In the 50th year of the String Light Era, when human civilization was immersed in the aesthetic revolution and technological breakthroughs brought about by the art of gravity, the "Oracle" probe that had been forgotten in the depths of the stars suddenly woke up. This intelligent probe, designed by Mozi, Yue 'er and Xiuxiu, was sent to the edge of the Milky Way seven decades ago for a deep-space exploration mission, during which only sporadic data was returned. At this point, it chooses to send its last message to its home star at the edge of globular cluster M13, 70,000 light-years from Earth.
This information is transmitted in a very special way, not using traditional electromagnetic waves or quantum entanglement channels, but cleverly using the polarization characteristics of the cosmic microwave background radiation for modulation. When scientists at the observatory first captured this anomalous signal, they could hardly believe their eyes - a certain kind of intelligence was able to transmit information using cosmic background radiation as a carrier, a technology that was completely beyond the scope of human understanding.
The signal decoding process lasted a full three days. The world's leading physicists, informatists, and cryptographers gathered at the String Light Institute to try to decipher this mysterious message from deep space. When the first readable message appears on the home screen, the entire Control Center is silenced for a long time. It is neither a complex mathematical formula, nor the expected data of an alien civilization, nor a profound philosophical discourse, but rather the same simple question repeated in hundreds of languages on Earth:
"Are you happy?"
The question is presented in plain text, without any additional explanation, without a contextual explanation, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, rippling through the collective consciousness of human civilization. Even more puzzling is that after sending this question, all the signals of the "Oracle" probe suddenly interrupted, as if its only purpose was to propose this ultimate interval to mankind.
After the news spread, there was an unprecedented phenomenon around the world. In the first 48 hours, the number of pedestrians on the streets of major cities has decreased significantly, the noise in public places has decreased significantly, and even the traffic of the global network has declined temporarily. People seem to have stopped their affairs and begun to seriously think about this simple to almost childish, but complicated to answer.
On the banks of the Seine in Paris, a street philosopher wrote on his holographic bulletin board: "We have conquered the sea of stars, but we can't answer questions about the heart. On the streets of Ginza in Tokyo, the original flashing merchandise information on the huge billboard was replaced with a multilingual version of the problem. In New York's Times Square, people gathered spontaneously, holding electronic signs with all kinds of answers, from" Yes, I'm happy "to" I don't know what happiness is ". The answers are varied, but they are all sincerely confused.
Extraordinary sessions of global parliaments were called as a matter of urgency, but lawmakers soon found that the nature of the problem prevented it from being responded to by legislation or policy. In its submission, the Philosophical Advisory Panel noted that "the Oracle presents not a problem to be solved, but a truth to be experienced."
Particularly thought-provoking is that this problem emerged at the height of human civilization. Material scarcity has long been a noun in history textbooks. Disease has been completely conquered by genetic technology. Longevity extends so that everyone can fully realize their self-worth. Even interstellar travel has become a daily choice for ordinary people. By any objective measure, this is the happiest time in human history.
However, when the world's largest pollster collected more than five billion responses in 24 hours, the results showed that only 37% of respondents explicitly said they were "happy," 45% chose "uncertain," and the remaining 18% answered "unhappy."
This result shocked sociologists. They began to delve into those who considered themselves unhappy, and found a paradoxical phenomenon: these people were at a fairly superior level in terms of material life, health, and social status, but they generally exhibited an indescribable sense of emptiness and meaninglessness.
Psychologist Li Wei wrote in the analysis report: "When all external needs are met, people lose the goal they are pursuing. Happiness does not seem to be a state that can be pursued directly, but a by-product of the pursuit of something else of value."
At the same time, a team of astronomers conducted a more in-depth analysis of the technical details of the signal transmitted by the Oracle. They found that this problem is encoded in a specific combination of E-mode polarization and B-mode polarization of cosmic background radiation, which is not only extremely efficient, but also has profound cosmological implications.
"It's not just information transmission," astrophysicist Zhang Zhen explained in a technical briefing, "it's more like a reminder that the universe itself is a huge carrier of consciousness. The polarization pattern in the background radiation may record the entire history of the universe from its birth to the present day."
Even more surprisingly, signal analysis shows that the problem was pre-programmed by the Oracle 70,000 years ago, and it seems to have long predicted that human civilization would reach such a tipping point of development at this moment. This discovery sparked a new round of discussion about free will and fatalism.
On an individual level, this simple question sparked a global wave of self-examination. Many people are beginning to re-evaluate their life choices and rethink what really matters. There has been a wave of remarriage in the marriage registry, and some partners who have been separated for many years have come back together in the process of thinking about this problem; the resignation rate has risen significantly in the short term, and many people have chosen to leave high-paying but meaningless jobs to pursue a career that truly makes them feel fulfilled; artistic creation has ushered in a new peak, and artists have tried to express their understanding of happiness through various forms.
Particularly moving is the fact that the issue has elicited very different reactions across generations. Those older generations who have experienced the times of material deprivation tend to give affirmative answers, they cherish everything they have in the present; while the new generation who grew up in an environment of abundance shows more confusion and uncertainty, they seem to have everything, but lack that clear sense of happiness.
The Global Council on Education reacted quickly to include "education for well-being" in the compulsory curriculum. However, this education does not tell students what happiness is, but guides them to explore their own answers. In the classroom, teachers no longer give standard answers, but encourage students to find their own definition of happiness through practice and reflection.
In the scientific community, this question has given birth to a completely new field of research - "happiness physics". Researchers began to explore possible links between subjective well-being and the laws of objective physics. Some radical theories even suggest that the interaction of consciousness with the physical world may follow some undiscovered quantum law.
At the same time, philosophers have noticed an interesting phenomenon: since the issue of the "oracle" spread, the philosophical arguments that have lasted for centuries - such as the debate between materialism and idealism, rationalism and empiricism - have suddenly lost their meaning. All schools had to admit that their original theoretical systems were pale and powerless in the face of this simple and profound question.
In the archives of the String Light Institute, researchers found records of Mozi, Yue 'er and Xiuxiu's discussions on happiness during their lifetimes. Surprisingly, all three founders expressed similar views on different occasions: true happiness comes from the pursuit of truth, the creation of beauty, and the contribution to the well-being of others. These forgotten wisdom, seventy years later, seems particularly foreseeable.
Spontaneous "happiness exploration groups" began to form around the world, where people gathered not to find unified answers, but to share their understanding and experiences. These groups transcend cultural, ethnic, and national boundaries and become new bonds of common humanity.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the new generation, born after the Human Completion Project, is uniquely positioned on this issue. Their enhanced empathy allows them to better understand the feelings of others and to more keenly capture the subtle moments that make up happiness. Many people say that for them, happiness is the ability to make genuine connections with others and create good things together.
While the world was immersed in thinking about this issue, the astronomy team finally completed a complete analysis of the final signal of the oracle. They found that after the main problem, there was actually a very weak message hidden. This information is not encoded in language, but a complex mathematical sequence. After decoding, it presents a shocking image: countless civilizations were born, grew, explored in the universe, and finally faced the same problem.
"This is not just a question for humanity," the information scientist Liu Qian said in the declassified report. "This is the ultimate question that all intelligent civilizations in the universe must face after they have reached a certain stage of development."
This discovery has greatly expanded the horizons of mankind. People began to realize that they were not alone in exploring the meaning of existence, but engaged in a cosmic conversation that spanned time and space. Every civilization, after reaching a certain stage of development, will begin to reflect on its own existence and will begin to ask the simplest and most complex questions.
Over the next few months, the global community underwent subtle and profound changes. Economic growth is no longer the primary goal pursued by the government, but instead the improvement of the "National Happiness Index"; scientific and technological innovation no longer only pursues efficiency and power, but focuses more on how to improve human well-being; artistic creation no longer pursues novelty and stimulation, but returns to the exploration of the essence of life.
It is particularly gratifying that this question has led to a new stage of human interaction with the Andromedan civilization. When humans shared their explorations of the problem with each other, they sent back a similar historical record - showing that their civilization had experienced the same self-doubt and reorientation at a certain stage of development.
"Perhaps," interstellar communication expert Wang Lin wrote in the analysis report, "the pursuit of happiness is a common feature of all intelligent life in the universe. The problem itself is a bridge between different civilizations."
When the first year of reflection ended, global parliaments decided not to give any official answers. Instead, they launched a global campaign called The Happiness Practice, which encourages everyone to find their own answers through action. The movement has no unified agenda, no coercive requirements, only simple initiatives: do what makes your life meaningful, love what makes you warm, and create what makes you proud.
In the process, it has come to be understood that the Oracle poses not a question that requires an immediate answer, but an exploration that requires a lifetime of practice. Happiness is not a state that can be maintained forever, but a flashing moment that constantly emerges in the long river of life; not an experience that can be standardized, but a unique feeling and understanding of each person.
When night falls, people looking up at the stars are no longer just lamenting the vastness of the universe, but thinking about whether there are other intelligent beings between those distant stars who are also thinking about this simple and profound question. In this sense, the ultimate question of the "oracle" not only did not confuse mankind, but instead allowed mankind to find its unique position and meaning on the scale of the universe.
And the eternally silent detector, like a wise man who accomplishes his mission, quietly leaves after asking the most crucial questions, leaving the task of finding answers to everyone who is feeling, thinking, and living.