The High Archon, the senator, and the fleet commander turned their attention to another region of the isolation belt, where several planetary systems with life had been discovered, the most advanced of which was a brainless, mud-dwelling worm. Exploding stars filled the region, like galactic fireworks. They all thought of the Battle of the Second Arm.

A while later, a small portion of the High Archon’s smart field split off from the rest and turned its attention back to the solar system. He heard the captain of Vessel Blue 84210.

“Prepare to exit the blast radius. T minus thirty to warp. Commence countdown!”

“A moment, please. How long until the singularity bomb reaches its target?” asked the High Archon, attracting the attention of the fleet commander and the senator.

“It’s passing the orbit of the system’s first planet. Approximately ten minutes to impact.”

“We will take five minutes to continue the test.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

The duty officer of Vessel Blue 84210 continued administering the test. “3C Civilization Test, Question Eleven: What is the relationship between the three sides of a right triangle on a flat plane in three-dimensional space?”

Silence.

“3C Civilization Test, Question Twelve: Where is your planet’s position relative to the other planets in your star system?”

Silence.

“This is pointless, Your Excellency,” said the fleet commander.

“3C Civilization Test, Question Thirteen: How does an object move when it is not subjected to any external forces?”

Beneath the endless blue sky of the simulated universe, the children recited, “A body at rest or moving in a straight line at a constant speed will maintain its velocity unless an outside force acts upon it.”

“Correct! 3C Civilization Test, Question Fourteen …”

“Wait!” called out the senator, interrupting the duty officer administering the test. “The next question is also about heuristics in low-speed mechanics. Doesn’t that violate the test guidelines?” he asked the High Archon.

“Of course not, as long as the question is in the database,” interjected the fleet commander. He was shocked that these unassuming life-forms had answered a question correctly, and all his attention was now on them.

“3C Civilization Test, Question Fourteen: Please describe how two objects exerting force on each other interact.”

“When a body exerts force on a second body, the second body will exert an equal force on the first body in the opposite direction!” said the children.

“Correct! 3C Civilization Test, Question Fifteen: Please describe the relationship between an object’s mass and acceleration when an external force acts upon it.”

In unison, the children said, “The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it, and inversely proportional to the object’s mass!”

“Correct! You have passed the Civilization Test! Confirming that there is a 3C-level civilization on Planet Three of Target Star 500921473.”

“Reverse the singularity bomb! Disengage!!” The High Archon’s smart field flashed and vibrated frantically as he sent his order through hyperspace to Vessel Blue 84210.