Luna, even as an adult, wasn't always so careful.
The Connecter's statement that the Galactic Federation belonged to the lowest level of contacted civilizations, marked as prey in interdimensional warfare, was a significant revelation.
But Luna still hesitated to cross that final boundary, at least for now. They hadn't yet approached the true upper echelons of the Milky Way.
"We've been preparing for this. This is the Galactic Federation's first true invasion war."
"Luna, perhaps we're opening another Pandora's Box."
Ayla believed this war would be a victory, but the victory would inevitably cause irreversible changes in the Federation's citizens' mentality.
"Whether or not a monster exists inside Pandora's Box isn't something we need to consider now."
"Only those with choices fear what's inside the box. Those without choices open it without hesitation, even knowing they might be devoured."
The Federation's development had actually reached a plateau.
No groundbreaking scientific and technological advancements had emerged in the last tens of thousands of years.
Luna hoped that a Type 2 civilization's technology would shock the Federation's existing technology, sparking a collision that would create an unprecedented explosion of innovation.
Her eyes gazed toward the distant stars.
Since the Federation's inception, there had been a long absence of exploration.
But to expand in this universe, they needed energy—a perpetual cycle of conquest.
Even in a Xianxia novel, the power of a solitary cultivator is difficult to compare to that of cultivators from established sects or families. Luna didn't consider herself the protagonist of such a novel; she might even just be one of the Federation's founders.
Perhaps the next moment she would die, and then the true decision-maker would appear.
Ayla might feel grief at her death, but even the death of a loved one fades slowly from memory over a decade or two. She was just a speck of dust in the universe, nothing more.
She understood all this, no longer viewing the world from a self-centered perspective. Therefore, she made a decision far bolder than any before—sacrificing herself for a sliver of possibility.
Only…
She didn't die!
She hadn't told Ayla, but Ayla likely knew. In her plan, she was supposed to die. Her survival rate, while not zero, was extremely low.
Luna considered these years a rebirth.
She hoped to see more.
She needed to effect change.
The Federation shouldn't be like this. What was the original vision for the Federation?
What the Federation was during its conflict with the Kate, that is what the Federation would become now.
...
As Ayla mentioned, preparations had begun when these civilizations were discovered.
Luna didn't need to dispatch ships or warships toward those civilizations now; they were already en route.
The Kbinia.
The female Warbeast ship captain had a remarkably imposing figure. She carefully examined the star chart and adjusted the course.
At that moment, another Warbeast entered. The newcomer shouted, "Captain Moses D, can't you even put on your clothes? Or perhaps your armor?"
Moses D was the ship captain's name.
Relatively uncommon names containing letters were actually quite prevalent in the Federation. Many parents hoped their children would have unique names, so unusual names were becoming increasingly common.
Moses D glanced at the other Warbeast: "Domonditho, use your brain for its intended purpose, and not on matters of a… personal nature."
Not wearing clothes was perfectly normal. Not only did Warbeasts not require clothing, but many human males and females wouldn't wear clothes in public either.
In the Federation, only a small number of species, or those with a certain understanding of "shame," wore clothes.
Most beings didn't react to their companions' nudity; in this era, it was too easy to obtain such gratification. A virtual world could show someone any imagined beauty, any perfect man or woman, any flawlessly perfect individual.
Conversely, real-life beings were relatively "impure."
However, it must be said that this era was a boon for someone like Domonditho—but only that.
Domonditho took a deep breath: "This isn't something that can be solved by shifting attention. I think we should discuss a countermeasure; otherwise, I can't concentrate on my work."
"Captain, you know you're a great beauty!"
By Warbeast standards, Moses D was indeed beautiful—tall, strong, powerfully muscled.
"I don't wish to argue about this, Domonditho. Your request is denied. Go back to hibernation."
Domonditho groaned, clutching his head.
"Why…?"
"This is just a simple voyage, Captain. You know I dislike entering those cramped hibernation pods; it's a nightmare; I can't breathe in there."
"Including this warship, we Warbeasts need space, not this cage."
"Can't I just take a fighter and go for a short flight?"
Moses D coldly refused.
This Domonditho was a complete idiot. She didn't know how he'd even gotten into this unit, let alone become a high-ranking officer. Such unserious individuals were a headache for the military; the kind who needed to be weeded out.
"So heartless! The military isn't supposed to be like this. We need to discuss feelings, mental health issues."
However, it must be said that this era was a boon for someone like Domonditho—but only that.
Domonditho took a deep breath: "This isn't something that can be solved by shifting attention. I think we should discuss a countermeasure; otherwise, I can't concentrate on my work."
"Captain, you know you're a great beauty!"
By Warbeast standards, Moses D was indeed beautiful—tall, strong, powerfully muscled.
"I don't wish to argue about this, Domonditho. Your request is denied. Go back to hibernation."
Domonditho groaned, clutching his head.
"Why…?"
"This is just a simple voyage, Captain. You know I dislike entering those cramped hibernation pods; it's a nightmare; I can't breathe in there."
"Including this warship, we Warbeasts need space, not this cage."
"Can't I just take a fighter and go for a short flight?"
Moses D coldly refused.
This Domonditho was a complete idiot. She didn't know how he'd even gotten into this unit, let alone become a high-ranking officer. Such unserious individuals were a headache for the military; the kind who needed to be weeded out.
"So heartless! The military isn't supposed to be like this. We need to discuss feelings, mental health issues."
"I think I'm going crazy waiting here! How long has it been? Thousands of years? How much longer until this voyage ends?!"
Domonditho complained incessantly.
Moses D said, "Approximately 3700 years. We'll reach our destination, and then you'll be free."
"Ugh ~ No!"
Domonditho couldn't bear it any longer. He felt completely ill at ease and could only focus his attention on Moses D's body.
"Captain, perhaps you should find a companion for such a long journey… Aaaaa ~"
Before he could finish, his body felt a jolt of electricity, his whole body numb.
But his cries became increasingly strange, shifting from pained cries to strange moans.
Moses D had to admit, this guy was a pervert, a complete and utter pervert.
Whoever had discreetly assigned this man to her, claiming he was a once-in-a-century military genius, was clearly mistaken. Perhaps he should have been left on another ship to cool off.
After seeing Domonditho paralyzed on the floor, Moses D returned to her work.
She needed to finalize some details, preparing to swiftly subdue the target civilization without resistance—and crucially, without casualties. This was paramount.
This was a war, but not a war of violence, but a war of wits.
...
3700 years was but a fleeting moment.
The Federation had long since reached the year 178,954 A.D.; any millennium was a tiny number in the current Federation.
Pudifen No. 4 Sector.
The Federation's star charts had been redrawn, especially for the more distant sectors. While these sectors had been somewhat studied during humanity's earlier era, they were no longer used by the current Federation.
The names from the earlier era were chaotic and overly long. While there were rules, they were far from perfect. Anyone could name a star whatever they liked; it was a mess. The current Federation had its own system.
The Federation had completed mapping most of the Milky Way's sectors. By creating a Milky Way model, they divided the galaxy into modular structures, even adding coordinate axes.
Simply put, this was the Federation's work on the new star charts.
Many star names had been changed, named according to their corresponding sector.
Pudifen No. 4 Sector was roughly a rectangular area 100 light-years long and 60 light-years wide, containing over 478 stars. Scans indicated that a Type 2 civilization had occupied 72 of these stars.
"This civilization is in a period of rapid expansion."
Moses D, observing the brightness and signal vectors of the surrounding stars, detected faint, dispersed signals from 102 stars—30 more than during their first observation of this civilization.
Such rapid expansion suggested this civilization had experienced a scientific revolution or a technological explosion.
Technological advancement gave this civilization the confidence to expand rapidly.
"Then we should be careful?"
Domonditho and several others simultaneously reviewed the reconnaissance data. Domonditho, unusually composed, seriously examined the information.
"Judging by the civilization's expansion, their capital star should be in this cluster. We can narrow it down to these 10 stars."
"We have two plans: one is a full-scale encirclement of the entire civilization; the other is a direct strike at the heart of their civilization."
Moses D looked at Domonditho in slight surprise. This was a rare instance of him being serious.
Over the past ten thousand years, she'd been nearly driven mad by this man.
"Both plans are too brutal. First, we only have 40,000 warships. A full-scale encirclement would severely disperse our forces. We don't yet know the specifics of this civilization's situation; that's too risky."
"Our plan must achieve zero casualties—on both sides."
"A direct strike on the capital could leave us surrounded, which is even worse."
"I have a plan, and I also received instructions from above."
Moses D transmitted the plan. Everyone carefully reviewed it, nodding repeatedly.
"It's indeed a good plan. Captain, you'll definitely be promoted to Commander after this mission," Domonditho flattered.
Just as Moses D thought he was about to revert to his previous behavior, he changed his tune.
"This plan actually has some flaws. For example, inciting a faction within the target civilization is easier said than done."
"When facing invasion from another civilization, even the most rebellious individuals will unite and resist outsiders."
"But this is my specialty. I can handle this part of the plan."
This was the first step, and also the most difficult.
Moses D hadn't expected Domonditho to take the initiative.
She grunted in acknowledgment and continued with the plan: "Incitement is the first step. Next, we need to create internal conflict and supply weapons to those loyal to us, enabling them to defeat the original civilization's leaders."
"The ensuing internecine conflict is beyond our concern."
But Domonditho immediately countered.
"That's idealistic. We need to consider the possibility that the faction we support will realize we can't control them. That's problematic. Once they defeat the original leaders, they may not submit to us."
"Besides supplying weapons, what kind of weapons? Powerful weapons could trigger a technological revolution within them. If they reach the Milky Way protection threshold through technological advancement, we'll be in a worse position."
Domonditho carefully amended the plan.
"The first step of inciting internal conflict is fine, but the second step shouldn't be supplying weapons, but basic resources."
"Not only that, we need to create technological obstacles for this civilization during this process. The plan is simple: disrupt the physical laws of the entire region. We just need to put all matter in this sector into an inert state, preventing them from making short-term technological progress."
"I also noticed this plan has no time limit. That's unacceptable. It makes us too lax. I'm setting a deadline: complete everything within 1000 years."
Moses D felt all her plans had been rejected. She'd spent millennia refining this plan, only to have it dismissed as worthless in its draft form.
But the crux was, Domonditho's points were accurate, which made Moses D even more frustrated.
"We can't forget our original goal: to subjugate the entire civilization."
"But how do we subjugate them? We need to make the entire civilization see the Federation as divine. Missionaries are needed. We need to have some natives act as missionaries. We'll implement a system of rewards and punishments, allowing those with merits to become human."
"As long as these beings eventually become human, our plan will be complete. They will accept this identity."
Subjugating a civilization is also called assimilating a civilization.
Subjugation is a process, not a result.
The Federation doesn't need inferior or superior civilizations, only a single entity: humanity!
Moses D stared at Domonditho in astonishment, for he'd articulated the core meaning of this plan.
Only she should know this, but why did Domonditho know? And this seemingly incompetent fool, why was he so capable?
Questions flooded her mind.
But she didn't know that all this was commonplace for Domonditho.
Invasions and the Mortality Selection plan were routine missions.
The Federation had fostered experienced soldiers and leaders through the Mortality Selection plan. How could Luna and Ayla possibly not utilize them?
Now, it was time for these individuals to prove their worth.
...
Domonditho admired his creation. The tiny creature resembled a large virus; its core was a sphere, surrounded by what looked like air cushions.
These cushions allowed the creature to hop, though it had no arms.
This species had long since atrophied its arms. Most creatures in Type 2 civilizations had different appearances compared to their earlier forms. Species like the Federation humans, which hadn't undergone significant changes, were rare.
In fact, the human form in the Federation was the result of Luna and Ayla's constant intervention. Otherwise, with less need for muscle, humans would have evolved or devolved into the classic 21st-century "big-headed alien doll" form.
Unused parts atrophy; it's natural selection.
Living beings must change.
Organisms adapt to their world through constant change, becoming stronger in their environment.
"To be honest, it's a bit ugly. It looks more like a soccer ball than a living being," Domonditho picked it up and examined it closely, paying meticulous attention to the smallest details.
This was the prototype; it would be taken to the most desolate corner of that civilization.
"It seems this civilization doesn't yet have a noteworthy name. Let's give them one: Wairuisi Civilization!"
Domonditho's suggestion was accepted; a civilization's name was thus decided.
He placed the prototype in a small drone; this simple drone flew toward a planet of the Wairuisi Civilization.
In the plan, this planet was designated "The Guiding Point."
...
The drone took 293 years to reach the planet's surface.
Xifeng looked up at the sky; a meteor streaked across it.
Excited, it rushed toward it, hoping to find some meteorite or spaceship wreckage—anything that could be sold for profit.
It stopped before a large crater, smaller than it had anticipated.
Cautiously peering inside, it discovered a pile of debris and a woman lying there, severely injured.
It quickly rushed over, using its electromagnetic field to lift the woman. It carried her back home, carefully examining her wounds.
Sensing the urgency, it didn't hesitate to use its savings and activate a nearby medical machine—an oval device that hovered in mid-air. Entering its dwelling, Xifeng began treating the injured woman.
Its body split open, revealing various medical instruments that, guided by electromagnetic forces, flew towards the injured woman, beginning a series of surgeries.
Everything was completed in just a few minutes.
Once the wounds were stabilized, it left, feeling quite pleased with itself.
They waited about five days before the woman slowly awoke.
Xifeng asked, "What is your name?"
The woman remained silent, seemingly unable to remember anything; she didn't even make a sound.
Xifeng was furious, blaming the medical instruments for not completing their work. The woman seemed to have lost her memory and the ability to speak.
"Your name is Massi. If you can't remember where your home is, you might as well stay here."
The Wairuisi civilization didn't actually have genders in the human sense; they didn't reproduce through sexual intercourse. The difference between male and female Wairuisi lay in certain gene mutations, which could spontaneously change. Theoretically, males could easily transform into females, and vice versa.
They could reproduce asexually through fission, like many single-celled organisms: splitting their vital organs into two smaller beings. One remained, absorbing nutrients and growing, after which the other would separate, forming a new individual.
However, according to Federation observations, these beings possessed emotions and were social creatures, which is common. They also possessed a concept similar to marriage.
Perhaps that concept was more akin to brotherhood. "I'm your brother, and you want us both to have children…"—a concept incomprehensible to humans.
Massi survived, and she and Xifeng lived together.
Massi learned quickly, regaining her language skills within a month under Xifeng's tutelage.
This relieved Xifeng considerably.
They lived together for seven years, developing a strong bond. In their seventh year, they had a child, whom they named Vireo.
Vireo was exceptionally intelligent, far surpassing most children; he grasped things instantly.
Xifeng was overjoyed, believing his child might bring about change for their family—until Vireo began inciting resistance against their current lives.
They shouldn't live here; this civilization had better places, their true homes. Life here was discarded; they weren't granted basic rights.
Vireo's intelligence drove him to seek escape from this existence.
Vireo's emergence gave hope to other beings.
People began rebelling, venturing into the large cities to seek opportunities.
At first, they only begged, but Vireo began to involve others in scams, accumulating great wealth. He used this money to gather more people who wished to change their lives.
Xifeng and Massi enjoyed a comfortable life. Xifeng hoped Vireo would stop, but Vireo said, "Even if I become the wealthiest being on this planet, I can't forget my original intention—to bring about change, to eradicate poverty…"
This was a grand dream, but one that would ultimately anger those in power.
A civilization's wealth is finite. To enrich some, others must inevitably be impoverished.
Vireo quickly angered the upper echelons of the civilization. They united against him, and he was unable to withstand their pressure, ultimately meeting his death.
However,
His death wasn't the end, but the beginning.
He'd passed his beliefs to many others, who were enraged by his death. They inherited his will, launching a war against those who'd killed Vireo.
When the tide of poverty swelled, the towers of wealth crumbled.
This was a war of salvation…
Salvation for the civilization's impoverished, a storm that engulfed the entire civilization.
...
As the war of salvation raged, Massi stood before her son's grave, her heart heavy, surrounded by countless followers.
"My son, Vireo, was visited by a god. The god told him the world needed saving; the impoverished suffered greatly."
"He showed compassion, then told me everything. He said: The god loves all beings in this world; all are equal in the god's eyes. But wealth disrupted the balance. The wealthy used money to enslave the poor, to seize all resources; this was wrong."
"The world shouldn't be this way. The god needed a spokesperson to save it. This spokesperson might face countless hardships, but he didn't hesitate; he said: If I don't do it, who will? I don't know, but if I do it, more beings will follow, because it's right."
"My son, he wasn't great; he simply possessed kindness and compassion for the world. He didn't die; he returned to the god's embrace; he became one with the god."
Massi addressed all the beings: "As his mother, I will carry on his work, continuing his will."
There was no opposition.
They only felt Massi was incredibly great.
Massi later changed her name to Saint Massi and had temples built across the planet, each containing a statue of Vireo, and above the statue, the god—a massive, ship-like object.
No being knew what it was, but it didn't matter; they only wished to see Vireo's image. They also knew there was no god.
The god was merely a will!
Twenty-eight years later, they controlled the entire planet, using it as a base for expansion and liberation.
All were equal, earning the same, doing the same work, with fervent enthusiasm.
They seized and built ships, fearlessly attacking, inciting the poor in other cities, using any means to conquer every city on the planet and in the cosmos.
One hundred and seventeen years later, they controlled the entire star system.
Their name spread throughout the civilizations; the impoverished responded to their call, and using this reputation, they launched a holy war.
Conquest!
Unceasing conquest.
This was an uprising from the bottom to the top, not from outside, but from within, a rebellion of the body.
They slaughtered, they raged, they upended everything, causing city after city to fall.
Massi had long since died, but her will, like Vireo's, had been passed down, strengthened and consolidated through constant war and conflict.
And the temples, this tool, had been repeatedly used.
They became known as the Spear of Equality, and their leaders, after several generations, had become Simo.
Simo looked at his territory. He felt the Spear of Equality's progress had stagnated. After hundreds of years, the original civilization's leadership had reacted, amassing considerable forces and launching counterattacks. They had been repeatedly defeated in recent years.
They were poor, lacking resources. Despite their numbers, their enemy's superior strength created gaps they couldn't fill with bodies.
"Will the war of salvation end in my hands?"
Simo felt helpless.
He went to the temple, looked at Vireo's statue, and asked, "What should I do? The Spear of Equality doesn't have time to develop everything."
The entire temple was suddenly enveloped in light emanating from the "god" above Vireo's statue.
When the light faded, Simo emerged from the temple, stunned.
Outside the temple, countless resources had appeared, stacked high as mountains, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Could it be… there really is a god?"
Simo summoned his subordinates to remove the resources, then re-entered the temple, making a plea to the god.
"Great god, I need more resources to complete the war of salvation, to bring equality to this world. Grant us your light!"
The light appeared again, and countless more resources materialized outside.
Simo rejoiced.
Using these resources, he expanded and strengthened his forces.
The Spear of Equality continued to grow, slowly shifting from a position of weakness to one of strength, pushing back the original civilization's elite.
Eventually, the Spear of Equality no longer needed to mine resources; they could obtain as much as they needed simply by praying in the temple.
As they expanded, they began researching new technologies, aiming to crush their enemies scientifically.
However, Simo realized their technological progress might be reaching a plateau. Their existing theories exhibited anomalies when pushed further. Their previous research might have been flawed; they needed a new theoretical framework.
This would take an immeasurable amount of time.
Simo once again prayed to the god: "Great god, guide us."
A book appeared before him, filled with text. Simo was ecstatic. He had all beings study this text, using the information as a guide to begin developing and educating.
One being found a clue, reminding Simo that there was no god.
Simo immediately ordered his execution.
Could he not know that there was no god?
But the god was everything; it sustained them, guided them. Whether the god existed or not was irrelevant; salvation and progress were what mattered.
Within a few years, Simo was branded a traitor by the original civilization's elite, accused of submitting to another alien civilization. The so-called god was their true enemy!
Simo told all beings: "The god came to save us. Without the god, we would have died in poverty. Our descendants would have experienced our poverty. The god gave us everything; we should be grateful."
He looked up and prophesied: "The god will eventually descend, giving us a beautiful new world."
He was killed after saying these words.
The Spear of Equality fractured; war erupted again. But the original power remained unshakeable, backed by the "god," wielding inexhaustible resources.
They remained powerful and dominant. Both the rebels and the original civilization's elite were merely clinging to life, gradually crumbling.
Seeing the Spear of Equality occupy 90% of the civilization, Moses D said aboard the Federation warship, "It's time for us to act!"
...
The colossal Kbinia emerged into the Wairuisi Civilization's view.
While not as wide as a standard sub-planet-class warship, its length was a terrifying 1200 kilometers.
It hung motionless in space, as if proclaiming the arrival of a god.
Both the original civilization's elite and the Spear of Equality were stunned by the "god's" existence—a clearly powerful alien civilization, undetected until now.
The Kbinia's intimidating presence brought a temporary halt to the war. Both the Spear of Equality and the splinter faction, the Shield of Protection, along with the remnants of the original Wairuisi elite, had reached an uneasy truce, secretly accumulating strength.
After about 62 years, this force erupted.
An assault directly on the Kbinia.
The Kbinia didn't react to these attacks; the Wairuisi weaponry was ineffective against it.
Meanwhile, scholars aboard the Kbinia began studying Wairuisi weaponry.
"An unprecedented structure. While still using the four fundamental forces, this weapon's design is quite interesting."
"It generates a two-stage wave, boosting the weapon's power."
The concept was simple: launching two laser beams. When the first laser struck its target, some energy was absorbed, causing damage. The rest reflected, and this reflected energy combined with the second laser beam, creating a significantly more powerful strike.
Achieving this wasn't easy. First, how do you ensure the first burst of energy isn't dispersed?
A clever technique was employed.
The Wairuisi Civilization's laser photons were meticulously aligned, becoming near-perfectly parallel. They implicitly assumed that the atomic arrangement of the target's outer shell was consistent; more parallel photons striking more consistent elemental structures meant a higher probability of consistent reflection.
This was a shrewd approach. If the target warship's hull was an alloy, containing many different atoms, it would be like farting in a spacesuit.
However, Type 2 civilizations don't need alloys; they can create basic elements themselves, usually used individually, not combined into alloys. So this weapon had some effectiveness.
Of course, this was only the most basic aspect of this weapon; the more advanced technology was photon entanglement.
Photon entanglement is a common phenomenon. Furthermore, photons can exhibit non-linear optical phenomena such as multi-photon interactions, but this entanglement isn't strong entanglement.
For example, a beam of light travels from point A to point B, another from point C to point D. The beams intersect; normally, the intersection would be the brightest point, but they would separate into two independent beams, forming an X shape.
Achieving this wasn't easy. First, how do you ensure the initial energy isn't dispersed?
A small trick was employed.
The Wairuisi laser photons were precisely aligned, almost perfectly parallel. They implicitly assumed the target's outer shell had a uniform atomic arrangement. The more parallel photons that struck the more uniform the elemental properties, the higher the probability that the reflected direction would also remain uniform.
It was a clever approach. If the target's hull was an alloy containing multiple atoms, it would be like farting into a spacesuit.
But Type 2 civilizations didn't need to create alloys. They could create basic elements themselves, usually employing single elements rather than alloys. So this weapon was somewhat effective.
Of course, that was just the weapon's rudimentary technology. The more advanced technology was photon entanglement.
Photon entanglement is a common phenomenon. Photons can also exhibit non-linear optical phenomena like multiple scattering. However, this entanglement isn't strong entanglement.
For example, a beam of light travels from point A to point B; another from point C to point D. When they intersect, the intersection point is usually the brightest. But they usually separate afterward, forming two independent beams, an X shape.
The Wairuisi's photon entanglement technology allows the two beams to completely merge, resulting in a Y shape.
So, when the first beam hits the ship's hull, some is absorbed, and the reflected portion is further focused by this entanglement, aligning with the direction of the main photon stream.
Achieving this wasn't easy. First, how could they ensure the first energy burst wasn't dispersed?
A clever technique was employed.
The Wairuisi lasers were precisely aligned, nearly perfectly parallel. They assumed the target's outer atomic structure was uniform; the more parallel photons that hit the target with uniform elemental properties, the greater the chance the reflected energy would also remain uniform.
This was a cunning approach. If the target warship's hull were an alloy, containing multiple types of atoms, it would be like farting in a spacesuit.
However, Type 2 civilizations didn't need alloys; they could create basic elements themselves, typically using them individually, not in alloys. Thus, the weapon had some effectiveness.
Of course, this was just the weapon's basic technology; the advanced technique was Photon Bonding.
Photon entanglement is a common phenomenon. Photons can exhibit non-linear optical phenomena like multiple scattering, but this entanglement isn't strong.
For example, a light beam travels from point A to point B, and another from point C to point D; they intersect. Normally, the intersection point would be brightest, but the beams would separate again, forming an X.
But the Wairuisi's Photon Bonding technology merged the two beams completely, resulting in a Y shape.
So, when the first beam struck the warship's hull, a portion was absorbed, and the reflected portion, due to the entanglement effect, was refocused and directed along the path of the main photon flow.
The control of the majority of the photons was achieved through the earlier parallel photon technology; the combination of these two technologies created the second energy wave through superposition.
"Indeed interesting, although the energy output is somewhat low. If used on super-range weaponry, this would be an unimaginable attack."
The weapons specialists were thrilled.
The Federation wasn't unfamiliar with similar weapons, but their technology was cruder; strong photon entanglement wasn't easily achieved.
This likely represented one of the Wairuisi Civilization's core technologies.
Scientists on the warship simulated it in a virtual world, discovering that this technology could reduce energy loss over 1000 light-years by 5%.
"So studying alien technologies does have its benefits."
"Hopefully, the Wairuisi Civilization will provide even more surprises."
The mood aboard the warship was buoyant, but the situation outside was drastically different.
The three factions of the Wairuisi Civilization, defying disbelief, continued their attacks using more powerful weapons. One projectile pierced the Kbinia, and the warship's mainframe issued a warning.
[Warship penetrated by unknown energy. Target energy level: extremely high. Energy density: extremely high. Energy index: extremely low. Calculated penetration diameter: 20 kilometers. Total energy released: 8.4 x 10^21 Joules]
That's 2.333 quadrillion kilowatt-hours.
Such a tiny object carrying such immense energy! Almost everyone stood up, staring intently at the data, wondering if there was a calculation error.
The enemy was merely a Type 2.1 civilization.
But there wasn't.
The mainframe calculated the probability of data error as extremely low.
After three days of investigation and two days of calculations by the mainframe, everyone received a simulation image five days later.
The image showed two entangled heavy electrons, spiraling around each other at near light speed.
"The entangled particles are moving at near light speed. They're packing this much energy into these two heavy electrons and using that as a weapon."
"The goal is likely to bring the two fundamental particles into close proximity upon impact with the hull. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, two electrons can't occupy the same space. Therefore, practically, one must be a particle and the other an antiparticle. However, we don't see any antiparticle in the model."
"The two particles cannot collide, so they cannot release the energy stored in the entangled system, and they can't use it as a weapon."
"I suspect this isn't an error but a weapon developed over the last few centuries. The particle properties have changed, leading to this anomaly."
This entangled particle wasn't quantum superposition. Quantum superposition is a correlation, not two particles physically orbiting each other.
In this two-particle entanglement model, one particle moves forward in a straight line, while the other orbits it. The outer particle carries a large amount of energy, and the inner particle balances this energy.
The Wairuisi technology, or perhaps their technology disrupted by interference, couldn't maintain the equilibrium between a positron and an electron, causing the weapon to fail.
"This is good technology. This entanglement model can store a vast amount of energy. The closer to light speed, the more energy it stores."
"Unfortunately, this model can't be maintained for long. It slowly releases energy; it'll be completely depleted in roughly 2000 years."
This would be a treasure for a Type 1 civilization, but for the Federation, it's useless; the energy dissipation is too rapid. A Type 1 civilization wouldn't reach Type 1 status in 2000 years, and 2000 years is just a short trip for the Federation.
"Boring. Can we achieve total control over them?" Moses D asked.
The scientists shook their heads: "Perhaps we could stimulate them to develop something better. The Wairuisi Civilization's technological approach differs from ours; we should avoid influencing them prematurely."
Moses D could only put the plan on hold. Acquiring technology was the first step in controlling a civilization, not simply controlling this one.