Every time the waves collide in the middle, the already thin tether between the soul shrinks even further.
Instead of building mountains, it was digging trenches.
Jack could only try to recall his past.
…
Sagittarius A*, Black Mirror Project Base.
Local Time: 07:19:19. 11, 24, 934,552
"Captain! Capacity has reached over 500% of the supposed max, do we keep going on?" shouted Carmen, terrified of the numbers displaying on his monitor.
"Yes, don't stop till I say so. Annie, prepare for the next wave," stated Jack.
"Roger," answered Annie.
In front of Jack's screen are 36 blocks with different labels. Nearly 85% of the entire base has been breached, and the only ones that remained active are the warp system, the core, the control center, and the engineering room.
To the right top side of the screen is a small window that shows a crimson red exclamation mark labeled with warnings, criticals, and errors.
According to the contract that Jack and the others signed, as long as they are able to return the experiment's progress, their families shall be protected under the ironclad law of equivalent exchange.
While the centralized government had long been extinct from the face of the universe, people had been able to maintain order by creating the most universal law that applies anywhere that the cosmic background radiation reaches.
Powered by an entirely isolated solar system, an artificial planet was made that has a singular purpose. A weapon that can obliterate any sort of existence in the universe.
As one of the greediest living beings in the whole of existence, mankind made a weapon to deter any sort of intelligent beings from rebelling or fighting back.
This weapon has many names, but after a long time, it has settled to a title. It gained the moniker as the Law of Equivalent Exchange.
During its creation, an unprecedented peace spread throughout the entire universe. There were absolutely no wars, no terrorists, no big moves from the big guys. Of course, that was only for the surface.
As the peak invention of humanity during the era, this weapon became the only judge whenever an accident occurs.
After providing pieces of evidence, it can calculate the facts with an accuracy of 99.99%. Of course, that missing 0.01% exist due to some bizarre cases that no logic could solve.
But, the thing is, the variables it has to calculate are something that isn't human but at the same time, practiced by every human being.
Value. Everything has a value, be it materials, knowledge, skills, techniques, or people. To a person, someone's existence could mean value beyond riches.
Of course, only those who are of value on the present day are counted. Potentials or the future does not count. Talents can be manufactured under the microscope. In over 23 sextillions of the population all across the galaxy, there's no such thing as an "only one in the world" person.
Initially, the artificial planet was used as an overseer for trading between factions.
It was a world where opportunities are far more valuable than talent.
This is where the confidence of the entire crew was placed.
With the protection of the law, when they sent the research files, and blocks of energy, their roles on the contracts would be fulfilled. Their descendants for the next three generations would be safe.
The value of their research far exceeded the value of their family's protection. The law does not value their families at all, but since it knows how valuable it is to Jack and the others, the parameters had been set.
Even then, once the value is translated to numerical, there should still be an excess.
This is Jack's plan now.
This has also been a habit of his where he does not tell the crew about his plans. Doing crimes under the heavy surveillance of profiteers during this era is close to the boundary of impossible. Still, there are people like Jack, who is crafty and strong enough to find their ways and become a space pirate.
"Another block has been produced. System integrity is at 13%. Rebooting sequence," shouted Annie.
"Captain, I'm sorry if I'm being rude but now is really not the time to withhold your plans from us," screamed Connor, who's currently about to have a mental breakdown.
"He's right. We've already secured our part of the deal. How about we secure ourselves now?" Nina added.
After a few more respondents, Jack finally relented.
" We're going to use the energy crystal blocks as a bartering chip for the law of equivalent exchange."
All of the crew members became dumbfounded.
Every intelligent creature that has passed elementary school in this universe knows about the artificial planet. The Law of Equivalent Exchange has become the true supreme court of this era. That means contacting the law needs to be processed.
Then everyone began to think about it. Since the time difference is 1:1000, if they were able to send their case now, won't they be receiving the result immediately?
Each of the stupefied faces of the crew members became enlightened.
Especially Carmen, who thought of the warp drive to send them away, was ecstatic.
That's right! If they could ask the law to save them, won't that mean they can still be saved?
The law IS the strongest weapon.
That's right.
Wait.
The law is the strongest WEAPON.
When everyone else is celebrating, his expression became subtle, similar to Jack's.
Jack noticed Carmen's behavior and nodded.
"Don't be too happy. Don't forget, the law is a weapon, not a tether. In terms of saving us, the best it could do is to get a bunch of peak stage 4 advanced beings and try to rescue us. That is if we don't blow up first."
Like being poured over by a bucket of cold water, everyone froze.
Then, what could a weapon do for them at this point?
"We're gonna grant our families better life, protection, and wealth. All the excess would be to take revenge." Jack stated.
This time, everyone became solemn. Sure, everyone wants to live. But death has always been looming on them ever since their capture. They know why they're here, and death was akin to memory for each and every one.
Actually, there were plenty of reasons why they were chosen for the project. One is because they asked for a second chance and traded their collection. It just so happens that the black mirror project was there, and they were sent here.
Not only that, but some people wanted them to go. Jack is known in about half of the type-2 civilizations across the universe. Everyone else is just about the same.
This is why instead of getting the capital punishment from the law, everyone was captured instead. Even now, none of the crew members know who initiated this.
The law, the match of interest, and the desires converged into this event.
Ever since the autonomy of the weapon, the law has been enforced with utmost sincerity and cruelty. An exchange is an exchange.
Every block of energy crystals produced by the black mirror core is the same energy produced by millions of solar systems at the same time. Right now, the team has produced 26 blocks of pure energy crystals.
This is enough to buy an entire galaxy. Which also comes with the added benefit of the protection of the law.
Of course, an entire galaxy is only a potential, not an opportunity. For someone like Jack, who's already a stage 4 level 1 advanced being, the cost of his capture is about half a block of the energy crystal. The rest are considerably less. That is the price after the submission of evidence.
That means just the capture alone is far more expensive than the entire black mirror project.
Staring at the 26 blocks of energy crystals, the team became even more determined and resumed their work.