"Well, Captain," the priest said, unconsciously reminding him, "if you think so, you've made your third mistake in a short period of time."
He pulled a bag of packaged food from his pocket and, using the dim light from the tablet, handed it to the two of them. He peeled off the film, took a bite, and continued incoherently, "In this world, aside from the God of Thorium—forgive me for being a believer—no one can predict the future, nor can anyone accurately predict it. Those who can see far into the future simply possess information channels inaccessible to ordinary people, or possess more advanced computing power and analysis than ordinary people. In essence, they are no different from everyone else."
Qin Zhongquan pressed the packaged food against his chest and replied gravely, "Father, I don't think you understand the truth yet. If you heard what he said to me, you would be surprised."
"Oh? What did he say?" The first mate was ready to watch the show.
"He said that after we complete the supply, we will head to Mars without stopping to try to find the missing Gary; then we will return to the moon for the third time, cause a big commotion there, plunder the ship navigation data library there, and blow up two important fusion power stations; then we will go to Earth and do things we have always dreamed of doing for a few days; then it seems that something unexpected will happen, and we will have to run to Venus, and incidentally find the information needed to complete the mission; after that, it will be non-stop fighting, in the low orbit of the sun, on the far side of the sun, in the asteroid belt, in the Earth's orbit, and at the gravitational equilibrium points of several planets. In the end, many of us will die. Uh, Father, he said you will die on the way, and the cause of death is organ damage." Qin Zhongquan paused, calmed down and continued, "Finally, we found the returnee and sent him to where he wanted to go..."
"No more?"
“Gone!”
"You believe this too?"
"It's mainly because I didn't summarize it well enough," Qin Zhongquan replied. "The details he predicted were so rich, it felt like it was actually happening, and there weren't many logical problems with it... Don't worry, I know reality doesn't follow logic, but the thing is, he expressed everything I was thinking. I think he saw through me."
"What about me?" interrupted the first mate.
"Oh, let me think. He seemed to have mentioned you." Qin Zhongquan pondered for a moment. "He said you didn't want to be a captain. Rather than supreme power, you preferred being an unknown person living a fulfilling and happy life."
"Uh, yes, he... he is right." The first mate looked solemn and stopped talking.
"Wait, you mean, he gained your trust by analyzing other people's personalities?" the priest asked.
Qin Zhongquan shook his head pessimistically. "No, no, no, it's more than that. He's analyzed everyone, including some whose names I've only heard of but never met. He says that if I had enough time, he could analyze all 34 billion people in the solar system from beginning to end. Can you imagine, Father? He says he understands the eight worlds, even the entire human civilization. If he wanted to, he could control our lives—everyone's life."
"Quite impressive," the priest commented, but then turned around and continued asking, "Did he predict himself?"
"Um?"
"This kind of sophistry has always been heard in the saintly world," the priest explained. "If God can foreknow Himself, and humans can also foresee Himself, then God can be predicted by humans, and He is not God. If God cannot foreknow Himself, then God is not omniscient and omnipotent, and He is not God either."
"He didn't say," Qin Zhongquan replied. "Besides, there's no point in discussing this now. Even if he's not a god, in our eyes, he's no different from one."
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