Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 274 - Chapter 274 Chapter 274 The 2nd Interstellar Voyage (25100

Chapter 274: Chapter 274: The 2nd Interstellar Voyage (25,100 words!) Chapter 274: Chapter 274: The 2nd Interstellar Voyage (25,100 words!) In five years, as both parties gradually let down their guard, visits between high-level officials became more frequent, especially among scientists…

Scientists must always maintain a strong curiosity about the outside world. The scientists from Gor City eagerly wanted to experience life on a spaceship to prepare for a potential interstellar voyage.

Of course, the Glizerians would always bring some of their own civilization’s technology to exchange.

After necessary security checks and biochemical disinfection, soon, this group of Glizerians, dressed in space suits, re-boarded the “Earth Era” and settled into their own designated living area.

This time, the visitors who had come from afar included some politicians, but most were mathematicians, mainly discussing conjectures regarding “transcendental numbers.” They would reside on the spaceship for half a year.

A small-sized pangolin took the stage, introducing a new method to determine transcendental numbers.

Mathematics is always a universal language within the universe. The Four Ancient Civilizations of humanity each developed their own mathematical systems, entirely independent of each other. As a form of “elegant art,” any civilization that cannot enjoy the pleasure of mathematics is undoubtedly ignorant and uncivilized.

But compared to the endless mathematical problems, the mysteries that humanity has been able to solve are just too few.

Take a simple example, is p a transcendental number?

It can be proven that it indeed is a transcendental number.

Is the Euler’s number e a transcendental number?

Certainly, it can also be proven!

Then what about e+p?

The answer is: we don’t know.

A seemingly simple question, yet it is a world-class difficulty!

Even a math master like Zhang Yuan had no way to determine if e+p was actually transcendental. Human mathematics development up to now could only solve a very limited range of problems. Even if computers can calculate (e+p) to tens of billions of valid digits, compared to infinity, it is almost no different from zero.

However, the exchange between civilizations can indeed rapidly promote the development of these disciplines.

The way of thinking between different civilizations varies greatly, and there are opportunities to learn from each other’s strengths. Such communication is not as simple as 1+1.

Of course, these mathematical problems, at present, are unlikely to have a significant impact on the overall productivity of society; at best, they’re equivalent to top scientists entertaining themselves.

The most precision-demanding spacecraft’s trajectory only requires the value of pi to 15 or 16 decimal places; whether pi is a transcendental number has no great relevance.

10 decimal places are enough to make the Earth’s circumference accurate to within an inch! 30 decimal places would make the perimeter of the entire visible universe accurate to a magnitude that not even the most powerful microscope could discern! Therefore, concerning this knowledge, both parties are very open in their exchange, and the high echelons of the New Civilization do not prohibit this interaction; on the contrary, there is an implicit encouragement.

But why bother to determine and solve these seemingly insignificant mathematical problems?

Because…

It’s right there!

“…That concludes our latest research on a method for determining transcendental numbers, thank you all for listening, thank you.”

Below, thunderous applause and endless discussions filled the room. The warm applause indicated that this lecture was very popular.

And these pangolins had already become accustomed to human etiquette and ways of communication. Dressed in their space suits and receiving praise, they appeared quite pleased.

“Professor Anbogu, regarding your conjecture 3.1.4, I have a slightly different view…” Zhang Yuan stood up, raised several doubts, and received very satisfactory answers.

After the first exchange meeting, the group of Glizerians would have more than ten days of rest before moving on to the second and third exchange meetings. Humans had already grown accustomed to their routines.

Zhang Yuan didn’t want to wait another ten or so days. When the other party returned to the living area, he followed and inquired, “So, Lord Ganyador, on this visit, what interesting trade ideas have you thought of? You might as well speak up, so we can be mentally prepared.”

“As long as it meets the demands of both parties, I believe there is still much room for negotiation…”

Humans currently lack many things, such as smartphones, which can significantly improve the quality of life for common people, but they are not the focal point of new civilization development.

Purchasing some from the Gleize Civilization is also a good choice.

There are some high-end robot chips and high-precision components too. If the Glizerians could produce them, human development would be smoother and faster.

What humans give in return are mostly entertainment products and their own technological heritage.

In fact, such an exchange is acceptable.

This time, the other party brought a lot of goods, including over ten thousand traditional silicon-based chips. The amount isn’t too large compared to human needs, but it does open a good starting point.

Scientists are now checking the quality of these goods and researching compatibility issues.

Ganyador turned his head, feeling slightly fatigued due to a long absence of rest.

He spoke seriously, “Lord Zhang Yuan, our biggest request is a Constant Star Level spaceship… Everything else is negotiable, only the add-ons for the spaceship are a concern.”

“You know, only a Mother Ship like the Earth Era can undertake the task of restarting a civilization without letting the entire civilization perish on an Alien Planet.”

“And we also need the related technology for interstellar colonization, such as the Space Elevator, construction of large centrifuge wheels, ecological recycling system structures… we at least need to learn to maintain the spaceship, right?”

This knowledge is inevitably very expensive. The New Human Civilization wouldn’t sell it cheaply, so they can only trade little by little over time. This includes the chips that were brought up, which are part of the trade.

Zhang Yuan nodded and said, “I’m sorry, personally, I really want to facilitate this largest trade, to create a giant Mother Ship to help you leave this planet…”

“But limited by the productive forces, we currently cannot produce such a giant spaceship. Even if human development proceeds very smoothly, it would be a matter of one or two hundred years from now. We cannot promise something hundreds of years in the future… That’s being responsible to both parties.”

Ganyador pointed at the ground, “No, no, no, what I mean is, how much longer does your current Mother Ship, the Earth Era, have in service?”

“Service life?”

The topic was a bit sensitive, but revealing a bit of information was not a major issue. Zhang Yuan said, “It depends on how well it’s maintained. The main frame of this spaceship is made of high-strength metal; if left in space, it would last thousands to tens of thousands of years without any changes.”

“The bearings of the centrifuge might wear out a bit… and the radiation shielding layer and aerogel layer in the living area have shorter lifespans. The exterior is made of flexible material, roughly fifty years.”

“And the lifespan of some electronic devices is even shorter, needing replacement after a few years, or a few decades…”

“So, its service life is at least another fifty years.”

So, if humans peacefully develop for several decades, the changes will be earth-shattering, and humans will gradually become comfortable living on the planet’s surface.

This original Mother Ship will gradually be phased out; humans cannot live in a spaceship forever. That’s an inevitability.

“So, does it still have the potential to complete another interstellar voyage?”

“What you mean is…”

Zhang Yuan was slightly shocked, but he quickly thought of a possibility.

Could this guy… want the Earth Era Spaceship?

Of course, not now, but to wait those few decades, until all humans move underground and phase out this spaceship…

The Glizerians had all the patience in the world to wait.

It seemed that Ganyador had seen the puzzlement in Zhang Yuan’s eyes and explained, “We will select a planet that is relatively close to us as our migration destination and aim to complete this interstellar voyage within five hundred to a thousand years… Accordingly, the spaceship we need must have a service life that long.”

“Buying a used spaceship is practically our minimum requirement; we hope you will seriously consider our request.”

After escorting the leader out, Zhang Yuan couldn’t stop pondering in his heart.

This idea seemed… not entirely unfeasible!

In fact, one could say… it’s highly feasible!

He quickly brought this information back to the Captain’s Room.

“What?”

After hearing Zhang Yuan’s story, everyone was so surprised that they jumped. Even Captain Zhao was taken aback.

Recreating a spaceship capable of travel between constant stars could take humanity one or two hundred years of development time, use up massive productive forces, and even delay the progress of other industries. So after much thought, they were somewhat reluctant.

Even receiving a Universal Factory, the loss would be too great.

But if they just undertook a major overhaul of the Earth Era Spaceship, the amount of work and difficulty would be much less, possibly taking only three to four decades!

“Manufacturing and refurbishing are two completely different kinds of difficulties. The structure of the Earth Era Spaceship is intact, and if we refurbish it and complete another interstellar voyage, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”

Captain Zhao frowned and said, “It’s definitely economically viable… If in a few decades, our population has completely relocated. Trading it for a Universal Factory is not an overstatement to call it a huge profit!”

“After all, the Earth Era Spaceship is technology from three thousand years ago; given today’s capabilities, we could definitely build a better, superior mother ship.”

Zhang Yuan agreed, “It’s as if they’ve taken a big step back, from requiring a new spaceship to settling for a used one… Let’s calculate how much work it would take to completely refurbish the Earth Era Spaceship and how much time we could save.”

For a moment, everyone was silent, contemplating the substantial renovations required, which first needed a vast Starry Sky Port and the construction of shipyards.

“We estimate it could take about twenty years to achieve this production goal.”

Still, the Earth Era Spaceship is indeed ancient, and if it’s to embark on another voyage among the stars, a comprehensive overhaul is a must. Apart from some structural frameworks that don’t need changing, everything else, including the living quarters, bearings, cooling areas, central control, all need to be repaired.

One of the experts spoke, “…Allocate a certain production line and add eighty thousand people to this repair work, and conservatively speaking, twenty years should be enough to complete these repairs. Some computer systems in the core areas will be manufactured by the Glizerians themselves, which saves us a lot of trouble.”

“20 plus 20, that is, at least forty years to complete this trade…”

Forty years, what a long stretch of time!

Yet, spending forty years on this deal is still a great bargain for humanity; by that time, the population would not exceed five million, and their combined productive force might not even match that of a Universal Factory.

“Even without this trade, humanity would still need to build functional structures like the Starry Sky Ports and shipyards.”

“So, at most, we’re just adding on some repair work.”

Right!

Suddenly, Zhang Yuan asked Professor Yamamoto, “In forty years’ time, could we develop virtual technology and then slowly guide and entice all the Glizerians from the remaining twelve cities to enter the Virtual World?”

“If we had twelve Universal Factories, we could completely avoid this troublesome business and even take it by force…”

After hearing Zhang Yuan’s suggestion, the room fell into silence again.

Sitting next door, Li Zhendong couldn’t help but scratch his head with his finger, Zhang Yuan, this guy, why… so many bad ideas?

He, Li Zhendong, still cared about his reputation… Just a few minutes ago, he was holding a mathematics conference in a very friendly manner, and in the next few minutes, he was secretly discussing robbing others, which was really hard to do.

No, it could be said, the entire human civilization cared about its face!

Sending that bunch of drunken dreamers into Virtual Space didn’t pose much of a moral burden, but now… Gor City had become the last hope of this civilization!

“Alright, it’s my fault…” Having calculated for a while, Zhang Yuan dismissed this plan on his own.

“Although this plan might bring short-term benefits, in the long run, plundering would cause a not so friendly deviation in the public’s ideology and is also detrimental to the governing philosophy of our entire school…”

“If we had twelve Universal Factories, there would be no need to rob others just for one…”

Greed is not a big mistake, but insatiable greed is always a sin.

Following that, Zhao Qingfeng rejected Zhang Yuan’s plan from another angle: “Even if we successfully develop this technology, forty years is definitely not enough!”

“You need to know, Glizerians’ daily routines and life cycles are different from ours. We think forty years is a long time, but they don’t see it that way. Forty years is about the same as four years for us, it’s impossible for them to undergo a huge ideological shift.”

“So, even if virtual technology did come out, it couldn’t completely brainwash them in just a short forty years…”

“A couple of hundred years, maybe…”

Zhang Yuan agreed with this view: “Alright, so time simply doesn’t allow it… then, within 40 years, let’s try to secure the Universal Factory that is easiest to obtain, leaving a spark for the Gleize Civilization is also not bad. Ah, let it be, this much-afflicted civilization.”

The crowd again mysteriously breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss the subsequent construction and renovations.

After contemplating for a while, Captain Zhao thought of something and said with a wry smile, “Everyone, if we use the ‘Earth Era Spaceship’ to trade, I’m also worried about another issue.”

“That is public sentiment. The way we, this group of people, think is always a bit different from the common people.”

“From a purely utilitarian point of view, the best option is indeed to refurbish it and sell it, without too much controversy.”

“But the general populace doesn’t care about all that, I can already foresee the widespread opposition. This Mother Ship has accompanied us for three thousand years… across the long starry path, finally arriving at the destination, and then supporting us as we established a foothold on this Alien Planet.”

“To wring out its last bit of residual value and then sell it off? How is that different from selling one’s own mother?”

“You’re right!” Information Scientist Li Zhendong knocked on the table, then touched his chest, “I just knew something felt off, so that’s it! That’s why this plan won’t be easy to pass!”

Zhang Yuan sneered, “Selling one’s own mother? Such an expression is really foolish… no, sentimental!”

“So you tell me, what use is this spaceship once all the population has moved to the planet’s surface? Right now, it can serve as a Space Elevator, but once the Starry Sky Port is completed, it doesn’t have to serve that role anymore. Just let it sit there and go to waste? Or turn it into an amusement park or museum?”

“It will just sit there, slowly withering and dying!”

“In a few hundred years, will anyone remember its existence?”

A Deputy Captain interjected, “At the very least, it would bring a sense of security. For the people, allowing it to wither there is good… People would be reluctant, thinking it’s better for it to sit idly than to be sold off.”

“What sense of security? In the event of a real war, could it actually take everyone and run away? We can develop dedicated interstellar warfare weapons, Railguns and drones, do we still need this decommissioned Mother Ship?!”

Zhang Yuan realized his emotions had gotten slightly agitated, and hurriedly cleared his throat.

He then spoke with renewed vigor: “Actually, the issue of public opinion is very simple, I have thought of a slogan: Instead of letting our Mother Ship, sit idle here, dying alone, better to let her carry the hope of another civilization and once again…”

“Set sail!”

“Complete her own glorious journey, the journey of redemption for a civilization, that is the greatest meaning of her existence!”