Earth Era

Compared with ordinary radiation sickness, the genetic mutations produced in the Nimbus crew members are irreversible. All existing gene repair drugs in human civilization are ineffective against this. Wang Hao knew this when he got the gene sequencing data results.

It is precisely because of this that the doctor on board the Nimbus spacecraft is helpless in dealing with the suffering of his companions. This was beyond the scope of her knowledge, and she simply did not have the ability to deal with such lesions. In fact, even Wang Hao, who is a top expert in civilization, has no way to deal with it for the time being.

To put it simply, even if the crew of the Nimbus spacecraft were located on Blue Star - the planet temporarily selected as the political and economic center of human civilization that fled here - the most advanced hospital in the capital city when they fell ill, they would not receive all the medical treatment. Combined treatments by the best experts in civilization also failed to alleviate or cure their illnesses.

From the moment this strange pathology began to develop in their bodies, they were doomed to die in pain.

Since the investigation has been ongoing, Wang Hao has obtained a lot of key information, but this is still not enough. There are still several crucial issues that Wang Hao has not investigated clearly. These questions are, first, how does the disease arise? How many people will its production mechanism affect? Second, how to cure this disease?

Although there is now a high probability that the disease is not contagious, Wang Hao still dare not take it lightly. If its pathogenic mechanism exists on a large scale in human civilization - that is, if a large number of humans will suffer from this disease, it is likely to trigger another turmoil within humanity. This is unbearable for current human civilization.

"So... what is the reason that caused all the dozens of crew members in the Nimbus spacecraft to suffer from this disease? Is it the special space environment, or is it an undiscovered design flaw in the Nimbus spacecraft? ? Or maybe it’s some behavior of the crew?”

Wang Hao knew that his mission was far from over.

At this time, a meeting was going on on the Phoenix Galaxy's largest planet, "New Jupiter," its third-most massive satellite, also known as the Blue Star.

The meeting was held at the Human Government Building in the Capital City. Participants included high-level government officials, including Head of State Shen Qingyuan, heads of various departments, as well as many scientists, engineers, and scholars.

This is undoubtedly a high-level meeting, and such meetings usually discuss major events related to the fate of the entire human civilization.

An old man with gray hair was making a meticulous report to the audience: "According to the observations of the real-time monitoring team of Phoenix Star and the joint research of scholars in the Stellar Evolution Research Laboratory, we all believe that the instability of Phoenix Star is intensifying. Although it will not explode as a supernova in a short period of time, we have reason to believe that it will undergo at least one more violent energy explosion in the near future."

Shen Qingyuan, the current head of human civilization with meticulously combed hair and a serious expression, as hard and cold as a stone, lightly knocked on the table and interrupted the old man's report: "I want to know, this relatively violent energy burst What impact will it have on the galaxy’s ecology?”

The old man lowered his head to check the information and said: "First of all, it will cause the intensity of interstellar space radiation, the intensity of stellar winds, and the intensity of magnetic field disturbances to increase significantly. This will have a very significant impact on various interstellar spacecraft, and directly affect the environment in the Phoenix Galaxy. All planets - including Blue Star. Secondly, under the influence of the Phoenix Star's energy burst, the new Jupiter and the new Saturn will also undergo corresponding changes, which will have a secondary impact on the satellites orbiting them. Our various activities will be affected A more severe impact.”

"When you say in the near future, how long do you mean specifically?"

"The specific time cannot be determined. This is a question of probability. According to our calculations, the probability of a violent energy explosion within one year is as high as 85%. Within two years, it is 99%. "

Shen Qingyuan's expression did not change at all. He just casually wrote something on the paper with a pen. Then he put down the pen and said with some emotion: "It seems that the Phoenix Galaxy does not welcome us."

Another old man with the same gray hair said sadly: "This is not just a matter of welcome or not. The activities of Phoenix Star will become more and more frequent, and the intensity and frequency of energy bursts will also become higher and higher - although this They will only bring some inconvenience to our activities, but will not completely destroy us, but they indicate that Phoenix has entered old age in advance, and it may end its life with the most brilliant explosion at any time. And it His death will surely take us to the grave with him."

The old man who spoke before said in a deep voice: "Old Li, don't be alarmist. According to our calculations, the probability of a supernova explosion on the Phoenix star within a hundred years is only 1.3 in 10,000."

The old man called Lao Li was about to retort when he was interrupted by a majestic voice.

"Are you saying that the probability of a supernova explosion on Phoenix within a hundred years is low, but it still exists? And once a supernova explosion occurs, if we still stay here, we will have no chance of survival?"

Facing this voice, the old man did not dare to neglect and immediately replied: "Theoretically speaking, this is true. But head of state, you have to understand that reality and probability are two different things. There is absolutely no need for us to advance the time for such a small probability. That would be too much. It was rushed.”

Shen Qingyuan was silent for a moment and nodded slightly: "There is a sharp sword hanging over our heads at all times. But I want to know, since the Phoenix Star has the risk of a supernova explosion in advance, why did we choose the Phoenix Galaxy as the stopover location at that time? ?”

Facing Shen Qingyuan's inquiry, the two old men looked a little embarrassed. In the end, the old man known as Lao Li answered: "Führer, our current theoretical system cannot completely accurately predict every detail of stellar activity and evolution. First, our theoretical system is still imperfect, and second, It is observation technology that limits our knowledge. We originally chose the Phoenix galaxy because there are two giant gas planets and many satellites with rich products, but we were not aware of the risks hidden on the Phoenix star."

"Okay, now that the situation is clear to everyone, we can discuss what choice we should make. Should we continue to wait at a risk of 1.3% and wait until all the materials are collected before returning to the solar system, or should we continue to wait in the near future? Just, leave this place that doesn’t welcome us?”

A person who looked like an official said: "I am the person in charge of the material reserves of the voyage plan. Let me inform you about the current progress of our material reserves: as of now, 97% of the fuel collection has been completed, and the total category Of the 37,236,05 material collection tasks, 98.2% have been completed. Only some are in high demand, such as No. 903 special steel and high-purity manganese ore. , some rare gases, etc. have not yet been completed, and it is expected that it will take at most another thirty years to collect enough. In other words, even if we wait, we will only have to wait at most another thirty years."

Another official said: "As we all know, we are an entire civilization, not a single fleet. During the migration, the total number of spaceships is expected to reach tens of millions. Coordination of such a large number of spaceships is very difficult. Each stop will consume a lot of resources and time, and will bring many unnecessary risks. I prefer to wait for the time being, and after collecting all the materials, sail directly to the solar system in one go without stopping in the middle."

A middle-aged scientist said: "In terms of risk control, it is most sensible to stay in the Phoenix Galaxy and wait until all material collection tasks are completed. If the supplies have to be stopped during the voyage due to insufficient supplies, the risk must be More than 1.3% per 10,000.”

"I think the judgment on this matter cannot be measured purely by risk. When it comes to the life and death of the entire civilization, even a probability of one in 100,000 cannot be ignored. Even if stopping to supply supplies midway will bring us some risks, then So what? It just wastes a little more of our time, and if it continues to stay here, if the Phoenix Star explodes, our entire civilization will be destroyed."

Faced with this issue, people began to have heated discussions. In the conference room, nearly a thousand participants were divided into two distinct groups, and both groups were obviously prepared in advance and presented numerous data and cases to support their arguments.

From morning to night, more than ten hours passed, and neither of these two views had more than two-thirds of the support. If the number of supporters is less than two-thirds, it cannot be issued as a conference decision.

This was the result of all three votes. According to the law, when this happens, the head of state has the final say.

So, after the third voting result came out, the eyes of thousands of people in the entire conference room were all focused on Shen Qingyuan.

Shen Qingyuan seems to have already had a draft in mind. His expression did not change at all, as if announcing a small matter, he said calmly to the crowd: "I have decided to return to the solar system in one year. All units and departments must immediately formulate specific plans. Within this year, Be fully prepared. The meeting is dismissed."

Everyone at the meeting knew very well about Shen Qingyuan's leadership style and knew that once he made a decision, he would never change it, so no one tried to protest.

Both supporters and opponents have to accept this reality at this moment.

"Next year, we will go home..."