earth

May 23, 1973

Maryland, USA

"When did it die?"

"Professor Calhon, ...... not long ago"

The two of them muttered about the experiment as they trotted toward their laboratory, a farm warehouse.

They ascended to the second floor of the farm's warehouse and lifted a black curtain, revealing a large boxy box measuring 2.57 meters long and wide and 1.37 meters high.

It's a utopia, a utopia for rats - Universe 25.

Universe No. 25 by John. Caljon and his experimental assistants built it up as the perfect habitat for mice.

Each of the 16 living quarters is evenly divided around the center of the box, each with its own drinking fountain, food compartment, and resting nest.

According to the design calculations, there will be a shortage of nests only when the number of rats exceeds 3,840, when there are 6,144 mice, there will be a shortage of water, and when there are 9,500 mice, food will be a problem.

In addition, the first eight rats introduced to their habitat were screened for disease to ensure that experiments in their habitat would not be flawed due to foreign diseases.

The temperature of the residence itself is also maintained between 20C and 31C by fans and heating to ensure that the temperature is not the cause of the problems in Universe 25, and in addition to this, Universe 25 does not have any natural predators of rats.

A world without natural predators, without disease, without hunger, without the problem of habitation, all causes that could lead to population decay are excluded.

John. Caljon wondered if the hand of God, which suppressed the number of rats, would still appear in the utopian world he had constructed, as it had been in past experiments.

John. Calhon's trembling hand picked up the corpse of the male mouse, and the answer was revealed.

God appeared!

The 25th space experiment lasted 1,780 days, and the last male mouse died, and the rats completely lost any possibility of reproduction.

John. Calhon recalls the beginning of the experiment......

July 9, 1968, Day 1 of Space Experiment 25. Four males and four females were put into the dwelling.

After spending 3 months getting acquainted with the utopia of Universe 25, the little mice settled down and began to divide their own territory, and then began to choose mates and mate.

After the 104th day, Universe 25 ushered in the birth of the first litter of rat pups.

Subsequently, the number of experimental rats increased almost exponentially.

Between day 100 and day 300, the average population of mice doubles every 55 days, with 20, 40, 160, 320, 640, and the rate of birth slows from doubling from 55 days to 145 days until 620.

From day 86 to day 338, this period is the most frequent stage of birth of mice.

And with the surge in rat populations, John. The Calhons noticed that the number of mice born in each territory was not equal, even though all the territories were evenly divided from the center in a radial pattern. Reading the Book House

The territory in the northeast corner gave birth to only 13 mice in 252 days, while the southwest corner gave birth to 111 mice, 8.5 times as many as the territory.

This is the law of the jungle, only the strong are worthy of the right to mate, and it will be easier to give birth to offspring.

Experiments have been very normal so far, both in terms of breeding and dividing territories, and they have all been related to John. Calhon: They thought the same thing before they went on the experiment.

With the end of the population explosion phase, Universe 25 entered a slow phase.

From day 315 onwards, the growth of the mouse population slowed from doubling from 55 days to 145 days, and the number of experimental mice reached a peak of 2,200 in the entire experiment.

However, this result is exactly the problem, and Universe 25 will theoretically need to reach 3,840 mice to have a nest shortage, and 6,144 mice to have a shortage of water.

There is no shortage of water, no food, no disease, no natural predators, a large enough world, but at a time when the number has not yet broken through the limit to carry the quantity, this rat utopia is full.

It's as if there is an invisible hand of God suppressing the number of experimental rats. Calhon thought.

Why is this happening?

Is there really a God?

Of course not, everything is rationally developed, and the suppression of the rat population comes from themselves. Calhon's conclusion after summarizing the experiment.

Universe 25, though with its abundant living space and food, is overrun by the social responsibilities of rats.

In nature, there are not many opportunities for adult mice to die of life, and those adult mice will take over the burden of their elders and become the role of protecting the territory, protecting the females, and reproducing.

When there are more adult mice living in a territory than the territory needs, the adult mice will move outward to develop new territories, neither of which would be possible in Universe 25.

As adults, the little mice that could not find themselves unknown in the rat society fell into confusion, and the male rats that did not belong to any territory began to gather in the center of Universe 25.

The mice gradually stopped socializing with any other rats, ignored each other, and gradually became violent.

Usually a little mouse that disturbs other people just because it comes back from eating will suddenly become the target of attack, and the attacked person will not try to escape or fight back, but when other little mice come to disturb its peace, the attacked person will also become extremely violent.

Female mice, who also find no place in society, choose to live in seclusion in the nests of the higher ones, those who give birth to their youngs, and they see no signs of violence or social interaction, like hermits who are isolated from the world.

As the number of mice with nowhere else to go increases, the males who are responsible for protecting their territory are becoming less aware of their territory, but for females, the reduction of territorial protection is a growing awareness of the possibility of their nests being invaded.

The concept of territory has gradually been diluted, and the female rats responsible for feeding have become more and more aggressive, and even directly replaced the male rats who should be responsible for protecting the territory, this aggression is not only for outsiders, the aggression of the female rats has gradually transferred to their offspring, and many young mice that have not yet been weaned have also become the target of attack by the females, and will even be expelled from the nest and become a new generation prematurely.

Since then, the menstrual period of the mice has been disrupted, the pregnancy rate has decreased, and even the number of births per litter has decreased.

In the process of frequent nest shifts by females, many of the young are forgotten and abandoned, and many of the young "disappear" between each count.

It is for these reasons that the fertility rate of the rats has declined, so much so that it has stopped altogether.

Everything makes sense, and a social problem triggers a chain reaction that leads to the destruction of Universe 25, with newborn rats unable to find their place in society, cut off from social interactions, refuse to have children, and abandon their cubs......

But is that exactly the case?

In the river system that is not many thousands of light-years away from the earth, an alien civilization that is not known how many generations higher than the earth's technology has also done similar experiments, and they used a river system to make a utopia belonging to civilization, and also sowed the seeds of civilization in this utopia......