Great Country Academician

It has to be said that compared to mankind's ignorant exploration of space in the last century, the conditions for astronauts to perform space missions today are much better.

Especially for the Chinese astronauts, except for the gravity problem that they cannot solve for the time being, other conditions are not much different from living on earth.

The journey to space originally required riding on a chemical fuel rocket with several G accelerations. Now, under the guidance of a space shuttle, it is not much different from taking an ordinary civil airliner.

Not to mention food, clothing, housing and transportation, the standards for astronauts are definitely top-notch configurations.

In the Hanhai's restaurant, except for Jiang Xinlin and Tang Hongbo, who were checking in, the other four people had already arrived.

Gui Haichao, who was busy taking out meals for several people from the heating cabinet, smiled and said hello when he saw Zhai Zhigang and Liu Yang walking in.

"Here you come? The food is already hot."

After saying hello with a smile, Liu Yang groped for the seat and pulled herself over. Then, she pulled out a fixed cassette similar to a 'seat belt' from the seat and tied herself to the chair.

Eating in space is different from eating on earth, because in a near-zero gravity environment, whether it is food or themselves, they may fly around with a little effort, so they usually eat by themselves. Tied to a chair to eat.

This avoids having a meal that’s ‘all over the place’ like a kid’s.

Of course, this so-called chair is slightly different from the chairs you sit on on Earth. It has no shape of a chair at all, and is more like a steel tube used to fix the body, with safety buckles connected to it.

After all, there is no need for a chair in space. When eating, just squat down in a simulated daily posture and pretend there is a chair under your butt. It is as simple and casual as Zamabu.

In addition, for this restaurant, not only the chairs are specially made, but also the dining table.

It is magnetic and can absorb cutlery such as knives, forks, spoons, bowls, plates, etc. It is equipped with a water cooler and heater on the table.

In addition, the plates and bags used to hold food are specially made and made of metal so that they can rest securely on the dining table instead of flying everywhere.

After fixing himself, Liu Yang also started to help with the food on the table.

Some space food is heated, while others are cold and packaged in a special packaging material that is easy to open.

Such as bread.

Small pieces of bread are packaged in packaging bags that look a lot like plastic but are not actually plastic. Each piece is only a little bigger than an adult man's thumb, just enough to eat them all in one bite.

And most of these breads and other foods that don't need to be heated have a 'special' film on them.

This film is somewhat similar to the 'glutinous rice paper' on the outside of the White Rabbit toffee in childhood memories. It is edible and is intended to prevent food debris from floating into the interior of the space shuttle and being inhaled into the astronauts' lungs and causing damage.

"Haichao, I remember your hometown seems to be in southern Yunnan, right?"

Liu Yang asked curiously while busy helping to arrange the meals.

She is not very familiar with Gui Haichao. Strictly speaking, the latter is not a professional astronaut. He is a payload expert who mainly engages in certain scientific research and experimental work on long-term space stations or space shuttles. He is only responsible for Payload management and operation.

Of course, the manned mission to Mars has lasted for more than a month, and even if we didn't know much about each other before, we have almost figured out each other's family background.

Gui Haichao, who was wearing glasses, was taking out a plate of hot tuna from the heating cabinet. After hearing this question, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Yeah, what's the matter, Captain Liu?"

Liu Yang looked at the rice balls wrapped in glutinous rice paper on the table, smiled and said, "Does this look like your bamboo tube rice?"

Gui Haichao glanced at the rice balls on the table and said with a smile, "It's a bit similar."

After a slight pause, he smiled and joked: "What, Captain Liu, do you want to eat bamboo rice?"

Liu Yang thought for a while and said, "I haven't eaten bamboo tube rice yet."

"Never eaten?" Gui Haichao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "This is easy to handle. After our mission is over, how about I invite everyone to travel to my hometown?"

Hearing this, the other two people in the restaurant also became interested. They came over and asked curiously: "Is the food in southern Yunnan much better?"

Gui Haichao pushed up his glasses and said with a smile: "I dare not say anything else, but the food in my hometown is definitely one of the best!"

"For example, steam pot chicken, choose a local chicken that is moderately fat and thin, preferably a young hen that is just about to lay eggs or a young rooster that has just started crowing. Wash it and then chop it into small pieces. Add it with ginger, salt, green onions, and grass fruits. Put it in the steam pot and cover it. During this process, the steam will steam the chicken, and then condense together to form a delicious dripping soup."

"That taste is simply amazing!"

"There are also various wild mushrooms, whether they are chicken fir or dried mushrooms. The taste is called fresh, sweet and tender, and it can also nourish the stomach and refresh the mind."

Following Gui Haichao's introduction, several people in the restaurant cabin couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

After staying on the space shuttle for a long time, several people actually have some problems with their sense of taste and smell.

If you stay in a weightless environment for a long time, nasal congestion will lead to loss of smell, and changes in saliva secretion will also affect taste.

Although there are more than 100 kinds of food they eat, there are all kinds of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty and fresh, but there are really not many flavors that can be felt.

However, after being introduced like this by Gui Haichao, several people now feel as if they have already eaten something in their mouths.

After fantasizing in his mind for a long time, another astronaut Tang Shengjie came to his senses and couldn't help but sigh: "After leaving the earth, I realized that the earth is still better."

Hearing this, Zhai Zhigang said with a smile: "Speaking of which, my biggest dream was to go to the moon one day."

"What now?"

"Now?" Zhai Zhigang smiled and said, "With Academician Xu here, I think I might be able to visit Proxima Centauri in my lifetime."

"Hahaha, then captain, you have to hold on to Academician Xu's lap tightly. Let's see when he plans the mission to conquer Proxima Centauri."

"Maybe there really is such an opportunity. Proxima Centauri seems to be only about four light-years away from our sun. If the aerospace technology is upgraded again, it seems worth spending twenty or thirty years to go there?"

"Hahahaha, you are thinking too far, let's go to the fire first."

"Isn't Mars landing just around the corner? Tomorrow we can stand on Mars."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Jinling, Xia Shu Space Base.

In Academician Chang Huaxiang's office, after visiting the super factory on the base, the others dispersed first.

After the assistant carefully brewed a pot of hot tea, he quietly retreated out like a cat hunting, not daring to make any sound.

Although the assistant of an academician is not someone who has never seen the world, especially the assistant of an old academician like Academician Chang Huaxiang who has been responsible for many super aerospace projects.

But the old man in front of him was indeed different. The figure he had only seen on TV, news and newspapers in the past was actually standing in front of him, which made people nervous.

Before going out, the assistant who carefully closed the door quietly glanced at the people sitting on the sofa, with respect and curiosity in his eyes.

Especially when I saw Academician Xu sitting there chatting with the old man about household chores, I couldn't help but sigh.

When facing the old man, she was almost nervous to death, but Academician Xu was as relaxed and happy as if he had gone back to his own home and saw his neighbor's grandfather, chatting about his family's affairs.

In the office, Xu Chuan didn't notice the assistant's gaze.

For him, apart from respect, he didn't have much other thoughts towards this old man. Calling him a neighbor's grandfather was actually about the same.

After chatting for a while, the old man took the initiative to enter the topic and got down to business.

"Speaking of which, I remember you just said that it will be the general trend in the future for intelligent production systems to replace manual production systems?"

Xu Chuan nodded and said: "This is inevitable. With the advancement of productivity, it is inevitable that intelligent equipment such as artificial intelligence and intelligent machinery will replace humans to complete repetitive and dangerous tasks."

"Then what do you think we should do next?" the old man asked closely.

Hearing this question, Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the person in front of him might not be here just for tomorrow's manned mission, but also for other things.

Just like the current inquiry about the development direction, it is obvious that they are asking him about their future technological path.

On the side, Academician Chang Huaxiang was also stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect that this person who came here today would communicate about such an important matter in his office.

Although the person being consulted is not him, there is no doubt that today's conversation will affect and change the future development of the entire country of China and even the world.

Thinking about it, he looked at Xu Chuan simultaneously, with some curiosity on his face, and he was also looking forward to the opinion of this young scholar who was at the top of the world.

After thinking seriously for a while on the sofa, Xu Chuan said: "After the breakthrough of controllable nuclear fusion technology, we have almost no worries about energy."

"I don't need to say more about building the motherland. If we talk about the future development of science and technology, then it is certain that AI intelligence will be one of the most important fields in the next few decades."

"AI intelligence?" The old man looked at Xu Chuan with a questioning look in his eyes.

Xu Chuan nodded and continued: "Yes, the breakthrough in carbon-based chip technology, not to mention now, will wait in the next few years, when the carbon-based industrial chain is fully rolled out, our focus on chips and computing power will The needs will be addressed to a great extent.”

"Intelligence will be like today's mobile phones and computers, and will enter everyone's home step by step."

“Of course, this also includes smart industrialization.”

After a slight pause, he looked at the old man and continued: "As we just saw in the production factory in the base, it is inevitable for AI and intelligence to replace labor."

"Industries such as controllable nuclear fusion reactors, aerospace engines, and space shuttles, which are at the top of the industrial pyramid, can control production through intelligent systems. This also means that as long as we are willing, the industrial chain at the high, middle, and low ends can all Able to achieve intelligence.”

"In the future, there will be more unmanned factories and production chains similar to those at the Xiashu Space Base. This is the only way forward for the development of the times."

"But there will also be various problems that come with it."

"Such as the unemployment rate, the growing gap between rich and poor, social stability and other issues."

"In fact, we encountered these problems when the controlled nuclear fusion technology was realized a few years ago. A large number of people were laid off and laid off in the fossil fuel fields such as coal, oil and natural gas."

"With the development of AI intelligence and the further expansion of productivity, these problems will reappear sooner or later."

"And it will no longer be limited to the energy field, but may be a full-scale production and manufacturing module. What does this mean? I believe you know better than me."

The old man nodded gently. The problems mentioned by Xu Chuan are indeed not to be underestimated.

When the controlled nuclear fusion technology is realized, no matter what the reason is, they will inevitably reduce their dependence on and use of traditional chemical fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

In this process, let's put aside the imports first. In China alone, the economic lifelines of several provinces are built on these natural resources to varying degrees.

The various jobs derived from these fossil fuels are in the millions or even tens of millions.

In the transformation a few years ago, their unemployment rate, especially in some provinces in the central and western regions, was the highest and even soared to more than ten points.

This was a violent shock, but based on the breakthrough of controlled nuclear fusion technology, everything was worth it.

In addition, this was already in the plan, and they quickly used various means to calm down the turmoil that could have brought heavy damage to the country.

However, controlled nuclear fusion technology only involves the energy field. If the next manufacturing industry is replaced by AI intelligence, the turmoil caused by China, a superpower in the industrial field, will be far more severe than in previous years.

It is not an exaggeration to say that if this problem is not handled properly, the harm it brings may be fatal.

After thinking for a while, the old man looked at Xu Chuan and asked, "Is there any good solution?"

Xu Chuan thought for a while and said, "I won't talk about those conventional methods, such as increasing social welfare, security funds, and developing tourism/service industries. I believe that the country will consider these aspects more comprehensively than me."

"As for other aspects, from the perspective of a scholar or researcher, there are still solutions."

Old man: "What solution?"

Xu Chuan: "External expansion!"