Chapter 948

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

"Then hasn't that countdown been running for 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 believers of the 'Fifth Starfish' use civilizations as units for sacrifice... Although the galaxy is currently full of war and the 'Legion' was rampant before, it's good that the Foundation has re-emerged, and the universe can be peaceful for a moment... ~"

"Uh... is no one concerned about the dissolved O5 Council?"

"No concern."

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

"In the face of an apocalypse that counts by civilizations, the fate of the O5 councilors is too insignificant... It's just that the Administrator at that time didn't have the power to suppress the whole world alone, otherwise, whether the Overseer Council could have existed until the year 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, this was a black-red volcanic planet.

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

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

Such an environment is similar to the origin planets of the vast majority of civilizations in the galaxy today.

The audience was very curious and secretly expectant—what kind of civilization would the Foundation encounter on this planet, and whether they had found a way to counter the annihilation.

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

【"001-Seek" Exploration Report-499】

【Record Time: November 08, 3764】

【Planetary Status:】

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

【A large number of artificial satellites and spaceships were found in the planet's orbit; all communication attempts received no response.】

【The planet is highly urbanized, with artificial farms and nature reserves between the 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 Taken:】

【1. Established an orbital outpost;】

【2. Dispatched drones for archaeological investigation.】

【Civilization Status:】

【Micro-conscious life discovered.】

【The vast majority of the planet's cities have been occupied by unconscious animals and plants.】

【Investigation results indicate that the civilization's technology was highly advanced, conservatively estimated to be at least a 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, suggesting 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 there was a telepathic connection between different individuals of the race, forming a collective intelligence while maintaining independence.】

【A large number of classified facilities were found on the planet, with servers storing 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 cryo-unit, which contained a survivor of the civilization.】

【The drone retrieved the cryo-unit and transferred it to the storage vault of "SCP-001-Seek".】

【Final Ruling:】

【Major success.】

【Found personnel who may possess knowledge of "SCP-001".】

【According to the Administrator's direct order, "SCP-001-Seek" is now beginning its journey back to Earth.】

……

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

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

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

"In other words, we have to find a way to design an automated program for collective 'hibernation', and then wake up collectively after the 'Black Moon's' annihilation period has passed."

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

"It's still better than having no way out, isn't it?"

……

Deep in the universe, a desert planet where civilization has not yet appeared.

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

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

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 glanced casually at the Foundation's containment archives; 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-Seek" before its return.

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

That civilization probably didn't expect that future generations would look at them with such eyes.

Ruan Mei took a plate of mung bean pastries, topped with panic deer flowers, and began to savor them 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 moving the pastry to her mouth, her tone a bit hesitant; she couldn't think of a suitable path to realize her vision for a moment.

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

But Ruan Mei quickly cleared her thoughts and guessed:

"Is it some kind of pheromone?"

"Or is the environment they live in full of another kind of 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 considered using various fungi to cultivate individuals with independent consciousness before, but all experiments ended in failure.

None of the experimental subjects could communicate normally, and many animal-like reflexes did not appear.

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

Today's Foundation investigation report is undoubtedly clearing a patch of fog on an ocean filled with deep 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 is not afraid of failure; what is feared is having no direction, not knowing the way forward, and eventually spinning in place, wasting one's life.

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

Ruan Mei's mood was exceptionally beautiful; she even planned to get some strawberry cake, cheese lava...

Wait a minute, if the pastries were also given life, could they 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 they 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 is not within her area of expertise.

· ·Ask for flowers··· 0

"I really want a sample I can get my hands on... To open perception through touch, to let the details of life flood into my mind, to let me understand its life structure."

But this is destined to be impossible.

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

The Administrator was not sacred from the beginning, and the technological level of Earth's civilization did not see explosive growth...

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

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

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

Ruan Mei doesn't know.

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

Probably... only the supreme divinities like the "Administrator" know the answer. ===== CHAPTER 950 =====