Volume 5: Eternity Final Chapter: The Limits of Language
Fang Cheng stood alone in the empty room, with dumplings still emitting steam in front of him.
The room was so quiet that the ticking sound of the wall clock seemed particularly loud and clear.
His face was covered with fine beads of sweat, and it was unclear whether it was because of the heat from eating or because of the shock of the scene before him.
However, compared with the various things he had experienced in the apocalypse before, the disappearance of a living person before his eyes was not a "surprise".
It's just that he couldn't connect all the causes and consequences.
What does it mean to remember forever? Is my memory that important?
However, the strong light coming from the table soon interrupted his thoughts, and it was then that he realized that the bracelet he had given her did not disappear with her.
"Come in, I'll answer all your questions."
“Where to go——Ahhh——”
A moment later he found himself no longer on Earth.
What Fang Cheng saw before his eyes was not darkness, but a starry sky filled with twinkling lights. However, based on his knowledge of astronomy, he knew that this starry sky was not the sky that could be observed from any location on Earth at any time.
"I am Observer No. 2."
Familiar sentence structure, different content.
"Number Two... then... where did the previous observer Number One go?"
"No comment. And I think you have more important questions."
"I'm very sorry, I can't ask you anything more. Please tell me the whole story."
The voice echoing in the air was silent for a while, as if it was thinking about where to start.
"In your terms, humanity on Earth is doomed to destruction."
There was three seconds of silence, as if waiting for a question.
"Are you referring to the disaster we caused before?"
"no."
“…”
"All civilizations born on planets in the universe have their fate determined from the moment they are born. Some species can enter the universe and become wanderers before the collapse of the star system, but most can only disappear with the destruction of the planet.
Humans, unfortunately, belong to the latter category.”
Fang Cheng moved his mouth, wanting to say something, but held it back.
"This conclusion is the result of a very large sample of humans and a detailed analysis of all the languages used in human history."
"Um... why do we need to analyze language?"
"Language is the most effective means of judging the limits of a species' civilizational development. My colleagues understand this more deeply than I do..."
The voice paused again, as if it was thinking about how to make its words clear.
“With the knowledge you have acquired so far, how do you understand the existence of mathematics?”
“Mathematics exists?”
Aren't we going to discuss language?
Fang Cheng thought about it carefully for a few seconds and realized that he had never realized that mathematics is essentially a language that describes abstract concepts.
"We divide the languages of all creatures in the universe into two categories, one is called natural language, and the other is called abstract language. Natural language is the language that all intelligent creatures have, and it is used to describe objects that exist without the need for imagination. So far, the total number of words in this type of language that we have collected has reached about 10 to the 20th power, and it is still increasing at a rate of hundreds of millions every Earth day."
Fang Cheng wanted to complain about this magnitude, but the other party didn't seem to pause to give him a chance to comment.
"The other is the language that describes abstract concepts, such as numbers, emotions, ideas, etc. In our research practice, we divide this type of language into two categories. One category depends on species differences, such as the words in human language that describe emotions that are unique to humans; the other category is common within a certain range of the universe. On Earth, it is called 'mathematics'."
“…”
"But this language does not favor every species equally. Due to the limitations of its own language system and underlying logic, each civilization has different understandings of mathematics. To use a metaphor, if all mathematical concepts are a gold mountain, then how much each civilization can harvest is determined from the moment it is born. 'God' is so unfair."
"Does your civilization also have the concept of 'God'?"
"It was true before, but now our mainstream thinking is that apart from the universe itself, no matter how grand a civilization is, it is just a speck of dust. From this perspective, there is no essential difference between you and me."
We are but dust and shadow.
"Less than 1% of the creatures in the universe can understand a second abstract language. From this perspective, humans are very lucky. But this understanding also has its limits. The mathematics that humans can understand is just right."
"Just right...what does that mean?"
"The mathematics that humans can understand makes it impossible for humans to leave the solar system. And they are destined to perish along with the Earth. From the results of our simulation, the existence of humans is insignificant compared to the lifespan on the planet where you live."
"You mean that whether we destroy or save the world, it is completely meaningless?"
"It didn't exist originally, but it exists now. The life you created that doesn't belong to Earth is the opportunity for humans and my civilization to meet. Although the time is extremely short , it is enough for enough information to escape into human civilization and change your thinking and logical structure."
“…I can’t understand it.”
"Another human individual who created the 'Origin Body' together with you, through a series of events and self-sacrifice, ultimately made the trajectory of human destiny choose an attractor in the phase space that will not be destroyed."
"You mean... all this was part of her plan?"
"Not really. She initially only envisioned meeting us, but she didn't seem to have considered that this would have such consequences."
"How does she know this?"
"She is one of the many antiparticle samples we collected from Earth. She received an excessive amount of information in the experimental space, but we are still investigating how much information she received..."
The voice in the air did not continue, and Fang Cheng did not know how to start the topic. A depressing silence filled the space.
"So, why did you call me here?"
"You have experienced time travel, and are also part of the information that has escaped. According to the regulations, I need to deal with you."
Fang Cheng felt his heart skip a beat.
"Don't be afraid. I don't want to kill you. According to the regulations, I only need to transfer you to a planet far away from the earth."
"this……"
"But the regulations don't specify which planet, nor do they explain what the requirements are for the items that can be transported together."
The person who made the rules back then would definitely leave a backdoor for himself. This is probably one of the unified truths of the universe.
"So I will teleport you to a planet where the speed of time passing is only one ten-millionth of that on Earth. There, your body will almost stop growing, and the water and organic matter needed to maintain body functions will approach zero."
It turns out there really is such a place.
"I will give you all the information that 'may' have escaped. You can choose to translate it into mathematics that humans can understand and eventually add it to the human knowledge system. This is the final step in changing the fate of mankind."
"Only if I can come back..."
"I will leave a door for you, a tiny crack that meets the requirements: you will have a one in a billion chance of tunneling back to your own home on Earth every second. After three years, your chance of returning to Earth will reach one in ten, and after thirty years, this chance will reach 70%. As long as you are not killed by loneliness, you can return to human society almost unscathed."
It sounds like an attractive proposal.
"So, do you have any more questions?"
"Why are you helping me?"
"Who knows? Maybe you don't want to give up your data, maybe you're remembering a colleague, or maybe you just think it's fun. The universe is so big, not every choice needs a reason."
