"If you don’t reply, I’ll take it as your implied consent. If you’re smart enough, you should understand human definitions of civilization. When a group obtains self-identity, the development of civilization begins."
"Self-identity?" Wang Wang inquired.
"Yes, starting from understanding the self, then raising questions, and developing a dialectical view of everything around. This is a phase of civilization’s birth, also a necessary phase." Angel continued, "And the first step to self-identity, I believe, is to understand who you are."
"Perhaps up till now, no creature has clarified this question, but that only applies to deeper answers. As for surface answers, any civilization that emerges should know them."
Wang Wang: "Surface-level answers? You mean..."
Angel circled around quite a bit, ultimately revealing: "Yes, names. With a name, or a unique individual code, it gives rise to the concept of ’self’."
Wang Wang: "Is ’self’ truly necessary? Can’t a civilization prosper without it?"
Angel: "...I don’t know, perhaps there are civilizations without a ’self’. But that’s not what we’re discussing now."
Wang Wang was silent for a moment, then sent a signal to Angel through the network: "I understand. I will convey the meaning of individual codes to the Void Traveler beside you. But let me tell you in advance, even if it has a name, it won’t consider it its name; rather, it will have a reactive response when you call it by that name."
To put it simply, it’s like some low-intelligence pets developing a conditioned reflex after hearing their names called by their owner frequently. They may not necessarily comprehend it’s their name, but they recognize that the frequency and waveform of the sound are for calling them.
"That’s fine too." Angel didn’t mind much. Although the other party might not acknowledge the symbolic meaning of the name itself, addressing by a name provides him with a small sense of ceremony in life.
Wang Wang: "It won’t name itself, so if you have any ideas or suggestions for a name, you can tell me, and I’ll convey it to it."
Oh, they want him to pick a name for it.
Angel pondered for a moment: "Do you have gender distinctions?"
"Does it make a difference?"
"Of course, names for females and males usually have distinct significances."
Wang Wang: "No gender distinctions."
"No gender, then how do you reproduce the next generation?"
Angel was genuinely curious, wanting to explore the origin of Void Travelers. But it’s clear Wang Wang didn’t have the intention to discuss this topic with Angel.
Wang Wang remained silent, expressing silent protest towards Angel’s inquiry.
Angel could only sheepishly withdraw his question and begin thinking about the main topic... What kind of name should he give it?
After pondering for a while, Angel said, "Let’s call it Heideland."
"Heideland? What a strange name." Wang Wang: "A meaningless combination of characters."
"Not a meaningless combination of characters. In my hometown, Heideland signifies a dream like a purple crystal. It’s often used in fairy tales as a wish for a beautiful future."
Additionally, Heideland is also Angel’s grandmother’s surname. Angel himself never met Heideland, but the stories about her he heard from Old Pat. She was a legendary woman who resisted traditional noble marriages to pursue personal freedom, someone Angel admired greatly in his childhood.
"A dream like purple crystal." Wang Wang repeated, his voice slightly melancholic, no longer mocking or resisting, and said to Angel: "I understand. I have conveyed your idea to it, and once the communication ends, you can try calling it by this name."
After finishing this, Wang Wang asked: "Is there anything else?"
Angel: "Nothing else for now. By the way, what are you up to now, you seemed to leave urgently that day, is there anything important?"
Having no other matters in reality, Angel exchanged pleasantries with Wang Wang, trying to create some rapport for future opportunities to study its void traversal.
Wang Wang: "I’m fine, if you have no other matters, I’ll close the communication. Unless you’d like to chat with the adults?"
Angel: "No, no."
Communicating with a Dalmatian, not understanding its dog language, isn’t meaningful.
"Then... farewell. Humans say it like this when parting, right?" said Wang Wang.
"Yes, farewell."
The network closed, and the energy tendrils inserted in Angel’s brow automatically detached, the pale purple Void Traveler once again lay on Angel’s palm.
While caressing it, Angel softly called: "Heideland."
Heideland raised its gelatinous, pancake-like face, its inorganic eyes looking at Angel.
"Seems it’s responding." Angel muttered to himself, then tested it several times; each time, Heideland showed a response to its name.
However, with Angel repeatedly calling, Heideland’s level of response gradually decreased.
Unless Angel called Heideland’s name and immediately touched his left index finger to his brow, connecting to the void network, Heideland would show a relatively more significant reaction.
If he continues calling without command, its reflex to the name diminishes.
From these tests, Heideland indeed appears, as Wang Wang remarked, not regarding "Heideland" as its name, but rather more like a machine switch labeled "Heideland".
Replacing "Heideland" with sounds like "hey" or "ouch", which stimulate its response, yield similar effects.
While not achieving the envisioned expectations, at least the effect is still present.
It’s okay if it doesn’t regard Heideland as its name; as long as Angel does. Although it seems somewhat self-deceptive, sometimes deceiving for long enough might perhaps enlighten the other party.
After a bit of unilateral dialogue with Heideland, Angel put it back into his bracelet space.
If it stays outside, Heideland feels frightened by the changing surroundings, coupled with Dangross, the restless child, having awoken from "The Blacksmith’s Day" Illusionary Realm, to prevent Heideland from being harassed by the enthusiastic child, precautions are necessary.
"After watching now, did you learn anything?" Angel looked at the opened-eyed Dangross.
Dangross: "A bit confused."
"It’s alright; forging can’t happen overnight. You can learn gradually in the future." Angel reassured.
Dangross: "So will Mr. Pat still teach me then?"
Angel didn’t pick up on Dangross’ implicit anticipation; he only assumed Dangross worried about failing to learn, thus nodded firmly: "Of course."
Dangross’ eyes slightly lit up, "I’ll learn quickly!"
"I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll craft in the future," Angel gave a bit of encouragement appropriately.
Dangross raised his head: "Even though I said I’ll create a statue for my little brother first, since Mr. Pat has asked, my first work shall be for Pa..."
Pausing for a moment, Dangross glanced at Toby on Angel’s shoulder: "For Lord Toby! My second piece will be for Mr. Pat."
Angel didn’t dwell on Dangross’ order of priorities; as long as Dangross has the intention, it’s enough.
While he and Dangross communicated, the Gondola finally arrived at a nameless location with relatively stable spatial energy.