Chapter 76. Destruction of Martian Civilization
The flight lasted a day. The four rescued people took advantage of the opportunity to receive medical treatment and recover from fatigue. Of course, Noah didn't miss the chance to sit in the command chair again when he arrived on Vulcan.
"Maintain pulse propulsion speed outside the system," he ordered. "We don't want to burst into Vulcan territory. If humans don't know about the Vulcans, they may have chosen to live in isolation. We shouldn't rush into action. We should approach slowly."
"As you command, sir," Nilf confirmed. Soon after, they emerged from the hyperspace jump and approached the orbit of Vulcan.
Noah turned to Jeffrey. But since the science officer didn't respond, he decided to question him directly. "Are the sensors able to detect anything? Are there any signs of Vulcan space travel?"
Jeffrey was silent for a moment, studying his data. "No, there is currently no sign of the existence of space civilization. There is not even any indication of technological civilization in the pre-star era. There is no background signal, and there is no signal similar to radio waves."
Noah frowned. In fact, he hopes to find the answer here. But it looks like there are only more problems. He really hoped there was a simple, logical reason for this silence. No more puzzles. There is no doubt that no one likes this situation.
A long time passed on the Republic ship. They continue through this solar system. They passed through the outermost planet and continued to approach Vulcan. The sun of Vulcan shone before them. Vulcan's sun is much larger and brighter than Earth's sun. Therefore, the temperatures on Vulcan are also much higher.
"Captain, the sensors are unable to detect Vulcan," Jeffrey finally reported. Although he spoke calmly, Noah was almost certain that there was a slight tremor in the voice of this usually calm and steady Vulcan.
"What does this mean?" Noah asked slowly, then slowly stood up. His heart trembled violently, a bad feeling or premonition.
"Vulcan does not exist. There is a debris field in its orbit, indicating that a planet once existed. This debris field extends for hundreds of kilometers and orbits around Vulcan's orbit."
"Vulcan was destroyed?" Noah asked, his tone seemed unbelievable.
"Based on the facts, we can only come to this conclusion."
"How? When? Who caused it?"
"The chances of finding all of these answers are slim right now. I can't provide information at the moment. Maybe these fragments will tell us when this event occurred."
Noah nodded. He couldn't believe it. How could an entire planet be destroyed? And he had so hoped to find the answer here. He slowly sat back in the command chair. "Mr. Nilf, take us to the wreckage of the planet."
"Yes, Captain," the demi-Vulcan replied, his voice trembling visibly. Obviously, he doesn't have the full control over his emotions that Jeffrey does. It's no surprise, since he has to deal with half the Klingon's intense emotions. And Vulcan is home to him.
In fact, Noah was surprised that Jeffrey was able to stay calm. The destruction of Vulcan was already sad enough for him, let alone Jeffrey. After all, this is his home. No matter how good you are at controlling your emotions, there should be some reaction.
They slowly approached the former planet. The closer you get, the more obvious the extent of the damage becomes. On the screen, a stretch of debris is visible. Most of the debris is still orbiting the sun and is spread over a larger area. Gradually, pieces of rock are revealed. The fact that this was once a planet is no longer recognizable. The entire region is similar to the asteroid belt in Earth's solar system, although the distribution is slightly different.
Noah turned to his science officer again. But he didn't respond. He was intently analyzing the incoming sensor data. Noah could only barely restrain his urge to stand next to Jeffrey and pat his shoulder comfortingly. Or at least say a few words of comfort. But he knew that Jeffrey didn't want that at all. He paid no attention to the actions of these humans.
Finally, Noah finally asked, "Do you have the information already?"
The Vulcan glanced only briefly. "The analysis of the data will take some time. I will inform you as soon as I find anything." His voice is no longer as calm as before, although this is certainly imperceptible to people who are not familiar with him, But Noah knew him well.
Noah raised his eyebrows. Was there pent-up anger in Jeffrey's voice? Maybe anger at whoever was behind the disaster? Apparently this series of events made the Vulcan even more emotional than he let on. But who can blame him?
So, Noah could only wait for Jeffrey's results.
It was not until 12 hours later that Jeffrey asked Captain Noah to hold a meeting. He believed that enough data had been collected at this point to formulate a hypothesis. The two sat together at the conference table in the captain's ready room. Noah decided to find out what they were facing before informing the remaining leadership. Maybe there are some consequences that he needs to consider first.
Jeffrey elaborated on his hypothesis to the utmost detail. Noah couldn't believe it. Time and time again he interrupted Jeffrey to ask questions or simply express his disbelief. He had never thought about the role Vulcan had played in history. Of course, he was fully aware of the Vulcan influence on history. Especially the impact on humans. Since first contact, they have done many beneficial things to humans. But as Jeffrey told him now, he never thought that far ahead. But it sounds very logical.
Finally, Noah sat there, staring at the wall of the room. For the first time, he felt the weight of the universe on his shoulders. It's just that his shoulders are too weak to do the job. This feeling has been felt for many years since he entered the Interstellar Academy, and he has never felt such a strong feeling since his first mission. It almost stopped his thinking. It is clearer than ever that they are the last humans who still understand the true nature of the universe.
Finally, he looked at Jeffrey again. "Please convene a meeting with the leadership. Others should also know what you just told me. Also invite Ms. Shu Ran, Tini and Mi Zhiwa to attend. We will have a meeting in half an hour."
Jeffrey just nodded and silently left the room.
Noah struggled to gather his thoughts and try to formulate possible next steps. He sat at the table and continued to stare at the wall, but his thoughts were far away. After half an hour passed, he could no longer remember what he was thinking about. His thoughts had fallen into a loop.
Finally, he entered the conference room as the last one. The leadership and other invitees were already seated at the table in anticipation of his arrival. News of the destroyed planet had spread like wildfire throughout the ship. Everyone is eager to know what's going on. The uncertainty is scary.
When he had sat down, he turned to those present. "Analysis of the first round of measurements is now available. Mr. Jeffrey investigated the remains of the planet and discovered a surprising fact. Vulcan was destroyed in the distant past."
Upon hearing the news, the expressions of everyone present showed surprise and amazement. No one can explain how something like this happened.
"We suspect that the destruction of Vulcan changed the entire universe," Noah continued. "We are already seeing these changes to some extent. In order to understand the full extent of the impact, and what Vulcan's significance is to the universe, it is crucial to understand the history of Vulcan. Mr Jeffrey will review it for us The memory of all of us. Please, Mr. Jeffrey." Noah handed the words to the Vulcan.
"The history of Vulcan is much older than the history of mankind," Jeffrey began his story calmly. "However, it was equally bloody. Until about 2,000 years ago in Earth's history, we Vulcans were a very emotional race, even more emotional than humans. We allowed our emotions to vent and live life to the fullest. This led to the Vulcans The constant wars between countries are cruel even to human beings.
2150 years ago, Vulcan was in the middle of a nuclear war. However, this war is different from Earth's World War III. An armistice was signed on Earth, but there was no sign on Vulcan that the war was about to end. My ancestors were filled with hatred, and this war could only have one ending: the complete destruction of my race. In the midst of this war, the philosopher Sukhezfer realized that the only way to end hatred and violence was through logic. Logic does not allow for emotion, thereby depriving war of its foundation. He believes that Vulcans can survive only by giving up all emotions.
Suhezi Buddha's teachings were welcomed by the people. As with every war, civilians are hardest hit by it. Famine and plague swept across Vulcan. The Vulcans recognized the logic in Sukhezfer's advice. They began to follow his teachings. It started with just a few people, but over time the word spread and eventually logic took over. It was through this that the people of Vulcan were spared.
However, not all Vulcans agree with Sukhezfer's teachings. As a result, approximately fifty thousand Vulcans left the planet. Until thirty years ago, no one knew the fate of these immigrants. Today we know that they settled on the planet Romulus and founded the Romulus Empire. "
Jeffrey paused, then continued, "In this timeline, Vulcan was destroyed before Sukhezfer spread his teachings. Therefore, these Vulcans never left and did not create Ro The Murus Empire. My race has no influence over other races. The first contact of humanity was not with us Vulcans, but with the Andors in later years. The absence of the Vulcans in this timeline resulted in Things went differently in our history. The Federation was never formed. This power vacuum, and the one created by the absence of the Romulans, allowed more space in the universe for the remaining races."
"But why is the technological level in the 23rd century equivalent to ours in the 22nd century?" Murakami asked. He's not fully recovered yet, but he's getting better. Although his injured tentacles have yet to regenerate, his body has adapted to the loss. And he definitely couldn't miss this meeting.
"In our timeline, competition is extremely fierce. It is known that competition promotes the development and research of technology. Unfortunately, it turns out that most races made their greatest advancements during the war. The Romulans The absence and lack of a strong federation likely resulted in various races being able to focus on their own areas for a longer period of time without easily coming into contact with other civilizations. Therefore, there was no external pressure for technology to develop faster."
"The more important question to me is, how do we restore our timeline," Noah reiterated the issue. This universe may still be fascinating and full of speculation, but the ultimate goal is just to return the timeline to normal.
"That's a question we don't have an answer to yet," Jeffrey admitted. "Since we don't yet know how Vulcan was destroyed, we haven't found a way to prevent this destruction."
"Maybe it has something to do with Cindy's weapons?" Noah guessed.
"Well, it's not impossible. But let me remind you that the target of the weapon was Earth, not Vulcan. Also, the wreckage of Vulcan did not show any radiation residue from the weapon. Maybe Vulcan was The reasons for destruction are entirely different.”
"But if we eliminate all impossibilities, what remains is the answer, no matter how unlikely," Noah said, citing the motto of the Vulcan Academy of Science. "So we can't rule out Cindy weapons."
"A Cindy weapon as a trigger is unlikely, but not impossible," Jeffrey admitted.
"Okay. Pure speculation won't get us forward. We have to prevent Vulcan's destruction. That's still our goal. Would time travel help us? What if we went back to the time when the destruction happened?"
"I wouldn't recommend it at this time," Jeffrey said. "We don't yet know the specific causes of planetary destruction. As long as things are unclear, we shouldn't leave this point in time. Maybe we need a technology that didn't exist two thousand years ago to save the planet. And precise timing Travel is almost impossible.”
"That only requires a Delorean and a flux compensator," Ingmar muttered. Shu Ran suppressed her smile, but she didn't completely control it. Others don’t know much about the movie Back to the Future.
Jeffery just raised his right eyebrow slightly, and then continued: "We must collect and analyze more data before making a decision. But we should also consider that maybe we cannot change the timeline again," Jeffery Rui reminded. "The situation is very complex. Maybe we have to accept this change and prepare to live here."
This statement frustrated everyone. Although everyone is aware of the consequences, this reality can be suppressed as long as no one explicitly speaks out. And there is always a way to solve the problem. This nightmare cannot become reality. This timeline is so different from our world that it's almost unbelievable. No one can imagine living here. It is almost like telling modern man that he must live in a magical world full of fairies and dwarfs.
