152: Star Language and Echoes
The arrival of the Star-Tongue Embers was like a ancient pebble dropped into the tranquil lake of the Alliance. They were settled in the border starfield, "Field of First Light," a beautiful star system that had just been stabilized by the power of the concerto keystone and was in the early stages of ecological recovery. These wandering singers did not rush to build magnificent cities; instead, like birds returning to their nests, they spread their weathered ships around the orbit of a young star, forming a unique "Star-Ring Song Array."
An elderly Star-Tongue Singer named Aidan became the primary envoy for communication with the Alliance's Information Bridge Department. His psionic ability was not used for combat or healing, but rather a rare "Song of Tracing Back" that could resonate with ancient informational traces remaining in the cosmic background radiation. When he began to sing, it was as if he could pluck the strings of the river of time, causing the submerged history to ripple with faint echoes.
In a strictly monitored communication environment, Aidan, for the first time before the experts of the Information Bridge Department, sang the oldest and most core "Creation Fragments" from their tribe's heritage. It was not a specific language, but a complex melody mixing psionic fluctuations and rule tremors, whose rhythmic structure bore an astonishing similarity to the encoding methods of certain information fragments within the memory ark!
The concerto keystone reacted strongly to this Song of Tracing Back. Its intelligent radiance flowed with the rise and fall of the song, as if it were a listener, capturing clues from this ancient melody that could corroborate and even complete missing fragments recorded in the memory ark.
"[Confirm correlation,]" the cornerstone transmitted its thoughts to Einstein and Ling Shuang, "[Song encoding... highly homologous with 'memory ark' early historical layer records, 'Civilization Tinder Spreading Protocol' partial fragments... Inference: Star-Tongue Embers' ancestors may be descendants of 'Memory Civilization' early dispatched 'Civilization Observers' or 'Cultural Beacons.' Their songs are incomplete 'Identity Verification Codes' and 'Historical Documentaries.']"
This discovery was exhilarating! The Star-Tongue Embers were not just ordinary wandering civilizations; they were very likely part of a grander, long-lost Memory Civilization project, living "historical bookmarks" scattered across the cosmos!
Upon learning of this Possibility, Aidan's wrinkled face showed a mix of excitement and relief. "Our songs... have always guided us to find the 'Land of Echoes'... It turns out, what we were searching for was not just a homeland, but also... the answer to the root of our existence."
With the assistance of the concerto keystone, a "historical jigsaw puzzle" spanning hundreds of millions of years began. Aidan sang ancient songs passed down through generations, while the cornerstone retrieved corresponding rule record fragments from the vast information of the memory ark, comparing, verifying, and completing them. Ling Shuang's psionic power acted as a bridge of emotion and understanding, ensuring that this cold data interface process did not lose the civilizational warmth and spiritual heritage it contained.
Scattered truths began to converge like puzzle pieces—
The ancient Memory Civilization, while moving towards its peak and attempting to transform itself into the eternal memory of the universe, also seemed to foresee a certain... risk of Possibility exhaustion. They feared that extreme order and the eternalization of information would lead to a stalemate in cosmic evolution. Therefore, they launched a secret "Tinder Project": dispatching "messengers" or "observers" carrying parts of their civilizational genes and cultural core to various corners of the universe. These messengers were not sent to conquer or colonize, but to integrate, observe, and record, ensuring that even if the memory ark itself fell silent, the diversity of civilization and the Possibility of evolution could still continue and flourish in other corners of the universe.
The Star-Tongue Embers are descendants of one such messenger. In their long wandering, they lost most of their technology, and their homeworld was destroyed in an ancient catastrophe, but they held onto their most core cultural heritage—the Song of Tracing Back, which could resonate with ancient cosmic information. Their very existence is a living legacy left by the Memory Civilization to future generations, concerning the value of diversity and the continuation of Possibility.
"So, it wasn't a coincidence that they heard the 'echo' of the cornerstone and the ark connecting," Lin Mo mused after receiving the preliminary report, "It was the calling of the mission etched deep in their bloodline. Their arrival completes a crucial piece of our understanding of the Memory Civilization's image—they didn't just pursue their own eternity; they also cared for the future of the entire universe."
This realization greatly enriched the Alliance's understanding of ancient cosmic wisdom and strengthened their resolve to pursue an inclusive development path. The Alliance officially extended an invitation for permanent residency to the Star-Tongue Embers and invited Aidan and other singers to join the Information Bridge Department as special consultants to work with the concerto keystone, jointly deciphering the civilizational epics slumbering in the depths of time.
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However, the quest for ancient history was also like opening Pandora's Box, attracting unexpected "listeners."
Just as the Star-Tongue Embers' songs and the memory ark's resonance deepened, the cornerstone's Nexus Prediction module issued a vague but persistent warning—in the distant, unexplored void, some existence that had been dormant for countless ages seemed to be generating extremely faint... activity disturbances due to these frequent, ancient cosmic rule fluctuations.
This disturbance did not originate from the known cosmic amber or eternal cornerstone; its rule signature was more obscure, more ancient, carrying a kind of... cold hunger.
The Tide of Delusion also simultaneously sent a warning message:
"[Detecting signs of activity disturbance from an unregistered ancient entity. Coordinate area: [Highly vague, strong rule interference]. Correlation analysis: Statistically correlated with recent frequent 'high-level information resonance' events. Threat level assessment: Currently uncertain, but recommend raising monitoring level in relevant areas. Tagged as: 'Potential Listener.']"
"Potential Listener"... a new, unknown ancient existence, possibly "awakened" by their act of deciphering history?
"We are doing archaeology, but at the same time, we might be awakening some... things that shouldn't be disturbed," Wu Yong said, his brow furrowed as he looked at the vague warning coordinates. His defense fleet once again entered a state of high alert and began dispatching anonymous reconnaissance outposts in the direction of the warning.
The Einstein Team, meanwhile, intensified its analysis of information fragments filtered by the cornerstone from the memory ark that might be related to this "cold hunger." They discovered that the Memory Civilization's records did indeed implicitly mention some "Primitive Predators" that might have existed in the universe in the "Pre-System Era" or even earlier, whose mode of existence was to devour rules, information, or civilization itself. Most of these existences had either fallen silent over long ages or perished due to changes in cosmic rules, but not all.
"Our exploration, while illuminating history, may also cast new shadows," Ling Shuang said softly, sensing the faint, cold gaze from the distant void.
Lin Mo stood in Prospect Hall, his gaze sweeping over the newly added, vague area on the star map representing an unknown threat, then looked at the "Field of First Light" harmoniously coexisting with the Star-Tongue Embers, and the concerto keystone steadily radiating intelligent light.
"Knowledge is always a double-edged sword," he said calmly, with an undeniable firmness in his voice, "To stop exploring out of fear of shadows is not our way. We are strong because of our pursuit of knowledge, and resilient because of our unity."
"Pass on the order: continue our work, strengthen cooperation with the Star-Tongue Embers, and deepen the interpretation of the memory ark. At the same time, raise the overall alert level, especially monitoring in the direction of the 'Potential Listener.' We must move forward in the light, but also be ready at any time to face any challenges that may arise in the darkness."
As the Alliance's vessel gained more wisdom and partners, it also keenly sensed the undercurrents lurking beneath the forward channel. They would continue to advance, with a more mature posture, to meet the new trials from the ancient abyss of the universe.