Chapter 11: "Shennong's"
When Schimer and Neil came out of the wormhole again, they saw a different scene: in front of them was a raging river, the water was turbid, and the waves roared into the distance.
It was noon, and the sun was hanging high overhead, blazing on the golden surface of the river and the endless green fields on both sides of the river.
Schimer led Neil away from the riverbank and into the distant fields. As Neil walked, he didn't forget to ask Schimmer about wormhole travel.
"High Priest, why do we not need the help of a flying machine to travel after entering the wormhole?" Schimer patiently replied, "The directionality of wormholes is a property that we discovered when we first studied it. Each wormhole only goes in one direction, and they are a one-way superposition of express cars and lanes that accelerate the objects they are in. Therefore, as long as the protective measures are in place, we do not need to take another vehicle to enter the wormhole for time travel, which can also make the wormhole play its maximum efficiency. The black hole's huge gravitational pull will help the traveler accelerate in the first half of the trip, and in the second half of the trip, we just need to find a suitable angle to ensure that the traveler can be thrown away by the huge inertia. However, the high electromagnetic radiation inside the wormhole is deadly to the carbon-based creatures of our solar system, so be sure to wear an isolation suit that is sufficient to protect yourself when traveling. Neil thinks that the Drowin who can travel time and space in this way is simply handsome.
He half-jokingly asked Schimer, "High Priestess, if I got this watch of yours and this suit to shield me from radiation, would I be able to time travel anywhere and wherever I want, just like you?" ”
"Theoretically, that's so." Schimmer laughed,
"However, you will also need the assistance of a space-time positioning base station on the moon to complete the trip. However, if I lose my phenotype controller, I'll notify my subordinates on the moon to log it off as soon as possible, so you can only use it to see the time. As I said earlier, this watch is just a coordinate transmitter, and what really allows you to travel is the huge space-time positioning base station that we have set up on the moon. In fact, at the beginning, our travel was far less convenient than it is now, at that time we had not developed this kind of portable device worn on the wrist, and there was no space-time base station that could locate the entire solar system, at that time, if we wanted to travel, we needed to really build fixed endpoints in different space-time locations to serve as the entrance and exit of the wormhole, and we could not reach the place where the endpoints were laid. It's kind of like your airport now. Speaking of which, it has caused some minor problems to you humans. I remember that in ancient times on the shore of Lake Titicaca in South America, my ancestors once built a time travel endpoint, at that time, there were earth humans who witnessed them disappear into the wormhole, but the humans at that time were completely unreasonable, so after the 'airport' was abandoned, there would still be many Indian shamans gathered there for generations, they have been using that place as a mysterious entrance to heaven, and worship and pray, full of hope that one day this 'gate of heaven' can be reopened. As they spoke, the two of them had reached an open plain.
On the charred yellow earth, the river rain has left traces of ravines and ravines, and a few low green vegetation is sparsely dotted on the sunny slope.
Neil saw a dozen bronzed-skinned humans standing in the depths of the plain, on the sun-scorched ground, unkempt, naked, and covered with a cloth to cover their shame; Opposite them, stood a tall, ugly-looking monster with the head of a bull and a human body, and the monster was preaching something to the humans, and behind him, in the distance, stood a tall Drowin man dressed in ancient costumes.
Neil and Sqimer were so far away that Neil couldn't hear what they were saying. The minotaur held a handful of ears of wheat in one hand and made an exaggerated demonstration to the group of humans in front of him.
I saw him rub a handful of the ears of wheat with his big hands, and then crush them with his fingers, and then leaned down to bury the wheat grains in his hands into the soil, and then he put some wheat grains on his thick palms, rubbed them vigorously with both hands, and then sent the crumbs on the palms of his hands into his mouth.
A dozen humans huddled together in front of him, looking at him with reverence and timidity, listening respectfully, some of them taking notes with clay tablets and wooden pens in their hands.
The Drowin stood motionless and watched, like a cold and solemn statue. Neil was surprised when he heard Schimer whisper in his ear, "Neil, we are lucky to have come across the scene of ancient humans learning about agriculture. The bull-headed man was a human leader and teacher who lived in the Yellow River valley in eastern Asia in ancient times, and he taught the local humans some basic knowledge, including farming, medicine, etc., and your ancestors in East Asia were able to eat and clothe themselves at that time, and they could not do without the teachings of this leader who later became known as the 'Shennong clan'. Neil was amazed at the moment, he was not concerned about how prehistoric humans learned about agriculture, but at the appearance of such a minotaur monster on the ancient earth, and this guy seemed to be quite wise, smart enough to be a human mentor.
He turned his head to look at Schimer, hoping to get some answers from him, but the other man was just silently smiling at him, Neil held out his finger and pointed to the magical scene in the distance, and then looked back at Schimer, his eyes showing anxiety, but he didn't know what to say.
Schimer chuckled softly, "Neil, the way you look reminds me - I really haven't told you about the condition of life on ancient Earth. Realistically speaking, the earth at that time was ...... It's a little complicated. Before and after the creation of your human race, there were several ancient creatures on Earth that were not well known to your modern humans, such as mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, and such minotaurs. Of course, they were extinct one after another a long, long time ago, and I, as a modern-day Zolgin, don't know much about it, if I hadn't come back this time to see it with my own eyes...... Of course, if you can change your thinking, maybe it is not difficult to understand, after all, more than 6,000 years have passed since your generation of humans was created until now, and there must be some history that you have not understood, just like the origin of your human race...... "Neil is not sure if Schimer really doesn't understand the reason why he was shocked, or if he is deliberately avoiding the important and trivial, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and a hundred species of dinosaurs can't be the same as this minotaur monster, Neil couldn't help muttering to himself, "But, this is a sapient creature!" Schimer said calmly, "It's a sapient being, yes, but it's not worth your excitement. How many intelligent beings have been submerged in the long history of the earth, and we Zolkin people are also one of them. On the earth at that time, according to incomplete statistics, there were several half-human, half-beast creatures such as tiger people, cow people, horse people, snake people, etc., in the eastern hemisphere alone, and on the islands of the western hemisphere, there was a kind of 'island man' that was similar to your human but completely different kind of creature. At that time, the earth was indeed quite magical from the perspective of your modern human beings who had not experienced major events for a long time, but with the passage of time, these intelligent and semi-intelligent creatures gradually withdrew from the stage of history, and now only you humans remain. I have to say, you are really very lucky. As an aside, Neil, since you've been on a real trip to this fantastical prehistoric earth, I hope you'll be able to broaden your horizons and not make a fuss about things that are beyond the limits of your mind. Neil was a little embarrassed by the words, but he still couldn't suppress his strong curiosity, and asked eagerly, "Then High Priest, can you tell me how these intelligent creatures became extinct?" Schimer said, "I'll tell you about this in the future." To put it simply, it is the complex historical evolution that causes them to become extinct. In a sense, it can also be said that because you humans will eventually rise, they must be extinct. Although Schimer's expression was vague, his tone was clearly covered with a cold chill at this moment, and Neil felt that it was inconvenient for him to ask more for the time being.
The minotaur in the distance taught the bronze-skinned humans some basic essentials of sowing and harvesting, and then waved his hand
The "students" scattered and went about their work. Neil watched quietly for a while, and then suddenly thought of something, he hesitated for a moment, and asked Schimer, "High Priest, I still have one thing that I don't know: why do we have different skin colors when we are all humans?" "Neil, this is the result of nature's shaping. Let me make an analogy, the same animal, such as a tiger, an elephant, a bear, a wolf, etc., will show very different physical characteristics in different regions. You should understand that the natural environment of different regions of the earth is very different, some places are hot, some places are cold, some areas are watery, some locations are arid, human beings, like animals, have also lived in different regions from generation to generation, and over a long period of time, they have naturally formed different physical appearances of human beings. Neil instinctively thought there was something wrong with Schimer's words, but he didn't really want to delve into it at the moment, because his mind still hadn't come out of the fact that there were intelligent beings such as cattle, centaurs, and other intelligent beings on the ancient earth.
He very much hoped that Schimer would show him more about these prehistoric creatures, but he was not very concerned about the living conditions of ancient humans.
As if he had seen Neil's thoughts, he adjusted his watch, and it wasn't long before another wormhole entrance appeared in front of the two, and he patted Neil on the shoulder and walked in with him.