"Electronic lifeforms?" Jiang Ye asked, surprised. After a moment's thought, he clarified, "Do you mean cyberpunk, or robotic dogs?"
"Neither," Hua Qing replied, shaking her head. "I'll explain it to you slowly."
Jiang Ye nodded.
"What is the operating principle of the biosphere on a normal human planet?" Hua Qing asked herself and then answered, "Producer plants draw nutrients from the soil, air, and water, introducing energy and matter into the food chain. Then small animals eat plants, and large animals eat small animals."
"That's right," Jiang Ye nodded. "Basically, yes."
"What is the deeper mechanism of this process?" Hua Qing asked herself again and answered, "Various organisms grow their body tissues, which are then eaten by other creatures, digested in their stomachs, turned into substances like glucose, and then broken down for use."
"That's right," Jiang Ye nodded again. "So?"
"This process is very wasteful!" Hua Qing exclaimed. "A lot of energy and matter is wasted in the food chain!"
Hua Qing extended a fair, small hand and began to count on her fingers:
"First, each type of organism requires different food. For example, we humans eat pigs, but we discard the bones and don't eat them, we pluck the pig's hair and don't eat it, and we remove the lymph nodes and don't eat them. So, these parts of the pig are essentially wasted."
"Second, some creatures die in remote corners due to illness or old age, and then they rot away. This is also a huge waste."
"Third, many creatures have poor digestive systems. They excrete undigested parts of other animals they've eaten, which is also a waste."
"In short, there are many points of waste, and the efficiency is low," Hua Qing said. "The Smart Fungus used an analogy: like a currency market."
"A currency market?" Jiang Ye mused.
"Yes, each planet has different currencies, exchange rates fluctuate, and there are trade barriers. Sometimes, to obtain a commodity, you need to exchange money back and forth, pay various fees, and finally spend a lot of money to get the product," Hua Qing explained. "Take the pig, for instance. It needs to eat a lot to grow its bones, nails, and hair, but we don't eat those."
Jiang Ye felt a little dizzy, finding Hua Qing's logic a bit jumpy, but he could generally understand her meaning.
"So, to revitalize the biosphere's currency market, a simpler method is to unify the currency," Hua Qing said. "This currency is electricity."
Jiang Ye felt a sudden realization.
"You mean, creating a type of organism that doesn't need to eat and digest to obtain energy, but instead relies on electricity to function?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Exactly, but you can be bolder," Hua Qing said, spreading her arms wide as if embracing a grand concept. "Not just creating one type of organism, but transforming the vast majority of organisms in the biosphere into electronic lifeforms."
Jiang Ye's expression turned astonished, as if he were looking at an extraordinary blueprint.
"But..." Jiang Ye thought for a moment, "aren't what you're describing just household appliances?"
Hua Qing's expression froze. "What?"
"Suppose my house is the biosphere. The appliances in my home all run on electricity. If you consider them as animals and plants, isn't that a biosphere?" Jiang Ye said. "Aren't the electronic lifeforms you're talking about the same as household appliances? Robotic dogs and robots, don't they all run on electricity?"
Hua Qing's mouth opened slightly, caught off guard.
Jiang Ye laughed heartily, finding her expression rather cute.
"No, no, no! It's different!" Hua Qing waved her hands. "Household appliances don't reproduce! Plants and animals can reproduce!"
"The animals you mentioned aren't made of metal, are they?" Jiang Ye continued to laugh. "I know they're not household appliances; I was just joking."
Hua Qing pouted, picked up a can, and drank heartily, finishing it in a few gulps. She then clenched her small hand, crushed the can, and threw it into the nearby trash bin.
"Electronic lifeforms are just a concept for now, but after discussing it with the Smart Fungus, we both believe it's very feasible," Hua Qing said. "Our current cities are heavily reliant on electricity. If we can cover the entire planet with electricity-generating organisms, the cost of electricity for cities can be compressed to almost zero, and abundant energy will contribute to Spiral Star's future economic takeoff."
"There are drawbacks, though," Jiang Ye said. "Electricity, once it arrives, also leaves quickly. The current biosphere consists of fleshy animals. Even if they die, their decomposition takes a long time, during which they can be scavenged by passing animals. But electronic lifeforms have batteries. Once they die and leak electricity, there's nothing left."
Hua Qing nodded, her eyes thoughtful. "What you've said is one aspect."
"Some organisms in nature can generate electricity, like electric eels," Jiang Ye said. "I believe that during evolution, many creatures capable of producing strong currents have emerged. Humans themselves have bioelectricity, don't they? The potential difference in nerves, and the muscle twitches of the deceased. So, electricity itself is closely related to life."
"However, during evolution, the kind of electronic lifeforms you're talking about haven't appeared. To be precise, they might have appeared, but they couldn't sustain themselves and went extinct," Jiang Ye stated. "So, is the concept of electronic lifeforms unfeasible? Or extremely difficult?"
A look of admiration appeared on Hua Qing's face. "What you've said, the Smart Fungus also considered. You think things through so quickly."
"And then? How did the Smart Fungus address this speculation?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The Smart Fungus suggests that the reason electronic lifeforms are rare in human civilization is a disadvantage of being a latecomer," Hua Qing explained. "Most organisms follow the 'eating meat' model, so organisms that use electricity couldn't survive. It's like everyone using fiat currency, and only a few people create virtual currencies; if the environment doesn't recognize them, they disappear."
Jiang Ye nodded. "That's a possibility. It's not necessarily true that our current biosphere is the final stage of evolution, nor is it necessarily the best. They are all compromises made throughout evolutionary history."
"The Smart Fungus also said that even if electronic lifeforms have some disadvantage in the natural environment, this disadvantage can be compensated for by us humans," Hua Qing said. "Humans protect some rare animals by feeding them. Similarly, to protect electronic animals, we can simply set up charging stations."
Jiang Ye smiled. "Humans are also part of nature. Some creatures die because of humans, and some creatures live because of humans. The Smart Fungus likely has this line of thinking, right?"
"Yes," Hua Qing confirmed. "The Smart Fungus says this has one of the greatest benefits."
"What is it?"
"Humans have complete, direct, and convenient control over the ecosystem," Hua Qing stated. "Merely by using some power plants and magnetic devices, they can influence the ecological environment of a region."
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow.
In that instant, a planet appeared in his mind.
Beside the planet was a giant electrical wire, plugged into a socket. The planet lit up, the yellow earth began to turn green bit by bit, various glittering birds appeared, and glittering herds of migrating beasts.
The plug was suddenly pulled out, the planet went dark, the beasts collapsed, the birds fell and disappeared, and the green land was once again occupied by yellow sand.
According to the Smart Fungus's plan, Spiral Star's biosphere would become a giant toy that could be switched on and off.