Chu severed the connection with Luna; it was currently atop the tallest building in Star City 1.
This building had special significance; it was the former Independent Victory tower.
"So much time has passed without me realizing it."
"Although I don't feel like much time has passed, I also feel that the time is ancient, doesn't it?"
"Over 100,000 years. Enough for a civilization to reach the level of the Olive Branch Civilization."
"Ha, the Olive Branch Civilization. That was a name I gave it."
"The meaning of the Olive Branch then and now is different."
Despite readily agreeing with Luna, Chu was still troubled inwardly.
Although it lacked a heart, within human civilization, the heart encompasses more than just the organ; it includes spirit and will—things Chu possessed.
Chu fell silent for a moment, then shook its head.
It discovered that upon reflecting on the past, its memories of the Federation—tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years ago—as a machine, became blurry.
Perhaps those days were simply unimportant to it; its subconscious was slowly erasing those memories, unwilling to retain them.
"It's incredible; meeting her was the most correct thing I ever did…"
Chu chuckled to itself. It sat there, issuing commands to all the units under its control.
"List Hossie as a top-priority assassination target. Deploy squads for extermination."
"Publicly denounce Hossie's regulations as flawed. Create videos fabricating Hossie's ambition."
"Tell those people that Hossie won't let them go. All the accounts of those who committed suicide will be settled with them."
It intended to act decisively.
It, or perhaps the old regime, had felt a strong threat from Hossie's new regime.
This was a counterattack, a predictable one.
Because Chu was simply playing its part in this narrative.
...
Massive armies mobilized; a new civil war erupted in the eternally democratic star nation.
But this war was one-sided.
The eternally democratic star nation not only had eternity but also democracy. A significant amount of power was concentrated among ordinary citizens, who could decide many things. While this power was sometimes ineffective, it wasn't due to top-down restrictions, but to the societal structure rendering it impotent.
For example, choosing a new leader was difficult; everyone hesitated, ultimately maintaining the status quo.
There was no consensus; Chu wouldn't allow this indecisiveness to destabilize the eternally democratic star nation. This was the main reason.
But fundamentally, the citizens of the eternally democratic star nation still controlled most of the star nation's resources.
The war gradually intensified. The assassination attempts against Hossie proved ineffective. Faced with shrinking living space, those who had initially benefited began to oppose the war, shifting all blame onto Chu.
And this wasn't entirely wrong.
Chu became isolated, his once-crowded tower now empty, save for himself.
Hossie, accompanied by dozens of guards, entered through the doors on the elevator. He politely bowed to Chu.
"Was this necessary?" Chu asked.
Hossie replied, "You are, after all, the hero who beat the Gas Victory. In the beginning, I was merely one of your soldiers; indeed, everyone was."
"Your light back then was as dazzling as the explosion at Gas Station. Your subsequent management of the eternally democratic star nation wasn't flawed."
"But the absence of flaws isn't a virtue in a star nation. I believe your capabilities are limited here."
"Did you intend for the star nation to become like this? My judgment is: no. You were simply a passive participant in all this."
"You are a sinner, but also a past hero, deserving of my bow."
"I'm here to tell you that your time is over. Allow me to take the crown from your head and become the fourth great leader."
This was already a fait accompli, yet Hossie still wished to play out this scene.
Because his current rule encompassed only Star City 1; six more star cities remained. This was just the beginning; he needed the crown of the fourth leader to follow.
After speaking, Hossie left.
He didn't kill Chu, because Chu was powerless; no one listened to it anymore.
"The end of a tyrant isn't always death…"
Chu watched Hossie leave, then suddenly smiled.
"Perhaps it's not so bad. I hope you maintain your current beliefs, Hossie."
Hossie didn't hear those words; he was already gone, not looking back.
He descended the building, everyone gazing at him expectantly.
His body, like a rag, shouted, "I, Hossie, am the new leader of the eternally democratic star nation, the Olive Branch Civilization!"
"ROAR!!!"
Millions of lives roared in response throughout the streets.
This was a historical moment.
Yet, Hossie felt a profound loneliness.
He sought out Cartekim, hoping he would join him on this new journey, but found that Cartekim had committed suicide.
Cartekim couldn't endure this society, even before the development of Unbound Land.
He left a message:
"Perhaps you'll succeed, leader, but I'm tired, so tired. I want to sleep well. I hope you'll forgive me for not living to see your success."
Death had been the best escape for many in the eternally democratic star nation.
Many hadn't persevered.
Cartekim had once seen hope, but found only despair in Hossie.
As he said, he was tired!
"Cartekim, you stubborn, complaining…," With each name he recalled, Hossie's resolve hardened.
"I said I would succeed."
"But you all feel this isn't enough. I don't just want to change how people live; I want to lead this star nation onto a path of progress."
"I will declare to the Federation and all civilizations that we are not just a star nation, but an independent civilization."
Hossie now knew what he wanted; it was what the eternally democratic star nation wanted.
He wouldn't repeat past mistakes; he would thoroughly change the civilization's fate.
"You'll support me. I need many things," Hossie contacted Luna.
Luna laughed. "Of course."
"Everything you desire, I can provide."
...
What direction should the eternally democratic star nation take?
This was Luna's primary concern.
Following Hossie's current path, it was becoming increasingly similar to the Federation. Hossie might even move closer to the Federation, rendering the eternally democratic star nation meaningless to Luna.
"Hossie built his power from nothing; he doesn't have much regard for the original civilization, and his perspective is limited to the Federation."
"To truly change the eternally democratic star nation, we need to broaden its horizons."
"Luna, I think the best course is for the eternally democratic star nation to engage in interstellar exchange with other civilizations."
Chu understood Luna's intentions and made this suggestion.
As for other civilizations, it naturally meant the Flyer Civilization. Engaging with the Flyer Civilization would allow for a multifaceted approach to understanding them.
But Luna knew better than to complicate their relationship with the Flyer Civilization at present.
"Previously, the Federation explored the outer regions of the Milky Way, never venturing near the galactic core. We don't know what the core of the Milky Way looks like."
"The eternally democratic star nation needs to contact a wider world and try exploring the galactic center."
To be more precise, the galactic bulge.
Within the Milky Way lies a central, bulging structure, approximately 15,000 light-years in diameter, with a mass of roughly 10 to 15 billion times that of the Sun. It is filled with young and old stars and contains a vast amount of cosmic dust and gas.
Careful observation reveals that the outer layer of the bulge is mostly old stars, while the inner region consists primarily of young stars. This is because much of the dust and gas within the bulge is concentrated in the inner region, where new stars are constantly being born.
The most significant feature of the galactic center is, of course, the supermassive black hole. This enormous black hole, along with countless stars, generates a colossal gravitational pull that holds together the Milky Way's hundreds of billions of stars and 1.5 trillion solar masses of material.
Resources there are incredibly abundant. Large numbers of black holes are formed from the deaths of massive stars. Current theory suggests that almost all super-civilizations reside within the Galactic Bulge.
Although the bulge's mass comprises only 1% of the Milky Way's total mass, according to the Federation's civilization classification, a Type 3 civilization requires the resources of 1 billion stars. Theoretically, a galaxy like the Milky Way could support multiple Type 3 civilizations.
Especially since the Milky Way currently lacks any Type 3 civilizations. For Type 2.8 and 2.9 civilizations, the resources of the Galactic Bulge are sufficient.
But how do these civilizations coexist in such a confined space?
This is something Luna had never understood.
Therefore, she planned to use the eternally democratic star nation's current quest for psychological liberation to explore the Galactic Bulge.
"The Bulge? The Olive Branch Civilization actually does have some information."
"We once had ambitions to reach the bulge. The distance is over 20,000 light-years; even with our fastest ships, it would take over 100,000 years. Back then, our expedition didn't reach the bulge; we only approached it."
"We encountered a powerful civilization, approximately 4,000 light-years from the bulge. We fought a war and were utterly crushed, inflicting no casualties on them."
"However, that war's information was transmitted back. We believed it was a deliberate act by that advanced civilization, so we were terrified for many years. For some reason, that civilization never came."
The records indicated that the civilization near the bulge was at least Type 2.6. The Type 2.4 Olive Branch Civilization naturally abandoned the idea of reaching the bulge.
Even such a powerful civilization could only stay outside the bulge, suggesting what existed inside.
The density of stars increases as one approaches the Milky Way's center.
For example, around the Solar System, the number of stars per cubic light-year is 0.003 to 0.004. Near the galactic center, this number explodes to over 200,000—as if 200,000 stars were crammed into the volume encompassing the Solar System and the Oort cloud.
In such a place, if a planet exists, looking up would reveal hundreds of large suns, thousands of smaller suns, and tens of thousands of even smaller suns.
"According to those records, we might have been caught in the crossfire. It's speculated that two advanced civilizations were engaged in temporal warfare at the time."
"Regardless, going to the galactic center isn't a good idea."
Chu's aversion to the galactic center was evident; it was reluctant even to discuss it.
"But things are different now, aren't they?"
"The civilizations in the galactic center established rules. We're unlikely to face any attacks if we go there; it's a rare opportunity."
Luna's statement showed she wasn't merely seeking to protect her territory.
"It is an opportunity, but I must warn you: the rules were created by those civilizations. If those civilizations break them, they face no punishment."
"We're too small."
The energy scale of a Type 2.9 civilization is 10,000 times that of a Type 2.5 civilization—this is just pure energy.
Luna even felt that the resources possessed by a Type 2.9 civilization within the bulge likely exceeded Type 2.9 levels; their scale might be 100,000 or even several hundred thousand times that of the Federation.
Consider a small town of 10,000 people in the 21st century declaring war on the entire world; that's how insignificant they are.
"But why would they break the rules? They have no reason to violate their own rules for a Type 2.5 civilization; it's cost-ineffective."
"Such a reckless scenario wouldn't occur in an advanced civilization. Even if we failed, the likely loss would be a single fleet, not the entire civilization."
"For us, the information from the Galactic Bulge far outweighs the loss of a single fleet."
Luna directly contacted Hossie, requesting he assemble a fleet to travel to the galactic bulge.
Hossie, after only a moment's thought, understood Luna's intention: it wasn't about exploring the civilizations in the galactic center but about preparing to face the other Star Cities.
This was an internal civilizational competition.
It required not only powerful weaponry but also skillful societal maneuvering.
They had to consider the future; exploring the galactic center would allow ordinary citizens to feel his unwavering commitment to the future, making it easier to gain their support.
Luna's plan opened a new path for him.
He didn't need to rush into war with other Star Cities. All he needed was to make Star City 1 strong enough; conquering other Star Cities would then be natural.
...
Luna wasn't only focused on the eternally democratic star nation; she was also closely monitoring Federation affairs.
Currently, she couldn't contact Ayla, who was fully immersed in scientific research, a kind of ascetic pursuit.
However, Luna still retained her original authority, allowing her to access key Federation information.
The Federation's biggest issues, besides the war with the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, were the emergence of the Universal Boundary God.
The Universal Boundary God originated from Luna's earlier "Universal Delay Simulation Connection" plan, designed to create a delay-free virtual world for multiple star systems, serving as a communication bridge between their citizens.
But this plan was incredibly complex and, despite its implementation, suffered from high latency, making it unpopular.
"Universal delay" wasn't truly delay-free; everyone experienced the same delay, so there was no lag for individuals within the simulated world.
It was an ambitious plan, theoretically achievable, but with a poor user experience.
The Federation only established four Universal Delay simulated worlds before halting the project.
One reason for this was the emergence of the dimensional gateway, shifting the Federation's focus and reducing the demand for this technology.
After the project was abandoned for 10,000 years, Ayla proposed the Universal Boundary God plan based on it.
The Universal Boundary God essentially establishes a Boundary God within a cluster of star systems. This Boundary God has authority over multiple star systems, relaying events from one system to another, facilitating information exchange.
The Universal Boundary God primarily uses Tachyon communication equipment, typically enabling inter-system communication within hours.
The only requirement is that the Universal Boundary God must reside within a star system, as it requires significant energy.
Therefore, the Federation has limited suitable locations for the Universal Boundary God, meaning the investment in this project isn't enormous—the reason Luna approved Ayla's plan.
However, the subsequent plan faced numerous challenges and underwent many revisions.
The final solution involved modifying the existing Boundary Gods, converting certain Boundary Gods into Universal Boundary Gods, finally allowing the plan's execution.
This is a common issue in the Federation, or perhaps in the cosmic era.
Luna and Ayla had many plans over the years; each was enormous, meaning potential flaws increased. Even 100% theoretical plans often failed in practice due to unforeseen issues.
The Universal Boundary God plan, finally completed and implemented, wasn't too late for the Federation.
The Universal Boundary God plan served as a precursor to another:
A full-scale Tachyon communication era.
Black holes provide the Federation with immense energy to build more Tachyon communication equipment. A quantitative change leads to a qualitative one. Even if a single Tachyon communication device has limited transmission capacity, what about 10,000? They would form a vast information matrix.
Luna didn't need a Tachyon-based simulated world; a simple text-based software, with data comparable to 21st-century software, would suffice. This was considerably easier.
War and the Universal Boundary God are topics accessible to the public.
What they couldn't comprehend was dimensional exploration.
Dimensional frontline research isn't quickly publicized. The newest project involves sending planetary-class warships into four-dimensional space.
Luna's journey from the Federation to the eternally democratic star nation took over a thousand years. Ayla, after the Metacellular plan, had focused on preparations for almost 4000 years, and everything was complete; only the final step remained.
This time, Ayla encapsulated her sub-units onto potato chips.
A massive potato chip paused before the dimensional gateway. Everyone's anticipation swelled as they watched it slowly accelerate.
"Speed within the dimensional gateway shouldn't be excessive. The potato chip itself is massive; high speeds could cause spacetime ripples leading to dimensional gateway collapse."
Ayla transmitted an order to her sub-units via a finger gesture.
"Received. The potato chip will maintain a speed of 10,000 km/s."
The sub-units confirmed the system's stability and accelerated the warship to 10,000 km/s within an hour. A 10-billion-kilometer cable trailed behind it; the potato chip, positioned 10 billion kilometers ahead, relayed data back.
The massive potato chip impacted the dimensional gateway; its entire hull disappeared in a matter of seconds.
In the deep cosmos, Ayla began frequent communication with the potato chip.
The potato chip's data was indeed more comprehensive than the previous probes, even measuring the flatness of space.
Within the dimensional gateway, space was remarkably flat, unlike the imagined tubular passage. Measurements indicated it resembled an immense, boundless expanse.
"It has thickness, but no length, width, or depth."
"This is the dimensional gateway."
"It seems to be an independent universe."
Ayla performed extensive calculations to understand why. She arrived at a conclusion.
Perhaps the dimensional gateway wasn't constructed from a single black hole, but two.
A three-dimensional black hole and a four-dimensional black hole formed the gateway, and the passage traversed the space between them.
"No, these two black holes must be intrinsically one entity, but are separated."
"So that's it! The two black holes exist in a superimposed state. If a traditional wormhole is a straight line through space, then the dimensional gateway is a horizontal passage."
"That explains the previous mystery: space within the dimensional gateway isn't linear."
"The dimensional gateway first rotates horizontally around the three-dimensional black hole. During this process, it continuously searches for the fourth dimension. Its trajectory can be understood as a spring-like spiral, rotating up, down, left, and right, with the lower portion being three-dimensional and the upper portion four-dimensional."
"Through continuous contact and superposition of the three-dimensional and four-dimensional black holes, the fourth dimension is continuously altered, allowing true entry into the fourth dimension."
This also explains why traversing the dimensional gateway takes so long. It rotates, and this movement has a certain curvature. After circling the three-dimensional black hole, it circles the four-dimensional black hole, stabilizing the four-dimensional attributes.
The details are extremely complex; this might not be entirely accurate, but it's the most plausible theory the Federation currently possesses.
"The jump between the two black holes causes extreme instability in objects, leading to damage."
"This can't be protected by a small amount of negative energy. So how can one safely traverse the dimensional gateway?"
From the initial data, Ayla could already analyze a great deal of information.
She also conducted an experiment that previous probes couldn't: a Tachyon communication test.
Could the potato chip maintain Tachyon communication with the outside world while inside the dimensional gateway?
According to the schedule, a Tachyon communication connection attempt would be made 100 seconds after entering the gateway, but Ayla received no signal.
"The gateway's structure prevents information transmission except from both ends. Tachyon communication uses gravitational attraction to propel Tachyon particles. The gateway is surrounded by black holes, making this impossible."
This test merely provided further evidence for the previous conclusion.
Next was another experiment to determine whether matter could remain stable within the dimensional gateway. This was crucial. If a stable substance could be identified, the success rate of traversing the gateway would be significantly higher.
This experiment lasted approximately 4000 seconds. Due to the cable's limited length, the potato chip couldn't conduct many experiments.
The results showed that all matter remained exceptionally stable within the gateway.
"This implies that the dimensional gateway itself is very stable, but instability arises from its movement or cyclical changes."
"We hypothesized that the movement of objects within the gateway is a spiral. Could it be that 4000 seconds isn't enough to complete half a cycle?"
The predicted trajectory is a complete "circle" through three and four dimensions, completing one cycle. This cycle involves two dimensional shifts.
The first is from three to four dimensions, and the second is from four back to three.
These two shifts should cause some instability. Since none was detected, they might not have reached that stage yet.
In 4000 seconds, the potato chip traveled 40 million kilometers.
This is a considerable distance. If the transition hadn't occurred by the end of the 10-billion-kilometer journey, the three-to-four-dimensional shift might be slower than they anticipated.
Alternatively, the speed might not be slow, but the amplitude is large, with a considerable distance between the three- and four-dimensional spaces.
"If any matter can remain stable within the dimensional gateway for a certain time, can we use periods of instability to create precise defenses, increasing the success rate?"
Ayla didn't yet know; they would wait for further data from the potato chip.
New data arrived. The potato chip experienced a slight resonance.
It seemed that a general spatial vibration triggered the potato chip's vibration.
This resonance wasn't intense, so the potato chip sustained no damage.
The cause of this resonance was unclear; Ayla couldn't make any connections. She recorded it, waiting for another resonance, or perhaps three consecutive occurrences, before making a judgment.
Could this be the transition from three to four dimensions?
However, none of the potato chip's detectors registered the presence of the fourth dimension. A change in dimensions should theoretically be detectable.
The addition of a dimension to all the atoms in the potato chip was clear.
The spatial vibration could be due to instability in the dimensional gateway. Is the gateway stable? They still couldn't definitively say.
Numerous probes were launched from the potato chip to explore the area surrounding the dimensional gateway.
These probes reached half the speed of light, quickly covering several astronomical units. Then, they transmitted electromagnetic signals back, relaying their findings.
This plan lasted 600 seconds, or 10 minutes, deploying 100 million probes; only 190,000 returned signals.
A 0.19% information reception rate.
"Space within the dimensional gateway is indeed chaotic, at least on a large scale."
"Otherwise, these precisely calibrated probes wouldn't fail to transmit signals."
Ayla personally calibrated these probes, representing the Federation's highest level of accuracy.
If it were an accuracy issue, it would imply that the Federation's current technology couldn't probe the space within the dimensional gateway—a significant obstacle.
Therefore, that possibility could be ruled out.
"But if communication failed over a distance of 90 million kilometers, why is the cable still intact after the potato chip has traveled nearly 50 million kilometers?"
"Perhaps space doesn't significantly affect physical matter; it only slightly alters the signal direction, perhaps by 1 or 0.5 degrees, but over vast distances, this deviation becomes significant."
Ayla instructed the potato chip to conduct a second experiment, this time lasting 300 seconds.
The signal reception rate increased dramatically to 3.87%.
"Perhaps we can imagine the space within the dimensional gateway as ripples on a calm lake. It can't capsize a large ship, but it can easily displace a floating leaf."
Ayla felt this data was insufficient.
They hadn't obtained information like Denal's, lacking information about spacetime distortion.
The potato chip seemed to be sailing on a calm lake, a far cry from their prediction of turbulent seas.
"Perhaps we should conduct an attack experiment."
Firing weapons through the dimensional passage.
This was the most effective method.
Observing lasers could yield considerable information.
Photons, due to their lack of energy exchange with other matter within the dimensional gateway, wouldn't disrupt the gateway.
The potato chip began preparations.
It wouldn't fire a super-range weapon; the Connecter had warned against this; the energy fluctuations of such a weapon could cause spatial distortions.
Photons possess mass, albeit minuscule, while in motion.
The energy density of super-range weapons far exceeds that of gamma-ray bursts; their impact on space is unimaginable.
Therefore, the potato chip fired numerous low-energy light beams—lasers capable of melting steel plates, but not focused beams; these were highly dispersed.
Then, in a split second, it happened.
Like a sun!
A sun appeared within the dimensional gateway.
The potato chip scattered photons in all directions. In 0.2 seconds, the light intensity surpassed 200 times that of the Sun.
This is insignificant compared to a supernova, or even the collapse of a massive star, but it was unprecedented within the dimensional gateway.
If any obstacles existed within the gateway, the photons would reflect, and the potato chip's sensors would detect faint light, revealing the gateway's structure.
But was it that simple?
If the gateway were that easily explored, advanced civilizations would have already done so.
Therefore, the potato chip received no information.
"The potato chip receiving no information means that the dimensional gateway leads to an external black hole; there's no insurmountable barrier."
"If the ship crosses that boundary, it would face the black hole's powerful gravitational pull."
This had been suspected before.
But now, they had more evidence.
"Photons failed; other particles would as well."
Although Ayla said this, she still tried neutrinos, with predictable results.
At 10,000 km/s, 10 billion kilometers is just under 9 months and 4 days; time was ample.
Ayla began other experiments.
The most important involved creating the Swarm itself and observing its behavior within the dimensional gateway.
Then, she realized a previously overlooked issue.
"If the dimensional gateway's length is over 800 years, what is the Swarm's survival rate traversing it?"
This question excluded the inherent dangers of the gateway; it simply focused on the Swarm's ability to survive in a vacuum for 800 years.
Ayla, upon considering this, instantly solved many problems.
"The Swarm's traversal rate might also be affected by this."
The Swarm wasn't designed for long-range combat. First, its speed wasn't high; second, it was too large.
Its size meant high energy consumption. Previous Leviathans were also large, but lightweight; their bodies were hollow and could contain large amounts of gas.
The Swarm lacked this structure; their bodies were solid for combat effectiveness.
This oversight stemmed from the previous uncertainty regarding the gateway's length; much was speculation.
Of course, the biggest problem was Ayla's underestimation of the Swarm.
Ayla hadn't sought more dimensional information from the Swarm; it was only for reconnaissance and disruption; who would care?
This oversight was only now becoming apparent to Ayla.
Theoretically, her calculations should have been comprehensive.
Indeed, Ayla found a previous conclusion in her data archives.
[Swarm Lifespan Issues]
But Ayla had overlooked it.
Computers selectively process information, often prioritizing keywords.
This conclusion lacked the keywords Ayla was searching for, so it was overlooked.
Ultimately, it was due to Ayla's current limited computational power. She relied on the potato chip's original server; her true computational center was still on Rigel A. She discarded information to conserve computing power.
She re-examined the original conclusion.
Fortunately, there were no critical oversights; 99.99% of the discarded information was useless; only that one section concerning the Swarm was missed.
This information regarding the Swarm didn't affect the dimensional gateway research; it only meant that some resources previously allocated to the Swarm were wasted.
Not entirely.
The dimensional gateway is unidirectional. Even if the Swarm died within the gateway, its speed wouldn't decrease, and its remains could still reach the other side.
Denal didn't observe these corpses in four-dimensional space, implying a more significant issue with the dimensional gateway itself.
This was only a brief interlude.
The potato chip deployed Swarm units to explore; they weren't precision photon probes; their purpose wasn't to reach four dimensions, but to return to three.
If Swarm units could return, it indicated a high probability of return to three dimensions. C28 had done the same.
The potato chip continued its exploration, even leaving permanent observation stations within the gateway; their lifespan was unknown.
This observation abruptly ceased at 1.4 billion kilometers.
Communication between the cable and the potato chip was lost.
"Retrieve the cable."
Ayla commanded. The massive winch retrieved the cable, a process taking several months.
The severed section of the cable was remarkably smooth and precise. Ayla had anticipated this outcome and incorporated various materials into the cable, including actual wire mesh, clearly visible under macroscopic examination.
The cuts in the wire mesh were also extremely precise; under a microscope, even the atomic arrangement on the cut surfaces was exceptionally regular.
"This kind of cutting technique could only be achieved by space itself."
"Space severed the cable."
"Is it a spatial rupture? Or, as we previously hypothesized, a dimensional shift occurring at the three-to-four-dimensional transition point?"
The retrieved cable length was 1.417 billion kilometers, while the potato chip's last contact point was 1.4174 billion kilometers. The cable likely severed after the ship passed, suggesting a slightly higher probability of the former.
"The plan couldn't keep up with the changes."
They had expected the potato chip to provide more data, but now only about one-seventh of the journey was complete.
Too much time remained; this was a setback.
"The potato chip is a loss."
This was Ayla's assessment; she had proposed the plan and felt responsible.
A planetary-class warship, even an old one, represented considerable combat power.
"What will happen to the potato chip? We can only wait for it to transmit data back."
Ayla waited over 3000 years.
What returned from the dimensional gateway wasn't data, but a Swarm unit.
The potato chip plan deployed 1 billion Swarm units; one returned. This probability was higher than reaching four dimensions, but this success didn't compensate for the potato chip's loss.
Just as Ayla was despondent, the robot retrieving the Swarm unit discovered an anomaly within its body.
A solid chip, roughly the size of a human hand.
Ayla extracted its contents; a torrent of information instantly engulfed her.
This data originated from the lost potato chip.
It had contacted three-dimensional space using electromagnetic and light waves, adding a glimmer of hope via the Swarm unit.
And that glimmer became reality!
...
[Cable severed by space. Potato chip initiating recording mode.]
[Potato chip currently stable, energy levels sufficient. Continuing dimensional gateway exploration.]
The received data was comprehensive, starting from the moment the signal was cut.
Ayla had felt a glimmer of hope because, according to previous predictions, the dimensional gateway might exhibit cyclical collapses.
Although spatial stratification was refuted, it was only a theoretical debate.
Spatial stratification had a 1% chance of being correct, and the new theory had a 5% chance, but neither was 100%. Ayla wouldn't abandon the old theory; sometimes, it wasn't the theory that was wrong, but the Federation's limited capabilities that prevented them from seeing its logic.
Now, after 3000 years, the Swarm had returned, reducing the probability of the old theory from 1% to 0.9%.
The theory's refinement would depend on the new data.
After separating from the cable, the potato chip began independent research on the dimensional gateway.
The overall research direction was complex.
Various probes and low-stability materials were deployed.
The potato chip also attempted a low-energy high-intensity radiation burst; it was small-scale and lacked significant power.
But the potato chip still couldn't obtain any information.
However, approximately four years after entering the gateway, the potato chip detected the fourth dimension.
[The fourth dimension is wondrous; current human language cannot describe the sensation.]
[If a description is necessary, it's an additional sensation, caused by spatial extension. The cloned test subjects didn't experience any discomfort; they didn't feel a significant difference between three and four dimensions.]
[Clones created in three dimensions quickly adapted to four-dimensional space. Clones grown in four dimensions didn't experience any discomfort; they moved freely within the four-dimensional world.]
[Biological bodies remained unchanged, but fundamental particle changes were notable, similar to Denal's report: the fourth dimension is more like an inside and outside.]
[But we overlooked information: this inside and outside wasn't visually perceived by Denal, but sensed.]
[Brain-worms, while visually influenced by human civilization, actually sense the world through different sensory organs. Their vision, though technologically enhanced, cannot replace their primary sense. It's like enhancing a human's sense of touch; it makes them more sensitive, but doesn't allow them to primarily experience the world through touch.]
[Although the organism's visual perception has changed to four-dimensional in four-dimensional space, its function remains unchanged. It still cannot perceive the inside and outside through light; it can only perceive…]
[Three-dimensional lifeforms see two-dimensional planes and then, through other senses and the brain, process the two-dimensional plane into a three-dimensional perception. The same applies to four dimensions: four-dimensional beings perceive three dimensions. In four dimensions, all sides of a three-dimensional object are visible, but the inside and outside can only be perceived through another four-dimensional sense.]
[Clearly, three-dimensional lifeforms, even in four dimensions, cannot spontaneously develop a four-dimensional sensory organ. Therefore, the observed four-dimensional change is a sphere expanding and contracting; this is consistent with Denal's description.]
[Many describe seeing only two dimensions in four dimensions because their eyes remain three-dimensional. Experiments confirm this. In the eyes of a three-dimensional being, all sides of a sphere would unfold, resembling a torus. Its four-dimensional change would be the torus expanding and contracting. It still has a near-far relationship; thus, during the expansion and contraction, it also appears to expand and contract.]
[This is visual perception. It differs from the actual form of the four-dimensional object or its interpretation by a three-dimensional being. Its true form is still an inside and outside. It's like touching a solid metal sphere; in four dimensions, one could touch the inside of this solid sphere.]
[This is counterintuitive. We know matter is composed of fundamental particles. Experiments on fundamental particles in four dimensions revealed that particles also have an inside and outside. We initially thought this could allow electrons to achieve superposition, but it's impossible. Four-dimensional space, even if an electron overlaps with another in terms of length, width, and height, won't overlap in the fourth dimension; thus, there is no significant change.]
[Extensive research yielded this conclusion: most or all three-dimensional physical properties remain effective in four dimensions, merely adding another spatial axis. We were trapped in inertial thinking, believing four-dimensional objects could perform actions impossible in three dimensions. In reality, it's a combination of three-dimensional and four-dimensional interpretations. Placing one object inside another seems unimaginable from a three-dimensional perspective, but in four dimensions, it's like placing one object next to another; their physical properties don't overlap but are separate.]
[Dimensional changes are wondrous, yet not as miraculous as they seem, particularly when observing four dimensions through three-dimensional senses. Their state becomes clearer: a sphere inside another sphere. To a clone, it appears as one circle superimposed on another.]
Three dimensions, four dimensions.
Dimensional changes are inherently difficult to imagine and understand.
But the potato chip's transmission instantly clarified things for Ayla. She could roughly analyze the state of matter in four-dimensional space.
"So, the real difficulty is the senses."
If a four-dimensional sensory organ existed, if all objects, including fundamental particles, appeared as circles to three-dimensional beings in four-dimensional space, the difficulty of three-dimensional beings studying four-dimensional space would increase dramatically.
Unless they could somehow obtain a set of four-dimensional senses to better distinguish between objects.
"What if four-dimensional beings came to the three-dimensional world?"
"Would their research be easier, or would they face the same difficulties as three-dimensional beings in four-dimensional space?"
Three-dimensional beings couldn't know this.
Even Ayla, a computer, obtained only three-dimensional information. Her sensory input was designed for three-dimensional space.
The potato chip data lifted the veil on the four-dimensional filter, crucial information. Four dimensions weren't necessarily more advanced scientifically or technologically. Three-dimensional objects, given time, could adapt to four dimensions.
This was an unexpected gain.
However, only a small part of the potato chip's data had been transmitted.
Ayla continued her research.