Chapter 386: A Bright Future
Shortly after, a massive glass tank was wheeled out, immediately drawing a large crowd of onlookers.
They stared at Elara in sheer awe, with a few even trying to reach into the water to touch her.
These eccentric scientists possessed zero fear of death. Even with the looming threat of war, they had rushed over, watching Elara with bated breath.
Meanwhile, Elara was observing the crowd right back. The novel sights and sleek, metallic equipment helped ease her homesickness.
She had never seen so many people before! And judging by the gentle looks in their eyes, they all seemed incredibly kind.
It was a look of pure adoration. Elara had already learned how to read human expressions, and she generally understood which faces meant affection and which meant disgust. She happily watched the frantic biologists in return.
It seemed Jason hadn’t lied to her after all! He truly was a good friend!
"Is the ecological environment ready?" Jason asked an expert, skipping over Lily for the moment.
"Yes! Absolutely!" the expert replied. "It’s a completely enclosed isolation environment. The seawater’s composition perfectly matches the ocean on Dige star, and we’ve introduced a specific amount of Dige marine life... as well as some native algae."
The doctor enthusiastically continued, "Rest assured, the isolated ecosystem is a near-perfect replica of Dige. She should adapt seamlessly.
The only minor concern is ecosystem integration, but theoretically, we shouldn’t run into any issues. These algal cells possess incredibly robust immune systems and won’t introduce any diseases."
The doctor rambled on, essentially promising that everything was under control and that they should trust his expertise. Hearing this, Jason set his worries aside and stopped pressing for details.
A team of workers frantically operated the machinery, moving the glass tank onto a massive mag-lev platform.
The platform glided forward swiftly, transferring the tank to a specially prepared ecological lake.
Fifteen minutes later, seeing Elara happily frolicking in the lake without any signs of discomfort, Jason let out a long sigh of relief.
She curiously observed the strange and wonderful elements of human society.
She had seen many of these things in videos, but experiencing them in person was entirely different. Despite her curiosity, she also felt a comforting sense of familiarity.
On the other side of a glass window, several children had been brought in to play with toys.
Their sudden bursts of joyous laughter made Elara temporarily forget her homesickness, lifting her spirits significantly. She absolutely loved the sound of children’s laughter.
A few education experts who were already familiar with her began talking to her through the intercom, and various educational videos started playing on large screens.
After going through so much trouble to bring her here, they certainly weren’t going to send her back. Her education plan was only halfway done; it had to continue.
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
"I’m going to check on a few other things. Carry on with your work," Jason said to the floating sphere, then turned and walked away from the lake. Since Elara was having the time of her life, she didn’t even notice Jason leaving.
The Gaia operation can finally be brought to a close...
Jason removed his helmet, wiped the sweat from his face, and let out a heavy breath. He couldn’t tell if he was sweating from sheer excitement or pure exhaustion. He quickly secured his helmet back in place.
Grabbing a hydration pack from a nearby shelf, he slotted it into a recess on his power armor. A built-in straw popped up inside his helmet, and he greedily gulped down the liquid.
Refreshing!
Even though the temperature inside the Deep Space was perfectly regulated, Jason still felt drenched in sweat. It was definitely a mix of adrenaline and fatigue.
Risk and reward always went hand in hand, and they were already more than halfway to ultimate success!
The mere thought of Elara’s astonishing abilities gave him a secret thrill. Using her for mining? Using her to stockpile precious metals? That would be a tragic waste.
Those were basic functions that standard robots could easily handle. Humanity wasn’t as short-sighted as the Dige natives.
Elara’s true value lay in manufacturing cutting-edge nanotechnology, and more importantly... driving technological advancement itself!
If nurtured correctly, her incredibly high intelligence would make her the greatest scientist alive. Anyone who could reach Level 3 on their own was an asset they absolutely had to leverage!
Education came first. There was no need to rush her into industrial applications just yet. Besides, transitioning from a massive planetary ocean into a relatively small lake meant she had temporarily lost most of her industrial capabilities.
The lake itself hadn’t even produced enough algae yet. Therefore, utilizing this impossibly powerful biological factory for industrial manufacturing was off the table for the time being.
No rush at all, Jason told himself. Any problem that can be solved with time isn’t a real problem.
Even if it took years to properly educate Elara, a decade or two was nothing in the grand timeline of a civilization. They could afford to wait.
As Jason left the chamber, a profound sense of relief washed over him. If they weren’t still actively caught in a massive crisis, he might have burst out laughing in triumph.
Every risk had been worth it. Their future was going to be absolutely glorious! That is, as long as they could escape in one piece... as long as they survived this final hurdle!
"Captain! We need more water, this lake is far too small!"
"Captain, regarding the stability and integration of the alien ecosystem and the Noah ecosystem..."
The moment he rounded the corner, a swarm of over-enthusiastic biologists ambushed him, bombarding him with a barrage of frantic questions.
Jason held up a hand, his expression turning deadly serious. "Alright, everyone. We’ll discuss all of this later."
"We are still in imminent danger. A war could break out at any second, and time is of the essence, so I’m only going to say this once.
First, Gaia—Elara—is an intelligent life form. I am officially declaring that from this day forward, she is recognized as a full member of the Federation!"
"Second, I expect all of you to treat her well. Take good care of her, ensure she doesn’t get sick, and monitor her emotional well-being, just as you would if you were raising your own child."
"She is not an experimental subject for you to poke and prod at in a lab. Is that understood?"
Seeing Jason’s stern expression, the biologists immediately nodded in agreement. They didn’t harbor any malicious intentions; they were just incredibly curious and wanted to observe and study her.
"Good. If anything important comes up, report it to Dr. Roman first, as well as Kelly and the other senior experts. I trust you all know what’s at stake here and will handle this properly."
"...I’ll leave the ecological management in your hands," Jason added, softening his tone to offer the scholars some comfort.
Then, without looking back, he marched straight toward the captain’s bridge.
Time crawled by as they waited. The nuclear reactors and ion engines of the Deep Space roared at maximum capacity, spewing out blindingly bright trails of plasma.
When facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, there was no point in trying to hide. The only logical move was to run as fast as possible.
Now that their ultimate strategic objective had been achieved, they would be absolute fools not to run! Sticking around to fight was pointless!
Even if they managed to shoot down a massive fleet of enemy ships, the Federation wouldn’t gain a single thing from it. Were they supposed to stay behind and scavenge through the wreckage for scrap? Did winning a pointless battle really prove their strength?
Everyone on board knew the truth: judging by the sheer scale of the enemy’s offensive, their chances of actually winning a battle were virtually zero.
Run! Only an idiot would stay and fight!
Fly, Deep Space, fly!