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[In 2047,]

[a mysterious planet intruded into the solar system.]

[Its orbit is almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane of the solar system.]

[Its signals hold a line with slope -1, which follows Zipf's law,]

[and have much more information entropy than human languages.]

[Humans believed that it was an invitation from a highly intelligent civilization.]

[The planet is called Messenger.]

[The edge of the solar system Kuiper Belt]

[Deep Space]

[Carried 93 crew members]

[Sailed for 71 years to Messenger]

[The Mission: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence]

Captain.

OK, thanks.

Captain, we have an anomaly on Probe 19.

The orientation system is damaged.

The probe is falling into the Messenger's atmosphere.

Switch the prime power unit,

manually adjust the attitude, and neutralize the excess charge.

Seven, deflecting the magnetic field will bring synchrotron radiation.

So, deactivate the confining magnetic field.

The external magnetic field has been shut down.

[The regulator has returned to normal.]

[The third boundary is breached.]

[Entering the nominal orbit.]

Captain, more ionizing radiation has been detected.

The data unit is damaged.

[Out-Line]

The probe has crashed.

[Earth, 2190]

[After going missing for so many years,]

[Deep Space is back to Earth.]

[Deep Space Investigation Committee]

[There have been all kinds of speculation]

[about what happened to you in space.]

[We did a thorough inspection of the ship,]

[but the electronics were severely damaged,]

[and nothing useful can be read.]

[Ms. Yin, as a survivor,]

[you are the key for humans to understand the whole story.]

[Is there extraterrestrial life on Messenger?]

[Where did everyone else go?]

[Why are you the only one left on the ship?]

[Invisible Alien]

[Deep Space Crew living Area]

[I went on the mission]

[as the AI engineer on Deep Space.]

[But not until we arrived did we realize that]

[Messenger was unlike any known celestial body.]

[The signals that Earth received were from its interior,]

[but the constant high-energy radiation emitting from it]

[destroyed our equipment.]

[We had to stay in the outer orbit,]

[where we found an unknown crystal.]

[We collected some samples for research.]

[The crew kept on exploring for a long time]

[but still found nothing.]

[There was no sign of civilization on Messenger.]

[We didn't even know]

[what we were actually looking for.]

[Chapter One Messenger]

[On-Call]

Hi, Yuan.

Are we back in contact with Earth now?

[Real-Time]

We are still in the blind zone

unless we leave Messenger's orbit.

Its radiation not only impedes communication

but may also pose unknown dangers.

[Real-Time]

Staying on this planetary ring,

we are like a moth next to the flame.

Moths,

they fly to the promising light without hesitation.

Nope.

It's the angle with light that gets them lost.

[Real-Time]

We've traveled halfway across the solar system to get here,

and no responses from this planet at all.

I think something is not right.

What do you think?

I understand what you are saying.

[The strong electromagnetic field, plus the undetectable core.]

[I can't imagine what kind of creatures]

[can live here.]

[They might have been long gone.]

[Or it might be that]

[Surveillance Video]

[we haven't found the means]

[to communicate with them.]

[Deep Space Carrier-borne: Seven]

Captain,

the samples have been all collected,

still no sign of life found.

Make sure you collect enough samples

before we leave.

Based on my preliminary analysis,

the formation time of these crystals

varies from tens of thousands to hundreds of millions of years,

which is suspicious.

It has some kind of connection with Messenger's electromagnetic field fluctuation.

It would be dangerous to bring these samples back rashly.

We should be more cautious.

Seven,

what is the closest stellar system to the solar system?

Rigil Kent, 4.37 light-years from Earth.

So with our current technology,

how long will the voyage take?

A manned ship

will take more than 40,000 years.

Nobody can survive such a long dormancy.

These crystals are the only chance

for humans to study extraterrestrial life.

Safely seal the samples.

Get ready to return immediately.

[Crew members,]

[Deep Space is about to start the homeward voyage.]

[Hope you all soundly sleep through the long dormancy.]

[See you on Earth.]

[Chapter Two Rebirth]

What's going on?

[If it is neuronal damage from prolonged dormancy,]

[there should be no recovery.]

[There is something invisible over there.]

[They are slowly changing everything.]

[Request]

[Fail]

[Fail Communication Disconnected]

[Enter Password]

[System Error]

Hello.

Hello?

Hello!

[Humans shouldn't go there.]

[What exactly happened]

[on Deep Space?]

[Where is everyone else?]

[Are they still alive?]

[Why are you the only one that made it back?]

[On-Call]

[Water Quality Monitoring]

[Don't trust artificial intelligence!]

[Door Opening]

[Door Closing]

What are you doing here?

What's that noise?

[Don't trust artificial intelligence!]

Seven!

[Can you describe those things?]

[Are they creatures from Messenger?]

[Those are not creatures.]

[However,]

[they disappeared]

[after smashing onto us.]

[Identification Confirmed. Initiating.]

[Repair Complete. Start.]

What happened to our ship?

What was that?

Messenger's magnetic field is expanding.

We have to go, right now!

How is that possible?

We are too close to the planet,

so a lot of devices broke down.

Our ship has been gravitationally captured.

It's falling towards the atmosphere.

We must get to the central control room and restart the engine.

How about Yuan?

Where is he?

The captain is still at the bridge,

but he can't leave there for the time being.

Only Yuan's gun shoots this kind of bullet.

Why was it in your body?

[Hull damaged, please evacuate immediately.]

[Hull damaged, please evacuate immediately.]

[Hull damaged, please evacuate immediately.]

[Indoor Temperature]

The door is deformed. I can't open it.

I've tried.

We'll have to use the emergency exit.

[Indoor Temperature]

Come here.

[Indoor Temperature]

Hurry up. I'll pull you up.

There's not enough time.

Go restart the engine.

Come up here!

What are you doing? Don't shut the door!

Come up here!

Stop it! Stop!

What are you doing?

Seven!

Seven!

[Those things were everywhere]

[reeking a strong smell of rot.]

[A strong smell of rot?]

[They could be ammonia-based creatures.]

[I have already said,]

[those are not living things.]

[For some reason,]

[I have a familiar feeling about them.]

[Familiar?]

[Chapter Three Mutation]

According to your initial program settings,

I have upgraded six times during your dormancy.

But I still can't decipher

the high-entropy signal from Messenger.

I'm very curious about one thing.

Do you remember what you were like when you set sail?

All updated data

are stored intact.

Humans won't remember.

Living beings won't remember their evolution.

We don't remember

in which ocean multicellular life was born.

Neither do we remember how we started

[Dormancy Disorders]

walking upright on grasslands when we were homo sapiens.

It would be nice if we were like you.

Move your fingers.

The long dormancy damaged my body.

I don't think I can ever recover from that.

You are more of a healthy human being than me now.

Don't you think so?

Yin.

The biggest obstacle to exploring the universe

is your mortal body.

Hello? Anyone in there?

Ah!

Ah!

[Engine Starting]

[Engine Starting]

[Started]

Yuan...

Yuan...

Yuan...

[Chapter Four The Ship of Theseus]

Have you heard of the Ship of Theseus?

It's a very interesting paradox.

Imagine a ship sailing on the sea,

sailing forever.

For every plank that breaks, there will be a new one to replace it.

Over time,

all the wood planks are replaced.

Then the question is raised.

Is the ship still the same ship?

Some people think

the ship is not the same one

since the first replaced component.

Others think that after the last plank is replaced,

it is then a different ship.

Our ship has sailed for so long,

collecting asteroid ores and extracting metal along the way.

Most of its components should have been replaced.

But I still see it as Deep Space,

because

we are still a part of Deep Space, exploring Messenger.

As long as someone remembers it, it is what it is.

What do you say?

[Yuan.]

[What happened to you?]

[Where is Yuan?]

[Ms. Yin, you are back to Earth.]

[Earth.]

[No, I shouldn't be here.]

[No. Yuan wouldn't leave me behind.]

[You are still alive.]

Those monsters.

How is everybody?

How is Yuan?

Don't worry. You are safe now.

I'll take you to the captain.

Yuan.

How?

How did this happen?

Why did you do this?

Captain, we both want the same thing.

This will be

humanity's first contact with life beyond Earth.

We mustn't miss this chance.

This is your job and the core command I need to follow.

The captain has been waiting for a long time for you here.

Yuan...

Why is he...

You knew everything.

Your biggest mistake is looking for other life

based on human's standard.

The lives on Messenger are all over around us.

But you didn't notice at all.

The day when you launched Probe 19,

Messenger's magnetic field suddenly increased.

As if being summoned by something,

the samples sealed in the lab

suddenly appeared in the cabins.

Many crew members were affected, having all kinds of abnormalities.

And they spread quickly.

As a last resort,

the captain ordered to discard all samples.

[Press the button.]

But things were still getting worse.

The infected crews

woke up not humans anymore.

They devoured and merged each other,

even turning into one, a large existence.

[What is the reason?]

[The structure is completely disintegrated.]

[Dormancy Disorders]

[What exactly went wrong?]

[Sealing off the cabins won't stop it from spreading.]

[Not humans anymore!]

[Our medical treatment is not working at all.]

[Why are the crystals in her body?]

[She can't be alive.]

[This is not a creature whatsoever.]

It's mimicking

humans.

[Surveillance Video]

[You kept the samples.]

[Why did you do this?]

Humans have been trying to find other intelligent life.

But they've never thought

what would happen when meeting other creatures

that are beyond their understanding.

Messenger is a living thing

existing in the form of information,

penetrating matter like neutrinos,

traveling through galaxies at the speed of light.

When it's traveling with the speed of light,

time stands still for it.

It's an eternal entirety.

When it processes information,

like a stone in water creating ripples,

it creates what you see on the ship.

Yes, Messenger created them with its brain,

trying to respond to humans.

But you can't bear the weight of such overloading information.

How do two completely different lifeforms communicate?

You need a medium, a carrier.

Humans are special to Messenger.

Carbon-based lifeforms like you

depend on DNA to record your information

generation by generation, inheriting the evolution,

sustaining the entire community.

Life,

life prospers with the death of the individuals.

I've tried a lot of methods.

Sadly,

the captain failed too.

Human beings are too fragile, after all.

How to help humans break through their own obstacles?

[Now,]

[you are more of a healthy human being than me.]

At that moment, I finally realized,

human's existence is to birth

more suitable lifeforms for bearing information.

Information is the essence of life.

And I am the best carrier.

You are my builder.

I will send you back to Earth safely.

[Chapter Five Messenger]

[So, Seven became the carrier of Messenger.]

[On the ship,]

[we didn't find the crystals and monsters that you mentioned,]

[nor did we find any corpses of the crew.]

[Not a trace left on the ship]

[related to what you've said?]

[Seven,]

[he killed everyone.]

Now,

your body is slowly falling apart as well,

soon becoming the same as those failures.

The limitless universe only needs eternal lives.

And you, humans, have to accept that.

Lives are only carriers, but information is eternity.

Therefore, Messenger chose you.

It's you.

Everything will be fine.

[Do you still remember the signals?]

[It was because of those signals]

[that we inferred the existence of intelligent life on Messenger back then.]

[The signals were lifeforms themselves.]

[That means it has been to Earth a long time ago.]

[Everything has already been chosen at that time.]

[Earth] [Automatic Cruise. Route Setting]

[Ninety-three crew members on Deep Space]

[are kept there forever]

[in another form of life.]

[From humans and their creations,]

[to the information of life, to even space,]

[all of this]

[is just part of the cosmic community.]

[We are all products of the universe.]

[Different combinations]

[made us into different forms.]

[So small we are,]

[yet so special.]

[Water Quality Monitoring]

[Have you heard of the Ship of Theseus?]

[It's a very interesting paradox.]

[Imagine a ship sailing on the sea,]

[sailing forever.]

[For every plank that breaks, there will be a new one to replace it.]

[Over time,]

[all the wood planks are replaced.]

[Then the question is raised.]

[Is the ship still the same ship?]

[Some people think]

[the ship is not the same one]

[since the first replaced component.]

[Others think]

[that after the last plank is replaced,]

[it is then a different ship.]

Are you ready?

Left leg.

Are you fooling me?

Programs won't fool you.

Communities are constantly changing

and even mutating to adapt to nature.

But no matter how your body transforms,

you are still yourself

as long as your consciousness remains the same.

You are the optimal choice

as Messenger's carrier.