Chapter 138: Longevity Civilizations

More specifically, this theoretical exchange between the two civilizations was confined to the fields of basic physical theory and mathematics.

Research in these two areas is crucial for a civilization’s development.

Only through new breakthroughs in fundamental fields can a civilization achieve truly long-term development.

However, merely exchanging knowledge in basic fields alone is not enough to enable the two civilizations to achieve direct technological breakthroughs too quickly.

This was also why both civilizations unanimously chose this focus for their first meeting and cooperative exchange.

As for the exchanges in physics and mathematics,

the Human Coalition and the Negentropy Research Institute were quite eager.

In this matter,

it was actually Human Civilization that stood to benefit more.

Perhaps due to Qin Yu’s existence, Human Civilization had caught up with the Stuo Civilization in travel speed in a short time.

Now, even if the Stuo Civilization suddenly attacked Human Civilization, completely eliminating it would be very difficult.

Human Civilization could absolutely make them pay dearly.

However, when it came to theoretical research and foundational knowledge across disciplines,

the Stuo Civilization was far more advanced and sophisticated than Human Civilization.

First, obviously, according to their own standards, the Stuo Civilization had been a Stellar Civilization for much longer.

They had a longer history of theoretical research and more time invested in it.

Second,

Human Civilization’s current physics and mathematics had been developed entirely independently.

The Stuo Civilization, however, had previously encountered multiple civilizations. Exchanging theoretical knowledge was inevitable when interacting with those civilizations.

Through comparative studies of theories from various civilizations, the Stuo Civilization’s theoretical knowledge across disciplines was bound to be more refined than Human Civilization’s.

Nevertheless,

the Stuo Civilization agreed precisely because this exchange did them no harm.

After all, Human Civilization was a Stellar Civilization too. In relevant theoretical research, they definitely had unique insights.

For two civilizations that had never interacted before, each developing to the Stellar level,

it was possible that in mathematics or physics,

a problem one civilization had long struggled with had already been solved by the other.

A conjecture one civilization hadn’t been able to prove might be established fact in the other.

The intelligent species of these two civilizations would inevitably have distinct thought processes.

Each might have their own ‘blind spots’ in thinking. When encountering another civilization, these blind spots might be incredibly difficult to overcome.

There might be entire fields the Stuo Civilization had never even noticed, for which Human Civilization had already developed comprehensive theories.

The converse could also be true.

In the universe, achieving cooperation and exchange between two alien civilizations is very difficult.

The natural lack of trust creates enormous risks and uncertainties.

But once exchange and cooperation are established, the gains can be immense.

The biggest benefit is making up for the shortcomings in each other’s theories and perspectives.

Instantly gaining a vast amount of new knowledge and theories from a field mastered by the other civilization that one’s own civilization hasn’t mastered.

Although, due to the sequence of development and the completeness of their own theories,

Human Civilization stood to gain much more from the Stuo Civilization,

while the Stuo Civilization would gain less from Human Civilization,

for both civilizations, this was still a mutually beneficial, win-win situation.

Because the knowledge they actually hand over isn’t lost just because the other civilization learns it.

The final result would inevitably be that both civilizations’ theoretical development in the exchanged fields would reach a brand new stage.

As their exchange in physics and mathematics deepened, both civilizations had the chance to achieve significant theoretical advancements in these areas.

…

This time, during their initial meeting,

they held the first preliminary exchange in physics and mathematics.

After the Stuo Civilization delegation followed the Human Civilization delegation into the institute within this Stellar City,

they first conducted a brief tour.

There, the Stuo delegation saw more members of Humanity’s population within the city.

Students at the institute had not been totally evacuated due to the Stuo delegation’s arrival.

However, under the watch of the AI Teaching Robots, no crowds rushed forward.

But seeing the Stuo delegation pass by alongside the Human delegation,

students who had been studying by the artificial lake, on the lawn, or under the shade of trees, listening to their AI Teaching Robots,

couldn’t help but cast curious glances at the Stuo representatives.

Feelings about the Stuo Civilization’s arrival were complex.

There was tension, and also expectation.

The tension came naturally from uncertainty and the unknown.

The expectation was that exchanges between the two civilizations would bring rapid technological advancement, maybe even an explosion of new science, to Humanity.

This was very possible.

However,

the Stuo Civilization had shown no hostility toward Human Civilization so far.

Therefore, the students seeing the Stuo delegation now also displayed no hostility.

In fact, many probably found the appearance of the Stuo individuals fascinating.

“So, are those the teaching robots in your educational system?”

Sies, and others in the Stuo delegation, weren’t particularly interested in the students themselves.

They were far more intrigued by the teaching robots accompanying each student.

“Yes. They follow the education plan and methods set by the Education Research Institute. The AI Teaching Robots carry out the teaching tasks for each student.”

“How long does it usually take for each individual to complete their education and enter working society?”

“It depends on the field of study and the student’s natural ability. If they are skilled, they might leave the education system before they turn thirty.”

“Most probably leave before they are forty.”

The Human delegation offered this answer.

Then, Professor Qiu Yiming from the Human delegation seized the moment to ask a question,

“Sies, does the Stuo Civilization have a similar system for passing on knowledge?”

“We have similar educational institutions… However, for those entering research institutes, Stuo individuals usually finish their education later than Humans… around eighty years old, before they leave.”

“Sies, may we ask about the typical lifespan of a Stuo individual?”

“The lifespan of Stuo individuals is generally over five hundred years. The long-lived can achieve nearly eight hundred years.”

This timeframe had already been converted by the smart translator, expressed in Human time units.

Hearing this, the Human delegation members all paused momentarily.

Nearly eight hundred years for long-lived individuals? Even compared to Humanity’s current average lifespan of one hundred and eighty years, this sounded exaggerated.

Forget eight hundred, even something like five hundred years… Humans five hundred years ago were just entering the Industrial Age?

This also made people understand a bit better,

why the Stuo Civilization could afford to take what Humanity considered an excessively long detour to make contact.

“The lifespan of Stuo individuals is much greater than that of Humans.”

The Human delegation didn’t hide this observation.

“Our civilization’s lifespan wasn’t always this long. It increased gradually during our long migration, alongside technological progress. Our ‘Decision-Makers’ deemed this increase necessary during the voyage.”