Deep within the cosmos, inside the Eagle Nebula, the Pillars of Creation stretched like the fingertips of a primordial god, silently reaching into the cradle of stars. Countless newborn stars burst forth here, igniting the cold void into a dazzling sea of light.
…
Meanwhile, seven thousand light-years away, on Earth.
Within ZS University's largest lecture hall—a space large enough to hold ten football fields—every seat was filled. The air was steeped in a silence that bordered on reverence. A holographic projection at the center of the venue traced the magnificent silhouette of the Pillars of Creation, rotating slowly in a cascade of shimmering light.
Mu Yun, the world's youngest engineering academician at just twenty-two years old, stood before the light projection. His tailored black casual suit accentuated his tall, commanding figure. With handsome features, when his gaze swept across the thousands of eyes in attendance, it seemed as though galaxies were turning within their depths.
This was a soul equally possessed of romantic imagination and rigorous scientific reason.
"Finally," Mu Yun said, his calm and clear voice breaking the silence. He offered a slight smile, tinged with curiosity. "I'd like to ask you all a non-academic question."
He paused, gesturing toward the magnificent nebula hologram behind him.
"If stars are the embryos of life… would they have a heartbeat? What would that sound like?"
The question fell like a pebble into a still lake, sending ripples through the audience. The hall sank into a brief, contemplative silence.
After a moment, a young woman at the periphery timidly raised her hand. "Perhaps… like a symphony? Deep, stirring, majestic—yet laden with profound loneliness."
A ripple of good-natured laughter spread through the hall.
A faint curve tugged at the corner of Mu Yun's mouth. "A symphony… that's a fascinating metaphor," he murmured, his slender index finger tapping silently in the air, as if conducting some wordless cosmic symphony.
The audience quieted once more, awaiting his deeper insight.
Suddenly, Mu Yun raised his right hand and snapped his fingers crisply.
Whoom—!
The holographic image transformed in an instant. The star they had been gazing upon abruptly swelled, its incandescent light engulfing everything in a spectacular supernova explosion—only to fade swiftly into desolate silence.
Before the gasps could even surface, Mu Yun snapped his fingers a second time.
In the lonely void of space, cosmic dust began to spiral and coalesce, as if drawn by an invisible hand. A soft point of light ignited at the vortex's heart, swiftly intensifying until, finally, a newborn star broke free from its shroud of dust and blazed with brilliant radiance.
Mu Yun gazed at this scene of genesis, murmuring words almost inaudible to himself: "Annihilation and rebirth… that is the eternal truth of the cosmos."
In that moment, his eyes seemed to pierce through the boundlessness of space and time, turning momentarily hollow.
But in the next instant, he had returned to his usual self, his gaze gleaming with vitality as he announced in a clear voice, "All right, everyone! Class dismissed!"
…
Days later, the content of Mu Yun's lecture at ZS University—particularly his "Mythological Civilization Hypothesis"—ignited a global firestorm after being amplified by the media.
M Country, a premier physics laboratory.
"Preposterous! Absolutely preposterous!" thundered McVedy, a titan of physics, slamming his data sensor onto the table with unrestrained fury. "Antimatter theory, at a stretch, might be debatable. But a mythological civilization? Utter nonsense! Only a young upstart with no sense of propriety would dare spout such drivel!"
"Professor, please calm yourself," said Jane, his blonde assistant, adjusting her glasses as she attempted to hand him another document. "This is his detailed treatise on antimatter theory."
"I won't read it!" McVedy cut her off with an impatient wave. "Antimatter isn't his exclusive domain! He's merely progressed a little faster…" He paused, catching his breath, his tone softening slightly. "Still, his method of observing stellar life and death to capture antineutrinos at the microscopic level, thereby substantiating the existence of antimatter… is undeniably a stroke of genius."
The old academician grunted. "But that is no excuse for blasphemy!"
Jane couldn't help but laugh. "Professor, in the East, perhaps God is less renowned than the Jade Emperor or Tathagata Buddha."
"Jane!" McVedy shot her a disapproving glare. "Keep your distance from that young man! Those who do not revere the divine are not to be approached!"
"Fine, fine," Jane replied with a smile, steering the conversation elsewhere. "Professor, the solar flare data you asked me to monitor—the anomalous activity is nearing the critical threshold." She handed him another sensor.
McVedy took it, glanced at it dismissively, then his expression turned grave. He tossed the sensor back to Jane. "Pass it on to the Cosmic United Command. The rest… leave to time. Not that this old bones of mine will live to see the end."
Jane's face paled. "Professor, are you saying… Earth truly…?"
"Not Earth," McVedy said, sinking wearily into a sofa, his voice hoarse. "All life on Earth, humanity included, has entered the final countdown."
After Jane left, the lab fell silent. McVedy sat in contemplation for a long time, then finally activated the data sensor Jane had brought—the one containing the full recording of Mu Yun's lecture.
A holographic image flickered to life, revealing Mu Yun's calm, confident face.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Mu Yun. I will now present to you in detail: Antimatter Theory, and the Mythological Civilization Hypothesis."
…
As McVedy had warned, in the ensuing decades, solar activity grew increasingly volatile, and Earth suffered frequent natural disasters.
In 2240 AD, Earth's resources neared exhaustion. The global alliance formed the "Interstellar Alliance," rallying its finest minds and forces to venture into deep space.
That same year, a breakthrough in "cellular remodeling technology" was achieved, but due to ethical risks, governments worldwide jointly sealed the knowledge, prohibiting its disclosure.
In 2260 AD, the discovery and application of a novel superconducting material, designated X, alongside the decoding of black hole data, made wormhole jumps a reality, allowing humanity to step beyond the solar system for the first time.
In 2280 AD, artificial gravitational fields were mastered, and "warp drive" transitioned from theory to reality, ushering in the era of faster-than-light travel.
In 2300 AD, the great vessel embodying humanity's cumulative technological prowess—the starship Genesis—was completed.
Mu Yun, serving as both captain and chief scientist, was tasked with leading an elite crew on a mission to find new homes, new resources, and new forms of life, piloting the ship into the depths of the cosmos.
In 2350 AD, after half a century of voyaging, the Genesis finally reached the core region of the Eagle Nebula. For years, it traversed the dense interstellar dust, gradually drawing closer to that legendary stellar nursery—the Pillars of Creation.