136: Pilgrims and incubators
The "micro rule incubator" left by Liranta was carefully placed in the deepest part of the Watch Outpost, inside an absolute containment chamber constructed from multiple rule barriers, psionic seals, and a Void Whisperer's consciousness alert network. It floated in the center, like a self-contained, slowly pulsating light egg, emitting a sense of pure and fragile palpitation. Any unauthorized approach would trigger a violent reaction from the entire containment system.
Dr. Einstein assembled a capable team to conduct continuous observation for twenty-four standard cycles using the most advanced non-invasive sensors. Data showed that the incubator indeed contained an extremely tiny, yet ancient and harmoniously structured spatiotemporal fragment, whose fluctuation pattern bore a striking resemblance to the echo of the primal cradle described by Ling Shuang. It was like a living fossil of the universe's birth moment.
"The rules within it... are self-evolving," Einstein said, looking at the real-time data stream, his tone filled with awe and vigilance. "Although extremely slow, it is indeed changing. It follows an intrinsic logic based on 'Possibility' that we cannot fully comprehend, rather than a preset absolute order. Liranta... she truly captured a trace of the embers of 'creation.'"
The research proceeded with extreme caution. Every data acquisition was accompanied by a re-evaluation of potential risks. This "spark" was both an invaluable treasure trove of knowledge and a bomb that could detonate at any moment.
---
Meanwhile, monitoring of the "final form" biological civilization—the Pilgrims—brought a more urgent sense of crisis.
Their biological stargate was nearing completion. It was not a technological construct, but a colossal living structure woven from countless biological tissues, with a dark red energy vortex pulsating at its center, emitting strong, directional rule distortions. Monitoring showed that the Pilgrims were systematically and organizationally transferring through this stargate, as if the entire civilization was undertaking a desperate great migration.
"Have their target coordinates been deciphered?" Lin Mo asked in a deep voice at the strategic meeting.
"Deciphering is very difficult," Xiao Li, who was responsible for intelligence analysis, said with a solemn expression. "Their navigation system is based on a biological rule sensing that we cannot understand, rather than conventional spatial coordinates. But by reverse-engineering the rule vector model of the stargate's energy jet... its general direction points to a distant void that even the basic star map provided by the tide of delusion marks as 'undefined.'"
An "undefined" area that even the Architect database had never extensively recorded? What was there? Was it the resting place of the Purity Faction designers? Or the "way out" of the universe in Liranta's prophecy? Or... an even older, more unspeakable existence?
"'Pilgrimage'... what exactly did they perceive?" Ling Shuang felt a hint of unease; her psionic perception could not penetrate that distant void, only sensing a vague yet immense "presence," like a giant beast lurking in the darkness.
"We cannot let them disappear from our sight like this," Wu Yong clenched his fist. "We must figure out where they are going and what they are doing! I suggest dispatching a long-range tracking fleet!"
"Too dangerous," Einstein objected. "The rule environment of that 'undefined' area is unknown, and our fleet might go and never return. Moreover, rashly tracking them might alert them, or even lead them in a more uncontrollable direction."
"Perhaps... we don't need to track them." Lin Mo suddenly spoke, bringing up the real-time monitoring data of the "rule incubator." "This 'spark' left by Liranta, the rule evolution within it, seems to... produce an extremely faint resonance reaction to the rule fluctuations emitted by the Pilgrims' stargate."
Everyone was stunned and looked at the data. Indeed, when the Pilgrims' stargate energy jet reached its peak, the rule pulsation frequency of the tiny spatiotemporal fragment inside the incubator would show an almost imperceptible synchronized acceleration.
"Liranta's 'incubator' simulates the primal cradle," the Void Whisperer's consciousnessfluctuation came, deep in thought. "[If the Pilgrims perceive and yearn for... some kind of... cosmic... 'origin'... or... an impulse of 'return'... then their resonance with the Cradle state... is... possible...]
"You mean," Ling Shuang reacted, "we can indirectly infer their destination, and even... understand the essence of their 'pilgrimage,' by studying the 'incubator's' reaction to the Pilgrims' actions?"
"That's one approach," Lin Mo nodded. "It's lower risk and might touch upon a more core truth. At the same time, we need to find another way." He looked at Einstein and the Void Whisperer. "Can we use the keystone probe network to conduct ultra-long-range, low-intensity rule 'probes' into that 'undefined' area? Not directly entering, but just like sonar, sending faint rule pulses and using the echoes to map its general rule structure?"
Einstein's eyes flickered with data streams: "Theoretically feasible! But it requires the computing power of the tide of delusion and extremely subtle camouflage of the probe signals to prevent detection by any potential 'residents.'"
"Immediately coordinate with the tide of delusion and initiate the 'echo mapping' plan," Lin Mo ordered.
---
Just as the Alliance was working on two fronts to unravel the mystery of the "pilgrimage," the quiet "rule incubator" experienced its first unexpected anomaly.
At a moment when the Pilgrims' stargate was conducting a large-scale collective transmission, and the rule fluctuations were most intense, the light and shadow inside the incubator suddenly became brighter and more active. The rule patterns on its surface flowed and reorganized at an unprecedented speed. Immediately afterward, an extremely subtle, yet inherently pure rule ripple, like the first cry of a newborn infant, uncontrollably emanated from the incubator, penetrating layers of containment!
Although this ripple was extremely faint and was instantly absorbed and neutralized by the containment system, the announcement of its almost primordial "existence" still caused a soul-level tremor in the Einstein Team monitoring it at close range and the Void Whisperer connected through consciousness.
[It... is alive... ] The Void Whisperer's consciousness carried an indescribable excitement. [It's not activated... it's the rules within it... spontaneously... giving birth to... true... 'vitality'! A... brand new... rule... life... prototype?!]
What Liranta left behind was not just a model, a fragment. In the process of simulating the primal cradle, she had inadvertently (or intentionally?) fostered a nascent, pure rule life form within this enclosed environment!
This discovery left everyone both excited and apprehensive. Excited that they might be witnessing the birth of an unprecedented life form; apprehensive that the power and future of this newborn were completely unknown. It could become an ally, or an even more terrifying threat than the Pilgrims.
Lin Mo immediately strengthened the containment chamber's defenses and ordered: "All research on the incubator is to be elevated to top secret. No attempts at interaction of any kind are permitted without my direct order. We need to observe, we need to understand. Until this 'newborn' reveals its 'will,' we must maintain absolute caution."
---
Days later, the "echo mapping" plan returned its first fuzzy rule structure map.
That "undefined" area was not empty. The image showed a colossal, incredibly complex... rule stasis field. It was as if the spacetime and rules of the entire area had been forcefully "frozen" into a specific state by some power. At the core of this stasis field, there was an absolutely dark "blind spot" that the probe signals could not penetrate.
"It's like an... amber," Einstein described. "Something... is preserved inside. The Pilgrims' goal is very likely that 'specimen' within the 'amber.'"
"Specimen?" Wu Yong frowned. "What kind of 'specimen' would require an entire extremely evolved civilization to 'pilgrimage' to?"
"Perhaps... not a specimen," Ling Shuang gazed at the blurry image; her psionic perception sensed an indescribable, ancient aura mixed with sublimity and sorrow. "More like a... tomb. Or... a monument."
A tomb? A monument? Erected for whom? By whom?
The Pilgrims' migration continued, their stargate operating continuously, like a swarm of insects flying into a flame.
The "newborn" in the rule incubator was quietly growing, emitting a pure yet dangerous light.
In the distant "amber" stasis field, unknown ancient secrets were preserved.
Three seemingly unrelated, yet subtly intertwined clues were leading the Alliance to the center of an even grander and deeper mystery. After Liranta's death, the cosmic stage did not fall silent; instead, a more magnificent curtain was drawn.
Lin Mo knew that what they were about to face might no longer be a tangible enemy, but the deeper secrets of the universe itself, and the ultimate meaning of life in endless spacetime.