Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 423: City of Light Moon (2)

The New Solar System had in total five meteorite clusters. To be more accurate, there were only four that counted, because the fifth was at the edge of the solar system and couldn't be detected under normal circumstances. However, that was according to Guang Zhen, the New Solar System's first and best line of defense. The best solution when facing an assault was to limit the enemy outside of your own territory. This whole solar system was humanity's territory, so they had to try their best to lead the battle to the edge of the New Solar System.

This place was far from Homeward Planet. For a to and fro trip, even with humanity's current technology, it would take four months. Furthermore, this place was far away from the sun, so the place was shrouded in darkness and extremely unstable. Meteorites would crash into each other with no sense of reason, causing space catastrophes. Even with humanity's current technology, they couldn't shield themselves perfectly from this tragedy.

Due to this, even though the City of Light Moon had reached its completion, the New Solar System's first defense line was still left in the dust. After the 23rd New Year, Bo Li and a few other famed physicists unveiled humanity's newest scientific breakthrough, a breakthrough that would mark humanity's scientific trajectory for years to come… They had mastered the core technology of the plasmatic ion fission reactor. The cold agglutination reactors they had been using would all be updated to plasmatic reactors. This would increase the energy output by several hundred times and this meant that there was finally hope for the construction of the New Solar System's first defense line.

"Energy umbrella self-propulsion corridor!"

Just like everyone on the Hope knew the marking of a level 2 space civilization was electromagnetic energy, the marking of a level 3 space civilization was plasma energy, specifically the variance of plasma energy's practical applications, like the creation of plasma energy shields, plasma weapons, and faster space travelling methods.

This was humanity's 24th planning meeting and discussion. Guang Zhen represented the Barracks to propose the creation of the first defense line. Of course, when this was proposed, it was instantly questioned by the building committee and the committee from the City of Light Moon. After all, even though humanity now had two industrial bases and the City of Light Moon had been completed, industrial base number two and the New Solar System's first fleet were still under construction. Adding another humongous project would add a great pressure to the production team.

The reason given by these people was not random, and their reason was valid. It was the location of the proposed first defense line. The meteorite base was too far away, so it would require four months of travelling. This would mean a great exhaustion in terms of logistics, and the human power required to accomplish this would be huge.

However, when these people came up with these protests, Guang Zhen used the following phrase to counter them all. With a nod, a document was given to everyone present.

"Different from the particle flux accelerator of level 2 space civilizations, level 3 space civilizations use something called the 'Energy Umbrella Self-propulsion Corridor.' It uses strong plasmatic energy to activate the adhesive property of space ions and anti-directional propeller to create an umbrella-shaped ionic condenser. Under this state, the maximum speed that can be reached is 10 times faster than the particle flux accelerator! Similarly, the same mechanism can be replicated when one wishes to slow down. The same umbrella would be created in front of the ship and the ship would be able to stop. This is the navigational technology of a level 3 space civilization."

The faces of everyone who read the document were filled with shock. In fact, the document stated very clearly that the technology came from the first genius of the Hope… Professor Bo Li. This was something she had come up with when the Academy achieved the breakthrough with the plasmatic ion fission reactor. In other words, Guang Zhen had come prepared; he had even requested this document from Bo Li before he arrived…

While everyone was still in shock, Guang Zhen scoffed internally. He was proud of what he did. Indeed, if he hadn't requested those documents from Bo Li earlier, his proposal would've definitely been rejected.

These idiots, did they not understand? In this space age, without enough power to protect themselves, humanity was like a delicious piece of meat. The new base and humanity itself will be hunted the moment they are discovered by other space civilizations.

"Just like I suggested, the New Solar System's defense system must begin immediately. Other than the first human fleet, the five great defense lines, as crucial parts of the defense system, must start work soon… Of course, I understand that we are running low on resources, so other than the necessary engineers and workers, I do not need extra manpower. I only need AI robots as the environment there is not habitable by human standards. Regarding the issue of distance, this document is my answer.

"Energy Umbrella Self-propulsion Corridor, it is a new concept using the energy umbrella model, create a giant energy umbrella propeller between the destination and the beginning point to form a controllable flow of space ions. Any object that enters it will be influenced by the energy umbrella. The accelerator created by the energy umbrella increases its travel speed. The rudimentary assessment puts the time of travel between Homeward Planet and the first defense line base to be 15 days!"

15 days?!

With this, the expressions of many people changed. Even though they didn't want to add another burden to the building list, the allure of 15 days of travelling time was too high. After all, the cosmos was too big for humanity to traverse. Evidence could be taken from the New Solar System itself. The time of travel to move from the City of Light Moon to the nearest meteorite cluster and return from there would exhaust 10 to 15 days, but if this corridor was constructed, then…

Everything else that followed was easy. Guang Zhen's proposal was accepted unanimously. The human government would start building the corridor within the 24th year and the first defense line base would start its construction at the end of the 24th year. At the same time, at this discussion, many other projects were passed, like supervising the Academy to perfect and build the energy umbrella technology. Special attention needed to be paid to its safety. The moment the system was online, all the long-distance travelling shuttles humanity currently owned would have to be adapted. After that, humanity would start building its third industrial base. It would be situated on the meteorite cluster closest to the City of Light Moon. Compared to mining on the moon, meteorite clusters were where the minerals gathered. They could shove a whole meteorite into the smelter and get the purified mineral out the other end. This was much more efficient than mining!

During the meeting, expansion of the City of Light Moon as well as upgrades for industrial bases 1 and 2's reactors were also discussed. This included things like the social security, health security, education problems, as well as city planning, like the allocation of streets. This meeting had decided everything that was planned in the 24th year, and the meeting lasted for two days. When it was finally over, Yao Yuan collapsed directly on the table.

In the government building at the City of Light Moon, Guang Zhen hummed a delightful tune while sitting across from Yao Yuan sipping his tea. When Yao Yuan signed another document, he grumbled, "You've been an annoyance since this morning. I don't have time to guess your thoughts, speak your mind if you have something to say."

Guang Zhen replied happily, "There's nothing important, really…"

"Then, leave." Yao Yuan concluded. "Although I have say, you're mighty impressive for sneaking behind my back to do this energy umbrella corridor project. Do you know what you've done? The amount of work and headaches you've added for me? The arrangements of the two industrial bases and the expansion of the City of Light Moon and its daily ongoings are not enough, and now you want me to build this first defense line base? In any case, I'm busy, so if there's nothing important, leave!"

Guang Zhen didn't get angry but laughed happily. Then he added with a smile, "I came because I have something to discuss with you… Nothing important… It's about the Steel Ball…"

"Steel Ball?" Yao Yuan became alert instantly. He looked at Guang Zhen seriously. "Ol' Wong, I hope you're not serious. I left the military in your hands and I will oversee politics, but this Steel Ball issue… that is off the table. This control system still has a lot of issues and the pressure on its wearer is heavy. Currently, if it's used by Homo Evolutis other than myself, they might go into coma like Jay and Eva. Who will be responsible when that happens? You or me? So this is not up for discussion."

Guang Zhen laughed awkwardly before adding, "I just heard from my cousin, Bo Li, that she has done great improvements on the prototype, including changes made to the control system. Even though it is still not yet completed, to quote her, when it is completed, even normal Homo Evolutis will be able to use it… Of course, it has to be an S-grade Homo Evolutis. There will be issues of overexertion, but it will not cause coma, at most a heavy case of lethargy."

Yao Yuan looked at Guang Zhen seriously, and it was at this point that he commented, "Continue…"

Guang Zhen also became serious, but before long, he started smiling in an effort to curry favor with Yao Yuan. "There's no need to be so serious… Fine, I'll continue. What I meant was, such a powerful weapon is a waste if not used. Cousin Bo Li is going to continue researching this Steel Ball, right? I hear she is preparing to build three prototypes, 0, 1, and 2. All three prototypes have improved control systems, and the direction of improvement in each one will be different because she also doesn't know which direction is the correct one. Therefore, when the three prototypes are completed, I wish to discuss with you the possibility of sending three S-grade Homo Evolutis to test them out…"

Yao Yuan lowered his head to focus on his document. After a long time, he replied, "Request denied. The Steel Ball is indeed powerful, but its safety rating is too low. Even if the three prototypes are ready, I will not allow human experimentation. Of course, don't think that I will go test them out myself. That is not possible... unless that hidden Whisperer is found. Now that you've brought this up, may I remind you not to send out your people to go look for this hidden Whisperer? I've told you the reason why, we are not looking for a convict or criminal, we're looking for a scientist that should have a positive impression of the human government. Therefore, we have to wait for them to come to us. Don't think I don't know about what you've been trying to do. Bo Li is a powerful Whisperer, that much is true, but her power is not related to this control system, so my standpoint regarding these three Steel Ball prototypes is the same: they are too dangerous. That's all!"

Guang Zhen still maintained a smile on his face, but his pupils kept darting around. Yao Yuan knew what this meant. After all, they had worked with each other for more than a decade already. He said seriously, "Also, don't think about sending out the Black Star Troopers on your own to test out the prototypes, this is not fair to them… and that is an order."

Guang Zhen was startled but could do nothing but stand up straight and salute. "Sir, yes, Sir!"

All the projects were carried out according to plan. As time moved on, the projects for the 24th year were completed one after another. The creation of plasma reactors had been completed. Their safety and efficiency had been confirmed after multiple experiments and testing. The reactors in the City of Light Moon and the two industrial bases had been upgraded and certain scientists even predicted humanity would become a level 3 space civilization by the end of the 25th year!

At the same time, more AI robots were produced. The moment the Energy Umbrella Self-Propulsion Corridor was created, they would be sent to the edge of New Solar System to start work on the first defense line base.

This group of AI robots was kept in storage until they were needed. Among the rows of stationary robots, one of them suddenly wobbled slightly before going completely still again. No one saw this and it was not recorded on any video surveillance.

Everything appeared so normal and fine on the surface…