NOVPUB778: Chapter 10: The Heart of Eden of the Pit
778 -10: The Heart of Eden of the Pit
The final piece of the story’s puzzle at last began to reveal its traces.
Tang Xian had always been on guard against the Eden Tribe.
From the information provided by Tang Jing, and the words of his father, Tang Wen, it was clear that the Eden Tribe had created a monster they couldn’t control.
It brought about the apocalypse in the mining region, and indirectly caused humanity’s doom.
But the Eden Tribe didn’t reflect on their mistakes; they were too arrogant, focusing not on admitting errors, but on creating something stronger than their mistake, to suppress it by force.
That was the “Heart of Eden.” 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
If there were any members of the Eden Tribe still alive, they were undoubtedly creators who refused to listen to advice and insisted on going their own way.
They indeed possessed god-like abilities to create, their technological and martial prowess putting them at the very apex of all living beings.
According to past habits, Tang Xian would have categorized the Eden Tribe as villains, a group of mad scientists that must be eliminated.
One could even say that the Eden Tribe and the Evolution Zone had similarities, except that the actions of the latter were trivial in comparison to those of the Eden Tribe.
Yet the Eden Tribe was also genuinely friendly toward humanity.
Could this friendliness be likened to a mutual appreciation between truly intelligent species?
No matter who was the first person the Eden Tribe encountered, that person who designed all kinds of mythical creatures for the tribe, must have had exceptional abilities, and earned the tribe’s recognition.
Tang Xian suddenly wondered—was that person still alive?
Could it be the one in the deepest part of the forbidden area of Mount Sanctus?
Shaking his head, Tang Xian cast aside these distracting thoughts.
It was too soon to think about these issues.
In any case, thanks to those who first made contact with the Eden Tribe, the relationship between the tribe and humanity remained fairly good.
This could be inferred from the words of Galaxy.
Galaxy’s love for humans, and willingness to protect them at the cost of her own life, was also related to the earliest persuasion by the Eden Tribe.
All things considered, the Eden Tribe seemed like a neutral yet chaotic race.
But now, they had exited the stage of history.
They handed over the Heart of Eden, the last token of their existence, to humanity—if they weren’t truly at the end of their rope, why else would they entrust it to humans?
Tang Xian continued reading the Stele:
“Jing Jian did not set to work on this immediately but slowly organized scientists and established his own influence in secret.
To avoid being exposed by the Orderers, Jing Jian took an extremely bold action—he co-opted the Orderers.”
Tang Xian let out a light exclamation; this Jing Jian seemed like himself if he were to travel back in time, carrying out actions quite similar to his own.
“This task was not easy, and the process was rather convoluted.
Fortunately, the outcome was satisfactory in the end.
Jing Jian proved that the Pyramid was merely a fishbowl, and humans were nothing but experimental subjects used by the Orderers to observe the world and achieve self-overcoming.
Even the Son of Order, once past a certain age, when the body’s functions and the brain’s computational power begin to decline, the Orderers’ method of dealing with the Sons of Order is quite brutal.
Simply put, a new Son of Order replaces the old one.”
Tang Xian had already guessed as much.
Now, it seemed to be confirmed.
If he and Tang Jing had not rebelled this year, it’s likely that even without the resurrection of the Orderers, he, Tang Jing, and the others would not have escaped death.
That’s how machines are; once they deem a program’s computing power insufficient and have a new replacement ready, they immediately update and replace it.
“I cannot imagine the great deeds Jing Jian did during that era, but there’s one thing he didn’t do—the Heart of Eden.
That design is too cryptic for current humans to decipher.
Only the Sons of Order can somewhat understand it.”
“Jing Jian died at the age of twenty-five.
His death, like all Sons of Order, was a result of being replaced.
But he left a basis and a clue.”
“Through the clues left by Jing Jian and his conjectures about the Heart of Eden, the time needed to complete the Heart of Eden was significantly reduced.
Still, over hundreds of years, these Sons of Order with only twenty-five years to live had a hard time on the path to creating the Heart of Eden, the crystallization of an artificial doomsday creature.”
Tang Xian’s father didn’t use any rhetorical flourishes in describing these events, but Tang Xian could still feel the difficulty of the project.
With lifespans of only twenty-five years, just how many Sons of Order had been sacrificed through the long ages since the emergence of the Pyramid?
“We actually don’t have much time.
Ju Mang, the fourteenth, was the first to realize this.
He left clues, urging those who followed to speed up the process because—the Orderers’ control over the Sons of Order was growing deeper.
Inside the Godseat Fortress, there is a strange room that supposedly appears sporadically, but A Yao and I haven’t found that room.
Perhaps the previous Constants had been there, but they left no clues.”
“In fact, since Jing Jian, not every Son of Order, not all Constants, were rebels.
There were times when all seven Sons of Order served the Orderers wholeheartedly, thinking they were the chosen ones.
In other words, Jing Jian’s plan of rebellion was almost cut off, but fortunately, his earthly organization eventually reconnected them.
I cannot convey to you how arduous this path has been, as even my predecessor knew little.
All I can tell you is that this path has not been easy for the countless generations who have walked it.”
