Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

The new order was based on pixels. An invisible fence, yellow and black, enclosed the square in front of the library, keeping out unauthorized visitors.

Although legionnaires were deployed in the streets outside, and chariots left white tracks on the ancient stone bricks, the Academy of the Muses Palace continued to operate as usual. The ice cream stand was also open as usual, and there were still students queuing.

"I can only take you here." The guard who brought him here bowed to him. The exclamation mark at the time of meeting him turned into a conspicuous question mark as he was led the way, and the question mark disappeared when they reached their destination.

This guardrail seems to be the boundary of "non-autonomous consciousness" and the boundary between wartime state and normal order.

He reached out and touched the guardrail—the edge disintegrated into fragmented pixels, allowing him to pass through unimpeded.

"It seems that they really won't stop me."

I looked up at the Library of Alexandria. Perched on a marble plinth, it was a bastion of civilization, and the Romans seemed to be doing their utmost to maintain order. But I could see that, in addition to the students and visiting scholars, there were indeed many more guards in the square. One guard was even queuing for ice cream—before becoming a member of the legion, they too had been students at Alexandria.

He felt his pockets. Actually, he'd brought along the drachmas he'd left over from last time as souvenirs, so he could join the queue when he came out.

"Speaking of which," Shangluo suddenly thought, "how do I get into the Library of Alexandria? Is that platform down there hollow?"

"No," Apollonia replied. "The Library of Alexandria is the original location. Although it has been renovated, it still functions the same way. You can just go in via the stairs."

Standing between the two statues of Muses, at the door of the library, Shangluo looked inside:

"Ah. Even if you tell me to just go in, I don't know how to find someone."

He discovered that the library seemed much larger than it appeared. The starting point of the bookshelves could be seen at the door, but there seemed to be no end in sight.

The bookshelf closest to the door was divided into X-shaped sections, housing the parchment scrolls. Each scroll bore a handwritten label identifying its title and contents. Papyri were stored in a cool cabinet, enclosed in slate glass and also displayed on the shelves. The paper books were further, further away. Further in, there was even an area for punched cassettes and records.

Chapter 250 The Great Library

There were many people here, everywhere. Between the bookshelves and the shelves, Roman students in their school uniforms sat quietly reading. It wasn't midnight, so they weren't wearing nightcaps; they just sat there. Their names were written above their heads, but there were no health bars, because they were in the safe zone according to the rules.

Shangluo looked up at his health bar—it was gone. This was an area protected by the Palace of Muse, so the health bar didn't apply.

"Forget it, I'll just ask someone."

Shangluo noticed a circular information desk at the front, surrounded by a circle of glass light boxes advertising new books. Apparently, the desk was added later.

"Excuse me." Shangluo stood outside the service desk and called out to the librarian closest to him. He knew it was the librarian because the word "librarian" was written above his head.

"Hello, what can I do for you? Eh?"

"Eh???"

Both of them were stunned.

"Karin, why are you here?"

Walking down the corridor on the second floor of the library, Karin led the way, clutching her notebook. She was wearing a school uniform, but on her chest hung a library staff badge. It had her portrait on it, along with her name, Karin Kelso, and her job title, "Librarian (internship)."

".I heard that Zhendan sent an envoy to inquire, and I wondered if it was you. I didn't expect it to be you!" Compared to last time, Karin looked much happier.

"So it was Mr. Titus who brought you here? How's he doing lately?"

"Yes. After you left, Sister Lin stayed home for one night before leaving. When she came back for the weekend, I went for a walk in the woods. I happened to run into Mr. Titus, who was cleaning up the scene. After hearing about my situation, he recommended the library job to me. But this time it's part-time, not full-time. I come three days a week, after class. As for his recent situation, he used to visit me occasionally, but he hasn't been here recently. They're working in Upper Egypt in the south, and they've been very busy lately."

"Lin, are you doing okay lately?"

"Ah, it's exactly the same as us. Sometimes I force myself to help with the housework, but she'll just lie there in bed, sleeping most of the day. Mom was wondering why she'd suddenly become lazy. While she was sleeping at home, I'd come to the staff lounge here for tea. Now everything's normal for me, and every day is fulfilling."

"Oh~~ Then you must have learned how to make mushroom soup, right?"

Karin fell silent. "I realize it's not a taste issue. I just can't seem to get the right temperature. Ahaha, ahahahaha. Oh, and look ahead. The meeting room is right in front of us."

Karin changed the subject. Shangluo didn't intend to ask further questions: After all, people always have some weaknesses. This is what makes people human, not some machine that runs on its own after being programmed.

Among the doors that were close to each other, Karin chose an unmarked door, pushed it open and entered.

Like the outside, the conference room in the corridor is also much larger than it appears. However, there is a window facing the outside, which means that at least this conference room is not a specially processed space, but a real area that corresponds to the building's facade.

The conference room was almost bare except for a long rectangular wooden table with two rows of chairs placed at either end.

Karin pulled out the center chair on the east side and said, "Come, sit here and wait a moment."

"Where is Emperor Augustus?"

"Her Majesty Victoria is online."

"What's happening?"

"Going online now. Oh, I forgot to mention it. Her Majesty Victoria's real body is still in Constantinople, and her mission there is not yet completed. She will not come here until the relocation of the capital is completed."

"how about you?"

"I'm actually an elf, remember? Elves are actually more comfortable here. Most of the staff here are elves, because only elves can provide guided tours in the infinitely extending library. That's why Mr. Titus recommended me to work here. The salary here is very good, 9000 drachmas every month."

"How much? 9000? What's going on here?"

"The price has gone up. The ice cream stand at the door has also increased its price. It's now 5 yuan each."

"It's only been a month, why has it become like this?"

"Hmm, I don't know. It was already like this when I arrived. Oh, wait, His Majesty is online now."

The space across from them suddenly trembled. A blue shadow slowly emerged from the void. The first thing to appear wasn't the emperor himself, but the Roman double-headed eagle banner, also a blue shadow.

Empress Victoria enters from "off-screen." A monotonous blue shadow outlines the Empress's form. She wears neither the imperial toga nor the imperial crown, but a narrow gown.

Her gaze lingered on Shangluo's face for a moment, then shifted away. She walked to the window and looked out.

The sky above the clock stretched out into the distance, its edge seemingly expanding. Soon, it would cover the entire skyline.

"My friend from afar, do you see that unfinished great work?"

"I saw it at Lake Nemi."

"You were the first to see it, because Cyberspace was first activated in the Sacred Grove of Lake Nemi. It was there, too, that it was disguised as Project Lighthouse. But after that, nothing could be hidden."

With that, she quickly walked back, pulled out a nonexistent stool, and sat down across from Shangluo. It seemed there was an identical conference room over there, and she was holding a meeting in her own. After she "came online," her projection appeared in the conference room here.

In comparison, Karin also seemed to be "online", after all, her family lived in the town of Arikia. But Karin's state was obviously much more complete than Victoria in front of her.

"Well, then, please introduce yourself. I am Victoria III of the Palaiologos-Isaurian dynasty, and I speak for Rome."

"I am Shangluo. I speak on behalf of the Taoist Ancestor." Shangluo did not say that he represented the "Ming Empire" because that was a matter of heaven and earth combined.

Victoria nodded. "I know you. This isn't the first time we've met. Sorry I didn't say hello last time. I also know why you came. Ming Zun wants to know what happened in Rome. So, please allow me to ask a question first: How is the Water Dragon progressing?"

"The launch is going to be in the near future, and everything is going according to plan. We have activated the torch in the new rocket, and this flight, while not foolproof, will at least have a much higher chance of success than previous ones."

"I wish you success—but things aren't going well here in Rome. We too have gazed up at the stars, but their depths were daunting. Even the New Antiochus, who abandoned us and practiced alone in the New World, failed to achieve success. This time, the New Antiochus didn't share any news with us, and I only learned about this from the news. It seems that civil war is inevitable."

Chapter 251 The Six Areas of Knowledge

"Civil war? Has it really come to this?" Although Rome has always been in civil war throughout history, it is too cruel to start a civil war simply because of a mistake in practice.

"So, your practice with the rockets is important, right?"

Victoria looked at him. "It's incredibly important. Because... do you know why Rome was divided into six parts?"

Apollonia had previously introduced the six points of Rome to Shangluo, namely:

The theurgic Constantinople—the seat of the Senate

Alexandria of Alchemy – Home of the Palace of the Muses

Delphi, the Astrological Oracle

And

Sociological Rome

Syracuse of Physics

And the ideal city that summed up all these "practices": New Antioch in America. New Antioch had a relatively higher degree of independence, because Rome's territory in the New World of America was named "Gran Colombia Viceroyalty", and New Antioch was the capital of Gran Colombia.

Here, Rome deliberately separated mystical centers from political centers. Political centers like London, Paris, and Seville did not serve mystical functions; Alexandria, Delphi, Syracuse, and even Rome itself were politically unimportant. They were not the capitals of any region and were even deliberately downplayed politically.

Besides Constantinople to the east, the only city that served both political and mystical functions was New Antioch. The skyscrapers of Manhattan are also an interpretation of modern life: a vast concrete jungle of neoclassical buildings, housing the Broadway Theater District and a vast rectangular central garden.

The Empire State Building is the crown of all these achievements. It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, it is the tallest building in the world at 442 meters if we only count skyscrapers. But when we expand it to all man-made structures, the antenna of the Songjiang Radio Tower is 30 meters higher.

If any city could have broken away from Constantinople and led the Roman Empire, it was New Antioch. At least there were no skyscrapers this tall anywhere else.

"Then... you might not be aware of the importance of 'practice' in this. Let me ask you another question: Do you know why Rome divided the sciences into six areas: theocracy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, and physics?"

[Oh.] Apollonia said, "She's going to tell you something very important. Listen carefully. I'm going to mute myself."

"I don't know about that." Shangluo shook his head.

"Well, you are the King of Rome, you are qualified to know this." Emperor Victoria took a sip of tea. The tea was on her side, and the model was not loaded here.

She pressed a button on the table, and the window through which she could observe the outside world turned into a mirror.

"The mirror symbolizes closure. Regarding the following conversation..." She glanced at Karin in the room, "Miss Karin, can we talk alone?"

"Huh?" Karin just realized that she shouldn't have been standing here in the first place. "Ah! Sorry!"

Victoria nodded kindly. She waited until Karin was out before pressing the second button—

"boom."

The entire wall next to the window has been turned into a mirror.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang."

In a series of sounds, the remaining five surfaces of the room also turned into mirrors one by one.

All that remained in the room were the table, the chairs, Shangluo, Victoria, and the flag behind her. Shangluo looked around. His face and figure were reflected in the mirror, the image replicated and replayed endlessly, stretching into the infinite distance. And every movement he made caused countless mirror images to follow suit.

"Absolutely sealed, absolutely safe. So, based on past research, all knowledge in this world can be divided into three categories: human knowledge, world knowledge, and light knowledge, or symbol knowledge. Combining these two categories, we arrive at six areas of knowledge:

"The study of the relationship between symbols and the world, the transmission and interpretation of meaning, is Semiotics, the divine art of the Three Great Arts. It includes the study of language, magic, runes, and the immortal world god, the divine machine. The divine art is the first of the Great Arts.

"The study of the relationship between symbols, of the symbols themselves, is called sigmotology, the alchemy of the Three Great Arts. This study, carried out in Alexandria, studies the permutations and combinations of elements, seeking the ultimate goal of the Great Art—the Philosopher's Stone.

"The study of the relationship between symbols and humans, the study of what it means to be human from the perspective of light (symbols), is semiotics, astrology, one of the three great arts. It encompasses the study of celestial resonance, astrology, and prophecy. Because of the human factor involved, it becomes infinitely complex. Our astrological research at the Oracle of Delphi uses the infinite to understand the infinite.

"The other three fields don't focus on symbols. The relationship between people, broadly defined as sociology, was studied in Rome. The relationship between the world and the world, the collision of rules, broadly defined as physics, was studied in Syracuse. The research in Rome and Syracuse was largely symbolic, as physics and sociology can be studied anywhere; they are merely decorative elements that complete the ritual. And finally, the study of people and the world is practice. All of this practice, our ideals, our dreams, are slowly unfolding in the new Antioch of Gran Colombia."

"And then, she cracked?"

"Yes." Victoria sighed. "New Antioch embodies our dreams, but it is also the farthest away from the light. Constantinople's domain is light and the world, while New Antioch's domain is people and the world. Light and people are the two closest and furthest things in the world. Should light or people lead the way? This is the most fundamental difference between Constantinople and New Antioch."

"Now, do you think that light should take the lead?"

"No. Our eternal dream is that one day humanity will no longer need the guidance of light, no longer need the mediation of light, but will rely on its own strength to understand the world. Helios Mithras was born in response to our dream, and he pursues this supreme goal just like us. That's why New Antioch is the dream of the entire empire. It is the practice of all our ideals. All our achievements, technologies, and theories are put into practice in New Antioch. That's why we built skyscrapers, central gardens, theaters, and art galleries there, where we can see all the good and beautiful things of humanity. But..."

"but?"

"People will die." Victoria said these three words slowly.

Chapter 252: Dark Night in Rome

"Everyone will die."

"But you won't." She looked at Shangluo. "Your hair—it's a sign of your ascension to a celestial being, isn't it? You've already stepped into the doorway to immortality. After the Water Dragon's success, you can still seek eternal life for everyone in the starry sea. But we...we gave up. Because there's no place for us in the starry sea, because there's no night in the universe."

"But we also say that the universe is 'Xuan Ye'. Isn't it all night?"

"That's one way of saying it. The actual definition is: the night is the Earth's shadow, and there's the moon in the night. But the moon isn't actually important at all; it's just Earth's satellite, isn't it? Looking for Earth's shadow in the vast sea of stars is a bit... a bit."

She covered her forehead. This was the reality she and countless Romans had to face. "Aurora's desire to find the sun is a noble ideal, because every star you see is a glorious and brilliant star. But we only have the tiny Earth, and we have to search for its shadow. Searching for the Earth's shadow in the sea of stars is such a narrow and pathetic path. But..."

"but?"

Victoria slowly raised her head, along with the infinite reflections in the mirror: "However, there is more than one path to eternity, and we already know what we must do. So I submit my credentials - this heart is bright, the moon is full and perfect."

"I've also read this letter. So, what does it mean?"

"It means to search for the Earth's shadow, the Moon, and the eternal night. We already know what we are looking for. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with Aurora again, because we understand that the road that belongs to Rome is not to the sky, not upward. But - downward! Now, please allow me to formally welcome you here." She looked into Shangluo's eyes, and Victoria in countless mirror images also looked at him:

"Friends about to journey to the 'vast heavens above', welcome to the 'infinite universe in a nutshell'. This is the cornerstone of New Rome, City Zero of Cyberspace. Welcome to Cybernia!"

The mirror shattered. The shining mirror collapsed, but the reflection did not disappear. Behind Victoria, he saw his own back. Looking up, he saw the soles of his feet, and looking down, the top of his head. This was a transcendent perspective he had never had before -

"This is?"