SFS Chapter 300 How to break the situation
Chapter 300 How to break the situation
How long have we been sailing?
On the flagship of the First Fleet, Chang Weisi awoke from his hibernation pod. Although he had taken the immortality potion, he was old and could no longer concentrate on his work for long periods of time.
Therefore, most of the time, the daily affairs of the First Fleet were handled by Yun Tianming.
"One year and three months. If you feel unwell, I can make you a cup of coffee."
Staff in uniform helped Chang Weisi straighten up and wiped the water off the veteran's face with a towel.
"No need, some tea will do."
"it is good."
A plate of Pu'er tea was served, along with some accompanying pastries.
When Yun Tianming chose to leave Earth Alliance, he brought back a lot of good things from Earth. Now they no longer have to worry about food and clothing. The agricultural system inside the spaceship alone is enough to complete the internal cycle of self-production and self-consumption.
The First Fleet has long since left the solar system, and according to the estimated data on the star map, they are still about 32 years away from their destination.
32 years, that's a really long time.
However, if the entire fleet were put into warp drive mode, they would reach their destination in the blink of an eye.
Of course, it's just a blink of an eye for them, but hundreds or even tens of thousands of years may have passed in the outside world.
Therefore, Thomas Wade did not agree to the plan and instead ordered the First Fleet to continue at its normal speed.
"If we're too eager to get to the destination, the journey will become boring. Since we don't have a specific destination anyway, we might as well look for something interesting in this space."
Thomas Wade took a bottle of whiskey out of the refrigerator, still steaming, and poured it into a glass filled with ice, then used silver tweezers to place a sprig of mint inside.
"cheers!"
After saying that, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Sitting opposite Wade, Yun Tianming also picked up his wine glass helplessly, but unlike Wade, he only took a small sip.
Since the First Fleet left the Earth Alliance, Wade has become very laid-back. Apart from his name still being well-known, his other lifestyle habits have gradually become more like Taylor's.
Looking out at the dark universe outside the porthole, Yun Tianming was somewhat lost in thought.
"Do you think there's really no way to break the Dark Forest Theory?"
Upon hearing this, Wade smiled and refilled his glass.
"no way."
"Why? This theory is actually flawed in many ways from the very beginning."
"for example?"
"Isn't human society a good example? If all human societies followed the Dark Forest Theory, wouldn't the concept of society cease to exist? People wouldn't be able to communicate with each other, and the only option would be to kill each other. But look at us now, aren't we all doing just fine?"
Yun Tianming had been troubled by this question for a long time. He hadn't had the chance to think about it before, but now that the Trisolaran civilization had been completely destroyed, he finally had the time to continue to ponder these issues.
Wade smiled, pushed his glass away, and gestured for Yun Tianming to pour him some wine.
"If that's your idea, then you're confusing the Dark Forest Theory with the law of the jungle in the forest."
"The Dark Forest Theory is an extreme measure used in desperate situations, and it is supported by three fundamentally irreconcilable premises."
Yun Tianming seemed to be deep in thought.
“I used to have similar thoughts to you. I always thought that the Dark Forest Law that Luo Ji researched was the law of the jungle, that we were weak and therefore threatened by the Trisolaran civilization. But now that our civilization’s overall strength has long surpassed that of the Trisolaran civilization, I realize that the so-called Dark Forest Law is not as simple as it seems.”
Wade laid a piece of paper flat on the table, seemingly for the sake of demonstration.
"The Dark Forest Theory has a very important premise, which is the cosmic resource hypothesis?"
"Cosmic Resources Hypothesis?"
"Yes, the resources of the universe are finite, and even constantly shrinking. It is because of this hypothesis that wars between civilizations are inevitable."
"When humanity first came into contact with space, our detection range and methods were only at the pitiful level of a Type I civilization, which led our scientists to develop an extremely wrong view—that the expansion rate of the universe is infinite."
"Later, Luo Ji's Dark Forest hypothesis completely refuted this view, namely: the resources of the universe are fixed, and any new generation of civilization will take away a portion of the resources."
As he spoke, Wade tore the piece of paper in front of him into several pieces.
"If you were to approach this war from the perspective of an advanced civilization, you would understand why the Dark Forest Theory is a dead end that cannot be broken through any form of communication."
"If you were an advanced civilization with limited cosmic resources, what would your attitude be when facing a less advanced civilization, or even a civilization of the same kind?"
"Kill them as many as possible."
"Yes, because of the technological explosion, any advanced civilization may fall behind. Remember, any. We may now fall behind some other uncivilized civilizations again."
"But this theory doesn't make sense."
"Yes, I know. You're trying to say that Earth's resources are also limited, but the concept of nations still exists. So, if the total resources of the universe are limited, it's not enough to make major civilizations turn against each other."
"After all, society is complex, and the exchange between civilizations is even more complex. Any tiny variable can lead to completely different results."
"But after I learned about the existence of the Carbon-Based Federation, some of my doubts were answered."
Wade piled the torn pieces of paper back together and then said.
"The universe is not a flat surface, but a layered cake made up of multiple dimensions, and a Type IV civilization is the layer at the junction of these layers."
"We have a misconception that higher-dimensional civilizations are necessarily superior to lower-dimensional civilizations. This thinking stems from our ignorance and from the arrogance of us three-dimensional beings."
"In fact, this is a kind of survivor bias."
Yun Tianming seemed to understand what Wade meant.
"You mean that beings from higher-dimensional civilizations are not necessarily stronger than us, and the reason for this misconception is that the beings from higher-dimensional civilizations that we can see are themselves the strongest in that dimension."
Vader nodded.
"The classification standard for civilization levels is based on the degree to which a civilization utilizes resources, not on the level of technology. A Level 1 civilization can only utilize the resources of its home planet. By Level 2, unless it is an unfortunate civilization like the Trisolarans, they should have mastered the utilization of the resources of their own star system."
"A Type III civilization is defined by the resources of its star cluster. I used to think that a Type IV civilization would be a step up to a galaxy-level civilization, but now it seems that we were wrong. A Type IV civilization is far more powerful than we imagined. It can control the resources of a single dimension."
"This means that there are first, second, and third-level civilizations in each dimension, but only civilizations that have reached the fourth level have the ability to change their own dimension."
"Knowing this, we have obtained another prerequisite."
"The universe is constantly being reduced in dimensionality."
"Level 4 is not the only one, but one of them."
"So, if you were a Level 4 civilization, and the one with the most unfavorable conditions in your entire dimension, what would you choose?"
"Change your own dimension."
This is a question that doesn't even need to be considered.
If a civilization is constantly suppressed in its own dimension, it would rather lower its own dimension and try its luck in a new dimension than sit and wait for its demise.
However, the universe operates on a ranking system. When the last civilization chooses to descend into its own dimension, the last place will automatically be given to the second to last.
This situation, which is extremely unfavorable to a civilization, will not disappear just because a civilization changes its course; it will simply be transferred to another civilization.
This cycle will only increase the number of civilizations in lower dimensions.
If you're petty enough, you can even use items that lower your own dimension to destroy the entire dimension, forcing other civilizations to follow suit and lower their dimensions as well.
It's not necessary for everyone to do it; once the first civilization starts, that dimension will naturally enter a vicious cycle.
As resources in their current dimension dwindle, competition among civilizations intensifies. Unable to compete with other civilizations, they choose to lower their own dimension to seek opportunities in lower-level dimensions.
Before leaving, I'll dump one last pile of shit on this place, polluting the entire dimensional pool.
You guys are targeting me, right? Then let's all lower our dimensions. I'll lower my dimension before you, and you'll lower it after me. Once I've established myself in the next dimension of the universe, when you arrive, I'll make sure you suffer!
"No one knows how many dimensions the highest dimension of the universe has been reduced to now. In the worst case, if only four dimensions remain, then we will soon see a large number of four-dimensional civilizations appearing in the three-dimensional world."
After listening to Wade's analysis, Yun Tianming couldn't help but gasp.
"So, this is the reason why the Dark Forest Theory must exist?"
"Yes, because this resource war is not just happening in the same dimension, but in multiple dimensions simultaneously. Even if you can persuade all the civilizations in the same dimension to give up the resource war, how can you persuade those civilizations that have descended from the previous dimension?"
"I think that someone must have tried to convince the entire universe in the past, and the existence of the Carbon-Based Federation is the best proof of that."
"Indeed."
The Carbon-Based Federation is less a powerful collection of civilizations and more a collection of civilizations of the same dimension banding together for warmth.
They have to deal with high-dimensional life forms that could descend upon this universe at any time, while also guarding against backstabbing from civilizations of the same dimension.
"This is actually the thing I can't understand the most."
Wade took a drag of his cigarette, and as the smoke spread, Yun Tianming was choked and couldn't help but cough twice.
"Unless, they possess some means to limit the technological explosion."
"Something like Tomoko?"
Mentioning this, the two couldn't help but recall the fear that Tomoko had instilled in them during the Crisis Era.
"No, that's too low-level. Besides, Zhizi's technological blockade isn't 100% secure. Look at Lin Xuan, does she seem afraid of Zhizi's blockade?"
Both of them fell silent.
"Ah, Lin Xuan...that's true."
If there's any fatal flaw in the Trisolaran technological blockade against humanity, it's the unexpected failure to kill Lin Xuan sooner.
If their actions against Lin Xuan are of a higher level than their actions against Luo Ji, the power struggle between the two sides may continue for some time.
Unfortunately, history has no "what ifs," so a complete technological blockade in theory is simply impossible. The only way to achieve this goal is to utilize some kind of cosmic rule.
"So there must be something we don't know about this, or there may be some kind of universal axiom similar to the Dark Forest Theory. It's just that we have too little information right now. Also, I think that with our brains, even if we did know the information, we probably wouldn't be able to deduce it."
Yun Tianming thought for a moment.
"Actually... if you want to know the answer, I do have a way!"
As he spoke, he got up and went into his room. After rummaging around for a while, he took out something that looked like crystal and was crystal clear.
"what is this?"
"This is a token of the Kana people, used to communicate with them. I found it on a ship in the Second Fleet. I originally thought it would be in the hands of the Führer, but I didn't expect it to be taken away by the Second Fleet. It seems that the Führer and the others must have foreseen that the Trisolaran civilization would suffer such a calamity."
"So, you mean you want to contact the Kana people and have us replace the Trisolaran civilization and join the Carbon-Based Federation?"
"This is just one of my ideas. I think it's worth a try. At least joining the Carbon-Based Federation is better than drifting around in this universe."
"Not going to your star?" Wade asked, somewhat surprised.
After all, the initial plan was for everyone to settle down on the star that Yun Tianming had bought. Wade didn't know if this was a uniquely Asian kind of romance or if Yun Tianming had some other deeper meaning, so he never objected.
In any case, for him, his mission was already completed when he lost his identity as the Swordholder.
Now, all he wants is to live the rest of his life to the fullest.
After pondering for a moment, Yun Tianming couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Let's not go. Let's contact the Carbon-Based Federation. If we're lucky enough, maybe one day in the future we'll have a chance to meet Lin Xuan and the others again."
No one knows what changed from this conversation between the two sides.
All the crew of the First Fleet knew was that after today, the long-running shipping route was suddenly canceled, and a new battlefield was about to begin.