The Star Knight

The footsteps of the Pope and Opal echoed in the empty hall. They walked through many corridors, and finally stood in a hall. The ground in the hall was a glowing cosmic star map—an area that humans have already explored.

"This is called the Star Map Palace." Grebini said, "It's a place where bad children are kept in confinement. It's been a long time since anyone was locked up."

Opal looked up and saw a light projected from the top of the hall. In the center of the hall, there was a blue crystal-like projection device inlaid on the ground. Grabini put the knife on it. It floated and rotated in the air and turned into a knife. With a sword-like shape, countless fiery red liquid droplets transformed around it, and with a buzzing sound, the real fire phoenix diffused spherical red light and enveloped them.

"This is a repair device brought by the phantom star." Grabini said: "It can repair all devices outside our knowledge domain. The ivory tower gave them to me before leaving."

Opal asked: "Why do the Holy See have differences with the ivory tower?"

"It's a matter of personal preference, I really don't like them because they say 'philosophy is dead, philosophy can't keep up with science,'" Grabini said.

Opal couldn't laugh or cry, and Grabini said: "It has already started. After the saber-toothed tiger died, Nolan tried it without the dragon ray and the saber-toothed tiger, but the result of the failed attempt was to drain all of its energy. At the same time, Bai Ye The Nimbus also exploded unexpectedly, destroying all the planets around it."

Opal asked, "What is Nolan going to do?"

Grabini said: "Using the energy of the white luminous wheel, the planets around it can jump to the surroundings of distant stars at the same time, leaving the star's influence area."

Opal said: "Why did he do this?"

Grabini said: "Before this, there was an energy shock in the white luminous wheel. Nolan believed that on these planets, there might have been changes in the human population, and this change would lead to the evolutionary branch of the entire race... Of course this It's just my guess, my guess is often wrong, you can listen to it as a joke. After leaving the Star Atlas Hall, we can no longer discuss this issue. We are standing in front of the ancient gods, and its influence covers the Star Atlas Hall. Consciousness will not be detected by the stars."

Opal said: "You mean the stars are reading our conversations all the time?"

"Not necessarily." Grabini said: "Most of the time they don't care about some small things, but it's always good to be careful. After all, most of the other universes are dead, and new universes are being born cyclically. If this Everything goes well this time, and its shell will wake up slowly after a period of time. You hold the heart of Nirvana and pay attention to the movements here at any time. I don’t have much time, so I can only help you once more.”

Holding the ruby ​​in his hand, Opal turned his head to look at Grabini, who smiled inscrutablely again.

"When it is revived, can I control it?" Opal said.

"Not necessarily," said Grabini. "You still have to pass it, but Coroline believes you can. Try."

Grabini turned and left, and Opal stood in the star map hall, feeling the real fire phoenix in the center watching him.

"Can you hear me?" Opal tried to communicate with it.

However, the real fire phoenix did not answer, as if he was spying on his spiritual world and consciousness, while Opal stood there for a long time, not knowing how long it would take to wake up, so he sat down on the ground, making up his mind to wait here until the phoenix wakes up .

Can he really control the Phoenix?

Opal thinks it is impossible, after all, he is too far behind Rector and Corolin, and they are not at the same level at all. What kind of strength is he?Opal has always lacked a clear understanding of his own strength. He cannot be the savior, let alone reach the height of Horius and others.

[Is your soul free? 】A slightly magnetic male voice sounded from the bottom of his heart:【Are you born for yourself, or for some kind of responsibility? 】Opal: "!!!"

Opal recalled many things he had done, and the scenes in those memories reappeared one by one in the spiritual world.

[When you have the power to dominate the world, what will you do? 】The voice asked again: 【Dragon Ray, Saber-Toothed Tiger, Tao and Star Fox all got their answers, how about you? ] Opal replied: [I was born for myself, but Mr. Corolin hoped that I would follow him to build a new world. I think he is right. The universe cannot avoid war. I do not agree with some of his practices. , I don't want this world to go through too many choices of one or the other, leaving a ruin in the end, and rebuilding with difficulty. 】【Mr. Rector's belief is to protect everyone. I agree with his belief, but I still don't agree with some of his practices, such as his attitude towards replicants, enemies and some wars.Because there is no one way to protect everyone perfectly, and there are always differences about ideas and survival. 】【Intelligent life forms will always pursue transcendence. Stability is relative, and chaos is eternal. I want to use my own way... to unravel all the clues left by Nolan, and I think it is worthwhile to maintain.Only if I am strong enough can I avoid the dilemma. 】On that day, Fenghuang didn't say anything to Opal.

Opal was a little confused, he was wondering whether to tell Rector the news that the Phoenix was about to wake up, but how should he explain it to Rector?He began to gradually understand why Nolan didn't choose Recter as his successor, because Recter was not the person he wanted, and Corolin shouldn't be, but Corolin was more inclined to Nolan's belief Some.

He also knew why Corolin never explained the matter of the white luminous wheel to Rector - it was impossible for Recter to accept Nolan's approach and the result of the explosion of the white luminous wheel.Before that, Recter trusted Nolan wholeheartedly and regarded him as a mentor. Once he knew all this, Nolan's first belief as Recter would collapse, and his belief would be questioned , which is more serious than being betrayed by Cologne.

Opal fell asleep in the Star Atlas Hall, and when he woke up, he found himself hugged against the wall and leaning against Raymond's arms.

"Andis said you came here." Raymond said.

"Yeah." Opal rubbed his eyes and yawned, as if afraid of waking up the sleeping Phoenix, he whispered to Lei Meng: "I don't know when it will wake up."

"This is the phoenix?" Lei Meng looked at the red machine in the center. Now its size has grown a bit, and it has stretched out countless thorn-like devices, as if slowly soothing itself during the repair process.

Opal nodded and asked, "Do you think it knows Long Ray?"

Raymond raised his wrist and said, "Try it, they should know each other." He shook his wrist, and the dragon ray was awakened, turned into shining silver fragments and flew into the open space, and then spun to form a silver giant. Kneeling down, staring at the fiery red machine in the ball of light.

Its eyes glowed blue, as if communicating with the phoenix in some way they couldn't hear.

"The teacher said that Alex doesn't know what plan is going on." Raymond said: "The empire will have a big move in the near future."

Opal regained his energy and asked, "What else did you say?"

Raymond said: "He asked us to protect the Pope. The empire has a series of military mobilizations, and I'm afraid it will deal with the Holy See of the Stars."

Opal shuddered in his heart, and then said: "No way, are you so courageous?"

Raymond said: "He learned that in the depths of the Lion galaxy, near the black hole, there is a private Rotman territory, like a test site, so he is now going to that private test site. And Justin has left and went to the army Served. After the wrench returned to Liexing, everything was normal, the rebels did not go back, and Xun and Sid all left."

Opal didn't know why, he always felt that this was the calm before the storm, but now he had to stay in the Stellar Holy See, feeling a little bit bound.

Lei Meng left Long Ray in the star map hall and left with Opal. Another day later, Opal entered the Pope's study alone.

Andis didn't come to deliver the medicine today, and Xiao Q was assembled again.Going around in the study.

"It will take some time for the Phoenix to wake up." Opal said voluntarily.

Grabini nodded, and was putting together a small puzzle-like gadget.

Opal asked curiously, "What is this?"

"I'm creating an artificial universe. Let's hear your interpretation of the third question today, Opal," said Grabini.

Opal poured a cup of coffee, poured water into the pot, it was shining under the refraction of the sun, and said: "The third question, I think it's like this...why are there these laws that make the world just like this? Why? Is it us and not other races? Why do electrons revolve around atoms... These are... well, the origin of the formation of this world, including why it was born, there must be something that dominates all of this, it is probably... It's...that thing you said yesterday."

Opal winked at Grabini.

"Including the big bang and the birth of the world." Grabini pointed to the boiling water in the transparent glass pot, which was slowly boiling and forming bubbles to float up. He said: "Our world is like these bubbles. It started as ' Nothing', when the temperature is heated, it is produced from 'nothing', and it expands rapidly and rises."

Opal looked at the pot sideways, and Grabini said: "This process, people in the ivory tower call it 'quantum fluctuation', just like tides, will suddenly occur in a vacuum, and if it reaches a certain limit, it will not stop. expand, and finally become our universe."

Opal nodded, and Grabini said again: "Let me show you this little game I made."

He put a chip into the projector on the top of the small Q, and there were many black and white grids on the unfolded light screen.

"It's a chess board," said Grabini, "a flat, two-dimensional world. Of course, I put together ten times ten boards so that they have more and more room to move. We put The four suits of spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds are placed in the four grids in the center. They are divided into two camps of black and red."

Opal nodded and said, "Oh."

"Now let's set a simple rule for it. When there is a red pattern next to a black pattern, it will move one space to the left and copy itself a corresponding red pattern. Similarly, The red camp also obeys this rule."

Opal is a little confused, but he still understands it roughly. Grabini is designing a law.

"When there are more than two vacancies around, all the patterns will change towards the opposite color. When there are more than three patterns around, they will copy themselves in the diagonal grid and cover other patterns in turn... When all around When it is a pattern, it will automatically disappear... Then push all the rules in reverse, and when a suit point touches the border of the board, all the rules will become anti-rules."

If this rule is added, Opal is a bit confused.

"So?" Opal said.

Grabini murmured: "You don't need to pay attention to the process, but only to the result. All the laws have been designed. Now, let's start."

He turned on the calculation key, and the four grids in the center began to change, copying new patterns layer by layer, expanding layer by layer according to a certain order, and the four suits jumped in countless square grids, self-replicating and increasing, see Dazzling opals, they change every second in units of seconds, and gradually cover the entire chessboard. When they fill up the giant chessboard, they stop for a short time, and then perform reverse calculations. All suits disappear layer by layer, and the territory moves towards The center gathers, and finally turns into four separate suits, returning to the center of the board.

The next moment, according to Grabini's law design, they transformed again.

Opal said, "I seem to understand something."

Grabini said: "Very well, this is our universe. Elementary particles are formed under the action of four forces and operate according to rules. It is larger than the chessboard we are on, and the laws are more complex."

"So, everything is inevitable." Glebbini said: "Just work out the law, carbon will be produced in a certain period after the Big Bang, and combined with other elements to become organic matter, the source of life Self-random, but according to the law of evolution, everything is inevitable."

Opal said: "Then how did this law appear?"

Grabini said: "There must be a situation where these laws emerge out of nothing, but we humans cannot pry into it... Only when we leave the control of world consciousness and create a space that belongs to us, free from the world. Influenced by consciousness, it evolves and transcends in this undisturbed space. From the independent world, according to the inherited rules, the barriers of dimensions are opened layer by layer, reaching the highest point, and finally the secrets of all dimensions above the fifth dimension can be known. "

Little Q didn't know what moved. There was a clattering sound, and a fish tank suspended in the air fell and broke. Inside the goldfish bowl.

Opal said, "Is this Nolan's belief?"

Grabini said: "This is his purpose. The universe that the Phantom Stars used to live in developed faster than ours. They also made predictions about multi-dimensional worlds other than four-dimensional, but when they researched the leap technology and put it After putting it into practice, it turns out that the five-dimensional space is not as predicted, just like these goldfish bowls..."

Opal looked up at the goldfish bowl that Grabini was referring to. Grabini said: "Every goldfish's perception of the outside world is distorted because they are confined in the curved bowl, but if they have intelligence , can also infer the laws of the world outside the goldfish tank based on the trajectory of external objects, sounds and images. Just like us..."

Opal said: "The goldfish bowl universe."

Grabini nodded and said: "Yes, our goldfish bowl universe. Your father has left the goldfish bowl, and we all look forward to what he can bring back, but judging from the current situation, he may have disappeared. This That's all I have to teach you, and I wish you all the best."

Opal said: "Wait, I still have a question to ask about a man named Kyle Ray and my father."

He recounted the process of entering the ivory tower with Coronne to Grabini in detail, and Grabini said: "You will find the wheel of time soon, because you were born in the fifth-dimensional space , the four-dimensional world consciousness can’t affect you, now I still have something to say, come here, Opal.”

With a low voice, Opal went over and said, "How can we create an independent space of our own?"

"Shh..." whispered Grabini, "they've finally found out, and are now looking at us, to find the Wheel of Time, use it to find a new parallel universe, must exist after it exists, the stars condense, the world Before the projection of consciousness takes shape... and then it is separated from the five-dimensional axis... and the shepherd entrusts..."

"What?" Opal said, "I can't hear you clearly, Your Majesty."

Grabini leaned his head on Opal's shoulder and didn't say a word for a long time.

he died.