat An Li, this water has been here for 247 years."
247 years had passed since An Li last moved.
Living in this era was fortunate; they had extremely long lifespans and didn't need to eat; internal nanites absorbed water and nutrients from the air through their pores.
Of course, regular air lacked nutrients; specialized nutrient mists were used—for patients unable to eat, picky eaters, and anyone who didn't want to eat.
This wasn't advanced technology; some citizens might never eat with their mouths, a tradition lasting 20,000 years in some star systems. Some newborns were even born without mouths.
The universe was full of wonders.
An Li enjoyed eating, particularly sweets, but preferred reading. When immersed in reading, she wasn't bothered by hunger.
The 247-year-old water might contain spaceborne bacteria; though nanites would handle it, uncertainty warrants avoiding very old food and drink.
An Li instructed the computer to replace it; this took only ten seconds.
After drinking, she said, "Awaken all cryosleep passengers; we've arrived at the former location of the Silk Road."
An Li's data indicated that this once-bustling area was now desolate; the computer indicated that the vacuum particle density here was 1000 times higher than elsewhere.
"The Silk Road vanished; all Star Cities and lifeforms were reduced to particles; it was a micro-level structural dismantling. Collect the vacuum particles for analysis."
"Now, transmit a message to Tilted Station, explaining our intentions."
"If we don't receive a response within 20 years, we'll forcefully approach Tilted Station."
The Federation couldn't afford to wait; no one knew if the Tau Ceti Sector, with its tens of trillions of inhabitants, would be next.
All cryosleep passengers awoke, gathering in the ship's bridge.
The ship was enormous, but only 31 passengers were aboard.
These 31 were the elite, including Reus.
"Prepare to deploy the micro-factories."
These micro-factories incorporated the advantages of Olive Branch Civilization metals; they were larger and more precise, also called universal factories—essentially advanced 3D printers capable of manufacturing almost anything.
An Li deployed a micro-factory—a 3x2-meter device—onto an asteroid after approaching it with the ship.
Asteroids along the Silk Road, lacking life, were unaffected by the Olive Branch Civilization's weapon, leaving some intact.
The micro-factory released a mist that quickly disassembled the asteroid, transferring the material inside.
The factory processed it into various components, then began autonomously constructing a large factory; this factory started mass production. Within half a month, a 10-km-diameter asteroid had vanished.
Numerous 10-meter drones began exploring the surroundings, collecting small celestial bodies in the vacuum to create a larger, more comprehensive space platform. This required more time; 20 years would still be insufficient.
After half of the platform was built, the Crimson Dragon headed towards Tilted Station. They received no response during the 20-year journey.
An Li planned the factory's work: a complete super-antimatter displacement device, to be constructed within 300 years.
...
The Crimson Dragon was fast; its initial position was less than 3 light-years from Tilted Station.
Within another 20 years, they reached the outskirts of Tilted Station's star system. Tilted Station appeared unchanged, at least superficially.
But as they approached, the ship's weapons and defense systems activated; An Li sensed something was wrong.
Too quiet!
The cosmos was devoid of life.
Tilted Station, encompassing its star, and even its gigantic warships, were alone in space. Ship sensors detected an approaching object; closer examination revealed it wasn't an asteroid but a 26-kilometer-long fragment, seemingly a piece of Tilted Station.
"Something's happened here."
The Crimson Dragon continued its approach, unopposed. The silence was terrifying, reminding An Li of her childhood, walking alone at night down a deserted street.
No streetlights; only starlight guided her; the dark street was a gaping maw, silently waiting to swallow her whole.
An Li felt a chill.
"There seems to be no life here," a scholar said, searching with the ship's sensors but finding no active objects.
A suffocating tension filled the bridge. An Li ordered the ship to accelerate towards Tilted Station.
Closer and closer.
Tiny fragments were visible; closer inspection revealed Tilted Station's surface was completely shattered; no intact "black box" structures remained.
The fragmented, layered, square structures resembled shattered obsidian; no lifeforms were present.
An Li inhaled sharply: "Tilted Station… destroyed?"
What could have destroyed Tilted Station?
The answer was obvious.
The destruction seemed to have occurred long ago, perhaps simultaneously with the Silk Road's disappearance.
"We must transmit this information back immediately," a scholar said, operating the controls. The ship lacked Tachyon communication equipment; only dreadnoughts possessed it; a dreadnought was more than 100 Crimson Dragons.
Transmission would take 270 years.
"Perhaps we should explore Tilted Station's surface; the destruction might be similar to the Silk Road's. If we find something, this journey won't be in vain."
With Tilted Station gone, diplomacy was pointless.
Everyone had accepted the possibility of death; no one showed fear.
"Go!"
"I agree!"
Seeing everyone's agreement, An Li said, "Very well, begin descent."
"Tilted Station's area surpasses that of all Federation Star Cities combined. We have a micro-factory; we can use Tilted Station's materials to create exploration robots. Finding surviving individuals would be ideal."
Wearing powered armor, they left the ship and landed on Tilted Station's surface.
Standing on the cold metal surface, An Li discovered that the seemingly solid ground was collapsing; the metal crumbled like sand.
"The metal particles here are completely fragmented!"
An Li fled.
Tilted Station was on the star's surface; previously, it had floated there, held in place by stellar winds and electromagnetic forces. Their arrival caused an electrostatic reaction, destabilizing the particles; the entire station was collapsing into the star.
Such a massive collapse would destroy the star.
An Li shouted, "Escape!"
All officials and scholars transformed into their gene pool forms and fled towards the ship; An Li did the same, but received an unknown signal, a deafening blast in her suit's headset.
She turned, directing her implant to analyze the signal.
Her powered armor could accelerate to over 50 km/s instantly and over 300 km/s sustained.
Everyone was on the ship when they noticed An Li was missing.
"Where's the Commander? Why hasn't she returned?"
They saw An Li transformed into a massive gene pool: [Chapter of Tragedy], a Class 6 gene pool. This was chosen because it resembled a book.
An Li had transformed into a giant book; instead of text, it contained countless tentacles; at their center was a large eye. Within the eye, a circular library was visible, empty except for a small table in the center, displaying a music box.
This was the entirety of [Chapter of Tragedy]; its ability was simple: when the music box played, a mournful melody filled the air; those who heard it were overcome with sadness; the weak-willed might even commit suicide.
This gene pool was supportive, not offensive, and not speed-oriented.
The crew believed An Li was returning, but she was flying towards the collapsing Tilted Station.
"Has the Commander been affected by something?"
Everyone was shocked, but then they received a message.
"Bombard the star's surface, then use gravitational force to create a stable opening. I'm entering the star."
The message ended there.
Though they didn't understand An Li's reasoning, they assisted.
The Crimson Dragon, being a small ship, quickly adjusted its weapons. Massive quantities of antimatter were released; the annihilation with matter released enormous energy, creating a deep crater in the star's surface after an hour of bombardment.
Then, powerful magnetic confinement began; pure magnetic confinement is energy-intensive; the ship's confinement equipment first disrupted the star's gravity, creating gravitational turbulence to weaken it.
Everyone watched as the ship's energy plummeted at 4% per minute; given the energy consumption of creating the opening, the ship could maintain it for no more than 27 minutes while collecting surrounding matter and solar energy.
"Commander, 27 minutes!"
The message was sent; An Li plunged into the opening.
The opening wasn't deep, less than 20 km, a mere scratch on the star's surface. An Li didn't intend to penetrate the star with a small ship; she planned to use the matter flowing into the opening from Tilted Station.
This matter was denser than the surrounding hydrogen; it would sink.
This super-strong material could withstand the energy and temperatures of nuclear fusion. The star's surface temperature was only a few thousand degrees Celsius; this material would only begin to rapidly decompose at millions of degrees, in the radiation layer.
An Li acted on the information she'd received.
The message simply stated: "We are here!"
It wasn't in the Olive Branch Civilization's language but the Federation's.
She didn't know if it was a trap, but she felt compelled to investigate, despite the danger.
The Crimson Dragon wasn't designed for deep space penetration; while its exterior could withstand high temperatures, heat transfer would cook the crew. Ships designed for stellar interiors had weaker hulls, prioritizing heat insulation.
As matter flowed past, An Li entered the star.
She was immersed in this matter; the pressure intensified, exceeding 10,000 atmospheres within moments.
She paused to allow her nanites to adapt her body to the pressure before continuing; this was repeated several times.
"Where are they?"
An Li had identified the signal's origin, but she found nothing.
She'd penetrated 100,000 kilometers into the star but found nothing; the temperature was nearing 100,000°C; the metal's temperature exceeded 3000°C. Without her gene pool and powered armor, this temperature would have incinerated her.
Her armor was using energy to create liquid nitrogen for cooling, the energy consumption alarming An Li.
She continued her descent because she sensed sounds deep within the star, indicating a void; as long as she reached it, she wouldn't die.
Typical stellar voids were found within a few hundred kilometers; An Li knew of a void the Federation had created about 3000 kilometers inside a star, but she'd penetrated over 100,000 kilometers, and it remained dark as an abyss.
Her previously calm composure faltered; perhaps this was beyond the reach of any lifeform.
Tilted Station's technology was advanced; their ability to penetrate the star didn't mean the Federation could.
But An Li had no way back.
She continued her descent, accelerating; the immense pressure strained her armor.
110,000 kilometers!
120,000 kilometers!
130,000 kilometers!
150,000 kilometers!
200,000 kilometers!
She'd broken through the convection zone and entered the radiation zone.
But still nothing.
"Impossible. The temperature is over 2.4 million degrees Celsius; even the Olive Branch Civilization…"
Suddenly, the darkness vanished, and the surroundings became bright.
She had finally arrived.
...
This was a small space, about 10 kilometers in diameter, containing an 8-kilometer-long black box.
An Li had done her research; Chu hadn't hidden the Tower of Independence from Finney, so the Federation knew of its existence.
Seeing this enormous black box, she immediately thought of the Tower of Independence.
Tilted Station wouldn't hide anything else here.
Chu must have prepared this escape route.
An Li didn't know what exactly happened to Tilted Station; she approached the massive, square box. Even in gene pool form, she felt insignificant.
As her tentacle touched the surface, a light emanated; the light was information. She heard a voice.
"Past victory has become tarnished; new victory will guide civilization to eternity."
"When victory awakens, its vessel vanishes; victory requires external strength to break free and regain its power. Galactic Federation, whoever you are, you will receive the Olive Branch Civilization's treasure; this belongs to a civilization…"
Before An Li could consider what this treasure was, a torrent of information from Independent Victory flooded her mind; it wasn't immense but contained a language, a script.
The square box containing Independent Victory suddenly activated, attempting to escape the star. An Li's color drained; her entire body pressed against the box as it underwent extreme acceleration, from 0 to 2983 km/s. The acceleration flattened An Li against the box's surface.
A minute later, she and the box burst from the star, detected by the Crimson Dragon.
"That's…"
"The Diplomat!"
The Crimson Dragon rapidly accelerated, approaching the box, which maintained its high speed, heading towards the former Silk Road. This was likely its intended trajectory.
The ship's manipulator arm retrieved An Li; her body was pulverized; her armor couldn't withstand such acceleration. Theoretically, it could, but it had been damaged by the high pressure and temperature, severely reducing its capabilities.
The crew searched through the remains and found a sphere.
Modern powered armor could retract upon the host's death, preserving some of their information for later resurrection.
The body is merely a sophisticated machine; the Federation possessed the technology to fully reconstruct a lifeform from its constituent particles; complete initial data allowed for true resurrection.
This wasn't a replacement but the original lifeform.
She was still herself.
Independent Victory clearly hadn't anticipated a lifeform entering the star's radiation zone; if a ship had been used, An Li wouldn't have been harmed.
Less than an hour had passed; Tilted Station's matter continued to fall; the star's surface became turbulent; intense red shortwave radiation increased; massive amounts of stellar matter were ejected into space, impacting the Crimson Dragon's hull.
Fortunately, Federation technology was adequate; unless directly hit by stellar winds, this matter posed no threat. A 600-million-credit ship should withstand this.
The Crimson Dragon accelerated, leaving the star system. The computer predicted the star would erupt in 14-16 hours and collapse in 20-21 hours.
This was a unique type of matter collapse, different from previous observations; the collapse was relatively slow, but still extremely fast on a cosmic scale.
The Crimson Dragon took over 20 years to reach the micro-factory.
They settled in and used the micro-factory to create biological equipment. This didn't require onboard scholars; the computer had access to extensive knowledge and could reconstruct lifeforms based on basic biological information.
This was completed within ten years.
A lifelike recreation of An Li's body lay on an operating table; the data from her armor was being uploaded; this included her original brain structure, which would be cultivated using a special method: "Atomic Molding."
As the name suggests, this precisely recreates an object down to the atomic level.
Macroscopically, to create a replica, you make a mold and process it. The mold doesn't need high precision. But something like a brain requires atomic-level precision; otherwise, the resurrected individual might not be the original.
Even with this level of reconstruction, it remains uncertain if the resurrected individual is truly the original; this is unknown to outsiders, to the individual, only the original knows.
This raises deep philosophical and ethical questions. The Federation accepts that the reconstructed individual is the original; everyone believes this is true, but no one truly knows. Even advanced civilizations can't solve this; dissecting space and time only allows for comparison, not overlap.
The Olive Branch Civilization's consciousness technology wasn't absolute consciousness transfer but a more comprehensive method than the Federation's Consciousness Transfer Technology. Combining both civilizations' technologies yielded supposedly perfect consciousness transfer.
This leads to deeper questions: is the person today the same as yesterday?
After a period of brain shutdown, today's self might merely retain yesterday's memories, a completely new self.
This theory is called "Yesterday Died" in the Federation.
"Huh?"
An Li awoke, sitting up; the white sheet fell, revealing a perfect body.
Humans always have minor imperfections: facial asymmetry, differing muscle mass in arms, uneven fat distribution, irregular abdominal muscle lines, uneven breasts. Humans are only relatively symmetrical, not perfectly so.
Federation lifeforms had achieved near-perfect symmetry; microscopic imperfections remained, but to the naked eye, they were flawless.
Her naked body was instantly covered by a white powered suit; An Li left the operating room.
"Tilted Station is destroyed, but Independent Victory remains. Our mission is to return Independent Victory to the Federation; this is crucial."
"But we cannot ignore that Independent Victory might be a time bomb. We cannot trust anything alien; we must thoroughly examine it."
She issued orders, then returned to her quarters to write a crucial letter.
...
"Message received from the Crimson Dragon: Tilted Station has been destroyed; all lifeforms perished."
Ayla informed Luna, who was conducting a biological experiment; her movements faltered; she was silent for a long time.
Finally, she said, "Chu achieved his final goal; otherwise, the Olive Branch Civilization wouldn't have destroyed Tilted Station."
"Prepare for the Tau Ceti Sector's disappearance; the Olive Branch Civilization's attacks won't end easily."
"Evacuate warships; relocate the new industrial production lines to uninhabited deep space, fully automated."
Luna harbored no illusions.
Would she have destroyed the threat of the Galactic Federation?
Unlikely.
The Olive Branch Civilization warships hadn't arrived yet; Luna suspected they deemed a long-range attack too risky; unless they had overwhelming force, a protracted conflict would give the Federation time to react.
But the warships would arrive, sweeping up the remnants at the end.
This was interstellar war, a clash of advanced technologies.
Before Ayla could transmit this, she received a second message.
"Independent Victory remains; Chu seems to have surrendered and seeks our assistance."
Luna's expression turned grave.
After the Silk Road's destruction, she couldn't fully trust Independent Victory. If Independent Victory itself were an unknown weapon, contact would be extremely dangerous.
More importantly, Luna didn't believe Chu would do this.
The gap between civilizations was too great. Chu had previously tried to prevent Federation involvement; he wanted to ensure the purity and simplicity of his revolution.
Independent Victory's existence contradicted Chu's goals.
"Ayla, what do you think?"
"Highly improbable!"
Ayla responded instantly.
"Let's postpone this; prevent those who contacted Independent Victory from returning."
Ayla then presented a document.
"Also transmit An Li's hypothesis."
It wasn't a physical document; Luna received and read it.
"The source is unknown. This might seem insane, but please read it."
"Upon contacting Independent Victory, I received something described as a treasure. It's not miraculous; it's a language: the Olive Branch Civilization's language."
"Upon receiving it, I understood why it's a treasure, why the Federation exists, and why Tilted Station gravitated towards us."
"Despite reading extensively, I haven't read every work; I wonder if anyone has studied language, civilization, and the relationship between them."
"Why can't animals develop civilizations?"
"Intelligence? Some animals are surprisingly intelligent, even comparable to humans in some respects; they possess significant intelligence but can't develop civilizations."
"Is it fire, is it tools? Non-human intelligent life isn't the only lifeform that uses tools; some species related to humans can use tools; with training, they can even perform complex tasks and learn fire-making."
"What is it, then?"
Luna, having left the lab and settled on a sofa, called for tea and continued reading.
"I believe it's language."
"Some might argue that animals have their own languages, but they don't; animal vocalizations simply communicate emotions."
"And the language of intelligent life is more complex; it's unique. This brings up the chicken-and-egg question: did language precede civilization, or vice versa? I believe the former."
"Language is the conduit of civilization, not the other way around."
"Once a lifeform possesses language, it gains the ability to transmit knowledge across generations, leading to progress."
"Consider animals. Can they do this?"
"Animals learn skills from their parents; they grow up, reproduce, and repeat. These skills don't become efficient through generational experience; this evolution is extremely slow, perhaps taking hundreds of thousands, even millions of years. Few species live that long."
"But language allows subsequent generations to easily acquire ancestral knowledge. A lifetime of research might become a single sentence, or better yet, an idiom. When we use an idiom, we don't realize it embodies the lifetime achievements of a previous generation."
"When language emerges, civilizations advance rapidly; then writing appears, preserving knowledge. But writing depends on language; language is the fundamental conduit."
"Why could the Federation integrate so many civilizations? I believe the role of Human culture, history, and thought processes cannot be overlooked. Tilted Station, in its later stages, was also influenced and gravitated towards the Federation."
"Every civilization has its unique perspective. I've studied many languages; studying a language broadens my understanding of that civilization. Through deep reflection, I've found that most racial supremacists come from those who don't know other languages; those who learn other languages are often ostracized. Is this coincidence?"
"If we learn a civilization's language, can we understand their technology?"
"Of course, all these thoughts might be fabricated, imposed by Independent Victory. It contains Olive Branch Civilization language; handle it carefully."
Reading the letter, Luna gained new insight.
She had never considered this perspective; seeing things from another's perspective, even viewing oneself through another's eyes, reveals new understanding.
Previously, she'd focused on forceful assimilation, using power to suppress these considerations. Facing a stronger civilization, she was weaker in both military and cultural terms; this perspective became necessary.
While An Li's perspective wasn't universally applicable, it was largely correct.
A single principle can't explain everything, but its broad applicability suggests its validity.
"Language?"
Luna looked at the artifact; she realized she needed to understand the Federation from a different perspective.