nurturing humanity
The Test of Intelligence and the Three Treasures of Civilization
“Run away!”
“There’s no escape! We’re no bigger than a single strand of his hair!”
Many of the fleeing bugapes went limp and collapsed on the ground.
As the crowd screamed miserably, a young bugape looked up at the sky and said obstinately, “You, giant beast, have you also come to eat us? Your people have killed my father, killed my mother and my big brother! Why are we so weak…”
Xu Zhi lowered his head, somewhat surprised that this young bugape was brave enough to question him.
It that is the case, then you will be the chosen one.
Xu Zhi gently stretched out his hand and placed this bugape on his palm.
This little young bugape’s mind instantly went blank.
The palm of this giant beast was like a vast and boundless continent, and the bugape was nothing more than the size of a fine line on its palm.
It looked up again and saw the eyes of the ten thousand feet tall giant. They were like furnaces burning away, as scorching and bright as the dazzling sun shining in the sky. Its huge face was bathed in divine white light, so there was no way its face could be seen clearly. It was evident, however, that the being emanated a great and vast divinity.
Xu Zhi’s face was concealed by the Insecta Nest, so the bugapes could only see the blurred visage that emitted a hazy glow.
Xu Zhi lifted the tiny bugape, then with a calm look in his eyes asked, “Gilgamesh, do you want to change everything?”
The bugape suddenly trembled and started screaming loudly. “You can even communicate! What kind of beast are you? To think that there are ten thousand feet tall giants that are equipped with such intelligence in this world! How can there be such perfect existences?
He could not help but shudder and ask, “You called me Gilgamesh?”
“A name is also one of the manifestations of wisdom.”
Xu Zhi lifted his hand to bring the young bugape on his palm to eye-level and replied calmly.
Gilgamesh stood on giant beast’s palm and looked into its sparkling and crystal-clear pupils that were as huge as the sun and moon. Then suddenly, it said, “We can all communicate! So we are all of the same species, we all belong to the same intelligent species. Then why didn’t you save us! You’re clearly so powerful! So great!”
They did not know what kind of existence he was and merely thought that he was a kind of intelligent beast that was similar to the other giant beasts. Xu Zhi did not intend to explain anything either.
With Gilgamesh on his palm, Xu Zhi strode over the mountains and rivers.
Large areas of forest were flattened beneath his feet. He let the weak little bugape look down at the whole world from his palm. Then he spoke in a loud and clear voice that resounded throughout the vast sky.
“Look at this world. Every species is equal. You are no different from every plant and animal. Why should I only save you and your kind? Just because you all have intelligence?”
Gilgamesh was speechless for a moment.
Suddenly, he began to despair and shouted violently, “Then why have you come looking for us?”
Xu Zhi said, “No one can save you. And also, don’t be self-delusional and presume that anyone will save you. Only you can save yourself. But I can give you the means of civilization and then you will be able to save yourselves.”
“Civilization, what’s that?”
Gilgamesh looked down in shock.
The wind was blowing fiercely. This was the first time in his life that he had looked down from the clouds upon this vast green earth. The mountains and rivers were below him. Countless beasts with the ability to move were crying out in fear as they scrambled about and fled from beneath the feet of this giant intelligent beast. The scene was so shocking that it shook him to the core.
What a splendid and fantastical thing to look down on from his aerial viewpoint!
What kind of terrifying yet great power could bring about so much anticipation?
“What is civilization, you ask?”
It had never occurred to Xu Zhi that he would have to explain their problems to the members of this newborn race.
He thought about it for a moment and gave his answer. “Civilization is fire. Civilization is knowledge. Civilization is order. Civilization is also the greatest power that intelligent species use to protect themselves.”
“Civilization, for intelligent species like us, is the power we use to protect ourselves?” Gilgamesh murmured.
Xu Zhi walked back to the great canyon and gently placed Gilgamesh on his shoulder. Then he reached into the backpack he was carrying and took out the miniature potted plant, the Welcoming-Guests Pine, dug up the soil, and planted it in the ground.
This pot of Welcoming-Guests Pine was a sinuous plant that had weathered the vicissitudes of the long years of its life. It was merely sixty centimeters tall, but to this miniature world, it was already an endless holy tree that towered into the clouds. Looking up at it, one could only see it being shrouded by a mass of clouds and mist. The huge, winding trunk of the tree had simply no end in sight.
“See this tree that I’ve planted? If you want to gain the power of civilization, show your courage and climb up this holy tree. This is my test to you, the Test of Wisdom and Courage…”
Xu Zhi placed the metallic silver sword that he had custom-made and purchased from Taobao, along with a match soaked in kerosene, and a transparent capsule that contained the body fluid of white ants that had not been successful previously, on the top of the tree.
“These are the Three Treasures of Civilization.”
“The Sword of Damocles, the weapon that protects civilization. And unlike the savage species that are found all over the earth, an intelligent species is one that could make use of the power of tools.”
“The Torch, which burns with a blazing flame, is the bridge that sustains civilization. Mastering fire is the first step towards the origin of civilization.”
“And last of all, this bottle of fluid. That is the blood of power. Only the bravest warriors of the world can drink it and possibly survive death. If you do indeed survive, then you will gain unparalleled great power!”
“If you wish to change the fate of your race, then climb up the Holy Tree and obtain all Three Treasures of Civilization before the Torch is extinguished.”
Xu Zhi gently placed the young bugape on the ground and while it was still in a state of shock, took great strides over the mountains and rivers and walked away.
“Accelerate cell division speed by a hundred times!”
As soon as Xu Zhi walked out of the sandbox world, he immediately gave an order to the Insecta nest.
In an instant, the movement of the entire earth began to pick up speed at a crazy rate, forming an endless stream of all kinds of afterimages. The trees rapidly grew and withered while the animals turned into afterimages, rapidly growing, aging, and then dying.
That match that was soaked in kerosene would only burn for about thirty seconds before it went out.
But for this land where time was accelerated by a hundred years, thirty seconds was the equivalent of several days.
In other words, the test of the Holy Tree would last several days.
“Time is relative; it’s a manifestation of the movement of matter… The acceleration of the division of the nerve cells of their brains by a hundred times, and acceleration of the division of their body cells by a hundred times, is the same as the acceleration of time by a hundred times for them.”
“A match that burns for a fraction of a second is, to them, also relatively able to burn for several days. In their world view, matches are not fireworks that burn up within an instant, but rather torches that burn for several days.”
Xu Zhi was reminded of something he had heard before:
Little wisdom is no match for great wisdom, and a short life is nothing compared to a long life. How can we know that this is true? The fungus that is born in the morning and dies at night does not know what night and dawn are, and the short-lived cicadas do not know what spring and autumn are!!
What they think of as a long time, in my eyes, is nothing more than a fleeting moment.
After Xu Zhi left, he used his binoculars to watch the scene beneath the Holy Tree. The young bugape had gathered a few companions. With resolute faces, they quickly climbed up the Holy Tree.
In Xu Zhi’s eyes, the movements of these little ants as they climbed up the tree were so fast that he could only see the afterimages they left behind. In just a few seconds, they had fallen down countless times, then struggled back up as they continued their ascent. In about ten seconds, they had successfully climbed to the top of the Holy Tree.
For them, it had been countless days of hard work and countless failures.
Their movements were simply too fast.
At the summit of the Holy Tree, Gilgamesh stood on top of the lush green canopy and raised his sword high. He seemed to have said and done something before speedily descending the tree, leaving behind only an afterimage.
Xu Zhi was curious and could not help but ask the Insecta Nest, “What were they saying?”
The Insecta Nest’s mind brought up the scene that Xu Zhi had just seen.
“The Great Beast of Wisdom To think that in this world, such a terrifying giant intelligent species exists! There is an ultra-big giant which is ten thousand feet tall!”
Gilgamesh, who had conquered the Holy Tree, raised the Sword of Damocles and swung it high above his head.
He looked down at the entire world beneath the Holy Tree. His black hair was fluttering in the wind, and the bone armor on his shoulders was shining darkly. His resolute face was suddenly filled with confidence.
“We, likewise, also possess intelligence. Our future will be just like that of the Great Beast of Wisdom! Every single member of our tribe will wield great divine power! All shall have the power to make countless beasts flee! I must lead my people all the way to the summit and spread the fire of civilization throughout the land.”
This was recorded as a moment of eternity.
Millions of years later, from the relics left behind by the oldest dynasty to ever exist in this land, the extremely prosperous yet ephemeral Sumer dynasty, archeologists unearthed a Sumerian hymn, ‘The Genesis’ which the Sumerians had written and dedicated to their king.
This oldest piece of document, the Sumerian epic, recorded the moment:
The Great Beast of Wisdom, ten thousand feet tall, all white and radiant, with a divine face. It had come to crush and shatter the earth and mountains under its feet, planted the Holy Tree, and set up the Test of Wisdom. And it had given the Three Treasures of Civilization, the Torch, the Sword and the Blood of Power, to the young Hero King, Gilgamesh.