Chapter 86: Inferiority of Civilization_1

Chief Ji had the driver bring over a large hammer; the driver swung the hammer down hard on the Black Square.

Jiang Yu and Chang Weisi moved closer to inspect it, but not even a white mark was left.

This made Jiang Yu think of "The Waterdrop," though "Black Square" was much larger than "The Waterdrop."

Jiang Yu crouched down and touched the "Black Square," it was very smooth, a bit like freshly peeled lychee flesh, very sleek, yet incredibly hard.

He muttered to himself, "You damned things, why do you all like to flaunt your power in this way?"

Chief Ji asked, "What?"

Jiang Yu, realizing his slip of the tongue, lied, "I said I felt an indescribable power from the 'Black Square.'"

"Yeah," said Chief Ji, "damn it, it's bad enough that those aliens from Trisolaris four light-years away are threatening to sterilize us all, but to think we have this thing right under our noses!

"What do they take me for? Playdough? To be shaped however they wish?"

Jiang Yu and Chang Weisi exchanged glances; it was the first time they had seen Chief Ji angry.

Chief Ji took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mood, "Let's go, time for the meeting."

The meeting took place in a spacious military tent; there were already a dozen people present. Chief Ji took the seat of honor, with Jiang Yu and Chang Weisi sitting beside him.

The meeting started with Chief Ji pointing to Jiang Yu and Chang Weisi, "I believe you all recognize these two, so I won't introduce them further. They will be joining our group, and one of them might even become your direct superior.

"Alright, do you have any new findings?"

Jiang Yu glanced at Chang Weisi. He suspected that everything to do with the "Black Square" might be delegated to Chang Weisi, because Chief Ji hadn't approached him for a conversation yet, and likely wouldn't assign him responsibility for this matter.

Then he suddenly felt a bit helpless; just this morning he was happy that things were back on track, only to have trouble stir up by the afternoon.

An elderly man with white hair said, "We still have too few clues at hand; so far, we only roughly know the volume of the 'Black Square.'

"None of the detection instruments have been able to penetrate the surface of the Black Square, and now we don't even know whether it's hollow or solid.

"Hence, we suggest that before any new discovery, we should first make a reasonable conjecture about the construction or formation of the 'Black Square' and then perhaps guess who the builder is, or the process of its formation."

Chief Ji nodded, "Having a notion is better than nothing at all."

The old man was evidently the leader of the group, he continued to report, "Our main debate is currently whether the Black Square is naturally formed, or constructed by ancient people?

"Group Leader Xu and a faction of scholars believe that the 'Black Square' is an artifact created through special, now lost, techniques by the ancients.

"The key now is to clarify the Black Square's manufacturing technology, as well as who crafted it as soon as possible."

The elderly man stressed the words "ancient people," seemingly intending to convey to Jiang Yu and the others that he was referring to "ancient humanity"!

After these words, a man in his forties nodded, Jiang Yu deduced that he must be Group Leader Xu.

The old man continued, "Another faction of scholars believes that this is a natural product because the fabricating techniques, which are beyond even modern technology, would have been nearly impossible for ancient people to possess.

"Moreover, up to now, all models of the universe are founded purely on logical forms."

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"Who knows if in the creation of the universe, the Milky Way, the Solar System, and Earth, something similar to the 'Black Square' was produced?"

Chief Ji looked at Chang Weisi, then at Jiang Yu, "What are your opinions on this?"

Jiang Yu glanced at the recorder in front of Chief Ji. He had been listening so attentively to the elder's speech that he hadn't noticed when Chief Ji had turned on the recorder.

Chang Weisi said, "I think we should start with the material. Only after we've clarified the material can we find further clues and make further speculations."

Jiang Yu spoke up, "To enhance my professional expertise, I have studied history for some time, and I believe we can essentially rule out the hypothesis that the 'Black Square' was constructed by ancient people."

Group Leader Xu and a few others whispered to each other for a moment, but soon the meeting table fell silent again.

Jiang Yu continued, "As far as I know, over three thousand years ago, our ancestors began to keep records with inscriptions on metal."

"If such a large project came from the hands of our ancestors, there would certainly have been sacrificial activities. As long as there were sacrifices, there would definitely be records."

"Even if the project was carried out before the invention of writing, there would be some legends passed down."

"But now we have neither records nor legends. Moreover, the productivity of the legendary age could not have completed such a massive project."

The elder who had spoken earlier asked, "Does Mr. Jiang think that the 'Black Square' was naturally formed?"

"No!" Jiang Yu denied, "I believe everyone already has the answer in their minds. It wasn't built by humanity, nor is it a natural product!"

Group Leader Xu suddenly got excited, "We all know about the Trisolarans, but we can't attribute everything to aliens!

"We have created a splendid civilization, a glorious history!

"The 'Black Square' is on Earth; it must certainly be a product of human creation, just that we don't know the specific technique yet!"

Jiang Yu said with a smile, "Group Leader Xu, don't get worked up. Speculating about such things requires a bit more imagination. Everyone, let's not pressure ourselves too much.

"So here's another guess, might there have been a prehistoric civilization on Earth before? Could the 'Black Square' be their product?

"Sorry, my earlier speculation about aliens was rather rash, after all, there's a huge loophole in that hypothesis—none of us has ever seen an alien!

"If aliens capable of building the 'Black Square' ever existed, even if they have left, they definitely would have left some of their artifacts on Earth."

The expressions of Group Leader Xu and the others softened a bit. Compared to aliens, they seemed more willing to accept the hypothesis of a prehistoric civilization.

Jiang Yu suddenly raised his voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, the more we encounter things that are hard to understand, the more we must ask everyone to open their minds! Let your imaginations soar, and then substantiate with reasonable arguments!

"The universe is much vaster and more complex than we imagine. We shouldn't limit ourselves to thinking only about humans and nature!

"I know the appearance of the Trisolarans has made everyone very anxious, fearing that our civilization might be heading for extinction!

"Now, with the discovery of the 'Black Square,' we're also afraid that there might be problems with our civilization's own 'footprints,' causing an identity crisis!"

Having honed his speaking skills over the past two years, Jiang Yu made a sweeping gesture to express his firmness, "As Group Leader Xu said, we have a magnificent civilization, a brilliant history.

"Please, let us not feel inferior about our civilization. Facing our shortcomings bravely is the way to show our courage!"

This speech prompted enthusiastic applause from everyone, particularly Group Leader Xu, who clapped while quietly sighing in relief, as if a certain part of his heart had become much more resolute.

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