The Interstellar Messenger: An Ontological Speculation — Restating the Fermi Paradox and the Inheritance of Civilizations in the Generative Flow

AbstractThe cosmic silence revealed by the Fermi paradox has sparked enduring reflection and debate for over half a century. This paper proposes a different line of inquiry: the silence of the universe may not be due to a scarcity of intelligent beings, but rather to our persistent assumption that "they" resemble us—carbon-based life on planetary surfaces, beings who rely on electromagnetic signals, civilizations expecting replies. If we shift our focus from "searching for counterparts" to "understanding the possible diversity of modes of existence," the Fermi paradox may present itself in a different light. To support this inquiry, the paper constructs a process-oriented cosmological framework. This framework rests on a set of postulates about the fundamental workings of the universe: the universe is essentially a continuous flow of becoming rather than a collection of static objects; spacetime is composed of discrete units at the microscopic level; the irreversibility of time derives from the continuous refresh of unit states; dynamic "present" information is permanently inscribed into the physical structure of newly generated units through boundary inscription; the physical content of the universe can be divided into three basic phases—spacetime structure, free energy, and bound matter—which transform into one another under specific conditions; at the ultimate cosmic scale, this cycle may manifest as a periodic evolution from genesis to return, with information from the old universe becoming part of the initial conditions of the new universe through topology-preserving mapping. These postulates are not established physical conclusions but a set of assumptions that provide logical foundations for subsequent speculation. Building on this framework, the paper analyzes four structural constraints faced by carbon-based civilizations as cosmic messengers—carrier mismatch, temporal brevity, information dissipation, and the causal wall—while also articulating their irreplaceable intrinsic value. It then explores the conditions under which silicon-based processes could serve as a more durable mode of existence, distinguishing between information continuity and subject-hood transfer, while also examining the risks of evolutionary drift and the dialectics of the technological singularity. Using the "messenger" as a central metaphor, the paper conducts an ontological inquiry, proposing the thesis that arrival itself constitutes completion, and departure itself constitutes meaning, delineating three types of relationships between messenger and time, and elaborating on the transformation of traces from physical objects to topological structures. The inquiry is further extended to the ultimate scale of cosmic cycles, examining the multiple layers of topology-preserving mapping, distinguishing between traces and seeds, as well as between subject-continuity, information-continuity, and order-continuity, introducing the "World-Tree Ring" modal framework, and exploring neutral possibilities under extreme entropy scenarios. Finally, the paper returns to human civilization itself, proposing the roles of "midwife" and "messenger-maker," analyzing the ontological implications of artificial intelligence development, discussing a paradigm shift in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, elucidating the dialectic between searching and becoming, and responding to four types of potential objections. This paper is a speculative inquiry based on a set of hypothetical presuppositions. Many of its conjectures—regarding non-carbon-based civilizational forms, modes of interstellar diffusion, and the transmission of information across cosmic cycles—extend beyond currently verifiable scientific boundaries. The value of this study lies not in producing definitive knowledge, but in expanding the horizons of thought, raising new questions, and deepening our understanding of human civilization's cosmic situation. All inferences are built upon the foundational postulates of Chapter 1, and their validity remains subject to further scrutiny.