"The only thing we can be sure of now is the operating framework of the electronic biosphere," Hua Qing said. "It consists of three parts: power generation, power consumption, and corpse disposal, forming a cycle. At the same time, these three parts should ideally be self-replicating, continuing endlessly."
"Isn't that just producers, consumers, and decomposers?" Jiang Ye asked.
"It's different. Traditional producers are plants, but in an electronic biosphere, they can be in any form," Hua Qing said. "It could even be a charging station for humans, or dead things."
Jiang Ye nodded. He felt there wasn't much difference but didn't argue. Hua Qing and the smart fungus were establishing academic concepts, so nitpicking on wording was understandable. It was like a mathematical theorem; any exception would be a different matter, and they couldn't be casually mixed up.
Besides, as a ruler, there was no need to get bogged down in trivial details. No matter what the name or school of thought, as long as the result worked, it was fine.
"If you agree, I'll gather experts from relevant fields, along with the smart fungus and the lab's AI, to try this project," Hua Qing blinked, her face full of expectation.
"Alright, go ahead and do it. I support you," Jiang Ye said readily. "Whatever you do, try to be as fast as possible. Let's get the environment of Spiral Star sorted out first."
"Understood! Thank you, Commander! Commander is wise!" Hua Qing jumped up and left the office, cheering.
That evening, Cen Yemeng arrived at the warship to reunite with her husband.
After their reunion, the couple, with their eyes half-closed, curled up in bed and chatted softly.
Jiang Ye explained the concept of the electronic biosphere.
Unexpectedly, Cen Yemeng suddenly became alert, lifting her head to stare at her husband.
"Honey, this seems to touch upon philosophical topics."
"Philosophy?" Jiang Ye looked utterly bewildered.
"What is the meaning of the existence of a biosphere?" Cen Yemeng asked. "Why must a planet have a biosphere?"
"It has many functions, like providing oxygen," Jiang Ye said. "Like fixing soil and preventing sandstorms, like providing food."
"Perhaps I didn't express myself clearly just now. What I mean is, why must there be such a complex biosphere? Why, when we create a new planet, do we want tens of thousands or millions of species to appear on it?" Cen Yemeng said. "The first two things you mentioned, providing oxygen and fixing soil and preventing sandstorms, can be solved by a very small number of organisms, or even by artificial means."
Jiang Ye frowned slightly.
"Do you know about the large oxygen generators used in space cities and asteroid mining stations?" Cen Yemeng said. "One such generator can supply the breathing needs of a million people, and it's very cheap. If a planet's atmospheric pressure is sufficient, placing hundreds of these generators in each city, networked to activate different oxygen production powers based on air content, can fully meet human needs."
"We've visited such planets before," Cen Yemeng said. "The Bin Hui Star and Jiang Huai Star we visited the year before last both exceeded sixty billion in population, typical overpopulated planets. For building land and farming land, these two planets have almost no natural environment, and most plants and animals have gone extinct. Bin Hui Star uses oxygen generators; every street has a public oxygen generator. Jiang Huai Star relies on oxygen wafers; the entire planet's sixty billion people chew on oxygen wafers. We also chewed them when we visited. Remember that taste? A piece like chewing gum could guarantee oxygen supply for several hours."
Jiang Ye remembered. Those two planets had left a deep impression on him, with people everywhere.
The most absurd thing was that the leaders of both planets had privately told him that the average number of floors in city residential buildings had reached eighty, so the population could still increase. Eighty billion was a slight smile, and a hundred billion people was just right.
"But have you considered the economic aspect?" Jiang Ye reached out and touched his wife's head. "If a planet has a good biosphere, much money is not needed. The biosphere itself is a form of wealth. But if a planet has no biosphere, and everything relies on artificial means, it will be very expensive. No matter how cheap oxygen generators are, they are still an additional expense."
"I've thought about the economic issues, and it's the same two planets we just talked about," Cen Yemeng said. "Why did Bin Hui Star and Jiang Huai Star choose to inflate their populations to such an extent? Because their high-level calculations showed that, without considering high-end development and habitability, the profit margin of squeezing six billion people onto one planet was greater than distributing them across two or three planets."
Jiang Ye was choked, unable to speak.
"So, it all comes back to the original question: what is the ultimate meaning of a rich and prosperous ecosystem?" Cen Yemeng pinched her husband's cheek. "Do you have an answer?"
Jiang Ye fell into thought.
From the perspective of economic efficiency, it didn't hold up.
Was it for ornamental purposes? Humans liked to look at grasslands, forests, and wild animals?
That wasn't right either. Was the meaning of a planet's vast ecosystem merely to look good? That seemed too absurd.
Or was it to evolve more powerful creatures?
But what was the use of more powerful creatures? Species synthesized in human laboratories were not much faster and much stranger than natural evolution?
"You mean... under the condition that current human technology can control the energy flow and material circulation of an entire planet..." Jiang Ye's expression was horrified. "Has the historical mission of the biosphere declared its end? Does the ecosystem have no meaning today, being dispensable?"
Cen Yemeng smiled and nodded, then shook her head.
"It still has meaning, but it's not as important as it was in ancient times," Cen Yemeng said. "The reason we cultivate prosperous biospheres now is mainly to act as tools, for example, using this tool to prevent sandstorms and change the environment. Could another tool be used? Of course, there are many other useful tools. It's just that we've temporarily chosen this tool, and we're quite used to it."
"Scary, so scary," Jiang Ye murmured. "It wasn't like this in my time. In ancient times, there was still talk of environmental protection, of humans and the environment coexisting, and if the environment collapsed, humanity would also perish."
"Ancient times were ancient times," Cen Yemeng said. "Technology wasn't advanced enough then. So, I think what Hua Qing and the smart fungus are trying to do with the electronic biosphere is feasible. It's just a tool, after all, just improving the tool."
"Damn, I truly feel like humanity has become a creator god now," Jiang Ye said. "Since that's the case..."
Jiang Ye was interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of his phone ringing.
He grabbed the phone on the bedside table and looked at it. His eyebrows shot up. It was a call from someone completely unexpected, someone he hadn't contacted in a long time.