Chapter 587: Chapter 383: The Ant Colony, The Prodigal Returns【7300 words】_1

At this point, the quantum information monitoring network of humanity had just been rebuilt and was undergoing debugging, capable of scanning a range of one-third light years.

When the movements of the Edge Ship Fleet were detected, they were less than a quarter light-year away from the edge of the Solar System.

Unlike the Spherical Battleships, which appeared abruptly across space, they revealed their forms early in the universe and jumped forward along the curvature gravity line network bit by bit.

This type of jumping can be named medium-range warp, with each jump propeling them approximately 0.005 light-years and occurring once every second on average.

So the Edge Ship Fleet would reach the edge of the Solar Dome in about 50 seconds.

Within these 50 seconds, Harrison Clark reintegrated the Summit Colossus’s control and capabilities while his brain raced with thoughts.

He tried his best to empty his mind and maintain absolute calm, but he couldn’t.

He was still human, not a machine.

He no longer needed to emphasize to himself just how determined the Compound Eye Civilization was to annihilate Earth’s civilization.

His resentment initially stemmed from confusion, then took root as he understood the cosmic rule; now, he seemed somewhat resigned.

Harrison subconsciously recalled the discussions he had with Carrie Thomas about the toxic ants killing elephants.

Now he had some new thoughts.

Assuming that everything outside the universe does not exist and the universe itself is the sun and the Earth.

Then the Earth’s ecological environment represents the entire universe.

What’s the smallest organism that humanity on Earth might have empathy for?

It must be an animal visible to the naked eye, and its physiological features can be fundamentally distinguished.

That would be ants and cicadas, collectively called insects.

Of all small animals, humans spend the most time observing insects and have the most extensive thoughts originating from them.

Proof can be found in ancient widely spread proverbs and idioms with long histories.

Sneaking and living like an insect.

A levee collapses due to an ant burrow.

Willing to dedicate a lifetime of insect effort, opening the hearts of countless students.

The way is unpredictable, no place to rest; the sky’s not a calculable realm, people are like insects.

Insects shaking the iron pillar.

Countless ants killing an elephant.

An insect’s life is not taken lightly.

As an insect wanes in age, unable to atone, tears like snowflakes in the air wet the clothes.

And so on, too numerous to list.

Even in the twenty-first century, as online literature is on the rise and humans can even see Tardigrades and H39 with microscopes, web novelists still love to use the phrase “insignificant insects, how dare you…”.

Harrison and Carrie’s discussion also centered on insects.

Being an insect not only represents human self-mockery but also symbolizes certain boundless aspirations.

The ancient sayings contain both warnings and respect, as well as disdain.

Why do literati always have issues with insects?

It’s certainly not because they have nothing better to do, but because insects are both tiny and fragile, yet they can cause real inconveniences to humans.

Seemingly invulnerable humans and other large organisms, after death, will benefit both the insects and unseen microbes that live off them.

Because the human eye cannot see the scenes of microbes devouring corpses, they do not feel disgust; however, seeing swarms of ants and flies covering a corpse makes them nauseous, fearful, and filled with rage.

But do ants not deserve to live on Earth?

Of course, they do.

They are still a part of the ecological cycle of the Earth “universe”.

Furthermore, although ants are weak and anyone can easily crush them, they have managed to survive for millions of years, regardless of humanity’s influence. Their population size has not shrunk significantly; they still thrive everywhere.

Mankind, elephants, tigers, ant-eating animals, and even a dog could cause catastrophic destruction to ant populations, not to mention true apocalyptic events like torrential rain and forest fires. The Earth’s environment should be fraught with danger for ants, but the truth is that the vast majority of ants can live their entire lives in peace.

Some ant colonies can even continue for dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of generations in tranquility.

Early species of ants on Earth can be traced back to 100 million years ago.

During these 100 million years, one strong and large species after another has perished, yet ants, a seemingly insignificant yet resilient species, still stand tall on Earth in large numbers.

So, who is truly more fragile?

Why are tiny and fragile ants so tenacious?

Is it just because of their massive population?

Obviously not; the strength of ants lies in their high reproduction ability and “short” lifespan.

Yes, a short lifespan is an advantage too.

Ants are generally divided into three categories: queen ants, soldier ants, and worker ants.

Worker ants are the most numerous and common among the three.

Due to variations in subspecies, the lifespans of worker ants range from a few days to several years.

Most worker ants live for about ten weeks, just a little over two months.

An ant’s seemingly long life is but a fleeting moment to humans and large animals.

The life of an ant is too short; they pass away before they can unwillingly die in a catastrophe.

As a result, the vast majority of ants do live a peaceful and sheltered life, truly unafraid of death.

However, Earth cannot represent the universe, and the scale difference between the Earth and the universe is much more significant than that of an ant burrow to the Earth.

Humanity’s position in the universe is not even a billionth of what ants are to the Earth.

Because of the enormous base population, when not observed by large-scale organisms, the individuals and their populations of ants, in terms of probability, are in a state of absolute safety.