Chapter 40: The rescue and the plan (bottom)
loud, “Yes, that is entirely true. That would explain why they didn’t directly consume us when
we humans also have metallic substances in our bodies… Somehow, these plants could tell that
we are sentient beings.
“That is the biggest difference between us and the creatures on this planet. The animals here
are vicious but simplistic; we on the other hand, are complex. We have the ability to think and
to have a civilization…”
Suddenly, the intern screamed. The room stared at him as he continued with a dumbstruck look
in his eyes, “They’re the product of civilization! When the alien civilization created these plants,
they must have infused them with some kind of limitation, just like how we have three laws of
robotics! Because they are too powerful in nature, their creators must have added restrictions to
prevent them from harming beings with sentience and civility. They are able to detect these
qualities by attuning to other organisms’ brainwave frequencies. If the frequency reaches a
certain level, they would be able to tell that said creatures are civilized… That’s why they won’t
harm us directly! They assume we are their creators!”
This hypothesis introduced a sliver of hope to the people within the conference room. The more
they thought about it, the more they felt like it could very much be true.
A heavily bearded scientist suddenly asked, “Is it possible that these plants themselves are
controlled through the power of the mind? To put it in another way, could we use some sort of
machine to control these plants by amplifying the brain power of its wearer?”
That possibility had the scientists talking. Speculations and hypotheses were thrown all over
the room. In some cases, the discussion was so intense that it led to serious arguments. After
ten minutes of such controlled chaos, the female scientist clapped her hands a few times to
reign in everyone’s attention, then she said, “Folks, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let us first
review what we have hypothesized so far.
“First, this plant species does have a hive mind, a feature that was probably put in place when it
was created. It is used to control the functionality of this plant in case it grows out of control.
Also, it acts as a system for easier reporting and surveillance…
“When The Hope space-warped within the vicinity of this planet, the plant’s hive mind detected
our presence. Using some mysterious method, probably through the attunement of brainwave
frequency as the young fellow has said, it could tell that we are a sentient civilization. Then
they probably sent out some kind of brain signal to alert us that they are way over their
harvestable period.
have been shown to be able to do almost miraculous activities in extreme situations, so it is not
without precedent.”
“Then is it possible to get the man to tell the plants below the Hope to leave?” asked a man
standing beside the female scientist. Without waiting for an answer though, he shook his head
defeatedly.
Another scientist butted in. “That is absolutely impossible. As it has been said, the man
probably entered this state unconsciously, so what are the chances that he could manually do it
again? Even if he could replicate the experience, as you’ve seen on the video, the area of plants
he could control was only one hundred meters wide; that is very small when compared the
actual size of the Hope. Unless we can get a few million people to be able to do what he did, the
plants that he evacuated will just return after he moves away from the spot.”
This time, even the female scientist was greeted with a dead-end. There appeared to be no way
out anymore.
To everyone’s surprise, the young intern who had previously spoken started talking again.
He felt himself acting as the vessel of the voice whispering in his ears, because the words were
not his but the voice’s.
“Dear professors and instructors, it is my belief that the word ‘absolute’ shouldn’t exist in
science…”
He had the attention of the room now, but instead of wilting under it, he seemed to be gaining
traction as he continued,
“It is our common belief that every single planet has its own unique ecosystem and interspecies
relationships. It is wrong to use one framework to understand them all. For example, a deadly
virus on Planet A could be a source of vitamin for organisms on Planet B…
“We talked about lasers and acid baths because we were too trapped in our own tunnel vision.
Who could affirmatively say that things that are typically harmless to Earth’s plants will be
Contrary to what Yao Yuan had hoped, things hadn’t gotten clearer. While he was frowning over
the lack of development, Yao Yuan had a fit of inspiration and asked, “Jay, are you one of the 102
people who survived Virus X?”
Jay nodded cautiously, adding, “That’s true. I have been known to have a healthy disposition, so
that’s probably how I survived the ordeal.”
Jay started to sweat because Yao Yuan used an inordinate amount of time to process his answer.
Adding to Jay’s consternation, Yao Yuan then lifted Jay’s data file off the table and proceeded to
flip through it slowly. Finally, he asked a question that made Jay feel like the floor underneath
his feet was falling away.
“Mister Jay Wales, this whole file of yours is a lie. You are a liar. For example, you lied about
your level of education, am I right?”
Jay knew that he was found out and thus immediately launched into his explanation. “Major,
please let me explain. This is all a simple misunderstanding…”
With a flick of his wrist, Yao Yuan closed the file and shut down Jay’s weak defense. “Okay, I’m
willing to call it a misunderstanding, but first, you have to tell me, in specific details, what
happened in this video! Why did those plants appear?”
On the verge of tears, Jay replied, “Major, I already told you, I really don’t know what was
happening then…”
“Guards! Toss this man out of the Hope this instant!” ordered Yao Yuan as he made to leave.
“To inject the virus right into the heart of these plants, the central storage area so to speak, the
spot where all the collected materials congregate and where the largest energy crystal would
be. With that, perhaps the Hope could escape from the clutches of these plants and lift off into
space!
“However, the key problem is that we are unable to locate this so called heart. There was a
proposal to initiate all three nuclear generators as bait to lure it out, but these plants are
already so well-fed that even that might not be enticing enough for its heart to appear. Major,
that’s our latest update. We’ve tried the best we can.”
Yao Yuan thanked the scientists for their effort and turned to stare conspiratorially at Jay.
“Mister Wales, I believe everything is indeed a huge misunderstanding…. In fact, if you could
help the Hope with this one simple favor, I’ll personally make sure that it remains a
misunderstanding,” said Yao Yuan with an overtly kind smile.
“Huh?”
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