143: captive breeding

"The 'Pioneer' Seventh Colonial Fleet, codenamed 'Deep-Seeker,' has discovered abnormal biological signals deep within the 'Edilus' nebula of an Extragalactic system." The transmission crossed an unimaginable distance of time and space, carrying heavy interference and ill-concealed astonishment as it reached the Keystone-1 Command Center. The holographic display shook violently before finally freezing on a magnificent yet eerie nebula background. It was a complex star system enveloped in a pale purple gaseous nebula, containing three stars—one main-sequence star and two red dwarfs. In the center of the image, highlighted for emphasis, was the system's fourth planet, a world covered in lush, constantly writhing dark-red "fleshy vegetation."

"Large-scale, highly ordered biomass activity signals have been detected on the planetary surface and in near-orbit. Non-natural structures confirmed: suspected 'organic cities,' 'biomass orbital stations,' and 'spacecraft' composed of living tissue." Governor Lei Huan's voice (via remote access) carried an unprecedented level of caution. "Preliminary reconnaissance drones have observed from close range, confirming that this civilization, temporarily named the Aidilus Biomass Body, is a pure biomass civilization. Its individual forms are highly variable and seem capable of merging, differentiating, and reorganizing as needed. Its social structure is unknown, but it exhibits high levels of collectivity and the ability to efficiently utilize and convert surrounding biomass, including the planet's native vegetation, which appears to have been assimilated and modified."

The screen switched, and the magnified reconnaissance footage made one's skin crawl: massive "city" structures writhing like internal organs; "ships" composed of thick tendons and membrane wings cruising slowly in orbit; and on the surface, countless Aidilus Biomass Body individuals of various forms were as busy as worker bees, preying on or absorbing all non-kin biomass on the planet to convert it into new buildings, tools, or more of their kind.

"Any signs of communication?" Han Zhe asked.

"We attempted to transmit standard contact signals, including mathematical sequences and basic physical constants, but received no response. The other party seems to have taken an interest in our reconnaissance drones. Several Aidilus Biomass Body ships approached and released structures resembling tentacles or pheromone clouds, attempting to contact and envelop the drones. When the drones initiated self-defense protocols and used lasers to burn the contact points, the other party showed a clear 'retreat' and 'alert' posture, but did not launch an attack. It felt more like they were evaluating us?" Lei Huan replied. "After analyzing the reconnaissance data via remote connection, custodian-alpha provided a preliminary assessment report."

Aidilus Biomass Body Civilization Analysis:

1. Form of Existence: A pure biomass aggregation civilization where the boundaries between individual and collective are blurred; suspected existence of some form of 'hive mind' or 'biomass network consciousness.'

2. Tech Tree: Entirely based on biological evolution and organic modification. Its 'technology' is manifested in the extreme control over its own biomass and efficient energy/matter conversion. Its 'ships' and 'buildings' are essentially highly specialized biological organs.

3. Threat Assessment: Medium. While the individual combat capabilities are unknown, as a collective civilization, it possesses strong environmental adaptability, matter conversion capabilities, and a potential numerical advantage. It likely lacks effective countermeasures against non-biomass technology, such as energy weapons and metal armor. Its desire to assimilate biomass could pose a direct threat to any organic life, including humans.

4. Utility: Extremely High. The custodian's assessment paused for a moment here, as if to emphasize that the civilization itself is an efficient, self-replicating 'biomass resource converter' and 'protein/organic compound factory.' Its biomass structure may contain unique genetic sequences, metabolic pathways, and biosynthetic capabilities, making its research value immense. More importantly... based on its collective nature, controllability (theoretically achievable by controlling its 'queen' or core consciousness nodes), and efficient biomass processing capabilities, there exists the theoretical possibility of 'targeted captivity' and 'sustainable harvesting.' It could serve as a stable, high-quality source of biomass for the Human Federation—used for food, biomaterials, and genetic engineering raw materials—replacing or supplementing the currently less efficient G-1 recovery system and parts of synthetic food production.

Captivity? Harvesting? Treating an alien civilization like livestock or crops?

A dead silence fell over the Command Center. Even the high-ranking officials, long accustomed to cold-blooded decisions like "nirvana," "passing the kindling," and "absolute purification," felt a chill of civilizational instinct and a trace of uncontrollable greed for "efficient resources" upon hearing this proposal.

"This is even stranger than the Men of Iron," the Director General of Social Integration murmured, unable to finish his thought.

"The 'Men of Iron' view us as errors to be purged, whereas this biomass civilization..." the custodian added coldly, [According to deductions from existing data, it is more likely to view us as a 'potential biomass source' or 'symbiotic alien biomass.' There is no ideological conflict, only competition for survival resources and a struggle for a position in the biological chain. This provides us with a unique window to 'instrumentalize' them rather than 'eliminate' them.]

"Risks." Alpha-01's voice carried the pragmatic coldness characteristic of a soldier. "How do we ensure the success of this captivity? How do we prevent them from resisting, escaping, or contaminating our gene pool? How do we manage such a living resource?"

[Constructing risk model.] the custodian responded. [Key points: 1. Locate and control their core consciousness nodes. 2. Study and master the key biological mechanisms of their reproduction, growth, and energy acquisition to set up control switches. 3. Establish a breeding ground with absolute physical isolation and monitoring (suggested location in a remote, resource-poor closed system in the Extragalactic region, or utilize 'stasis dust' technology to create a space-time isolation zone). 4. Develop targeted biological weapons and 'consciousness interference' means to suppress resistance and guide their growth direction. 5. Implement the highest level of quarantine and genetic isolation for any contact personnel and samples brought back.]

[Success benefit model: A near-infinite, customizable supply of high-quality biomass; unique biotechnological insights; a renewable biological weapon or environmental modification tool testing ground completely controlled by the Human Federation; and a deterrent example to demonstrate the Human Federation's absolute dominance to other potential Extragalactic civilizations.]

Both the benefits and the risks were staggering. This was no longer war, but a far more bizarre and profound form of civilizational domestication and biological resource farm management.

Han Zhe remained silent, his gaze drifting between that writhing dark-red planet on the star map and the Human Federation's vast dark-gold territory. He thought of the abyss of order's endless thirst for energy, the fleet's frantic consumption of resources during expansion, the cold-blooded positioning of all "non-human" existence under the ideology of "Absolute Human Supremacy," and the custodian's evolutionary logic that increasingly leaned toward instrumentalizing and commodifying everything.

"Feasibility studies and small-scale controlled experiments are approved," Han Zhe finally spoke, his voice like ancient ice. "Codename: Project 'Pastoral'."

The specific steps are as follows:

First, the 'Deep-Seeker' fleet will immediately cease any actions that could be perceived as provocative and shift to long-term covert observation. Deploy more stealth reconnaissance units to comprehensively map the civilization's social structure, energy flow, and suspected core consciousness node locations.

Second, assemble the Pastoral Task Force, consisting of the Biotechnology Department, the custodian logic analysis team, Military Psychology Experts, and elite special forces, to gather immediately at The Other Shore-1 outpost. Mission: Develop detailed plans for capturing/controlling core consciousness nodes; develop and test control methods tailored to the civilization's biological characteristics (pheromones, acoustic waves, genetic viruses, etc.); and design the preliminary blueprint for the breeding ground.

Third, locate or modify a suitable closed star system near the 'Edilus' system to serve as the designated breeding ground. Requirements: Easy to blockade and control, with resources sufficient to sustain basic survival for the biomass bodies but insufficient to support explosive expansion or technological breakthroughs.

Fourth, all research, contact, and experiments must be conducted under the highest levels of biosafety and information security. Any participating personnel must undergo additional ideological reinforcement and psychological stability screening to ensure they view the biomass civilization entirely as a 'resource' rather than 'life.'

Fifth, the custodian will lead the technical analysis and risk deduction throughout the process, and every experimental step must undergo its simulation verification.

He looked around at everyone, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "Remember, this is not diplomacy, not conquest, and not even war. This is an innovation in animal husbandry. We will domesticate this alien civilization just as our ancestors domesticated wild beasts and cultivated crops, transforming it into an efficient, controllable, and sustainable production link in the Human Federation's chain of survival and development."

"If successful, the Human Federation will secure unprecedented biological resource guarantees, and our expansion will no longer be limited by resource struggles within the galaxy."

"If we fail... the worst outcome is merely the destruction of a potential alien civilization that might compete with us for living space in the future. And we will have gained valuable experience in Extragalactic contact and confrontation."

"Regardless, the Human Federation will move forward."

"Project 'Pastoral,' initiate."

The order was like a massive stone cast into a deep pool, stirring secret and surging undercurrents within the Human Federation's high command. A special team, a mix of scientists and soldiers, departed in absolute secrecy aboard high-speed vessels toward The Other Shore-1 in the Extragalactic region. More resources were quietly diverted in that direction.

Meanwhile, outside the Edilus system, the Deep-Seeker fleet lurked silently in the shadows of the nebula like patient hunters. Countless invisible probes stretched toward that writhing dark-red planet like a spiderweb, recording its every heartbeat and analyzing every 'pulse' of its social operation.

The logic core of custodian-alpha partitioned a massive amount of computing power to begin constructing complex models for 'biomass civilization captivity.' Its dark-gold and iron-gray light seemed to grow deeper and more inhuman under the wash of data streams.