The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 251 Connection Interrupted
Earth, where the alien fleet's research ship landed.

After the isolation period of the first host ended, Lin Yi immediately began to try to parasitize more alien individuals, trying to obtain further information and take more initiative.

The alien's respiratory system is quite strange, and the complex filtration and disinfection system makes it impossible to transmit spores directly through the air on a large scale. However, now that there is a breakthrough, things become much easier.

Just as the pathogens brought by European colonists killed large numbers of Native Americans, pathogens that have been baptized by antibiotics for many years may also have irreparable consequences for the planet's ecosystem.

Therefore, the aliens are very strict in isolating the inside and outside of the warehouse. The internal and external environments are two completely different ecosystems. Some alien microorganisms still exist in the internal circulation system of the other party. The genetic samples of these microorganisms were also taken advantage of by Lin Yi. Collected and successfully disguised the carpet spores into several of them.

These microorganisms are not deadly pathogens. They do not pose much harm to the aliens themselves, and they will not attract attention. No individual has noticed that a microscopic infiltration is going on under their noses.

However, Lin Yi still did not dare to move too fast for fear of arousing the other party's alertness. Only when the neural structure of each individual's brain is stably parasitized can the next alien individual be parasitized with confidence.

Because it is closer to a life form with bones like the Tully Monster, the "vertebral column" passes between the eyes, and the position of the brain is different from that of humans. However, although it has specialized extensions, it has specialized ribs similar to a turtle shell. The structure is protected, but after all, it is not as fragile as the skull and can easily be broken through at the microscopic level.

However, when the third alien individual was parasitized, something strange appeared in the perception of the special carpet tissue.

It is a series of complex connecting nerves, connected to some obvious mechanical technological creations at the back of the head. It seems to be a special implant. From the appearance point of view, it is somewhat similar to the "brain-computer interface" that only exists and is conceptualized in later generations. ".

For a moment, Lin Yi was a little curious. He controlled the carpet tissue structure to continue to parasitize deeper, trying to delve into the details of this "brain-computer interface", or similar structures.

The ends of these structures connected to the nerves are connected to a slot, which is located at the back of the head and seems to be able to accommodate some special structures. The shape is long and flat, and it seems to be some kind of chip.

On the ground, while the scientific research ship is conducting research, in space, other ships of the exploration fleet are still on standby. The most important task is to serve as a signal transfer station between the home planet and the ground scientific research ship, receiving electromagnetic wave signals from the ground, and It will be transmitted back to the home planet through the large-scale quantum communication equipment on the ship.

"Exploration fleet report, recent analysis results are...complete."

And today, it was another briefing as usual. The operator inputs the signal familiarly, and the continuous energy of the nuclear fusion reactor drives the special equipment structure to control the entangled quanta, transmitting the signal bit by bit back to the mother star that is light years away.

But this time, there was no reply from the home star for a long time - according to the normal process, the home star would at least reply once, and sometimes even give further instructions on the general direction.

Another identical message was sent immediately afterwards, but there was still no reply, as if contact with the home planet was completely lost - several home star days had passed, and the situation was still the same.

During this period, technicians came to investigate and could only confirm that there were no problems with most of the components. The complexity of quantum communication made it impossible for these technicians to determine without complex equipment whether the home planet had received the reply, but There was no answer for some reason, or there was a malfunction in the entangled quantum state, causing the information to be unable to be transmitted.

Urgent testing and investigation began immediately - but the final result was that there were no problems with quantum communication between several spacecraft, but there was no news from the home planet. And every signal sent to the mother star seems to have fallen into the sea. "It has been determined that communications with the home planet have been interrupted for unknown reasons. Please ask for further instructions."

The matter was reported quickly - although the second and most core goal of the deep space exploration fleet has never been disclosed to the outside world, it is impossible for members who can board the exploration fleet not to know this.

In fact, before the fleet set off, there were more than one set of plans to deal with various situations. For different situations, decide whether to return quickly, immediately stay away from the home star, or station on the spot, etc.

But it did not take into account that the quantum entanglement connection from the parent star will be interrupted before any signal is sent out - the complexity of the entangled quantum state determines that it is unrealistic to interfere with it and cut off the connection, unless the parent star is destroyed instantly, it is always too late. transmit signal.

"This is the situation. What should we do next?"

The interior of the exploration fleet is like a miniature country. Although things are different from the plan, the plan still plays its due role. The fleet immediately entered a state of alert, including the scientific research ships that had landed on the planet's surface, and all fleet executives were quickly summoned to discuss the next step.

"The first question is, do we want to re-establish contact with our home planet now?"

The distance between this place and the mother star is such that if traditional radio communication methods are used, not to mention whether there is a communication equipment with sufficient power, even if there is, it will take countless years of the mother star to establish a connection.

Therefore, there is only one quickest way to restore contact with the home star, and that is to send a spacecraft with a hyperspace engine, return to the home star, and then use radio communication to contact the home star.

But in this way, if the home planet has really fallen, the returning spacecraft will be like a sheep in the tiger's mouth, and may even ruin the entire exploration fleet again.

This is contrary to the second purpose of the exploration fleet, which is to spark civilization in deep space. If something unexpected happens to the home planet, and the exploration fleet dies immediately after, the Ezki civilization will really be in danger of extinction.

"What is the situation of other exploration fleets? Can we contact them?" Someone put forward an idea.

"The connection between the exploration fleets needs to be transferred through the home star. After the connection with the home star is interrupted, other fleets will not be able to contact each other."

Someone else quickly gave an answer, cutting off another glimmer of hope.

Now, the exploration fleet has been completely cut off from its home star in various ways. The entire fleet is like a kite with a broken string, struggling in the endless deep space, as if it is about to be swallowed up by the deep and dead starry sky. engulf.

(End of this chapter)