Age of Cosmic Exploration, 3

by Zhttty

  If the different cultures on Earth were hard to bridge, the difference in cultures between different alien civilizations was astronomical. For one, they couldn’t even tell if this alien race was a mammalian race and as such had jointed tarsals conducive for writing. What if they evolved from bugs, or even plants?

  Language is the reservoir of a culture’s history. It moves and changes according to its speaker’s history. How could mankind begin to translate this alien language if they didn’t even understand the history of this alien race?

  Then again, not all hope was lost, because among the books, some scientists spotted pages that contained pictures that looked suspiciously like scientific formulae. These pages contained icons that some speculated referred to numerals 0 to 9. After further analysis, it was found that they corresponded to common theories like the Pythagorean Theorem… With side-by-side comparisons, mankind came up with a cipher to translate the aliens’ language.

  As time passed, more inputs were added to the cipher until eventually it culminated in Thompson Goby’s joyous celebration. Even though only rudimentary, mankind could finally translate and access the alien’s knowledge!

  -------

  Please visit www.webnovel.com to read advanced chapters!

  Chapter133 Clarion Call of the Fourth Industrial Revolution!

  "…If we study this alien theory, the so-called creator’s particle is a type of superpartner [1]! This superpartner, or sparticle, is the accompanying supersymmetrical particle mentioned in String Theory, and this creator’s particle is the basis for the formation of the null zone."

  The one standing on the stage was Silewei. His face flushed with excitement, he continued, "According to String Theory, every property of an ordinary particle is determined by the vibrational state of the string. By manipulating the string, these sparticles become antimatter, which, after collision with its corresponding particles, creates mutual annihilation [2]!

  "Of course, this requires the alien race to be able to manipulate the string. This kind of technology… no, this kind of godlike power is simply unbelievable. In any case, the formation of the null zone can now be understood to be caused by a device that forms this creator’s particle. Its underlying theories and formulae can be found in page 34, where there are additional details…

  "…To conclude, these creator’s particles, or antimatter sparticles, are formed by manipulating the string to create antimatter out of an ordinary particle’s sparticle. In our case, the antimatter then collides with electrical signals to annihilate one another, creating the null zone.

  "Then, how do we defend ourselves against this sparticle? The answer again could be found in the book. Antimatter is rarely naturally-occurring. Whenever it’s formed, the string will neutralize it using vibrations of similar frequency. It is like the cosmos doesn’t like the presence of antimatter, which is the reason why is still a great physics mystery! Therefore, to form these antimatter sparticles, one requires a string vibrator, and we’ve managed to salvage 3 of these still functional vibrators and many more of their parts from the junkyard. They shall be our focus within the next month!"

  Yao Yuan exited the conference room with his head spinning. As an expressionless Bo Li crossed in front of him, he stopped her by grabbing onto her shoulder. "Join me for dinner. I have some questions for you," he said, when she finally turned around to stare daggers him.

  "…Let go of me first." Bo Li almost yelled after she failed to struggle out of his grip.

  Yao Yuan released her with a chuckle. He then walked directly to the canteen, knowing full well that Bo Li would follow. Bo Li sighed inwardly before doing exactly that.

  "Are you familiar with the creator’s particle?" Yao Yuan asked, while they were on the way there.

  Bo Li shrugged. "Of course."

  Yao Yuan shook his head, saying, "Looks like the era of dreadnought missiles people are waiting for is still a distance away."

  Bo Li continued, in an insolent tone, "The era of dreadnought missiles? I can’t believe people still have hope for something as dumb as that. Even a robot era would make more sense than that; are they still living in 20th century Earth? Even then, they would know a giant ass dreadnought is not going to work in combat. They should be looking forward to either an aircraft carrier jet squad that combines both speed and power, or anti-space nuclear-powered space artillery. Dreadnought missile… yeah right."

  Yao Yuan retorted, "It’s not that hard to believe, really. If we didn’t discover this creator’s particle, the dreadnought missile might survive the 4th, 5th, or even 6th industrial revolutions. If the target is within range, the missile could take it down in less than a minute. Our current supermagnetic surveillance technology could triangulate coordination in under 10 seconds and lock on in just 1. Using a laser missile, the target could be shot down in just 1 second. Or even better, a Gaussian missile. The recently suggested Gaussian railgun, doesn’t it have a purported ability of reaching 50 percent light speed? We could be taking down 1 enemy at every 50 seconds interval, especially when facing an enemy fleet.

  "However, the presence of this creator’s particle has shoved all of these plans out the window. With the null zone activated, the possibility of long-ranged sniping becomes impossible. They could still snipe us after they have escaped the limit of the null zone, but we would have left using the particle accelerator by then.

  "Furthermore, when one is trapped within the null zone, no signal would be able to pass through the signal blockade… This means that even if we had the dreadnought missile, it would be for show, or to torment a young civilization that doesn’t have access to the creator’s particle technology, like us before this…"

  Bo Li said mischievously, "Still thinking about those robots?"

  Yao Yuan laughed bitterly. "Of course. They became scrap metal before we could even retrieve the mini creator’s particle isolators inside them. Those mini devices allow their carriers to neutralize the effect of the null zone in a range of 10 centimeter around itself."

  Bo Li shrugged. "Yup, they’re all waste metal now. I’ve ordered it so."

  Yao Yuan smiled and moved to tousle Bo Li’s hair. She turned and leveled at him her death stare, which only made Yao Yuan break up in laughter. "In any case, for every positive, there’s its negative. It is the same with the creator’s particle vibrator and isolator. One is for offense, another defense. The similarity is that they both exhaust an incredible amount of energy in use. Especially for the isolator, to neutralize the antimatter, it has to keep on producing positive particles to contest the antimatter and balance the charge out. No wonder the robots don’t patrol outside of the warship, it’s too energy-consuming."

  After some reflection, Yao Yuan added, "Now that I think about it, this victory borders on the impossible. Our enemy has a device that neutralizes almost all of our arsenal, an electromagnetic shield that blocks all of our ammo, and an army big enough to run us over like bugs, but somehow we come out victorious. Granted we did suffer a huge loss as well, statistically speaking, we should've been wiped out. Thanks the gods that we somehow pulled through… By the way, how’s the data on the controllable polymerized reactor?"

  A glint returned to Bo Li’s eyes now that they were talking about science. "According to preliminary results, we can definitely create controllable polymerized reactors using the electromagnetic technology to administer hydrogen isotopes, which allows us a degree of control over the reactor’s polymerization rate. Regretfully, since our electromagnetic research is also still in its nascent state, the reactor could only be controlled to reach the same level of output as the Hope’s current nuclear fission reactor. We still need a few months to reach the level you have in mind."

  Yao Yuan waved her off. "Time is not an issue. We’ve salvaged much supplies from the junkyard, including a great store of heavy water [3], so don’t worry. Plus, we’ve already been here for almost 1 and a half years; what’s another 1 and a half? The key is for us to en
ter the 4th industrial revolution, only then can we face the wide cosmos head-on… This is too crucial for our survival!"

  Bo Li suddenly asked, "Now that I think about it, other than forming the new Black Star Troopers, you’ve not mentioned the need to create new weaponry in there past 9 months. You know that the complete version of the Gaussian gun is already ready. With an order, my lab could mass produce up to tens of thousands of these weapons using the metal taken from the junkyard. Furthermore, research on the electromagnetic shield is also pretty much finished. Even though we still can’t manufacture one big enough to fit the Hope or the shuttles, personal shields that can be attached to the combat suit are entirely possible to make. Not to mention the particle flux accelerator. If we could replace the rocket propellers on the shuttles with corpuscular streams…"

  "There’s no need to rush." Yao Yuan smiled, interjecting, "Watching our technology improve on a daily basis, with new theories and technologies popping up every other day as study into the alien reading material goes deeper, it’s a wonderful feeling…

  "I was not kidding when I said I mean for us to stay for another 1 and a half years here. We need the time to process all that we’ve collected. There are simply way too many things to complete… weaning off our reliance on rocket fuel to particle flux, fixing creator’s particle isolators onto the shuttles, building and fitting the Hope with Gaussian railguns, ambitious plans involving the electromagnetic shields…"

  Yao Yuan spread his arms as if welcoming the bright future. "The fourth industrial revolution is going to be based in electromagnetic technology. The one step in scientific progress involves contribution from the fields of energy, superstring theory, genetics, and space tech. It means that we’ve finally escaped from the confines of a singular solar system and are prepared to take on the whole cosmos. The 4th industrial revolution enables us to do all that… or at least that’s what's been written into the alien books, right? According to their history, the 4th industrial revolution was when they truly stepped into an era of cosmic exploration.

  "I’ve heard the clarion call for our 4th industrial revolution, so now is not the time for us to warp! We shall do no such thing to delay its arrival!

  "After all, isn’t our life expectancy extended to 200-year-olds now? The genetic mesomeric effect [4] created by electromagnetism has been found to induce anti-aging and increases longevity. Look at Silewei, he’s part of the test group, and hasn’t his hair been showing brown roots lately?"

  Yao Yuan laughed heartily, adding, "Yes, I can hear the sound of the 4th industrial revolution…

  "And it couldn’t have come sooner!"

  -------

  Please visit www.webnovel.com to read advanced chapters!

  Chapter134 Space Combat Jet Prototype 003

  "Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the Hope’s robot infiltration!"

  Yao Yuan announced as he inaugurated the Hope’s third New Year Party. It was televised all over the ship. His voice could be heard in every corner of the Hope.

  "We’ve been through so much pain and grief, but at the same time, we’ve held our heads high because we know our families and friends would want us to keep going strong.

  "In this past year, the Hope has welcomed more than 8,000 new babies. And in this year too, we have truly experienced what it means to live in space. Yes, it is official. We’re officially stepping into our 4th industrial revolution! We can now proudly call ourselves a space civilization!

  "I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those affected by my decision two months ago to upgrade the Hope’s reactors. There were migrations carried out all over the residential areas of the second floor. Representing the government, I apologize and thank you for your cooperation.

  "The upgrade’s aim was to improve the existing reactor to become a controllable polymerized reactor. This new reactor is safer, and it exudes less pollution and radiation. Most importantly, by using hydrogen isotopes to create nuclear fission, its output is more than 10 times its previous version! The plan is to upgrade the remaining 2 reactors so that our warp limit of several hundred times can be increased to tens of thousands more times!

  "Furthermore, the element hydrogen is the most common thing in space, so we won’t have to worry about running out like how it was with the radioactive ores. As long as the Hope is not seriously damaged, I promise you that the Hope can theoretically maintain a limitless amount of space-warps!"

  Here, Yao Yuan paused to let the news sink in. "Other than that, the 4th revolution will also usher in many other improvements. For example, the Academy is working on the computers taken from the junkyard. It was found that they employ electromagnetic hardware. If we can replicate the technology, our computer science field will greatly improve as well. I can already see a few 20 something youngsters in the crowd grinning. Yes, introduction of supermagnetized CPUs and hardware will probably make virtual companions a reality. Of course, this is a rudimentary improvement, so there’s still a long way to go before we humans can exist as virtual presences."

  Yao Yuan’s jab helped lighten the mood greatly. He continued, "Jokes aside, more technologies inspired by the 4th revolution will be continuously revealed in the next 6 months. First would be the upgrade of the Hope’s power supply. The nuclear reactor will be changed into a hydrogen polymerized reactor. Following that will be an enhancement on the central mainframe. Supermagnetized chips and processors will be swapped in to replace the outdated parts so its computing power will see a 50 to 100 times increase. With that increase, the Hope can afford to support an additional 2 levels, a basement level underneath level 1, and a level 7 above the biomes, increasing the total height of the Hope to about 500 meters tall!

  "Of course, it’ll take at least 1 and a half years to complete a project of this scale. Last but certainly not least, the genetic mesomeric resonator will be available in all main hospitals after the New Year. Just like how it was reported on the news, this device will help increase our life expectancy to about 200 years, and with future technological improvements, this number can only go up!"

  At this point, even Yao Yuan could barely contain his excitement. "So, on this date that marks our third year in space, let us rejoice!

  "The future is looking brighter and brighter for us humans!"

  Even though the event was held on the fifth floor, after he finished, Yao Yuan could hear loud cheers coming from the levels below him. Even the soldiers stationed on the fifth floor couldn’t keep themselves from cheering out loud. There was nothing more exciting than personally testing new technology. Mankind had worked tirelessly and sacrificed much to reach this stage, so the pride underlying the joyous cheers couldn’t be missed. It was finally time to reap the rewards!

  Barbie met him at the bottom of the stage. She smiled and said, "Major, I never knew you were such a good public speaker. You should give more speeches; I’m sure it’ll help motivate the public and improve the government’s approval ratings."

  Yao Yuan smiled kindly. "My speaking skill has nothing to do with it; the news itself is incredibly exciting. The new technologies introduced in the past year almost rivals the total advancement made throughout mankind’s own scientific history. Even though many of the technologies are still in the experimental stages and haven’t seen public use, the news about the resonator alone would work wonders in hyping the crowd. They’re not cheering on my speaking skill but the wonderful results earned by the Hope as a collective."

  Barbie smiled brightly in return. She didn’t add much but walked silently beside Yao Yuan. Then she took out her notebook. "We have 20 minutes until the meeting to construct a new space combat jet… But if you don’t mind me being frank, why are you working on New Years? Major, you deserve a good rest; I’m sure this meeting can be pushed off until after the New Year celebration."

  "Let’s call it an end-of-year review. After all, the New Year only begins tomorrow, doesn’t it? Starting tomorrow, the Hope will have a week-long ho
liday even though there are still many things waiting to be done. Off the top of my head, there’s the reactors upgrade, which requires us to stop the crystal reactors to channel all of the ship’s energy to conduct the upgrade. Other than that, the Hope’s propulsion system, surveillance radar, and computer system all require necessary updates. The work that needs to be done on the Hope alone will take 1 to 2 years to complete, and we both know these are just tip of the iceberg.

  Yao Yuan paused to think before adding, "And we haven’t even stopped to consider the other facets of the 4th revolution. For example, the engineering robots Bo Li’s group is working on. Using a supermagnetized CPU, these mechanical wonders are slated to greatly decrease our reliance on human workforce and drastically increase the production rate for all the projects. Barbie, you have to understand that unlike pre-historic revolutions, modern day revolutions are facetious. It is called a revolution because it revolutionizes every aspects of the culture it changes!

  "If we hadn’t stumbled into this junkyard, we humans would have to work for another 200 years before we could reach our current stage. Furthermore, let’s not forget we are now merely toeing the technologies the 4th revolution could bring. There’s still a long way to go before we can reach the height of this industrial revolution. That’s why every single second is important and shouldn’t be wasted."

  Yao Yuan stopped to stare at Barbie because he suddenly noticed that something had changed about his secretary… He looked at her up and down before asking, "Your skin seems smoother… Have you used the resonator?"

  Barbie’s face turned as red as a robin’s breast and she coughed lightly. "Major, if I remember correctly, getting teased is not in my job description… Fine, I knew I wouldn’t be able to convince you to rest anyway. You always have so many arguments to throw around… By the way, do you have any plans for New Year?"