Chapter 461 The Law of Water Pumps

After more than 6 hours of flight, the Kunpeng-3 that Ye Zhou and Lin Ling took finally landed at a base in Lop Nur. According to the plan, Ye Zhou would stop by to inspect the nearby photovoltaic melting tower power station the next day, so this One night, the two stayed in the base.

At this time, the Lop Nur base was no longer what it was decades ago. Although the base was still closed in the depths of no-man's land, due to its super delivery capabilities, the two of them even had fruits that had just been airlifted from Lingnan. of lychees.

Lin Ling was reluctant to take them at first - she probably thought it would be difficult to transport a batch of lychees, and wanted to leave more for the soldiers here. Until night, she watched the cooking team throw baskets out one by one because of the changes in temperature and the transportation process. When the lychees were damaged by the bump, she belatedly ran to the freezer in the cafeteria and grabbed a basin full of chilled lychees. She ran to the yard in the middle of the camp and sat with Ye Zhou to enjoy the cool air.

The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is huge, but there are a large number of photovoltaic power generation devices near this base. After more than ten years of operation, the entire base has formed a small oasis. Therefore, although the night breeze is very cold, it is not Bitingly cold.

The two sat quietly in the yard. Most of the lights in the base had been extinguished. In this vast desert, starlight once again became the protagonist.

"Should we talk about something?"

Lin Ling asked tentatively while eating lychees.

Hearing her words, Ye Zhou felt vaguely funny, but for a moment he didn't know what was so funny. After thinking for a moment, he answered:

"You can talk if you want, but you asked this question. I brought you out this time to relax, not for a blind date."

A somewhat embarrassed look appeared on Lin Ling's face. She had really never thought about this, but after thinking about it for herself, the words she just said were somewhat easily misunderstood.

"That's not what I meant. Mr. Chen told me before that he wanted me to get in touch with you and then let you enlighten me. He said that you are growing very fast and you should be very experienced."

"I think what he said makes sense. You are only one year older than me, but your thinking is much more mature than mine. Is this also a talent?"

Ye Zhou shook his head and replied:

"This is not a talent. It's just that after experiencing some things, you will automatically, or have to, mature."

"As a common saying goes, with greater ability comes greater responsibility. When you start to truly take responsibility, it's time to grow."

Lin Ling hummed thoughtfully, paused for a moment and asked:

"Have you been through a lot?"

"That's too much, but I can't even tell you."

"I know, I won't ask about confidential matters. But thank you anyway. What you showed me today is more effective than all the treatments done by the psychiatrists in the past month."

"My structure is too small. It's so small that I'm trapped. In the future, I should learn some astrophysics and broaden my horizons - it's really easy to get into trouble by always doing microphysics. "

After finishing speaking, she put down the half-pot of lychees she had not finished eating, relaxed her body and sat back on the chair.

This was the first time in more than a month that she felt so relaxed. This kind of relaxation even made her feel a little confused.

She always thought that her mental problems came from a huge sense of crisis, but after today she discovered that the root of the problem was not a sense of crisis, but a sense of powerlessness.

That feeling of powerlessness of not knowing what you should do or what you can do.

Ye Zhou didn't answer her, and the two of them were silent. It wasn't until Lin Ling felt that she was about to fall asleep that Ye Zhou's voice suddenly came to her ears.

"What does the universe look like to you?"

"universe?"

Lin Ling was stunned for a moment, and then replied:

"Subjectively speaking, I think it's the same as everyone who studies physics. It's empty, cold, and a little romantic."

"I remember telling you when I first met you that I think the universe is a very lonely concept. There are so many planets and so many possible civilizations in this space, but in my case In this life, I may not even see one.”

"The universe is probably a dark forest for us humans? I actually quite agree with this concept. No matter what the purpose is, civilizations that are more advanced than us are probably hiding from us."

Hearing her words, Ye Zhou shook his head and said:

"I think you still don't really understand the meaning of adjacent dimensions. If you could truly understand adjacent dimensions, then you would definitely not say the term 'dark forest'."

"Why?"

Lin Ling's expression was a little confused.

Ye Zhou sat up straight from his chair and then said:

"To discuss this issue, first we need to determine a few basic principles."

"The first point is that adjacent dimensions exist, and there are many of them. Different civilizations will be born in each adjacent dimension."

"The second point is that there are differences in the technological levels of civilizations, but they are all constantly developing, and the purpose of development is to survive."

"The third point is that energy exchange can be carried out between adjacent dimensions, but material exchange cannot be carried out."

"The fourth point is that all known civilizations are based on matter, and there is no civilization in the form of pure energy."

"These four points are the basis for all our subsequent inferences."

After hearing Ye Zhou's words, Lin Ling thought carefully for a moment and then nodded.

"Judging from the current evidence, these four principles you mentioned are accurate."

"Okay, then, we can continue our inference."

"This inference process is very simple, and there are no complicated games or suspicions. To sum it up, there is only one sentence."

“When a civilization in any dimension develops to the point where it can control energy exchange across dimensions, they will prioritize absorbing energy from adjacent dimensions at all costs, until all civilizations in adjacent dimensions perish due to energy suffocation.”

"Why? They don't need to do this. According to the information you gave me before, the energy absorbed from adjacent dimensions is actually far inferior to the energy obtained directly from stars - even if it is to build a Dyson sphere? This is Isn’t it better than taking time and effort to absorb energy from adjacent dimensions?”

"They don't need to at all. Wait."

Having said this, a thunder suddenly flashed in Lin Ling's mind.

She suddenly understood the relationship between the four principles Ye Zhou mentioned.

In the physical world, the so-called "adjacent" is actually a broad concept. One dimension is adjacent to another dimension. It does not mean that the two dimensions are in a sequential relationship. On the contrary, this is a full-scale relationship. Adjacent, any dimension in it can touch all dimensions in this "adjacent dimension aggregate".

Therefore, when there are differences in technological development, a dimension with advanced civilization must have the ability to draw energy from any dimension with only backward civilization.

Then, the most critical factor arrived.

Material exchange is not feasible between dimensions, but civilization is based on matter.

Therefore, it is impossible for any civilization to enter another dimension. For them, another dimension will always be just their energy reservoir.

So, one day, when a civilization invents a water pump, what will they do?

Drain the cistern next door at any cost.

The reason is simple, because there is also a civilization in this reservoir, and this civilization will definitely pump water from the reservoir it is in regardless of the cost after clicking on the "water pump" technology tree!

Who cares if another reservoir lives or dies? Who would protect a place they will never reach?

The first need of all civilizations is survival. As long as survival is not threatened, any so-called "bad things" they do are justified!

So, the answer has been revealed.

As long as these four basic principles are not broken, the behavior of "drawing water" between dimensions and civilizations will never stop.

Seeing Lin Ling's expression, Ye Zhou sighed deeply. He knew that the other party had understood.

"So I say, you're wrong about the universe."

"In the same universe, no civilization will deliberately hide from other civilizations. On the contrary, all civilizations are like us, looking for allies all the time."

"In a war between dimensions, civilizations within the same dimension are actually a whole. Only by forming an alliance can we build a water pump as quickly as possible and have the ability to fight back."

"But the problem is that enemies from another dimension will not give us this chance."

"They are already one step ahead of us, and this step is the difference between life and death."

"This is what you said, the truth about the loneliness of the universe."

"We don't know how far away the so-called 'water pump' technology is from us, but it is obvious that we are still at least hundreds of years away from this technology. However, the other party will start to strangle us in 20 years."

"Do you know what this means?"

Lin Ling's expression became more solemn. She was a smart person, how could she not understand the meaning of Ye Zhou's words?

After a full minute of silence, she spoke:

"This means that the strangulation of our universe by adjacent dimensions has basically entered its final stage."

"Those civilizations that pose a strong threat to them have all perished, and now they are starting to free up their hands to deal with civilizations like ours that just 'have the opportunity' to build water pumps."

"I'm afraid there are not many civilizations left in this universe. We are now only 20 years away from the most advanced civilization at most."

"---wrong."

"Quantum ghost, or quantum probability cloud, what it sees is the outcome of the future."

"That is to say, on this timeline, neighboring dimensions will definitely take action against us, which means that the civilization that is 20 years ahead of us will perish in 20 years."

"By that time, we will be the most advanced civilization in the entire universe."

"Yes."

Ye Zhou lay back on the chair and stared at the starry sky above his head without blinking, as if he wanted to take in all the stars that had flickered since hundreds of millions of years ago.

After a long time, he spoke:

"Twenty years from now, we will not just be the most advanced civilization in the universe."

"And it is very possible that we are still the only hope of this universe."