"The end of physics is mathematics, the end of mathematics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is theology."
Inside a meeting room, upon hearing an old professor utter those words, the other experts' expressions turned extremely complex.
The hundred-plus people present were all top-tier authorities in the country, representing cutting-edge technology and the pinnacle of human science. But one very unscientific thing cast a shadow over their hearts.
In ancient Mayan mythology, in December 2012, three consecutive days of darkness would blanket everything, and the end of the world was inevitable. Even elementary school students scoffed at this claim, and mainstream scientists worldwide found no threats related to 2012.
Yet reality slapped them hard. On December 23, 24, and 25, 2012, both the sun and the moon went on strike, and the legendary three days of darkness arrived right on schedule. Though humans had artificial lighting, endless panic still swept across the world in just three days.
After three days, the darkness lifted, and the sun rose as usual.
Before people could even celebrate surviving the apocalypse, an even stranger phenomenon appeared.
Three thousand colorful light pillars mysteriously emerged in major human settlements worldwide.
In Eastern China, there were a hundred such pillars, located in the country's hundred most populous cities.
Each pillar measured twelve meters in diameter, plunging deep into the earth at one end and soaring straight into the clouds at the other. The pillars radiated seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—exuding a faint, mysterious allure, as if summoning all living things to step into their range.
No one knew what lay inside the pillars. Every human or animal that entered vanished without a trace, as if transported to another dimension. The military of various nations sent suicide squads to investigate, but a year later, those squad members remained unheard from. Among the public, fearless souls also walked into the colorful pillars, and their fate was the same—gone without a trace.
In Western countries, humans reacted strongly, especially various religious believers, who were already thrown into disarray. Some believed those light pillars were God's summons, guiding believers to the gates of heaven. Others thought they were temptations of the devil, and entering the light pillars would plunge one into boundless hell. In just one year, over ten million people in North America disappeared into the light pillars, and in Europe, tens of millions of humans took the risk of death for a gamble.
Asia was polarized: countries in West Asia generally believed this was Allah showing divine power, and tens of millions of humans surged into the light pillars. East Asian countries, on the other hand, trusted science more and maintained a wait-and-see attitude. In the strongest Eastern nation, Huaxia, the top leadership's stance was ambiguous—neither encouraging citizens to enter the colorful light pillars, nor opposing it.
There were rumors online that the Huaxia leadership also had a strong interest in the mysterious colorful light pillars. Besides sending suicide squads, they secretly released large numbers of death-row inmates and prisoners serving life sentences, acting as 'pathfinding pioneers' like lab rats.
Many ordinary people were also eager to try. Some being hunted by enemies, some burdened with unpayable debts, some who failed in stock speculation and wanted to jump off buildings, some who wanted to die after heartbreak, some with terminal illnesses and little time left, and some who found life too boring and just wanted some excitement—all surged into the colorful light pillars.
The three thousand colorful light pillars caused panic, but also gave hope to some desperate people.
More than half of the world's people believed that the colorful light pillars were a miracle.
For things that science cannot explain, people can only categorize them as miracles.
"The end of physics is mathematics, the end of mathematics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is theology."
Since the Great Catastrophe brought by the Three Days of Darkness, this sentence above became very popular.
People traced the roots and found some seemingly reasonable examples.
For instance, Nobel Prize winner in Physics Yang Zhenning once said, 'The end of physics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is religion.'
Chinese-American physicist Li Zhengdao also said, 'The end of physics is aesthetics, the end of aesthetics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is theology.'
No matter how it changes along the way, the ultimate end is always tied to theology.
In this regard, there's another giant—level super idol—Newton, the father of modern science, founder of gravity, and author of the three laws everyone knows. Newton went through the typical transition from physics to math, to philosophy, and to theology. Setting aside his timeless achievements in physics, he also published *Analytic Geometry* and *Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy*.
This god-like figure lived to 80, spending 40 years exploring science and the other 40 immersed in theology. Newton used many 'very scientific phenomena' to prove God's existence. When studying the Earth's age, he even used the Bible to calculate it as 6,000 years. Such a stark contrast makes it hard for people to connect these things to this scientific giant. Later generations widely believed Newton lost his integrity in later years, straying from materialism into idealism.
It wasn't until after the Great Catastrophe that a voice emerged around the world： Maybe Newton was right.
It's just that this legendary genius with an IQ of 290 was too ahead of his time; ordinary people can't understand his world of thought.
……
……
The three thousand light pillars sparked all kinds of speculation but didn't change most people's daily lives.
As long as you don't step into the range of the light pillars, ordinary folks keep living their lives as usual.
In Huaguo, people go to work, go to school, and hook up as usual. The world on the nightly news is still as wonderful, urban management officers across the country are still as irritable, and demolition crews are still bulldozing arrogantly... In their spare time, people discuss the mysterious colorful light pillars and guess whether those who entered them are dead or alive.
On January 1, 2014, in Huaguo, Zhonghai City, a panicked young man was frantically running toward the seven-colored pillar of light in the city center.
Alongside the young man, a black dog was also racing like lightning.
This tall, handsome, sunny lad wearing a sporty winter jacket—named Zhao Hao—was a junior in the School of Physical Education at Zhonghai University. At Zhonghai University, Zhao Hao was something of a legend, nicknamed 'Zhao Ritian' (Zhao the Sun-Shooter).
He was the captain of the Zhonghai University basketball team, with freakish athleticism—he could play as a combo guard or small forward, and had once brutally posterized a two-meter-tall center. He was a famous swingman in the national college league. Zhao Hao had reached the peak of life as a freshman: he won the league's Rookie of the Year award, and luck was also on his side in love—he had a campus belle girlfriend.
In the past season, as a sophomore, Zhao Hao won the MVP, caught the eye of a professional club, and his life was getting sweeter by the day. Today, he went out to walk his dog and, on a whim, planned to buy a little gift for his girlfriend—but sadly ran into a tragedy.
In a dark, narrow alley, he saw something he shouldn't have seen, and overheard a secret he shouldn't have heard.
Heaven as his witness, Zhao Hao never dreamed he'd run into something like this. He was completely caught a stray bullet while lying down.
Behind him, two men in sunglasses were chasing him like mad.
Zhao Hao, giving it his all at a 100-meter-in-10.8-seconds pace, ran even harder, because he knew those two black-clad, sunglass-wearing guys—who looked like hitmen—were carrying silenced pistols. He didn't go to the police for help; in the bloody case he'd accidentally stumbled upon, one of the culprits was himself a cop.
“Stop, or I'll shoot！”
That grim-faced officer pulled out his service pistol, firing a warning shot with a bang, scaring the nearby passersby.
Zhao Hao turned a deaf ear, using pedestrians and obstacles as cover, running like crazy.
A deadly sense of crisis filled his heart, bringing him a gut feeling： whether he fell into the hands of the sunglasses man or the police, he was doomed to die.
Without realizing it, he had run near the colorful light pillar.
Within a hundred meters around the light pillar, there was no one.
It was the same with colorful light pillars all over the world. Ordinary people didn't want to get close to the pillars and would take detours when passing by. Zhao Hao himself had no interest in the colorful light pillar. As a slacker who failed high school physics, he hadn't even grasped the basics of physics and really had no time to explore the limits of it. His ideal was to graduate from college, become a professional player, then marry his girlfriend Weiwei and have children.
But now, Zhao Hao couldn't care about all that anymore.
He had caused a commotion, and many patrol officers were surrounding him from all directions.
"Let's go for it！"
Zhao Hao, panicking and not caring where he went, charged headfirst into the colorful light pillar.
The big black dog, with whom he shared a deep bond, rushed in along with him.
The moment he rushed into the light pillar, Zhao Hao heard gunshots.
The powerful bullets struck the light pillar, like mud cows sinking into the sea, without causing the slightest ripple.
Zhao Hao had no time to check if he was hit; he only felt the world spin, with darkness and no light.
A vast and boundless consciousness rumbled like thunder in his mind：
"Welcome to the world of evolution, you weak creature, begin your path of evolution！"