132: External ripples and the choice of "seeds"

In the "Homeland," a Peach Blossom Spring secluded and surrounded by mountains, time flowed slowly amidst a peaceful and fulfilling life of scientific research. Excellence, the youth carrying a special talent and past trauma, grew more robust by the day under Su Mu's sun-like care and Evelyn's moonlight-like guidance, resembling a sapling that had absorbed ample nutrients. His mind gradually matured under the irrigation of knowledge, and that unique, sometimes mystical Perception ability also began to exhibit new, clearer characteristics as his body and mind stabilized.

However, just as a calm lake surface cannot prevent ripples when a breeze passes over, the "abnormal" light of Excellence's special existence could not be completely isolated from the outside world, despite being wrapped in layers of security measures at "Homeland." In this era where information permeates everything, scattered rumors—passed through countless hands, embellished, or even completely distorted—began to quietly sprout and spread like ghosts on the fringes of certain extremely secretive, high-level circles.

The channels for these rumors were extremely limited, restricted to closed-door discussions of a few top theoretical physics journals, marginal annotations in top-secret file summaries of high-level strategic intelligence agencies of major powers, and encrypted communication networks of mysterious intelligence brokers who dealt in "strange tales" within gray areas. The content of the rumors was bizarre, with varying versions:

In a small circle focused on the frontiers of consciousness science, a saying circulated: deep in the mountains somewhere in the East, a secret organization existed that had successfully "awakened" or "cultivated" a young genius with the ability to see fragments of the future. The accuracy of his intuition far exceeded existing probability models and might touch upon some unknown mechanism of time Perception.

On a deep-level board of a geek forum interested in "Global Consciousness Field" or "Morphic Resonance" theories, someone anonymously posted vague information claiming to have discovered an extraordinary person who could directly "dialogue" in some form with the "Cosmic Background Information Field," whose cognitive patterns might break through the categories of classical information processing.

The most outrageous version appeared in intelligence black markets focused on unidentified phenomena and conspiracy theories, confidently claiming that a mysterious organization had found a "spokesperson or contact for a high-level extraterrestrial civilization left on Earth," whose thinking structure was extraordinary and might carry keys beyond current human technological levels.

Most of these rumors were dismissed as nonsense by the mainstream academic and intelligence communities due to being too shocking. Rigorous scientists believed they lacked any reproducible evidence and were more like science fiction plots; rational intelligence analysts categorized them as information pollution or psychological warfare material.

But there is always a small group of people who either possess insight and open-mindedness beyond the ordinary, carry the responsibility of dealing with extreme unknown risks, or are purely driven by endless curiosity. These people did not easily dismiss the rumors. From this fragmented information—where truth and falsehood were hard to distinguish—they caught a scent of something unusual. Although unable to confirm it, they began to use the resources they could mobilize to attempt to probe the truth of "Homeland" and Excellence in extremely covert ways. For a time, abnormal signal scans and tentative contact traces became frequent in the electromagnetic environment monitoring records around the perimeter of the "Homeland" area, and occasionally, traces of secretive drones or ground personnel disguised as geological prospectors or ecological surveyors could be found.

The undercurrents quietly surging in the outside world eventually converged into highly encrypted alerts placed on the desk of Wang Jianguo, the top person in charge of "Homeland." Intelligence analysis showed that at least three overseas organizations with complex backgrounds and unclear intentions were showing extraordinary "interest" in the "Homeland" area through different methods and intensities. One organization had inextricable links to the remnants of Morpheus Li's forces, while the other two bore the shadows of major power strategic intelligence agencies and private high-tech giants, respectively.

Wang Jianguo faced the most difficult and heavy strategic choice since the establishment of "Homeland." Before him lay two completely different paths, each accompanied by enormous risks and far-reaching impacts.

The first path: Extreme blockade, absolute protection in an ivory tower.

This meant further strengthening the physical and informational isolation of "Homeland," cutting off all non-essential external contact, and completely protecting Excellence in a secluded "sterile" environment. Doing so could minimize external interference and potential threats to the greatest extent, ensuring Excellence's safety and the most normal growth environment possible, allowing him to develop at his own pace and avoid premature contact with the complexity and darkness of the adult world. This aligned with the promise made when Excellence was first received and was the most stable choice consistent with humanitarian spirit.

But the cost was that Excellence's special ability, which might contain immense potential, would perhaps forever only serve limited research projects within "Homeland," like a pearl covered in dust, unable to play a role in the wider world. More importantly, if those predatory external forces truly possessed some transcendent threat (for example, a dangerous technology originating from an extraterrestrial or prehistoric civilization) and Excellence's ability happened to be the only key to counteracting or understanding it, would this absolute closure lead to irreversible consequences at some critical future moment?

The second path: Limited openness, treating the ability as a strategic resource.

This meant that under the premise of ensuring absolute safety and control, Excellence's gradually emerging special talents would be used extremely cautiously and limitedly as a unique "strategic resource." This would provide an unprecedented "perspective" or "intuitive reference" for the country and even humanity to deal with certain extremely complex, urgent, and major challenges that conventional means were almost powerless against. These challenges could include: long-standing theoretical dilemmas in frontier basic science (such as key difficulties in Unified Field Theory), extreme risk assessments for major projects concerning national livelihood (such as Ultra-large Particle Colliders or next-generation fusion reactors), or even early warnings for potential global crises that had not yet manifested but were highly dangerous (such as unknown pathogens or extraterrestrial threats).

Doing so would undoubtedly maximize the value of Excellence's existence, potentially bringing subversive technological breakthroughs or avoiding catastrophic losses, holding inestimable strategic significance.

But the risks were equally enormous and direct: First, any form of external contact would increase the risk of exposure, like lighting a lamp in the dark, which would inevitably attract moths. Second, would involving a youth whose mind was not yet fully mature—even indirectly and unconsciously—in such high-pressure, high-risk decision-making cause him an unbearable psychological burden? Would it distort his pure nature? This involved deep-seated ethical questions: was Excellence to be viewed as a "national treasure" requiring meticulous care, or a "strategic asset" that could be used limitedly for the "greater good"? The latter sounded cold and utilitarian, but in extreme cases, was it a helpless choice that had to be considered?

Wang Jianguo convened a high-level internal decision-making meeting at "Homeland," with attendees including core heads of security, scientific research, medical, and ethics fields. The air in the meeting room was so heavy it felt as if it could be wrung out like water.

One faction, led by the senior psychological consultant and the head of Excellence's medical team, emotionally insisted on the principle of protection first: "Director Wang, we must be clear-headed! Excellence is first and foremost a child, a child who has experienced severe trauma and is slowly recovering! His mental health and normal growth are the foundation of all our work! We cannot let his young shoulders bear heavy pressure that shouldn't belong to him and that even adults find hard to endure, just for some illusory 'possible value' or 'strategic significance'! This violates our original intention of treating and protecting him; it is extremely irresponsible! Once his inner world collapses again due to external pressure, we will lose everything, and it will be a permanent loss!"

However, the heads of the strategic assessment and external relations departments proposed the viewpoint of prudent utilization from a more macro perspective: "I understand everyone's care for Excellence. But we must also face reality! The outside world is not peaceful, and the level of certain threats may far exceed our imagination. If Excellence's ability—even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand possibility—can help us provide early warning for a disaster comparable to a nuclear crisis, or crack a key technical bottleneck that could bring an energy revolution, do we have the right to give up trying because of overprotection? This is not just a question of value utilization; it is a potential responsibility to the broader population! We can formulate the strictest safety protocols to ensure the process is completely anonymous and indirect, never letting him know the specific content, thus minimizing the impact. This is indeed like walking a tightrope, but it may be a necessary risk."

Su Mu and Evelyn also attended the meeting. Su Mu pressed her lips tightly, her eyes filled with heartache and a protective urge for Excellence, but she did not speak easily; she knew the complexity of this matter far exceeded personal emotions. Evelyn looked solemn; as a scientist, she knew that certain scientific frontiers indeed might require non-traditional breakthrough paths; but as Excellence's guide and friend, she was more worried about the impact of premature exposure to complex external situations on his soul.

Wang Jianguo listened silently to every attendee's speech, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table. His gaze went through the thick bulletproof glass window, casting out. In the distance, in the small garden, Excellence was squatting on the ground, observing a group of ants carrying food with great interest alongside Su Mu and Evelyn. Sunlight spilled over the three of them, outlining a peaceful, warm, and life-filled picture. The youth's face was brimming with pure curiosity and happiness, forming a sharp contrast with the heavy topics being debated in the meeting room. At that moment, Wang Jianguo's heart was filled with indescribable, complex emotions.

After a long period of careful consideration, weighing all the pros and cons, risks, and responsibilities, Wang Jianguo finally made a decision that sought a difficult balance between idealism and reality, protection and responsibility. This decision was not an either-or choice but an extremely cautious framework plan that established multiple firewalls.

He announced: The core principle remains unchanged: Excellence's safety, mental health, and normal growth are still the unshakable primary core task and highest principle of "Homeland." We will never proactively use Excellence's ability to deal with external affairs, never let him know any information related to external threats or strategic tasks, and maximize the protection of the purity of his childhood and adolescence.

Establish the "Star Gazing Platform" assessment group: Secretly establish a special assessment group codenamed "Star Gazing Platform." This group will consist of a very small number of top strategic analysts, scientists, and ethicists who have passed the strictest political and psychological evaluations, reporting directly to Wang Jianguo, with its existence and activities kept absolutely confidential from the outside.

Functions of the "Star Gazing Platform": The sole function of this group is to passively and secretly receive and evaluate difficult problems submitted by national-level security and technology decision-makers that meet the following extremely harsh conditions:

Extreme Importance: Major challenges involving core national security, the common destiny of humanity, or existential risks.

Exhaustion of Conventional Means: All existing scientific, technological, and intelligence analysis means have proven ineffective or have reached a stalemate.

Potential Correlation: After preliminary analysis, there is a faint possibility that Excellence's intuitive ability could provide a brand-new, unconventional perspective or clue.

Highly Anonymous and Indirect Feedback Mechanism: Even if a problem passes the "Star Gazing Platform" assessment, no questions or tasks will ever be directly posed to Excellence. Instead, Evelyn and Su Mu—completely unaware of the specific background (they only know it as some kind of "cognitive pressure test" or "potential stimulation experiment")—will guide Excellence through a preset, seemingly random process naturally integrated with his daily research activities to generate reactions to a set of meticulously designed abstract stimuli containing hidden information about the target problem (such as complex geometric fractals, untitled deep space imagery, specific frequency sound wave sequences, etc.). Then, a specialized analysis team will perform deep decoding and analysis by monitoring physiological signals unconsciously produced by Excellence when in contact with these materials (such as EEG micro-patterns, pupil reaction time, subtle changes in skin conductance), as well as any seemingly unrelated words or metaphors he might let slip in subsequent free discussions, attempting to extract the "intuitive feedback" that might be contained within regarding the target problem. Throughout the process, Excellence remains in a completely natural state, as if participating in an ordinary cognitive experiment.

Final Decision-making Power: Even if some form of "feedback" is obtained, its interpretation is full of uncertainty and will only serve as one of the extremely secondary, highly questionable pieces of reference information for the top decision-making level, never as the primary basis for a decision.

Wang Jianguo's decision was like throwing an extremely tiny stone into the peaceful lake of "Homeland" that could potentially trigger far-reaching ripples. It meant that Excellence's seemingly isolated growth trajectory had begun to establish an extremely weak, indirect, and completely unknown potential connection with the changing winds and clouds of the outside world at the highest level and in extreme situations.

The "Star Gazing Platform" plan began operation under top-secret status, its existence as hidden and distant as its codename. Excellence's life continued as usual—learning, researching, and conducting various interesting or "hand-crafted" explorations accompanied by Su Mu and Evelyn. He would still cheer for solving a math problem, jump for joy at a small success in a "hand-crafted" project, and look forward to the ripening of tomatoes in the garden.

However, occasionally, without his knowledge, he would come into contact with some "new test pictures" or "interesting sound samples" brought by Evelyn. He would observe and listen with great interest as usual, then give some wild descriptions and associations. These descriptions would be recorded and transmitted via encryption to a deep underground analysis room, where a group of serious-faced experts would perform the most detailed interpretations, trying to find a minute spark of wisdom from those language snippets full of childishness and metaphors that might illuminate some dark predicament.

Su Mu and Evelyn vaguely sensed that Wang Jianguo's decision had brought some extremely subtle changes, such as occasionally receiving more "structured" test task requirements, but they strictly observed discipline and never pried, only guarding Excellence with even more care to ensure his world remained full of sunshine and happiness.

Excellence, the seed that was once meticulously protected and kept away from the wind and rain, had unknowingly begun to grow unique branches and leaves that were quietly touching and potentially influencing the fate of the broader and more complex forest shrouded outside "Homeland." The road ahead was destined to be full of more unknowns and challenges, but it also contained the potential to change the global landscape. The responsibility of the guardians, therefore, grew increasingly heavy.