Chapter 1520: Distinctive Features of Civilizations

More than once, Gawain sensed a strong and unmistakably personal, emotional tone in the replies from the Noyans. Whether it was joy, urgency, unease, or anticipation, the Noyans seemed to express these feelings quite openly when sending messages. They appeared unconcerned that such emotional transparency might put them at a disadvantage in negotiations—though the Loren side had no intention of exploiting any weakness, Gawain still found the Noyans’ communication style somewhat delicate when placed in the context of official inter-civilizational exchanges.

The reason was simple: in every case Gawain knew of, contact between two powers—especially early contact—was an extremely cautious and restrained process. Both sides should conceal any emotional fluctuations of their negotiators, hide psychological vulnerabilities of their people, and mask any true intentions unrelated to or premature for the negotiation. Only by doing so could one maintain the initiative and avoid giving the other side an opening to exploit weaknesses.

In this regard, Loren had always done well. The Alliance had organized a massive team of translators and scholars covering nearly every field, supported by colossal synthetic brains and computational centers to assist analysts in intelligence gathering and data retrieval. Messages sent from Loren were always measured and prudent; every “communicator” directly involved in talks was watched over by hundreds of eyes scrutinizing every letter sent. But the Noyans seemed different.

This often made Gawain curious. He couldn’t help but wonder what caused the Noyans’ “unusually candid” style. Perhaps it stemmed from the vastly different cultural environments of the two species, or the urgency of the current situation, or even differences in their neural structures compared to the Lorens. It was even possible that this seemingly unguarded frankness was itself a sophisticated negotiation and psychological tactic.

But none of that mattered much now. Gawain’s attention was focused on the long-awaited restoration of interstellar communications.

The prepared text was quickly uploaded into the Antavian’s communication system, transforming into a sudden signal wave that leapt across four light-years. The Loren Alliance briefly introduced the recent repairs to their faster-than-light communication array, explained the parameters of the newly restored antenna, and proposed a communication protocol based on it. Supported by the main antenna’s restoration, the signal transmission across the starry sea was clearer and more stable than ever before—without fear of sudden disconnections.

Gawain personally sent only the initial acknowledgment—just a simple “Here”—then handed over the detailed exchanges to the expert team at the Solin Control Center. He watched quietly as the two distant civilizations resumed their dialogue.

Neither the Loren Alliance nor the Noyans seemed interested or had the luxury for much small talk. After brief greetings—more like mutual assurances of safety—the conversation naturally shifted to their shared top priority: resisting the magical tide.

The printer terminal whirred and creaked, gears and rollers slowly feeding out paper tape. The translated words from the Noyans appeared before Gawain’s eyes:

“…During the communication blackout, we continued to adjust the ‘Unified Mind Field’ system deployed across our planet. This vast system consists of tens of thousands of nodes and complex transmission lines, constructed over fourteen centuries. Its oldest, most primitive nodes date back to the Dark Era. We must ensure every part of the system remains operational, and this work is still ongoing…”

The Loren side’s reply followed immediately:

“…The Loren Alliance has finalized a defense plan. We will erect an energy shield over our homeworld and integrate the Unified Mind Field with this shield to form a planetary barrier.”

After sending this, the Noyans fell silent for a noticeably long time. Gawain didn’t need to guess—they must have been stunned. After all, not long ago, the Loren Alliance had only just learned what the Unified Mind Field was. Now, they claimed they could build a planetary shield within a year and a half. Considering the roughly comparable technological levels each side had shown before, Gawain thought: if he were a Noyan, he’d be thinking, “How much have these guys been hiding?!”

The Noyans had spent fourteen centuries, relying on their foresight and early advantages, just to build a defensive shield over their homeworld. This wasn’t something you could bluff your way through by saying, “Our people are good at civil engineering.”

Sure enough, after a brief pause, the Noyans sent a rapid-fire series of questions. The printer’s creaking sounded almost urgent:

“You’re building a planetary shield? Not just localized shelters? You can deploy a global energy shield in a year and a half? Is this really so easy for you?”

Gawain’s gaze rested on the paper tape. At the same time, Amber’s voice suddenly sounded beside him:

“Sounds like they’re pretty shocked…”

As she spoke, Amber’s figure gradually materialized from the air. She hopped down from a shadowy rift, then casually pulled a chair over to sit opposite Gawain at his desk, moving as naturally as if she were in her own room.

“The Loren Alliance and the Noyans are like two newbies meeting for the first time on this vast interstellar stage. Both think they’re inexperienced and assume the other is the same. But then one newbie suddenly pulls out a treasure that took the other fourteen centuries to craft. Anyone would suspect that guy’s hiding a big secret,” Gawain said with a shake of his head, using his favorite metaphor. Then he sighed, “But the key is—we really are the newbies…”

“Wait, wait,” Amber interrupted, her previously relaxed expression now confused by Gawain’s string of “Emperor Gawain’s strange metaphors.” “Your new terms are a bit over my head. I can’t translate them all at once…”

“Then don’t translate for now. I’ll explain later,” Gawain waved her off before she could finish. He turned his attention back to the communication feed, where Beltira’s image appeared. “Let’s be honest. Resisting the magical tide requires cooperation between our civilizations. We can’t let the Noyans misjudge the Loren Alliance.”

Being a big shot felt good, but practical realities had to be considered—especially at this critical moment when two civilizations were preparing to face an apocalyptic crisis together. Portraying themselves as too powerful or mysterious wasn’t wise. It was like two rookies teaming up for an adventure: pretending to be experts isn’t scary, but what if the other rookie actually believes it? History was full of fools who puffed themselves up and ended up dead from overreaching. It was best to clear up misunderstandings from the start.

The printer continued feeding out paper tape. The Loren Alliance quickly responded with a prepared statement:

“Please do not misunderstand. The Loren Alliance did not develop the technology to build a planetary shield from scratch in such a short time. We employed many clever methods, including harnessing the planet’s own power and utilizing the legacy left by the Pathfinders, to barely achieve this miracle within the limited timeframe…”

This time, the Noyans replied quickly. The new paper tape emerged swiftly:

“That is still astonishing. Your adaptability and academic organization under extreme conditions far exceed our expectations.”

After a brief pause, the Noyans’ message continued, the printer’s mechanical sounds accompanying the steady stream of text:

“Since the last communication blackout, we have been deeply concerned about this matter—the construction of a ‘Unified Mind Field’ large enough to shelter an entire civilization is a staggering undertaking. Enclosing the whole planet within a shield is the most stable, effective, and difficult solution. We have spent a long time on this, but you do not have that luxury.

“During the blackout, our scholars ran numerous simulations on your behalf. Please do not take this as an offense—based on our limited understanding of the Loren Alliance and our knowledge of shield engineering, we exhausted every scenario and found no path that would allow you to fully resist the magical tide and survive intact…

“We feel sorrow and regret. The only viable option we could conceive was limited-scale shelters, and even those have a success rate below thirty percent. In the bleakest forecasts, we even thought the Loren Alliance might choose to give up.

“Now, we are very glad to see you have found a path to hope. We are pleased to see the possibility that, in the near future, another intelligent civilization will survive alongside the Noyans, enduring this cold winter of interstellar space. After all, finding a ‘friend’ in this vast starry sea is no easy matter.”

Gawain quietly watched the paper tape spool out. His fingers tapped the desk unconsciously. After a long moment, he murmured, “The Loren Alliance never considered giving up hope from the start. Opportunities are always seized by those who fight for them. But the Noyans are still too relaxed—they only see the planetary shield problem solved. The greater divine catastrophe still looms over the Alliance.”

“Should we reveal that to them?” Beltira’s calm voice came through the communicator. “It might further expose our social structure and developmental stage.”

“Yes,” Gawain nodded without hesitation. “Our previous two exchanges were too rushed. We didn’t have frank, thorough discussions on many key issues with the Noyans. That caused chaos when we suddenly discovered the Unified Mind Field’s vulnerabilities. It’s best to avoid similar situations. As for exposing our social model and development stage…”

He paused, shaking his head gently. “At this point, worrying about that could cost lives. Fortunately, there are still four light-years of starry sea between us and the Noyans. What’s exposed now won’t affect us that far away.”

“Yes, Brother Gawain.” Beltira nodded slightly, then issued orders at the Solin Command Center. The Pathfinders immediately sprang into action, and the enormous shadow looming over the Loren Alliance was finally laid bare before the Noyans.

The interstellar friends were once again deeply shocked.jpg.

After the divine catastrophe details were sent, the Noyans’ signal went silent for a long time. They seemed even more stunned than when they learned the Loren Alliance could erect a planetary shield in a year and a half. The silence lasted so long that if the faster-than-light communication array hadn’t shown everything was normal, Gawain would have suspected the signal between the two planets had been cut off. But eventually, an exclamation came from four light-years away.

“You face the risk of gods running amok?!” The letters on the paper tape seemed to convey the extreme instability of the Noyan communicator’s emotions. “Have you not completed the symbiotic transition with the gods?”

“Every civilization develops differently. The order in which problems arise and are solved varies,” Gawain took back the communication rights. When it came to the gods, he clearly had more authority to speak. “In fact, we have already begun the process of transitioning into a symbiotic state with the gods. Unfortunately, it is still in the early stages.”

“We have a question here—are your gods also the result of thought currents being projected? Is your state of ‘symbiosis’ likewise founded on ‘unbinding’ the gods from these currents?”

After a brief pause, the response from the Noyans appeared on the printout: “The ‘Pioneer Race’ believes that the order of this universe is balanced and universal. The divine phenomena arising behind every intelligent species should exhibit consistency. There was some difficulty translating the term ‘thought currents,’ but we suspect you’re referring to the same concept we understand.

“Yes, the Noyan gods are also manifestations of such ‘projections’—disturbances in the deep fabric of the universe caused by the collective consciousness of a vast population. Thanks to the invaluable knowledge and certain legacies left to us by the Pioneer Race, we seem to have avoided some detours in this regard.

“Our ‘symbiosis’ is indeed built upon unbinding the gods from their projected state. This involved large-scale cognitive recalibration of our species and a restructuring of social order, a process we completed roughly four hundred and sixty years ago.

“We did not anticipate the unique circumstances of the Loren Alliance, and for that, we feel a measure of shame. Under the Pioneer Race’s protection, we passed through this challenge too easily, which blinded us.

“This newly exposed issue is extremely serious—it directly threatens the plan to resist the magical tides. With a mix of anxiety and hope, we ask: does the Loren Alliance have a solution? We… do not want to see our only friend fail.”

Gawain fell silent, weighing his words carefully before finally replying: “First, the Alliance is prepared to face any hardship. Whether it’s gods or cosmic laws standing in our way, the ‘Homeworld Barrier’ project will continue. The Lorens will never give up on survival.

“Second, we are not without means to fight divine disasters. Although the Lorens are advancing toward symbiosis with the gods, in extreme cases, we will have to confront rogue deities head-on. It’s difficult, but we have fought such battles before—and we have learned how to win.”

After sending this message, Gawain exhaled softly. He felt this was an honest and resolute response.

But the Noyans’ reply came even faster than he expected.

The printer whirred and creaked, spitting out a string of question marks: “??????”

(End of chapter)