"A long time ago, I left my home," Zheng Rong said softly. "I traveled through the vastness of the universe and arrived among you."
The attendees all sat up straight, knowing that Zheng Rong was about to explain, in his own unique way, the great calamity that had ravaged Earth for decades. The survival of future humanity and the continuation of life on Earth hung in the balance of this conversation. Many years later, when historians compiled the detailed records of the Cape of Good Hope Conference, they couldn't help but marvel at the boundless intelligence of humanity. This was not just the work of Zheng Rong but the result of countless scholars—living and dead—standing on the shoulders of giants, contemplating the vastness of the universe and engaging in a dialogue with the stars.
Zheng Rong's self-narration, when reflected upon after the dust of war had settled, far exceeded the practical level, touching on the ultimate purpose of cosmic life and the essence of existence itself.
In that question-and-answer session, there was only one true questioner—General Wei Rong, who later historians referred to as "the mortal’s inquisitor." There was also only one true respondent—Zheng Rong, known as "the answerer of time."
“Why did you come here?” General Wei Rong asked gravely.
Zheng Rong replied, “I don’t know. From the moment I opened my eyes in the nebula of my homeland, the singularity of my consciousness made me a solitary being. I found the corpses of my companions and developed an insatiable curiosity about survival and death, existence and destruction.”
“On my long interstellar journey, I arrived at the solar system on the edge of the Milky Way,” Zheng Rong removed his hat, placing it over his chest, “and met you, humans.”
Wei Rong asked, “What impression do you have of us?”
Zheng Rong responded, “You are a highly peculiar existence. In all my journeys through the stars, this is the first time I’ve encountered life like yours.”
The room was silent. Wei Rong asked, “Why do you say that?”
Zheng Rong explained, “Before I encountered you, I had never understood the concept of ‘community.’ You are not the only intelligent life in the universe, but the universe operates under the law of singularity. Every planet and celestial body is an independent entity, evolving for billions of years after the Big Bang, with almost no end.”
“The spin of celestial bodies generates pulses, molecules, and particles create consciousness waves. I once believed that, among the vastness of the stars, Earth was my only similar companion.”
“But I was wrong. Upon arriving on Earth, when I attempted to communicate directly with the planet through thought, there was no response. The only ones who answered me were you—humans. You are parasites, derivatives, a strange phenomenon.”
“You do not have the long, solitary existence of independent celestial bodies. You resemble an asteroid belt, dependent on your parent star. Individuals are born, age, and die within the collective, only to be replaced by new ones. Your species undergoes a process of renewal, like an unending virus—resilient and constantly evolving.”
Wei Rong asked, “It’s difficult to imagine what your form of life is like.”
Zheng Rong replied politely, “It’s like explaining ice to a summer insect—you will never be able to understand my existence and death.”
Wei Rong asked, “So what do you plan to do with us humans?”
Zheng Rong answered, “Study, seek answers, explore the relationship between your weak consciousness and its vessel. I aim to elevate lower life forms toward higher evolution and discover the connection between the soul and its vessel in the macro world.”
“The soul is a dispersible wave of energy, dependent on the original composition of life and the memories it accumulates during existence. Given practical limitations, I cannot dissect an entire planet to prove my hypothesis. Humans are like miniature stars—they exist, collapse, and undergo what you call ‘aging,’ making you ideal subjects for my research.”
Wei Rong, uneasy, said, “So you implanted your genetic fragments into human bodies.”
Zheng Rong nodded slowly, “Yes. I wanted to lead you toward immortality, to extend your lives indefinitely, just like your parent star.”
Wei Rong responded, “But you failed.”
“At first, I didn’t realize this,” Zheng said. “After observing your society, I left Earth once again to seek new companions. But during my travels, I discovered a serious problem.”
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Wei Rong asked, “What problem?”
Zheng Rong answered softly, “I began to age.”
Wei Rong, startled, asked, “Why?”
Zheng Rong shook his head slowly, “I’m sorry, even I cannot answer that question. During my journey, I developed a hypothesis: All things follow their own unique evolutionary rules. When I implanted my genetic fragments into humans, I divided my body into billions of parts, becoming intertwined with Earth’s life forms. This caused a subtle change in my essence, accelerating my aging process.”
Wei Rong found this hard to believe, “This is unbelievable.”
Zheng Rong explained, “There is a strange but inevitable connection between your vessels and mine. By using my body as a price, I finally discovered this link.”
“Life is an ongoing evolution from lower forms to higher ones,” Zheng Rong finally concluded. “Humans have replaced individual survival with the eternal continuity of their species. By absorbing my genetic fragments, you’ve caused me to age throughout my journey. This is a transition from lower to higher life. I am the inferior alien life form.”
Wei Rong replied slowly, “You’re saying that humans, as a life form, are superior to you, an alien god.”
Zheng Rong remained silent.
Wei Rong asked, “You are an independent interstellar entity. Are you implying that the life form of a planet is the lowest?”
Zheng Rong answered, “Yes. One of your scholars once called the first life forms after the Big Bang—the stars and their consciousness—the ‘primeval life forms.’ These gave birth to planets like Earth and those in the solar system, which are known as secondary life forms.”
“The natural environment, which depends on planets, is a tertiary life form—mountains, rivers, oceans.”
“Earth’s environment gave rise to a fourth form of life: higher life forms, such as humans.”
“When I arrived at the center of the galaxy, I saw evidence that reinforced my theory. From the explosion of the singularity, to galaxies, to stars, and finally to the ant-like species on the surface of planets, the entire universe evolves from the macro to the micro, constantly transforming from lower to higher forms.”
Wei Rong responded, “This is a paradox.”
Zheng Rong corrected him, “No, it isn’t. What truly differentiates the levels of life? Is it the complexity of their structures or their vitality and sustainability? It’s neither. I once thought the same, but that was a narrow view.”
"The real marker that distinguishes life forms," Zheng Rong continued, "is not their structure. A virus is structurally simpler than a human body—it has only DNA and a shell. According to human logic, a virus is undoubtedly a lower life form."
Wei Rong, still unsettled, asked, "Then, is it their ability to reproduce?"
Zheng Rong shook his head, "No. The measure of life in the universe is determined by the causal branches of the cosmic tree."
"From the moment of the Big Bang, an invisible cosmic tree of causality formed. The main branches are galaxies, the sub-branches are stars, and from those, solar systems and planets emerge. This is a higher level of evolution."
"The tree continues to grow, eventually giving rise to self-aware life forms on the surfaces of planets—pushing ever further along its branches."
"This is the ultimate result of causality, stemming from the ‘cause’ of the Big Bang. The more distant a life form is from the root of the cosmic tree, the more advanced it is. Even viruses represent the ultimate evolution of life forms, closer to the branches' end. This is the true rule for defining life forms in the universe."
The hall fell into a long silence.
Wei Rong finally asked, “What did you see at the center of the galaxy?”
Zheng Rong replied, “Stars. Countless star souls. After they perished, their consciousness waves were pulled into the 'core' of the galaxy, trapped on the surface of the black hole, unable to escape—drifting as imprisoned thoughts."
"These stars were born, aged, and exploded throughout the evolution of the galaxy. After their physical forms died, their souls drifted toward the galactic core, where they existed for eons in darkness, unable to escape."
"When I fired that shot at the core, I released many star souls similar to mine. After their escape, they found new vessels—my body."
Wei Rong couldn’t respond. A scholar in the audience spoke in his place, “What did it feel like to have your body taken over?”
“Oh,” Zheng Rong smiled, “It felt awful. They learned about my journey and didn’t want to leave my body.”
Someone joked, “So, are there millions of planets having a meeting inside you?”
Many laughed, and Zheng Rong replied, "To be precise, they are star souls. They’ve taken over my body and replaced me. This experience is far more interesting than drifting through space, following a set orbit and waiting to absorb light."
"Being able to move freely through the universe without worrying about the constraints of physical laws—now that's a new experience."
“But your body is about to die,” Wei Rong pointed out.
“Yes,” Zheng Rong admitted, “and that’s the problem. That’s why they manipulated me to return to Earth.”
Wei Rong asked, “I don’t understand. If your body dies, what will happen?”
Zheng Rong explained, “It’s simple. Once I die, my body will no longer be able to contain these many consciousness waves. They will scatter again, drifting through the universe. If they encounter a black hole, they will be trapped once more, unable to escape for eternity.”
“So, to ensure their freedom, they must keep your body alive,” Wei Rong clarified.
“Yes,” Zheng confirmed.
“Or they could find a new vessel,” Wei Rong suggested.
“That’s impossible,” Zheng replied. “Earth’s humans do not have the physical conditions to house powerful star souls.”
Wei Rong said, “In any case, you’ve returned.”
“To be precise, I’ve been driven back to Earth by countless new souls,” Zheng corrected.
Wei Rong asked, “And the purpose of your return?”
“To reverse the evolutionary process,” Zheng said.
Wei Rong was speechless.
Zheng pointed to his temple, smiling slightly, "As we discussed earlier, I divided my body’s life essence among all the people of Earth, which accelerated my own aging and led to my imminent death. They believe that to save my body, this process must be reversed—by destroying all humans carrying my genetic material."
This revelation was far more shocking than the first, but Zheng continued in a calm tone, as if discussing something unrelated to him:
"Whether the process can be reversed or not, it’s the only option left."
Wei Rong asked, “You want to kill all of us to restore your life?”
Zheng simply replied, “Yes.”
Someone interjected, "Dr. Zheng mentioned earlier that this is a process of lower life forms evolving into higher ones. The entities in the Mayan ship are lower life forms compared to us, and by merging with us, they initiated an evolution toward higher forms. According to Darwin’s theory, this process is irreversible. This touches on two principles that our research group has laid out for our next actions."
"Perhaps," Zheng agreed, "There are too many unsolvable mysteries in the universe, even for me."
Wei Rong asked, "What do you expect us to do?"
"You have two choices, both simple," Zheng answered.
"One, rescue me by killing me."
"Or two, wait. Let my body age naturally. After my death, the star souls will lose their vessel and eventually dissipate. Without my consciousness to modify them, the metal cocoons they use as temporary vessels will rust and break down. When the last one fails, the star souls will disappear, leaving Earth, and humanity will no longer be affected."
Wei Rong asked, “If we do nothing, how long will that take?”
“I don’t know,” Zheng said. “When my ship crashes and the last cocoon rusts away, you’ll be safe. It could take years, centuries, thousands of years, or even longer. In 50,000 years, the destruction of the galactic core will trigger a chain reaction, and the universe will begin a new cycle of collapse, starting with the Milky Way. Who knows?”
"In the face of time, all existence will perish. None of them last longer than the others." Zheng concluded his speech with an elegant finality. "My report is finished, and my task is done."
"Let us mourn the comrades we lost in this war. Until we meet again in heaven." Zheng bowed slightly, put on his hat, tucked his hands into his coat pockets, and left the hall.
No one stood up, and no one clapped. Everyone sat in quiet reflection.