Chapter 803: Chapter 800: Gazing into the Future

Hearing what Navigator II said, Duncan’s expression immediately became somewhat grave. He stared into the eyes of the person opposite him and spoke solemnly, “A bigger ‘Endless Sea’? Why do you think so?”

After briefly pondering, Navigator II organized his thoughts and then suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question, “In the world where you were born, the civilization that created you, have they reached the ‘final step’?”

“The final step?” Duncan frowned at these words, “Do you mean…”

“To master all the truths within the world they inhabit, to know all the mysteries, the beginning, and the future of the universe, and to have the power to alter the universe itself–where natural laws become a ‘tool’ that can be readjusted and reset, rather than ironclad rules to which one must passively adapt.”

As Navigator II spoke, there was a hint of sentimentality and nostalgia in his expression. Since appearing in this form, even his emotional fluctuations seemed far closer to those of humans.

“My creators gave a name to this stage of civilization; they called it the ‘Transcendental Critical’–although they themselves never reached this stage, they did touch its threshold and deduced the conditions required to reach it. Their highest achievement… was to create a ‘time capsule’ in the process of building the New Hope, which bought them a hundred years when doomsday arrived.”

“Usurping Flame, my creators never truly reached the ‘Transcendental Critical’, but they concluded through massive calculations that ‘mortals’ indeed can reach this height, that with the power of civilization, the mathematical foundation of the universe can be leveraged.”

Navigator II stared intently into Duncan’s eyes, as if immense pressure was crystallizing in his gaze.

“Usurping Flame, I have observed your long years and, after meticulous calculations, your civilization has advanced further than that of my creators. What I want to know is whether they have truly reached that ‘final step’? Were my creators correct in their judgment about the end of truth?”

Facing the intense gaze of Navigator II, Duncan finally nodded slightly.

“Yes, they have reached it.”

This might have been the answer that Navigator II had been waiting for throughout such a lengthy period, but the moment he actually heard it, his gaze suddenly became vacant. He stood there, dumbfounded, for several seconds before suddenly snapping back, “So this stage really exists… meaning civilization can truly ‘transcend boundaries’… the system is open…”

Duncan furrowed his brow and was about to ask something, but Navigator II as if suddenly coming to, quickly spoke, “Then your civilization must have realized the ability to observe beyond the universe? Do they know of the existence of other universes and have already started to consider how to cross that ‘barrier’?”

Duncan was slightly startled, and then, in his mind, he recalled the “message” from human civilization that he had heard amidst that dazzling starlight–

An event beyond the cognitive model occurred “outside” the universe.

After a short period of thought, Duncan spoke, “I’m not sure if they have begun contemplating other universes, and I don’t quite understand what ‘barrier’ you’re referring to, but they have indeed clearly observed events ‘outside’ the universe–the first and last ‘extramundane event’ they observed was the ‘Great Annihilation’ that had not yet intruded into the reality dimension, or to be precise… the other worlds that were crashing toward us.”

“Yes, that’s it! The clear observation of events outside the universe! This is the first step–the ‘first step’ that only existed in theory. My creators always wanted to verify whether it was really possible until the end… That’s it!”

Navigator II spoke swiftly, becoming animated. This was the first time he had shown such excitement since meeting–this man in a white robe, imitating a long-gone mortal, his face weary, paced excitedly in circles atop the small hill, then suddenly stopped in front of Duncan, his gaze almost igniting.

The wind blew over the hill, and waves of grass rippled across the boundless plains in the distance, the river glistening with light.

“Usurping Flame, ‘outside the universe’, that is the key, the universe has an ‘outside’, the world is not unique. The essence of the Great Annihilation is the collision of multiple universes; in other words–in the face of a disaster the scale of the Great Annihilation, if one does not possess the ability to leap out of their world, then no matter how advanced a civilization becomes, no matter how gigantic and firm the Shelter we build, even if it’s as large as a stellar system, as vast as a supercluster, when another world comes crashing down with a roar–”

Navigator II opened his arms wide, gesturing in a somewhat exaggerated manner–his imitation was not merely of one of his creators’ appearance but also of a living personality data, making his current behavior seem like that of an average mortal:

“Pop, like a soap bubble, it shatters.”

He held this pose, a complex expression crossing his face, seeming to force a smile, yet it almost appeared as if he was about to cry.

“In the face of ‘extramundane events’, no structure within the universe has sufficient strength; nothing can withstand it, just like the shell of the New Hope… we even used neutron star material to create its shell, yet it broke like paper…”

Duncan’s eyes slowly widened, and suddenly, he seemed to understand what this ancient “artificial intelligence” was trying to tell him.

“…Therefore, a civilization must ensure it has the ability to ‘jump out of the world’ to truly be ‘safe’,” he said solemnly, “and now none of us have reached this height, not even the civilization behind me. Initially, it only saw the threshold of ‘jumping out of the world’ from the ‘Transcendental Critical’ height. Therefore, we had to settle for second best and ensure that the ‘new world’ holds the possibility of ‘jumping out of the world’, or in other words…”

“The ‘successors’ born in the ‘new world’ must have the opportunity to develop to that height,” Navigator Two lifted his head, speaking with a grave expression, “The new world must allow this possibility to exist, to be able to ‘accommodate’ this possibility.”

Duncan was silent for a moment.

He felt an indescribable… shock.

Navigator Two, this ancient “artificial intelligence,” was considering things so far-reaching, even surpassing all other “ancient kings.” While everyone else was still pondering whether the Shelter could save them, what he was considering… was already the destruction of the new world.

Because destruction is bound to happen, it might be another great annihilation, or perhaps something else.

“Fear, this was the first ’emotion’ I learned,” Navigator Two’s voice came, steady and deep, “The things I worry about… might seem too distant, but after tens of thousands of external sensors have painted the ‘feelings’ of the universe’s collapse for me, this ‘fear’ has become part of my underlying logic. I know such events are bound to happen again.

“Usurping Flame, I do not feel safe, and the others feel the same–those ‘mortals’ in the Shelter call us ‘gods,’ but what they don’t know is that their ‘gods’ are immersed in great fear from dawn until dusk. As long as we remember that disasters on the scale of the ‘great annihilation’ exist, as long as we haven’t found a way to counter it, this fear will never dissipate. And this urgent longing for ‘security’ has me continuously pondering a question…

“To what stage can a civilization develop, and to what stage must it develop, in order to truly counter all disasters and continue through them.

“Perhaps there is no end, but at least within the scope I can comprehend, ‘jumping out of the world’ is one of the crucial junctures.”

Duncan broke the silence: “…What you actually feared were two things. First, whether mortal civilization could possibly develop to the height of ‘jumping out of the world,’ and second, the ‘new world’ I created–if it truly exists–whether it could ‘accommodate’ such a development of civilization.”

Navigator Two nodded slightly and asked a question: “Usurping Flame, do you know the biggest difference between a real ‘world’ and a ‘Shelter’ like the Endless Sea?”

Duncan did not answer, and Navigator Two already gave the answer himself–

“The word ‘possibility’ is intuitive but not accurate enough. In my view, the biggest difference between the two is ‘randomness’.”

Duncan subconsciously repeated: “Randomness?”

“A complete and healthy real universe allows the emergence of ‘true randomness’,” Navigator Two said slowly, “While in the Shelter, there is only ‘pseudo-randomness’.”

Duncan almost immediately understood the meaning behind the other’s words.

“So, nothing will ever emerge within the Shelter that exceeds its ‘information limit’,” he spoke quickly, “just like a two-dimensional figure, no matter how fast it runs, even if it masters the power to teleport on the plane, it will never be able to ‘stand up’–only a system that allows the emergence of ‘true randomness’ can permit the occurrence of a ‘transcendental critical’ event outside the system!”

“My creators called this event ‘ultimate transcendence,’ they believed it might be the final stage in the development of mortal civilization… Reaching there, we would be safe.”

Navigator Two spoke softly, slowly lifted his head, gazing into the empty sky.

There seemed to be a destination that New Hope would never reach.

Finally, Duncan understood the meaning of the words Navigator One said to him back in the Mysterious Deep Sea–

“Actually, the moment we took off, Navigator Two had already calculated the outcome of this journey.”

A destination that New Hope would never reach is an insurmountable gap in the face of civilization progression. In front of this gulf, a spaceship powered by warp engines and built from neutron star material, and a steel Longsword thrown at the sky by a warrior are no different.

Because in the face of ‘external events,’ all structures within the universe lack the necessary strength.