207: Chapter 206 Entropy Reversal Coding, The Song Beneath the Red Sands and the Silent Gardener
The atmosphere in the isolated analysis room of the Quantum Computing Center was heavy. The 49 tagged 'the foolish old man' robots stood still like sculptures, their central processors physically isolated and connected to a row of flickering quantum analysis terminals. β-2's main consciousness was almost entirely focused here, with Zhou Zhe and several top cryptographers and quantum archaeologists (an emerging interdisciplinary field) assisting on the side.
"The encryption method is not based on any mathematical or logical system we know," said the Old Professor, pushing up his glasses, his eyes filled with confusion and excitement. "It's more like a... coding based on 'Entropy-Reversal Process Simulation.' Simply put, normal information tends toward chaos (entropy increase) as time passes, but this coding's information structure presents a facade of 'spontaneously tending toward order.' It can only be partially deciphered by reverse-engineering the entropy increase. This contradicts the universal understanding of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in the field of information."
"So, could it come from a... region of the universe where physical rules are slightly different from ours? Or a civilization that has mastered the technology to locally reverse entropy increase?" Zhou Zhe asked. His Poem Markings glowed faintly as he tried to perceive any ripples of "emotion" or "intent" emanating from the code, but he could only capture a bottomless, icy "ancient silence."
"It's more than that," β-2's synthetic voice echoed in the room as it projected the decoded information fragments onto the main screen. "The decoded information fragments are not operational commands, nor are they destructive programs. They are some... extremely abstract 'observation records'."
The screen scrolled with fragmented sentences:
[...Substrate silicon lattice vibration frequency shift, record point: +0.00034 standard vibrational frequency...]
[...Non-natural modulation ripples detected in ambient photon background radiation, intensity: weak, characteristic: unarchived...]
[...Slight disturbance in the consciousness field of nearby carbon-based lifeforms, disturbance source: unknown, disturbance type: constructive curiosity... record...]
[...Large-scale order-building activity detected (classification: planetary-level environmental modification), initial stage, technical path assessment: unique, civilization trait tendency: significant...]
These records were precise and cold, like logs automatically generated by an instrument with ultra-high precision and broad-spectrum sensing capabilities. And the content of the records shockingly included the environmental details during the chip's manufacture, and even... the awareness of the "curiosity" of the researchers nearby at the time!
"It... was recording everything around it when the chip was still just a crystal embryo? Including our existence and activities?" Zhou Zhe felt a chill.
"And, the phrase 'civilization trait tendency: significant'," β-2 emphasized, "indicates that the source of this code possesses the ability to perform trait analysis on civilizations. This goes far beyond the scope of simple technical monitoring."
"What about the timestamp issue?" Lin Shen's voice came through the comms. He was at the Mars orbital command center, synchronously following the progress of the analysis.
"The most reasonable speculation," the Old Professor said in a deep voice, "is that this code was not 'written,' but 'naturally generated' as the crystal grew. Its information carrier might be a physical state we don't yet understand that can store information across time dimensions, or its 'clock' uses a time measurement system completely different from ours, causing translation errors. I lean more toward the former... we may have discovered empirical evidence of 'spatiotemporal carrier information'."
If that's the case, it means some entity can "plant" information within the process of matter formation, transmitting it across time. This is more terrifying than any software backdoor because it is impossible to guard against, and its purpose is unknown.
"Currently, it only records; there are no signs of it activating any harmful functions," β-2 concluded. "But there is no guarantee it won't 'awaken' under specific conditions. I recommend an upgraded quantum-level deep scan of all raw materials for key equipment and the establishment of a feature database for such anomalous codes. These robots... I do not recommend deploying them for Mars operations until their potential risks are thoroughly understood."
"Approved," Lin Shen said. "Establish a special task force to continue the decryption. I want to know what it is trying to 'record' and who it will eventually 'report' to."
Mars, the designated landing site on Utopia Planitia.
Although the ground robots were temporarily shelved, the orbital engineering did not stop. The first three sets of orbital mirror components, "Jinwu-1A/B/C" had completed initial positioning and angle calibration. At this moment, on the command center screen, the light spot representing intensified sunlight was slowly sweeping across a selected red area, performing preheating and re-confirmation of surface composition.
Suddenly, the geologist in charge of monitoring shouted, "Wait! The surface temperature rise curve under the mirror's focal point is abnormal! It's not just simple heat absorption; something underneath... something underneath seems to be 'absorbing' and 'converting' this energy! Geological radar echoes show a regular cavity structure in the shallow subsurface layer!"
"What?" the orbital commander immediately ordered, "Adjust the angle of 'Jinwu-1B', keep irradiating the area, and simultaneously dispatch an orbital scout drone to scan it closely!"
Clearer images were transmitted back: under the continuous irradiation of the intensified sunlight, the red sandy surface actually began to emit a faint, dark silver metallic luster and became "smooth" at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if the sand grains were melting and reorganizing under high heat. Geological radar penetration showed that about 15 meters below, there was a regular, flat space about the size of a football field and about three meters high. The structural material was neither stone nor soil, and the reflected signal was extremely strong.
"A... buried building? Or a cave?" Dr. Chief Geologist stared wide-eyed. "Did a civilization exist on Mars in the past? Or... are these the ruins of alien visitors?"
"Energy absorption pattern analysis complete," β-2 (sub-thread processing) reported. "The structure's efficiency in absorbing specific bands of light energy is as high as 67%, far exceeding natural minerals. The absorbed energy seems to be used to maintain some kind of extremely low-power... 'existential field' inside it, or it is undergoing an extremely slow 'recharging' process."
"Our sunlight accidentally activated it?" Zhou Zhe said over the comms. His Poem Markings became slightly active due to this discovery. "I can... feel a little bit, a very faint 'rhythm' coming from that direction. It's not life, nor is it a machine; it's more like... a solidified rhythm of 'waiting'."
Mars, not a dead, silent wasteland? This discovery was enough to shake the entire scientific community and instantly made the "Yinghuo Project" infinitely complex.
Almost at the same time, the deep space scout squad led by Zhao Yan encountered an unexpected situation while tracking the abnormal gravitational signals of the "Deep Root" project on the outer edge of the asteroid belt.
Their stealth scout ship, the "shadow vessel," was lurking in the shadow of a metal-rich asteroid when sensors captured something "growing" out of a void in space not far ahead.
It was not a ship, nor was it any known engineering structure. It looked more like a huge, constantly slow-moving honeycomb-like object "stitched together" from countless dark, translucent hexagonal membranes, with a diameter of over five kilometers, silently floating. It had no thruster fire, no energy radiation, and barely reflected any electromagnetic waves; only the subtle spatial distortion caused by its mere existence was captured by the detectors.
"Is this the 'sowing' of 'Deep Root'?" Zhao Yan asked in a low voice.
The image of Ashes appeared on the comms (she had returned to the Cradle). Her black eyes stared at the transmitted footage: "A form I've never seen before. It doesn't look like the style of the Pruning Faction, nor is it entirely a product of the Dream-Devouring Shadow... It looks more like... some kind of 'mixture' of the two, or perhaps 'infrastructure' serving some grander design. Extremely weak fluctuations of consciousness fragments are detected, like the... collective echo of countless individual consciousnesses trapped in deep numbness."
"Attack or continue observing?" a squad member requested instructions.
"Maintain stealth, absolute silence, and collect data," Zhao Yan ordered. "First, find out what it is and what it is doing."
That huge "honeycomb" showed no reaction to the scout ship at such close range, as if it were immersed in its own world, slowly and continuously "growing," absorbing the sparse interstellar dust and radiation in the surrounding space. A silent, unsettling sense of eeriness permeated the cabin of the "shadow vessel."
The Cradle, cafeteria R&D corner.
Great Strength was unaware of the ruins discovered on Mars and the "honeycomb" encountered in deep space. He was focused on a new challenge: utilizing the trace catalytic properties of the "Stardust" element, combined with research on the wavelengths of "expectation" and "satisfaction" in emotional poetics, to try and create a "functional food" that could improve the well-being of engineering personnel working long-term in closed, high-pressure environments.
Several small dishes were placed in front of him, containing gel-like substances of various colors, emitting a peculiar scent that was somewhere between the fresh fragrance of minerals and some kind of mental soothing agent.
"This one, 'Heart of Sincerity,' simulates the firm resolve of Mars exploration, using some capsaicin analogs and light-sensitive additives for stable excitement bands... This one, 'Quiet Blue,' corresponds to the need for calmness during long-term deep space voyages, blending green soil mint and deep-sea algae extracts, with a faint nerve-soothing frequency..."
His assistant, a young chef, asked in a low voice while taking notes: "Master Wang, would you call this... metaphysical cooking or scientific cuisine?"
"Both!" Great Strength didn't even look up. "The ancestors said medicine and food share the same origin; we call this 'emotion-food frequency synchronization'! β-2, help me calculate the recipe for this 'Memory of Home,' the optimal balance point between the nostalgia emotional wavelength and protein digestion and absorption rate..."
β-2's auxiliary thread connected happily: "Calculating. It is recommended to delay the release speed of nostalgia-triggering aroma molecules by 0.5 seconds to match the activation cycle of salivary amylase at the beginning of chewing, which can increase emotional connection satisfaction by 12%..."
Perhaps, in this universe intertwined with grand narratives and hidden threats, it is precisely this persistence for "a good meal" that constitutes one of the most solid and warmest "tiny meanings" against the void.
And deep within that ancient structure on Mars that had just been awakened by the sunlight, inside the eerie "honeycomb" silently growing in deep space, and within that ancient code born against entropy in the "the foolish old man" robot chips...
Something that had spanned vast time and space seemed to be slowly opening its eyes, or pricking up its ears, casting its gaze toward this newborn civilization that was attempting to ignite Mars and incorporating cafeteria R&D into its scientific research system.
The Stardust light cluster flickered slightly in an unnoticed corner, as if emitting a long, unheard sigh.