The Perfect Elent was a truly remarkable substance. A silvery-white tallic liquid resembling rcury, it was insoluble in both acids and alkalis. It refused to evaporate at extre highs and wouldn’t solidify at freezing lows. Its most peculiar property, however, was its affinity for living tissue: it was easily absorbed by biological matter!
Experints showed that a single drop placed on a plant would gradually shrink until the organism entirely absorbed it. If placed on human skin, it would similarly seep directly into the body. Of course, for a human, that absorption inevitably resulted in brain death...
Every organism had a strict absorption limit. For multicellular life, this maximum capacity hovered between 0.13 and 0.16 milliliters. Surprisingly, this volu didn’t vary much whether the subject was an earthworm or an elephant.
At that mont, Jason stared at the main monitor, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Anti-Entropy Field Aggregation Particle?
Judging from its appearance... it was undeniably the Perfect Elent! There were distinct visual differences between the Perfect Elent and standard rcury, and Jason was absolutely certain he wasn’t mistaken. Sure, it could theoretically be a lookalike substance, but his gut told him the truth: the crystal encased a sliver of the Perfect Elent!
Dr. Roman and the rest of the council were equally stunned, rendered completely speechless. They had studied the Perfect Elent exhaustively. They knew it inside and out. Yet here it was, presented as a precious "gift" from the Viridian Empire!
What did this an? The situation had just taken a wild, unexpected turn. Was this so profound mystery shared among interstellar civilizations? The council mbers felt as though they had grasped a crucial piece of the puzzle, yet the full picture remained shrouded in fog.
After a long silence, the shock wore off, replaced by a surge of breathless excitent. If a re 0.3 units of the Perfect Elent was considered a grand treasure, then how wealthy was humanity?
Following so quick ntal math, Jason even managed a dry chuckle. "According to the Viridians, this little crystal contains 0.3 units. By that standard... humanity is obscenely rich. We’re sitting on a stockpile of at least six million units, plus so change!"
"...Alright, everyone. Let’s hear your thoughts. Any hypothesis is welco."
In reality, everyone in the room knew that such cosmic wealth was useless right now. Given humanity’s current vulnerability, trying to trade the Perfect Elent with an advanced civilization would be suicide.
Human nature dictated the rules of the universe: for a 50% profit margin, people would take risks; for 100%, they would trample all laws; and for a 300% margin, they would commit any atrocity, even if it ant risking the life, There was no reason to expect alien empires to possess superior morals when unimaginable wealth was on the line.
If the Perfect Elent was truly this valuable, exposing it while humanity was so weak would be like a toddler parading a brick of solid gold through a lawless slum, it would only invite their swift destruction.
"...The Perfect Elent might be the creation of a ’Type III’ or super-civilization, sothing far beyond a standard interstellar empire," Dr. Roman, the resident expert on the substance, ventured first. "For whatever reason, it is extraordinarily valuable, and every civilization out there desperately wants it!"
"But where does that value co from? Is it purely for extending lifespans? Or does it serve an entirely different purpose?"
It was a perplexing question. A true interstellar civilization should possess countless ways to extend life. Why would mortality still be a major concern for them? Even with humanity’s current, relatively primitive technology, longevity treatnts could already boost average lifespans by 30% to 50%. Advanced theories like 3D bioprinting, targeted gene therapy, stem cell rejuvenation, and neural regeneration could theoretically grant near-immortality without ever needing the Perfect Elent.
Soone across the table chid in. "Maybe the na itself gives us a clue: Anti-Entropy Field Aggregation Particle. The key phrase there is ’anti-entropy field’..."
In thermodynamics, entropy represented by the symbol S—is a asure of a system’s disorder. In a closed system without external intervention, entropy always increases; things naturally degrade from order to chaos. Could an "anti-entropy field" literally reduce entropy? Or at the very least, drastically slow the rate of decay?
If you viewed a biological body as a complex system and entropy as the aging process, it made sense. Their own tests had shown that exposure to the Perfect Elent halted cellular degradation.
Yet, based on the Viridians’ ssage, the substance was exceedingly rare. It could likely only be afforded by a select few elites. How much of an impact could a handful of extended lifespans truly have on an entire planetary empire? Was it genuinely worth the hype?
Because of this, many suspected the Perfect Elent had other, far more terrifying applications that humanity simply couldn’t fathom yet.
"...Or maybe we’re overthinking it. ’Viridian Empire’ is just a rough translation from the cipher we sent them. Maybe the ’Anti-Entropy’ na is just a bad translation on their part."
"It’s possible our dictionary simply lacked the proper context."
"I still think it might be the standard fiat currency for a localized galactic sector..."
"Could it be a hyper-dense energy source?"
The room erupted into a chaotic debate. Jason listened for several minutes before ntally categorizing the most plausible theories.
First, the Perfect Elent was a relic of a god-like super-civilization. Its true function remained unknown, but its utility far exceeded humanity’s current comprehension. Second, it wasn’t unique to Earth or the Noah; it was a universally recognized trade commodity. Third, even a highly advanced society like The Precursors might not have created it. Humanity had simply stumbled into The Precursors’ vault, unwittingly becoming the wealthiest vagabonds in the cosmos.
Without concrete data, further speculation was a waste of breath.
"Alright, that’s enough. This information is strictly classified!" Jason announced, cutting through the noise and formally adjourning the eting.
The council mbers were the absolute elite of the Federation. They were brilliant and pragmatic; they knew exactly how to keep a secret. The group quickly dispersed. At this critical juncture, there were far more pressing matters at hand. Whether they were the richest species in the galaxy or the poorest ant nothing if they didn’t survive the coming months. They had to overco this crisis, or else their unfathomable wealth would just beco cosmic dust.
Their imdiate priorities were rocket manufacturing and dialing in the targeting trajectories. Thanks to the raw processing power of their quantum mainfras, the predictive attack models were highly accurate.
Over 3,000 surveillance probes of various classifications were fully assembled and awaiting deploynt. After all, a free pass to observe a hostile interstellar vessel up close was a rare opportunity. The science teams were desperate to glean any data they could about warp drives and alien hull structures.
And right behind those probes was the main event: a devastating swarm of 6,400 nuclear warheads!
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