Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 157: Evolution

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"First there was a vast emptiness, not unlike the space currently around the Hope.

"Within this emptiness, there was a glob of writhing mass of meat. It was unexpectedly huge. Based on my speculation, it was as big as several Earths combined. Furthermore, it was emanating rays of eerie light...

"As the rays shot at the folds of flesh, the meat started decaying and breaking. Bones and sinews started falling apart from the mass of meat. Yes, I felt that it was dying, dying from old age...

"But the process took a long time, taking perhaps several millennia to complete. Using curvature navigation to travel through space on its last legs of life, it stumbled upon a life-supporting planet. It disintegrated just before entering the planet. The excess muscles and weight were abandoned into space while the glob at its disgusting center shot into the planet.

"The growth process that followed was equally long. After another several millennia, a native civilization appeared on this planet. It was an aquatic civilization. With technological advancement came an issue that similarly had troubled us: natural pollution. However, since they survived by ways of water, the effect of the pollution was viscerally felt. Therefore, when they reached the end of their 3rd revolution, their scientific focus was on technology that could reduce pollution. Then...

"When they reached 4th revolution, they had to focus on space travelling technology because the pollution had become too serious for them to undo. When their first spaceship traveled beyond their planet’s orbit... they found a neutron star surging towards their planet."

Yao Yuan stood up in shock. "Wait, a neutron star? You sure? Why was this civilization attacked by a neutron star too? Could it be that it was similarly targeted like Earth?"

Zhang Heng shook his head listlessly. "Who knows? The dream I had described things that happened millennia ago... Plus, I can’t really explain anything because it was all in a dream. Anyway, let me continue. The civilization too was hamstrung by the sudden appearance of the neutron star. Finally, as a last resort, the civilization pooled together to build a large spaceship with their early 4th revolution technology. However, around that time... the glob that hid itself in the planet’s core hatched. Its product was a clot of bacteria, festering like an ugly wound.

"In its weak, initial stage, it could only survive by absorbing the buried plant and animal bodies around it. However, with each absorption, parts of dead bodies’ DNA were translated into the bacteria’s genetic coding. Gradually, the bulk of the bacteria grew.

"Finally, it grew to such a size that it couldn’t hide from the planet’s native civilization anymore. After running out of ideas, the civilization decided to use an H-bomb to blow the bacteria mass up in one go...

"However, things didn’t go as planned. The alien had already released parts of itself into the water source. The bacterial pieces seeped through the ground into the surface water source... Since the natives were aquatic organisms, they were easy pickings for the alien bacteria. They were slowly digested and consumed by the bacteria. From that, the mass of muscle essentially absorbed their technology. It learned how to fire bullets from within its body, how to create electromagnetic shields, and even how to build polymerized reactors. Like many of our myths, the sea granted it an unlimited force of life. It started to reproduce itself in the sea into the monsters we saw aboveground...

"Several years after that, the mass of meat fully digested the planet and left its star system. It started trawling the cosmos for more life-supporting planets to consume. This process repeats ad nauseam until finally it finds itself in this star system."

Zhang Heng leaned back in his chair to take a breath. Ji Jie, who had sat down beside Yao Yuan while Zhang Heng was talking, joined Yao Yuan in his musings.

"Let me confirm. When the meat alien was born, it didn’t know any science, right? And the creatures that it produces are coded with the DNA it previously consumed?" Yao Yuan asked.

Zhang Heng nodded. "You’re correct. Initially, the meat alien was a blank paper. The more organisms it consumes, the more varied the creatures it can produce. Similarly, the more civilizations it consumes, the greater its technology becomes."

Yao Yuan frowned. "But this is weird. Based on what you said, the alien’s mother, before it perished, had to be a level 3 civilization because it could conduct curvature navigation. So how come this meat alien doesn’t have access to those technologies?"

Zhang Heng responded, "Because the mother had gone down the wrong evolution path!"

"Wrong evolution path?" Yao Yuan and Ji Jie asked in unison.

"Yes!"

Zhang Heng explained, "The impression I got from the mother is that this species has a limited lifespan. Therefore, to increase its livelihood, it has to keep on consuming to become stronger and more technologically advanced to stave off death and decay. This is because the consumed civilization will help it improve to a level where its lifespan can be indefinitely increased. However, it is not always that the civilization it consumes will align with that purpose. For example, the mother might be incredibly strong in plant evolution, but that technology has nothing to do with animal cellular resuscitation and revival...

"To borrow an online game analogy, the mother had made the mistake of leveling the wrong skill tree. Unlike in the games though, reality doesn’t allow a reset. Therefore, to prevent its offspring from inheriting its mistakes, the offspring had to start anew. There are different colonies of this species flying through space, and only the strongest among them will survive to reach eternity."

An exasperated Yao Yuan shook his head. He added, "Alright, let’s sum up all we have said so far. First, this meat alien depends on consumption of DNA to produce a monster army to protect its main body, is that right?"

"Yes," Zhang Heng confirmed.

"Secondly, it also relies on this consumption to increase its technological level. For example, the reactors we saw came from the aquatic civilization. Is that true?" Yao Yuan continued.

"There is somewhat of a difference. This meat alien has a central consciousness that allows it to combine the technology it has absorbed and the monsters that it can produce. In my dream, I saw cannon monsters, bomber monsters, explosive monsters, Gaussian rifle monsters, and the like..."

Yao Yuan nodded. "This means the more varied the DNA and the greater the civilizations it absorbs, the more diverse the types of monster it can create... Also, its current technological level is at the early 4th revolution, right? Could that improve if we leave it on its own?"

"The ability to conflate DNA and technology aside, this alien doesn’t have a creative mind. All of its technological increases came from the consumption of other civilizations. Currently, it is definitely in its early 4th revolution, so technology-wise we have the upper hand," Zhang Heng replied.

"Is that so...?" Yao Yuan asked suddenly, "Then does it have any weaknesses? Is that revealed in your dream?"

"Sadly, no." Zhang Heng paused before adding, "It doesn’t appear to fear anything, not a new virus, bacteria, plants, or animals. This is because it can consume the organism to restructure its own genes. It might be harmed initially, but that contact will allow it to create antibodies out of the consumed DNA. It can consume and absorb everything and anything..."

Upon hearing that, Yao Yuan had a flashback to the monsters’ retreat and their deliberate deed of retrieving the monster carcasses... Since the monsters had a central consciousness, this meant that the main body had an intended purpose for the carcasses. Could it be that the bodies could be used to create stronger monsters?

Yao Yuan had a sneaking feeling that he had forgotten something important... Suddenly, his communicator rang. He was startled but picked it up quickly, saying, "This is Yao Yuan. What’s wrong?"

"...Captain, could you please come to the biology lab...

"The monster cells have consumed the alien plants to evolve into an abnormal individual cell!"

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