That was just some kind of image, some existence reverberating and remaining in this photograph of the Universe.
But Lind’s gaze could not even focus on the form captured in that constantly magnifying cosmic photograph. When Lind subconsciously tried to see clearly, what he saw slid past the edges of his thoughts like an endless tide, leaving only chaotic traces. Lind could not even determine whether this was his brain subconsciously protecting him or the effect of the protective suit he was wearing.
No eyes, no face, yet all who looked upon Him were certain He was gazing back, requiring no language. That will was stamped deep in their souls like cold iron.
His existence transcended the boundaries of dimensions, like a mad symphony, the melody distorted yet irresistible. Mortal reason was crushed by that formless melody, and consciousness cracked like a mirror under His gaze.
His breath surged like a tidal wave, bringing not death but something worse—wisdom, transcendent wisdom. In that moment, He infused knowledge into the fragile minds of mortals, and this was not even related to His will, but rather when mortals understood what they were seeing, it was already too late.
Even through the screen, Lind could feel that distant gaze from deep within the universe—humanity was being watched.
At that moment, the image on the screen changed, from towering mountains to scorching deserts, from brightly lit cities to silent underwater realms, all of humanity—regardless of wealth, status, language, or even ideology—stopped everything in that instant. Children put down their toys, workers halted their machines, soldiers on the battlefield dropped their weapons. It was as if the entire Earth froze time for that moment, with only heartbeats and breaths echoing rapidly, as if all consciousness struggled in a mire.
He was an indescribable oppression, like an endless deep sea flooding into everyone’s consciousness in an instant. Everyone was laid bare defenseless, the deepest fears, desires, sins, and hopes were turned inside out, ruthlessly exposed under His unknowable gaze.
Perhaps this existence harbored no subjective malice, but such things happened, and all on Blue Planet underwent a will assessment. It was formless and weightless, yet it struck each person’s will like a crushing hammer, and mad knowledge surged into everyone’s minds.
As Lind came back to his senses from the gaze, he faintly understood why this history of 550C had never been mentioned in connections; even through a photograph and a screen, he felt that gaze watching, a gaze that seemed to entirely cross time and space. Even a simple mention might attract that existence’s attention again, no one dared to gamble, nor would anyone bet that gaze would not traverse time and space once more.
Then the imagery morphed like those classic disaster horror films, some went insane, this madness spread among the crowd like a mental plague Lind had known before, and the panic in human society intensified this transmission of mental plague. In an instant, the whole world realized that it was being observed by some indescribable, incomprehensible presence, plunging the world into chaos.
Within the protective suit, Lind took a deep breath; it felt as if he had just experienced a will assessment, but fortunately, it had already passed. At that moment, the voice of 550C resounded appropriately, pulling Lind back to reality.
“Please silently state your name, please silently state your name, please silently state your name.”
Important things still need to be said three times.
The voice of 550C was still a recording, still so noisy and distorted, but it made Lind, who felt as if he had survived a catastrophe, experience an unprecedented sense of reality. Yet, Lind knew this recording was far from over; after all, it was still a long way from the legendary Golden Age, and humanity hadn’t begun constructing the so-called Tower of Babel.
The screen continued to play, cults and apocalypses matched even better, as the chaotic era came, those half-mad people began to stand up. They claimed to have acquired knowledge from deep within the universe, and that so-called messenger of God would descend at some point, completely destroying Blue Planet and then allowing it to be reborn.
Throughout history, there have been many classic end-of-the-world discourses; this inevitably reminded Lind of a certain rumor about ‘01,’ except during the time that end-of-the-world rumor pointed to, he only remembered that the weather that day was gray and overcast, and apart from that, there was nothing unusual.
However, the cultists on the screen were different; they truly gained certain knowledge from that human collective will assessment, and the so-called “messenger of God” would genuinely arrive on Blue Planet at a specific time.
However, those extraordinary knowledge gained from the will assessment was not limited to just those cultists. In this chaos heading toward the apocalypse, a certain eastern country was the first to stabilize these talents, and when Lind saw this country appear, he could even sense the madness lingering in his mind from his contact with that existence through the screen gradually dissipating.
If that existence were like humanity being curious about ants by the roadside and pouring a bucket of water into the ant hill, then the only good news was that the sugar content in that bucket of water was not low, which represented both destruction and a gift.
Some people who passed the will assessment gained extraordinary knowledge, and the certain eastern country was the first to integrate these talents, beginning to break through the despairing path toward the apocalypse.
They relied on a powerful state apparatus and unparalleled execution to consolidate this knowledge, utilizing it for investment and production.
This country seemed to have already grown accustomed to the apocalypse, and it even seemed to be summarizing the collapse of civilization, planning to conduct experiments in the next collapse. This time, the people of this country began to conduct experiments in the apocalypse, like a beam of light amid the chaotic world, a guiding lantern. They prepared for the destruction of civilization and even considered how to pass on civilization after disaster.
Yes, they had even prepared for the destruction of the world, and the reconstruction afterward.
At least everything hadn’t happened yet; at least people could still eat their fill; at least there was still land to cultivate; even this apocalypse had given a clear countdown. So why not do something while waiting for the apocalypse to arrive?
On the screen, an elderly man, dressed in military uniform and adorned with numerous medals, said: “If the motherland falls, then I’ll rebuild it, one house, one house at a time. We will stand on this land, witnessing the apocalypse descend, even if the apocalypse arrives.”
Amidst the chaos, this humanity that had been gazing at the starry sky since the era of Homo sapiens had become taboo, but a certain eastern country was the first to announce its exploration plan, intending to utilize the knowledge gained from the gaze and the chaos to construct a massive device capable of covering the entire Blue Planet, to fend off the scrutiny of that gaze, to prepare for the predetermined apocalypse.
At this moment, the recorded voice of 550C aptly sounded: “Although this device has its own perpetual motion system and does not need to draw energy from Blue Planet, due to its appearance and characteristics, it is still referred to as the Dyson Sphere Project. Those space stations and the Tower of Babel you see were once part of the Dyson Sphere Project.”
A plan to cover the entire planet began.
