Age of Cosmic Exploration, 3

by Zhttty

  When the last tune ended, the sounds of clapping could be heard from the music box. It was then followed by a male sing-songy voice. In comparison, the vocal range of this second voice was much greater than the first one. Under normal circumstances, Yao Yuan would come to the conclusion that the male was a veteran Broadway star while the female was a young talent.

  "More singing?" Yao Yuan asked, with more than a hint of annoyance.

  However, what he heard next overturned that suspicion. After the male voice fell off, the female, childlike voice replied in a similar sing-songy manner. It sounded like they were singing to one another without musical accompaniment. However, the giggles and breaks in the female voice that sounded suspiciously like a child asking for praise proved that the recording was mostly likely a conversation between a grown alien male and a young alien female.

  The conversation continued for quite some time until it ended with two resounding claps.

  Yao Yuan stood up and said, "An alien language… Sadly, we can’t translate it, or else I’m sure we could extract valuable information, like their societal structure, from the conversation…"

  The scientist laughed bitterly to himself. "Lieutenant Colonel, there’s still some more…"

  "Huh, there’s more?"

  Yao Yuan sat back down to continue listening. The recording on the music box was interspersed with clapping sounds, and following the claps would either be the alien female singing or she would be talking to herself. The male alien had a much stingier appearance. Just like that, Yao Yuan sat patiently listening for one and a half hours. Just before he lost his patience, another clap happened, but this time, it was followed by the sound of a small explosion.

  That shocked Yao Yuan out of his reverie, and he started to pay close attention to what followed next.

  After the explosion, the sound of the female alien came back on, but this time she sounded like she was crying. She was saying something haltingly, but it was muffled by her crying and the unfamiliarity of the alien language. The sounds of the explosion got increasingly louder as it got closer, and the same was with the girl’s crying. Nevertheless, she was repeating the same syllables like a broken record.

  Finally, the girl shouted the syllables before it was drowned out by an ear-splitting explosion. The sphere instantly shrunk back to its original form, a fist-sized ball, signaling that it had finished playing the recording.

  Yao Yuan sighed deeply. He asked hesitantly, "That last recording… that’s a sound bite from when the spaceship fleet was destroyed, right?"

  The scientist beside him nodded reluctantly, then he added, "By comparing and contrasting every part of the recording, we managed to figure out the meaning of the syllables. She said that every time the male voice appeared, so that leads us to believe that the few syllables she kept repeating until the end was…

  "Father, or more accurately… daddy."

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  Chapter109 Technological Levels

  The sound of the music box was replaced by a heavy silence. The people recorded might've been from another species, but the fear inherent in a child’s keening for her parent was something that was instinctual. The child’s mewling understandably pulled a few heartstrings.

  10 seconds later, Yao Yuan said firmly, "Alright, let’s all first collect our feelings. I know what we’ve heard is difficult to stomach, but we need to understand that this might have happened thousands of years ago… It shouldn’t weigh us down. If anything, we should be that much more wary if we don’t want the devastation that happened in the recording to happen to us."

  Yao Yuan continued, in a measured voice, "Continue analyzing this music box. I want to know everything there is to know about this music box. There is no detail that is too small."

  Before Yao Yuan could finish, a scientist stepped forth. "Captain, it is my belief that this music box is no less valuable than say a weapon blueprint or a computer chip. Of course, we need more analysis to be precise, but for starters, this music box has an incredibly powerful battery.

  "As you’ve said, this music box might be from thousands of years ago, but as we’ve seen for ourselves, it’s still fully functional. The only plausible rationale is that it is supported by a powerful battery, and the battery itself must be small, because the whole music box is only so big. With that theory in mind, one can’t help but draw a parallel to the lights emanating from the spaceship carcasses. Why do you think the lights on the spaceship pieces are still functional?"

  Yao Yuan turned back to the music box and concluded, "Yes, a small power system that could store an impressive amount of energy for an extended period of time. That would be a valuable technology for us to learn… What else?"

  With fear of being overshadowed, another scientist came forth and uttered excitedly, "Captain, there is also a small software program that we could study. Even though we already have a certain degree of mastery over sound-operated technology, there are still ways to go until we reach perfection. For example, we can turn lights on and off using our voices, but that is limited by volume and accents. Furthermore, because this function is directed by a written software program, the intended device has to be connected to a computer."

  Pointing at the music box, he continued, "Our analysis showed that the sound trigger for this music box is not influenced by conventional nuances like volume. It also responds to recorded clapping sounds. Such high sensitivity could only be explained by the presence of a highly effective sound recognition program. In other words, there exists a computer within this fist-sized object, one that is as powerful as our common home PC!"

  Yao Yuan started to view the music box in a new light. He was surprised to realize that this unassuming object of a child’s fist-size could harbor so many valuable technological marvels. He couldn’t help but feel delighted at the discovery.

  "The technology for this civilization is, as expected, far more advanced than ours, but…" Yao Yuan hesitated before adding, "These are imaginable technologies… They’re not science fiction-esque technologies like the ones on U…" he caught himself and coughed, "Like the ones we have on the Hope, like the space-warping and anti-gravitational technologies."

  Yao Yuan almost blurted out the word ‘UFO,’ but thankfully he was quick to realize his mistake, because most of the people in the room had no inkling of its existence.

  A girl among the scientists caught Yao Yuan’s verbal faux pas, and that girl was Bo Li. She narrowed her eyes at Yao Yuan as if admonishing him for almost accidentally spilling top secret information. Cornered into an uncomfortable position, Yao Yuan hacked out a few dry coughs.

  In an attempt to divert attention, Bo Li said, "Further analysis could be done on this music box’s structural construction, raw materials, and even internal circuits. This reminds me. The metallic planks that Captain brought back were identified as a type of feather-weight alloy. Its light weight aside, it also has a tensile strength and melting point that is greater than all known metals. We’ve only managed to melt a tiny section of it by using plasma rays. We’ve learned of its empirical formula, but we still can’t manufacture this alloy because its atomic arrangement is one that we’re not familiar with."

  Recovered from his previous faux pas, Yao Yuan continued after some serious consideration. "Then could anyone ballpark for me how far ahead is this civilization’s technology from ours? We don’t need to go into something as detailed as how many years because too many factors could play into that, so describe it instead in terms of revolution. This civilization would represent which of our industrial revolutions?"

  "The fourth!"

  "The end of the fourth revolution!"

  "The middle of the fourth…"

  "The early fifth…"

  There were multiple answers, but they fell within the general duration from the late middle of the fourth industrial revolution to the cusp of the fifth.

 
; Yao Yuan had studied plenty of scientific treatises ever since he got on the Hope, but he was ultimately not a trained scientist, so he asked, "Why are all of you so sure? Is there a huge difference between the end of the fourth revolution to the start of the fifth that there needs a distinction? Also, could such a huge fleet of warships really be created during the fourth revolution?"

  The leading scientist, Silewei, stepped forth to answer. "Captain, to understand all that, you first have to fix a misconception, one about industrial revolution… First, did you know that the advancement from the 20th century to the early 21st century is several hundred times greater than the total scientific advancement for the whole history of humanity? And the scientific progress achieved in the 10 years after the start of the 3rd revolution was about 100 times greater than the progress accumulated by man throughout both the first and second industrial revolutions?

  "Industrial or scientific revolutions are scientific progress calculated in exponential and not incremental increase. For example, if the first revolution is represented by the multiplier of 1, the second revolution would not be 2, instead it could 20 or even 200, and when it reaches the third revolution, the multiplier could be in the thousands or millions!"

  Silewei continued firmly, "Traditionally speaking, we can only predict what will happen in the next revolution. It is impossible to predict the one after that. Take the first revolution for an example, people in the 18th and 19th century couldn’t possibly imagine what things would look like in the third revolution. Important events like the moon landing, personal computers, and genetic engineering were for them stuff of science fiction. In contrast, they managed to predict the promises our second revolution would usher in, most notably being the discovery of electricity. This proves once more that my theory that man could only correctly predict the discoveries in the approaching scientific revolution but not the ones after that."

  Silewei stopped before pointing straight at the music box. "Captain, it is undeniable that this music box has opened a door for us. Instead of technologies like space-warping and anti-gravitational systems that we couldn’t wrap our heads around, this music box provides us with familiar but decidedly far more advanced technologies in fields of electrical systems, manufacturing, and computer science. This is definite proof that this alien civilization, with this music box as an example of its scientific product, is at the end of our fourth industrial revolution!"

  Yao Yuan sighed in relief. "That’s definitely good to know… I’ll be frank, I’ve been afraid the technology from this civilization would be far too advanced for us to study. Just like how it was with the space-warping technology, we couldn’t make headway into understanding it even though it is technically in our possession. That would also seriously deter our exploratory plans because its defensive system would probably be powerful enough to annihilate us with just one hit.

  So thank you for relieving me of my worries. This also confirms my suspicion that we will enter the fourth revolution after we acquire more of this civilization’s technologies. That will prove invaluable to our overall survival in space. Knowing this, I’m also less worried about sending our men into the junkyard."

  Pausing for thought, Yao Yuan breathed in and out several times before stressing adamantly, "The mission to scour the outer perimeter of the junkyard will resume tomorrow. Please do not stop with your analyses and experiments, because after we’ve acquired several more pieces of the alien product to ascertain its technological level…

  "We shall venture into one of the warship husks!"

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  Chapter110 Operation Leap!

  The Hope had been idling for one and a half months 10,000 kilometers away from the junkyard.

  Nevertheless, it is not to say that nothing had been done, because internal development had been going on 24/7.

  This could be credited to the citizens’ impeccable time management habits. Their hectic lifestyles from way back when was now properly emulated on the Hope. This was because things were going well on the Hope.

  With the advent of currency came a burgeoning economy. There were also social safety nets provided by the government. Even if one refused to work, he or she would still be allotted a small residence and enough food supply to pass the day. There was no sight of any homeless people or beggars on the Hope.

  However, the situation was still not perfect. For example, their food choices were extremely limited. Other than the staple grains and canned food, fresh vegetables were available only once every few days, while fresh meats even less. The rarest were, of course, luxury items like sugar, tea, coffee, cocoa, cigarettes, alcohol, and seafood.

  After the initial wave of anxiety regarding both their survival in space and an unknown government had passed, the Hope finally started rebuilding its societal structure. They had, after all, spent at least one whole year in space. The initial consternation had slowly worn off. The most obvious of this evolution was the flourishing of the new entertainment industry.

  Basic entertainment amenities, like internet cafés and karaoke, were original features on the Hope. They were designed into the spaceship when the Hope was still the Noah 2. Other than that, to preserve its passengers’ mental health, Earth’s government had added features like three basketball courts, one soccer court, cinemas, and many others into the spaceship’s blueprint. In the beginning, many of these had remained unused because the Hope’s government had much greater things, like escaping certain death, to worry about. One year later, the tension on the Hope had relaxed enough to have some of these places reopen.

  Today, every Saturday and Sunday were designated as official off days. There was double-pay for workers working on off days and triple pay for those willing to work on official holidays. In other words, it was not hard for the citizens of the Hope to earn sizeable H-coin savings. With this came the requests to open more entertainment amenities.

  This public request was brought to the House of Representatives and it was passed with an 87 percent approval rating. 11 percent voted negative while 2 percent voided their votes.

  This had much to do with the fact that the majority of the Hope’s citizens were in the age group of 20s and 30s. Their mindset was that of your typical city-dwellers, and what big city doesn’t have a vibrant nightlife and entertainment scene?

  Faced with this challenge, Yao Yuan decided to adopt the delegation approach. This was because he was unfamiliar with economics and politics. Like how he handed every science-related issue to the Academy, with this particular endeavor, he relied heavily on advice from political and economic advisors.

  This approach had proved fruitful for Yao Yuan thus far. With the bountiful harvest from the asteroid, progress on the Hope was growing fast. Developments could be found in departments of manufacturing, medicine, and electroplating. The House of Representatives was even discussing the possibility of streamlining the Hope’s education system.

  Riding this wave of progression was the successful construction of the external cabin. This external cabin could be taken into the Hope whenever the spaceship had to space-warp or was too close to a high gravity intergalactic entity. It could be brought out to air during other more peaceful times.

  Needless to say, modifications also needed to be done on the Hope’s outer shell to accommodate this new external cabin. Other than that, the walls on both the cabin and the Hope had to be cut and rewelded, and the life support system and anti-gravitational units had to be rewired and redirected.

  It was Yao Yuan’s assumption that all these would take at least another 6 more months to complete, but he had underestimated the public’s feverish tempo. Both upgrades were finished in under 2 months! The news was so unbelievable that Yao Yuan had to suspect the engineering crew for cutting corners to rush the projects. Results from the quality control unit had proven Yao Yuan wrong. In fact, according to their report, the quality of the external cabin migh
t even be greater than that of the Hope itself.

  In any case, Yao Yuan was glad that he was proven wrong, because it meant that within this next week, they could add more farms and plantations.

  Within this one and a half months, progress was not limited to things inside the Hope because surveillance and scouting on the junkyard hadn’t stopped. So far, the shuttle had taken 30 trips into the junkyard, retrieving about 80 metallic planks and sheets of various metallic compositions. They had also retrieved 6 alien products, but they were all small items like music boxes, timers and some other unknown objects. The most valuable among them was a fairly complete lighting device.

  Yao Yuan knew they had exhausted almost all of the possibilities the junkyard’s outer perimeter could provide. True findings could only be found by venturing deeper into the junkyard!

  "…Like what I mentioned before, I don’t think there is much left to be gained from going around the junkyard’s outer perimeter. It’s time for us to go deeper into the junkyard!"

  Yao Yuan declared, while standing at the war room’s podium. Behind him was a rough map sketch of the junkyard. A 2D map couldn’t effectively represent the enormity of the junkyard, but since they didn’t know much about the junkyard’s inner world anyway, it would have to do for now.

  "The team of 12 will depart tomorrow. Our destination will be a 7 kilometers long, 600 meters wide, and 200 meters tall warship husk 20 kilometers into the junkyard. It is the smallest one closest to the outer perimeter."

  Yao Yuan stopped and scanned the 11 people gathered below the stage. "The time of departure is 9 AM tomorrow. Prepare the necessary equipment before then. They are 1 aerospace combat suit prototype 1, 1 wolf-eye flashlight, 1 combat rifle, and 1 Gaussian Gun prototype 1. Beyond that, Wa Luo will need to take some space-use explosives, Ebon space-use machine gun, Ying anti-material sniper rifle. and Xiao Yan multi-frequency communicator."