Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 232: Alien Novel

Three hours later, the first session of communication had officially ended, and the Glizerians returned to their living areas.

Apart from a bit of initial tension, the diplomatic meeting was relatively peaceful overall, more so than expected.

Of course, for humans, even if there was a strong tension in the air, flipping tables was simply out of the question... These interstellar diplomats needed to be well taken care of, no matter how intense the verbal exchanges became, it was not a justification for killing.

Killing a Diplomat would be the most foolish of actions.

...

Thus, the Glizerians slept soundly, entertained themselves, and rested for over ten days before holding another meeting as if they had truly made this place their home.

Three months passed quickly, and communication between the two parties became smoother. To better understand each other’s civilization, they cautiously exchanged a small portion of their histories and a few literary classics.

Through these books, they could better infer each other’s specific ideologies.

The developmental journey of humanity was essentially a complete history of barbaric wars. Humans had a very complex civilization, embodying virtue and beauty but also various evils; mere black and white were inadequate to fully describe the entire civilization.

To reduce backlash and suspicion from the other side, the materials provided were carefully selected, including some Confucian classics, "The Art of War by Sun Tzu," as well as some novels and poetry, among others.

"Just make it look as appealing as possible."

"...We want them to believe that human civilization, although competitive, is generally rational, logical, and positively progressive."

"Creating that impression on them should be sufficient."

Watching the experts on the stage speaking confidently, Zhang Yuan could not help shaking his head and smiling bitterly in his heart. He couldn’t even convince himself that the essence of humanity was so wonderful...

After handing over this segment of data, as part of the exchange, humans also received some textual materials from the other side, and many experts were convened to quickly interpret the content...

On this day, the book Zhang Yuan held was an alien novel titled "Abala’s Travels." Many experts in Information Science and New Civilization History were reading this novel.

How to put it... It was boring, incredibly boring, devoid of any relatability, and the bizarre descriptions were truly astonishing.

[...After a bout of intimacy, Abala left for his next destination. The legendary land of sculptures, the homeland of the great artist Wang Qila...]

"Abala’s Travels" narrated the story of an artist named Abala, who spent hundreds of years traveling around the world, casually having romantic escapades along the way...

The Glize Civilization also reproduced sexually and experienced love, and reproduction brought certain pleasure.

However, in this civilization, actions considered heartless in human contexts were not morally condemned, which explains the historical significance of "Abala’s Travels"...

Why did such a strange phenomenon arise? Because individuals in the Glize Civilization were indeed oviparous!

To ensure the hatching success of fertilized eggs during prolonged dormancy, offspring had been communally raised from ancient times!

Since it was unclear who exactly one’s children were, laying an egg was considered having a child; mating did not entail responsibility. Reproducing for pleasure had become a natural occurrence, similar to, and perhaps even surpassing, human situations...

Moreover, providing genes to the outside world was considered a great honor for individuals in this civilization, it at least reduced the genetic defects caused by inbreeding.

Zhang Yuan frowned, instinctively sensing that the history of this civilization had significant implications for new humans, especially in perfecting New Civilization History.

"The Gleize Civilization... Isn’t it a naturally developed social support system?!"

"How did it end up like this?"

A series of questions surfaced in his mind. Although the leaders of this civilization tried hard to cover up their own situation, the decline of a civilization was hard to conceal. It always revealed itself in bits and pieces of information, like the fact that when they were aggressive, they lacked real confidence...

Due to longer periods of hibernation and fewer periods of wakefulness, coupled with females not laying eggs often, meaning low reproductive capabilities, it was clear that this civilization had a very low population growth rate and seldom engaged in wars, at least not on a large scale.

If two armies were to battle, most of the soldiers would be sleeping most of the time. Such a war could practically be described as a joke.

"So, this civilization really doesn’t engage much in war, and each individual is an artist? Relying on art to attract the opposite sex?"

"Poetry, sculpture, painting? This culture is really strange..."

Li Zhendong and other information experts were looking for useful insights within these materials, and the more they studied, the more problematic it seemed.

"Art? If I were reincarnated, wouldn’t I end up a bachelor? These guys are simply too well-fed and idle."

In the eyes of humans, this novel was nothing but bizarre and absurd, not intriguing at all.

"Ah, it’s really about being too well-fed, no competition on the planet, and still omnivorous, with low fertility rates." Zhang Yuan also smiled bitterly, "Our novels and other materials, in their eyes, must seem equally bizarre. Killing each other over trivial matters must be hard for them to understand."

This kind of data was difficult to fabricate completely out of thin air.

According to regular observations, these creatures were just like what was documented in the texts, conserving their internal energy during their wakeful periods, not being active unless necessary, and preferring to lie on the ground to rest. They were like the sloths on Earth, moving as little as possible.

But intelligent beings couldn’t always just sit idle and sleep; they always sought entertainment and looked for things to do, so spiritual enjoyment became even more crucial to them, and "art" flourished.

Even though these interstellar diplomats were the elites of their civilization, hard-working and resolute, many of their life habits unintentionally revealed themselves...

That is to say, ideologically, this civilization might indeed aspire to peace...

On that day, as the final negotiations came to an end, the New Human Government decided to send several diplomats to visit Gliese 581g in person.

Zhang Yuan, standing atop the Observatory, said, "I’m starting to believe that they want peace. The universe is indeed full of wonders."

"If it were us humans, we’d definitely think of ways to defend and defeat the other side. But their attitude seems unconcerned... Not exactly unconcerned, as long as we don’t oppress them too much..."

"I even doubt that without the luck of encountering two powerful interstellar civilizations, this lazy bunch could ever develop technology..."

Captain Zhao nodded and responded, "We can’t let our guard down! What if all of this is just a disguise for our benefit? What if they are preparing a massive arsenal in secret?"

"Moreover, even if it’s not a disguise, you can’t just call them lazy. How could they help it if they evolved this way? Physiological phenomena cannot be overcome by will."

Zhang Yuan sighed, "You’re right, based on the calculations and predictions of New Civilization History, due to a different starting point, the developmental process of this civilization would greatly differ from that of humans."

"But one constant remains: mediocrity is highly likely."