Chapter 1: Sandbox Theory
"In the early stages of gastric cancer, there is indeed a good chance for you to be cured, but now that it has deteriorated to the middle stages, the possibility of recovery has been reduced. However, if you continue to actively treat it, it might still be possible..."
"No, I choose to be discharged."
After more than two hours, Ethan stepped out of the hospital's door. A long period of chemotherapy had left him with thinning hair and a pale, listless body. He felt utterly frail.
In the early stages of cancer, active treatment offered hope, but now, with the survival rate plummeting, it seemed pointless to continue.
He pondered silently.
Ethan had once been a competent employee at a large international company, but now, he had already spent more than half of the €60,000 to €80,000 he had saved over the past four years on medical bills. Reflecting on it now, he realized that all he had to show for his hard work was a terminal illness and barely €20,000 left in savings.
He had never truly lived, spending years focused on work while neglecting to enjoy life. It had been a monotonous existence.
Dragging his suitcase behind him, he bought a high-speed train ticket back to his hometown, Dongcheng. Half a day later, he reached the familiar farmhouse that came with an orchard and a spacious courtyard.
Though his parents had passed away, their large estate had once afforded them high standing in the village. The memories of a happy childhood weighed heavily on him now, filled with regret for the time lost. The once-thriving orchard had become overgrown with weeds, reflecting the neglect of his absence.
Past the locked door, the familiar dusty air greeted him as he stepped inside the old farmhouse.
He put down his luggage. He was home.
Resolved to embrace a simpler life, he thought, I still have water and electricity. With a little tidying up, I'll be all set to move in. After cleaning the dusty room, Ethan sat down on the bed, feeling exhausted.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound.
"Huh? What's that ringing noise out in the yard?" He stood up and walked out to the empty orchard. Among the weeds, he found a black beetle the size of a washbasin.
Its shape was perfectly round, its color the purest black, drawing in all light like a black hole. Ethan felt an inexplicable pull towards it.
"Such a dark color, what kind of insect is this?" he wondered, reaching out to touch it.
Swish.
In an instant, his mind was engulfed by the beetle's black shell, plunging him into a vast ocean of memories.
These were the collective memories of an entire race. The rise of the Tyranis stretched over eons. They had emerged on a green planet during an evolutionary explosion akin to the Cambrian Era on Earth. This ancient insectoid race had gained sentience, developed technology, and reached for the stars, propelled by their great reproductive capabilities. Yet, they learned too late that their world was barren.
Ultimately, they broke into a higher dimension, encountering the extraordinary realm of Eternia.
They went to war against that higher realm but were swiftly defeated. The strange beings native to Eternia harbored unimaginable, world-shattering might within their small forms.
"Such a pity," Ethan lamented. Compared to the death of a glorious civilization that had prospered for millions of years, his impending end felt trivial.
Ethan lifted the Tyranis Hive Mother, the queen who had once waged war among the stars, now reduced to a mere remnant of her former self. "Considering how we're both facing extinction, is there anything you'd like to say before passing on? My beautiful lady, please, share your last words."
"Please speak my last words?" the queen mused, surprise evident in her voice. "How long has it been since a living creature dared to speak to me like that?"
She gazed at Ethan's calm expression, and her anger dissipated. In that moment, the vast gulf between their civilizations and statuses seemed to vanish. They were just two souls awaiting the inevitable end.
"It matters not whether you are an emperor or an ant. From dust you came, and to dust you shall return," she reflected, her tone softening.
"Ah, but you ask for my last words, do you? So much I wish to convey! My life has been long and filled with wonders. I have seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations, entire eras shaped by my hands." She paused, considering her next words. "But let me be brief."
"On the path of evolution, seeking strength and independence is the only true path. From the very beginning, we were mistaken. Our pursuit of size led us to a dead end. A smaller form allows for a more stable foundation, enabling fundamental shifts in energy."
"Our world was a poor and barren realm. But I shall not leave this world empty-handed. I will leave behind the path and coordinates for my successors, to become the next generation of creators and conquer Eternia in my stead."
Ethan listened, bewildered. What was she suddenly talking about? Had this great being lost her mind before death?
"What's wrong?" he asked after a moment of silence.
After several minutes, he finally realized what the dying Tyranis Queen had done. She had bestowed upon him the authority over the final Tyranis Hive within her body.
He gently placed her down, hugged the basin-sized Hive Mother, and sat pensively in the courtyard. From the memories he had inherited, he understood the Tyranis' unique ability.
"Accelerated cell division?" he murmured to himself.
He knew there was a limit to cell division; accelerating it would shorten an organism's lifespan dramatically.
The Tyranis' racial ability enabled them to experience life cycles that spanned only days, from birth to maturity, blooming, and dying, like fleeting blossoms.
"However, this accelerated division also allows for rapid species evolution," Ethan's breath quickened with excitement. "Typically, the birth and evolution of a species takes eons, but with the Tyranis, that timeline could be drastically reduced!"
He contemplated the implications. How long does it take for a species to evolve? The first primitive cells appeared in Earth's primordial oceans over 3.8 billion years ago. For three billion years, evolution progressed quietly until the Cambrian explosion, during which the first true life forms emerged.
Following that, epochs of Earth's history unfolded, with countless species rising and falling in an epic cycle of extinction and rebirth. The ancestors of modern humans only appeared a few million years ago.
"Yet, with the Tyranis' ability, that billion-year timeline could be condensed into mere days." Ethan understood the potential before him.
The Hive Mother was more than a remnant; she was a formidable war machine.
If he placed her on a barren world, she could begin producing living cells, spreading spores across the landscape. With the Tyranis' ultra-high-speed cell division, those cells would multiply and evolve into entirely new species within a few years, creating new legions for the swarm.
"This race has infinite possibilities," Ethan thought, gazing at his courtyard.
While the Tyranis Hive Mother could potentially populate entire worlds, he knew he had to start small. Perhaps he could begin by placing Tyranis spores in the courtyard pond, recreating the primordial ocean.
According to the Hive's memory, the spores could adapt and evolve in any environment.
"Furthermore, I could landscape the yard to create mountains, lakes, and rivers. I'll create a miniature model of Earth and unleash countless Tyranis spores to evolve within it!"
This vision ignited a spark of enthusiasm within Ethan, as he began to plan his new purpose. He had the chance to create, evolve, and leave a lasting legacy.