Chapter 291: Extraordinary Beings
The concept of democracy could be categorized into many types, ranging from ancient republics to modern parliamentary systems and even authoritarian democracies.
Jason waved his hand, signaling that he didn’t want to get bogged down in political theory for the time being.
He asked, "So, do you accept my Gene Philosophy hypothesis?"
Lily thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "It sounds logically sound, but we have no way to verify it right now. We can only incorporate it into cosmic sociology as a working hypothesis..."
She continued, "According to your logic, only species whose genes contain philosophical directives beyond mere ’survival’ and ’reproduction’ possess a fundamentally greater evolutionary drive. They are the ones with a real chance of crossing the Great Filter... Is that right?"
"Such exceptional civilizations would be incredibly rare. Therefore... Interstellar Civilizations are equally rare."
She rested her chin on her hands, deep in thought. "With other philosophical elements hardcoded into their genes, their every move and way of thinking might be completely alien to us, right? For example... the Viridian Civilization? After all, we’ve never observed their society in action. It would be fascinating to study them... We don’t even know what they truly look like or how they think. You’ve interacted with that flesh sphere, though... do you think its Gene Philosophy differs from ours?"
Jason nodded, agreeing with Lily’s reasoning, but he couldn’t quite articulate the exact difference.
"Genes..."
At this point, the conversation had grown incredibly heavy. A strange chill crept into Jason’s heart. When every aspect of a species was reduced to genetic programming, it felt as if humanity’s free will was just an illusion.
Genetics was inherently elusive. With current Federation technology, the idea of artificially engineering a fundamentally new, beneficial philosophical gene was a pipe dream... a power reserved for the gods.
But what if they took that thought a step further?
How could a philosophical goal be programmed into biological material? A philosophical concept capable of overriding the primitive instincts of survival and reproduction to change the future behavior of an entire species. What kind of mechanism was that?
How could abstract philosophical goals be physically encoded into DNA? Philosophy is a concept... not a physical substance!
Jason felt the idea growing increasingly absurd, yet a primal sense of awe washed over him, as if he were staring into the face of a deity. An inexplicable panic gripped him, and he couldn’t even pinpoint its source!
In that instant, a flash of terrifying inspiration struck him.
"Isn’t there a theory about the origin of life on Earth... the panspermia hypothesis?"
"Life might have evolved naturally, but what if it didn’t? What if it was seeded by meteorites, carrying carefully programmed genetic material..." Jason stopped mid-sentence.
His voice was terribly hoarse, his throat completely dry.
...Was humanity truly born that way? Programmed from the start?
The two locked eyes, a profound sense of unease and bone-deep chill settling over them. They didn’t know what to say. An eerie silence filled the room.
Jason couldn’t even begin to fathom how philosophy could be biologically engineered or integrated into genes... The concept was a chaotic, terrifying mess.
In that moment, the vast, boundless tech-tree of civilization, specifically the branch of "philosophy"—finally revealed a tiny corner of its immeasurable expanse!
Glimpsing it was an indescribable shock! Even this tiny peek revealed a silent, crushing intimidation that threatened to shatter the minds of the two.
Even if humanity eventually learned to create and edit genes at will, even if they could patent genetic sequences, so what? Could humans ever alter the fundamental "philosophical thinking" of a species through genetic manipulation? Could they program how a species would think millions of years into the future?
It was too difficult, too far beyond their current reality.
What exactly was "biological philosophy"? Could a civilization actually climb that technological branch? The Federation knew absolutely nothing about it; just gazing at the concept from afar was enough to induce panic and existential dread.
Were there truly civilizations out there in the cosmos... capable of climbing the philosophical tech-tree? Such beings could no longer be described with simple terms like "powerful" or "advanced."
Jason suddenly remembered a report Peter had submitted to him long ago. Most reports of that nature weren’t practically useful and were treated more like interesting sci-fi theories. But the section regarding Interstellar Civilizations was deeply fascinating. He had pondered it for a long time.
One section read:
[The universe is fraught with danger. Interstellar Civilizations often categorized as L-level civilizations are not the ultimate apex of the cosmos.]
[The disparities between civilizations are so vast that each evolutionary filter represents a massive qualitative leap.]
[With each qualitative leap, you feel the infinite insignificance of your own civilization, inadvertently glimpsing an even more unattainable peak.]
[You may laugh at the primitive insects crawling in the dirt, but higher beings are laughing at you.]
[As civilizations develop, the gap between different tiers of wisdom becomes so vast that it is incomprehensible, even to your advanced intellect!]
[The gap is so distant that it inspires absolute despair—a despair so deep it extinguishes any motivation to move forward. We can traverse light-years and cross galaxies, yet we cannot bridge this mirage-like chasm...]
[Yes... they exist.]
[Extraordinary Beings.]
[...Their mere existence is enough to send shivers of madness through our minds.]
[To them, what is the fundamental difference between us and those lowly insects in the dirt...?]
This was the description of cosmic hierarchies provided by the extraterrestrial entity known as "Black." It depicted a tier of civilization far superior to standard Interstellar Civilizations.
At the time, no one in the Federation could truly grasp the weight of those words. They simply assumed that Black’s civilization wasn’t strong enough, and was just expressing awe at more advanced empires. Humanity didn’t feel the crushing reality of that gap.
Jason had even secretly mocked the declining Interstellar Civilization, wondering if they were just being overly dramatic and sentimental.
But now... he understood.
The sheer weight of the realization left him speechless. He stared blankly at the wall.
In the vast universe, there are countless civilizations. Across the boundless expanse of time and space, trillions of sentient species have risen and fallen. Yet, out of those trillions, there were always a few supreme races that transcended the cosmic filters time and time again, becoming the first to reach the ultimate shore.
They were the apex civilizations of the universe. Their defining achievement was that their philosophy had reached its ultimate conclusion. the longest and most punishing branch of the technological tree.
They had established the ultimate unified theory, unlocked the true meaning of "existence," and ascended to a higher-dimensional reality.
To them, survival and death were merely trivial footnotes in the grand scheme of philosophy. Every other civilization, regardless of their technological milestones or the complexity of their social structures, whether they were star-faring empires, primitive tribes, or subterranean reptiles were fundamentally identical in the eyes of these beings due to their philosophical naivety.
Their way of thinking was entirely beyond human comprehension.
The gap in intellect was like the difference between ants and humans. No... it was infinitely larger than that. The difference could only be expressed by something as incomprehensible as Graham’s number!
It was a chasm too vast for the ordinary mind to process. A fish in a bowl does not know the true depth of the ocean. It wasn’t that the universe was small; it was simply that lower civilizations lacked the wisdom and knowledge to comprehend the true vastness of the cosmos.
Yes, they existed.
The mere existence of such beings was enough to send shivers of madness down the spines of the empires that had actually broken free of their planetary wells—the Interstellar Civilizations. But to ignorant, primitive species trapped on their home worlds, these higher beings were completely invisible.
Such civilizations were known only as... "Extraordinary Beings"!
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