Chapter 660

And it can't be copied anyway... there's simply no such strength...

Bronya mocked herself in her heart, silently noting the word "possibility" in her mind.

As for Seele, her reaction was—

"Why go to so much trouble? Wouldn't it be better if O5-1 and O5-7 just had a fight?"

【To O5-1:】

【Observation results indicate that an anomalous technology leak may have indeed occurred in the year ▇48, but the leak of anomalous technology does not necessarily mean the world will fall into crisis.】

【I suspect that the sending of that "Paradox Insurance" may have nothing to do with the destruction of human civilization.】

【Remember that question?】

【—Why, among so many civilizations in the universe, are there so few that actively communicate with other civilizations? Why had we never noticed before that there were civilizations outside of Earth?】

【The greatest impact of "Containment Object-Laplace" may be the comprehensive control of human social development by the victorious nation or the Foundation triggered by the anomalous leak.】

【The destructive power of this measure undoubtedly exceeds the anomalous technology leak itself!】

【Among all the interstellar civilizations we know of, over 99.8% of civilizations perished before they could conduct interstellar communication.】

【A very small number of civilizations continued to develop, but at most, they only reached the level of being able to utilize all the energy of a dozen star systems.】

【Something is blocking the development of civilization.】

【It could be an anomalous entity, it could be an anomalous phenomenon, or it could be something else—but regardless, this phenomenon manifests as the stagnation of civilization's development and the stabilization and fixation of civilization's form.】

【History ends here!】

【I dare not say that this is definitely unrelated to war, but war itself may not be the most terrifying part of this event.】

【"Uncertainty"—whether brought about by war or by the development of science and technology—or rather, the disappearance of every bit of uncertainty in the development of human civilization, is the true disaster.】

【Think about the phrasing of the 17th "Paradox Insurance"—the disappearance of "possibility," not the disappearance of "human future."】

【Are all timelines, all civilizations, facing the ending where the possibility of future development disappears?】

【What is the ultimate cause hidden behind these phenomena that leads to the disappearance of all "uncertainty"?】

【We are planning to avoid disaster by strictly controlling the development of human society, but this measure itself may be the true disaster, or it may be fueling the emergence of the true disaster.】

【If this is the case, then all the means we have used to monitor human development have very likely backfired.】

【I earnestly hope that you and the other council members will discuss this issue.】

【At least I feel that we should seriously consider this possibility.】

【—O5-7】

"Purely objective, one has to say, objectively speaking, I think O5-7 makes a lot of sense. Unless the Foundation can achieve absolute correctness, it shouldn't strictly control the development of human society."

"Discussing the principles is easy, of course, but here comes the problem—similar to the changes brought about by the 'Empyrean Parasite,' should the Foundation strictly control it, or allow the existence of its 'possibility'... Don't forget, in the end, even the concept of humanity almost ceased to exist."

"Does the existence of the concept of 'humanity' really matter? Or, does it matter how humans other than me are doing? If there were a chance for immortality, and the price was sacrificing all humans other than you and your relatives, would you choose it?"

"Hmm? Where did this 'Abundance Abomination' come from? Taste my 'The Hunt' arrow!"

"So, which kind is the current Foundation?"

Herta slowly put down the teacup in her hand.

The tea leaves gifted by Ruan Mei were naturally top-tier, but the quantity was too small; whenever the tea canister was about to hit the bottom, Herta would self-adaptively become anxious in advance.

Feeling the bitterness between her lips and teeth, and the sweetness that followed, she continued to narrate.

"... They did indeed ensure that human civilization has uncertainty, but they also basically made human civilization equivalent to the Foundation—does this count as a special solution given by the Foundation of this universe?"

Since the Foundation appeared in the world, it seems that apart from the Foundation, there are only some low-class remnant organizations left.

Compared to the Foundation, the briefly appearing "Fifth Church," even with a supreme divinity as its background, ended up being completely wiped out.

The vast majority of people have defaulted to the idea that the current Foundation has taken over the entire human civilization in all aspects, just like that time when it was discovered that only the Administrator had never been in contact with anomalies.

—The vast majority of individuals have become employees of the Foundation.

"Compared to the Foundation of ancient times, the current Foundation seems to have changed a lot, but it also seems to have not changed at all."

"They still strictly control those numbered containment objects, strictly restrict contact outside of regulations, are still using D-class personnel, and even have an enhanced version of 'Deus Ex Machina'..."

Various signs indicate that the Foundation has not relaxed its control over "anomalies."

Even due to the improvement in technological level and the improvement in the stage of civilization, their control over "anomalies" is even tighter.

"... But, at the same time, they themselves lifted the veil and made those anomalies, those containment objects, public... ah, the public information even includes some internal data of the Foundation."

This is also where Herta is puzzled.

The Foundation strictly controls the flow of "anomalies," but no longer treats them as untouchable knowledge.

Perhaps in some places known only to the Foundation, a large number of researchers are studying anomalous technology, letting those "purified" and "screened" technologies flow into the "normal" world.

Perhaps... this is the path chosen by the Foundation.

Between "normalcy" and "non-normalcy," they added layers of insurance, and at the same time, achieved information transparency, allowing the public to know the various characteristics of containment objects.

Avoiding the mystification brought about by ignorance and lack of understanding, and the pleasure of deliberately violating taboos brought about by this.

Herta combed through the current situation of the Foundation with Ruan Mei, item by item, with clear logic and detailed content.

Obviously, she hasn't been slacking off lately, watching the Foundation's live streams and browsing related websites and forums.

Only in this way could she be so familiar with the various contents of the Foundation.

"Hmm," Ruan Mei nodded gently, realizing that this old friend had put in a lot of effort on weekdays to improve the "Department of Universal Phenomena," trying to find ways to improve the space station's research level on curios.

Although it is highly probable that they can't even catch up to the level of the Foundation in the files.

But at least they tried to catch up, didn't they?

"Herta, do you think that for other civilizations in the galaxy, is the current Foundation better, or are those in the parallel worlds better?"

Herta opened her mouth, swallowed the answer before it could blurt out, thought for a while, and then gave the same answer as before.

"The current Foundation is still better..."

"Yes, the current one is better; I think so too." Ruan Mei smiled.

At least it is powerful enough to deal with those anomalies;

At least it is restrained enough not to forcibly control other civilizations like the IPC.

In such an era where humans and gods coexist, a Foundation that better understands how to get along with the gods is a good choice for all living beings.

The brief discussion came to an end, and Ruan Mei's gaze fell back on the screen.

To see how O5-1 will refute this young genius scholar.

【To O5-7:】

【I do not quite agree with your opinion.】

【On the contrary, I believe that our current proposition of deeply intervening in world politics, economy, and technological activities is completely correct.】

【It is almost a certain conclusion that an anomalous containment failure event will break out in the year ▇48, so from any perspective, taking strong measures is very necessary.】

【Number Seven, the tenet that our Foundation has always adhered to since its establishment is "Secure, Contain, Protect."】

【The exploration of uncertainty is indeed a necessary space for human development, but just as children need to receive a complete education so as not to go astray, human development also needs restrictions to ensure that the world is not eroded by anomalies.】

【We have always done so.】

【In order to ensure the stability of world order, we can sometimes do some necessary evils.】

【This may indeed sacrifice some space for human development, but time will prove that we are right.】

【I, and the entire Foundation, will forever be committed to maintaining normalcy, and this will never change.】

【As for the disaster after the discussion, and even making the groundless assertion that "all stagnation of human civilization is caused by the same anomaly," I think these are things that a novelist, not a serious physicist, should consider.】

【At least we should deal with the immediate affairs first, rather than considering what will happen in the year 2300, or even the year 8900.】

【—O5-1】