Chapter 362: A Small Universe

Senya wasn’t very old, at least, by current standards in which life sciences had advanced so far that every intelligent being possessed a lifespan of at least a thousand, or even tens of thousands of years, it could only be considered a child. Among the scientists qualified to attend this meeting, only Jason of the Luka race was younger than it. However, Jason was a scientist from the psychosocial division, whereas Senya belonged to a different field.

At this moment, on Senya, Xiao Yu saw many things, confidence and sharp brilliance were the most prominent. In a fleeting moment, Xiao Yu seemed to see a reflection of himself from the Earth era.

“Back on Earth, I was just like this.” Xiao Yu sighed silently. “I only clung to my own convictions, always dismissive of my elders, looking down on so-called authority. That… wasn’t great. In the end, I ended up with no friends, and my personality was a big reason for that. But it’s fine. For young people, having an edge is a good thing. Here, I am the one in control.”

“Silence.” Xiao Yu said somewhat sternly. As soon as the word left his mouth, the meeting room instantly fell quiet. “Alright, continue.”

He gestured for Senya to proceed.

Senya bowed deeply to Xiao Yu with heartfelt gratitude and said, “I would like to ask you a question. After using Space One, a spatial rift appeared in the three-dimensional universe. So then, why did that rift gradually disappear afterward? Even if there was no matter in front of it, even if it didn’t strike any target, it still couldn’t avoid vanishing?”

“That question is easy to answer.” Xiao Yu said. “Although we haven’t fully grasped the exact mechanism behind the process, based on inference, I believe it’s because space itself has a healing ability. Just like when a wound appears on a living being, over time that wound gradually heals and disappears.”

Some of the scientists exchanged glances and gave subtle nods.

What Xiao Yu said was exactly what they themselves believed. At present, this was the only explanation for the phenomenon, and it was both highly reasonable and consistent with all current observations.

Xiao Yu knew that Senya definitely had something more to say. This question’s answer was known to all the scientists present, and of course Senya would know it too. That it raised this question meant it was surely trying to lead into something deeper.

Luka Three gently closed its eyes. Its brain had once again entered a state of rapid processing. It was trying to deduce what Senya’s proposal might be. As an authority in the science and technology division, it had to respond to such a challenge.

“Very good.” The confidence on Senya’s face grew even stronger. It waved its hand, as if to reinforce its argument, “Based on the messages left behind by the Trolor Civilization, and our own deductions, we know that the small universe we currently reside in was split off from the greater universe. I believe the separation process was based on a mechanism similar to that of Space One. So here’s the key question, why do spatial rifts gradually heal, but this small universe, torn away, cannot remerge with the greater universe? I believe that once we fully understand this question, we will find the way to return to the greater universe.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes narrowed sharply. That question was indeed critical. Luka Three suddenly opened its eyes wide, clearly, it too grasped the importance of the issue.

It had already been confirmed that their current small universe was orbiting the greater universe, and that it often intersected with it. But why couldn’t this small universe remerge with the greater universe? If the two could be reintegrated, then the whole question of escaping the small universe would become moot, because being in the small universe would be equivalent to being in the greater universe.

Xiao Yu had already understood what Senya was trying to say. However, he still couldn’t be certain whether this path was truly the correct one. But there was one thing he had to admit, Senya had indeed pointed out a line of thought he had previously overlooked. Not only he had overlooked it, Luka Three, Luka Four, and all the scientists from the science and technology division had overlooked it as well.

Why did they always assume they needed to escape this small universe? Why couldn’t they instead find some way to merge this small universe with the greater universe? As long as the two fused together, the small universe would become part of the greater universe, and naturally, they would have returned to it.

Luka Three also had its pride. However, its devotion to science made it choose to support Senya’s view, “I must admit, we truly did overlook this. Moreover, there’s another benefit. Trying to drive the fusion between the small universe and the greater universe is more feasible than attempting to break through Four-Dimensional space to escape this small universe. At the very least, we don’t have to rack our brains figuring out how to influence a Four-Dimensional space that we’re not even familiar with.”

Xiao Yu gave Luka Three a slightly surprised glance. Its behavior today was a little beyond Xiao Yu’s expectations. Starting today, Xiao Yu had gained a deeper understanding of who Luka Three was.

In the past, Luka Three’s words in the field of natural science were taken as absolute, and the facts had always proven Luka Three to be right. No one had ever dared to challenge it before. But today, it happened, and through this challenge, Xiao Yu also came to appreciate the greatness of Luka Three’s character.

Senya posed a great threat to it, but Luka Three still chose to uphold the truth. Upon realizing its own oversight, it admitted it immediately, without excuses, without using its authority to suppress the matter.

“With such aides by my side, why should I worry about not thriving?” Xiao Yu thought with great satisfaction. At that moment, the heavy weight on his heart suddenly vanished, and his confidence surged once again.

“Excellent. Very good.” Xiao Yu nodded slightly and said, “Senya, present your idea in full. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Making mistakes is a privilege of the young. Even if your idea is wrong, it can still offer a reference for others and broaden their perspectives.”

At that moment, the meeting room fell into total silence following Luka Three’s candid admission of oversight. Everyone looked at each other, unable to speak.

Only the leader of Species Number Two sat tall and straight, beaming with pride. It thought to itself, “Hmph, and the leaders of Species Number Nine and Number Eighty One still dare to compete with me over the ownership of City 310 in the Home Sixty One ship? After this meeting, let’s see if you still have the nerve to challenge me.”

Space and resources aboard the Home-class ships were not unlimited. Moreover, due to differences in location and initial construction environment, cities varied in size and status. Species Number Two had long been in dispute with Species Number Nine and Number Eighty One over the ownership of City 310 on the Home Sixty One ship. That dispute had dragged on for quite some time, even reaching Xiao Yu. But he had not issued any formal ruling, merely telling them to resolve it amongst themselves.

Seriously, bothering me with such trivial matters? That had been Xiao Yu’s thought at the time.

The other scientists present were feeling somewhat awkward, especially those who had just mocked Senya. But clearly, Senya had not taken any of it to heart.

Upon hearing Xiao Yu’s instruction, Senya continued, “The reason I had this idea came from the effects of space-based weapons. I believe the difference between a spatial rift and a separated space boils down to this.”

As Senya spoke, it issued a command to its terminal. Immediately, the three-dimensional projection device once again projected an image of a sheet of white paper.

“This represents a complete two-dimensional universe.” Senya explained. With a gentle swipe of its finger across the paper, a rift appeared. “This is the damage caused by a space weapon.”

As the rift appeared, Xiao Yu sharply noticed that it was gradually shrinking, as if the white paper itself possessed a self-healing ability.

“Under the inherent healing ability of space, this wound is gradually disappearing.” Once the wound vanished, Senya extended its finger again, this time drawing a circle. As a result, that portion of the two-dimensional world was completely separated from the larger two-dimensional world. It became an independent fragment, detached from the original large universe.

Senya spread its hands and said, “That’s the difference between a spatial rift and a separated space. It’s simply a matter of scale. Now that we’ve mastered space-based weaponry, we actually possess this capability too. With some modifications, we could use space weapons to slice off a smaller universe from the small universe we currently reside in.”

“There’s a crucial point here, unlike a biological body, which can’t reattach a severed limb, cosmic space isn’t like that. I believe that, given space’s inherent ability to heal, even if two portions are completely separated, they will ultimately merge again, just like two puddles of water, like this.”

Senya spoke calmly. As its voice fell, the separated piece of the two-dimensional universe gradually rejoined the larger two-dimensional universe, seamlessly merging until they were indistinguishable, just as if the wound had never appeared.

“This is my hypothesis.” Senya said evenly. “We don’t need to escape this small universe. We just need to identify the reason it can’t merge with the greater universe, and eliminate that reason. Then, our small universe will merge with the greater universe, and we will have returned to it. It’s that simple.”

“Senya, what you said makes a lot of sense. Perhaps the truth really is as you’ve described. I believe… I may already have a hypothesis about why the small universe cannot merge with the greater universe…” Xiao Yu said after a moment’s thought.