1908 Crystallizer
Quickly, Han Sen noticed he was able to read the text contained within the diary. It was written in the ancient language of humans—a text often used by the crystallizers. There were, however, a variety of symbols not even he could understand. All-in-all, he didn’t understand everything together.
There were some formulas jotted down. Han Sen wasn’t very good at science. He had learned a bit in school, but he had forgotten most of that by now.
But Han Sen was still able to tell he had never seen these formulas before. They were extremely complicated. Judging from the content of the book, the man had been trying to calculate something.
Han Sen flicked through the pages of the book, and the man showed no reaction. As long as Han Sen made no noise, the man didn’t mind his presence there. That’s how it seemed, leastways.
When the man didn’t object to Han Sen’s behavior, it made Han Sen feel safe enough to relax a little. So, he continued reading the diary. It must have been a draft of sorts. There were many random things jotted down.
However, there were enough words and symbols that Han Sen did not understand to make the book unintelligible.
Han Sen put the diary down and took a gander at the other books. They all seemed to concern themselves with science. There were ones based on quantum theory. Han Sen knew he would not understand those books.
Since the books were in messy disarray, Han Sen decided to tidy them up. By doing that, he also hoped to find a book he might enjoy. And soon after, his breath caught. He saw a book t.i.tled The Story of Genes.
This was what Han Sen had retrieved from the Main Control Room of the crystallizers. Ever since that time, he hadn’t found a single thing a.s.sociated with the book.
Not even Stay Up Late knew where The Story of Genes came from. He read it, shook his head, and thought it must be a prank. No one could use The Story of Genes, or even practice it. It was not something any creature could learn.
Han Sen had never expected that he would find another copy in a place like this.
“Perhaps it is just a coincidence. Maybe the t.i.tle is the same, but it’s not actually the same book.” Han Sen tried to regather the composure of his thoughts, and then, flipped the book open.
When he read the first line, he knew he had not been mistaken. This was indeed another copy of The Story of Genes. It was exactly the same.
Han Sen kept reading the content, and word for word, it was the same.
Aside from the standard content, there were actually many notes explaining things. But they weren’t related to how you’d actually practice with the text. The notes were of a scientific nature.
Han Sen read it all seriously, right up until he reached the end.
The content, from back to front, was the same as his own The Story of Genes. There was, however, an additional page. That page had nothing to do with how to practice the work, though. It was a summary.
The summary used an extensive vocabulary. Han Sen did not understand what was written until he reached the final line. It said the test had failed.
There was something else he understood, too. “Cannot figure out the requirements for practice. The Story of Genes theory does not make sense. Can I not create a G.o.d?”
“Is this guy the creator of The Story of Genes?” Han Sen looked back at the man strangely.
The man was dressed in ordinary garments, but they were in tatters. He stood motionless, like a mannequin. He was focused, as if he was trying to hear something.
Han Sen had something he wished to ask, but he knew that if he tried to ask anything, the man would simply tell him to be quiet.
Han Sen kept sorting through the books on the table. There were books on many different subjects, from genes to quantum theory. Overall, Han Sen could not understand much.
After Han Sen tidied up the books, he decided to sit and observe the man. The man really wasn’t moving, and he was unsure how long the man could do this.
Han Sen had almost fallen asleep when the man finally moved. He walked gently towards the table, looked down at Han Sen, and said, “Who are you? Why have you come here?”
“I am Han Sen. What’s your name?” Han Sen asked happily.
“Run, or it will be too late for you to escape.” The man looked annoyed.
“What does that mean?” Han Sen felt a chill, and he thought the man might try to fight him.
“You don’t know that you are on a spirit’s body. If it moves, it will travel through s.p.a.ce,” the man explained.
“You mean the mountain is a creature?” Han Sen asked with shock.
“What is so weird about that? There is plenty of life in this world,” the man said.
“It’s a mountain. How can a mountain have life? There are other creatures like birds and worms on this mountain,” Han Sen said.
The man looked at him with disdain. “You have so many bacteria and parasites on you. Does the fact that they have life mean that you do not?”
“But I am a living thing. The mountain is just a rock,” Han Sen said.
“Who said rocks cannot possess life? It’s like a piece of meat. You wouldn’t say it is living, but it is a part of life,” the man said.
“It’s not like that. If the rock is like flesh, then why are we able to create mines? And why does the life of rock not resist? Like us; if someone was digging into our flesh, we’d want to kill whoever was a.s.saulting us,” Han Sen asked.
The man laughed. “It’s because we are too fast!”
“Too fast?” Han Sen froze, unsure of what he meant.
The man explained. “The rock lives longer than we do. A billion years might only be a moment for them. Even if we do dig into its body, the rock might not even have the time to notice our presence. It cannot see what we do.”
Han Sen was frozen. He had never thought of things this way before.
The man looked at Han Sen. “You said we would kill anyone who harms, yes? But things aren’t like that. What if we grow a sickness like cancer? It destroys our bodies, but often, we can’t root out the thing that is killing us. When these things harm your body, you cannot do anything. Just like the rock is unable to do things about us.”
“This is just a simple way for me to explain these things. The truth of such matters is far more complicated. If you are interested in learning more, read this. You will understand far better.” The man gave Han Sen a book.
“My scientific background is pretty bad. I might not understand.” Han Sen felt awful saying this.
The man said, “Scientific research is all about simplifying the complicated things. You can let those other fools worry about science itself. This is a geno art I created, through the theory of rock creatures. Ordinary crystallizers can practice it.”
Han Sen wished to say something, but the man looked outside and the spoke again. He said, “You should leave now. The spirit is going to move. Unless you want to travel far away with me, that is.”