Perhaps Gopher Wood's confession gave those two old-timers a sense of crisis.
Mikhail and Tiernan, who had originally been considering whether they should just retire and enjoy their sunset years, actively pleaded with Bai Ming to transform them into Memokeepers.
Though Bai Ming's original intent was for the two old men to join the Astral Express once they became Memokeepers, it now seemed they were set on continuing to manage Penacony.
Well, whatever. It wasn't a major issue.
As for the last of the three Nameless left behind back then—Razalina, who had been lost within the Memory Zone—Bai Ming tried to rummage through the depths of that realm.
She didn't exactly expect Razalina to still be alive; she just wanted to see if she could find any lingering clues.
At first, Bai Ming used the Synesthesia Dreamscape as a starting point to delve deeper into the Memory Zone.
But to be honest, within that chaotic expanse, the information salvaged regarding Razalina was meager at best.
It was difficult to construct any valid logic to determine what had ultimately befallen her.
Until a certain moment.
Sinking deep into the Memory Zone alone, Bai Ming once again felt that strange gravitational pull.
Previously, Bai Ming had assumed it was a trick of Harmony. But after questioning Gopher Wood, the man told her that the Family had merely discovered this power and co-opted it for their own use.
This force clearly pointed toward Penacony, yet it did not belong to the Family.
So, Bai Ming tried to investigate it. And this single attempt unexpectedly led her to a vast treasury of memories related to Razalina.
It was technology from her homeland—a safety net added to the Synesthesia Dreamscape at the cost of her own life.
Razalina hadn't been lost in the distant sea of memories; instead, she had laid the very foundation of Penacony in a different form.
Realizing this, Bai Ming felt a profound shock, followed by a heavy sense of pity.
Because she could not resurrect Razalina.
Her passing had been too absolute, and her life was now inextricably bound to this specific trait of Penacony.
If Bai Ming were to one day directly reverse time to save her, the version of Penacony that lost that trait might very well collapse instantly.
Left with no choice, Bai Ming aggregated all the memories she could collect, barely piecing together a roughly complete logic.
She recorded it, etched it into a Light Cone, and handed it over to Mikhail and Tiernan.
With these tasks finished, Bai Ming finally took AR-214 and broke away from the Synesthesia Dreamscape.
Waking up once more in the Dreampool, she returned to the body of 'Little Herta'.
Beneath her, AR-214 was just as she had been before they entered the dream—cautious, yet holding onto her tightly.
'Little Herta' suddenly spoke up and asked, "How are you feeling now? About Penacony?"
"Um..."
AR-214 couldn't find the words. Because of the connection between Gopher Wood and the Stellaron, she felt something was wrong with Penacony.
But after learning about Razalina, she felt that the current prosperity of the Planet of Festivities carried an almost indescribable aftertaste.
The Iron Cavalry from Glamoth would likely need a long time to learn how to be a human being.
Fortunately, thanks to 'Little Herta', she still had time.
"Let's not talk about that for now. Come on, I'm taking you away from Penacony."
"Where are we going?"
"The Simulated Universe space station."
'Little Herta' rose from the Dreampool and pulled AR-214 into the living room. Phase Flame enveloped the two of them, and just like that, they departed from Penacony.
Back on her own turf, 'Little Herta' first sent a message to Jingliu, asking her to check if Elio had any insights to share.
As for AR-214, she let her stay with her own Swarm for the time being.
Since the Entropy Loss Syndrome limiting her was essentially rooted in the collective concept of Propagation, staying with Bai Ming's Swarm—and being recognized as part of that collective—could effectively suppress the condition.
So, they would maintain that state for now.
Given her current condition, Bai Ming wasn't comfortable letting her run around the universe alone anyway.
After returning, 'Little Herta' also tried using the Halo System to simulate the collective method, but the final results weren't that great.
As expected, concepts involving Paths weren't so easily deceived.
She'd have to set aside some time later to properly research the issue of Propagation. Perhaps she'd need to ask for Ruan Mei's opinion.
Herta hadn't reached out yet. Bai Ming planned to wait for Elio's reaction before speaking with her.
In the meantime, 'Little Herta' activated the Simulated Universe.
Without setting a specific identity, she logged in as Fuli the Remembrance.
Looking at the Simulated Universe, which was mostly comprised of Memoria, 'Little Herta' didn't immediately try to calculate Order or Harmony.
Instead, she set the time node to the present and the location to Penacony, attempting to simulate the conflict between the two factions of Harmony: the Family and the Galaxy Rangers.
She actually had a few suspicions regarding Harmony.
Just as Geniuses are extensions of Nous's thoughts, the Galaxy Rangers—recognized by Xipe—were destined to clash with the Family.
Could this be exactly what Xipe wanted to see? For instance, perhaps the outcome of the struggle between these two factions would influence Xipe's subsequent inclinations.
But such a guess was far too ethereal. Bai Ming kept it buried in her heart and didn't explain it to anyone else, choosing instead to test it directly in the Simulated Universe.
As for the general script, she referenced the plot of Penacony from her memories—specifically, what would have happened if she hadn't intervened.
AR-214 going to Penacony, allowing Gopher Wood's plan to proceed smoothly, Sunday and Robin growing up without incident, and so on.
However, Bai Ming introduced a variable: the main branch of the Family choosing to interfere in Penacony, attempting to completely assimilate the Lampmoths led by Tiernan.
The entire calculation process essentially belonged to the Fictionologists and had little reference value.
But when the Family and the Galaxy Rangers began entering Penacony one after another and the conflict escalated to a certain point, Xipe did indeed appear.
At this point in the simulation, Sunday hadn't even started pushing the prologue for the resurrection of Order.
This proved at least one thing: Xipe truly paid attention to the struggle between these two powers.
The Aeon genuinely cared about the leanings of Harmony and Order. Otherwise, if it were just internal factional strife, there would be no reason for Xipe to take notice.
This information was vital; it proved their line of thinking was correct.
The problem now lay in how to shift the inclination of Harmony.
Though she didn't hold much hope, 'Little Herta' still tried to manipulate the ending of the simulated Penacony, choosing outcomes where the Family won and where the Rangers won respectively.
But the result was that Xipe witnessed the conclusion of the struggle without showing any change.
Even making the ending more extreme—such as one side being utterly defeated and vanishing—still failed to affect Xipe.
Were the endings of mortals not a deciding factor?
Just as 'Little Herta' was deep in thought, viewing the simulated ending through the eyes of Fuli, the simulated Xipe suddenly turned her head to look at Remembrance.
Those tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
She said nothing, but the meaning was self-evident.
An ending interfered with by Remembrance has no value as a reference.
Only the true choices of the living beings across the cosmos are worth remembering.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL