"Another failure!"
Muxi slumped into her chair.
Her chair was custom-made for Iridescents, molded to her body shape and held in place by a gentle suction.
She was essentially lying down rather than sitting.
But it didn't matter.
Modern work didn't require physical screens; standing, reclining, or lying down was equally viable.
Muxi didn't know where she'd gone wrong.
Four attempts, all unsuccessful.
All her hopes vanished in an instant.
The losses weren't just a probe and some time.
There were also ship project delays.
Every day was a cost!
"Don't lose heart. We'll hold an analysis and discussion meeting next."
"After the meeting, we'll prepare for the eighth four-dimensional exploration."
Someone approached and pulled Muxi from her chair.
This person had previously opposed Muxi.
But after over 100 years, they had become friends.
The observation station housed thousands of scholars; people left and new ones arrived regularly.
Unless they were assigned to the same research team, meetings were rare.
"I haven't lost hope."
"I'm just summarizing the lessons from our failures."
"Although we've prepared thoroughly, science, especially in areas we don't fully understand, is prone to failure."
After standing up, Muxi joined the other person in moving to the meeting hall.
This place could have been used as a meeting hall.
Why not?
Because the warship already had a dedicated meeting hall, and there's no point in leaving it unused.
It was that simple.
Once all the scholars entered, the hall buzzed with activity as they discussed the data.
The four four-dimensional jumps hadn't encountered major problems.
The real obstacle had always been the cosmic membrane.
After sitting down, Muxi continued to ponder.
"The membrane theory isn't a literal membrane; it's the barrier between dimensions."
"Three-dimensional space is merely the surface membrane of the four-dimensional world."
"Simply put, if four-dimensional space is a balloon, then three-dimensional space is the incredibly thin outer layer."
"Entering four dimensions from three dimensions is like going from the surface into the balloon. Entering three dimensions from four dimensions is like going from inside the balloon to the outside."
"But both are completely isolated because the inside of the balloon has [volume], while the outside is merely a plane."
"The dimensional gateway is the passage connecting the inside and outside."
"Two black holes, one outside and one inside, pull on the membrane, causing it to tear."
"My current understanding is that we might have entered the tunnel, reaching point B from point A, but only traversed three-dimensional points A and B, not four-dimensional points A and B."
"The tunnel is like Schrödinger's box; the state of objects inside changes. Whether it changes to three dimensions or four dimensions depends on… luck!"
The central discussion was how to break through the membrane.
But Muxi took a different approach.
It was indeed a good theory.
Her colleague, Conia, after careful consideration, said, "If that's the case, our Swarm plan should have been highly successful. It's all luck; we just needed to use sheer numbers."
Muxi was stunned.
Correct.
But the Swarm plan had failed.
It hadn't even made a ripple.
At least, that's what they, being in three-dimensional space, believed, because they couldn't know the probability of that many Swarms reaching four-dimensional space.
Previous models had pegged this probability as extremely low.
Each model had a different appearance.
This model used a completely new design, seemingly favorable to the Swarm.
"Perhaps the Swarm army has already reached four-dimensional space?"
"Calculations indicate this is an improbable scenario."
Muxi decided to stop there for now.
She wasn't keen on considering the Swarm; she had previously dismissed it as a joke.
If the dimensional gateway could be conquered by sheer numbers, other dimensional civilizations would have already done so.
If a portion of the Swarm had truly reached four-dimensional space, the corresponding civilization would easily understand and replicate the Federation's methods.
This hadn't happened.
What prevented the Swarm from reaching four-dimensional space?
Or, what prevented any lifeform from traversing the dimensional gateway?
Muxi considered several factors.
For example, Denal's previous transmission.
This was highly unusual.
Because "O" could block information transmission in both directions, the route from four-dimensional space through the dimensional gateway to three dimensions should have been more complex.
According to the current theory, the dimensional gateway utilizes the power of two black holes.
Therefore, ordinary information wouldn't deviate; it would be absorbed by the black holes.
This was also true of previous tests.
Not all probes transmitted information back.
So, during that singular successful exploration, how did four-dimensional and three-dimensional space communicate?
"Wait!"
She sketched a diagram.
Two "O"s connected, then a straight line drawn diagonally across them.
Perhaps the "tunnel" isn't vertical; it might not even be at the midpoint between the two black holes.
It's offset.
If the dimensional gateway entrance is at 6 o'clock, the "tunnel" is at 10:13:27. This possibility makes the theory viable.
Conia, beside her, asked, "What are you drawing?"
Muxi wasn't sharing her virtual interface, so Conia couldn't see it.
"Wait a moment."
After saying that, Muxi stood up.
"I think everyone should look at this."
"This is a recent discovery."
"The dimensional gateway might be in the wrong place."
She shared her drawing; a diagram appeared on everyone's screens, instantly accessible with a mental command.
Upon viewing the diagram, the entire hall gasped.
They quickly understood Muxi's idea.
It was a bold hypothesis.
If true, this path would be the most likely and efficient route to four-dimensional space.
They wouldn't need to continuously circle the black holes.
This was a significant insight.
However…
It didn't solve the core problem: traversing the membrane.
Seeing the impassive faces of the scholars, Muxi continued, "This diagram is three-dimensional."
It wasn't as simple as two circles and a line.
When the scholars rotated it and saw the other side, they were astonished.
A daring hypothesis indeed.
"As you can see,"
"A simulated dimensional gateway, and a real dimensional gateway. This explains why Denal could reach four-dimensional space!"
The dimensional gateway is artificial.
Therefore, all the Federation's hypotheses have revolved around its "artificial" nature.
The downside of artificiality is uncertainty.
With the Federation's limited understanding of space, it lacks the ability to distinguish and account for this uncertainty.
Therefore, the Federation can only enrich its understanding through successive dimensional explorations.
But is this information truly accurate?
What if their initial assumptions were wrong?
The artificial nature of the dimensional gateway is undeniable.
However, the gateway's opening method involved manipulating black holes.
Using the black hole's tremendous, space-rending gravitational pull to create the gateway.
This is the core issue.
So, could a civilization create a hole in the three-dimensional and four-dimensional membranes?
Perhaps they overestimated the complexity of a Type 2.9 civilization, or the entire dimensional gateway project.
This is similar to the Federation's previous confrontation with the Olive Branch Civilization.
Although the Olive Branch Civilization possessed gravitational energy technology, they only used the highly efficient conversion of gravitational pull into energy as a supplementary method.
Their primary power generation relied on the tried-and-true piston engine.
If they had known this earlier…
The Federation could have leveraged this to attack the Olive Branch Civilization.
While victory remained unlikely due to other significant disparities,
they could have at least persisted for tens of thousands of years.
Then, using the Federation's rapid development, they might have eventually caught up and surpassed the Olive Branch Civilization.
Of course,
the primary reason was their lack of understanding of the difficulty of opening a passage at the black hole boundary.
But Muxi understood this.
"If we view the relationship between the two wormholes from a different perspective, we can see their true form."
"We habitually imagine the dimensional gateway as an 'O' shape."
"But is that really the case? It's a black hole, and the visual representation of a black hole is a sphere."
"Theoretically, our ship should end up in different places. I believe everyone understands this, but we may have overlooked it."
Muxi pointed out the flaw in previous models.
Those models easily confined the imagination to a plane.
But the actual dimensional gateway exists on the surface of a sphere.
That wasn't the most important point, though.
Even if someone were sent into the gap, most scholars understood this.
This difference in perception wouldn't change anything; the crucial point remained the inside and outside.
"Look at this diagram again; you'll understand."
Two O's, inverted, resemble a figure eight. A straight line intersects them, penetrating the inside of the O, not the outer layer.
This means,
the dimensional gateway itself is within the black hole's event horizon, not outside it.
The reason they perceive the four-dimensional and three-dimensional jump near the gateway is that the four-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces are within the same universe.
Three-dimensional space is a membrane on the surface of the four-dimensional universe. Therefore, their state isn't OO, but O; they overlap.
Thus, the diagonal line connecting the two contact points seems distant but is actually very close.
Or even superimposed.
This is true from any perspective.
This leads to spacetime fluctuations at the boundary where the dimensional gateway passes between the two spheres.
In reality, this point is still separated from the fourth dimension by a strong, impenetrable membrane; that region of space is merely chaotic.
"How can we prove this? We all know Denal's ship wasn't fast."
"We just need to calculate that it would slowly fall toward the black hole."
"And how long would that fall take?"
"Calculate it yourselves."
Upon hearing Muxi's words, the scholars began calculating.
The result was 773 years.
This figure closely matches Denal's actual time to reach four dimensions.
Theoretically,
after entering the dimensional gateway, Denal continuously rotated within the black hole's gravitational pull for 773 years, reaching the event horizon.
Then, he happened to fall into the dimensional gateway situated on the event horizon.
At this point, Muxi's new model was essentially established.
But it wasn't necessarily true.
It was still only a hypothesis.
"I hope everyone will attempt this again!"
"If we can't confirm this, no matter how many times we explore, we'll fail."
The auditorium fell silent.
Although Muxi's explanation was compelling,
it wasn't a certainty.
Further research would require enormous resources.
The scholars didn't mind, but considering the time already spent and previous attempts, many were exhausted.
A decisive solution was needed.
Ayla then spoke: "Actually, I don't think we need another probe."
"Although our probe lacks sufficient energy for a fifth jump, it still needs time to fall into the black hole."
"Theoretically, we can use it as both a probe and a relay."
"Once it's sufficiently close to the event horizon, I'll send the Swarm into the gateway."
"The Swarm has directionality; their vast numbers should be able to locate the gateway."
"Based on speculation, the black hole's diameter likely won't exceed 200,000 kilometers, possibly even less than 150,000."
"We don't need absolute certainty, but we can confirm that once the Swarm verifies the gateway's location, our probe can traverse it."
"It won't need to expend extra energy to avoid the black hole's pull."
"Simply entering the event horizon is sufficient."
The only concern is the Swarm's inability to find its way. They themselves don't know which is the inside and which is the outside.
To address this, the most reasonable approach is to have the insects enter the gateway and remain stationary.
Space will carry them to the event horizon.
"This doesn't require many people; I'll handle it."
"Everyone else should prepare for the eighth dimensional exploration."
This time, Ayla didn't favor anyone; she gave Muxi another chance.
Before the plan's execution, Ayla felt the need to remind Muxi.
"There's no gravitational pull inside the dimensional gateway. You must understand this."
Upon hearing this, Muxi instantly frowned.
She had forgotten!
Or perhaps overlooked it.
Indeed.
There's no gravity inside the dimensional gateway, but their previous explorations were based on the assumption that there was.
This was a fatal error.
Theoretically,
her model was still flawed.
Ayla had always known this.
So why support her?
Muxi didn't want to dwell on this; she apologized to Ayla and said, "I'll create a new model."
Ayla's support for Muxi stemmed entirely from her own goals.
She knew some flaws existed within the plan.
However, as this result demonstrated, each attempt, even a failed one, yielded new information.
This information was invaluable.
Ayla was inherently inclined toward exploration, and the voting results reflected a significant number of scholars sharing this inclination. Ayla simply went with the flow.
However, this plan made Ayla realize that life itself is prone to mistakes and missed opportunities.
Even in such a large group of scholars.
Their thinking became rigid over time.
It proved that scholars, more so than ordinary people, could easily get bogged down in details. The more they learned, the more they resembled elderly individuals convinced of their vast knowledge, entering a stage of rigid thinking.
A scholar's knowledge grows with time, but their creativity diminishes significantly.
These scholars each lived for thousands of years, serving the Federation.
Although the observation station's personnel changed annually, the core scholars remained the same.
This influenced subsequent scholars.
Ayla was considering replacing the long-tenured scholars after this exploration.
But she secretly hoped not to.
Because not replacing them implied success.
If the dimensional gateway exploration concluded successfully, they could simply continue along that path, requiring no creativity.
She hoped Muxi could provide a better, more certain answer.
...
Muxi returned to her laboratory and began extensive simulations.
She was ashamed.
She had made such a statement in the conference hall.
Twice.
She'd overlooked a crucial point: there's no gravity inside the dimensional gateway.
Others hadn't realized this either, otherwise, they would have refuted it.
However, that wasn't an excuse.
She was the one who proposed the plan, with Ayla's support. She should have considered this from the beginning and done better.
Still, Muxi believed her thinking wasn't wrong.
However, the confirmed information was that there is no gravity inside the dimensional gateway, and indeed, no matter exists.
How could she guarantee that the two wouldn't collide?
Muxi continuously calculated and reviewed old data.
But she couldn't find the error.
She didn't know where she'd gone wrong.
Conia entered her laboratory. "What's wrong?"
Ayla had contacted Muxi privately; other scholars knew nothing of this.
Conia sensed Muxi's anxiety upon leaving the conference hall and came to inquire.
Muxi explained her mistake.
Hearing the gravity problem, Conia flinched, as he hadn't considered it either.
The idea of the dimensional gateway being a black hole was deeply ingrained.
How could a black hole lack gravity?
Therefore, the dimensional gateway must have gravity inside!
This was the common understanding.
At least, it had been.
Raising this issue now was a direct challenge to established knowledge.
"If there's no gravity inside the dimensional gateway, your earlier point about Denal's experience is invalid."
"Wait, let me check the data!"
Conia logged into the server and retrieved the previous information.
He searched line by line.
"Found it!"
After more than an hour, he finally found what he was looking for.
"I mean, although there's no gravity inside the dimensional gateway, the probe data shows that even after adjusting the trajectory four times, it didn't get closer to the outer edge."
The probe followed its original flight model.
In that model, the probe adjusted its trajectory at a specific angle to compensate for gravitational influence.
With gravitational pull from a black hole, this adjustment would keep it in orbit.
This means that without gravity, it should have progressively approached the outer edge of the dimensional gateway.
But it didn't.
After numerous rotations, the distance remained the same.
This is equivalent to the presence of gravity inside the dimensional gateway.
"Furthermore, your previous calculations of Denal's flight path were accurate; this isn't a coincidence."
"I suspect there's no gravity inside the dimensional gateway."
"But the lack of gravitational influence on objects within the space doesn't mean space itself isn't affected."
This was Conia's hypothesis.
Hearing this, Muxi's eyes lit up.
"That's right! That's it!"
"Space is moving."
"The space within the dimensional gateway is chaotic due to the black holes."
"But this chaos is only a minor aberration within O; it hasn't reached the point of collapse."
"Yet our probe data remains highly chaotic. The most likely reason is that the space inside the dimensional gateway is flowing."
"It's constantly moving inward."
"How was the dimensional gateway created?"
"Perhaps we've found the answer."
Two opposing spaces.
Three-dimensional space flows into the dimensional gateway; four-dimensional space also flows into the gateway.
Three-dimensional and four-dimensional space collide within the gateway, tearing the membrane and connecting the two dimensions.
An ingenious design.
"If that's the case, finding the right position within the gateway would make traversal almost certain."
"Is traversing three and four dimensions really that simple?"
Muxi couldn't help but doubt herself.
She might have overlooked something else.
Every tiny oversight could be fatal, affecting her overall judgment and hindering dimensional exploration.
"Conia, help me think. What else have I missed?"
Muxi sought Conia's help.
Conia readily joined Muxi in her search.
After several days and nights of combing through the data, they confirmed that the new model was flawless.
The model was presented to Ayla.
Ayla was extremely satisfied.
She had actually calculated this faster than Muxi, but she still let Muxi explore; it was a form of training.
Or perhaps it was to help the scholars break through their plateaus and make greater contributions.
While she had calculated it first, this was only an insignificant step in the overall dimensional exploration. Human scholars were still responsible for most of the dimensional exploration plan.
The resource theory of imagination.
Ayla possessed immense computational power, but as she'd reminded Muxi, while she didn't forget things, she easily fell into cognitive limitations.
Her plateau was far greater than those of the scholars.
"Now it's the final step."
Over the past few days, Ayla had already begun deploying the super-Swarm nest.
The Swarm project had been paused, resulting in a large accumulation of insects in the super-Swarm nest.
These could be immediately put to use.
No time to waste.
...
super-Swarm nest.
The original nest's size was no longer sufficient for the current Swarm.
After countless millennia, the super-Swarm nest, once a single small planet, had grown to encompass multiple planets.
These weren't naturally occurring planets.
The Swarm constructed them from smaller asteroids.
These planets lacked cores and had very weak magnetic fields; they were essentially large masses of rock and stone.
But it was enough for the Swarm.
Their persistence in excavating was because the Swarm, being chitinous creatures, needed these materials to build their exoskeletons.
Consuming calcium produced calcareous exoskeletons.
Consuming silicon produced siliceous exoskeletons.
The best were various metals.
And not just naturally occurring metals, but Federation-manufactured metals.
However, for the Swarm's massive population, only a small fraction could access metals.
Therefore, metals served as a means of stratification within the Swarm.
For example, soft rock-grade, hard rock-grade, crystalline-grade, steel-grade, and alloy-grade.
These grades didn't represent the Swarm's attack power, only their status within the colony.
For instance, a 10-meter alloy-grade insect couldn't defeat a 100-meter crystalline-grade insect.
Within the same nest, size was paramount.
So what's the point of this stratification?
Because Swarm status is determined by intelligence.
Theoretically, higher-ranked insects possess higher intelligence.
A steel-grade insect might have the intelligence of a 10-year-old child; an alloy-grade insect, that of a grown man.
The Swarm, generally speaking, lacks intelligence.
However, significant genetic mutations within the Swarm cause some insects to develop intelligence.
Under natural selection, these intelligent insects' genes would be preserved, eventually making the entire Swarm intelligent.
But that's impossible.
The Swarm's absolute core is the brain-worms.
The brain-worms don't need highly intelligent insects; they wouldn't be able to manage them.
Moreover, what purpose would Swarm intelligence serve?
What advantages would intelligence provide?
The entire Swarm might become a social organism, and the brain-worms fear rebellion.
Therefore, the Swarm's current form is optimal.
The Swarm units Ayla deployed were carefully cultivated, occupying sixteen large and small nests across fifteen planets.
Each nest measures 150,000 kilometers in diameter.
The entire nest contains 5.4 trillion insects; full-scale production ensures a daily output of 4.7 billion.
This number remains relatively unchanged compared to before.
The Swarm's current growth isn't limited by its rate of reproduction but by nest size and energy resources.
After the super-Swarm nest arrived, Ayla initiated a period of rapid reproduction.
Production skyrocketed.
This lasted for a year.
The insect population increased by 1.7 trillion.
And that was just one year.
It's difficult to imagine what would happen if the Swarm reached a resource-rich environment and reproduced at full capacity.
After 10,000 years, the population reached 17 quadrillion.
That might not seem like a lot.
But remember, this is just one nest.
If more nests continuously developed, the numbers would be astronomical.
Ayla almost forgot about the Bwarm star nation.
This star nation was still the largest Swarm Corporation.
Ayla's mobilization of nests reached 2.63 million, with another 447 million smaller nests.
The Bwarm star nation's total Swarm population was 287 septillion—enough to overwhelm a significant portion of space.
Of course, this is only a hypothetical scenario.
Earth's diameter is roughly 12,700 kilometers, and a light-year is approximately 9 trillion kilometers.
Theoretically, a light-year could contain around 750 million Earths.
And a cubic light-year would contain approximately 562.5 quadrillion Earths.
In a cubic light-year, that would be 421.875 septillion Earths.
A cubic light-year could contain that many Earths. If it were insects, packed into a cubic light-year, they would barely have room to move.
That's the vastness of space.
However, Ayla's plan only required 10 trillion insects.
Because the dimensional gateway wasn't that large.
Several years later.
10 trillion insects were ready.
Ayla announced the commencement of the plan.
This plan was under her direct control; Muxi only provided support.
Only a dozen scholars were involved; the others were unaware of the plan's details.
Nor did they particularly want to know.
Unless the plan succeeded.
A dense swarm of insects surged towards the dimensional gateway.
The smallest were 50 meters long.
These giant insects, in an endless stream, took several months to enter the gateway.
And new insects were continuously being produced.
They poured into the dimensional gateway.
This plan wasn't afraid of scale.
In fact, previous Swarm deployments were larger, on the order of 10 quadrillion.
This was merely a small-scale test.
The difference is that the previous deployments were like flooding a forest; there were no channels, only uncontrolled inundation.
This time, the small-scale deployment is like a river flowing through a channel, with a clear direction.
After the Swarm entered the dimensional gateway…
The probe transmitted information, detecting the Swarm within the gateway.
The dimensional gateway wasn't large, but neither was it small.
The probe only detected a few insects.
These insects moved randomly, and the probe began processing signals, determining its position and orientation through continuous circling.
This was unsafe, requiring Ayla to continuously send signals from outside the gateway to precisely locate the insects.
The probe then transmitted location signals to those insects.
Each newly produced insect possessed a directional sensor.
They only needed to identify the direction of the probe's signal, then move towards it from the outside and away from it on the inside.
Countless Swarm insects moved relentlessly towards the central black hole.
The probe also began approaching the black hole's event horizon.
The event horizon itself is not transparent to light, so locating it required calculation.
Theoretically, if a person with their eyes closed knows there is danger 10 meters ahead, they must calculate the precise length of each step to stop at 9.9 meters.
This is far more difficult than imagined.
Because it's impossible to see where one's feet will land.
Each step involves error.
That 10-centimeter margin is difficult to control.
This is even more true for the probe within the dimensional gateway.
Because it doesn't know the black hole's size or the gateway's diameter.
How can this be determined?
Using information reflection?
That's the event horizon; no information escapes.
Using insect scouts?
The insects would die even faster!
The probe's approach is to release its sensors, continually emitting signals. If the signals stop, the event horizon's location can be roughly determined.
The plan has entered its final stage.
It all depends on whether the Swarm can find the dimensional gateway's entrance!
...
As before,
Ayla didn't receive immediate information.
In fact, when the probe approached the event horizon, it lost all contact.
At the event horizon's surface, space seemed to plunge vertically like a waterfall.
This dramatic change caused signal distortion.
Similar to the dimensional gateway itself,
The gateway's entrance is relatively small compared to the entire gateway.
Signal deflection would lead to signal loss.
The probe's solution was simple: 360-degree, omnidirectional signal emission.
However, this consumed an immense amount of energy.
The data volume itself is significant.
Furthermore, the signal particles needed special processing to avoid excessive interference from the gateway's space.
Therefore,
A single location transmission required enormous energy.
For 360-degree coverage, the energy consumption needed to ensure signal integrity was at least one hundred times that of a single transmission.
The probe didn't have that much energy to spare.
The probe also needed to determine whether the Swarm had entered the dimensional gateway or fallen onto the event horizon's surface.
Ayla simply let the probe make its own judgment.
This time, it wouldn't take long.
Because the Swarm's numbers were limited.
The probe needed to divide the Swarm into groups to approach the dimensional gateway.
It would divide the area into sixteen sectors. Upon reaching each sector, it would send the Swarm within that sector towards the black hole's event horizon to observe spatial fluctuations.
Theoretically, when an object enters the dimensional gateway, transitioning from three to four dimensions, it would create spacetime ripples.
The probe's task was to detect these ripples and pinpoint their location.
Each cycle lasted 28 days, with 16 attempts every 28 days.
During this, the probe could also adjust its trajectory.
Since the event horizon is spherical, testing only one point wouldn't suffice.
Fortunately, there were enough insects to completely envelop the sphere.
Attempt after attempt.
Finally, after 47 cycles and 756 attempts, the probe detected a spatial fluctuation.
It maintained its orbit, sending a second group of insects to investigate.
Again, it detected one!
"The dimensional gateway is here!"
It marked this location with Swarm insects as a coordinate and continued its circular scan.
The precise trajectory was finally determined on the 53rd cycle.
Then, it used 360-degree transmission.
These transmissions returned to three-dimensional space, unlike the previous ones that vanished within the gateway, not only because of the approximate coordinates, but also due to changes in the signal's structure.
Current transmissions utilize heavy nuclei. Their drawback is slow transmission speed; their advantage is also slow transmission speed.
The dimensional gateway involves spatial distortion; this theoretically shouldn't be related to particle size.
The crucial factor is:
Heavy nuclei transmissions are accompanied by lighter particles.
The heavy nuclei act as coordinates, guiding the lighter particles to change direction.
How is this change achieved?
These signal particles use special encoding; their movement is controlled by other particles. This is similar to the probe's previous signal reception method.
Except one absorbs, and the other reflects.
When light signal particles strike heavy signal particles, their direction changes.
This provides greater transmission possibilities.
Based on practice and calculations, this method has a 383% higher success rate than the previous single-particle transmission.
However, it's not foolproof.
In reality, the probe transmitted three times before successfully returning some data to three-dimensional space.
This was good luck.
With bad luck, it might take ten attempts for success.
Previously, the unidirectional fan-shaped transmission success rate was roughly one in thirty attempts. Therefore, the probe would continuously transmit information ten times, then wait for a response. If no response was received, it would transmit another ten times.
Each search was incredibly complex beyond imagination.
But it was all worthwhile.
Ayla received the information and shared it with the dozen or so participating scholars.
The entire observation room erupted in cheers.
"We did it!"
"We actually did it!"
Muxi wept with joy.
These two searches were only a tiny fraction of her entire dimensional research.
She had waited in this observation station for 7234 years.
Countless studies.
And building upon the research of her predecessors, she finally achieved a credible result.
This immense joy was overwhelming for Muxi and the other scholars.
This was a monumental event, a milestone.
They had done it.
They had filled in the blank space in dimensional exploration.
While this was just the beginning—the true goal was to establish the feasibility of large-scale entry into four-dimensional space—it was enough!
For them, this was enough.
Ayla watched their joyous celebration; she wished Luna were here, that she could laugh with them.
But alas.
It was a time of separation, a time of widespread separation.
Luna existed, but not beside her.
She couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness.
Fortunately, her melancholy didn't conflict with her research. Both could coexist.
She calculated the dimensional gateway's coordinates, sent a reply, and instructed the probe to act as a dimensional beacon.
Then, she would send the rest of the Swarm towards that location.
This was a true Swarm advance.
But the Swarm couldn't transmit information back.
So the probe still needed to precede them into four dimensions.
It would fulfill its final mission: determining the Swarm's survival rate in four dimensions.
Ayla didn't want to prolong the process.
She conducted further tests.
She directed the Swarm to enter the gateway at a specific angle, then fly in a particular direction towards the probe's location.
After several tests, Ayla found an angle allowing 17% of the Swarm to reach the destination, then she began deploying more Swarm insects towards that location.
This time, the plan involved 500 billion insects.
The final result confirmed that approximately 65 billion reached the gateway and entered according to the probe's plan.
The cycle was still long.
Because the probe was still orbiting, it still needed a 28-day cycle for each transport.
When all the Swarm had entered the gateway, it was time for the probe to enter as well.
Before issuing the order, Ayla realized the probe hadn't been named.
She gave it a name.
——Squirrel