"We have engineered machinery capable of infiltrating human consciousness into enemy bodies. When the enemy arrives, these machines will activate, and you will become them."
"Your objective is to dismantle the enemy fleet from within. This will require mastering four-dimensional civilization knowledge, language, and behavior. You must adapt to these new bodies and the four-dimensional environment they perceive in the shortest time possible, without showing a single flaw."
"The enemy is a civilization far more powerful than ours. We cannot predict whether they possess technology to detect consciousness transfers. Therefore, you may die at the very start of the mission, or you may succeed in parasitizing them."
"Once the parasitism is successful, you can still use your previous abilities. However, I do not want you using them recklessly. These abilities will be sealed during the initial phase of the war, only to be unlocked ten years after your parasitism and infiltration are complete. At that moment, regardless of where you are, what you are doing, or what you have achieved, you must immediately trigger your abilities and purge our enemies."
"I believe you have undergone countless trials and can handle any situation with expertise."
"If this mission were not set in the fourth dimension, every one of you could complete it with ease."
"Upon the success of this mission, survivors will be granted the ultimate reward: autonomous access to Hyperdimensional Space!"
"With this authorization, you can enter Hyperdimensional Space freely, choosing whether or not to accept missions. You can continue your former lives, or return to reality to enjoy the peace."
To the Divine gathered there, every word spoken before this was merely a choice of difficulty.
But that final sentence struck directly at the hearts of every Divine.
In truth, every Divine was exhausted.
They had lived under high-intensity pressure for far too long.
They wanted out, but Hyperdimensional Space was an eternal cage that imprisoned them.
This was a reward they had never even dared to imagine.
It wasn't just letting them leave; it was the power of choice—the freedom to enter and exit Hyperdimensional Space at will.
How long had they waited for this moment?
Standing beside Luna, Blacklight's body couldn't help but tremble.
He had spent the longest time in Hyperdimensional Space; over 80,000 years of tempering had worn away every rough edge, leaving him flawless.
But he felt no attachment to this perfection.
His dream was to leave Hyperdimensional Space.
And that dream was now laid out right in front of him.
Unbelievable!
Then, that voice spoke once more.
"Some among you are not from Hyperdimensional Space, but are super-officers cultivated by the Federation."
"Should you complete this mission, you will be granted a lifespan of 100,000 years within the Federation, along with a star system to hold as your private territory."
There were 1,511 ordinary soldiers and 197 officers.
Among them, the 197 officers were presumably these super-officers.
They didn't possess the eccentric appearances of the Divines; in fact, one could recognize that intense military bearing at a single glance.
These were a batch of Ayla's experimental subjects.
She wanted to see the difference between Divines emerging from Hyperdimensional Space and those she had independently put through elite training.
On previous battlefields, these super-officers had displayed immense capability, which was why Ayla had included them in this arrangement.
These individuals weren't mindless zealots; on the contrary, Ayla had instilled in them powerful desires and taught them to master those urges—allowing them to indulge when appropriate and remain disciplined when necessary.
The Divines looked toward these officers, who seemed so out of place among them.
One Sword Immortal also gazed at them in surprise: "I thought they were just guards earlier. It looks like their mecha are officer-grade models. Tsk tsk, not a single one of them holds a rank below Major."
Ayla thought for a moment and felt there was nothing more to say.
She spoke: "Fine, that is the extent of the briefing."
"You have 24 hours of rest. The enemy fleet will certainly not approach us closely, so you must strike proactively. The consciousness-transfer equipment can only be activated within approximately 100 AU."
"In 24 hours, follow your instructions and board the warships."
Then, the projection vanished.
A mission interface appeared before every Divine.
[ Countdown: 23:59:58 ]
"A madman's mission, as expected," True Lord grumbled, though his expression remained unchanged.
All the other Divines and super-officers were the same.
For them, missions bordering on death were the norm; this time, the mortality rate was just a bit higher.
"Failure is not an option," Blacklight stated firmly.
"I assume this consciousness parasitism is random. We should establish some signals so we can link up after the transfer."
"That would increase both our mission success rate and our chances of survival."
Bubu is not No-no shook his head.
"We don't even know the enemy's life form. How can we make signals?"
Blacklight fell silent.
He was right. If they used text, they'd have to be face-to-face. If they used sound, the enemy might not even communicate via audio. And if they relied on brainwave communication, the risk of exposure would be far too high.
If it turned out to be a hive mind, they might be detected the instant they entered.
They certainly couldn't devise a hundred or a thousand different codes; the probability of overlap was too high. They'd end up finding the wrong person, and what wasn't exposed would suddenly become compromised.
Luna, however, thought it was feasible.
"We can adopt names similar to our current titles, and then add a favorite food at the end. It's a distinctly human style. When we first introduce ourselves, we'll be able to recognize one another."
The eyes of several Divines lit up.
"You're the one with the brains."
Marionette Actor was the first to announce her favorite food: "NaCl!"
"..."
The group turned to look at her in unison.
This blatant trolling was unbearable.
"What are you looking at me for? I really do love eating NaCl. I have to eat ten pounds a day or I don't feel right."
As she spoke, she pulled a popsicle from her pocket. Once opened, it was revealed to be nothing but pure NaCl crystals. She grabbed a spoon and began shoveling it into her mouth with an expression of pure bliss, even asking if the others wanted a few scoops.
The others looked as if their throats were parched just watching her; some even looked ready to gag as they hurriedly declined.
Ancient tales spoke of "imaging plums to quench thirst." Now, they were "watching salt to choke the nose."
"Put it away. We get it, you're impressive. Even the King of Salt wouldn't dare eat like that."
After Marionette Actor tucked the salt away, the group exchanged names and then went their separate ways to prepare.
For the next ten years, at least, they wouldn't be able to enjoy being human. These twenty-four hours were for savoring those memories.
...
During her twenty-four hours of reflection, Luna didn't do much.
She arrived at the designated starport and stood before a massive warship, waiting for the clock to run out.
Occasionally, someone would pass by her—people boarding ships to flee the fourth dimension. Watching those panicked crowds, Luna felt a sense of disconnect for the first time in reality, much like in a virtual world.
These people were like NPCs; only a tiny fraction were actually taking action.
"Relying on a small minority to solve the problem... the upper brass is far too idealistic."
True Lord had followed her, still busy manipulating a virtual screen in front of him.
"Weren't you going to collect data?"
True Lord only ever thought about gathering various data before a war.
"Data can be accessed anywhere there's a network. It's no hindrance."
"Don't change the subject."
"A Civilization is powerful because of the collective. Conflict between Civilizations is, ultimately, a conflict of collectives."
"Do you think we'll succeed this time?"
Failure would mean the death of every single one of them. In four-dimensional space, at such a vast distance from this Star City, there would be no way to retrieve their consciousness.
Luna noticed his hand movements; it looked as if he were constantly dragging a video seeker. Previously, he would watch like a movie, a staunch advocate for never skipping a single second.
"An individual certainly cannot defeat a collective. I also believe that pinning the hope of victory on individuals is foolish."
"However, are we truly individuals?"
Luna posed a question. This question forced True Lord to contemplate.
Did they count as individuals? What attributes should an individual possess?
"Within a collective, the individual is always swept along by the current. That is why the individual is so utterly helpless."
Luna didn't wait for True Lord to answer. She continued.
"As for us, we are beings who have left the collective, yet we do not belong to the category of individuals. Because while we have left the group, we are simultaneously wielding the group's power."
Divine power!
The source of a Divine's power was not the individual self. When an entity can mobilize the energy of a collective, that entity should no longer be viewed as a mere individual.
"You're quite the philosopher. You could probably go for a philosophy certification."
True Lord's eyes remained fixed on his virtual screen. He appeared unchanged, yet the hand on the progress bar had stopped moving.
Even a Divine knows fear.
This was the first time Luna realized that. She had assumed all Divines were like her—devoid of any feeling toward their own death.
When did it start? Her indifference toward everything.
It seemed... it had been that way since her memories began. She didn't care about her own death. She knew this wasn't normal, but she didn't know why she thought this way.
Was she lacking necessary emotions?
No! At least in her memories, when her parents died, she had wept bitterly. After entering Hyperdimensional Space, she had felt profound sadness and grief during many missions.
And yet, she felt nothing regarding her own demise.
She found this state of being difficult to describe.
...
The twenty-four hours passed.
The others arrived one after another.
Stationed before them was only a single warship.
Not a single Divine complained. They had endured situations far more dire than this; a single warship was already quite a luxury.
One Sword Immortal descended from the sky, roaring loudly as he strode toward the vessel:
"My beauties, I shall avenge you!"
Luna remembered that his "beauties" were all swords—lifeless cold weapons. This guy was a fanatical cold-weapon enthusiast who had eventually gone as far as to modify his own body into one.
"Hey, don't you get a certain feeling?"
"Why is it that we're always surrounded by such weirdos, while everyone else is perfectly normal?"
True Lord, having witnessed this scene, decided he would never speak to One Sword Immortal again.
"Mhm, I feel it too."
Luna also decided to find an opportunity to kick this guy out of the team.
They entered the interior of the warship.
They soon discovered that this warship differed from those of the past.
It was the internal structure.
Row upon row of chairs were laid out there. Connected to these chairs were countless pipes leading to unknown locations.
[0273]
A row of numbers appeared before Luna's eyes.
True Lord grumbled: "Automatic mosaic?"
Then, turning to Luna, he asked: "I'm number 1122. What's yours?"
"0273!"
"Then we'll be separated!"
"Mhm!"
Neither of them was the type to seek out conversation. True Lord was more like an autistic child immersed in his own world, though the things he immersed himself in were somewhat comical.
Each made their way to their respective numbered seats.
Luna noticed that these numbers weren't assigned randomly, as the seats were clearly designed to fit her body's proportions perfectly.
Lying back felt very comfortable.
Then, a cluster of sharp spikes from the backrest pierced directly through her body. These spikes were soft; they probed back and forth within her, eventually finding her nerves and connecting to them.
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
The sound echoed all around. Before Luna could even process what it was, she felt it herself.
THUMP!
Her head took a heavy impact. A cranial drill had opened a large hole in the back of her skull, and then an object roughly the size of an arm connected directly to her brain.
"Can't they just use an external interface?"
Luna heard someone grumbling. It sounded like Bubu is not No-no.
However, she didn't have time to dwell on it. Whatever was connected to her brain had already stimulated her cerebral cortex, forcing her into a state of sleep.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, she arrived in a completely alien world. This place was devoid of objects, a landscape of pure, blinding snow-white. Numerous Divines stood scattered around her in this stark space.
The girl-like phantom reappeared.
"Welcome to the project—though it's not as if you had much of a choice."
"A total of 1,519 ordinary soldiers and 197 officers have gathered. Though the numbers are higher than the previous count, there are still those who harbored the hope of escape."
With a sharp click, several images appeared before the group. They showed a few Divines fleeing. The perspective was first-person. It appeared they had left the Star City, escaping into the depths of the four-dimensional universe.
No one knew if these images were virtual or real, but it was clearly a threat intended to instill dread.
Just as the fleeing Divines reached an unknown distance, their bodies suddenly began to shatter. Their desperate screams echoed back.
"I know you feel no attachment to human Civilization. You believe that Hyperdimensional Space has given you nothing but pain."
"But you must remember: everything you do is not merely for the Civilization standing behind you now, but for yourselves as well."
"You are part of this Civilization. All of your information is stored within the mainframe. If the Civilization dies, your data will vanish. That, in turn, means your final death."
"You are the Civilization's most powerful warriors. You might ask what you have gained by becoming soldiers. I can tell you clearly: everything you have experienced is the reward you have earned."
"Human Civilization numbers over a hundred quadrillion people. The vast majority of them are trapped in narrow spaces their entire lives, existing through quiet, mundane routines. Your experiences, however, differ from almost everyone else in the Federation. That experience is invaluable."
Deceptive words.
A real threat.
This was not the life they had chosen. The Divines were virtually immune to such rhetoric.
But none of that mattered; it was merely an excuse for the operation. The claim of doing it "for yourselves" translated directly to: you have no choice.
Luna felt an inexplicable disgust at this feeling of being controlled.
Yet she also knew that, besides them, no one else could possibly complete such a mission. Their existence was a necessity, so now they were being sent to experience death in this manner.
The things Luna understood, the other Divines knew just as well.
No one questioned, no one protested; the silence in this space was somewhat terrifying. No one showed any emotional reaction.
Ayla looked over them all.
In her heart, only one phrase described them.
Qualified weapons!
But being qualified weapons did not guarantee success.
Many factors beyond human control could cause the mission to fail. Thus, even Ayla could only silently pray that this plan would reach completion.
She spoke to the people below: "The equipment for this plan was provided by a scholar; he will explain the points of caution to you."
Ayla then faded from the screen, replaced by another face.
Kandi appeared on camera looking very formal. He spoke with righteous conviction: "This is a perfect plan. It is impossible for my plan to fail in any way. As long as you follow my instructions, humanity can defeat this powerhouse."
He paused halfway through.
He waited for a moment.
Realizing there was no applause.
Then he continued: "So, what must you do? You must survive by any means necessary!"
"Once you have entered the enemy's body, think of nothing. Do not consider how to defeat the foe. Just stay alive; as long as you live, anything is possible."
"What if you are discovered? Then commit suicide immediately. Do not hesitate. Do not give the enemy the chance to analyze or understand you."
Ayla had expected him to drone on or rant like a madman about various convoluted schemes.
Surprisingly, he was quite rational.
Madman Kandi was not, after all, truly insane...
"But truthfully, I believe this plan cannot perfectly annihilate the enemy. If the plan fails but a portion of you remain undetected, your best course of action is reproduction!"
"As long as you reproduce in sufficient numbers and reconstruct the ideology of your descendants, you can influence the opposing civilization, thereby aiding all of humanity."
Ayla felt she should retract her previous judgment.
These words should probably be struck from the records. What kind of method was this? At first glance, it seemed to have some merit, but if a civilization could be changed through such means alone, it would be far too simple.
Never mind Ayla, even the Divines below were now looking at Kandi with skeptical eyes. Could it be that this plan wasn't rigorous at all, but just something the higher-ups dreamed up on a whim?
Ayla, of course, wasn't about to say: "Congratulations, you guessed right."
She cut off Kandi's communication link and then proceeded to introduce the machinery's principles in the form of a technical manual.
[ This machine is essentially an awareness projection device. It extracts consciousness and projects it into the enemy's body. Accuracy is not a concern; based on previous battles, we have discovered that the density of hostiles within the enemy warships is extremely high. Essentially, every shot is a hit. ]
[ Upon entering an enemy body, you will undergo a struggle for physical control. This requires your consciousness to actively manipulate and devour the enemy's awareness. Through this, you may gain the memories of the occupied body, though it is also possible those memories will vanish for various reasons. ]
[ Observations show that after seizing another life form's flesh, the usurper will experience a period of integration, also known as the trance phase. The duration is uncertain; we cannot specifically gauge the strength of consciousness, so we cannot provide specific data on how long you will remain in this trance. The shortest recorded event is only 17 seconds, while the longest reached 73 hours. ]
[ You can feign illness; since this is a large-scale consciousness parasitism, faking sickness might allow you to escape detection. ]
[ Having covered the points of caution, we now turn to your primary objectives. ]
[ Collect intelligence on the enemy civilization, decipher their language and social habits, understand their organizational structure, and learn their technology. Utilize that technology, once your Divine power is restored, to inflict lethal damage upon the enemy fleet. ]
[ The enemy only dispatched this single fleet. Unless they are arrogant, it implies the majority of their forces are pinned down elsewhere. Thus, this battle will buy us more time for exploration within four-dimensional space. ]
[ Perhaps you do not care for such things, but I must say: regardless of whether the plan succeeds, your names and achievements will remain forever in the history of human civilization. ]
Not a single Divine was moved.
The dead are simply dead; no amount of glory can be anything more than vanity. Even if recorded, time would slowly erode those traces.
[ One final point, and the most important: do not expect to secure your freedom by defecting to the enemy. Hyperdimensional Space technology is far beyond your imagination. Remember that! ]
This was the only exclamation mark in the entire briefing.
Then, the text ended in that manner.
The Divines showed no emotional shift; this mission was fundamentally no different from those they had faced before.
The only thing that surprised them was the reappearance of the young girl's projection, who spoke to them.
"The launch is about to begin. The reason you were brought here was not only to facilitate consciousness delivery but also to slow your perception of time, ensuring you maintain your current peak state."
"The warship has closed within 100 AU of the enemy fleet. Good luck!"
The space was now divided into over a thousand segments.
Each individual stood independent within a stark, snow-white space. A countdown appeared before them.
Watching the numbers drop, every Divine and super-officer stood ready, adjusting their mental state to the optimal frequency.
As the count hit zero:
[ Consciousness Delivery Initiated ]
Instantly, they lost all sense of existence.
Perception of time, space, and all physical matter vanished. It might have been a mere instant, or perhaps minutes, hours, or even days had passed.
From within the void, they sensed something else.
It was a sensation they had never experienced before.
But every Divine knew what it was.
That was the consciousness they had to defeat!
...
"Who am I?"
This was the first thought that entered Luna's mind as she regained her senses.
Without flesh to serve as a carrier, consciousness itself was pure, devoid of any mnemonic material.
It was much like the concept of a soul. Some believe that a soul retains resentment after leaving the physical body; however, if the soul is a separate entity, distinct from biological matter, how could it possibly retain things stored within that body once it has departed?
Now, as a pure consciousness entity, Luna didn't even know she was named Luna.
She had forgotten her mission as well. She was like a newborn infant—a blank sheet of paper.
Then, she collided with an object.
An object just like her.
This object was not a blank sheet of paper; it resided within flesh or some other vessel. It carried things with it; it possessed distinctiveness and aggression.
The moment Luna's consciousness struck it, it launched an attack.
It is worth noting that even if consciousness is a blank sheet, that doesn't mean it acts like a truly cold, inert object, allowing itself to be destroyed at will.
Consciousness, ultimately, is a collective of perception, emotion, and awareness; it's just that everything lacked memory and experience to serve as a medium. Only instinct remained.
Therefore, upon being attacked, they instinctively resisted.
This resistance seemed somewhat too forceful for the enemy. Luna found that the opponent was like a bubble being pricked—utterly fragile.
Or perhaps, she was simply too powerful!
And it wasn't just her.
There were the other Divines as well.
Every Divine was incredibly powerful in this regard; their perception, their emotions, and their awareness were all formidable to a terrifying degree.
...
City of the Sword of Decapitation.
Ayla ordered everyone to retreat first, while she simultaneously utilized the dimensional gateway to transmit the bulk of her data back.
Kandi, who was supposed to be leaving, suddenly questioned her.
"Why is the consciousness of those individuals so powerful? Have you done something to them?"
Commonly, a creature's consciousness has a fixed capacity; it doesn't grow because of time or other factors.
According to previous research, consciousness isn't a balloon that expands when you blow air into it—the more you blow, the larger the expansion.
Consciousness is actually like a simple glass of water; the size of the glass is determined from birth. However, throughout a person's life, even over tens or hundreds of thousands of years, they can never fully fill this glass.
Yet, the size of the consciousness and the contents within it are what determine the victor in a clash of wills.
This was observed through experimental monitoring.
Consciousness also manifests as electrical signals. A more powerful consciousness triggers more violent oscillations, with an immense differential between the crests and troughs of the waves.
Kandi had never seen anything like it.
He watched those people enter his machines, monitoring the numbers jumping on his displays.
Those consciousnesses were far more powerful than ordinary life forms; the gap between an ant and a human wasn't even that vast.
He was a madman, but he wasn't a fool.
"They are exceptional soldiers."
Ayla didn't answer Kandi directly.
But Kandi looked thoughtful.
He didn't know about the existence of the Divines, nor did he know about the super-officers.
"I understand."
After saying this, Kandi left the office.
Ayla had no idea what he thought he understood. She had no desire to delve into Kandi's memories; in this world, only one person held the status to make her proactively seek out such things.
But if Kandi were clever enough, he would be able to grasp the meaning hidden within her words.
She truly had altered those Divines and super-soldiers.
From the moment she discovered consciousness in the super-microscopic world over at the Eternal Cycle star nation, she had launched an exploration plan. Perhaps the Eternal Cycle star nation could not replicate it a second time, but the Federation could.
Later, the Super Force also provided her with assistance, allowing her to draw one step closer to the super-microscopic world and touch true consciousness.
She intentionally fused consciousnesses together, creating a massive consciousness group, much like the information Damoro had discovered and described.
The existence of the consciousness behemoth had inspired Ayla.
Afterwards, she began to experiment on life itself.
Through countless attempts, she bestowed upon the Divines true "godhood."
It was precisely because of this that when she heard what Kandi had done, she knew it was feasible.
However, this technology was far from being that simple.
Consciousness possesses no memory; so how would the projected Divines regain their memories and know the plan?
Even Ayla felt it was quite ingenious.
Although she had made the Divines' consciousness powerful, it was like making the walls of a water glass infinitely thicker; the amount of water it could hold remained the same. This wasn't Ayla's intentional design, but rather a limitation of current technology.
However, there was a path forward.
It was because of this direction that the current plan could be successfully implemented—something Kandi had not considered.
Ayla called this emerging technology "Consciousness Sculpting."
By carving specific patterns onto the consciousness—patterns that weren't overly intricate or complex—certain specific information could actually be encoded.
Thus, this plan was not as simple as a mere consciousness launch.
It required launching specific information along with the consciousness. This information would fall into the specific sculpted patterns, which would then translate the data back into their original memory information.
This involved various technologies, specifically the current human application of the Super Force.
Information exists within the super-microscopic world; once combined upon these patterns, they transform into macro-world signals.
Human civilization had already previously deciphered the biological signals of four-dimensional life.
The Divines and super-officers waiting in that space earlier wasn't just to endure the passage of time; it was also for a psychological and conscious reconstruction.
In fact, Kandi must have had his suspicions, or he wouldn't have asked those questions.
Precisely because Kandi was a madman, he was able to ask these things; a normal person wouldn't go searching for these secrets.
...
The deep void of the fourth dimension.
The enemy fleet.
These were warships that constantly shifted their states.
Based on over 2,000 years of human research, these warships changed because that Civilization continuously flipped the faces of the fourth dimension into the third, second, and first dimensions.
It was like a 2D image containing a 3D hologram that kept rotating.
Because humans are three-dimensional, they can imagine each of its faces or even its overall shape; however, if a human were two-dimensional, they would be unable to conceive of how "height" exists.
Of course, as the technology of a near-top-tier civilization, it wasn't just a simple rotation.
It was truly making length become width and width become height, involving the fundamental alteration of the object's shape.
In the fourth dimension, within the science of this Civilization, the warships appeared as clusters of water-like matter.
Each tiny part of their warships seemed to undergo this transformation independently, rather than changing as a single whole.
It wasn't a water droplet, but an irregular blob of water: water that shifted its form at will.
Luna defeated the consciousness.
Instinctively, she occupied this vacated physical shell.
She desperately craved a body, much like a homeless person longing for a home.
She seized that empty vessel, and subsequently, she gained perception and regained her memories.
"So, I am Dudumu."
This was the voice in the depths of her consciousness.
As for the entity known as Dudumu, it was no different than before; there had only been a momentary lapse.
A change in consciousness cannot alter the internal biological information of the body.
Just like replacing a battery in a computer: would the data inside the computer change?
Perhaps there are changes, such as fluctuations in voltage or power levels, but these are variances the computer was already designed to handle. Even if an anomaly occurs, it is so microscopic that it remains insignificant to the whole.
Currently, Luna is Dudumu, and entirely so; there is no discernible macroscopic difference from the previous Dudumu.
Memories, emotions, and perceptions are all intact.
She is inside the warship.
Deep within a tiny cellular unit.
She is not piloting this warship, nor is she performing the duties of a technician.
She is the warship.
In her civilization, everything is composed of life, composed of themselves.
They are their own tools; they are their own weapons.
As a constituent member of this vessel, she must constantly regulate herself, coordinating with other members to ensure the warship functions with flawless precision.
They possess something akin to a shared hive consciousness; any information they broadcast can be heard and relayed by others. However, unlike a true collective mind, they can switch this at will: transmitting only what they want others to hear and closing off private thoughts.
This is a very unique trait: independence!
Not all civilizations possess this characteristic.
"Relocate to the rear!"
Dudumu received a signal, and subsequently, her body was surrounded and propelled toward the rear.
The concept of "rear" doesn't technically exist in the fourth dimension, but she knew it referred to the opposite direction of the current coordinate axis of flight.
Everything was orderly and systematic.
By this time, Dudumu had already grasped the operational principles of this warship.
It functions by releasing energy through a continuous, dynamic process.
The warship definitely lacks a rapid acceleration rate, but that doesn't prevent its velocity from accumulating until it reaches its peak.
277,000 kilometers per second!
It wasn't that they couldn't go faster.
It was simply that beyond that speed, the warship's mass would undergo minute fluctuations, fluctuations that reached the structural tolerance limit of each individual unit.
In other words, exceeding 277,000 km/s would transform this exquisite creation of a near-top-tier civilization into a crude, haphazardly patched-together vessel.
The current speed represented a perfect equilibrium.
Immediately after.
Dudumu felt an attack.
A beam of radiation struck the section of the ship where she was located.
However, that beam failed to penetrate even a single individual.
The radiation's energy was absorbed directly by the warship itself.
The surface of every individual was coated in an incredibly thin layer of medium: a medium with an exceptionally high threshold for energy resistance.
The medium dispersed the energy, which was then absorbed by each individual to replenish any lost power.
The energy storage capacity of each individual unit was also terrifyingly high.
To put it succinctly, it held 19.8 sextillion kilowatt-hours.
That is equivalent to 730 million times the value of a single Federation Energy Credit.
A single warship was composed of tens of billions of such individuals.
A Type 2.8 civilization can produce 2.777 octillion kilowatt-hours per second, or 875.7 decillion kilowatt-hours per year.
Converted, the energy capacity of a single warship is equivalent to the fuel output of a Type 2.8 civilization for 20,000 to 100,000 years, depending on whether that civilization is Type 2.80 or 2.89.
Energy in the fourth dimension and third dimension certainly differs, but because every object in the fourth dimension has an extra dimension, even if the total energy is infinitely greater than in the third, the energy consumption of a single object is also infinitely higher.
Therefore, when input and output are factored into the formula, the third and fourth dimensions are, to some extent, equal.
Even if humans use four-dimensional energy while in the fourth dimension, it is infinitely more powerful than energy in the third.
The energy disparity only manifests when attempting to transfer four-dimensional energy to the third dimension without loss, but in reality, that is impossible. A three-dimensional object moving to the fourth dimension is granted a fourth dimension, and a four-dimensional object moving to the third is reduced to three dimensions; this can be considered a dimensional reduction loss.
"Wait, electricity? Kilowatt-hours? What are these things?"
Dudumu also absorbed this energy, and subsequently, she discovered she had gained some strange new knowledge.
This knowledge began as a tiny trickle and then became a surging river pouring into her mind.
A few hours later.
Luna regained her composure.
"To think they relied on this kind of thing to transmit my memories to me."
"But how could they guarantee that my memories would take precedence, rather than Dudumu simply receiving a segment of data while this body remained Dudumu?"
Luna felt there were still many scientific matters she didn't fully understand.
Previously, she had heard that human civilization's technology was still stuck at Type 2.5.
The New Federation had only been established for a hundred thousand years; moving from Type 2.4 to Type 2.5 was already considered rapid progress.
But now, she harbored some doubts: Was human civilization truly still just a Type 2.5 civilization?
A civilization's energy level can be objectively measured by a standard, but by what standard is a civilization's technological level measured?
Regardless, these were not matters for her to ponder.
At this moment, she only wanted to understand everything about this four-dimensional civilization.
In truth, no communication was necessary.
Because she already possessed all the memories of this body.
By simply searching her own memories, she could find the answers.
This four-dimensional civilization was called Home.
The existence of this civilization was dedicated to building Home.
Home was a place similar to a Dyson sphere; they immersed their bodies in the oceans of stellar nuclear fusion, devouring stars like locusts.
When a star was consumed until nothing remained, they called it the destruction of Home.
They couldn't actually consume an entire star; once a certain portion was devoured, the star would collapse, and they would leave before that happened.
According to the records.
Their entire civilization had already consumed four generations of stars.
Even if they only devoured 10% of each star's volume, if it were a yellow dwarf like the Sun, it would be enough to sustain them for hundreds of millions of years.
Fourth generation.
This meant the civilization's age was incredibly ancient: not even counting from the birth of the Home civilization, but starting from when it reached Type 2.8.
Even with such an immense span of time, they still couldn't reach the pinnacle of civilization?
Forget Type 3, they hadn't even reached Type 2.9.
Time, it seemed, was not an absolute metric for judging the strength of a civilization.
Luna continued to search for related information within her memories...