Chapter 665

Next, just continue to collect evidence, observe human society, and maintain communication with other Foundations, and the final conclusion can be reached.

"The results obtained by the 'Insurgency's' independent research are almost no different from O5-7's?"

"Can't say they are highly similar; can only say they are exactly the same."

"I guess the final conclusion is: the Foundation is the culprit blocking the emergence of uncertainty."

"For the sake of your future life and personal safety, I suggest you clarify which Foundation. Is it this Foundation that currently has an Administrator, or the Foundation that is about to face a split?"

"Does that even need to be asked? And, by the way, how many parallel worlds are there in total? How many Foundations without Administrators have appeared?"

"Highly likely infinitely many... apart from supreme divinity, no one knows exactly how many parallel worlds and parallel universes exist."

"I also don't know, among so many parallel worlds, how many Foundations have not been destroyed, and how many human civilizations have been able to successfully enter the starry sky..."

The viewers discussed, and after the text on the screen stagnated for a while, it turned from white to black and quietly disappeared.

A moment later, new content began immediately.

【File? -007】

The warm sunlight was cut into gold leaf by the tree branches, passing through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spilling onto the wooden floor of the office.

Outside the window, there was a breeze, and birds were singing and flowers were fragrant.

Indoors, O5-7, sitting in the sunlight, only felt that the recent days were terrible.

A typewriter was placed on the table in front of him, and an agent was standing behind the typewriter, holding an unfolded folder, showing him the documents inside.

"It's 'Containment Object-8260' again..."

Just seeing the containment object number listed in the title made him feel as if someone had inserted a steel rod into his brain and was constantly stirring it.

To dispel this feeling, he scanned the document twice and kept scratching his hair until his scalp felt pain, and the anxiety running through his body was relieved.

"Do it the old way."

O5-7 lowered his arm, straightened his tie, and signaled the agent to put the document away.

"—Delete the paper, give Hahn and the others a thorough memory wipe, and then hint to them not to study similar directions again."

"Add a weak memory-wiping meme to the next issue of 'Nature'..."

He arranged tasks for the agent with ease—except for the names, nothing else changed, including the journal where the results were to be published.

This familiar feeling made him a little uneasy; this usually meant that a part of his soul had discovered an anomaly, reminding him to stop and think.

He did just that.

"How many times has this been?" O5-7 looked up and asked.

"Eighth time."

"This phenomenon outside the Foundation has actually been independently discovered eight times..." he said to himself.

He shifted his gaze to the filing cabinet behind the agent, where a pile of plain and unadorned documents was placed; leaking any one of them would lead to unpredictable consequences.

Naturally, there were also 7 documents related to "Containment Object-8260" inside.

And he, Professor Fermi, physicist, O5-7, Chief Engineer of the "Insurgency," is both the discoverer and namer of 8260, and also its sealer.

"Wait."

"What's wrong, Professor?"

"... Nick, within the Foundation, I was the first person to discover 'Containment Object-8260.' The Overseer Council unanimously agreed that this was an anomalous phenomenon, and then added it to containment," O5-7 said.

"But—as a physicist, I know very clearly how common and easy this phenomenon is to discover."

Agent Nick thought for a while, opened the file, skipped the parts filled with a large number of mathematical symbols, statistical tables, and technical terms, and looked directly at the conclusion part.

【When neutrons with sufficient energy collide with heavy atomic nuclei, the latter will shatter.】

【This process will release more neutrons, so if enough heavy atomic nuclei gather together, this process will continue, eventually causing a large number of gathered atomic nuclei to shatter in a short period of time.】

【This process releases energy.】

Seeing these lines of text, any viewer who had truly received an education and whose physics wasn't all zeros couldn't help but lose their composure.

"WOC, original!"

"Brother, is this a bit of a joke? The Foundation gives nuclear fission such a big number? I thought it was something earth-shattering."

"Given that there are no other electrical appliances in O5-7's office except for a desk lamp, it's not too hard to understand that the Foundation at that time treated nuclear fission as an anomaly, right?"

"This is not hard to understand?! Including reproducible physical phenomena and physical laws into the category of anomalies, this can be understood?! If you say so, either there are no anomalies in this world, or there is no normalcy in this world!"

"I probably understand what the point of contradiction between the Foundation and the 'Insurgency' might be in the future, but I decided to keep quiet first."

"... So to speak, indeed. It's no different from other physical laws..." Agent Nick said.

O5-7 stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked at the lawn in front.

The green grass was like weaving, and the breeze was blowing gently.

The sunlight fell on his slender figure, dyeing a faint halo and casting a long black shadow.

His eyes were deep, peeping at the distant unknown.

His thoughts drifted away, turning into smoke and clouds, performing all kinds of things since joining the Foundation, stating the mission and responsibility of the Foundation.

Until a little bird swept past, breaking through the fog of history and the future, this O5 councilor looked at the faint reflection in the window and opened his mouth:

"When you first took over this project, what were your thoughts?"

"I... had no thoughts. I think it needs to be contained."

"I mean... do you think it's anomalous?"

"No. But what is an anomaly? I don't think it's any different from other anomalies."

"Let them go." O5-7 turned around, walked to the agent's side, and patted his shoulder.

"Archive 'Containment Object-8260' and no longer impose any restrictions on its information. Do not tell anyone else about this, including other members of the Overseer Council."

"What?"

The agent widened his gray eyes, unable to believe this order:

"But, isn't 'Containment Object-8260' one of the most critical anomalies that led to the year ▇48 event?"

"Exactly so." O5-7 nodded, "I suspect we've gone too far, Nick."

He walked to the filing cabinet, twisted the key inserted in it twice, opened the cabinet door, and revealed the dense files inside.

"Don't forget the letter I sent you before. Let this anomaly develop naturally."

"Don't tell others about this; just pretend it never happened."

"I want to see how humans outside the Foundation will treat something we regard as an anomaly."

"I'm more curious... what kind of impact it will have on normalcy."

The voice fell, and the video material ended accordingly.

【Project Number: Containment Object-8260-EX】

【Danger Level: Euclid (Abandoned) / Thaumiel (Abandoned) Released】

【Project Description:】

【"Containment Object-8260-EX" is an anomalous phenomenon that occurs in heavy element atoms.】

【This phenomenon is common in atoms with an atomic number greater than 90, with the 92nd element Uranium (U) being the most common.】

【The observable effect of "Containment Object-8260-EX" is: when neutrons with sufficient energy collide with heavy atomic nuclei, the latter will shatter (this process is called "fission").】

【This process will release more neutrons, so if enough heavy atomic nuclei gather together, this process will continue, eventually causing a large number of gathered atomic nuclei to shatter in a short period of time.】

【This process releases energy.】

【Under uncontrolled conditions, the occurrence of "Containment Object-8260-EX" events will lead to the instantaneous release of a large amount of energy, thereby producing destructive consequences.】

【Under the same mass conditions, the energy release triggered by "Containment Object-8260-EX" far exceeds any known energy release relying on chemical reactions.】

【The energy release of "Containment Object-8260-EX" under controlled conditions can be used as an excellent energy source.】

【Considering the potential destructiveness and utilization prospects of this technology, the Foundation currently believes that small-scale development and utilization of "Containment Object-8260-EX" within the Foundation is acceptable. (Abandoned)】

【Further research is underway to promote the development of energy and weapon equipment based on "Containment Object-8260-EX."】

【Considering the potential destructiveness and utilization prospects of this technology, information on "Containment Object-8260-EX" is no longer confidential to other non-anomalous containment organizations and is explained as a normal physical phenomenon.】

【Project personnel will continue to monitor the use of the project by the normal world, confirm the impact of the project on the stability of normalcy, and thereby confirm the signs of the existence of "Containment Object-Laplace."】

【The project will be reclassified as Released.】