Crimson Embers Chapter 34: Wrestling with God
"I saw with my own eyes in Utopia how Doom used a special method to extract the wreckage . At that time, I thought I had seen the entire picture of the End Star. I thought you were using the essence of various dead worlds to forge an unfalling star to protect the core members of the Council through the moment of the era change.
It turns out that I thought this matter was too simple.
In other words, I can’t imagine why the combined wisdom of so many of you would choose a project that seems safe but is actually extremely risky.
I still have a lot of doubts about this. For example, you have cycled through the fighting world thirteen times. Has this Doomsday Star been reshaped here thirteen times?
I learned from Doom that this thing is actually a marking core used to retrace the sacred timeline, right?"
In the activated facility of the Doomsday Star, Mason stood beside Tony Zero, looking at the tens of thousands of various data displayed on the large optical projection screen in front of him. Those were the function monitoring of the circulation device they had set up on the Doomsday Star. These data kept jumping, indicating that the entire device had entered the second half of the activation.
It would be difficult to stop it unless Mason could destroy the entire planet in an instant.
To be honest, it is not impossible, but simple destruction is meaningless. The Council's plan has never been centered on the star in front of them, but on a powerful guy hiding in their shadows.
If the captain wants to solve the problem completely, he cannot violently blow up everything he sees.
In response to his question, Tony Zero stopped being a riddler. He held a coffee cup, looked at the various data that kept jumping in front of him, and said:
“Your original guess was not wrong. Although the divine timeline was still relatively complete when the theoretical basis of the entire cycle system was proposed, we thought of the worst-case scenario when setting up this system.
Once the sacred timeline is broken or becomes so fragile that it can no longer withstand such a large-scale time reversal, then this Doomsday Star will indeed be used as a doomsday ark to survive the change of eras.
It is strong enough and has the dual characteristics of death and rebirth on a symbolic level, which makes it much more likely to survive the end of the cosmic era than other worlds.
In that sense, you have guessed part of the truth, but that is not how it normally works.
The doomsday world you see has collected the world characteristics of more than 500 dead stars. Its world power system has a minimum rating of A-level, and it is the essence of the essence in the parallel world system.
Having these world features can ensure that after the cycle is actually started, these essential worlds can be restored to their "alive" state, just like when you complete the computer system reinstallation, you should transfer important files to a safe partition in advance.
Therefore the Final Star was actually only cast once.
What you see now is its truly complete form, and only such a complete Doomsday Star can bear the ability to pull the entire universe back to the source point at the timeline level.
The previous thirteen cycles were just simulations of reality. Although we are in the fighting world, there is not much difference between falsehood and reality.
As for me, I watched the Hope Council fail thirteen times... The only difference is that the first twelve times I was the one who caused the failure, and the last time I was defeated by you, the person who represents hope and the future."
"Um?"
Mason blinked in surprise and said:
"So, your technology actually has a loophole, and there may be 'random packet loss' in this cycle? That's why you use the End Star as the loop anchor point for important stars?"
"almost."
Tony Zero took a sip of coffee and said:
“Although the previous thirteen cycles only occurred in the Dou Realm, each time a cycle is activated, it still causes huge space-time disturbances in the entire universe.
This process inevitably disrupts the rules of some marginal planes, causing them to disappear instantly like deleted data, and occasionally draws some "outside things" into this system.
For example, the Spartan interstellar nomads of the Tenth Fleet, and the Laughing Bats you have faced, they were all accidentally pulled into our closed universe when a certain cycle was activated.
There are many things like this. After all, if you repeat it thirteen times in a row, you will always see strange low-probability events. From these past experiences, it is not difficult to conclude that once the universe-wide backtracking takes effect, the entire sacred timeline will suffer severe damage and even cause space-time disorder at the cosmic level. Therefore, the End Star must be cast to this scale.
The characteristics of more than 500 essence worlds are enough to maintain the entire parallel world system so that it will not collapse too badly when the cycle is started.
But I really didn't expect that this low-probability event would actually bring real hope of breaking the impasse. The cosmic tuning fork hidden by the Laughing Bat completely reversed the bad situation we were facing.
The Council actually holds the key, but they are unaware of it, and ultimately the key to hope falls into your hands."
"You could be more clear."
Mason rubbed his brow and said:
"Doom has just confidently announced that he will adopt my method after the first great cycle starts, and make rational use of the cosmic tuning fork as the main body of the new plan from the beginning.
If his idea could be realized, then perhaps when the first impact occurred, the entire parallel world system would be able to survive this disaster that covered the universe safely.
There is no need for a second impact. With the combined wisdom of all of you, maybe you can reshape the universe and change the era in a few months, and then everyone can step into the new world hand in hand and sing songs together.
I hate Doom though.
But I have to admit that guy is really good at drawing pie in the sky, and even I can't help but imagine such a future."
“He has a good idea, but in reality the chances of success of such a plan are basically zero, because it will not proceed according to his ideas or my ideas.
Even if the cycle really starts as we expect, I can tell you that nothing will change.
The stars will still be born, your home world will still die, the Council's dark expansion will proceed step by step, and the entire stars will once again move towards an end and despair as if it were a tragic fate.
If there really is a creator watching all this, then I guess that this creator has recently taken a liking to watching tragedy.”
Tony Zero snorted.
He glanced at the time. It was time for the End Star to set sail. The time was returning to zero bit by bit, so he put down the coffee cup in his hand and said to Mason:
"You think I'm exaggerating, don't you? Then let me tell you what made me decide to personally put an end to the ultimate plan that all of us have prepared for the end of the world.
When all this started, we were like a toddler, struggling to survive the apocalypse step by step.
Everyone was very unskilled at that time.
The lack of technology, resources and experience made it impossible for the End Star to even complete the construction of the core area, which directly led to major problems in the previous simulation cycle backtracking.
We couldn't even keep our complete memories, and could only record important discoveries time and time again, and then repeat the same mistakes. Relying on fragmented memories, we constantly modified plans and accumulated technological reserves. It was not until the fifth cycle that we created the first effective planetary shield and barely survived the second impact.
It was also from that time that the construction of the End Star really got on track.
We formed Fox Nest and did our best to build and preserve the database you see before you to store collective wisdom.
Starting from the sixth simulation cycle, we tried to use various methods to preserve the "data" of the entire parallel world system as perfectly as possible. In fact, if we just wanted to survive and enter the next era, we could have done it in the seventh cycle, but it was also at that time that I discovered a serious problem.
A question that could destroy all our efforts.”
Tony Zero sighed, waved his finger in the air and drew a circle, and said:
“I found that the cycle could not be terminated. Even if we wanted to, we could not interfere with the automatic operation of the entire system. We were trapped in a cycle of retracing again and again.
Perhaps there have been loopholes in this plan from the beginning that we have not discovered yet, perhaps the sacred timeline has been damaged at a key node during the continuous backtracking, or perhaps it is simply a punishment from time.
All in all, this cycle has become a nightmare of disaster and doomsday.
Either the council system is destroyed by the shock and forced to start the cycle again, or we find the key to the problem within this cycle and solve it.
Since I am in the core area of the circulation system and am responsible for maintaining it, I will not be affected by the memory loss caused by repeated restarts. This allows me to trace the source and secretly find the problem.
And it turned out that my worst guess was correct. The circulation system code-named "Star of the End" did have a loophole from the beginning. Once this cycle was magnified to the cosmic level, this loophole would not suddenly disappear.
It will only drag everything into a desperate situation.
The 'loophole' I'm referring to is Dr. Manhattan.
Or as you say, Dr. Bluebird."
He looked at Mason who was frowning, shrugged helplessly, and said:
"We chose Dr. Manhattan as the core of the Apocalypse Project. He has the ability to change the universe regardless of time. We built him a device similar to a brain wave amplifier to strengthen his influence on the sacred timeline. He will stay in the Apocalypse to promote the backtracking cycle of the Dou World.
This will help accumulate experience for the grand cycle that will expand to the entire universe after the End Star sets sail.
But we ignore that the Doctor is also a living being, and the fact that he can complete this task perfectly doesn’t mean that he won’t have a change in mentality after witnessing our struggles time and time again.
He gradually changed from being diligent and conscientious in the beginning, and began to consciously manipulate the process of the retrospective cycle. The memory loss of others after each cycle of the fighting world was caused by him. According to our design, the End Star will not have memory loss in the cycle after it is cast.
Someone deliberately erased it and stole our precious time to save ourselves.
I didn't tell anyone else this horrible truth, for I was afraid it would dampen their enthusiasm for trying to find the perfect solution in these apocalyptic times.
In fact, I can't tip off anyone. I'm trapped here and Dr. Manhattan is watching me.
I guess my discovery couldn't be hidden from him.
I can only try to convey everything that happened here to the outside world without causing him disgust, but I don’t even know what I am expecting. ”
"So, you were the one who gave away the Rorschach diary?"
Mason asked:
"Is that your way of asking for help from the outside world?"
"No, my choice is to create Tyrant Tony and ask Doom for help."
Tony Zero shook his head and said:
“I had wanted him to unite those people in the outside world who were unwilling to waste their lives in a cycle of despair, and to jointly fight against the guy who presided over all this. However, after the tyrant Tony was sent to the outside world, his memory of this place was completely erased, and he became a free conqueror commander.
As for Doom...
He knew the situation we were facing but he didn't think it was a problem. He thought we hadn't found the perfect solution yet, and he thought that as long as we could find a solution, all of this would end.
He trusted his own wisdom too much and thought I was worrying too much. He believed that the first great cycle was both the starting point and the focus, both destruction and rebirth.
As for the Rorschach diary, it was just an accident.
That was a nearly impossible-to-replicate miracle that Molecule Man and Detective Rorschach accomplished by accident. I saw this detail and provided a little help.
But Rorschach chose to come alone, he should have brought more people.
Fortunately, there is a fixed time flow in the fighting world that is not affected by the outside world, so he did not lose his life. To be honest, I am actually desperate.
I know that nothing can change the continuation of the cycle, and the sacred timeline has been withered and broken to the point where it can no longer withstand the pressure of the cycle going back.
I could only watch helplessly as we continued to repeat all the mistakes of the previous thirteen simulations in the material world until we perished along with the entire sea of stars in the change of eras at the final moment.
But just at this moment, you appeared.
You have made a difference. Can you imagine the excitement and joy I felt when I discovered you?
It's like a discordant noise suddenly appears when a play that has been rehearsed thirteen times is about to be staged. It undoubtedly ruins the entire performance, but this is what we need most now.
You found Rorschach's diary and deduced clues from it. You did not indulge in simple hunting but made all preparations in advance before entering the fighting world."
Tony Zero let out a long sigh and said:
"It means we can finally put an end to this."
"But why would he do that?"
Mason asked:
"Dr. Manhattan should have volunteered to participate in your plan. As a person who can see the future, he should have understood his responsibilities before joining. What exactly made him change?"
"I don't know why he did that, but I can probably guess his change of mindset. It was the weariness that came from witnessing the destruction that was bound to happen, and he wanted us to stay in the process where everything could still be changed so that we don't have to worry about the cruel reality.
He was like a high god, observing the collapse of hope and the arrival of doomsday time and time again. He had no interest in real cycle reversal, perhaps because he already knew it would not work. "
Tony Zero said with a lost look:
"But what's even more terrifying is that I thought Dr. Manhattan's indifference and observation were enough to make us despair, but when he really took active actions to help us, I realized that I despaired too early.
Remember what I told you last time?
It is best for us now that he continues to maintain his indifferent observation like a god, which means that you can push the new utopian plan all the way to the results you want to see.
However, he took action.
Perhaps he saw the change you brought to the stars and decided to make the simulation cycle real, extending your victory to the past and the future.
He genuinely wanted to help us solve the problem at the source, but unfortunately this led to unpredictable results.
Help from the gods would completely bury the victory that we mortals have worked so hard to achieve. I have given up guessing about his thoughts.
The gods' thoughts are too changeable. They may decide to help us because of you, or they may choose to destroy us in the future at the slightest thought. We have no means to check and balance the gods except prayer, so we should not pray for his intervention from the beginning.
I only have one request now.
End it!
Bury this terminal star project that should never have existed in the first place."
He reached out and patted Mason on the shoulder, saying with a smile:
"And this is the trouble you are going to face, Mr. Mason. You have come here and are about to meet Dr. Bluebird. Perhaps you can turn everything around and open his heart.
I guess he's looking forward to meeting you now, and I've told you all the ins and outs, so go ahead, man, and do what you should do.
Let the entire galaxy be truly liberated from the torture of the cycle of despair, and proudly move forward into the next era with the attitude you expect. "
Mason nodded.
He glanced at the surrounding instruments whose computing speeds had been increased to the limit. The light emitted by the entire End Star from the periphery had also reached its peak, like a ignited star.
After thirteen simulation cycles, a truly cosmic-level cycle plan is about to begin.
The world features stored on this planet are about to be sent back to the past, just like the actors taking their positions before a performance, and performing their final curtain call performance on the reopened curtain and stage.
"Your cancer is the result of your frequent contact with Dr. Manhattan, right?"
Mason said:
"When you saw Dr. Bluebird's magical quantum state, you should have known not to get so close to him. After Tyrant Tony died, I extracted some biological information and studied it, but this thing can no longer be cured. Sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
Tony Zero waved his hand optimistically and said:
"I'm already dead, dead in seventeen years, dead in your hands, which means that if I did nothing, this cancer wouldn't have killed me in seventeen years.
But I no longer wanted to waste the last moments of my life watching a script that I was already tired of, so I hid it from him and staged my own resistance, using seven cycles of time to deliver the message and wait for you.
I have done everything I should do and everything I can do.
So if you really want to help me, then stop him. I don't believe in saviors, but it turns out that there are some things that only you can do.
We all have our mission, and now it's your turn to complete it.
Either persuade or defeat.
I have been wrestling with God for so long that I am exhausted. Now it is time for you to end it all. I am sorry to leave you with the mess we have made.
But don't worry.
After everything is over, I will die to atone for my sins, and then die again after I die, and then embrace true liberation and freedom. "
