The First Superhuman: Rebuilding Civilization from the Moon

Just as everyone was discussing the situation enthusiastically, Jason stepped forward and asked the room, "So here is the real question: why did Gaia attack us?

Shouldn't any intelligent life form operate on some kind of internal logic, whether it decides to attack or do anything else?"

Dr. Lambert thought for a moment, then stood up again. Gesturing with his hands, he said, "Captain, I can think of two possibilities. First, this creature is still in its infancy. It hasn't formed a complete worldview yet, and it lacks a strong sense of self. It's like a newborn, just learning about the universe.

Due to the influence of the original native civilization, it might have absorbed some aggressive tendencies. So, as soon as it sees intelligent life or artificial structures, it attacks on pure instinct. Or perhaps... it thinks dropping nuclear bombs is just a way of saying hello?"

"Of course, it might have some basic emotions of its own," Lambert continued. "Gaia, after all, is born from nature and probably hates seeing the environment artificially altered. Maybe it thinks nuclear weapons are just rocks, and it throws them at anything it dislikes."

Dr. Lambert chuckled, anticipating the obvious counter-argument. "I'm sure some of you are thinking, 'It already uses nuclear weapons, how can it still be an infant?' But we cannot use standard logic to judge a creature like this. It doesn't need to reproduce, it has a bizarre biology, and it spans the entire planet. Developing true self-awareness might be incredibly difficult for it. I even doubt it has a language or a writing system, because a singular planetary mind wouldn't need to communicate with itself.

Self-awareness usually comes from social interaction. Gaia's intelligence didn't just appear out of nowhere; it likely needed a vast amount of interaction with the planet's native inhabitants to develop at all."

"Given its immense biological scale, its processing power is probably massive, but its sense of self remains weak. Imagine a highly advanced AI. It has basic learning functions and mimics everything it sees, but it doesn't actually understand what it's copying, or whether those actions are right or wrong.

So, things like nuclear weapons were simply copied from the native civilization. To a planetary mind, building those was probably as easy as molding clay."

"But these are just my theories," Dr. Lambert added, taking his seat.

The room fell silent as everyone pondered his words. Some nodded in agreement, while others looked skeptical. Lambert's theory was highly unorthodox, yet logically sound. Why was Gaia so intelligent but lacked its own advanced technology? Because it barely had any self-awareness! It was merely mimicking the natives!

"We don't even know if Gaia truly exists yet. This is all just speculation. Science requires evidence, and we need more data from the surface!" a middle-aged senior scientist argued, stepping forward. "I volunteer to go down to Delta-114!"

Once the ice was broken, the room erupted. The scientists clamored for a chance to visit the planet and gather firsthand data. A planetary consciousness? It was a researcher's ultimate dream, even more thrilling than true artificial intelligence! In some ways, these obsessive scientists were far more reckless than the military.

"Dr. Lambert, didn't you mention two possibilities? You've only explained one," Jason suddenly interrupted.

Lambert slapped his forehead and stood right back up. "Ah! Right, the second possibility. This creature is not a newborn. Instead, it has a fully developed, highly aggressive sense of self!"

"In this scenario, the creature has a complete worldview. As we saw, the nuclear war that wiped out the surface might have been orchestrated by Gaia itself and completely on purpose.

This is the dangerous scenario. I believe its sudden attack on us was a calculated move to steal our technology and rapidly upgrade its own capabilities. Because it lacked external information, it foolishly thought it could take us on. After all, it had never seen an interstellar civilization before, and having just wiped out a lower-level species, its ego was massive! It probably assumes that once it shoots down our ships, it can reverse-engineer our tech from the wreckage."

"...If that's true, it has already captured our drones and automated submarines!"

Dr. Lambert's second theory sent a chill through the room. Two hypotheses: an innocent infant mimicking its surroundings, or a calculating, mature predator. Each scenario would lead to vastly different outcomes, requiring completely different responses from the fleet.

Either way, if Gaia truly existed, it possessed terrifying processing power and biological control. It could literally use its own cells to organically grow telescopes, nuclear weapons, or even rockets. Replicating a few drones and submarines would be effortless.

Jason stood up, his voice steady. "Everyone, do not panic. A few automated submarines are nothing. They are just mass-produced hardware. It might copy our materials or power systems, but that won't shift the fundamental balance of power. The most important thing now is to prevent it from learning anything else!"

Realizing the gravity of the threat, Jason immediately opened a secure channel to the fleet. "If any unmanned craft takes a hit, initiate the self-destruct sequence immediately. Leave zero debris in the ocean.

Also, ramp up the deployment of land-based rovers to gather more intel! In the meantime, broadcast messages of goodwill. Play classical music, recite poetry, read literature... let's see if we can establish a line of communication."

The orders were instantly relayed to the front lines. The Federation soldiers might have been slightly inexperienced, but they were highly disciplined. Out in space, a massive fleet of warships was holding position above the planet.

Aboard the flagship Titan, Austin frowned at the incoming orders. What was "Gaia"? The mysterious enemy below was completely beyond his imagination. Still, he followed the directive without question. He immediately ordered the vanguard drones to cease their high-altitude bombing runs and switch to broadcasting mode.

"We are the Federation. We come in peace. Please cease your attacks..." a gentle, synthesized female voice echoed across the planet's atmosphere.

This was followed by audio clips chosen to represent humanity's softer side: the sound of children laughing, the morning songs of various birds, classical piano concertos, and acoustic melodies. The crew nervously monitored the ocean, waiting to see if their olive branch would be accepted.

After organizing the broadcast, Austin turned his attention to his crew, delivering a stern dressing-down on the bridge of the Titan.

"Can anyone tell me the primary duty of a soldier?" Austin barked. Rows of crew members stood at rigid attention, their images projected via 3D holograms from across the fleet.

"To obey orders, follow commands, fight with courage, and complete the mission!" the men and women roared in unison.

"And were you courageous out there?" Austin demanded.

Silence fell over the network. The newly promoted captains flushed with shame. They had trained endlessly in simulations, but the moment they faced real, imminent death, they had panicked and frozen for a full ten seconds. It was a natural human instinct, but it was an unacceptable flaw for a soldier of the fleet.

Austin didn't single anyone out to criticize, but his voice boomed over the channel. "I've been asking myself lately: have we been babying you all? Captain Jason always reminds me that our population is precious, that we should use drones for the dangerous work to avoid casualties.

But we are soldiers! We are the shield of this civilization, not those disposable machines! We cannot let robots fight our battles for us!"

"When I was in the special forces back home, every single mission put my life on the line! That spirit cannot die!

If we are all too afraid of death, who will defend humanity when the real crisis hits? The robots?"

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