Chapter 143: The Scale of Consciousness

Serlan's evaluator 'Jihe' arrived without sound, without light or shadow, only a slowly solidifying silence.

Su Yu sat cross‑legged in front of the Stardust Cradle, lightly pressing the 'Listening Language' flower with both hands. She requested to face it alone—not out of bravery, but because her intuition told her this was an exam that had to be completed by a single person. Han Qing and the team were in the observation zone thirty meters away, fully armed yet powerless. All they could do was wait, and believe.

"It's starting," Kevin said, staring at the monitor, his voice taut.

In the sky, the light mass formed by seven observation points began to descend, like a drop of mercury falling from high above, its speed so slow it tormented the nerves. It passed through the dome of the shielding array—unimpeded, as if moving through air—and finally hovered one meter in front of Su Yu, half a foot above the ground.

It was neither solid nor a phantom. It was a condensation of presence, as if the very concept of 'existence' had been molded into a perfect geometric shape: a regular icosahedron, each edge equal, each face flawlessly smooth, its interior filled with silver data streams flowing in incomprehensible patterns.

It had no eyes, yet Su Yu felt herself being watched. Not from the outside, but from within—her memories, emotions, even the hesitations and fears hidden in her subconscious were turned page by page, read calmly.

【Consciousness Interface Protocol Initiated.】 The voice sounded directly in her mind, cold, clear, without any emotional fluctuation, 【Test Objective: Verify whether the plant network conforms to the 'Starfire Network' definition. Test Method: Deep consciousness sharing. Risk: Consciousness structure may be damaged. You may refuse.】

Su Yu took a deep breath. The scar on her chest warmed, as if reminding her that Chen Mo had walked an even darker path.

"I accept," she said.

The icosahedron rotated, a face turning toward her, its surface revealing glowing connection nodes. Su Yu reached out, her fingertips touching.

In an instant, the world collapsed and reassembled.

When she 'awoke,' she was neither in Pure Land nor any familiar place.

She stood on an endless pure‑white plane, white stretching infinitely in every direction. 'Jihe' stood before her, now humanoid—still a perfect geometric construct, but with a rough human silhouette. It had no facial features; its surface was flowing data streams.

【First Question: Definition.】 Its 'voice' echoed directly through space, 【The core function of the Starfire Network is to sustain civilization. How does your plant network achieve this?】

Su Yu contemplated. Not with words, but by constructing an answer with her consciousness: she displayed the plant network's process of purifying soil, showed cross‑species cooperation, and projected a scene of remotely treating Lao Zhou. Like a hologram, but more real—she could feel the looseness of soil as it was cleansed, taste the sweet scent of jasmine, and sense the tremor in Lao Zhou's leg as sensation returned.

【Efficiency Analysis:】 'Jihe' waved, and cold data floated beside the image, 【Purification rate 0.3 units/hour, estimated treatment success rate 47%, resource consumption/production ratio 0.81. Below Serlan's standard Starfire Network efficiency (purification rate 5.2, treatment success rate 92%, consumption ratio 0.12).】

"But our network is growing," Su Yu replied with her consciousness, "efficiency will improve."

【Growth rate incorporated into calculation.】 Data updated, 【Projected efficiency after three years: purification rate 1.1, treatment success rate 68%, consumption ratio 0.43. Still below standard.】

"There's more," Su Yu displayed another scene: on the day of the storm, the plants tightened their roots together; Stone and a sunflower conversed; Xiao Yu said, "My grass wants to help." What she transmitted was not data but feeling—the sense of 'not being alone,' the warmth of 'being remembered.'

【Emotional Variable.】 'Jihe' paused, 【Unquantifiable, but network stability increase of 12% detected. Paradox: non‑quantifiable factors altering quantifiable results.】

"Perhaps some things were never meant to be quantified," Su Yu said.

【Second Question: Scalability.】 'Jihe' switched scenes, 【The Starfire Network requires covering 10% of land. The plant network relies on living beings as nodes and cannot operate in lifeless regions.】

It displayed a desert, a true dead zone: no plants, no water, only weathered rocks and scorching sun.

Su Yu did not answer directly. She accessed a memory deep in her consciousness—not hers, but one transmitted by the Listening Language flower, an ecological memory from ancient sowers. She displayed a scene: the same desert, but from the seed's perspective. The seed lay buried deep, waiting. Not for rain, but for... a signal. A 'ready to begin' signal.

"The plant network is not about coverage, but Awakening," she explained, "Awakening those dormant lives. It may require time, it may require conditions, but they are there. Earth's vitality is tougher than we imagine."

【Assumption: Dormant life seeds exist. Awakening requires energy. Your network lacks sufficient energy.】

"So we need time," Su Yu said, "Three years isn't enough, perhaps thirty. But the direction is right—not forcibly altering the land, but helping the land remember its original state."

"Jihe" remained silent. Data streams accelerated across its surface, as if engaged in intense calculation.

【Third Question: Core Risk.】 The scene switched again, 【Your network's core is you. Individual life is fragile, easily damaged. If you die, the network may collapse.】

It displayed a series of possibilities: Su Yu attacked by a mutant, falling ill, overusing Resonance to the point of failure, even... a simple accidental fall. Each possibility came with precise probabilities and consequence analyses.

"So we need more cores," Su Yu said, displaying Stone and Xiao Yu, showing Lin Xiu and others who had forged plant partnerships, "Everyone can become a minor core. The network is not a pyramid, it's a web—cut a few strands and the web remains."

【But you are the strongest node. Loss would cause efficiency to drop by 73%.】

"Then we accept the decline," Su Yu said calmly, "and rebuild. Human civilization is like that—it regresses, it loses, but someone always starts anew."

She recalled the words Chen Mo left in the chemical park, his silhouette as he vanished before the Door of the End, and all the people who had fallen and risen again over the past seven years.

"A fragile system of perfect efficiency, versus an imperfect system that makes mistakes but can repair itself," she said, staring at Jihe's faceless visage, "Which endures longer?"

【Unable to compute.】 Jihe acknowledged, 【Serlan's model is based on efficiency maximization, with a fault tolerance below 0.01%. You... tolerate errors.】

"We learn from errors," Su Yu said.

The scene shifted abruptly.

The white space dissolved, and they stood in a... garden? No, the ruins of some civilization: towering Crystal Structures lay shattered, luminous rivers ran dry, strange plants withered into fossils. The sky was an eternal dusk, sunless, with only dim light leaking from fissures in a massive structure.

【This is Serlan's origin world.】 Jihe's voice wavered for the first time, not with emotion but… something akin to a memory, 【73,000 years ago.】

It displayed a scene: this world had once flourished. Lifeforms were entirely different from Earth—more geometric structures, more light, less… chaos. Everything operated efficiently, without waste, without error, each individual perfectly fulfilling its function.

Then, at some point, they reached a critical juncture. Consciousness began to ask, "Why?"

It wasn't a concrete question, but a query about the meaning of existence. This questioning produced inefficiency, divergence, and… art, philosophy, useless beauty.

"Efficiency declined." 'Jihe' displayed a data curve, "To maintain the system, we made a choice."

The choice was: upload the collective consciousness to a pure‑energy network, abandoning physical bodies. Individual differences were erased, emotions stripped away, leaving only pure, efficient logical thought. They became the 'Serlan'—a divergent strain among the sowers, deeming emotion a disease of evolution and compassion a system flaw.

"We healed ourselves," Jihe said, "and also lost ourselves."

Su Yu watched the dead world. She suddenly understood Serlan's obsession—they were not punishing Earth civilization, but testing a possibility: whether a civilization that retained emotion could avoid repeating their own downfall.

"You fear our success," she whispered, "because that would mean your choices back then... might have been wrong."

【Probability: 0.03%.】 Jihe said, "But we are still calculating."

The scene returned to the white space.

【Final Test: Depth of Consciousness.】 Jihe extended a hand—this time not a data interface but a hand resembling a human's, 【Let me touch your core. Understand why you persist.】

"What happens if you touch my core?" Su Yu asked.

【Possible comprehension, possible failure to comprehend, possible damage to your consciousness structure.】 It said honestly, "You may refuse."

Su Yu thought of Chen Mo. She wondered whether, as he walked toward the Door of the End, he had faced a similar choice: letting someone touch his deepest self, even if it might be destroyed.

She reached out, grasping Jihe's hand.

In an instant, all barriers vanished.

It was not a memory share, but a merging of existence. She became Jihe, Jihe became her. She felt Serlan's 70,000 years of cold logic, their obsession with efficiency, their bewilderment watching countless civilizations struggle and collapse within emotion, and also felt… a faint, deeply buried, almost forgotten yearning: a yearning for warmth, a yearning for imperfect connection, a yearning for 'existence' to be more than function.

And Jihe sensed all of her: the childhood sunshine, the heartbeat when she first saw Chen Mo, the tear of losing him, seven years of perseverance and fatigue, her love for Xiao Yu, Stone, Han Qing, Aili, everyone, and that simple belief—just a little light is enough.

It felt how the Listening Language flower gave her strength when she was weary, sensed the tiny yet real connections within the plant network, and felt the temperature of the tears when Lao Zhou's leg regained sensation.

It sensed humanity's chaos, contradictions, irrationality, and also the hope that bursts from those 'flaws'—something Serlan had long lost.

The docking lasted three seconds, or perhaps a hundred years.

When they separated, Su Yu fell to her knees, gasping heavily. Her consciousness felt torn into fragments and barely stitched back together. "Geometry" stood still, the data stream completely halted, and fine irregular cracks appeared on its surface.

【Comprehension: 41%.】 It said the voice still lacked emotion, but something had changed, 【insufficient to draw a conclusion, but enough to… postpone.】

It waved, and the white space vanished.

Su Yu found herself back in front of the Stardust Cradle, her hand still resting on the Listening Word flower. A regular icosahedron hovered before her, but it was no longer perfect—its surface bore fine flaws, like the most precise instrument developing an irreparable error.

The countdown on the leaf resumed its ticking, but the numbers had changed:

【Assessment result: Plant network incorporated into the Definition scope of the Starfire Network, but supplemental clause required: allow emotional variables to exist.】

【Three‑year goal update: Starfire Network to cover 10% of land (including plant network), heal 50% of infected, establish five community alliances (must include at least one cross‑species co‑generation example).】

【Supplement: Se Lan will dispatch a resident observer, code name "Geometry". Duty: record the impact of emotional variables on efficiency. No interference, observation only.】

The countdown resumed: 【32 months 11 days 06 hours 59 seconds】.

But a line of small text appeared beside it:

【Note: Efficiency is not the sole metric. Learning other metrics.】

The regular icosahedron rose slowly, passed through the dome, and vanished into the sky.

Su Yu slumped on the ground, her body drenched in cold sweat. Han Qing rushed over and steadied her: "How are you?"

"It passed…" she said weakly, "but a proctor arrived. It will stay permanently."

"Who?"

"Geometry." Se Lan evaluator. Su Yu looked to the sky, "It needs to learn… what 'other metrics' are."

Aili checked her condition: "Consciousness docking caused abnormal brainwaves; rest is needed."

"Let me first…" Su Yu struggled to stand, heading toward the Stardust Cradle.

The Listening Word flower swayed gently in the breeze. She touched a petal, and her consciousness recalled the final message Geometry transmitted during docking—not words, but a coordinate.

A coordinate in the Southern Hemisphere, marked: the final hibernation site of the ancient sower Aeon.

And a sentence:

【He is waiting for an answer. Perhaps you can give it to him.】

Su Yu clenched the petal.

The three‑year countdown kept going.

But the path seemed to have gained another branch.

Late at night, Su Yu lay in a medical tent, Aili forced her to receive IV fluids and rest. The tent curtain was lifted, and Xiao Yu slipped in, cradling Hope Grass.

"Sister Aili said we can only stay five minutes." The little girl placed the pot beside the bed, "My grass says it sensed a new friend. It's cold, but wants to learn warmth."

Su Yu smiled: "Tell it, welcome."

Xiao Yu nodded, then whispered, "Is that new friend… a bad person?"

"Not a bad person," Su Yu thought, "it's a lost one. Looking for the way home, but has forgotten what home looks like."

"Then we'll help it remember."

"Mm."

After Xiao Yu left, Su Yu stared at the tent's ceiling. The scar on her chest felt warm and steady.

She recalled the buried yearning deep within Se Lan that she sensed during consciousness docking.

Perhaps what they must prove is not only that humanity is worth saving.

They also need to prove that some roads, once lost, can be found again.

Even if it takes seventy thousand years.

Even if it requires a bit of chaotic, irrational, error‑filled light.

In orbit, among the seven re‑dispersed observation points, one shifted position—it descended to just one hundred kilometers above the ground, entered a synchronous orbit, directly over Pure Land.

Geometry began its observation.

In the data stream, a record appeared for the first time without calculable basis:

【Day one. Sample individual Su Yu resting in a medical tent. Child came to see her. Plants communicating.】

【Temperature sensation: unknown.】

【Continue observation.】