Humanity Is Gone, but I Have Billions of Clones

For years, Li Qingsong had been observing the sky in the direction of the Gliese 625 Star System with a large-aperture telescope array.

But ever since the main Blutuk Civilization fleet emerged from that nebula, Li Qingsong had not seen any trace of them for a long time.

It couldn't be helped. Space was simply too vast. Even a fleet of such enormous scale would be impossible for him to spot if it was merely cruising quietly, not creating any major disturbances.

But now, Li Qingsong saw them once again.

From that direction, Li Qingsong saw a brilliant star.

'They've begun their deceleration phase...'

He knew that out in the vastness of space, the numerous ships of the Blutuk Civilization had simultaneously adjusted their orientation, pointed their thrusters toward the Solar System, and begun a massive, synchronized burn.

This was the only way for the massive fleet to gradually decelerate and eventually come to a stop within the Solar System, rather than simply flying past it.

The countless engines of countless ships, the countless thrusters of countless engines, all firing in unison—their combined light converged to become a single star.

A brilliant star, invisible to the naked eye, yet clearly visible through a telescope.

The Blutuk Fleet's maximum velocity was 3% of the speed of light. Extrapolating from their engine output, Li Qingsong calculated the fleet's current deceleration to be 0.03 meters per second squared.

Based on this rate of deceleration, slowing down from 9,000 kilometers per second to about 100 kilometers per second would take approximately 9.5 years and cover a distance of roughly 1.34 trillion kilometers.

The gravitational boundary of the Solar System is the Oort Cloud. The outermost edge of the Oort Cloud is approximately 1.5 light-years from the Sun.

The Blutuk Civilization, at a distance of 1.34 trillion kilometers from the Sun, was now only 0.14 light-years away.

From the standpoint of the gravitational boundary, the Blutuk Civilization had entered the Solar System a long time ago.

'Nine and a half years, 1.34 trillion kilometers...'

Li Qingsong silently mulled over these two figures. 'With our current deep-space communication technology, we should be able to send a signal that far.

'In that case... let's try talking to them first.'

Gazing at the Solar System's defensive line, which had taken decades to finally complete, and at the factories, Warships, bases, clusters of Interstellar Mines, drone fleets, Cannon Platforms, and more that now filled nearly every corner of the system, Li Qingsong made his decision.

'The foundation of any negotiation is strength.' Only when both sides were roughly equal in power—or at least when one side possessed the ability to threaten the other—could a true negotiation take place.

Otherwise, talks would be meaningless.

In his heart, Li Qingsong did not want this war. There was no feud between their two civilizations, so what was the point of fighting to the death?

'It would be far better for each to go their own way and develop in peace.'

The centuries of struggle, the painstaking development, the all-out effort to construct the Solar System's defenses—it had all been for this very reason.

Only with sufficient strength to back him up did Li Qingsong earn the right to say those five words: "I don't want to fight."

Without that strength, the choice of whether or not to fight would not be his to make.

'And there should be a basis for negotiation between us and the Blutuk Civilization.'

'The Solar System may be their destination, but what's the harm in choosing another? They've already survived a journey of several hundred years; what's a few more decades of travel?'

Via several massive antennas deployed beyond Neptune, a message written in the script of the Blutuk People was transmitted into the vastness of Deep Space, toward the Blutuk Civilization over a trillion kilometers away.

"To the esteemed Blutuk Civilization, greetings.

I am the Supreme Leader of Human Civilization. On behalf of Human Civilization's one hundred billion people, I wish to extend our respects to our guests who have traveled from so far away.

Since its birth in the Solar System, our Human Civilization has spent tens of thousands of wonderful years in this star system. Later, due to some unforeseen circumstances, our civilization was forced to embark on an interstellar migration, journeying to other star systems for a time.

We never imagined that our temporary absence would lead your esteemed civilization to mistake the Solar System for unclaimed territory and designate it as your destination. This has resulted in a great misunderstanding, for which we must take responsibility.

Now that the unforeseen circumstances have been resolved, we, Human Civilization, have returned to the beautiful star system that birthed and nurtured us. We intend to live and prosper here for ages to come.

While we harbor a profound love for peace and dearly hope to engage in friendly exchange with your civilization, a single star system's carrying capacity is ultimately limited. We fear it cannot accommodate an entire second civilization seeking to make its home here.

Therefore, we propose that your esteemed civilization alter its destination. We ask that you do not decelerate, but instead continue your voyage and select another star system as your new home.

To compensate for the misunderstanding caused by our temporary absence, and for any losses you may have incurred as a result, we are prepared to provide for all of your material needs, free of charge.

Be it fuel, minerals, water, methane, carbon dioxide, gold, silver, copper, iron—any and all materials—we can remotely project whatever you require directly onto your fleet's trajectory to support your onward journey to the next star system.

Furthermore, any of your personnel who were detained by our side due to previous misunderstandings, such as Molomans and others, will be returned to you.

In recent years, we have undertaken construction on a massive scale throughout the Solar System, creating a comprehensive defensive line and innumerable advanced interstellar defense installations.

We trust that you have been able to observe this with your own sensor arrays.

Please do not misunderstand. All of our constructions are purely defensive in nature and pose no threat to you.

We eagerly await your reply. Should you deem it necessary, you may dispatch an inspection fleet to negotiate with us in person. We will be prepared to welcome you with open arms.

May peace endure!

Respectfully,

Human Civilization."

To prevent any misunderstandings arising from cultural differences, Li Qingsong had made the message as frank as possible while maintaining an outwardly friendly tone.

The subtext was clear.

'As long as you change your destination and stay away from the Solar System, we can talk. Whatever resources you need, I can provide.'

'But if you insist on coming, then I'm afraid the defensive line I've worked so hard to build is no pushover.'

'Worst case, we fight.'

'I don't want to fight you, but if it comes to that, I'm not afraid.'

'The choice is yours.'

The message was sent. It would reach the Blutuk Civilization's fleet in approximately a month and a half.

If all went well, a reply from the Blutuk Civilization would arrive in just under three months.

Time passed quietly. As Li Qingsong continued to bolster the Solar System's defenses, he silently awaited the Blutuk Civilization's response.