Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 681 Time is Living

Yuri's immortality is based on the one-dimensional consciousness drifting of the Circular Stream.

With the solar slingshot provided by the Golden Tree, a launch into other star systems became possible.

The pandaren immediately asked to give it a try, completely disregarding the fact that he had almost been locked in the dimensional rift before.

Zhou Yi knew nothing about the neighboring planet Proxima Centauri, but agreed after confirming that it was safe to do so.

Yuri began entering the space tunnel again.

Different from last time.

This time, its drift lasted for 24 hours, and it didn't take the three original humans with it, also to avoid unnecessary risks. In an unfamiliar environment, it would be difficult for it to keep an eye on the others at all times.

Yuri opened his eyes again, but a strange expression appeared on his face. It looked like he was puzzled, or perhaps a little melancholy.

Zhou Yi asked, "How was the rafting trip?"

"It went more smoothly than expected."

Yuri quickly gathered his thoughts: "At the speed of light, it would take four years to arrive. However, the main stream of the solar cyclone does not travel at the speed of light, but rather through a very peculiar spatial hole, arriving at Proxima Centauri almost instantly."

"The space cavity was filled with...living things. Each of those living things had energy fluctuations at the level of a Transformer, and they were everywhere, like air."

"It's difficult to describe, come and see for yourself."

The pandaman displayed his conscious memories.

Zhou Yi immediately gained its perspective.

It was a soft space filled with constantly churning and deforming soft-bodied creatures, huddled together like a swarm of jellyfish squeezed into a can.

Zhou Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

He was all too familiar with it.

Four-dimensional fish... clockwise device.

Has this entered Shi Weng's body?
Zhou Yi immediately inquired about the golden tree.

[Old Man Shi? No.]

That's four-dimensional space, a shortcut to another distant space, allowing one to directly traverse lower-dimensional distances through higher-dimensional space.

Time permeates four-dimensional space; those are simply moments in time.

Zhou Yi was a little confused: "Time?"

"You mean time isn't a man-made concept or a figment of our imagination, but something that truly exists?"

【certainly. 】

In four-dimensional space, time can be directly seen and touched, but this is not possible in lower-dimensional spaces.

[Once they enter lower-dimensional space, they quickly decompose and become part of living organisms.]

The first two sentences are easy to understand.

Zhou Yi was somewhat uncertain about the last sentence.

Three-dimensional space can be simply understood as consisting of three orthogonal dimensions: length, width, and height.

Therefore, four-dimensional space is based on the above, with the addition of time as the fourth dimension.

When time enters three-dimensional space, it needs to undergo a certain degree of decomposition and deformation.

[It's like a cardboard box; if you want to fit it into an envelope that can only hold a flat surface, you have to flatten it into a paper shape.]

Golden Tree then said.

That's how time is.

[Upon entering our three-dimensional space, they decompose into special three-dimensional paper fragments, and each life form, each consciousness, is an envelope capable of containing them.]

Therefore, time is everywhere, but it needs the consciousness of life as its carrier.

Without life, there would be no time in lower-dimensional space, just like in one-dimensional space.

Zhou Yi was a little confused.

This is completely different from what human science understands.

"In the universe, time is an objective reality, and not merely a conceptual description of motion?"

【certainly. 】

All life will come to recognize time.

So how does this time system come about? The sun as an external reference point, the alternation of day and night, hunger and fatigue within ourselves… all movement seems inseparable from corresponding time cycles.

Because time is inherently an objective dimension, a marker.

[After it decomposes in lower-dimensional space, it leaves a mark on living organisms, just like a life form whose initial time is determined from its birth.]

This timeframe includes its feeding time, rest time, and time of death... however, it's not absolute, as it can be changed later.

The advancement of life can alter one's existing time cycle.

In lower-dimensional spaces, due to the limitations of natural laws, time can only be manifested to this extent; it cannot be directly touched or moved. This is because it is a limited result of being decomposed.

[Like me, I'm currently trapped by the strings of the String Civilization, so I'm not in my complete form.]

True, complete time can only unfold in four-dimensional space.

Time is everywhere; it exists very close to the essence of energy. The light-absorbing monsters you described are actually quite similar to them.

Zhou Yi seemed to understand, but he didn't really understand either.

He asked a question: "According to what you're saying... does that mean time is dynamic?"

【right. 】

Time is a special kind of being in four-dimensional space. But when it enters our lower-dimensional space, it can only merge with local life forms until its life cycle ends, at which point it can move on to the next life form.

In four-dimensional space, they are life, but in lower-dimensional spaces, they become non-living entities.

Just like Yuri, whom you mentioned, wasn't he essentially a one-dimensional consciousness operating in a lower-dimensional space? Time is similar; it can only operate in three-dimensional space after being reduced in dimension, although this activity is limited in height.

Zhou Yi was deeply shaken.

But don't worry, they're harmless.

Just as humans are composed of numerous cells and bacteria, time is no more terrifying than those things. In lower-dimensional space, time is simply an unstoppable force, unable to interfere with travelers from all directions, who are omnipresent.

Zhou Yi's mind raced: "But this doesn't make sense, does it? At least in human understanding, time not only describes changes in life, but also changes in non-living things in nature, which seems different from what you're saying."

What you're describing is perceived time, merely the outward manifestation of time. I'm referring to real time.

The relationship between the two is like that between the person and their shadow.

The duality of the world is generally considered to be matter and consciousness.

They are each other's shadows and projections. Conscious life would believe that consciousness dominates the world and influences the creation of matter, while material life would naturally believe that matter created consciousness. Neither is wrong, because the real world cannot be fully observed at lower dimensions; it is merely the form that the 'universe' takes in lower-dimensional space.

The same applies to time.

If a person sees the shadow of a tree, they naturally wouldn't consider the shadow to be alive, but the shadow itself is indeed a living thing.

[People merely believe they have created the concept of time, just as they believe dreaming is a physiological phenomenon. Behind dreams lie nightmares, while time is an ancient and omnipresent fundamental life force, pervading space and forming the basis for the birth of all living things. Or rather, it is the original template and foundation of life.]

The movement of energy gave birth to time, and the transformation of time in different spaces and matter gave rise to all kinds of life.

Time can be viewed as a higher-dimensional, immortal entity.

Zhou Yi imagined a universe filled with clocks and pendulums.

He felt as if he had opened another door and glimpsed another side of the world: "If time is a vast number of life forms, do they think? Can they communicate and converse? Do they have behaviors similar to metabolism and reproduction?"

Of course there are. They're just different in method and form.

[Haven't you encountered time-traveling beings before? Why would you ask such a question?]

Zhou Yi suddenly realized: "Old Shi?"

【good. 】

[It is the form that time, this life form, takes after it has grown to a certain stage, much like a cell in the human body. A single cell may seem very simple and unremarkable. But when their numbers increase, they connect and aggregate, ultimately resulting in a qualitative change, which forms human life. The fascinating and magnificent aspect of life lies in this transformation from quantitative to qualitative change.]

Golden Tree's words sparked a flurry of thoughts in Zhou Yi's mind.

It turns out that Shi Weng is the mature form of time life.

Time—or rather, those clockwise and counterclockwise timers—is indeed to the timekeeper what cells are to humans.

This four-dimensional being, in the eyes of an individual life like a human, is comparable in size to a golden tree. Using galaxies as the unit of measurement, it belongs to the category of macroscopic life in both size and form.

Zhou Yi then thought of the three-way war between the Golden Tree, Shi Weng, and the Celestial Legion led by the String Civilization.

Why would Toki no Oki hunt the golden tree?

[For material gain.]

The Golden Tree can create all sorts of matter and consciousness, but the Time Elder only utilizes time as a life form and dimension. In comparison, we possess far more diverse potential for growth, while they only have time as their path. Therefore, they need to acquire things from the outside world to supplement their own deficiencies.

But it was less a hunt and more a fusion.

The Golden Tree preaches.

This is what I see from the energy of the stellar channel.

The main conflict between the two sides is over dominance—whether time drives the evolution of all things, or whether the evolution of matter drives the change of time. They will continue to contend over this question.

The winner will dominate the fusion, while the loser will only become a part of the life organ.

When it comes to everything related to the universe, Golden Tree is practically an expert.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but think that he and Xiao Fu, the Flow Tracer, seemed to be in the same situation.

Both sides fought for dominance, and one side won. Therefore, Suneo became Unit 2, relegated from the main damage dealer to a support role.

Time is a form of life on a higher-dimensional scale.

Zhou Yi raised a point of doubt: "Deep underground on Earth, we discovered a kind of time-based life form called the Time Storage Chamber, which is said to be an important organ of the Time Elder."

Why would such a time-traveling life form exist in the Earth's core?

Those are wreckage.

"wreckage?"

【Um. 】

A war once broke out in this galaxy.

[The Time-Born and the String Civilization went to war. The String Civilization lost and was locked inside the sun, but it also caused considerable damage to the Time-Born.]

The power of the String Civilization lies entirely in the "string," a very special energy structure capable of connecting and establishing channels between different spaces. It used strings to disrupt parts of the Time Elder's physical dimensions, causing organs like the Time Storage Chamber to be stripped away into lower dimensions.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but think of it.

When I was fishing in the four-dimensional space cave, I did find a large number of damaged four-dimensional organs inside.

It seems to be related to this battle.

Wait.

The body is damaged, and organs are detached into lower dimensions...

A terrifying thought popped into Zhou Yi's mind: "Is Earth a part of Shi Weng's body?"

【Um. 】

[And it's a very important part, essentially the part responsible for reproduction.]

Therefore, the abundance of life in this world is not accidental... because time, the foundation of life, constantly flows into this world, and even though it is folded and decomposed here, it remains the basis and framework for the birth of all kinds of creatures.

Time enters this area from the Earth's core; it's part of Time Elder's normal physiological cycle.

[Time and life bring about the evolution of various life forms. Through diverse changes, various organisms bring about the diversity of movement, allowing time to grow through them.]

[After the final carrier dies and time completes its individual cycle, they will return to four-dimensional space.]

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "Holy crap!"

It turns out that Shi Weng was the ancient creator of Earth.

All forms of life are carriers of time.

They are the genes of everything.

but.

Zhou Yi then asked, "With the Celestials messing around with Earth like this, is Shi Weng completely unresponsive?"

What types of cells are missing from your arms?

"..."

[Only the story of Xian Wenming is something Shi Weng would care about.]

Because that guy has already broken through dimensional barriers.

[Based on energy records in the sun.]

[The earliest instance can be traced back to the war you witnessed. The String Civilization wanted to use the fully formed Golden Tree to restrain Timebringer, and then use the Strings to control and capture him.]

[Time Elder eventually stopped the fusion, because he discovered that the golden tree was part of another higher-dimensional life form.]

Later, the String Civilization, relying on the strings, tracked their way here.

Earth is one of the most fundamental low-dimensional organs of the Time Elder. It was placed here to observe my condition; the day the sun is destroyed will be the day the Golden Tree matures.

Golden Tree paused.

[The String Civilization forcibly activated the Circular Flow, allowing me to take shape ahead of schedule and modify several other celestial bodies in preparation for the second capture of Time Elder.]

Meanwhile, the Celestials rebelled, awakening Shi Weng with the remains of the Golden Elephant and the Golden Tree. Shi Weng then reduced the String Civilization to a lower dimension, turning it into fuel for the sun.

Zhou Yi finally figured out the whole story.

The destruction of humanity on Earth was actually caused by a chain reaction during the hunting of the Weng by the String Civilization.

"Since Shi Weng was able to suppress the String Civilization, why didn't he do the same during the previous war?"

Zhou Yi didn't understand.

[For the same reason.]

People don't care about a mad dog barking at them.

However, if a rabid dog angers humans, dealing with it isn't difficult as long as one doesn't mind getting hurt.

Zhou Yi then realized this.

Although both involve breaking through dimensions, the difference appears to be enormous.

When the old man got serious, he started to get serious.

The string civilization was crushed and turned into a figurine in the sun.

On a cosmic scale, it seems like it's either you crushing me or me crushing you... situations where the two sides are evenly matched are actually quite rare.

(End of this chapter)