Xiao Yu had to admit that Senya’s hypothesis had indeed opened a new door, giving him more possibilities to consider.
This was the relationship between habitual thinking and blind spots in thought. When a person is imprisoned in a cell and faces death unless they escape, their first instinct would probably be to figure out how to flee, to check if the door could be opened, to see if the window could be squeezed through, to test if the ground was solid and whether they could dig a tunnel out… Out of ten thousand people, it’s doubtful even one would think of simply dismantling the prison itself and merging the confined space with the world outside.
It seemed that subconsciously, people believed that compared to tearing down the prison, crawling out of a window or digging a tunnel was easier and more feasible. But when all those methods failed, dismantling the cell would become the only option.
At least at the beginning, Xiao Yu had not considered the option of tearing down the prison. Senya, however, had. This didn’t mean Xiao Yu was any less intelligent than Senya, this was merely a result of habitual thinking. Even without Senya, Xiao Yu would have eventually come to the same idea, but much more time would have been wasted.
“Before I speak about my own hypothesis, I have one more question.” said Luka Three, speaking up again before Xiao Yu could share his thoughts.
“Go ahead.” Xiao Yu said. Even though Luka Three had come out slightly inferior to Senya in this round of exchange, it was still far from enough to shake Luka Three’s status in Xiao Yu’s mind. Luka Three remained the most outstanding scientist in the science and technology division, and that wouldn’t change for now. Xiao Yu had to give weight to its perspective, something proven through countless instances.
“There’s another issue we’ve overlooked.” Luka Three said. “We don’t know the actual process of merging two different spaces. We have no idea if uncontrollable phenomena might occur during the fusion, such as the so-called time-space turbulence. We can’t be certain that we’ll even survive once the fusion is complete.”
“We can verify it through experiments.” Senya responded immediately. “Now that we’ve mastered spatial weaponry, our models suggest that we already have the ability to cleave a small universe out of our current small universe. Through such experiments, we can also study how to merge two different universes together.”
“Yes,” Xiao Yu nodded, operating his holographic projection, and said, “That’s what I had in mind as well. The concern is valid, and we must verify its safety through experiments before taking the next step. The experiment can also be used to test whether my hypothesis is correct.”
“What are your thoughts on why our small universe is unable to merge with the greater universe?” Senya asked respectfully.“The reason is simple, motion.” Xiao Yu issued a command, and the three-dimensional projection system immediately displayed an image. In the projection, a massive star radiated light and heat, floating in midair. About two meters away from it, a small planet orbited the star.
“We’re all familiar with this model.” Xiao Yu explained. “A planet orbiting a star. Due to gravity, the planet cannot escape the star’s influence, and because it has sufficient orbital velocity, it also doesn’t fall into the star.”
“This model is very simple. Let’s consider the planet to represent our small universe, and the star to represent the greater universe. We already know that gravity can propagate along the fourth dimension. It’s precisely due to gravity that our small universe orbits the greater universe. So… what if it’s because our small universe possesses sufficient velocity that it cannot fuse with the greater universe? Even if the two universes overlap, they would rapidly separate again?”
Through this experiment, they would also be able to validate critical issues, such as whether they could decelerate the small universe, and whether merging two different universes would result in catastrophic events.
“Alright, after such a long discussion, everyone must be exhausted. Go get some rest. Once the preparations are complete, I’ll summon everyone again to witness this great step forward together.”
“Understood.” the scientists nodded, gathered their belongings, and filed out of the meeting room, this place symbolizing the highest authority of the entire fleet.
Without question, the one who gained the most from this meeting was Xiao Yu. He had solved several longstanding problems and, for the first time, saw a clear and intuitive hope of escaping their current predicament. Aside from Xiao Yu, the one who benefited most was Senya. After exiting the meeting room, a few scientists, rarely the sociable type, took the initiative to greet Senya.
“Hahahahaha!” The leader of Species Number Two strode over quickly and clapped Senya hard on the shoulder, exclaiming, “Kid, not bad! You’ve brought great honor to our species!”
Senya bowed respectfully to its leader and replied with utmost courtesy, “Leader, this is my duty. To serve the Master and to serve our race is my honor.”
“Good, good! Now tell me, kid, how should I reward you? Hmm… a house? Wealth? Special privileges? Whatever you want, just say the word!” The leader of Species Number Two said heartily.
At that moment, the previously confident Senya, who had been bold enough to debate in the meeting room and even challenge Luka Three, suddenly became uncharacteristically nervous. Its facial skin flushed deep red, and its hands couldn’t help but fidget.
“Uh, um… Leader, your daughter… I mean, er… your daughter…” Senya stammered, clearly embarrassed, unable to finish the sentence no matter how hard it tried.
The leader of Species Number Two froze for a moment, then burst into thunderous laughter.
“Haha! So that’s why you’ve been coming around my place so often, you’ve taken a fancy to my daughter! Hahahaha!” The leader pounded Senya on the back, laughing so hard he nearly doubled over. Nearby scientists looked on, amused, at the thoroughly flushed and awkward Senya, which only made it more nervous.
“Old Rodel, Senya’s a good kid. I believe he won’t disgrace your daughter. This is a good thing.” Luka Two said, smiling warmly as he walked over to address the leader of Species Number Two.
Luka Two could be considered the direct superior of the leader of Species Number Two. As soon as Luka Two approached, Senya quickly bowed deeply again, while the leader curbed his laughter, though his eyes still sparkled with mirth.
“Well, since Lord Two has spoken, of course I’ll listen. But kid, if you want to pursue my daughter, it’s going to depend on your own ability. Feili’s the kind of girl who adores exceptional scientists. In that regard, you’ve got a pretty good shot. Of course, if you can earn the title of Number Five, I think the matter will be almost guaranteed. In any case, I won’t interfere in your affairs. How far you get, it’s all up to you two.”
“Thank you, thank you, Leader. Thank you, Lord Two.” Senya stammered gratefully, bowing over and over again. The flustered display made the surrounding scientists all burst into laughter.