91: Chapter 90 Rainforest Pulse
Deep in the Amazon rainforest, the temporary research station codenamed "Green Canopy" was established above the canopy, connected to the ground by cable cars to minimize disturbance to the primitive ecosystem. The objective here was the location of the mythical "Fountain of Immortality" — the Amazon anchor point, codenamed "genesis".
Inside the "Resonance Chamber", Sarah's state was noticeably more proficient than the previous two times. Through the connection between the "heart crystal" and the "Cradle", she could feel her range of consciousness perception and her ability to distinguish subtle harmonics increasing. Max stood guard nearby; although he could not participate in the technical process, his calm presence itself was a form of silent support.
"Third connection, target: 'genesis'. Intensity: 1/10,000 of the benchmark value, using adaptive progressive contact protocol." Sarah's voice echoed in the consciousness space. The mythical imagery of the Amazon anchor point was full of "life", "cycles", and "immortality", requiring extreme gentleness.
This time, the connection process was unusually "smooth". Faint harmonics seemed to merge into a boundless, warm, and vibrant "green ocean".
There were no rigid geometric structures, no painful whispers of consciousness, and no cold monitoring data. What Sarah "felt" was a grand and gentle "pulse of life". This pulse did not come from any specific structure, but rather seemed like the entire rainforest ecosystem, or even the deeper geological-hydrological-biosphere coupling system itself, having been "modulated" by some ancient force to form a harmonious resonant "life field".
At the core of this "life field" (about two kilometers underground), there existed an extremely complex "spirit fractal structure" that was constantly self-growing and withering. It was not as stable as the "iron lotus", nor as cold and oppressive as the "ice abyss", but rather, it seemed to possess life, slowly "breathing", "growing", and "metabolizing". It drew gentle geothermal heat and mineral flows from within the Earth, received faint psionic feedback generated by biological activity from the surface (the birth, aging, sickness, and death of billions of lives, information exchange), and then "integrated" and "transformed" these energies and information in a way that was difficult to understand, before slowly "feeding back" into the surrounding ecosystem — regulating local climate, influencing species distribution, and perhaps even guiding subtle genetic mutations at an extremely slow speed.
"'genesis' anchor point... It is an 'ecological catalysis and maintenance core'!" Sarah shared the core concept she perceived, her voice filled with a hint of wonder, "It does not control, does not defend, and does not record. It simply exists, like an incredibly gentle 'Gardener', regulating and nourishing the biosphere it resides in by the millions of years, maintaining its diversity, stability, and... 'evolutionary potential'."
This faintly corresponded to the myth of the "Fountain of Immortality" — not providing immortality to individuals, but maintaining the "Fountain of Life" of the entire ecosystem, flowing endlessly.
"It is the exact opposite of the 'ice abyss' 'consciousness archive' function." Elena analyzed, "One seals the 'death imprints of the past', while the other nourishes the 'life network of the present'. the builders considered... everything very comprehensively."
"Can you perceive its activity cycle or peak?" Lin Shen asked.
Sarah extended her perception. In the gentle and grand pulse of "genesis", she captured multiple overlapping rhythms. The strongest one was highly synchronized with the Earth's orbital eccentricity change cycle (about 100,000 years), and it was currently in the "nourishment enhancement" phase of that cycle. Another weaker rhythm was related to certain characteristics of the solar activity minimum, suggesting that the anchor point would slightly increase its "support" for the ecosystem during periods of low stellar activity.
As for short-term peaks... Sarah searched carefully and found that in the background of that vast life field, there were countless extremely tiny, rising and falling "ripples", corresponding to local ecological changes in the rainforest (such as large trees falling, population migration, disease outbreaks). These "ripples" would be perceived and absorbed by "genesis", and converted into subtle adjustments of its own pulse. Overall, it was in a dynamic, healthy balance, without a clear short-term crisis peak like the East Sea Node, nor the impending lockdown crisis of the "ice abyss".
"It is a 'healthy' anchor point in a good state of operation." Sarah concluded, "It may represent the most 'benign' and 'sustainable' part of the sowers legacy."
This discovery was encouraging. At least, not all anchor points carried ticking time bombs or dark secrets.
"Can you perceive its connection with other anchor points, especially the 'ice abyss'?" Lin Shen pressed. The "death imprints" of Siberia and the "life nourishment" of the Amazon seemed to be functionally opposed.
Sarah tried to trace the invisible network connection of "genesis". She did indeed perceive the "background harmonics" related to celestial movements that connected the entire Gaia Network. But unlike the "iron lotus" and the "ice abyss", the direct energy or information exchange between "genesis" and them was extremely weak, more like sharing the same "metronome" while each played a different movement.
However, at a deeper, more obscure level, Sarah vaguely felt that the vast life field of "genesis" seemed to have an extremely weak "purification" or "neutralization" tendency toward the "consciousness whisper" harmonics full of death and pain coming from the direction of the "ice abyss". It was like a huge, healthy wetland that could naturally purify contaminated water flowing through it, but the efficiency was very low and it required a long time.
"Perhaps... the functions of the seven anchor points are complementary, or even exist in some potential 'purification' or 'balance' chain?" Sarah conjectured, "But in their current dormant or low-power state, this complementary effect is almost negligible. Unless... the entire network is activated in the correct way."
This conjecture was significant. If the Gaia Network could be activated as a whole, perhaps the life force of "genesis" could be used to safely handle those dangerous consciousness reverberations of the "ice abyss"? Perhaps the stability of the "iron lotus" could reinforce other nodes?
But "the correct way" and "Inheritor authority" remained huge thresholds lying ahead.
Just as the "Eye of Gaia" project was steadily advancing, the substantive work of the "Welcome" contingency plan was also being carried out in full swing. The cross-civilization diplomacy preparatory group led by Professor Chu Yunshen set up a special "Civilization Exhibition Hall" virtual space prototype at the Ling Shu Base.
"We must not only show technology and military power," Professor Chu said to the experts from various fields participating in the design, "but also show our 'civilizational soul'. History, art, philosophy, ethical dilemmas, reflections on the past, visions for the future, how we treat each other, how we treat other life, how we deal with pain and disaster..."
This was a massive project. It required screening for the most representative yet authentic cultural works, creating multi-modal introductions that alien consciousness could understand (combining consciousness harmonics, symbols, images, data), and preparing an "answer library" to deal with various possible questions.
Max Costa was also invited to join, responsible for providing an "external perspective". "The Empire had also encountered some marginal alien relics and sporadic signals," Max said at the first preparatory meeting, "In my experience, excessive whitewashing or exaggeration is not advisable. A veteran observer like 'Stargazer 742' will definitely have a way to see through the appearance. We need to show a real, complex human civilization that moves forward amidst contradictions, including our mistakes and scars, but more importantly, how we learn from them."
This view was agreed upon by Professor Chu. They decided that the exhibition content would include major conflicts, environmental destruction, and social injustices in human history, while also showcasing the efforts made, progress achieved, and the problems that remained unsolved.
"We also need to show our relationship with the 'Cradle' and the Gaia Network." Lin Shen (remotely connected) added, "This cannot be hidden, nor does it need to be hidden. The key is how to explain it — as passive Inheritors of the legacy, or as active, responsible potential 'Inheritors' and 'maintainers'? We need to convey the latter attitude."
To this end, Sarah needed to prepare a concise statement on the "sowers legacy" and the principles of human interaction with it, which needed to be both honest and avoid revealing core secrets that might trigger covetousness (such as detailed parameters of the "Sanctuary Protocol", details of the "Inheritor trial", etc.). This was a delicate diplomatic tightrope task.
On the Moon, at the "Cradle" control center, Lin Shen received the preliminary assessment report on the Siberian geothermal enhancement project.
The project team proposed a "deep geothermal gradient psionic resonance enhancement" scheme. The principle was to use a specially made psionic generator to emit faint harmonics that resonated with the natural geothermal flow at a specific location above the "ice abyss" anchor point, like "nudging" the natural geothermal cycle to increase its efficiency by 5%-8%. This increase was dispersed and gentle, and would not directly impact the "Cryo-Lock" system, but might indirectly delay its exhaustion by improving the overall energy environment of the anchor point.
"The environmental impact assessment shows that the risk of this scheme triggering a geological disaster is less than one in ten thousand, and the impact on permafrost and surface ecology is minimal." Dr. Zhou Zhe reported, "But whether it can effectively delay the exhaustion of the 'Cryo-Lock' needs practical verification. It is recommended to conduct a small-scale, short-term pilot first."
"Pilot approved. Continue to monitor the status changes of the 'Cryo-Lock', and stop immediately if there are any signs of abnormal aggravation." Lin Shen approved. This was the safest method he could think of for now.
At the same time, in Earth orbit, the "Scavenger" network and the Gardener's remote monitoring station both captured signs of the second slight activity of the "unknown jumper".
This time, it did not perform a space jump, but left an extremely faint "psionic probe" signal residue near a small icy celestial body on the periphery of the Kuiper Belt. The probe seemed to have performed a rapid scan of the celestial body's composition and orbital parameters, and then self-annihilated, leaving almost no traceable traces.
"Its actions are very cautious and highly purposeful." The Gardener Representative analyzed, "Scanning Kuiper Belt objects... it may be looking for resources, potential jump coordinates, or... investigating whether there are facilities pre-deployed by other forces (such as the 'Pruning Faction')."
"It showed interest in our testing of the 'Skyscraper' channel, and now it has started scouting the outskirts of the Solar System." Minister Li Weimin said worriedly, "What exactly does it want to do? Reap the benefits? Or assess whether it is worth intervening early?"
There was no answer. This observer hidden in the dark, like a ghost, added a bit of chill.
Inside the "Resonance Chamber", Sarah finished the connection with the "genesis" anchor point and slowly withdrew her consciousness. Max immediately handed over a special nutritional supplement that could soothe consciousness fatigue — this was specially developed by the lunar base according to Sarah's state.
"Thank you." Sarah's light and shadow rippled slightly in the "heart crystal", conveying a warm emotion, "The Amazon anchor point... makes me feel good. It's like finding an oasis after trekking in the desert. It reminds us that what the builders left behind is not all danger and puzzles, but also... hope and beauty."
Lin Shen nodded: "Different anchor points are like microcosms of the different paths a civilization might take: stability, defense, monitoring, memory, life... Perhaps the true meaning of 'Inheritor' is not to inherit a certain power, but to learn to understand, balance, and responsibly use all these powers, guiding civilization toward a more comprehensive and sustainable future."
He looked out of the console at the pale golden light shield covering the Moon, and the blue Earth in the distance.
The rainforest was pulsing, the glaciers were whispering, there were hidden eyes in the sea of stars, and the ancient clock was silently counting down.
Human civilization, in this cosmic movement interwoven with multiple melodies, was striving to find its own harmony.