Chapter 18: Ancient Interstellar War History

After resting for about an hour, I sat up and spoke to the surroundings, "I want to see how ancient people lived."

Soon, a vast 5D holographic display appeared around me. Not only was it incredibly clear and immersive, but there was also sound, which immediately caught my attention.

"So that's what ancient humans looked like, huh? They're different from modern people, not as attractive as in the movies. I guess humans evolved to look better over time. Ancient people wore animal skins and leaves—was it because they felt a sense of modesty or just wanted to protect their bodies?" I watched the hologram showing many ancient people. Although they covered themselves with animal skins and leaves, their clothing didn't fully protect their privacy. I guessed they dressed like this either to keep warm in winter or to prevent injuries from wild animals.

My original plan was to watch how ancient people lived, then explore my country's ancient history, including the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, and especially the great Emperor Qin Shi Huang... but before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep. As I dozed, I felt it wasn't my body or mind that was tired; it was my thoughts that needed relaxation. Besides, the bed was so comfortable that I could adjust its softness as I liked.

When I woke up, I checked my phone—it was already past 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Although I hadn't brought a charger, my phone's battery was still at full capacity.

Watching the different alien species coming and going outside, I instinctively wanted to take a picture. If I posted a short video of this, it would definitely shock the world. But thinking it through, I decided against it. Buweiro and the Interstellar Alliance probably wouldn't approve. They had warmly invited me as a guest, and I didn't want to be rude by revealing their secrets.

After walking around a bit, I asked Xiaomeng to call Buweiro. Within less than 5-seconds, Buweiro arrived in the room—so fast!

"Brother Ji Wufan, are you well-rested? Do you have any ideas for our afternoon discussion?" Buweiro asked as he sat down.

"Yes, I think it's best if we start from the beginning and proceed step by step. If I ask questions randomly, I might get confused," I replied.

"Sure thing, Brother Ji Wufan, no problem," Buweiro agreed readily.

"Hmm," I nodded and asked, "Have there ever been signs of life on other planets in our Solar system besides Earth? And when did many aliens first visit Earth?" Humanity has yet to discover extraterrestrial life beyond Earth within our Solar system, and everyone, myself included, is eager to know the answer. With this rare opportunity, I was determined to find out.

"Life once existed on Mars and Venus, and they even developed civilizations more advanced than humanity's early stage. Life evolved on Earth, Mars, and Venus around the same time, eventually progressing into technological civilizations.

Let's go back to 2.9 billion years ago. When our ancestors of the Sanziyao civilization reached a technological level similar to yours today, we used technology akin to radio telescopes and observed that Mars had conditions quite similar to Earth. At the same time, life on Mars was using its own technology to observe Earth. We also looked at other planets and found that Venus also harbored intelligent life and a technological civilization. Back then, Venus's environment wasn't as hostile as it is now.

No life was found on other planets, but under the icy surfaces of some of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons, we discovered primitive life and single-celled organisms, though we couldn't communicate with them.

Once Earth, Venus, and Mars discovered one another, we began to communicate using technology. As we became familiar, we shared knowledge and learned from one another's strengths. Eventually, we jointly developed spacecraft capable of leaving our atmospheres so we could meet face-to-face. From then on, relations between the three planets grew even closer, and migration and interspecies integration began, with all our technologies advancing rapidly.

We thought this peaceful situation would last, but unexpectedly, soon after the three planets reached the next level of technological advancement, an alien species from the Cancer constellation arrived, about 41 light-years from our Solar system.

The Cancerian Civilization was far more advanced than ours and belonged to a malicious, highly oppressive species. Upon discovering our Solar system, they sought to control and enslave us. Naturally, we refused, and when negotiations broke down, it led to interplanetary war."

"And what was the outcome?" I asked, captivated by the story.

"While the Cancerian species' technology surpassed ours, the gap wasn't enormous. United by a common enemy and familiar with our own terrain, Earth, Venus, and Mars fought together. After a costly battle, we ultimately managed to defeat the invaders and seized their technology, accelerating our own advancement."

I felt a wave of relief. I'd already come to consider Buweiro a friend, and Earth was our shared home, so I naturally rooted for my own kind. However, I noticed Buweiro's expression turn bittersweet as he continued, his tone tinged with regret, "Although we won, the price was extreme—much worse than you might imagine. Mars and Venus's surfaces were devastated, and many species nearly faced extinction. Externally, both planets were knocked off their orbital paths. From that time onward, the surface environments of Mars and Venus began their irreversible decline.

Thanks to timely protective measures, although Earth suffered heavy losses like the other two planets, it managed to avoid a shift in its orbital path. The only consolation for the three civilizations was gaining advanced technology. Through joint research, their technologies advanced rapidly, allowing them to eventually terraform the environments of the three planets."

"What happened after that? Didn’t the other races from the Cancer constellation come for revenge? And what about Mars and Venus—did they recover? From humanity’s current exploration of Mars and Venus, both seem desolate and lifeless." After hearing about the distant grievances between planetary civilizations, I couldn't help but ask.

"The Cancer species from back then never invaded our solar system again. To use human terms, there are good and bad individuals everywhere. Alien life is no exception—they, too, are divided between good and evil. Perhaps they were afraid of cornering the three of us into a desperate retaliation. Whatever the reason, they didn’t return," Buweiro said with a bitter smile.

"The planetary wars of that time severely damaged Mars and Venus, causing heavy nuclear contamination. For a long time, their surfaces were uninhabitable, and survival was only possible by excavating underground spaces. Some of our people even migrated to Earth. All three civilizations worked tirelessly to restore the external environments of Mars and Venus."

"What happened next?" I asked unconsciously.

"Thanks to technological advancements, it only took a few thousand years to restore Mars and Venus to their natural states. Earth, meanwhile, became even more vibrant through modifications. Over the ensuing years, however, our solar system was visited by various extraterrestrial beings—some peaceful and curious, some malicious and predatory, and others hypocritical and deceitful. There were even aliens who simply wanted to study us. In short, our Solar system was always bustling with activity.

For peaceful species that wished to explore or temporarily visit Earth, the alliance would either welcome or monitor them. For those with malicious intent to enslave Earth, wars were inevitable. For a long time, the three of our civilizations frequently skirmished or had minor conflicts with surrounding extraterrestrial civilizations, even launching interstellar wars."

Buweiro continued, relieved, "After countless planetary wars, Mars and Venus were completely affected and turned into the desolate planets they are today. Since 70% of the Earth is ocean and the atmosphere is very thick, the two can mitigate most of the attacks. In addition, the Earth is located between Venus and Mars, which can work together to block most of the attacks for the Earth. For various reasons, the Earth can always survive. It must be said that sometimes a good location is very important."

"So Mars and Venus ended up in their current state because of these conflicts? What about the ancient Martians and Venusians? Are they still around?" A heavy sense of sorrow weighed on me as I listened.

Seeing my somber expression, Buweiro reassured me, "There is only one benefit of countless years of interstellar wars, which deeply stimulated the development of technology of our three ancestors. Some were forced to improve themselves, while others got inspiration after learning from the enemy's technology.

It was not until the technology of our three ancestors was upgraded to intermediate civilization that a lot of harassment was reduced. After upgrading to intermediate civilization, we have the qualifications to fight with advanced civilizations. As long as we are not warmongers and stop making things difficult for the solar system, we can live in peace.

At that point, our ancestors were finally able to explore the middle and inner regions of the Milky Way. After countless years of exploration, adventures, and learning, the three of us advanced to high-level civilizations. When we returned to Earth, we discovered a new intelligent civilization had emerged: the 'Arianese'. Our ancestors were greatly pleased and secretly protected and nurtured them, much like how we care for you humans today."

"The outcome was that the Arianese civilization developed into a primary-level civilization, and then you made contact with them, right?" Having listened for so long, I began to grasp the rules of the Milky Way and voiced my speculation.

Seeing Buweiro nod, my interest turned to the Martians and Venusians: "Are there any Martians or Venusians still on Earth?" Over the past two days, I had seen many extraterrestrial beings in the hall, but I couldn't tell which planet each belonged to.

"Yes, the ecological environment of Mars and Venus still exists now, but it is all deep underground, and your human probes cannot find it on the surface. Look at the red skin, scales, limbs like reptiles and your human race, they are the descendants of the ancient Martians, of course, the earliest Martians have left the Milky Way for countless years."

Following Buweiro's gesture, I looked and was stunned. Then he pointed to another place: "See that species with yellowish-brown skin, bird-like wings but no feathers, yet resembling humans? They're the modern Venusians."