Chapter 579

Two civilizations have been destroyed; apart from the former cities and unrotted steel creations, nothing can prove they ever existed.

After the mass annihilation occurred, they undoubtedly tried to save themselves, wanting to figure out what was wrong with the world; they might have shouted and called for help to the universe, but no one could help them.

It's ridiculous to say, those lives struggling to survive eventually returned to nothingness.

Instead, those "cowards" who gave up early, abandoning hope along with their lives, left behind shells that allowed the Foundation to reconstruct the image of their race.

"Honestly, before seeing this report, I thought the doomsday brought by the 'Black Moon' was still far off, and that its threat wouldn't truly manifest for at least tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of years... but it seems the countdown for the 'Black Moon' started much earlier."

"Maybe it started from the birth of the first conscious life."

"Then isn't the timer running a bit too long?!"

"If this is true, then the Administrator is a bit miserable; the point in time when he inherited the 'Balance' was actually the countdown for all civilizations in the universe."

"The 'Black Moon' targets conscious life, while the followers of the 'Fifth Starfish' sacrifice civilizations as units... Although the galaxy is currently full of war, and the 'Legion' raged before, it's good that the Foundation has re-emerged, and the universe can be peaceful for a moment...~"

"Uh... is no one going to care about the dissolved O5 Council?"

"No concern."

"Why care about them? It's nothing more than admitting that the Overseer Council is powerless against the doomsday brought by the 'Black Moon,' and they handed the leadership back to the Administrator..."

"In the face of such a doomsday that counts in civilizations, the fate of the O5 councilors is too insignificant... If the Administrator at that time didn't have the power to suppress the whole world alone, whether the Overseer Council could have existed until 2000 would have been a question."

……

Amidst the discussions of the audience, another planet appeared on the screen.

Unlike the previously vast white frozen planet, or the black-red volcanic planet.

The climate of this planet is clearly suitable for living; over 60% of the planet's surface is ocean, with the rest being land and glaciers.

The land is primarily green, embedded with patches of silver-white cities.

Such an environment is similar to the origin planets of most civilizations in the current galaxy.

The audience is very curious and secretly expectant—what kind of civilization will the Foundation encounter on this planet, and have they found a way to counter the annihilation?

And at this moment, the final exploration report slowly unfolded.

["001-Seeker" Exploration Report-499]

[Record Time: November 08, 3764]

[Planet Status:]

[A Gaia planet was discovered in the habitable zone of the SSNI-723 star system.]

[A large number of artificial satellites and spacecraft were found in the planet's orbit; all communication attempts went unanswered.]

[The planet is highly urbanized, with artificial farms and nature reserves between mega-cities.]

[The planet's weather seems to have been artificially adjusted to a mild state; regular rainfall was observed in the aforementioned farms and nature reserves.]

[Actions Actions Actions Taken:]

[1. Established an orbital outpost;]

[2. Dispatched drones for archaeological investigation.]

[Civilization Status:]

[Slightly conscious life discovered.]

[The vast majority of the planet's cities have been occupied by unconscious flora and fauna.]

[Investigation results indicate that the civilization's technology was highly advanced, conservatively estimated to be at least one thousand years ahead of Earth's civilization.]

[Several shelters were found underground, speculated to be for shielding against "SCP-001," but no survivors were found within; it is speculated that the method was ineffective.]

[Related Findings:]

[A large number of databases were found on the planet. Based on the collected data, it is speculated that the civilization's race was a type of humanoid fungal organism.]

[Existing evidence indicates that different individuals of this race had telepathic connections, forming a collective intelligence while maintaining independence.]

[A large number of classified facilities were found on the planet, where servers stored numerous plans to counter "SCP-001," roughly equivalent to the attempts the Foundation had previously made to observe "SCP-001."]

[Existing evidence indicates that the executors of these plans were the Foundation's equivalent organization of that civilization.]

[During the investigation of one of the classified facilities, the drone discovered a still-functioning cryogenic unit, inside which was a survivor of the civilization.]

[The drone retrieved the cryogenic unit and transferred it to the storage vault of "SCP-001-Seeker."]

[Final Ruling:]

[Major success.]

[Personnel who may possess knowledge of "SCP-001" have been found.]

[Following the Administrator's direct order, "SCP-001-Seeker" has now begun its journey back to Earth.]

……

"Thank goodness, there's finally a survivor... It feels a little less hopeless instantly."

"In other words, the way to escape the 'Black Moon's' liquidation is to freeze yourself completely before the mass annihilation arrives, entering a state of suspended animation?"

"Suspended animation probably isn't enough; you have to be dead but not completely dead... This 'person' was lucky enough to survive because '001-Seeker' found him. If the Foundation hadn't succeeded in thawing him, or if there had been an issue with the operating steps, he would have likely died directly."

"In other words, we need to find a way to design an automated program for collective 'hibernation,' and then collective awakening after the 'Black Moon's' annihilation period passes."

"It's a method that isn't really a method. According to that hermit, the frequency of 'Black Moon' annihilation will become higher and higher... until one day, the time required to execute the 'hibernation' and awakening programs will exceed the interval between annihilations, and that will be the end of civilization."

"Still better than having no way out, isn't it?"

……

Deep in the universe, a desert planet where no civilization has yet appeared.

The desert occupies almost the entire surface of this planet, and all kinds of strange and rare desert landforms can be seen everywhere.

Amidst the yellow sand filling the sky, there sits a research institute the size of a stadium, not to mention that there is only one researcher in it.

In the laboratory, an elegant woman with black hair sits at the host screen, checking the data in each culture pod, and after completing the data archiving for the day, she ends her observation for the day.

She casually glanced at the Foundation's containment file; today's investigation report was very much to her liking.

——At least before today, Ruan Mei hadn't considered that spherical organisms could also develop an interstellar civilization.

But what interested her even more was the fungal civilization discovered by "001-Seeker" before its return journey.

"Fungal civilization? What a bunch of interesting little guys."

That civilization probably wouldn't have expected that future generations would look at them with such eyes.

Ruan Mei took a piece of mung bean pastry, topped with panic Xuan Xuan Deer flowers, and began to savor it slowly.

She took a small bite, like a bird pecking, and then, while sucking the residual pastry paste off her index finger, she continued to read the text on the light screen.

"Telepathic connection?"

Ruan Mei immediately stopped her hand from moving the pastry to her mouth, her tone a bit hesitant; for a moment, she couldn't think of a suitable path to realize her vision.

Without the help of Imaginary Energy, allowing individuals of an entire civilization to possess such superpowers is almost a fantasy.

But Ruan Mei quickly sorted out her thoughts and guessed:

"Is it some kind of pheromone?"

"Or is the environment they live in full of another fungus that can act as a medium for transmitting information?"

In the research projects of this biological science fanatic, the proportion of research involving fungi is very low.

She hadn't not considered using various fungi to cultivate individuals with independent consciousness before, but all experiments ended in failure.

Not a single experimental subject could communicate normally, and many animal-like reflexes didn't even appear.

After dissection, Ruan Mei found that they hadn't even formed complete logical circuits.

Now, the Foundation's investigation report is undoubtedly clearing a patch of fog on the ocean filled with deep, thick mist, telling all researchers in related fields that there is a piece of land there that can be inhabited for a short time.

——Doing research isn't afraid of failure; what's feared is having no direction, not knowing the path ahead, and eventually spinning in circles, wasting a lifetime.

Another path to the mysteries of life has been lit up.

Ruan Mei's mood is exceptionally beautiful, and she even plans to get some strawberry cake, cheese lava...

Wait a minute, if you make the pastry have life, and it can think and communicate... then what would the world look like in their eyes?

Ruan Mei silently noted down this shocking idea and continued to appreciate the fungal life form on the light screen.

"And it can form a collective intelligence while maintaining independence... Interesting life form, hmm, this civilization must have been quite prosperous."

As for those contents usually classified as humanities and social sciences, Ruan Mei won't comment too much; that's not within her area of expertise.

"I really want a sample I can get my hands on... Open perception through touch, let the details about life flood into my mind, and let me understand its life structure."

But this is destined to be impossible.

The Foundation in this containment file is different from any previous version:

The Administrator wasn't holy from the beginning, and the technological level of Earth's civilization didn't see explosive growth...

Combined with the "Black Hole Furnace" mentioned in "SCP-C-3999" not long ago, it's not hard to imagine that the Foundation's universe has probably restarted who knows how many times.

The Administrator's true lifespan might need to be counted in cosmic eras.

And how many of those civilization races that existed in the previous or the one before that cosmic era can reappear in this universe?

Ruan Mei doesn't know.

"Nous" probably doesn't know either; that's far beyond the range of what It can calculate.

Probably... only the "Administrator" and other supreme divinities know the answer.

— Author's Notes —

· ·Seeking flowers··· 0