The lecture hall was silent.
A more advanced civilization appeared in their field of vision.
The councilors looked at each other, exchanging astonishment and disbelief in each other's eyes.
This was a very tricky problem because there had never been a similar situation in the history of the Empire. The most intelligent extraterrestrial life they had ever discovered was a group of uncivilized two-legged lizards on a border planet that could not even light a fire and only knew how to use some natural tools.
The Calan Empire was not interested in establishing diplomatic relations with the alien races, and they were even less interested in exchanging goods with the alien races. They could produce all the consumer goods that their citizens needed. Once they established a diplomatic relationship, it meant that they had to re-develop their obsolete armaments, guard against possible threats, and face the risk of ideological conflicts.
What was certain was that a backward civilization would definitely be at a disadvantage in the conflict of ideas.
The other party didn't even need to do anything; they could just rely on the passive export of values to bring great uncertainty to the Calan Empire.
Just look at the trouble caused by the widely disseminated "Oracle" so far.
There were voices of panic everywhere.
Being sensitive to information was both an advantage of the Calan Empire's civilization and a flaw that was difficult to remove.
The consul pressed two fingers on his forehead and went into deep thought.
This was a common habit of the Calan people. This made them feel that their consciousness was infinitely close to the great spirit of the universe. However, even the spirit of the universe couldn't answer the question in his mind.
The silence lasted for about ten minutes.
The consul spoke.
"You said he took the initiative to contact us?"
"Yes." Dr. Lane nodded and said in a serious tone, "At first, we thought the strange droplet was some kind of detector or some kind of weapon that could destroy planets. However, after careful research, the result was beyond all of our expectations.
"Like I said, he left a series of soap bubbles on our gravitational wave detector, and the information contained in each bubble was highly overlapping.
"This obviously can't be a detector, because theoretically, there is no information. At least, the information transmission channels we know can't catch up with the speed of the droplet.
"At the same time, it can't be a weapon. No weapon would tell you that it is on its way. Even if we lengthen the hyperspace channel, it would be countless times more secretive.
"So we speculate that it may be something similar to a broadcast, using some kind of hyperspace medium to constantly release fixed gravitational wave signals."
The conference hall was silent.
Everyone furrowed their brows.
Even though the complex physics theorem was a bit difficult for them, Dr. Lane had explained the principles in a very simple way.
According to the common logic of war, if it was a weapon, it would definitely try its best to hide its existence. There was no need for it to be so high profile.
The Minister of Science and Technology frowned and spoke.
"You say it's a broadcast … But how do you understand their language?"
Dr. Lane looked at him and spoke in a calm tone.
"Physics is the universal law of the universe, and mathematics is the universal language. We only need a right triangle and a simple formula like 'a + b = c' to let the other party know that there is a civilization here. We only need to add a mathematical proposition that we have just solved or not yet solved to give the other party a rough idea of our civilization level … Because to a large extent, the level of mathematics is directly related to the development of the latter. "
The consul: "… So?"
Ryan said, "They did something similar."
"By analyzing the information transmitted in the gravitational waves, we obtained a series of complex mathematical expressions and something similar to a password table. Although it took a lot of effort, we finally understood them … "
The defense minister clenched his fist on the table and said immediately.
"What did the news say? Was it a diplomatic request? Or a declaration of war? Or — "
"None of them." Ryan shook his head. "They openly showed us their level of civilization, and then conveyed to us … that 'oracle'."
The light blue particles in the air slowly floated up and converged into an image formed by a special operator. These images paused in the air for a moment, and soon dispersed into countless particles of light before reassembling once again. What replaced them were three short lines of text that could not be ignored.
[The Catastrophe is approaching.]
[Our universe is facing an unprecedented crisis.]
[Stay vigilant!]
Compared to the concise and comprehensive declaration of war, this kind of unclear warning, in a certain sense, was even more chilling.
What is a catastrophe?
What is an unprecedented crisis?
What do we need to be vigilant about?
Only the most crucial part was left unsaid.
Dr. Ryan looked around the silent conference hall and spoke in a confident tone.
"Gentlemen, this is the 'oracle' I'm talking about.
"Even though we can only translate three lines of information … I believe the content is enough to attract our attention.
"Now, do you still think that the 'oracle' is just a rumor?"
No one answered.
Even the councilors who had been watching his "performance" with mocking gazes were now filled with fear and unease, and they couldn't even look him in the eye.
The consul looked at the scholar in the audience and went silent for a long time.
Finally, he spoke in a serious tone.
"One last question, did you answer them?"
"No." Dr. Ryan shrugged and said, "Even if we wanted to, there's no way for our signal to catch up to it."
Hearing this, the consul heaved a sigh of relief.
It wasn't just the Consul. Almost everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Even if they had mastered the secret of faster than light communication, there was no way for them to send a message that far away in a short period of time.
Not to mention that the "strange droplet" was moving toward the center of the galaxy at an even faster speed.
The consul's expression relaxed a lot. He gently leaned back in his chair and looked at the scholars in the audience as he spoke.
"Whether it's real or not, you have no right to publish it."
Dr. Ryan knew the consul would say this, so he nodded with a heavy expression.
"I know, this is my problem, but it's also a choice I have to make. Because I know very well how weak our civilization is under the shell of a strong and prosperous one. In order to prevent things from getting worse, someone has to do something. "
The consul raised his chin and spoke, as if he was dissatisfied with the scholar's choice of words.
"So what do you think we should do? Believe a broadcast of unknown origin? Trust those ugly alien species with good intentions? Destroy the peace we've had for thousands of years? Who can guarantee that this isn't a trap? Also, if they're facing unprecedented trouble, why don't they solve it themselves? Why would they place their hopes on a civilization weaker than them?
"If they really have good intentions, they should at least tell us what the 'natural disaster' is!"
Dr. Lane shrugged noncommittally.
"I can't rule out this possibility, but with all due respect, it's unlikely. If it's just to persecute us, I can think of at least a hundred more efficient ways to achieve this goal. For example, let that strange drop fly directly towards us. "
The president: "Maybe they don't know we're here."
Dr. Ryan laughed.
"Stop fooling around. It's such a huge ring-shaped world that surrounds the entire star. Even a blind man would know what's here."
"Enough!" The consul stared at the scholar standing in the audience and said word by word, "You are arrested. You are charged with incitement and subversion. Your academic title will be revoked, and the prison of the Eternal Night Star will be your final destination."
Dr. Ryan: "When did the trial start?"
The consul said expressionlessly, "Before you came here."
The Calan Empire had abolished the death penalty a long time ago. The upper limit of punishment was banishment to the outermost prison of the Empire, where one would spend the rest of their life.
In some sense, this was a more painful punishment than death. After all, for most people in Calan Empire, death was just returning to the embrace of the spirit of the universe. However, eternal exile meant at least a hundred years of suffering.
Ryan's shoulders relaxed, and he went silent for a while before he spoke.
"This is the worst choice, but it doesn't matter."
Nodding slightly at the consul, he calmly extended his hands to the guard who was walking over.
"Put it on me. My mission is over."
There was a commotion in the conference room again.
Pretending not to hear anything, the consul's eyes were filled with haze. He stared at the person who was calmly handcuffed in the audience. No one knew what he was thinking.
Before he was taken away, Dr. Lane suddenly raised his head and glanced around. He then looked at the consul sitting at the head of the conference table.
"Before sending me to the Eternal Night Star, I have a request."
Consul: "Go ahead."
"It's about the disposal of my property." Ryan paused for a second and said, "I have no children, and I don't have any other living immediate family members. Before I am imprisoned, I want to dispose of my property."
The Empire protected private property.
As long as it wasn't illegal, the Empire wouldn't confiscate it.
The consul and the Minister of Justice looked at each other, and the latter nodded. The consul then looked at Dr. Ryan.
"According to the Empire's law, your request is reasonable. Before you are sent to the Eternal Night Star, you can designate a successor."
Dr. Ryan raised his handcuffed hands and pointed at Lu Zhou without any hesitation.
"I want to give him all of my property.
"At least he sent me here safely."
Glancing at the inconspicuous figure standing at the side of the hall, the Consul casually raised his finger and drew a line in the air.
Two dark green holographic identity cards popped out. As his index finger moved, a stream of data quickly flowed from one of the holographic panels to the other.
"Reinhardt, right? From now on, you have inherited all of Dr. Ryan's property. "
Before leaving, Dr. Ryan looked at Lu Zhou with surprise. He was surprised that Lu Zhou didn't tell him his "real name".
However, he didn't say anything. He obediently followed the guard away.
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