1164 The Void

After calculating the binary number of n to 2.2 trillion digits, it was put through a decoder, finally showing a hint.

Just like Lu Zhou had guessed, the civilization that sent these mathematical formulas to Earth had been observing Earth for a long time. They already understood the method of exchanging information on Earth.

And what shocked him was that all this information was compressed in this irrational number that took up less than one byte of storage.

Lu Zhou was shocked at how they were able to send this irrational number to Earth. He wanted to know how they were able to store such a huge amount of information in a number…

The underground laboratory at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.

Lu Zhou lay on the VR chair and put on his helmet.

Even though Xiao Ai was worried about Lu Zhou’s safety, it still compiled the software and began the program.

Soon after, Lu Zhou saw a white light.

Lu Zhou was inside a world similar to the system space.

However, unlike the system space, there wasn’t a familiar holographic panel here; instead, there was a man… A copy of himself.

However, even though it was a “copy” of himself, some facial features were different.

Apparently, human beings were more likely to have a good impression of individuals who looked similar to themselves, but instinctively felt threatened toward individuals who looked exactly the same as themselves.

Lu Zhou wasn’t sure if this was the reason this model looked so similar to him. He wasn’t a psychologist, so there was no way he could analyze the intent behind this advanced civilization.

However, one thing he could deduce was that there was no hostile intent behind this contact.

“How did you do this?”

Lu Zhou looked at the man standing in front of him and continued, “Condensing a huge amount of data into an irrational number… How did you create your own irrational number?”

Even though Lu Zhou’s words were a bit convoluted, he believed this person could still understand him.

Using abstract numbers to express a specific irrational number wasn’t just a mathematical problem, it was something that was considered impossible.

The man had a troubled expression on his face as he gently spoke to Lu Zhou.

“… We used to be as ignorant as you guys. Back then, the numbers we were exposed to were all rational numbers. But as the years went on, we gradually discovered that almost all real numbers are irrational numbers.”

Lu Zhou: “We know this. The rationals are countably infinite, whereas the irrationals are uncountable.”

The person looked at Lu Zhou and spoke.

“Please don’t be mistaken. We don’t use ignorance as a derogatory term… It’s an enviable trait. Ignorant people are curious, and curiosity is the vitality of civilization. Once you lose your curiosity, even if your civilization is omniscient and omnipotent, it will die with the passage of time… Of course, you humans are still too young, and you guys are in a stage where countless new problems are created when each one is solved, so you might not even be able to imagine the feeling of being overwhelmed by endless emptiness.”

Lu Zhou: “Although omniscience and omnipotence sound quite enviable, I… probably understand what you mean.”

Poets often compared themselves to birds, knowing more did not necessarily mean that you would become happier. In fact, most of our troubles came from knowing too much.

This applied to individuals.

As well as civilizations.

“Correct, I agree with you.” The man looked at Lu Zhou with approval as he said, “I’ve been able to see two commendable qualities inside you.”

Lu Zhou thought for a bit.

“… Being self-aware?”

“Three now, you’re very smart.”

The man smiled and continued, “But I’m afraid I cannot answer your questions. That involves the truth of the universe… which is what you call knowledge. The information about that is not included in this program. We hope that you can find the answer yourself.

“Of course, if we have the opportunity to meet, I would like to talk to you as an individual, but this might not necessarily be a good thing for you.”

Lu Zhou: “…”

Lu Zhou felt like he was a monkey in a zoo, being praised for his intelligence. He didn’t know if he should be angry or happy.

In fact, he felt powerless.

He knew that this “person” in front of him was more powerful than the entire military forces on Earth combined. He felt like he should proceed safely.

So far, this person was being kind to him.

Lu Zhou: “Can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“What is your name?”

The man thought for a while and said, “This question is complicated, even more complicated than the first question… We have long ago abandoned the communication methods that require a medium, including gestures, audio, electromagnetic waves, and even gravitational waves. We no longer use things like names to distinguish each other… Of course, for convenience’s sake, you can call me The Observer, that’s my favorite word in your dictionary.”

What a strange creature.

However, Lu Zhou didn’t care too much about the details, so he continued to ask, “What is the Void? What is the natural disaster? And the strange quark star—”

Lu Zhou went silent for half a second and thought back to what The Observer told him before. He said, “Leaving the quark star aside, let’s focus on the first two questions.”

The man smiled and nodded.

He had a respectful look on his face.

He spoke in a slow voice, as if he were reading a poem.

“The Void is the Void, everything about it is a mystery even for us. It is independent of the universe. If the universe is composed of n trembling strings, then it is the n+1 string outside the n-string. The extra dimension outside the n-dimension. It is the lake that makes up the reflection on the lake, and it contains all the energy and matter in this universe, but at the same time, it contains nothing.”

Lu Zhou finally understood how other people felt when listening to his presentations.

By using his knowledge of M-theory, he was able to barely understand what The Observer was saying. But he still couldn’t understand how a civilization could survive in such a dimension space.

And even if they could, how did they communicate with the universe, with Earth?

“As for the natural disaster…” A look of sadness appeared in The Observer’s eyes. After a long silence, he sighed and said, “You’re not ready for that yet.”

Lu Zhou: “I don’t get it. According to you, the Void is the extra dimension outside the n dimension, then it should be independent of the n dimension. How did you contact me then? How did you get inside… those people’s dreams?”

The man had a look of approval in his eyes as he spoke.

“I’m liking you more and more now. Most people panic when they see me, or stubbornly think that I am talking nonsense. You’re the only one that tries to communicate with me using rational thinking… Although you might not trust me, you know that what I’m saying might be possible.”

Lu Zhou didn’t say anything.

The Observer continued to speak, “When the old universe died out, we made some preparations. Just like how you guys built dams for the floods. These preparations allowed us to communicate with other civilizations… However, the energy connection between us is weak, and there are many forces in the universe that interfere with our connection. Even if individuals are aware of our existence, they’re unable to convince themselves.

“So, periodically, we try to send necessary signals to speed up the advancement of your civilization to a certain extent. You can call it a kind of enlightenment. Of course, this kind of growth is not without destruction. Just like a supernova, the expansion will lead to death. We’re walking on thin ice. We’re letting humans grow without reducing your future potential.”

Lu Zhou: “… It seems like you guys have poured a lot of resources into me?”

The Observer smiled kindly.

“Yeah, it would be unfortunate if you ignored our signals. But we know that probability is low, and we have backup plans.”

Lu Zhou wasn’t sure whether the “signals” he was talking about was referring to Professor Grothendieck’s notebooks or the “system” inside his head. However, one thing for certain was that his success came from a lot of guidance.

There was still one thing he didn’t understand.

Which was why they decided to do this.

In other words, even if a group of ants knew that a flood was coming, what could the group of ants do?

It wasn’t that he was being pessimistic, but in terms of mathematics, physics, and information science, Earth’s capabilities were nowhere near the Void civilization.

If the Void civilization, who created a quark star, couldn’t defend against the disaster, what could the puny Earth do?

“… If you guys really want to avoid the crisis, shouldn’t you tell us what it is?”

The Observer smiled, as if he were talking to a child.

“Is that so?

“All of our decisions are based on hundreds of millions of failures and conclusions drawn from trillions of calculations. It might seem illogical from your perspective, but this is the best choice.

“We must make sure that every sand particle in the hourglass falls precisely so that when the final moment comes, everything will go in the right direction… Of course, we still make mistakes.

“Remember the Calanian Empire?”

Lu Zhou nodded without saying anything.

“I’m glad you remember them.” The Observer smiled and nodded. After a pause, he continued, “Two hundred years after the ‘Oracle’ incident, this long-standing civilization turned into dust, disappearing in the universe.”

I knew it…

My guess is correct.

The Calan civilization was the past, and it might even come from what The Observer referred to as the “old universe”. Things that happened before the big bang.

Lu Zhou took two seconds to digest the information. He took a deep breath and asked, “Is it because of the ‘natural disaster’?”

“Natural disasters? Natural disasters are stronger than that. No, it was a manmade disaster.”

The man continued to speak, “What happened with the Calan Empire was beyond our expectations. We never thought that they would destroy themselves.

“Fortunately, their memories were recorded, thus giving us enlightenment.”

Lu Zhou: “Memories? What memories?”

“You ask a lot of questions.

“The memory is the second part of the Void Memory b.”

The man smiled and reached out his right hand. He held up a prism that was made from shiny blue particles.

“It’s almost time.

“If you have a quantum computer, the decoding should end here.”

Lu Zhou wanted to ask what “here” meant, but his white surroundings started to break apart. The blue prism was like a black hole, distorting everything around him, breaking everything into countless fragments.

Lu Zhou had a feeling in his heart.

This is the world depicted in Void Memory b2!

The story has already begun…

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