Chapter 202: The Science Rush: Trading Knowledge for Power
by xennovelInside the Subordinate Civilization Platform, the quickest way to rack up points is to upload technical data.
Of course, not just any technology will do—only those not already listed in the Federation’s tech catalog count.
Even if the main tech path is similar, there are endless branches and side routes that differ.
Becoming a Level 4 civilization doesn’t mean you have every Level 2 or 3 technology.
That’s impossible!
So in this universe, it’s perfectly normal for advanced civilizations to pick up lower-level tech from less advanced ones.
After all…
Filling in gaps on your tech tree gives you new ideas and fuels your own progress.
Even if what you absorb is below your civilization’s level, it still helps.
And since it’s the Federation’s first official launch of the Subordinate Civilization Platform…
Plus, every civilization is desperate to earn points fast—so tons of technology gets uploaded in no time.
According to the stats, in just a single day, the Federation received over 100,000 complete tech submissions.
And it hasn’t slowed down.
Every second, new technologies keep pouring in.
Even after recruiting scientists from all over, the review department had to form a massive team of over ten thousand experts—yet they’re still struggling to keep up.
It’s exhausting work.
But these scientists couldn’t be happier.
Every piece of tech in their hands is something humanity never possessed before.
Is there anything more exciting for a researcher?
——
Days went by.
More and more tech passed evaluation, and appropriate points were awarded.
And with those points, the civilizations…
Naturally, they went on a shopping spree.
Military hardware became the hottest item on everyone’s wishlist.
The Federation’s latest five-year military expansion just wrapped up.
The next phase was supposed to start, but with the appearance of the Zero-Point Module and Jump Engine, everything paused and got reworked.
As for the Seawolf-class models built for internal use, there are about 30,000 of them.
They got listed straight on the Subordinate Civilization Platform.
On top of that, the Federation has 120,000 units for export, also listed.
The export version is called the Seawolf-class Type A General-Purpose Warship.
The self-use model is the Seawolf-class Type B General-Purpose Warship.
To redeem: Type A costs 80,000 points, Type B costs 120,000 points.
Is that expensive or cheap?
Most approved tech contributions only earn 500–1000 points each, though a few rare ones net over 100,000.
It really depends on the specific technology.
But no matter how you look at it, you can see—
Snagging just one warship takes a hefty chunk of points.
And if you want a whole fleet, you’ll either have to offer every ace technology you’ve got, or find some other way to earn points.
And wouldn’t you know, one civilization actually came up with a different approach.
The civilization called the Nade Union.
After some study, they realized that to rack up points, science and technology is the right track—but you don’t have to invent tons of powerful tech yourself.
There’s another option…
Train up a ton of scientists!
That’s right, in the Platform, you can even donate scientists to the Federation.
There’s an evaluation process, and the scientist’s rank determines the point payout.
But make no mistake—here, the Federation is more than generous.
By the Federation’s standards, scientists are ranked S, A, B, C, and D.
An S-rank scientist scores you 100 million points, A-rank 5 million, and B-rank 500,000—C and D aren’t even accepted.
In other words, if you’ve got an S-rank scientist and hand them over, you get a cool 100 million points.
So, what does 100 million points buy you?
That means you could instantly grab 1,250 Type A warships, or 833 Type B ships.
Of course, if you actually produced an S-rank scientist, no one would really want to give them up.
But still…
Churning out B-rank scientists and selling them in bulk to the Federation? Now that’s doable.
And so, the Nade Union pulled off something outrageous.
They decided to completely overhaul their education system, making scientist training their top priority.
Every year, at least half the population needs to enter the relevant fields, aiming to maximize future scientist output.
And sure enough, a decade or so later, the Nade Union was exporting over a thousand B-rank scientists to the Federation each year—earning a fortune in points for their civilization.
But that’s a story for another time.
Right now, the Federation faces another dilemma.
Namely…
How are they supposed to deliver all these warships after the civilizations buy them?
Keep in mind, these Seawolf-class ships—both Type A and B—don’t have jump engines.
Most buyer civilizations are deep in Alliance territory; it’s not possible to send them by ordinary means.
So what do you do?
Well, there’s always a solution to every problem.
Sure enough, within a few days…
Someone proposed an idea.
Centuries ago, people built car carrier bridges to transport cars in bulk.
So why can’t we build special-purpose space carriers for warships?
Within just a month, a brand-new ship class went from concept to reality.
Visually, it looks like a massive framework built around a spaceship, stretching a full 11 kilometers long.
Design specs allow Seawolf-class warships to lock onto the framework, and each transporter ship can haul 24 warships at a time.
Sure, once you load 24 ships, the transporter’s so huge and heavy it crawls along at just 10 kilometers per second.
But that’s fine, since it doesn’t need to travel far on its own.
The real work is done by the jump engine.
After all…
With a single jump, you arrive, unlock the framework, and unload 24 Seawolf-class ships on the spot.
There’s basically no situation where you need to ferry 24 ships by conventional means.
Once the Federation’s leaders saw the proposal, they approved it right away.
Build them!
Let’s make thirty of these!
It might sound like just thirty, but that’s more than enough.
With each able to carry 24 warships and delivery taking just days,
For now, thirty are plenty!