The Wallfacer: Everyone wants to break through my wall.

A month later, the ring that had previously communicated with humans also emerged from the four-dimensional space. In that instant, the universe seemed to be cut in half, and the long break emitted a dazzling light, as if a star had been stretched into a thin line in an instant.

The thin line appears abruptly, as if a God had simply and decisively drawn a thin line on the universe using a scale.

This thin line is one astronomical unit long, which is the length of the rope connecting the Earth and the Sun.

The world lord of the Sixth Fleet suddenly shivered. For some reason, the thin line made him subconsciously feel a sense of palpitation.

In the deep expanse of space, humanity has glimpsed a small corner of the dark secrets hidden beneath the veil of the universe.

Chapter 262 Higher Dimensional Development is the Future of Humanity

The four-dimensional fragments provided humanity with a vast amount of information, and the information the ring exchanged with humanity only constituted a portion of this vast amount of information.

For example, in the past, people generally believed that although higher-dimensional matter only shows a local projection of itself in three dimensions, it would faithfully express the higher-dimensional properties of higher-dimensional matter in terms of mass.

One cubic meter of water has a mass of one ton. If one cubic meter of water weighs two tons, it means that there is another cubic meter of water hidden in a higher dimension. This is the understanding that people had of higher-dimensional matter in the past.

The reason for this understanding lies in gravity. Gravity is a ripple in spacetime, a manifestation of the interaction between energy and space. Among the four fundamental forces, gravity is the most honest. The amount of energy a substance has tells space how heavy it is and how strong its gravitational waves should be.

Imagine someone sticking their head out of a window. People outside can only see the person's head, but that doesn't mean the person's entire mass consists only of their head.

However, this understanding has now been overturned. The mass of a part of higher-dimensional matter projected onto a lower dimension is the same as the mass of the body. When a person leans out of a window, the mass they exhibit is only their head; the rest of their body mass is lost.

This is quite unbelievable.

In response, people can only attribute it to dimensionality. Matter in different dimensions exhibits vastly different properties. This view has been widely accepted by the scientific community. Macro-electrons, which exist in two dimensions, have lost the concept of 'volume' and thus far surpass three-dimensional capacitors in terms of energy storage.

For example, the development of hyperspace jump has provided a direct glimpse into the collapse of four-dimensional space into three-dimensional space. Because the speed of light and the curvature of spacecraft have been slow to break through, the voices that once supported the development of hyperspace jump have now split into two factions.

One faction, due to the existence of the four-dimensional fragment, has become even more determined to develop hyperspace jump technology. The biggest fear in scientific research is whether a technology can actually be realized. Now, the four-dimensional fragment has told humanity through its existence before its destruction that 'higher dimensions really exist!' Therefore, humanity no longer needs to hesitate in developing hyperspace jump technology.

Another school of thought studies the cause of the destruction of the four-dimensional fragments. Combining the information from the communication between the four-dimensional fragments and the ring, as well as the observation data of the Sixth Fleet world on the four-dimensional fragments from various aspects, they believe that there is potential energy in the higher and lower dimensions. The higher potential energy must point to the lower potential energy. Therefore, when the higher and lower dimensions meet, the higher-dimensional space will collapse into the lower dimension.

Spacetime tells matter how to move. When the spacetime structure deforms, matter will inevitably deform as well, which is the four-dimensional matter decay that was later observed in the Sixth Fleet world.

This is not simply a matter in the fourth dimension being squeezed into the third dimension; rather, it is a change in the structure of fundamental particles, just like methane burning into water or hydrogen fusion synthesizing gold.

This change only applies to three-dimensional matter. If we reduce the dimension of matter to two dimensions, for example, particles lose the concept of volume and can no longer express volume in any form.

Therefore, opponents of hyperspace jump technology believe that there are no higher-dimensional spaces in the universe today, or if there are, they are merely 'puddles' about to evaporate, like the four-dimensional fragments they have encountered.

Without higher dimensions, where would you jump to after a hyperspace jump? You can't exactly jump to a lower dimension, can you?

However, proponents of hyperspace jump technology argue that while the collapse of four-dimensional space into three-dimensional space is a fact, this does not mean that hyperspace jump is meaningless. On the contrary, this is the most significant point, because the collapse of four-dimensional space into three-dimensional space shows that four-dimensional space cannot exist stably in three-dimensional space; its stability requires certain conditions to be met in order to 'maintain' it.

Who will maintain it?

Naturally, intelligent civilizations are like humans building highways on Earth. Don't other advanced civilizations in the universe also need to build "highways" to maintain the stability of their territories?

Proponents argue that the three-dimensional space of the universe is the most stable ground state space, while higher dimensions above this can be constructed and maintained by external forces, just like highways on Earth.

Are highways natural? The answer is no.

So, do highways exist? The answer is yes.

Hyperspace jumps can theoretically achieve displacement at speeds exceeding the speed of light. If an alien civilization exists with a territory as large as the spiral arms of the Milky Way, it would inevitably need a means of displacement at speeds exceeding the speed of light.

As for what the circle said?

The discoverers and users of highways do not necessarily mean they are pioneers in building higher-dimensional spaces. The ring may simply be a life form that naturally arises in a higher dimension, and from its perspective, the universe is naturally what it is.

The decay of four-dimensional matter proves even less. An alien civilization, in order to establish its rule, would naturally want to leave itself one or more 'trump cards'.

Based on the Dark Forest theory, what if a later-emerging civilization were to catch up with them within the territory ruled by the creators of this higher-dimensional space? Keep in mind, that would be a higher-dimensional civilization.

The answer is that any later civilizations within the territory must be completely dependent on the pioneers who built the higher-dimensional space. Their existence depends on these pioneers. If the pioneer civilization perishes, the later civilizations within the higher-dimensional space will also perish. Therefore, the dark forest between them does not exist.

Supporters also presented information about the communication between the ring and the research vessel as evidence that the dark forest does not exist in different dimensions, and the competition for resources only exists within the same dimension.

Based on these reasons, proponents believe that humanity should not only develop hyperspace jump technology, but also consider how to build higher-dimensional spaces, because this is a technology that interstellar civilizations must develop to expand their territory and maintain their dominance, and it is the direction of humanity's future.

……

Snapped!

Davis and others, who were still in a research meeting, looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lin Feng standing at the door.

The Taylor Group's research conference on the Sixth Fleet world came to an abrupt halt with Lin Feng's arrival, and all was silent as everyone's attention was focused on him.

Lin Feng strode to the head seat of the meeting.

Davis wisely stood up and patted off any non-existent dust from the chair.

Sitting in the head seat, Lin Feng looked around at everyone and spoke with a serious expression.

"I have deciphered some information about the exchange between the ring and the research vessel."

"The information is terrible, but I hope everyone can be mentally prepared."

Everyone was taken aback at first, but seeing Lin Feng's serious expression, they realized that the question Lin Feng was about to ask was not simple.

“Please speak,” said Davis, who was standing next to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng organized his thoughts and slowly said, "Our universe was not originally like this. It had ten dimensions. It was gradually reduced to the current three dimensions. The four-dimensional fragments that the Sixth Fleet world came into contact with at 1.3 light-years away were actually the remnants of a four-dimensional interstellar civilization war in a four-dimensional universe."

The short sentence contained a huge amount of information; the crowd was initially stunned, but now they were speechless.

After a long pause, someone cautiously asked, "...Do you mean that lower dimensions didn't exist originally? And that higher-dimensional civilizations gradually reduced the universe's dimensions to the current three dimensions?"

"That's it."

Lin Feng nodded seriously.

After receiving Lin Feng's confident reply, the group looked at each other and began to discuss, still in a state of extreme shock.

Most people would just think he's talking nonsense and ignore it after a listen, but the person who said this is Lin Feng, the Wallfacer who has lived through two centuries and is now facing the wall. Whether his words are credible or not, they carry weight, especially for the Taylorist faction.

Chapter 263 Spoilers are fun for a moment

One core member raised the question, "How would a higher-dimensional civilization survive? Higher-dimensional matter would inevitably decay after entering a lower dimension, and they themselves would also perish. This would be a completely foolish act of mutual destruction."

Survival is the primary need of civilization, but reducing the dimensionality of space is harmful to higher-dimensional civilizations.

According to Lin Feng, since low-dimensional civilizations did not exist in the universe at the beginning, it must have been high-dimensional civilizations that actively lowered the dimensions of space and destroyed everything in their own dimension. This is simply insane behavior and violates the laws of survival of civilizations.

Lin Feng shook his head and replied, "The circle said, 'The fish left the ocean, went to land, and then let the ocean dry up.'"

"These alien civilizations first modified themselves to adapt to low-dimensional environments before reducing the dimensionality of the universe."

"Low-dimensional beings can exist in higher dimensions, as the Sixth Fleet world has already proven with its own experience, but high-dimensional beings cannot exist in low dimensions."

Just then, someone else asked, "But how can these higher-dimensional civilizations, which have reduced dimensions, reduce the dimensions of the universe as a whole? If lower dimensions never existed in the first place, how could the civilizations in the universe at the beginning have understood lower dimensions and implemented dimensional reduction on the universe as a whole?"

"It could be an accident during scientific exploration, or it could be a malicious attack after learning about this physical phenomenon. It doesn't matter. What matters is that even if only a low-dimensional space of the Planck scale appears, the higher dimensions will collapse into the lower dimensions. Pandora's box has been opened, and it has been open for a long time," Lin Feng said seriously.

To give everyone a direct sense of how terrifying a dimensional reduction attack can be, he used antimatter bombs as an example.

"Antimatter bombs are familiar to everyone, right? Their destructive power does not rely on their own mass, but on the mass of the target. The greater the impact on the target, the greater the power of the antimatter bomb. The same applies to dimensional reduction weapons. Their target is the entire universe, so their catastrophic potential even surpasses that of a star explosion."

Everyone was at a loss; the target was a weapon capable of striking the entire universe, something they couldn't even imagine.

Lin Feng continued, "Moreover, I also learned some bad news from Yuanhuan."

"The dimensions of the universe are continuing to decrease."

Everyone present at the meeting was stunned by Lin Feng's words.

"This……"

“We don’t mean to deny your judgment, but what you said is really…”

They find it hard to accept such a statement. To suddenly tell them that there are a bunch of advanced civilizations in the universe, each of them carrying out dimensional reduction attacks on space like madmen, is something no one can accept.

The key issue is that, despite Lin Feng's lengthy explanation, he has failed to provide any crucial evidence to prove that the current four-dimensional universe, which consists of three-dimensional space plus a time dimension, is still undergoing dimensional reduction.

Lin Feng had anticipated their skeptical attitude, and he asked, "I ask you, where do macroatoms come from? Why do atoms, which should be microscopic particles, exhibit macroscopic states?"

"..."

The crowd fell silent. The mechanism by which macroatoms are produced remains a subject of debate in the scientific community.

Lin Feng then asked, "Let me ask you again, macro-electrons and macro-atoms, what are they in terms of dimensionality? Two-dimensional or three-dimensional?"

"..."

Everyone remained silent. After Lin Feng's reminder, they realized that these two seemingly unrelated things seemed to be connected.

Lin Feng said, "Ding Yi once constructed a physical framework about macro atoms. In his physical framework, macro atoms are the result of being guided by some unknown natural force in the universe, and are a process of increasing cosmic entropy."

"Actually, this is a drawback of the dialectical materialism principle of 'not adding entities unless necessary,' but there's nothing we can do about it, because it's really unreasonable to drag things into the direction of aliens. You can add a fictitious alien civilization, and a priest can add a vague God."

"The information provided by the ring now explains the reason for the existence of macro atoms. The three-dimensional universe is still decreasing in dimension. Just like the four-dimensional space we see in the Sixth Fleet world decreased to three dimensions, and four-dimensional matter decayed into three-dimensional matter. In some parts of the universe, three-dimensional space is also decreasing to two dimensions. Macro atoms are two-dimensional atoms that have escaped from that ever-expanding two-dimensional space to our place."

When high-dimensional matter enters a lower dimension, it will inevitably undergo dimensional reduction decay, while low-dimensional matter can exist normally when it enters a higher dimension. Macroatoms and macroelectrons clearly conform to this.

Regardless of whether there are truly super-civilizations actively reducing the dimensions of the universe, there is definitely a dimension in the universe that is lower than three-dimensional space; otherwise, macro-atoms and macro-electrons could not exist.

Moreover, this two-dimensional space, which they have yet to discover, must be numerous or cover a vast area; otherwise, in the vast universe, humans would have no chance to observe such small numbers of macro-atoms and macro-electrons.

Everyone present believed Lin Feng's explanation and the fact that the universe was still facing the fate of decreasing dimensions. They subconsciously shuddered, thinking of the scene where the ring was destroyed along with the four-dimensional space. Back then, no one thought that humanity might follow in its footsteps.

"What should we do?" someone asked.

Lin Feng said, "We need to overcome the challenges of microscopy and quantum mechanics; these are the main difficulties."

"Microscopic technology allows human civilization to possess the most basic survival capabilities, enabling them to escape at near the speed of light, and to be sufficiently stealthy and difficult to detect. Quantum technology, on the other hand..."

Lin Feng paused for a moment, then continued, "Based on our current understanding of macroatoms, it should be called two-dimensionalization."

"What is now certain is that microscopic particles also cannot survive in low-dimensional space, because three-dimensional particles have an additional spatial property. When they enter two-dimensional space, they will decay like the four-dimensional matter observed in the Sixth Fleet world. Macro atoms and macro electrons are the most powerful proof of this."

"Therefore, even if we successfully achieve microscopicization, we cannot relax our research on two-dimensionalization. One day, the universe will become a universe composed entirely of two-dimensional space, just like the three-dimensional universe we see today."

A few days later, Lin Feng's analysis of the information exchanged between the circular ring and the research vessel was disseminated at the meeting.

Lin Feng did not stop it, nor did he deliberately guide the spread of information. It was just that some media outlets, eager for newsworthy topics, rushed to report on it.

In terms of public opinion, people scoffed at the information that Lin Feng analyzed.

On the one hand, Lin Feng's reputation was terrible at the time. After blowing up Mount Olympus on Mars, he also bombed Australia on Earth and ordered a bombing in his sleep. Furthermore, he was the builder of a multi-deterrence system. The safety of human civilization was completely in the hands of this madman.

On the other hand, due to political reasons, some people are secretly stirring things up, hoping to use the attack on Lin Feng to further damage the Taylor Group.

"Look, that madman Feng Taylor is spouting nonsense again."