The Omniscient - Chapter 9: New Element

This chapter is brought to you by Raid: Shadow Legends. /s No hate if you do play the game.

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         "It's out!" The members of the museum soon pulled out a chest and opened it, revealing a two inch tall Buddha sculpture.

        The old men immediately rushed forward to examine it, quickly confirming, "This is the Tang dynasty golden Buddha that went missing last year."

        "But it's made of copper..." remarked a cop.

        "Is it a fake?" Everybody was surprised.

        One of the old men said with a smile, "That's right, at first we did think that it was a copper sculpture, but we quickly noticed that the weight was off. This Buddha sculpture is a lot heavier than normal copper! After weighing it, we found its weight to be very close to gold of the same volume. Based on this, we suspect that the inside is composed of gold with a layer of copper cast on the surface."

        Hearing his explanation cleared up their confusion. Indeed, the weight of the Buddha couldn't be faked. It may have looked like a copper sculpture, but the moment it was weighed, it revealed the true nature hidden within. Of course, this was an important cultural artifact, nobody would think about opening it up to see the golden Buddha's true appearance.

         The only publicly acknowledged finger dhātu¹ of Buddha, a sacred Buddhist relic, that had been passed down to this day was from the Tang dynasty. To worship the finger dhātu of Buddha, the royal family of the Tang dynasty specially had a batch of gold and silver ceremonial artifacts made. From then onward, the occasional emperor would create a large batch of Buddha sculptures to worship the dhātu. For example, during his 39th birthday, Emperor Yizong of Tang² had a gilded Bodhisattva³ covered in jade and pearls made to worship the finger dhātu of Buddha.

        These Buddhist artifacts created for the worship of the finger dhātu of Buddha were all priceless treasures. Being made by the royal family meant that they represented the highest level of craftsmanship of that time. They were very important cultural artifacts. 

        From its craftsmanship, the golden Buddha in front of them was a similar product. The scholars all believed that it was made by a master craftsman of the Tang dynasty for the worship of the dhātu. The trading of such an important cultural artifact was naturally illegal.

        "What the hell? The inside is gold?" Listening to their discussion, Huang Ji was a bit speechless. He knew better than anyone else whether or not the inside was made of gold. With a single glance, he knew that the Buddha sculpture didn't contain a single ounce of gold...but there was something sealed within, he just wasn't able to understand most of the data.

        All Huang Ji knew for now was that it was extremely heavy! Its density far surpassed gold, mainly consisting of iron, silicon, tungsten, and an unknown element. Huang Ji had memorized the periodic table of elements before, giving him an understanding of this concept. This allowed him to perceive the data of any element he encountered. Yet, the element contained in the object had a very strange name, it wasn't automatically translated into the name of one of the 107 elements already discovered by humans. In addition, its relative atomic weight was extremely high; this was a new element! Or maybe it was more accurate to say it was an element humanity had yet to discover, so it didn't have an Earth name.

        "The object in the Buddha sculpture comes from a person...the creator is Siddhārtha Gautama, who's that?" Huang Ji continued reading more information, as time progressed he learned more and more about the object. Right when the sculpture was taken away, he discovered in astonishment that the object inside was an intricate device made using an alien alloy.

        "It's about the shape of a finger with a very complex structure. It's an alloy! And that new element, I think it can be translated as 'kung'... " If the name wasn't automatically translated into one he was familiar with, he could just name it himself. This was the same with the race on the Moon. It should have been transliterated as Zeta, but he named them the Monitors. In that case, the information would be presented to him in the easiest to understand format.

        It was an alien civilization that had created this new element! Huang Ji never expected to come across an alien object so soon. Unfortunately, he was unable to obtain more information about the object within just from looking at the exterior of the golden Buddha; and cutting open the sculpture was completely out of the question.

        Based on the name though, the object did not originate from the Monitors. It was a different race with another name that was in a cryptic language. He could vaguely make out the meaning 'sinking'. He didn't call the element 'sinking' because it sounded terrible. Since it was the name of an element, it was fine to just transliterate its name. Taking a syllable from the word, he called it kung.

        "Since humans don't know what they're called, from now on I'll be the one to name everything related to aliens. Or I should say...translate..." Huang Ji thought to himself. In the future, if he came in contact with more alien objects, maybe he would be able to summarize and decipher the language and writing of the aliens. Once he learned the language or writing of the aliens, he would be able to obtain even more information. 

        Language systems harboured an immense amount of information pertaining to their respective civilizations. Just like with Chinese, Huang Ji could find the creator behind every word, phrase, and idiom, and the time they'd been created. Especially with idioms, he could even learn about the origin stories behind them, he didn't need to turn a single page in a book! Of course, this was only limited to things like idioms and common sayings that had standard definitions.

　　……

        The commotion with the golden Buddha lasted until noon before they were all gone. Huang Ji didn't give the golden Buddha too much thought. As a national treasure, at present it wasn't something that he could come in contact with. He didn't act rashly with the money either, waiting until the night and helping his grandfather fall asleep first before arriving at the hiding place of the money at the other side of the reservoir.

        Using a shovel from the house that was used for farming, he started silently digging away. In the dead of night, nobody could approach him without being discovered; the reason was because of sound. Any sound he picked up would allow him to know the creator of the sound, the distance, the material that had created it, and even the frequency and pitch of the sound would be clear as day to him. Hearing was the same as seeing; the instant he perceived it, everything from the shape to the colour would appear in his mind as though he'd seen it with his own eyes

        "I got it out...it's a safe." Huang Ji had dug out the safe, he knew that the three million was right inside. Although the safe was protected by an electronic cipher lock, Huang Ji simply looked at it with a faint smile. A padlock would have caused him a bit of trouble, but a password lock? It might as well have been non-existent...

         In front of Huang Ji, things like passwords provided absolutely zero security, the correct answer was right in the data. It was the same logic behind how, from Chinese and idioms, he could learn the entire history of its development and its origin.

         "Any artificially created problem with a defined answer will also have that answer clearly recorded in the data." muttered Huang Ji.  It was a shame that his brain had been under too much stress before, muddying his mind and only slowly getting better after he'd dropped out of school; otherwise, with his ability, there would have been no need to give up on the High School Entrance Exam.

        Don't mention the High School Entrance Exam, in his eyes, for any test with a set of model answers, the test sheet would be accompanied by the answers... Data perception was the strongest ability for taking tests. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't really understand data and code, simply looking at storage devices like USB drives and hard drives would have allowed him to learn of the stored contents.

        "I know too little still, I need to study. I wish I could go to school..." Even though he could 'learn from the world' through observation and derive all kinds of knowledge from the data, it was not a very efficient method and required a massive amount of deduction. One example was how trees grew. Huang Ji had to observe them for a long period of time while slowly combing through the data before finally understanding how a tree absorbed energy and grew.

        In a more general sense, pertaining to the question of how trees grew, nature had its own answer while humans had an answer of their own. Nature's answer was so vast and complex that it was like there wasn't even an answer. In comparison, humanity's answer was a lot more convenient, such as learning about photosynthesis first. Like this, learning would be a lot more efficient. All he had to learn was the knowledge about 'photosynthesis' that had already been established by humans, even just a tiny bit, and he would instantly unlock all sorts of information related to photosynthesis.

        By learning about photosynthesis first and then observing the tree, what he sensed would be vastly different. The entire process of photosynthesis undergone by the tree would be enacted in his mind in an indescribable manner, giving him a deep understanding of the process. His understanding would be much deeper, giving him greater insight into the true essence compared to a person who'd only learned about photosynthesis from books. With so much knowledge already present within human society, why rely on himself to slowly figure everything out?

        By learning this preexisting knowledge and then observing and conducting experiments, not only would he gain a deeper understanding, he would also be able to perceive more useful details. With this, he could derive untapped knowledge from the data; and with a bit of deduction, he could in-turn elevate his own understanding, obtaining knowledge that couldn't be found in books.

        Learning, observing, summarizing, increasing his knowledge pool, elevating his knowledge, and then observing again...creating an endless feedback loop of learning! This was as natural to him as breathing and sleeping.

        "With data perception, my learning speed is like a rocket! I can learn almost anything instantly while being able to draw numerous inferences from the data. Moreover, I can rapidly put this knowledge to practical use. I just have to combine my ability which allows me to self-study with the knowledge of other people! At this rate, just by myself I'll be able to develop technological skill that surpasses humanity's current level! Yes, this is the way! If I surpass the technological level of the aliens, humanity will be saved."

        Huang Ji soon decided his goal. He was going to do everything within his power to enhance his knowledge. Knowledge is power. With enough knowledge and a high enough level of technology, he could solve Earth's current predicament.

        "Oh right, I can't forget about my body either. I've got to find a way to strengthen my body." His physical fitness was related to how much unknown data he could block out. The perception of data was done automatically, if he couldn't block it out, he would be subject to the constant barrage of data that would always be applying stress to his mind.

        He had a young and healthy body and was already able to block out a lot of information in his everyday life. This allowed his intelligence to return to normal, but there was still a lot of unknown data he couldn't block out. The stars, for one, were always bombarding him with their data. This was an extremely uncomfortable experience. It was equivalent to having his five senses undergo constant stimulation.

        "Also, Grandpa's body has always been in bad shape...he can't hold on for much longer." Huang Ji looked on with worry at his snoring grandfather in the house. Nobody knew his grandfather's illness better than him. His condition was deteriorating, and every passing year would only make it worse. If he continued on like this, his grandfather would only have five years left to live... He had to find a way to cure his grandfather.

        ......

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1. Relics of the Buddha after cremation or other pieces, including a finger bone or a preserved body. Very sacred stuff. I think they represent knowledge and wisdom and can ward off evil. Don't know anything else.^↩
2. A devout Buddhist and a horrible emperor. His reign is attributed with the start of the fall of the Tang dynasty, which is viewed as one of the most prosperous time periods of Chinese history. Also, apparently you could get a job in the government if you were a good enough entertainer.^↩
3. Any person on the path to Buddhahood. More detailed definitions depend on the type of Buddhism.^↩

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