Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 401 The Secret of Ascension
The world is material; at least the vast majority of what we can perceive is material.

Electromagnetism arises from each other, and flames evaporate; even things that seem to have no substance either depend on matter or belong to a special form of existence of matter.

Even the so-called spiritual body and soul may be regarded as an unknowable type of matter, governed by natural laws beyond our current understanding, waiting for someone in the future to incorporate them into a unified system at the right time.

But "information" or "knowledge" is a very vague concept.

It is attached to matter and is a manifestation of the state and differences of matter.

In theory, information exists wherever there are material differences. From ink stains on paper and textures on rocks to base sequences in genes, information is objectively preserved.

However, as an adjunct to matter, information itself has no physical form; it can neither directly influence the material world nor exist independently. In a sense, it can be said to "not exist," or rather, to be a "potential, yet unmanifested existence."

Unread books already contain information on a material level; they are only given thought and value when the reader's consciousness intervenes.

It cannot be classified as matter, nor can it be simplified to conscious activity. It is based on matter, yet ultimately returns to consciousness, existing at the intersection of the two.

It never existed, yet it is everywhere.

Kraft was always a flexible materialist and a proponent of epistemology, believing that there are only things in the world that have not yet been discovered and understood.

Even the absurd and bizarre depths did not fundamentally affect his worldview; on the contrary, they broadened his cognitive scope.

Therefore, he was most shocked at this moment. A living form of knowledge overturned his previous understanding, plunging him into utter chaos.

The barrier between matter and consciousness has been completely broken down. It exists between the two, sometimes in consciousness and sometimes in matter, which is the most direct refutation of materialism.

Something from a higher level?

True magic is a passage, a bridge.

This makes sense. What he saw was just a phenomenon, just as it's impossible to explain to ordinary people that there is a world that overlaps with but is completely different from the present world, and how to travel between the two worlds, because spatial cognition does not allow them to understand how two levels without a passage can communicate.

Kraft faced a similar situation; his limited understanding prevented him from seeing the higher nature of matter and consciousness, and therefore he could not understand why some kind of living being could exist between them and seamlessly switch between them.

Of course, even if one cannot understand it, it does not prevent mortals from severely injuring or even killing deep-seated beings; there is no necessary causal relationship between the two.

Similarly, Kraft could also capture this creature outside his comprehension.

It is now solidified in consciousness, tightly enveloped by a series of thoughts.

Consciousness generates these thoughts through frequent contact, some coupled with the unknown, others comprehensible, like a specific antibody grabbing its target.

So it wasn't integrated into consciousness, it was just captured.

It's an interesting but dangerous situation.

Kraft still cannot describe exactly where it comes from or where it is, but he can observe and experience that wonderful way of being indirectly.

It could be a string of smooth, silvery or glassy mirrors that reflect ambiguous memories, making it impossible to tell which side is real.

From another perspective, it resembles a scale, growing in the hidden part of the underside of some being, independent yet not entirely independent. When touched, one can feel a distant, magnificent pulse, awe-inspiring and soul-stirring.

It has no beginning or end, yet it has inner and outer boundaries; it can extend infinitely, or it can be contained in the palm of your hand or within a mustard seed. Sometimes, it looks like a bone, the only remaining trace of its predecessor, once deeply embedded in the pivot of the birth of thought and consciousness, now unbound by matter, open to all things.

[Sphenoid bone]

This seems to reveal an unbelievable fact: it may have evolved from humans, from a creature that existed entirely based on matter, into its current form.

"interesting."

The collapse of his worldview was completely forgotten; Kraft was utterly captivated by the new conjecture.

It is astonishing that a "person" can completely detach from the body and exist in this way.

The benefits are obvious: any physical illness or even aging becomes meaningless, and for outcomes that cannot be reversed by medical means, continuing in this way may be the most acceptable final solution.

The “immortality” that countless people yearn for is right in front of him. Even with a thousand or ten thousand flaws, it is still a step further than the cure-all that can only be achieved after exhausting the laws of physiology.

However, the question is also obvious: can this be considered a real life?

It doesn't even have complete consciousness; it merely exists in the world as a piece of information.

Does it have a complete sense of self? Does it still retain memories of its human existence, and any remaining latent thought patterns or behavioral habits?
Or perhaps it has already discarded its past and body, existing simply as an insignificant part of a vast entity, rather than an individual?

In previous interactions, we only observed human-like intelligence, cunning, and the tendency to seek advantage and avoid harm, but we did not observe "human nature".

It is a serpent's retinue, a scale on its body, but unlike its former self. It has lost more than just its human form.

Thinking of this, Kraft couldn't help but feel somewhat disheartened. This mode of existence seemed to have a lower proportion of human beings than those in a vegetative state; at least those in a vegetative state still retained a human form, and there were occasional reports of them awakening.

Losing one's physical body and then one's original consciousness may be closer to death than immortality.

HeLa cells used for cancer research are considered immortal, but that doesn't mean HeLa herself is immortal.

However, the inspiration it brought was not without meaning. He noted down the inspiration, thinking that there might be some way to optimize it and make use of it.

Before that, he was finally able to connect the clues he knew and figure out the ins and outs of everything.

The pathological changes that were once incomprehensible are now explained.

He was puzzled by the significance of hollow bones caused by abnormal pituitary tumors, where the sharp reduction in bone weight at the expense of durability margins did not meet the needs of activity, and only birds would need such lightweight bones.

Now everything becomes clear; they really do need to become "birds."

The gales brought by the cloud-borne creatures are strong, but not enough to ensure that the seekers can complete the final journey from the mountaintop to the sky, unless they can become lighter and imitate those creatures that are naturally suited to flying.

At this point, the durability of the skeleton is no longer a concern. Those who are not accepted or who back down at the last minute will fall and shatter, rendering even the toughest skeleton meaningless. The successful will shed their past and no longer need a mortal body.

They rose higher and higher until they met the invisible and infinite, entering a realm that did not exist.

(End of this chapter)