A colony ship filled with hundreds of thousands of exiles was preparing to leave the port. It was an old grayish-white transport ship, its squarish hull appearing rustic and shabby compared to the other powerful warships in the spaceport. However, considering that it would not leave the Empire for this mission, such a transport ship was enough to complete its mission. The Conservative Mellowans who embarked on the path of exile had all boarded the ship. They set off on a cold morning, arriving at the spaceport through the teleportation portal without disturbing the tranquility of the City of Shadows. At the beginning of this long journey, not many people came to see them off, but what was surprising was that the only ones who came to see them off included my sister and Pandora.
This was probably the last thing most of the Conservative officers would expect, the ones who would appear in front of them to see them off.
"I don't like this atmosphere." My sister stood beside me, watching as the tractor beams connecting the transport ship and the spaceport shut down one by one, and the small ground crew ships were leaving the transport ship's engine and adjustment window. She combed her hair. "But after thinking about it at home, I think it's better to see them off."
Pandora watched expressionlessly as the transport ship slowly left the spaceport's connecting bridge. It was so huge that in our eyes, it looked like a mountain drifting away from the steel ground beneath our feet. The petite general straightened her body. I wondered if she was recalling the time when she reviewed the Mellowan fleet and watched them leave from the command platform. The last time she saw these veterans off was at the spaceport where the exile ship set sail. Perhaps the expressionless Pandora was feeling a little emotional in her heart.
The ship left the spaceport. The ring-shaped drive engines arranged at the waist of the ship gradually lit up, propelling the huge steel body rapidly to the size of a fingernail in our eyes. Then, it turned into a flash of blue and white and instantly disappeared into space. The exiles bid farewell to the civilized world.
Surviving in the Stone Age was a difficult challenge, but I believed that most of these people would survive. The transport ship would unload them on a chosen ecosystem planet in the Exile Universe, leaving them with only a small amount of food. After that, the ship would not return to the Exile Universe. Instead, it would stay in the orbit of the Exile Universe, acting as a satellite and observation station to monitor the situation in the Exile Universe. This was the entire purpose of the Level One Exile. The rest was to see how the Exile Universe progressed.
After leaving the spaceport, Sandora and I went to another universe, where the Fourth and Fifth Fleets were residing. We also brought Tawil with us. Yep, Tawil's projection. Speaking of which, every time we met, we only saw Tawil's projection busying about. How long had it been since we last saw the bespectacled beauty's true body?
The Exile Universe's capital, Kailudak, had now become a lively and highly efficient planet. Although the arrival of the Fifth Fleet had brought a huge burden to the Exile Universe's resources, it had also brought them an abundance of labor and a large amount of technological information. Furthermore, after the Empire helped solve the Exile Universe's living space and life-support problems, the Exile Universe no longer had any worries and could start their revival work at full speed. Now, they had fully developed their colonies beyond their own solar system and established a stable information and transportation network within the solar system. Outside the solar system, a large number of colony planets that the Empire had provided them with could already survive. At the very least, it would not be a problem for them to establish small-scale colonies. A portion of the Fifth Fleet's old colony ships had undergone emergency repairs and were still in use. The other portion had simply given up on repairing. It was said that Cocokina had ordered for these space fortresses to be dismantled and their life-support, communication, energy, and other messy systems to be transferred to the surface. This was a rather innovative move, and it seemed that the effects were apparent. The Exile Universe's new home was operating at an astonishing speed with the support of these pieces of equipment that had been dismantled and patched together.
The Empire's assistance to the exiles time and time again, as well as the outstanding diplomatic efforts of the Tree Elves, seemed to have achieved great results. We were now able to visit the exiles' planet as normal visitors, and we were even welcomed to a certain extent. I didn't know if this could be considered to have buried the hatchet, but the feeling of hostility between the Empire and the exiles had indeed disappeared. Also, as mentioned before, the new generation of the Exile Universe had not experienced the pursuit of the Exile Universe back then. Their ability to accept the new Empire was much stronger than the older generation. Perhaps I should consider letting the Imperial Army Academy enroll a batch of children from the Exile Universe? In my impression, studying abroad seemed to be the most efficient way to export culture and compromise …
The small shuttle that we took directly stopped at the building where the Parliament was located. The latter had already known in advance that we would have guests and was waiting for us on the platform with a few old men who looked like experts and scholars. The moment I alighted from the shuttle, I raised my hand to greet the translucent female in front of me. "Hey, I've kept you waiting."
The Parliament seemed to be led by a gentle personality today. She had a warm smile on her face as she said unhurriedly, "Your greeting method is still so warm. I already understand the situation. Do you want to know about the Soul Fusion Body Regeneration technology?"
It seemed that the 'Parliament' had already understood the general situation. The experts behind her seemed to be professionals in the relevant fields. I nodded and followed behind the 'Parliament' into the building. In any case, the two of us didn't need to waste words. In the council hall, I straightforwardly asked my question, "Is there a way to create a collective consciousness for a group of souls that have fused together and haven't been active for hundreds of years? You can think of it as a special kind of resurrection. "
"The Enad people's symbiotic body is created with the help of the race's talent." The Parliament pointed at itself. "We are born in a distributed pyramid network. Yes, this network is different from the spiritual connection that everyone can be a node. When we have a physical body, we are divided into small groups. Each group has its own spiritual leader. A spiritual leader can extend his spiritual power to other people. With this leader as a 'server', other people can exchange their spiritual power. In other words, we have a large number of pyramid-shaped spiritual networks. These spiritual networks are also included in a higher pyramid — the spiritual leader from a higher level. We live in such a network. There is no distinction between each other. There is no concept of personal benefits. Everything is for the collective, like a swarm of bees. That is why we have the conditions to produce a collective consciousness. "
"A network that is made up of a large number of servers carrying the basic client, huh?" Sandora nodded professionally. "It is different from our spiritual connection. We don't need anyone to be the server. We also don't need the subnet and the main network to be connected layer by layer. That would reduce efficiency. But for a normal race, the difficulty of your spiritual connection is indeed lower. The requirements for the individual are much lower. You have allocated the computational difficulty to the network structure. "
"Now, let's go back to the human brain array that you mentioned." The Parliament's body flickered. His facial expression and facial details suddenly changed. It seemed to have switched personalities. "Let me see how they look like. Race's talent is not the only factor that determines the success of the fusion and regeneration of consciousness. I want to see how they are. "
I opened my Dimensional Pocket and looked at the Parliament curiously. "Why did you suddenly switch personalities?"
"Oh, the personality just now is seriously afraid of blood." The Parliament replied naturally. "The moment I heard the bloody name of the human brain array, I knew that my 26th personality would not be able to handle it."
… Damn, so the collective consciousness can be used like this?!
"This is the human brain array host." I took out a counterfeit host from my Dimensional Pocket. After all, if I wanted the Parliament's help, I had to at least give them a sample. A huge metal ball with a diameter of more than ten meters was placed in front of everyone. Below the metal ball was a base that was glowing faintly. There were complex magic patterns and crystal arrays arranged in a regular pattern on the base. This was the soul support system that Alleria had specially made for the human brain array host after she had removed it from the royal starships. When Barrian designed the human brain array host, he obviously did not consider the possibility of the latter being removed. So, their soul support system was a one-time use. Once it was removed, it would be scrapped. Without the base to provide stability, the human brain array in the ball would all die in a short span of thirty minutes, and their souls would scatter.
"It looks normal from the outside …" The Parliament walked up and carefully touched the base of the metal ball that was more than ten meters tall. Because the base was two and a half meters tall, she could not reach the top. "This is the appearance of your starship's host?"
"Yes. For compatibility, the rebels have completely copied the interface and shell of the Empire's standard shipborne host." I found the control crystal board that Alleria had told me about on the base and chose to open the host's shell. "The next scene is a little heavy. You have to be mentally prepared."
* Sizzle. * A slight pressure release sound came from the surface of the metal ball that was more than ten meters tall. An almost undetectable pale white gas was released from the joints of its shell. Then, a low buzzing sound came from the base of the metal ball. The soul stabilization array was increasing its output power to prevent the external environment from hurting the souls that had lost their original protective barrier. Then, the metal ball's shell tilted up and completely opened up like a petal of an orange, revealing a neat polyhedron structure inside and the array within it.
"There is also a red soul crystal in the core of this device. It binds thousands of undead." I turned to look at the Parliament. "You should be able to feel them, given your current life form."
The Parliament stared dumbfoundedly at the human brain matrix that was challenging their worldview. Their faces were abnormally ugly. I said from the side, "I was also seriously shocked at the start. I didn't think that a normal intelligent race would collectively go crazy to such an extent, but they just … En, you don't look too good. Are you alright?"
The Parliament turned to look at me, and the details of her face changed again. Her aura also changed. She had changed her personality again. She looked at me awkwardly. "That … I'm sorry. The fourteenth personality has trypophobia and was just replaced. Now I'm number eighteen. Probably … there's no problem."
I was speechless. We are here to do serious business today, to save the world from suffering, okay? Can't you be more reliable?
Of course, I thought about it twice, but I didn't dare to say it out loud in the end.
The Parliament's eighteenth personality should be a person with iron bones and nerves. She didn't feel dizzy or have trypophobia. She was now communicating with the trapped souls in the human brain array. She opened her arms, and her arms, starting from her elbows, turned into scattered light spots in the air. It was as if her hands had dissipated. The light spots formed a mist and gradually drifted into the host. The soul crystal in the core of the human brain array must have resonated with the Parliament because I saw an abnormal internal reading on the control crystal board at the base of the host. Of course, this abnormal reading did not pose a threat to the host.
"Alleria partially activated these souls, freeing them from their hundreds of years of suppression. But because all the souls are mixed together, they don't present a main voice to communicate with." I looked at the changing expression on the Parliament's face and casually mentioned what the kite angel had told me. "It's a mess — that's how Alleria described it."
"Yes, it's a mess." The Parliament's body returned to normal. She nodded. "This is what happens when the souls of ordinary living beings are fused together. They are not used to the state of mind fusion, so they can only clash with each other. Their memories are tangled, their thoughts are confused, and finally, they become a noisy mass of chaotic consciousness. No consciousness can be strong enough to remain independent in such an environment. But there's good news: this can all be solved. They have been in this chaotic fusion for hundreds of years, and now they are almost integrated as one. The conflict between them has weakened to a manageable level, and … I found that some of the consciousnesses have the upper hand. They should be able to be the core of the resurrection. "
"Have the upper hand?" Sandora raised her eyebrows. "I can roughly guess what's going on."
"I don't know what you've guessed, but according to my observations, these souls have been separated at different times. The oldest souls have clear anger and a lot of logical memories, while the new young souls are increasingly confused and confused. Their memories are getting thinner and thinner, and they have almost no clear self-concept. This is a very abnormal phenomenon. Logically speaking, the independent consciousness of a separated soul should weaken over time. The oldest soul should be the weakest, and the newest soul should be the cleverest. However, in the midst of the noise, the young voices are all whispering, and only the oldest voice is roaring … Ah, you probably won't understand this explanation. Anyway, that's basically the situation. "
I nodded. "I know what's going on. The oldest souls are the fallen soldiers who fought against the invaders. The rebels were unable to suppress the anger of these soldiers, so the extracted souls are always angry. And the new souls are the slaves who have been oppressed for hundreds of years. The Melovans brainwashed them generation after generation, and each generation is more docile."
"Is that so? In that case, these oldest souls are really tough bones." The council had a look of approval on its face. "With these tenacious souls as the main body, we can channel the memories of the other remnant souls as secondary personalities, and then use the Nad's technology to revive them. It should not be a problem. We know how to protect the fragile souls of individuals, and we are much better than you in this regard."
"That's why I asked for your help." I smiled at the council. I had finally found a solution to a troublesome matter, and my mood lightened up. The council could not help but look at me curiously. "Then let me ask a question: Why does the Empire want to revive these collective consciousnesses?"
"Err, is this question important?"
"No, I just feel a little concerned. You should know that the souls of mortals have many weaknesses: low efficiency, fragility, and they are bound by emotions at every moment. So, even if we use the Nad's method to revive these souls in the form of aggregation, they can only form some spiritual bodies that are stronger in the eyes of mortals. For you, this level of spiritual bodies can probably be mass-produced by the thousands using a cheaper method. Isn't it a waste to spend so much effort to revive these souls? "
"Probably …" I knew why the council had such doubts. "The Empire never does anything wasteful, but if it is to compensate for our mistakes, we are still willing to pay some price. I know a member of the Imperial Army by the name of Ola. For her mistake, she and all her soldiers voluntarily gave up half of their personality, and they gave it up forever. These trapped souls that you see, their circumstances are more or less related to the hidden dangers that the Empire planted back then. So, to the best of our ability, the new Empire will correct the mistakes of the past. "
The council's expression changed subtly. I noticed that the aura beside her had changed once again. Then, this collective consciousness that had gone through the vicissitudes of life and had dealt with the Empire for tens of thousands of years nodded at me and Sandora. "In the name of the Nad, I greet you. It seems that although the Shiring Apostles are arrogant, they are not afraid to admit their mistakes. With this effort, everything will be fine."
I smiled at her and asked, "Erm … Did you switch personalities just now?"
The council nodded. "Yes. Using the words that I saw in the Empire's data network to describe it, the eighteenth personality is a little arrogant. She was too embarrassed to say what she just said. Let me introduce myself. I am number 136. "
I was speechless.
Why didn't I notice that the council had such a strange side to her?! Could it be that she had been using official language from the start because she wasn't familiar with her before, and I didn't even notice that she switched personalities every five minutes?
"Ahem. Anyway, this sample host will be left with you for the time being. The technical information to maintain the survival of the soul and brain in the host is in the database of the control panel." I coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness. I pushed Tawil (mass projection), who had been following behind me without saying a word, forward. "This is my chief researcher. I asked her to assist you. Yes, just like what we agreed before, she wishes to understand how you gather these souls. In exchange, we will provide you with the key technology regarding the secondary cycle of psionic energy."
This was something that I had discussed with the council through the special network before I came here. Hence, the other party and the group of scientists behind her had no objections. Tawil's mass projection would be left here temporarily as a technical exchange. The coffin-addict had been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time. She looked at the translucent figure of the council passionately. The first sentence that she said was very characteristic of a mad scientist. "Nice to meet you. I am also very interested in your life form. If it is possible, I hope that you can cooperate with me for more research. I will also provide you with more technical information with the permission of His Majesty the Emperor …"
Before the welcoming smile on the council's face could fade, it suddenly froze. Her tone was especially horrified. "Wait … Wait! This is different from what we agreed on … "
Before she could finish her horrified words, her temperament changed again. She then smiled awkwardly at me and Sandora. "I'm sorry. Number 136 has mild paranoia. I am number 76 …"
Sandora and I were speechless.
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