Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 435: Kun Lun Progress

"Viewers as you can see, this is Kun Lun… or at least part of it. Hahaha, viewers please don't mind my glib tongue, I'm too very excited being so close to this giant creation. Engineer Lin, please introduce to us what we're seeing on screen here."

The most recent exploratory television program was focused on the human creation that had the most eyes on it… the future mothership of humanity, Kun Lun!

Engineer Lin was a reticent middle-aged man. Since the show started, he had said less than five sentences in total. This made the reporter grumble internally, "Just what are these people from the Kun Lun engineering team are thinking about? Our program is only second in ratings behind the science program. So many people are begging us to get on our show, and for the sake of this interview, we've already written them one week ahead and this is how they're treating us?"

Engineer Lin hesitated after being asked the question, then he explained, "This is the Kun Lun's external support, the twelfth skeletal support frame at Area E to be precise. Its total length is 43,000 meters long and 12,000 meters wide. It has the latest 18 holes design and is expected to be completed by the end of year 29."

Then Engineer Lin stopped talking and started to look at this large, metallic creation with something like awe in his eyes. The reporter was still waiting for him to continue, but when she realized he wasn't going to, the atmosphere became rather awkward. The only thing she could do was turn to the camera and say, "Looks like the Kun Lun has not only awed this reporter but also Engineer Lin, who has been working on it. Alright, let us pull back the camera and let the viewers see this magnificent creation for themselves."

The camera panned away to include the view of the whole construction site. Even this support frame alone was humongous; it was as large as the Hope itself. However, in comparison, the structure's weight, or rather metallic density, was only one-fifth of the Hope, because these metallic poles that made up the structure were hollow. Of course, this was not an effect of cutting corners. After all, who would dare to cut corner on the Kun Lun project? Yao Yuan would execute that person should he find out. This was actually the result of advanced technology after humanity became a level 3 space civilization. Using the energy optimization technology, this hollow metal was created. In fact, this was an extended version of the technology back on Old Earth. Old Earth had many hollow metallic poles used in railings or bridges that had more tensile strength than a solid pole of the same size.

The design of Kun Lun had been brought about 10 years ago. At the time, many famous engineers had started the initial design. When humanity reached the New Solar System, the Kun Lun design was brought out again. However, it wasn't a smooth-sailing progress. The main reason was because the speed of humanity's technological advancement was too fast. The overall speed reminded some elders of the period between Old Earth's 20th and 21st century. At the time, the rate of technological upgrades was calculated in months and there would be something new every month. It was the technological renaissance for humanity.

This rapid progress was a point of celebration for the general public. Humanity had officially become a level 3 space civilization, and they wouldn't have to live in fear of coming across an alien space civilization anymore. They wouldn't be treated poorly by 80 percent of the space civilizations in the cosmos.

However, this rapid progress caused the designers of the Kun Lun a great deal of headaches. In the year 26, when Yao Yuan announced that the first step of the New Solar System project was completed, the Kun Lun's construction plan was moved forward. However, due to the increase in technology, they only settled on a final design by year 27. Even so, there were still tweaks to the design until the final confirmation in year 30. Kun Lun was a manifestation of humanity's scientific prowess. As science progressed, so would the Kun Lun.

The program was broadcasted three days after it was shot. Instantly, a wave of commotion appeared in the City of Light Moon. After all, the Kun Lun's progress had been in a B-level confidentiality and the building base was on the back end of the moon where normal citizens wouldn't visit easily. Therefore, news regarding the Kun Lun was like mist. Now the public finally understood the meaning of "mothership." It was the highest manifestation of a civilization's technology, a miracle that could ferry a space civilization in the cosmos for thousands of years without the need for restocking.

The newly designed Kun Lun was 880,000 meters tall, 670,000 meters long, and 490,000 meters wide. It was bigger than its initial design of 674,000 meters height, 540,000 meters length, and 300,000 meters width. It had 42 plasma reactors, and each reactor could provide the electricity usage of the entire old Earth. Other than that, there were about 100 smaller reactors, and at maximum capacity, it could support the simultaneous space warp of the Kun Lun and around 1,600 spaceships the size of the Hope.

The Kun Lun had 16,370 residential areas of differing sizes, and each area had spacious living areas and convenient amenities. Each area could fit 100,000 people. This meant that the Kun Lun could fit 160 million people, and that was the most conservative calculation. Other than the residential areas, the Kun Lun had 16 nature parks, 41 large business areas, 160 military-related departments, as well as agricultural centers that were as large as the residential areas. One could say that the Kun Lun was something beyond the general public's comprehension!

At the same time, the Kun Lun had the latest level 3 space civilization technologies and weapons. Other than the 300 Requiem cannons, the Kun Lun also had 12 currently-being-researched particle sea long distance main cannons. It was also equipped with level 3 space civilization energy shields. An energy shield of this scale was large enough to defend against all forms of attack. Unless they ran into a level 4 space civilization or above, the shield was indestructible. In other words, if they stumbled across a similar level or lower level space civilization, the Kun Lun was invincible!

This data and the opinions from various scientists, engineers, and even military personnel were included in the program. It scored a very high rating even though the program didn't show many things, things that weren't meant for the public's eyes.

For example, the astronomical number of building materials needed to complete the Kun Lun. It was a number that required at least a whole decade of harvesting to replenish. By year 30, the Kun Lun only reached two percent completion. According to the current speed, it would be at least 100 years before Kun Lun could be used!

One hundred years, that was a crazy concept! Even though various biologists had perfected the genetic mesomeric technology in the year 28, increasing the human lifespan to 500, could humanity waste 100 years?

Yao Yuan was one of the viewers who tuned into the program. No one understood the meaning of the Kun Lun to the human race better than him. Even if it took 1,000 years, the Kun Lun had to be built because this meant that they could finally stop being fearful of space civilizations beneath level 4. No matter the enemy's numbers or technology, as long as it wasn't one level higher, like a level 4 space civilization, then humanity had nothing to worry about!

The New Solar System might've been growing at an exponential speed, but if a level 3 space civilization really attacked, the outcome of the war would not be as certain as Yao Yuan wished it to be. Furthermore, according to Blue 6, space civilizations from the Shelters usually went out pillaging in groups. Usually, their targets would be other Shelters or isolated civilizations like humanity. Of course, humanity would win in the end due to the contribution from the Black Star Troopers, but the sacrifices would be enormous…

The more he learned about the cosmos, the more he understood about the fragility of the New Solar System. The only method to make this place a safe haven… was to finish creating humanity's own illusory space.

Yao Yuan switched off the television and sat there, quietly thinking about humanity's next development and possible struggles in space, when Guang Zhen led Zhang Heng and a few other Diviners into the room. They saluted him before Guang Zhen began, "These are the Diviners who have just returned from the corners of the New Solar System. Everyone stayed at their post for a month. Zhang Heng had it the worst, he had to stay at a spot one light year away from the New Solar System. You should ask them what they found out."

Yao Yuan nodded and turned to look at them. "I'm not going to waste my time talking about useless stuff, you've been briefed enough. This is confidential A-level information… so, did you feel any danger?"

The Diviners all shook their heads, even Zhang Heng shook his head and said, "Chancellor, there is no sense of danger. No, that isn't completely right either. I've sensed many small traces of danger, but they are very far away from us, probably hundreds of light years away from us."

"Is that so?" Yao Yuan sighed, but it was unknown whether it was from frustration or relief. After a moment, he turned to Guang Zhen and said, "Then have the Academy decrypt this message as soon as possible. Find out where it was form, the contents, and the technological level of the sender civilization…

"I need the answer at least before the alien civilization arrives at this solar system!"