CHAPTER 889: CHAPTER 134: GREAT STRENGTH AND FLYING BRICKS

"I bet those aliens are definitely enthusiasts of throwing bricks with great force," Xiang Shan said, carefully observing the row of slab-like objects being slid by a mechanical arm.

This is something dismantled from Argon’s core layer. In the Rama Project, named after a mythological source "Argon," a name was chosen as the project code. These slab-like objects are called "Orunmila"—in a certain mythology, the god of prophecy, magic, and knowledge.

"Orunmila"—these slab-like objects are fixed on the inner side of Argon. They are tightly arranged together, like a kaleidoscope.

Many objects, probably tracks, run parallel to the walls. It is likely that robots move along these tracks.

At the core’s center is a machine that is no longer functional. Perhaps it has malfunctioned; no matter how humanity probes, it doesn’t respond—of course, it might also be because humans have yet to find the "power button" or "start button."

Or simply, the power supply equipment connected by humans is not of sufficient voltage.

Who knows if the civic standard for aliens is a hundred thousand volts?

But currently, those with the authority to operate the alien machines do not dare to apply high voltages directly, fearing to damage this only intact alien mechanical sample.

Ah, of course, there are some incomplete ones too.

In Xiang Shan’s exploration, some rubble blocked their path. Behind those piles of rubble were other incomplete mechanical remains, quite numerous and likely to be drones.

Incidentally, not a single organic macromolecule from aliens has been found yet.

Including Xiang Shan, several scientists have considered the idea that "aliens are Cybermen, living biological brains inside mechanical bodies." Though far-fetched, nobody thinks that implanting a thinking organ into a cyber body can extend the natural life span by a hundred or even a thousand times, yet humans have carefully examined each machine.

There’s no evidence that any organic entity ever existed inside them. These things are purely mechanical.

Humans have recorded the positions of those machines and documented each item’s number and coordinate in detail.

It’s said that research institutions with governmental backgrounds are attempting to reconstruct the appearance of these machines.

Within the Rama Project District, many scientists have also begun restoration work.

However, many scientists have already shown disappointment.

Whether in materials science or engineering, the builders of "Argon" are not much different from Earth, at most "a little more advanced than Earth."

And the top concerns of the big shots in the permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely "the technologies from Argon that can directly impact current industrial or military applications," seem to be just a little.

Like the structure of a rather mature nuclear rocket engine.

Now, the only challenges humanity faces are the information on these slabs and the restoration of those machinery.

In general, the biologists who were urgently called, especially those in molecular biology, suddenly found themselves in an awkward position—because all the biological macromolecules within this spacecraft, upon analysis, have been determined as contamination from Earth.

Not a single alien biological macromolecule exists within. There’s fundamentally nothing for them to research.

Those studying morphology and behavior can still attempt to speculate on the potential forms and cognitive capabilities of aliens, but molecular biology indeed has no subject of study.

The reason they have not been directly withdrawn is partly for insurance—just in case—and partly because some speculate that the information on these composite slabs contains genetic information of aliens, requiring their interpretation.

Of course, all of this has nothing to do with Xiang Shan right now.

He was captivated by these genuinely extraterrestrial stone slabs.

Another civilization, across an unknown number of light-years and tens of thousands of years, delivered these creations to the Solar System. The existence of these stone slabs may predate human civilization.

When the southern ancient apes first descended from the trees, it might have been on its way, grazing against countless interstellar dust particles. When the Mayans gazed at the starry sky, it might have been traversing the Oort cloud.

And after such a vast span of space and an extended duration of time, it can still exist less than two meters away from the individual, Xiang Shan.

This itself is a "miracle."

Ingrid stood quietly beside him, looking at these stone slabs inscribed with unknown information.

There are too many people who want to study these stone slabs. The Rama Project had to impose stringent management on them, requiring applications for actual research.

Although scientists in every district can obtain related materials about the symbols on the slabs, still, some scientists want to observe them up close.

It’s like visiting a museum. Although you can look at many artifact photographs at will, the feeling of actual contact is different.

And Xiang Shan sighed, "I bet those aliens are definitely enthusiasts of throwing bricks with great force."

He spoke in Chinese. Among this group of people, only Ingrid happened to understand.

"Hmm?" Ingrid said, "How so?"

"Engraving information is indeed a great method," Xiang Shan sighed, "Such noise resistance is really strong, extremely strong, and the cost is also very low."

"Hmm."

"The reason electronic products can’t take on such a responsibility is that they’re too small. A tiny accident, a high-energy particle collision, can cause a bit flip...of course, they can also make several mirror backups and continuously verify data against relative positions. But this spacecraft is just that size, it’s entirely possible to be wiped out by a gamma-ray burst from unknown light-years away, right?"

"Oh." Ingrid nodded.

"Actually, anyone who does mechanical work knows that if you can’t make a sufficiently precise machine, then you might as well make it bigger. As long as the materials are strong enough and operational costs are disregarded, large and bulky machines can achieve what small, precise machines can do."

"Oh."

"But the information density of this method is too low..." he muttered, "The amount of data it can store in the same volume is pathetically small..."

"I’ve heard that using lasers to engrave information in certain crystals is also very stable?"

"But then, the decoding becomes a problem," Xiang Shan said, "If a piece of information has to be read with high precision, the equipment fails, then the information loses its meaning. The smaller this piece of information, the higher the requirements for reading equipment." Xiang Shan pointed to the slab, "As for this thing, a scanner that’s over a hundred bucks should be able to read it, right?"