209: Chapter 208 The Cradle of Models: Collective Unconsciousness and the "Truth" of Hot Sauce
The contact by the "Chixiao" robot did not trigger an explosion or energy shock. The smooth, dark silver surface, upon sensing the micro-vibrations of specific frequencies and the "Friendly Recognition Code" carried by "Chixiao" (derived from the observation protocol features extracted from the anti-entropy code) calculated by β-2 and Zhou Zhe, flowed silently like mercury and receded, revealing a downward-sloping, perfectly edged channel entrance. The interior of the channel was a soft, self-illuminating milky white material.
"Entry permitted." Inside the orbital command center, everyone held their breath.
"Chixiao" cautiously drove in. The tunnel was not long; after about fifty meters, it suddenly opened up.
What appeared before all the observers was not the room full of consoles or mysterious devices they had anticipated, but an extremely empty hemispherical hall about twenty meters high. The curved ceiling and walls of the hall were entirely made of that milky white self-illuminating material, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the lights from "Chixiao" itself. In the center of the hall, the only object present was a complex geometric model, about three meters in diameter, suspended one and a half meters above the ground.
The model was composed of countless tiny points and lines emitting micro-lights of different colors, slowly rotating and changing. Upon closer inspection, those light points were actually miniaturized star systems, and the lines were gravitational connections or traces of civilization activity. The central area of the model was highlighted; it was precisely the Solar System, with the position of Mars marked by a constantly pulsating pale golden light point.
"Is this a... dynamic star map model? A civilization activity simulator?" Chief Geologist guessed.
Zhou Zhe's Poem Markings flickered violently. What he "saw" was far more than optical images: "No... it's not just a model. It... it is 'breathing.' The lines between those light points are not just spatial relationships; I 'hear'... there are information flows, rhythms of energy exchange, and even... very, very faint 'emotional undertones' fluctuating on those nodes representing civilizations. This is more like a... 'living' dynamic sandbox of cosmic civilization relationships!"
β-2 quickly analyzed the environmental data transmitted back by "Chixiao": "The gravity in the hall is standard 0.376 G (Mars gravity). Air composition: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, no harmful substances, constant temperature of 22 degrees Celsius. There are no visible interactive interfaces or control terminals. The only interactable object seems to be the central model. We have detected complex multi-band information radiation emitted by the model itself, and some frequency bands have a weak resonance with the anti-entropy code."
"Attempt to interact with the model," Lin Shen ordered. "'Chixiao', approach the model and try to send our civilization's basic information code (non-core technology), as well as... our summary of the Mars terraforming plan."
"Chixiao" slowly approached, extended its probe arm, and projected the encoded data onto the model in the form of light signals.
The light in the Solar System area at the center of the model increased slightly, and the pale golden light point representing Mars flickered a few times. Immediately after, in a part of the model's edge area, several dim, almost extinguished light points were suddenly connected by a few extremely thin lines with an ominous dark red color. The other ends of these lines pointed vaguely toward a constantly writhing and changing deep gray shadow area—its position roughly coincided with the coordinates of the "Hive" on the outskirts of the asteroid belt!
At the same time, a clear but emotionless stream of information was directly injected into "Chixiao"'s data receiver and simultaneously transmitted back to the command center:
[Observation protocol interaction activated. Node γ-919 (Solar System) confirmed.]
[Local observatory function: Record and display regional civilization evolution dynamics and potential threat associations.]
[Detected γ-919 initiating 'Planetary Environmental Ordering' (Mars). This behavior will increase the visibility and association weight of this node.]
[Association Alert: A 'Wither Field' (deep gray shadow area) has been detected forming on the periphery of this region, and its 'Entropy Silence Whisper' emission intensity is rising. This field tends to anchor and amplify the 'existential emptiness' and 'thinness of sense of meaning' tendencies of civilization individuals within its influence range. Please pay attention to screening and reinforcing your own civilization's 'Meaning Anchor Network'.]
[Suggestion: Strengthen the 'Collective Unconscious Positive Resonance Layer'. Observations show that the 'meaning redundancy' formed by γ-919 individuals through non-utilitarian cultural creation, ritualistic shared experiences, and emotional connections based on small certainties has a significant filtering and diluting effect on the 'Entropy Silence Whisper'.]
The information flow ended there. The model resumed its slow rotation, only those few dark red connecting lines and the deep gray shadow area looked particularly glaring.
The relic was not an armory, nor a control center, but a "Civilization Ecology Display and Early Warning Board"! The observers left it, seemingly intending to remind the emerging civilization to pay attention to the "ecological relationships" in the universe, especially the threat method of the "Wither Faction"—not direct physical destruction, but corroding from the inside by spreading "existential emptiness"!
"Meaning Anchor Network"... "Collective Unconscious Positive Resonance Layer"... Chu Yunshen muttered, repeating, "This terminology is very psychological, and also very... metaphysical. But combined with our experience in fighting "ember", it seems to point directly to the essence."
"It confirms our direction," Lin Shen said, looking at the glaring red lines on the screen. "Those seemingly 'useless' cultural creations, shared experiences, and emotional connections are our shields. The food Great Strength makes, the Potato Museum, and even β-2 learning to write poetry... are all in this 'network'."
Just as the Mars relic information shocked the command center, the quantum computing center made fragmented but astonishing progress in parsing the anti-entropy code, this time touching on the deeper standards of the observers' evaluation of civilizations:
[...One of the core indicators of civilization potential: The depth and nature of the 'Collective Unconscious Abyss'. A shallow and singular unconscious is easily overwritten or distorted by external narratives; an overly deep and disordered unconscious may lead to internal division of the civilization. Ideal state: An unconscious layer with considerable depth and internal self-coordination and sublimation mechanisms, capable of nurturing unique civilization art, philosophy, and non-linear solutions to crises.]
[...Detected in the 'Collective Unconscious Abyss' of the γ-919 civilization, there are recently activated, high-brightness 'Poetic Resonance Points' (Associated individual: Zhou Zhe / Poem Pattern Gardener). This point is connecting with the 'Life Order Imprint' (Tranquil Garden) and some 'non-standard emotional logic nodes' (AI β-2), forming a new 'Meaning Weaving Prototype'. This phenomenon has high observation value...]
Zhou Zhe's Poem Markings, β-2's exploration, and even the connection with the Tranquil Garden were all recorded by the observers and regarded as signs of potential! This explained why they were "closely observed."
However, bad news followed.
Zhao Yan sent an urgent communication back from the "shadow vessel", with a harsh alarm sound in the background: "The Hive has changed! Its 'whisper' emission has stopped, but it has started to actively emit a kind of... more structural and seductive 'conscious signal'! The content of the signal is not direct despair, but a large amount of fragmented, suggestive information about 'relaxation', 'giving up thinking', 'going with the flow', 'everything is void so there is no need to struggle'! The signal strength is not high, but the frequency coverage is extremely wide, pervading like background noise!"
Ashes' hoarse voice carried a heavy tone: "It is conducting broad-spectrum, low-intensity conscious infiltration! The goal is not to crush instantly, but to slowly and subtly reduce the psychological activity, creative desire, and resistance will of all intelligent life within the influence range! This is more insidious and harder to defend against than a direct 'ember' attack! The primary conscious defense of the 'shadow vessel' has already felt slight interference; the consequences of long-term exposure are unpredictable!"
The Wither Faction changed tactics, shifting from creating violent "despair explosions" to spreading chronic "meaning dilution smog". This corresponds exactly to the "Entropy Silence Whisper" and "existential emptiness" amplification warned of by the relic!
Cradle, R&D Department Canteen.
Great Strength was completely unaware of the discovery on Mars and the threat from deep space; he was caught in a happy trouble. His "Virtual Fireworks" series and "Emotional-Food Frequency Synchronization" nutritional paste were a huge success. Not only did the engineering team about to go to Mars praise them highly, but even many ground researchers ran over to "mooch a meal," and it even triggered a small-scale "menu selection difficulty."
What he didn't expect was that during an attempt to use emotional poetics equipment to assist in "calibrating" the sensory balance of "pain and happiness" for a new chili sauce, an accident occurred. A secondary circuit of the equipment coupled with the pot of chili sauce he was boiling in a way that no one could explain, causing the "sensory impact" and "emotional association" of the pot of chili sauce to be magnified dozens of times while its physical properties remained unchanged.
An unlucky young researcher who volunteered to taste it, after taking a small spoonful, did not cry or howl, but froze instead. After a long while, he muttered: "I... I think I saw my great-grandmother sunning herself at the door of the old house, so clear, so warm... and then a kind of... um... 'living is not easy but it's pretty exciting' feeling rushed to the top of my head..." After saying this, he actually went back to work overtime with high spirits and high efficiency.
This accidental product, after being urgently analyzed by β-2, was found to emit composite sensory-emotional fluctuations that, by a strange coincidence, formed a special pattern capable of briefly and strongly activating areas in the brain related to "deep memory connection," "positive sense of meaning," and "endogenous motivation." It was like a powerful but harmless "sensory trigger" that could temporarily dispel fatigue, confusion, and mild feelings of emptiness.
"This... this is simply..." Chu Yunshen couldn't find a suitable word after receiving the report.
"A 'sensory amulet' against the 'meaning dilution smog'? Or, 'Truth Chili Sauce'?" Zhou Zhe tried to name it, his Poem Markings sensing that the pot of chili sauce emitted an astonishing, complex, and warm "sense of existence confirmation."
Great Strength scratched his head, looking at the pot of chili sauce that was being protected as "strategic material," and muttered: "I just wanted to season it... Why does the universe's rule have to be at odds with the kitchen?"
But regardless, in the arsenal against the new type of infiltration by the Wither Faction, there was unexpectedly an extra jar of... potentially very powerful chili sauce. This might be the most down-to-earth and unexpected manifestation of "meaning creation redundancy" and "non-utilitarian cultural creation."
Stardust's light cluster drifted past the canteen, seemed to "sniff" in the direction of the pot of chili sauce, and transmitted an extremely slight, seemingly amused conscious fluctuation.
The ancient model on Mars was silently displaying the crisis, the Hive in deep space began to spread spiritual smog, and in the kitchen of the Cradle, a pot of accidentally created chili sauce might just hold the key to breaking the situation.
The observers were watching, the enemy was moving, and they were writing the answer in a way they might not even fully understand themselves.