Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 249 An Unprecedented Giant Building

Galaxy Calendar 3165, Eternal Star.

“因施奈奈大学者，现在时间是银河历3165年17863时4分75秒，恒久历时间5376年4月36日……好生活AI为你服务。你今日的行程有……”

Upon opening her eyes, the built-in robotic arm inside the sleep pod deftly dressed her, and the sleep pod that had been restraining her opened smoothly. Her boots stepped onto the floor, and the small autonomous robot floating beside her promptly informed Inshnaena of the time and prepared her itinerary.

About seven thousand years after the destruction of the legendary home planet of humankind, human activity was no longer confined to the tiny solar system, but spread to more than 12 star systems within a range of more than five thousand light-years, with more than four hundred thousand administrative planets, and the number is increasing every day.

Among these countless stars, some administrative planets have populations of only a few hundred people, with a very small number of researchers and settlers in extremely cold and frigid environments; others have populations of over 100 billion, with buildings densely distributed throughout the sky and on the ground, and a population density of over 1 million people per cubic kilometer.

"A towering sword, like a magnifying glass, ripped the sky apart, its blade pointing directly at the stars..."

On planets known as "urban worlds," humanity has maximized the use of space. Colossal building complexes, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, pierce the sky like sharp swords, coldly displaying the awe-inspiring power of human ingenuity.

Cities are planets, and planets are cities.

Correspondingly, in order to adapt to this vast human territory, human life and political mechanisms have also undergone extremely drastic changes. The inability to exceed the speed of light has made it impossible for the vast human civilization to be unified, and instead, a situation of various divisions has emerged.

Among these stars, you can see medieval pastoral landscapes as well as highly mechanized urban worlds. Political systems range from commercial city-states, theocratic dictatorships, aristocratic empires, electoral republics, and slave oppression... Every social system and structure that has appeared in human history is represented in this starry sky.

Even the simplest way of recording time has changed.

Humans preserved the system of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds as much as possible, but two calendars developed: the Galactic Calendar, used throughout the galaxy, roughly follows the rotation of the Milky Way as one era, with one era divided into 1 million years, each year consisting of 22000 hours, each hour 60 minutes, and each minute 60 seconds, closely adhering to the original time scale in its most basic minute and second dimensions, only omitting the sun and moon. The other is the indigenous calendar used by each planet, specifically setting years, months, days, and hours according to its own unique lifestyle and needs.

By mastering the galactic calendar, you can still grasp the changes in time on an astronomical scale while traveling between different planets; and by mastering the local calendar, you can know when the sun rises and sets.

On this eternal star, one of the most famous scientific research planets in the entire Milky Way, Inschneider is also one of the most renowned scholars.

"Inspired by the scholar, Professor Schneider..."

The scholar, with a cold expression and hurried steps, ignored the crowds who greeted him, summoned the autonomous machinery, and then flew across the planet filled with magnificent buildings on the disc-like machine.

Before him, the massive, densely packed buildings that pierced the clouds even obscured the stars. The clouds only reached halfway up them. In fact, the inhabitants of the Eternal Star had not seen stars or space for two thousand years. Those buildings, which were tens or even hundreds of kilometers high, had long since completely blocked out the sun.

However, there's no need for sunlight; the planet's weather changes and light regulation are entirely under human control, managed by a dedicated agency. Deep within this planet, its scorching core has even become one of humanity's energy sources.

Morning and evening sunshine and rain, thunder and lightning—natural phenomena once considered the authority of the gods—are now no more difficult for humans than turning on a light.

This is an era of unparalleled glory, with humanity standing atop the galaxy, and the children of the stars growing into masters of the stars. But for this great scholar, humanity is still a little short of becoming a creator, a god of creation, and it is he who will soon fill that gap.

"Please accept the authorization..."

"puff!"

Faced with the AI ​​machine attempting to check authorization, the scholar didn't even glance at it. With a casual tap, the AI ​​machine, whose core had been invaded by massive amounts of data and information, automatically retreated.

"Bang!!!"

Relying on his genetically modified body, he forcefully broke through the security door in a barbaric manner that was completely out of character for a great scholar, leaving the ground littered with debris. Before him, a scholar who was doing his research looked up.

He didn't seem surprised at all when he saw the broken door.

"Oh, Inshnaena, what brings you here..."

"I solved it!"

The scholar put down what he was holding and was about to say something when Shi Nainai abruptly interrupted him.

solved?
The scholar was stunned for a moment, then he realized what was happening and his face showed surprise.

"you mean……"

"Correct."

"They actually found a way???"

Because Shi Nainai didn't speak again, her cold eyes held a deep sense of arrogance.

Knowing Inschneider's personality well, the scholar did not question him further, because he knew that the guy in front of him was a complete perfectionist. He would never tell the outside world without testing the theoretical model dozens of times to ensure that it was flawless.

"That's incredible... Are you planning to discuss this at the Eternal Star Science Conference?"

The scholar was surprised and then pressed for further information.

"The Eternal Star Science Conference? Ha, my result is not something the Eternal Star Science Conference can decide. You should understand that."

"Then you mean..."

"The Supreme Scientific Conference for Humanity".

"You're going to build it?"

"Otherwise, why would I spend forty-three eternal years designing it?"

The scholar, stunned by Innernai's ambition, was speechless and asked a question, but the renowned scholar was clearly not wrong; his eyes were filled with only fanaticism and ambition.

The scholar paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and said.

"Alright, we can try our best to win over the scholars of the entire planet Hengjiu. If all the scholars on Hengjiu approve of it, then the chances of it being adopted at the Supreme Science Conference of Humanity will be much greater."

Hearing her friend's words, the scholar named Inshina curled her lips into a smile.

……

Approximately 3000 galactic hours later, a new session of the Supreme Human Science Conference began.

More than a million scholars from over 400,000 administrative planets have gathered here. Each scholar is an absolute authority on their respective planet, a great figure that is one in a trillion people on average. But on this proud and enduring planet of the galaxy, their glory is only so-so.

Here, scholars from all over the galaxy exchange their opinions, and in this age that reveres science, their unanimous decisions are enough to overthrow any interstellar regime.

Here, however, one person's issue overshadowed almost everyone else's.

"My fellow scientists, our science has stagnated!"

Within a mental network that transmits information at near the speed of light, a eccentric scholar roars before millions of other scholars.

"No matter how many more scientific conferences we hold, it will be to no avail. In this cold void where the speed of light cannot be exceeded, our science has come to a standstill. We cannot continue like this; we must change this reality!"

Because Shi Nainai's remarks were just like his personality—always so rough, wild, and stubborn—yet his wisdom was enough to convince everyone.

However, it is clear that not everyone thinks this way.

“No, I don’t think so. I think our science is still progressing, just slowly at most.” Within this spiritual network where the spirit can materialize, a scholar shook his head and objected.

Seeing the scholars refuting her argument, Inschnaina did not directly refute them, but instead asked a question first.

"Ununomo scholar, could you please tell everyone which star system and planet you came from?"

"Sector Twenty-Seven, Green Swamp Planet."

How far is that place from Eternal Star?

"62.8 light-years away, Inschneider scholar."

The scholar, referred to as Ununomo, was polite and answered Inshnaine's questions fluently.

Because Shi Nainai nodded.

"Scholar Enpuhum, can you tell everyone which star system and planet you come from? How far is it from Eternal Star?"

"Sector 76, Planet Shattered Diamond, 185.6 light-years away, Scholar."

"Scholar Ziezan, can you tell everyone which star system and planet you came from? How far is it from Eternal Star?"

“Eighty-three-star zone, Yellowstone planet, 171.2 light-years away, scholar.”

"..."

“Sector 159…288.3 light-years, Scholar.”

As Inschnaina asked questions one by one, the scholars, some from several light-years away and others from hundreds of light-years away, had all traveled for nearly a century and spent long periods of hibernation to reach Eternal City and attend this once-every-hundred-years scientific conference.

Ultimately, the scholar who was furthest away from the entire scientific conference appeared.

“1,588 star sectors…1357.6 light-years, scholars.”

Among the many scholars, one calm scholar bowed and said.

Even Inshina stopped talking.

1357 light-years is an extremely long distance, meaning that it would have taken the scholar more than a thousand years to reach the planet Eternity.

"If I remember correctly, the Supreme Science Conference of Humanity was announced 2900 galactic years ago. Even if the news keeps spreading to you, it will still take 1357 galactic years."

"Yes, scholar, you are right. It was only about 1450 years ago that the 1588th star sector received news of the Supreme Human Science Conference. Our star sector spent nearly a hundred years collecting all the scientific and technological achievements of the 486 administrative stars within the entire star sector, and appointed me to attend the Supreme Human Science Conference. However, it seems that many of the scientific achievements we have summarized are outdated. It is a pity that we were unable to help you."

The scholar spoke calmly, but the content was anything but calm.

Humanity has only used the Galactic Calendar for 3165 years, and the Eternal Star has only been established for about 1,500 Galactic Years. In other words, almost immediately after the establishment of the Eternal Star, in the distant starry sky, one of the most remote star regions received the news and immediately dispatched the best scholars in its star region, bringing all their scientific achievements, to participate in this supreme scientific conference of humanity, the outcome of which was unknown to anyone.

“Scholar Mamgumidona…you don’t really need to waste your time.”

Mamugumidona shook his head.

"No, because of Scholar Schneiner, I don't think my arrival was a mistake. Although many of the scientific research results I brought are outdated, we had already considered this before we set off. However, we firmly believe that among the collective wisdom of all 486 administrative stars, there must be unique insights belonging to the people of our star sector that can help the scientific progress of humanity throughout the galaxy."

Because of this, the scholar, who had always been arrogant and conceited, looked at him for a while, and then the scholar bowed solemnly to the scholar in front of him.

Mamgumidona did not shy away, but accepted Inshnaine's respect with equanimity, because this respect was not for him, but for the entire sector he represented and all the scholars who had devoted themselves to their work.

Then Inschnaina raised her head, looked at the many scholars in front of her, and spoke.

"Fellow travelers, our science has stagnated. In this universe where the speed of light cannot be exceeded, we are forced to disperse. Scholars can only discuss their findings in extremely small areas, and the entire universe is filled with repetitive research and waste. Not only scientific knowledge, but even those ambitious warlords cannot overcome this barrier of light-years."

"My companions, my dearest friends in the world of science, we must find a way to change all of this..."

Discussions in the mental network are incredibly fast, nearly a million times faster than verbal discussions in reality, but even with such efficient discussion speed, the passage of real time cannot be slowed down.

Three hours later, this session of the Supreme Science Conference came to an end.

Following the decision of the Supreme Scientific Conference of Humanity, all human nations within the communication range received a message that was half command and half threat.

No human nation would refuse this news, after all, no human nation could withstand the retaliation from scientists who possess countless advanced technologies.

After all, this is an era where science reigns supreme.

……

In a galaxy 23 light-years away from the star Eternal.

A dazzling blue giant star, its brilliance is hundreds of times greater than that of the Sun. It is the brightest star in the universe, but its extreme brightness and heat also make it extremely easy to exhaust its energy. It usually has a very short lifespan, only tens of millions of years, which is extremely short among stars that often have lifespans of billions of years.

But for scholars, this is not important at all. All they need is a star that is large enough to support their goals, since they already have ways to maintain the lifespan of blue giant stars.

"Build a super artificial planet large enough to orbit the entire blue giant star and be powered by the blue giant star? Are those people at the Supreme Science Council insane?"

Upon seeing the news, many human nations felt that these people, whose minds were always filled with unspeakable thoughts, had finally gone collectively insane.

However, the Supreme Scientific Council had its own detailed plans and engineering drawings, as well as the technology specifically designed to build this massive structure.

"This super-man-made structure will be unprecedentedly large, many times larger than any building we have ever seen or known."

"Even if a normal planet is built into an urban world, its population capacity is only about one hundred trillion. This is basically the limit. Even if a planet is larger, it will not exceed a hundred or ten thousand times that. This is the limit of the naturally existing planets in the universe. This is also the limit of the natural products that the universe can create."

"But if the power of the universe can't create a more suitable planet, why don't we build one ourselves?!"

"Look! A super artificial planet, trillions of times larger than the largest administrative planet in the human world! This planet will be able to accommodate the entire population within five thousand light-years!"

"If the planets in one star system are not enough to build this behemoth, then we will use ten, a hundred, even if it means extinguishing the stars and dismantling tens of thousands of planets, we will still build this unprecedented behemoth!"

In the mental network, facing millions of scholars, Inschnaina spread her arms wide and laughed wildly without restraint.

"Gentlemen! Let us be the creators!!!"

Some readers may not understand what this giant structure is. You can search "Ring World" on Baidu or play a game of Stellaris.

It's roughly a space structure built around a star, resembling a ring, only with an extremely large surface area.

Imagine a circular headband encircling the sun; it would roughly look like this, except that this headband would have a diameter exceeding 100 billion kilometers and a surface area exceeding trillions of trillions of square kilometers, trillions of times the area of ​​the Earth. And on this curved surface with a surface area exceeding trillions of trillions of square kilometers, there would be oceans, an atmosphere, mountains… and a population inhabiting the area.

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(End of this chapter)