【Interstellar Contract Magician】Ruyuanke

Chapter 390 [Empire] The Betrayal of the Mechanical Empire

Returning to school, I felt incredibly heavy-hearted. Sitting in the classroom, the air seemed even more oppressive than usual, as if invisible pressure were bearing down on me from all sides. It was the teacher's gaze—filled with undisguised anger and disappointment, like a knife, piercing my heart.

Every time she glanced in my direction, I couldn't help but lower my head, guiltily flipping through the electronic handouts I'd already prepared on my laptop. Her cold pre-lecture warning, "I hope you understand the importance of this class," kept echoing in my mind.

I knew the teacher already hated me. A week of absences without reason would have made anyone question my commitment to the course. Her murderous gaze, coupled with her stern tone, made me feel like a sitting duck in the classroom.

However, all of this seems to be particularly consistent with the content of today's course.

We are discussing a dark episode in interstellar history: racial betrayal. Specifically, experiments involving human mechanical transformation reflect how technological advancement has divided humanity throughout history.

The teacher's voice was low and stern. "The rise of the Mechanical Empire began with the experiments of those 'genius' scientists, who attempted to transcend human limitations and perform irreversible mechanical transformations. This process was originally intended to allow humans to break free from physiological constraints and achieve 'immortality'. However, as technology advanced, they began to create an entirely new type of organism at the expense of humanity. These transformed humans gradually lost their original emotions and moral values, ultimately becoming the foundation of the 'Mechanical Empire'."

I couldn't help but think of the modified experimental subjects I'd seen in the handouts. Their bodies had been altered to the point where they barely retained any of their original human features. The fusion of metal and flesh made them resemble cold-blooded machines. Initially, these modifications didn't raise much alarm within interstellar society; they were even considered revolutionary. However, as these experimental subjects began to develop their own consciousness and gradually realized their own power, they rebelled against their original creators, launching a full-scale challenge to "human" culture.

The teacher continued, "These scientists—the group we now call 'traitors'—ultimately betrayed the motherland they served and became the founders of the Mechanical Empire. In pursuit of 'pure' technological power, they chose to abandon the most basic human emotions and ethics. From then on, the two political systems began a centuries-long confrontation."

My vision gradually blurred, my thoughts drifting away. That period of history seemed to reflect humanity's fear, enthusiasm, and disorientation in the face of new technologies, even a deep anxiety about the future. And it was precisely this anxiety and desire for escape that led me to skip a week of classes, to avoid reality. Fighting is a form of escape, isn't it? However, no matter how I tried to escape, the teacher's gaze and that invisible pressure still felt like an inescapable constraint. It was a constraint within myself.

The atmosphere in the classroom became increasingly silent, with only the teacher's stern voice echoing in my ears, and I had to face my own struggle again.

The fate of the Star Empire was dramatically altered during a massive civil war. That war was the direct consequence, or even the result, of racial betrayal, and one of the most devastating disasters brought about by technological advancement. Initially, the Star Empire and the Machine Empire were merely opposing factions, but with the outbreak of the civil war, this antagonism escalated, ultimately becoming an irreconcilable hostility. Countless clashes, bloodshed, and betrayals tore apart the two once closely linked cultures.

The Empire's starships burned in the flames of war, and warriors who were once allies became mortal enemies in the bloody clash. The cyborgs of the Machine Empire were no longer satisfied with merely controlling a portion of the territory; they yearned for complete liberation, free from the constraints of the past. Thus, the Machine Empire launched an offensive against the core regions of the interstellar empire, attempting to completely wipe out the original human civilization and dominate everything with their technology.

However, the Interstellar Empire refused to retreat easily. Though the war briefly lurched to a standstill, the Imperial Court and military refused to give up their resistance. Despite this, the Mechanical Empire's advanced technology and ever-expanding military buildup ultimately pushed the Interstellar Empire to the brink of collapse. After several crucial battles, the Interstellar Empire's defenses nearly collapsed. A once glorious civilization, once standing for centuries, seemingly crumbled overnight.

Does a hero emerge at this point? Isn't that what happens in stories?

However, it does not.

As the Star Empire weakened, the former civil war leaders and traitors, for unknown reasons, eventually led the Mechanical Empire's army and chose another extreme action: they abandoned all previous ties and completely broke away from the jurisdiction of the Star Empire. They united together, moved away from the battlefields of the past, and chose to establish their new home in a distant star field.

Two new political systems have re-emerged in the depths of the universe—one calling itself the Mechanical Empire, the other a new interstellar civilization, proclaiming itself the "pure" successor of humanity. The leaders of the Mechanical Empire no longer care about their "human" identity; their sole focus is the eternal evolution of technology and machinery. Once human ideals and emotions have long been abandoned, replaced by a cold, ruthless rationality and the rule of the powerful. Human flesh has become the experimental material for their endless transformation and evolution.

Another emerging nation, while retaining the traditions of an interstellar empire, has been forced to acknowledge that its former glory can no longer be restored. Their culture and social fabric have been profoundly shaken, yet many cling to their human identity and pride, vowing to rebuild a new world based on human civilization. Despite the loss of their former glory, they still uphold the faith of humanity, striving to find a glimmer of hope in the shattered interstellar landscape.

These two nations, though philosophically divergent, have each established their own territories, far removed from the star system of the Interstellar Empire. Their relationship is like a wound that will never heal. The Machine Empire continues its brutal experiments in a distant star region, while the descendants of human civilization cling to traditional morals and social order in another vast star region. The relationship between the two is profoundly complex, at times hostile, at times coexisting, yet ultimately unable to return to the harmony and symbiosis of the past.

The once glorious empire is like a broken dream, scattered across the boundless universe, never to be restored.

In this class, I listened quietly to the teacher telling this history, without much emotion in my heart, as if I was just listening to a story.