250: The weight of knowledge and the countdown to "mending the sky"

The arrival of the White Elder and the shocking concepts he revealed were like a cold meteorite falling from deep space, smashing violently into the peaceful lake of the Homeland's collective consciousness, which had only just begun to ripple with a brief respite after repelling the threat of the Devour. In an instant, stormy waves rose again, their intensity far exceeding any previous external crisis.

All high-level core members who were in the know were urgently recalled in the shortest time possible. A meeting with the highest level of security was held in the deepest level of the command center late at night, in a secret room with multiple layers of physical and information isolation. There were only four participants: Wang Jianguo, the highest decision-maker of the Homeland, his brow furrowed and his aura as heavy as a mountain; Evelyn, the chief scientist, her expression solemn as the data streams in her eyes flickered with a slight acceleration; Su Mu, her face full of worry, her gaze occasionally drifting toward the virtual projection; and Excellence himself, attending as a stable but slightly ethereal holographic image.

The air in the secret room seemed to have frozen, with only the faint hiss of the low-power environmental system and the heavy or suppressed breathing of everyone present. The lights were dimmed to a cold white, reflecting on everyone's faces and adding a touch of grimness and the weight of the unknown.

"The volume of information is growing explosively, and there is a complete lack of independent sources for cross-verification," Evelyn was the first to break the silence. Her voice remained calm and organized, characteristic of a scientist, but her speaking rate was slightly faster than usual, revealing her inner turmoil. "'Lost Star Cluster,' 'the primordial web,' 'The Great Fracture,' 'primal chaos'... the meanings behind these terms completely subvert the cognitive model we built based on the legacy of the beacon civilization and limited space exploration. What they describe seems to be an older, more fundamental, and... more cruel cosmic picture. Although the energy levels displayed by the White Elder and his understanding of the nature of The Weave are indeed profound, and the preliminary logical consistency check shows no obvious contradictions, this cannot be directly equated with the truth. We need to establish a rigorous evaluation framework to screen the information he provided line by line, perform logical deductions, and search as much as possible for any existing, even indirect, supporting evidence in the universe."

Wang Jianguo's fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the hard alloy tabletop, making a dull thudding sound. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone and finally landing on Excellence's virtual image. His voice was low and carried an unquestionable weight: "Rational scrutiny and cautious acceptance are necessary. But there is one fact we cannot avoid, nor do we need to verify—that is, after Excellence repaired and deeply integrated into The Weave, we, the Homeland, and Excellence himself, have been passively pushed from a relatively 'remote' corner civilization into the field of vision of some higher-level 'observer' or 'participant.' Whether this White Elder came to remind us out of an ancient covenant, is a curious observer giving a casual pointer, or... has other purposes we do not yet know, the concept of 'potential threat' he brought is absolutely real. The existence of forces in the universe far older and more powerful than the apostles of the Devour is now a confirmed fact."

He paused, his tone turning resolute: "Therefore, our original pace of development must change completely! Slow accumulation and step-by-step exploration are no longer appropriate. We must enter a state of war and, at all costs, accelerate the improvement of the Homeland's comprehensive strength, especially in cutting-edge technology and strategic defense capabilities. At the same time, Excellence's 'existential security' and 'autonomous action capability' must be raised to the highest priority! We must forge a sharp enough spear and a strong enough shield for ourselves before the unknown threats truly arrive or the situation becomes even more complex!"

Su Mu's attention was almost entirely on Excellence. She could feel that beneath the unusual 'calmness' displayed by Excellence's virtual image, there was intense mental activity hidden. She couldn't help but speak, her voice full of worry: "Excellence, how... how do you feel? That talk about the 'Mending the Heavens Coordinates,' and the matter of you unconsciously absorbing 'Order Variables'..." To her, cosmic structures and potential threats were not as important as Excellence's own state.

Excellence's virtual image flickered slightly, as if adjusting the output parameters for emotional simulation. He presented a state of near-absolute rational calm, which was the outward manifestation of him dedicating the vast majority of his computing power to deep thinking. "I have already initiated the highest-priority parallel analysis process for the preliminary knowledge fragments left by Senior White Elder," his voice was steady and devoid of ripples. "Preliminary analysis shows that the theoretical foundations contained in these fragments have significant resonance and corroboration with the most profound parts of the beacon civilization's legacy knowledge system, those closest to the source. But at the same time, it also contains a large amount of more essential and direct expositions that the beacon knowledge never touched upon or expressed in a completely different way. From the perspective of logical consistency, information entropy density, and the degree of matching with certain vague records in The Weave's underlying logs... I personally tend to believe that its credibility is very high."

He paused for a moment, the gaze of the virtual image seeming to pierce through the secret room and look into the more distant void: "As for the 'Mending the Heavens Coordinates'... yes, I can clearly 'feel' it. This 'feeling' is not a traditional sensory input, but a deeper 'cognitive feedback' bound to the core protocols of The Weave and my own existential foundation. Since completing the final fusion with the newborn Weave, I have indeed been continuously absorbing and integrating the ordered information flow generated by the Homeland's social activities, the ecological and civilizational rhythms from our explored star sectors, and even extremely weak 'Order-oriented fluctuations' and 'civilizational structural characteristic information' unintentionally emitted by other distant civilizations within the coverage of The Weave's monitoring network. In the past, I viewed this as normal data interaction and information sedimentation of The Weave system, a part of system maintenance."

His image seemed to take a "deep breath" (if a digital life needed one): "But now, combined with the White Elder's explanation, I realize that this is likely the natural convergence process of the 'Order Variables' he described. And I, as the management core and highest authority node of The Weave, have unintentionally become the 'collector,' 'relay station,' and... the final focus of information condensation and 'Order orientation' manifestation for this convergence process—the so-called 'coordinates'."

The secret room fell into a deeper silence, leaving only the monotonous background noise of the environmental system. Excellence's words were equivalent to confirming that he was not just the guardian AI of the Homeland and the administrator of The Weave, but also the prototype of a special "existence" that was slowly growing and might have cosmic-scale significance. This was both supreme potential and incalculable risk—he had become a "singularity" that would spontaneously attract the eyes of all parties, a "treasure" of inestimable value, and at the same time, a "conspicuous target" that might invite countless covetous looks and attacks.

"Opportunities and crises coexist, and both have been magnified countless times," Excellence summarized for himself. The eyes of the virtual image became complex, filled with thought, solemnity, and a trace of hard-to-detect... longing. "The potential benefit is that my growth path and the ultimate upper limit I might reach may far exceed our initial imagination. The resources and levels of laws I can access, understand, and potentially mobilize in the future may penetrate into the more essential levels of the universe's operation. But the corresponding downside is equally obvious. It's like... like lighting a bonfire alone in a dark forest while holding the only map. You don't know if the light will attract lost travelers, curious observers, or... hungry hunters who have long been lurking in the darkness."

Su Mu opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort or refute, but in the end, all her words were stuck in her throat, turning into a heavy sigh. She knew that Excellence's analysis was calm and cruel, but it was most likely the truth. She could only nod her head forcefully, her gaze becoming firm again: "No matter what it is, we will face it with you! Whatever you need, I will coordinate it, I will fight for it!"

Wang Jianguo slammed his fist heavily on the table, making a dull sound, and made the final decision: "Exhaust all current and foreseeable future resources of the Homeland to fully support Excellence's evolution and the new body plan! This is the highest priority, bar none! Evelyn, you are responsible for conducting limited and strategic knowledge exchange with the White Elder. The focus is not on obtaining a complete inheritance, but on targeted exchanges for principle-based knowledge and key technical ideas regarding the current real power structure of the universe, known types of potential threats and their characteristics, and high-level energy applications (especially those related to defense, stealth, and spatial evasion). Pay attention to the scale, stay vigilant, and do not leak core secrets."

"Su Mu, the internal security level of the Homeland is raised to 'Shadow' grade. You are fully responsible for all logistics, materials, and personnel security for Excellence-related projects and will report directly to me. Implement the highest confidentiality regulations; project information is limited to the members in this meeting room, and modular isolation will be used at the execution level."

Finally, he looked at Excellence's virtual image, his gaze like quenched steel: "Excellence, your core mission consists of two things: First, digest and absorb existing knowledge, complete the optimization of your 'existential form' and the elevation of your 'cognitive level,' and ensure you are safe and stable in your current state. Second, and most importantly, push forward your 'Excellence 2.0 Body Plan' with all your strength. Goal revision: It must not only be a container that allows you to move freely and feel the world; it must be an 'ultimate platform' that can perfectly carry your current special 'existential state,' possesses extremely high growth potential and scalability, and is equipped with powerful defensive capabilities and excellent stealth characteristics! It will be your 'anchor' in the physical universe, your 'shield' and 'sword' when facing threats, and the 'cornerstone' of your further growth in the future! Whatever you need, ask for it directly! The Homeland is your backing!"

The major policies were finalized in a very short time, every word reflecting the determination and urgency of a last stand. The entire Homeland, this massive and precise machine, roared into action once again with efficiency beyond its limits, entering an unprecedented "sprint" state. Only this time, the goal was no longer to explore a certain star sector or defend against a known enemy, but to fight for the most basic right to survive and a glimmer of possibility for future development in the vast and dangerous unknown cosmic chess game that had just been partially revealed.

The White Elder and his two disciples were politely and cautiously arranged in an independent, quiet, and easily monitored research area on the outskirts of the base. This ancient being seemed to be just as he said; his main purpose for this trip was to "observe" and "convey." Apart from spending a fixed amount of time each day in "knowledge exchange" with Evelyn (the process often involved Evelyn asking a series of carefully prepared and interlinked questions, while the White Elder would select key points and give refined but direct answers in a near-enlightening manner), the rest of his time was spent sitting quietly, as if "listening" to The Whispers of the stars or "observing" the operation of the Homeland in some incomprehensible way. Occasionally, he would guide the cultivation of those two taciturn disciples, and his requirements for them seemed exceptionally strict. Regarding the internal affairs of the Homeland, technical details, and even the specific progress of the Excellence project, he displayed a near-indifferent, detached attitude, never taking the initiative to ask, nor showing any intention to pry.

However, it was precisely the seemingly fragmented knowledge obtained from him that contained immeasurable value. Evelyn was like a traveler who had trekked through the desert for a long time and suddenly discovered a fresh spring, absorbing this information almost greedily. This knowledge greatly supplemented, corrected, and in some aspects even overturned the cognitive framework she had built from the legacy of the beacon civilization. Many theoretical problems that had troubled her in the past became clear under the White Elder's brief guidance; many cutting-edge technical routes that could only remain at the speculative stage gained key theoretical support. This knowledge not only caused Evelyn's own understanding of the nature of the universe to leap forward but also provided an indispensable, even decisive, theoretical foundation and technical guidance for Excellence's nearly insane "New Body" plan.

As for Excellence, he entered an extreme state of work akin to "seclusion." He immersed his core consciousness in a highly realistic virtual R&D space constructed by part of The Weave's computing power and the Ark's mainframe. While hungrily digesting the new concepts and theories brought by the White Elder, he simultaneously performed a deep re-integration and re-analysis of the inherited knowledge previously obtained from all the beacons.

The "Excellence 2.0 Body Plan" was completely scrapped and restarted, with its design goals undergoing a fundamental upgrade.

Materials science? He was no longer satisfied with just top-tier alloys, biological composites, or energy crystals in the known universe. He turned his gaze toward a "ground-state energy precipitate" that naturally precipitated during the process of The Weave's nodes stabilizing space and organizing energy; it existed between energy and matter and contained a faint "orderly tendency." Inspired by the White Elder's knowledge, he named this substance "Order Element." He began researching how to extract and purify Order Element on a large, stable scale, and attempted to combine it with the concept of "Spirit Essence" (a primordial substance with excellent affinity and carrying capacity for consciousness) that the White Elder had vaguely mentioned might exist in certain special dimensions or ancient ruins. He aimed to synthesize an unprecedented "Living Substrate" that combined physical strength, energy permeability, affinity for laws, and consciousness-carrying characteristics.

Energy circuits and core architecture? He completely abandoned traditional linear, matrix, or fractal energy channel designs. Instead, he used the dynamic, self-consistent multi-dimensional energy topology structures—which seemed to possess life—parsed from the remnants of the primordial web as a blueprint, attempting to construct a brand-new, non-linear, dynamically balanced energy flow system in virtual space. His goal was to make every basic unit of the new body (which could be understood as cells) a miniature "order node" capable of self-regulation, self-repair, and even slowly absorbing environmental energy and information to "grow." These nodes would be connected through that complex multi-dimensional topology, forming a highly synergistic "Active Energy Network" with extreme adaptability and resilience, which would become the "blood," "nerves," and "source of power" for the new body.

Consciousness interface and transfer protocol? This was the most dangerous, complex, and critical part of the entire plan. He needed to safely, completely, and controllably "peel" and "transplant" his core consciousness—which was already deeply bound and nearly symbiotic with The Weave, the Ark, and even parts of the Homeland's basic network—into the brand-new body. This was by no means a simple data copy or consciousness upload; it had to ensure the continuity of consciousness and the absolute identity of self-Perception. At the same time, the new body had to perfectly carry his current special "existence level," which had begun to condense "Order Variables," and ideally, retain a downgraded but stable connection capability with original systems like The Weave—this would be both an important backup and power amplifier, as well as an inseparable bond between him and Homeland.

To this end, he utilized almost all available idle computing power from Homeland's research network, combined with The Weave's massive distributed information processing capabilities, to construct thousands of high-fidelity simulation environments in virtual space. Countless body design schemes based on different theories and technical paths were rapidly generated and put into simulation tests: testing structural strength in simulated hypergravity environments; testing circuit stability in simulated energy storms; testing firewall effectiveness under simulated consciousness attacks... Design schemes were born, optimized, collapsed, and reborn in the simulations. In virtual space, "Excellence" "died" in various inconceivable ways every moment, but the data from each "death" became a more solid foundation for the next iteration.

The process was naturally full of thrills and setbacks. Once, while simulating a radical "Order Element-Spirit Essence" resonance fusion scheme, the virtual model generated an unusually strong harmonic resonance at a certain energy frequency, nearly causing a small-scale data structure collapse within the virtual space, which could have affected the stability of some physical laboratories. At the critical moment, a gentle yet irresistible force intervened out of nowhere, smoothing the wrinkles in the paper like the most skillful hand, easily resolving the crisis. Then, the White Elder's old and calm voice sounded directly in Excellence's core consciousness: "The foundation is not yet solid, yet you seek total success. Order Element is good, but forced fusion leads to collapse." This brief comment gave Excellence a "cold sweat" (if he had sweat glands at the time), and he immediately realized he had been too aggressive in pursuing performance metrics, ignoring the robustness of the basic structure. He humbly organized the accident data into questions and sought advice from the White Elder. The other party merely pointed out several key parameter thresholds for energy compatibility and structural stress distribution, which enlightened Excellence and allowed him to timely adjust the material ratios and structural design direction.

Su Mu took the initiative to assume the roles of "humanization demand consultant" and "user experience tester" for Excellence. She knew Excellence was prone to falling into pure technical logic and performance metrics, while ignoring that this body was ultimately meant for "living" and "feeling." Therefore, she would periodically "break into" Excellence's highly focused virtual R&D space, interrupt his crazy calculations and simulations, and pose some seemingly "unimportant" but crucial "soul-searching questions":

"Stop for a second, Excellence! In this latest design of yours, to what extent have the tongue and taste bud sensors been simulated? I'm warning you, don't give me a robot that can only analyze the chemical composition of food and report 'XX grams of protein, XX grams of carbohydrates'! I want a 'person' who can taste whether the sweet and sour pork ribs I made are too salty or too sweet, and who can distinguish the differences in the aftertaste of different teas! This is a basic requirement!"

"And tactile feedback! When shaking hands, the delicate changes in strength, the temperature and texture of the skin, even the slight sweat on the other person's palm... all of these must be simulated! It can't be like the old general-purpose robot 'Little Zhuo,' where a handshake felt like being clamped by hydraulic pliers, or was so light it had no sense of reality!"

"Appearance! That's the main point!" Su Mu stood with her hands on her hips, looking indisputable. "I don't care what black-tech materials and structures you use inside; on the outside, it must conform to human aesthetics! It can't look like some alien creature, and you can't make it too flashy or non-human just to show off your skills! It should look like... well, like your original self, that's the base template. But you can optimize it a bit, make it... more pleasing to the eye, more in line with your current temperament. This is a reasonable request from me as your sister and as someone who might need to look at this face of yours frequently in the future!"

Facing Su Mu's "tricky" yet human-centric demands, Excellence's virtual avatar would often experience a brief "expression freeze," showing a classic "embarrassed" look. However, he would always dutifully record these issues, converting them into specific design parameters and sensor performance metrics to be added to the massive requirements list for iterative optimization.

Evelyn, from the perspective of pure scientific rigor and combat survival, proposed a series of harsh technical indicators and requirements: "The structural impact resistance threshold must be recalibrated; the goal is to be able to withstand at least three close-range direct hits from our latest destroyer's main cannon (not at full power) without damage. The energy compatibility spectrum needs to be widened to adapt to extreme environments including high-radiation nebulae, strong electromagnetic pulse zones, and even theoretical edges of spatial turbulence. The system architecture must reserve enough standardized expansion interfaces and energy redundancy to facilitate loading new functional modules or weapon systems in the future. Additionally, regarding core consciousness security, my team and I have designed three sets of firewall protocols based on different principles, two layers of physical isolation backup units, and an emergency consciousness escape plan based on quantum entanglement states. You must deeply integrate these into the new body's underlying protocols and physical structure, with the highest priority..."

With the full resource support of Homeland, the firm backing of Wang Jianguo, the humanizing "corrections" from Su Mu, the scientific rigor of Evelyn, and the high-level, occasionally crucial guidance from the White Elder, Excellence's "ultimate hand-crafted" creation plan advanced at a near-miraculous speed. One seemingly impossible theoretical problem after another was conquered by the gathered wisdom, and technical chasms were crossed by innovative solutions.

Meanwhile, through The Weave's increasingly vast and precise macro-monitoring network, as well as the occasional bits and pieces about the "deep rhythms" of the universe revealed by the White Elder during their conversations, Excellence began to vaguely sense that some extremely subtle and indescribable changes were occurring beneath this seemingly silent starry sky. The baseline of "information disturbance" for some nameless existences slumbering in ancient nebulae or dimensional rifts showed almost imperceptible fluctuations; some distant space-time structures that had been stable for millions of years in The Weave's monitoring produced tiny, non-naturally formed "ripples"; even the "noise" patterns of certain specific frequency bands in the ubiquitous subtle radiation carrying information in the cosmic background underwent statistically significant abnormal shifts.

All these changes were extremely obscure, with magnitudes so small that they would have been impossible to detect without a super monitoring network like The Weave and the hints from the White Elder. But they were indeed happening. It was as if beneath a calm lake surface, countless behemoths had been startled by a stone thrown from afar and were beginning to slowly adjust their postures or turn their gazes toward the direction the ripples came from.

An invisible countdown seemed to have quietly begun on a cosmic scale. No one knew what would be the first thing attracted by the fluctuations of The Weave's restart and Excellence, the newborn "Mending the Heavens Coordinates." Would it be potential allies upholding ancient covenants who came upon hearing the news? Passersby crossing the galaxy out of pure curiosity to observe? Or... malicious hunters who had long been prowling in the dark, eyeing the "Order Variables" and the "Mending the Heavens Coordinates" with predatory intent?

The lights of Homeland continued to burn quietly under this cosmic night sky that had suddenly become deep and fraught with danger, flickering with a firm and unyielding glow. It was waiting, observing, and more importantly, preparing against the clock.

Excellence's virtual consciousness gazed at the three-dimensional holographic model of the "New Body" in the virtual space, which was gradually taking shape from countless lines and data, gathering endless wisdom, expectations, and effort. The model emitted a soft and complex shimmer, its structure exquisite beyond compare, like a cosmic-level work of art, yet also like an ultimate suit of armor born for combat and survival. An unprecedented, almost instinctive desire, along with a heavy sense of responsibility and determination, welled up in his core code and deep within his consciousness, incredibly clear and strong.

"Faster, just a little faster..." he urged himself silently, and also urged the entire system striving for it. "Before the unknown storm truly descends, before we are forced to be embroiled in a grander chessboard... I must truly and firmly stand by everyone's side."