Five years passed in a flash.
Luna waited for the completion of the latest model spacecraft capable of exploring a star's interior—the Phoenix.
This ship wasn't large—just over 30 meters long and 262 tons—resembling a triangular fighter.
Its orange exterior wasn't for aesthetics but to help the metal withstand extreme temperatures.
Proxima Centauri was 0.21 light-years, approximately 13,281 AU, from the Alpha Centauri binary system.
Modified for the extreme temperatures within a star, the Phoenix's maximum speed was only 31 km/s. A transport ship towed it to the star's surface, where it began its descent into Alpha Centauri B.
Luna sat in the cockpit; the screen displayed an entirely white image.
After Ayla adjusted the settings, an inverse color scheme was applied. High-intensity areas became dark, and dark areas became bright, similar to the "negative" mode on a phone.
The main color on the screen was dark purple, secondary black, and finally white. The black areas were mottled, indicating extremely high temperatures.
The Phoenix flew to a depth of 200 kilometers, where Ayla predicted the device would be located.
But after circling the area, nothing was found.
"My calculations were correct. A void must exist here within the star."
"Could the third civilization have manipulated the star's interior?"
Ayla urgently performed new calculations, leading to a completely different location—the southern hemisphere of Alpha Centauri B.
The Phoenix, having explored the star's interior, returned to the surface and headed towards the calculated location.
But...
Nothing was there.
"This is impossible!"
Ayla dedicated 80% of her processing power to recalculating, but the results remained consistent.
This error surprised Luna.
Ayla's calculations had always been flawless, leading her to believe Ayla was an infallible system rather than an AI created from code.
Now, faced with a more advanced civilization, Ayla exhibited unexpected limitations.
However, core calculations of this magnitude were unlikely to be flawed.
The scarcity of radioactive elements and the shift in the Alpha Centauri binary system's barycenter both suggested something unusual was at play.
The Phoenix's failure to detect the device indicated that it was employing some sophisticated cloaking technology.
While Ayla was concerned, Luna was also thinking.
How could the other civilization conceal itself so effectively?
It was now almost certain that this was a Type 2 civilization or higher.
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After eight days of contemplation, Luna reached a conclusion.
"We're trapped in a mindset, assuming such a device would be enormous."
"But what if it wasn't a single, independent entity, but a network?"
"A network of extremely small devices, only observable at the atomic level!"
Even Luna found this hypothesis incredibly far-fetched.
This conjecture stemmed from humanity's nanorobotics technology.
If a Type 2 civilization could unify the four fundamental forces, they would have discovered strings—microscopic fundamental units. At the string level, nanotechnology would be incredibly crude.
Strings are estimated to be 10⁻³⁴ meters in diameter, while a nanometer is 10⁻⁹ meters—a difference of 25 orders of magnitude. To a Type 2 civilization capable of manipulating strings, nanorobots would be like a drop of water compared to the Earth.
Luna's statement gave Ayla a breakthrough.
As an AI, Ayla could simulate countless possibilities, but these were always derived from existing data.
Her data included all current scientific knowledge, but possibilities outside this framework were disregarded. Adding those possibilities—and there could be a hundred quintillion—would take almost two million years, even if she only spent a minute on each.
Ayla instructed the Phoenix to collect particles from various locations within the star, covering 100 regions.
After careful analysis of these atoms' fusion and decay, Ayla isolated something.
"Luna, you're a genius!"
Ayla used a scanning tunneling microscope (weighing over 50 tons) to observe the isolated object's structure.
Surprisingly, it resembled a lepton.
Luna, observing the image, saw the resemblance. It was similar in size to a lepton, but it wasn't a lepton. It was, as she had suspected, a microscopic robotic particle!
It was essentially a minuscule energy converter, absorbing the energy released during the decay of radioactive elements and storing it.
"Astonishing energy storage."
Ayla observed that the storage method involved converting the energy released during radioactive decay into gravitational force or, hypothetically, mass.
This made the device 10,074,000 times heavier than a typical lepton.
"It's Grand Unification!"
Without Grand Unification, it would be impossible to convert one force into another.
Even with these energy converters, Ayla couldn't fully understand their technology; their structure was too complex.
But this discovery led Ayla to recalculate the Alpha Centauri binary system's barycenter.
She quickly discovered that the void wasn't in Alpha Centauri B; it was in Alpha Centauri A.
These microscopic energy converters had added extra mass to Alpha Centauri B, resulting in a higher mass than initially calculated.
The Phoenix set off again.
This time, penetrating to a depth of 700 kilometers within Alpha Centauri A, the Phoenix's energy shields were overwhelmed by the intense heat, and the ship's exterior began to melt.
But in the next instant, the Phoenix entered a completely new world.
Thirteen overlapping, rotating rings radiated immense energy, forming a spherical void 120 kilometers in diameter.
Each ring was perfectly black, seamless, seemingly a single, monolithic structure. They orbited a central energy core—not a light source, but a massive, compressed energy entity.
The energy generated from the decay of radioactive elements collected by the various factories was stored here.
The energy density was immense, far exceeding that of the combined might of the Kate civilization, Luna's fleet, and the Light Chasers (Multi-eyed).
Ayla analyzed this energy and determined that it represented the total energy output of a Type 2.1 civilization.
These thirteen rings were energy confinement devices and the production line for the microscopic energy converters.
This system mass-produced these miniature energy converters, placing them throughout the star and surrounding space to collect and store vast amounts of radioactive elements.
A complete energy harvesting system.
Luna couldn't comprehend why this civilization would store this energy in a star system they didn't control.
Nevertheless, the third civilization's existence was now confirmed.
When this energy storage reached 100% capacity, perhaps it would be harvested.
"Ayla, proceed with the original plan."
"No matter how long it takes, we must reach Type 2 in terms of energy production."
"This civilization might not be limited to a single star system; it could span hundreds, perhaps thousands of systems. Their civilization level could be 2.5 or higher."
Another civilization as powerful as the light-based civilization.
This civilization would likely be among the Milky Way's dominant powers.
How could they possibly contend with such a force?
The Kate civilization's strategy of hiding and hoping not to be discovered was merely a short-sighted approach; true strength came from self-reliance.
She needed to reach Type 2!