Speaking of this civilization that didn't encounter any wars, nor were there any other natural or man-made disasters. It seemed like the world was at peace and the people were at peace, yet it mysteriously disappeared overnight. I felt like I had seen it before … It seemed like there were similar ancient cities on Earth?
The entire city-state was in ruins, and there were no traces of earthquakes or floods in the surrounding geological records. However, the people were gone, and the history was suddenly cut off. I seemed to have heard of such a chilling story somewhere before. However, what happened on this planet was obviously on a larger scale, and the consequences were more serious. It wasn't just one or two city-states that disappeared, but all the technological cities on the entire planet. It wasn't some primitive civilization that suffered the loss of history, but a group of high-tech aliens who could already drive spaceships outside the solar system!
What exactly happened back then that caused all these people to suddenly withdraw from the cities and willingly return to primitive society, and slowly give birth to such a twisted thing like the "Lost God Religion"?
It was also because we suddenly realized that the situation might be stranger than we imagined that Sandora and I decided to try our best to gather as much information as possible from other channels before we directly contact the pope of the Lost God Religion. This was the experience that we had gained from dealing with various "historical problems" over the years. Many things that had been polished by time would be shrouded in layers of fog. Even if you felt that you were about to see through everything, you shouldn't easily believe what you have imagined. In the end, the truth often took a turn for the worse. The more conclusions you came up with in advance, the easier it was to spoil things at the last moment.
Reality was a lousy novel. It never played its cards according to common sense. Sometimes, when it was developed, it was even bigger than Shallow Shallow's imagination.
"If the ancient civilization wasn't destroyed by violence, but the ancient people voluntarily gave up … then something more terrible than a natural or man-made disaster must have happened, which made the people of that time think that they could only protect themselves by giving up technology," I slowly said my speculation. "Of course, there is another reason. That is, the ancient people at that time were brainwashed by something powerful. They lost their minds and decided to form a group to go to the wilderness for a picnic that lasted for tens of thousands of years. It could be Cthulhu that brainwashed them, or it could be a passing Soul Spark …"
Sandora's ball hit the back of my head. Bang!
"If you have the energy, why don't you think of something more reliable?" Sandora was a little annoyed. "I'm willing to believe that the people at that time encountered a greater threat than the war, and this threat was closely related to their technical level."
The female leader looked at me and Sandora in fear as she tried to reconstruct her worldview. "Could it be that it is just like what those crazy sects are guessing? That there is a so-called curse on technology? When the technology of this world reaches a certain level, a group of demons from beyond will come to destroy everything and reshuffle the civilization? "
"Curse of technology? Demons from beyond? "The female leader had only said it casually, but I immediately glared at her." Tell me the specifics. "
"It's just some crazy small sects spreading nonsense. They don't even have a complete doctrine and historical inheritance. Whimsical cultists gathered together to make up stories to scare themselves." The female leader seemed to be very disdainful. "Some people guessed that there is a so-called demon from beyond in the world of mortals and Gods. These demons feed on 'knowledge'. Gods created mortals, but the demons created knowledge. The demons taught knowledge to mortals, allowing civilization to develop and prosper. In fact, they treated the earth as their nursery. When mortals develop to a certain level, it is the time when 'knowledge' matures. The demons from beyond will come out from the cracks of space to harvest the fruit. They will squeeze the souls of mortals dry and destroy the entire world. Then, they will sow new 'knowledge' among the surviving humans, waiting for the next maturation. They believe that this cycle caused the destruction of ancient civilizations. They feel that as long as the mortals remain ignorant forever, there will be a long period of peace. Because this will cause mortals to be 'unpalatable', the demons won't come … "
At the end of her speech, the female leader couldn't help but reveal a funny expression. "It's quite funny, isn't it? Such small sects have appeared quite a few times. There are always people who like to scare themselves and make up stories like this. These small sects are even more active in blocking technology than the Lost Gods. However, because they are too rebellious, they will be annihilated by everyone the moment they show up. So, they haven't been able to make a name for themselves yet. "
"Actually, their idea of 'demons from beyond' is quite creative." I chuckled dryly. "Although it isn't reliable, it might be able to explain why civilization is still broken despite the absence of natural disasters."
The female leader instantly sneered. "Heh, how is that possible? 'Knowledge' is such an abstract thing … How can there be monsters in this world that feed on memories and spirits?"
I couldn't help but glance at Sandora Ball from the corner of my eyes. Then, I pouted at the female leader. "Pay attention. This is the second time you've courted death today."
The female leader: "?"
"Uh-huh!" Sandora Ball harrumphed forcefully to interrupt this useless topic. "Anyway, let's put aside these things that can't be proven or falsified. Why do you think the Lost Gods sealed their knowledge? "
The female leader thought about it seriously. "… I don't dare to say anything else, but there's one thing I'm sure of: If mortals have a higher level of technology, I'm afraid that it will attract calamities. It's not 'knowledge' itself that attracts calamities, but … a certain behavior after obtaining knowledge will attract calamities."
She really had a unique understanding in this area!
Sandora Ball waved encouragingly in front of the female leader. "Continue. Your opinion is very helpful."
"This was originally a very immature idea. I've never mentioned it to anyone else." The female leader took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. "But just now, you mentioned that the ancient civilization didn't encounter calamities. Instead, they suddenly abandoned their cities under normal circumstances. My idea is more convincing. The ancient civilization developed to such a high level and yet they didn't encounter calamities. This means that the calamities weren't attracted by technology and knowledge. It's highly possible that after humans obtained this knowledge, they would 'take' some actions that would attract calamities. The ancient civilization must have predicted such actions, but they couldn't guarantee that all humans would always be vigilant. In order to prevent people … to prevent people …"
Seeing that she couldn't come up with a suitable word for a long time, I reminded her from the side. "To prevent people from courting death is the upgraded version of courting death."
"Courting death? Oh, this word seems to be very useful. It's to prevent people from courting death. "The female leader nodded." After humans have obtained a high enough level of technology and knowledge, there will be many unpredictable behaviors. One of these behaviors may cause the death of everyone. The ancient people must have noticed this. However, mortals are too complicated, too changeable, and there will always be people who are reckless. So, in order to eliminate this kind of danger … the ancient people decided to simply abolish all technology. That kind of 'dangerous behavior' is definitely not something that can be done by a single person. It may require a certain level of technological foundation. So, as long as the entire civilization stops, even if a few people want to 'court death', they won't be able to complete the relevant research. This is my guess. I've never told anyone before. I'm afraid that I'll be treated as a lunatic. After all, if this guess is true … then the God of Technology and the God of Magic will have nothing to do with it. "
I looked at the female leader in surprise. "Sister, you're very creative. Learn from me … Ahem, don't mind me. I mean, your idea is quite novel. But, don't you have any clear evidence?"
"No, only a guess." The female leader shook her head. "The most reliable evidence is what you just told me: The ancient civilization wasn't destroyed by the calamity. It is precisely because of this that I'm increasingly convinced that 'knowledge' and 'technology' aren't the direct cause of the calamity. The direct cause should be some kind of mortal 'possibility'."
I looked at Sandora Ball. "After humans have obtained a high enough level of technology, what would cause the end of the world?"
"Courting death? That's too many. "Sandora Ball's voice was a little teasing." The number of courting death civilizations I've seen in my life is more than five to six digits. From the lowest level to the self-destruction of a planet, to the highest level to declaring war against the Empire. If mortals want to court death, even the Gods can't stop them. Earthlings have been in the ranks of the 'Courting Death' reserve players ever since they knew that E = MC2. Do you know how high mortals' courting death standards are? And to be honest … didn't the Shiring Apostles almost succeed in courting death before they became Gods? In the end, they only had one breath left. "
I twitched the corner of my lips. "But I didn't see you killing all the scientists to prevent your people from courting death. So, the ancient people on this planet must have noticed a more dangerous method of courting death, so dangerous that they would definitely die. Once the technology matured, it might be so easy that anyone could try it anytime. That's why they had no choice but to wipe out their own civilization."
"For example … external communication? A high-powered broadcast? "Sandora suddenly recalled something." Ah Jun, do you still remember that metal plate? 'Silence, silence, don't make a sound!' The metal plate repeatedly emphasized this. Could it be that someone is monitoring the communication in this universe?! "
"Communication!" I almost jumped up because a crucial point seemed to have been exposed. "This universe is' enveloped 'by a layer of interference. It can't communicate with the outside world! From another perspective, the purpose of this interference layer is probably to prevent the people inside from communicating with the outside world! "
The female leader looked at the excited me and ball and couldn't help but reveal a curious expression. "What … are you guys talking about?"
"Researching about the end of the world," I said casually. Seeing her face turn green, I realized that this wasn't a topic for her to joke about. "Err, don't mind me. I was just joking. Anyway, we have a rough idea of what the technology blockade is about. However, we still have to go to the Pope of the Lost God Religion to find out the truth. Also, we have to go to another place … Err, let me ask you. Do you know how old the Pope of the Lost God Religion is this year? "
Jumping from the topic of world peace to the age of the Pope, the female leader was stunned for a long time. She stared at me blankly. "Ah?"
"How old is the Pope this year? We know that he is a Tree Elf, but we don't know how long he has lived. "Sandora's ball floated in front of the female leader." We have investigated through other channels, including various religious scrolls and folklore. However, the Pope's age is a mystery. Furthermore, the records of all religions have intentionally ignored any records related to the Pope. There are no records of his coronation or any records of his succession. We don't even know how many Popes the Lost God Religion has had. This is quite strange. Actually, we roughly know an 'age', about 70,000 years. This is the longest possible age for a Tree Elf to appear on this planet. If the Pope is still the first generation of Tree Elves … You know. "
"You suspect that the current Pope is the Pope who founded the Lost God Religion when the ancient civilization collapsed?" The female leader looked at me with a weird expression. "Oh, this is normal. You are 'outsiders'. Elves have a long lifespan, so it isn't strange for you to think so. However, I can tell you for sure that the current Pope is definitely not the first one. The first Pope died a long time ago and there have been many generations of Popes."
I was shocked. "Ah?"
"The Lost God Religion has never announced this matter to the public, but we know some of their secrets through secret channels." The female leader smiled, seemingly quite pleased with herself. "The predecessor of the Technological Revival Faction was actually a portion of the radical priests of the Lost God Religion. Yep, all of them are short-lived. Because their lifespan isn't as long as the Elves, they are unable to grasp any core or ancient knowledge. They aren't that close to the Elves either. This group of radical priests later split off and became the Technological Revival Faction. That's why we know some of the secrets of the Lost God Religion. The lifespan of the Pope is very short. The lifespan of every Pope is exactly the same: 100 years."
"What's going on!?" I exclaimed. This was completely unexpected! "No one can explain it.
Although many high-ranking priests know about this, no one knows the reason. This' reason 'seems to be related to the very first secret of the Lost God Religion. Only the most core Cardinal Bishops and the Pope himself have access to this secret. "The female leader shook her head." Some people say that mortals are unable to withstand the power of the God of Science and Magic. Some people say that the Pope bears the sin of knowledge on behalf of other mortals. Some people say that the Ancient Gods left behind a curse. In short, no matter if it's the Technological Pope or the Magic Pope, they can only live for 100 years. Furthermore, it has nothing to do with when they are crowned. The Popes are elven infants chosen by the' God's Revelation 'at birth. From the day they are chosen, they are fated to live for only 100 years. Their growth rate is also accelerated to the point where it is similar to a human's. When the previous Pope died, the new Pope was just 18 years old. However, the outside world doesn't know about this because the Lost God Religion never publicizes any information related to the Popes. Therefore, there are all kinds of rumors among the people. Some say that the two Popes have already lived for 100,000 years, some say that the Popes are immortal. There are even people who guess that the two current Popes are the seventh and sixth generation respectively — these are baseless guesses. "
"The Church has sealed this information, which means that the short lifespan of the Popes is also an 'important piece of information'. However, it might have nothing to do with the problem that we are concerned about." I exchanged glances with Sandora before turning to the female leader. "If that's the case, even the ordinary Tree Elves don't know about the short lifespan of the Popes?"
"I heard it just now. You divided the Elves into Tree Elves, White Elves, and High Elves? That's strange. There's no meaning in such a division. They live together and their bloodlines have long been mixed. "The female leader smacked her lips." Indeed, although the commoners of the Elves have long lifespans, they still don't have the right to know about these secrets. This is because the two Popes are born from a group that has been 'Deified'. Every year, there would be many Elf babies who would be chosen to enter the Holy Apostle Sequence. When they enter the Church, they would be deified. From then on, they would no longer have any connection with the mortal world. They wouldn't even be able to meet their parents. The Popes would then be chosen from these babies. However, the commoners wouldn't know about this process. "
I raised two fingers. "The last two questions. First: Since you know about such important information, why didn't you think of publicizing it? Since the Church is paying close attention to this issue, publicizing this information would definitely cause a huge uproar, right? Don't you find the Church an eyesore? "
"That's because it's meaningless. There are countless guesses about the higher-ups of the Church. Although the Church's rule is very stable, there is no lack of rumors about it. If you go to the southern cities, you will know. There are even people who say that the Popes can only live for ten years." The female leader shook her head helplessly. "The Church doesn't care about this and the commoners would only treat this information as idle chatter. The Popes have a short lifespan? Does this have any effect on the world? Does it have any effect on the crops? No, so no one cares about it. "
The Church in this world only cared about the 'sealing of technology'. This kind of 'simplicity' made it so that they weren't afraid of the rumors about the Pope. Although they wouldn't take the initiative to publicize it, they weren't worried about others making wild guesses. This was interesting.
"Alright, this question doesn't seem to be important. Then the second question," I looked at the female leader curiously. "Since you guessed that the Church sealed technology to prevent humans from courting death and bringing about the end of the world, why are you and your subordinates still so enthusiastic about reviving technology? Aren't you worried that you will also 'court death'? "
"There are some things … that can't be avoided." The female leader's calm face that had a tinge of sadness in it was swept away. At this moment, it was actually replaced with fanaticism. "Maybe the Church really wants to protect this world, but they are stubborn, stupid, and as timid as a mouse! Those elves have lived for too long and have become too afraid of death. They have forgotten what is the most important thing about being an intelligent spirit. They blindly seal away technology and blindly avoid it. This won't solve the problem at all! Perhaps the calamity won't be summoned by humans, but what if it comes knocking on our door? Technology and knowledge are the only weapons that mortals have, but the Church is worried that the weapons are too sharp, so they sealed them away! When the calamity comes knocking on our door, we won't even have a chance to resist! The revival of technology is to create this weapon for the humans of this world. Mortals shouldn't continue to avoid it. We have to think of a way to solve the problem! "
Sandora's orb suddenly became brighter. Her Majesty the Queen seemed to be very happy. "Oh, that's right. As a human with limited knowledge, it's really good that you have such awareness. I really admire you. Yes, my husband probably thinks so too."
"You … are you willing to help us revive technology?"
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid not for the time being."
The female leader was stunned. "Why?!"
I exchanged glances with Sandora, then looked at the female leader seriously. "Because the 'threat' that you are facing is probably not something that can be dealt with with with that bit of ancient technology. The Church of the Fallen Gods is indeed too conservative, but before we can determine what the 'calamity' that they are trying so hard to avoid is, we have to investigate more. "
The female leader was ambitious, and she was a good person. However, it was obvious that she had never been in contact with the wider world, so she didn't know the true dangers. On the other hand, Sandora and I knew a little more, so we were even more aware of the need to be careful.
Considering the Tree Elves' experience of escaping, it was easy to deduce that the threat to this world could be the Abyss or the fleet of the Fallen Apostles! If it was the latter, it would be fine. Now that the Fallen Apostles had basically been dealt with, what was left were the troops of the Abyss Schilling, so we could communicate with them. But if it was the Abyss … we only had one Admiral of the Empire!
They could track us through information overflow (that is, certain communication frequencies). No matter how I looked at it, this seemed like a method of infection from the Abyss.
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