Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

As members of the SUPP (United People's Association of Singapore) parliamentarians, the people present were naturally quite quick-witted, and they soon understood what Lu Yongchang meant.

"So, you mean that Proxima Centauri sent us detailed annotations to help us understand their message?"

Representative Li, elbows propped on the conference table, asked with a furrowed brow, "What exactly is their purpose?"

This is, after all, the first time in human history that we have come into contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.

No one, including Lü Yongchang, knew how to deal with this situation.

"Let's wait a bit longer," Lu Yongchang said, frowning. "Let's wait until Zero has fully analyzed the information before we look at it."

The old man sitting in the main seat nodded silently, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

"The extremely dark way of coexisting between civilizations that you mentioned last time doesn't seem to be very suitable for this situation."

While waiting, the old man spoke softly.

Upon hearing this, Lü Yongchang couldn't help but give a wry smile: "Speaker, this is also a conclusion I deduced based on the situation at the time."

"This time... I don't know what happened either."

Suddenly, his eyes flickered slightly: "Perhaps, they, like us, are a rudimentary interstellar civilization that has only recently ventured beyond our planet?"

"No, that's not right."

Thinking of the Hall thruster tracks on the moon, Lü Yongchang quickly refuted his argument: "Early interstellar civilizations don't have such advanced interstellar travel technology."

Inside the meeting room, every member of parliament wore a look of worry and doubt.

"Professor, the analysis results are in."

Zero's voice broke the slightly tense atmosphere in the meeting room.

"To make it easier to understand, I translated it according to human writing style."

As he spoke, a "translation" appeared before everyone present.

[To an unknown advanced civilization: We are the Proxima Centauri civilization, which is 4.22 light-years away from you.]

In the vast universe, encountering an advanced civilization at a similar level of development is an extremely fortunate thing.

Unknown advanced civilizations, have you encountered any "technological bottlenecks"?

Whether or not we encounter each other, we hope to establish a cooperative relationship with you to jointly unravel the endless mysteries of the universe, thereby achieving rapid advancements in civilization.

The translation also includes the relative coordinates of Proxima Centauri and the solar system.

Upon seeing the relative coordinates, Lü Yongchang's eyes lit up slightly.

"So, like us, they also use multiple pulsars for positioning..." Lü Yongchang muttered to himself, "And there are technological bottlenecks? What does that mean?"

"Professor, this is a completely new term," Zero quickly explained. "I chose the most appropriate translation based on the context and the dictionary."

"The general idea is quite simple: when a civilization develops to a certain level, it will encounter what is known as a development bottleneck, and technological development will stagnate as a result."

"The time it takes to encounter technological bottlenecks depends on the development potential of a civilization."

"In their view, there are many factors that influence the potential for civilization to develop. Population size, the proportion of scientists, the degree of importance attached to technological development, and even beliefs and willpower all have varying degrees of influence."

Lu Yongchang's expression changed slightly.

For a civilization, stagnation in technological development is tantamount to a slow death!

Especially for nascent interstellar civilizations that have just stepped out of the planetary stage!

Watching helplessly as the surrounding resources are depleted, yet unable to travel further to find new resources...

Thinking of this scene, Lü Yongchang shuddered slightly.

Fortunately, humanity has not yet encountered any so-called technological bottlenecks.

Of course, this is also largely due to the technology tree system in his mind.

"Yongchang?" Perhaps noticing Lü Yongchang's uncertain expression, Councilor Li asked softly, "Is there any important information hidden in this message?"

Lu Yongchang snapped out of his daze and stared intently at the four Chinese characters "technological bottleneck".

Suddenly, his eyes lit up!

The clues strung together in his mind to form a complete closed loop!

"Speaker, I know what happened!"

Lu Yongchang, his face beaming with excitement, said without the slightest hesitation, "If their technological development has stagnated, then their actions make sense!"

Seeing the puzzled look on the old man's face, Lü Yongchang quickly began to explain.

"Speaker, you should remember the basic conditions of the Dark Forest Theory that I mentioned last time, right?"

The old man paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "The Dark Forest Theory... that's quite a name."

"I remember those basic conditions you mentioned."

"It seems like there's some kind of chain of suspicion and technological explosion involved, right?"

Lü Yongchang nodded, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "Now, they no longer have the prerequisite of technological explosion!"

"So, that's why they chose to communicate with us?" The old man frowned. "How can they be sure we're acting in good faith?"

Upon hearing this question, Lü Yongchang's smile grew even wider.

"That hits the nail on the head."

"I am certain that the civilization on Proxima Centauri, like us, is making its first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization."

On a cosmic scale, we're all newbies who've just left the beginner's area!

"So, what do we do now?" Albert's voice rang out from the side. "Respond to them?"

The moment Albert finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

Does it need a response?

What are the consequences of responding?

How can we be sure that the Proxima Centauri civilization didn't deceive them?

If the Proxima Centauri civilization is malicious, what would be the consequences of their hasty response?

Representative Li's expression changed slightly.

For the first time, he personally experienced an endless chain of suspicion.

Unlike on Earth, the infinitely extended distance between the two makes the chain of suspicion infinitely strong!

The meeting room was eerily quiet, the constant ticking of the clock only amplifying the restlessness in everyone's hearts.

Lu Yongchang silently sensed the atmosphere in the conference room.

After a long silence, he let out a long sigh and said softly, "I choose not to respond to them."

Albert's facial muscles twitched slightly; he understood the meaning behind Lü Yongchang's words.

Lü Yongchang nodded silently, confirming Albert's question.

"Why choose war?" a low-ranking senator interrupted the two men, clearly annoyed. "Isn't the Proxima Centauri civilization more technologically advanced than us now?"

"Even they've encountered technological bottlenecks, what if we do the same in the future..."

"There's no 'what if'!" Lü Yongchang's voice suddenly rose a few decibels. "Even if we encounter technological bottlenecks, that's a matter for human civilization itself!"

"Our most pressing need is to find a planet within the habitable zone to house our billions of humans!"

"Do you think the Proxima Centauri people will obediently hand over their home planet to us?!"

The congressman did not answer, but simply lowered his head silently.

"Don't forget."

Lu Yongchang's expression was somewhat cold: "Handling matters outside of civilization is the responsibility of the Academy of Sciences!"