Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 493 - 491: The 6th Year

Chapter 493: Chapter 491: The 6th Year

Day by day, time passed, and three months later, Zhang Yuan’s body had recovered back to normal. He became once again the agile and sprightly young man he used to be.

He first quit his job at the previous research institute and, as he had wished, joined the Superdimensional Perception Research Institute. Frankly speaking, in the subatomic science and spaceship engines, even including the future curvature engines, having him or not didn’t make much difference—there were plenty of talents at the original institute, one could grab a bunch with just a scoop.

But at the Superdimensional Perception Research Institute, talented individuals were truly scarce, and they really couldn’t do without him, Zhang Yuan.

This was a young institute, mainly responsible for research on the brain’s extra perception. However, since it had been established for less than ten years, it naturally didn’t have any remarkable achievements.

"We warmly welcome you to join us... The main focus of the Superdimensional Perception Research Institute currently is Magnetic Field Sensing, and the primary research material still comes from the Huantai Civilization Trading Market. As you know, the Tos Civilization possesses the ability for magnetic field perception... If we can integrate this technique into assisting the brain, it might provide a certain level of enhancement to human intelligence."

The person primarily responsible for the "Superdimensional Perception Research Institute" was named Donald Kate, an eighty-something-year-old lady who, in this era, was still considered young. Her eyes sparkled when she saw Zhang Yuan, as if she had seen some incredible treasure.

Those who had once possessed complex perception were indeed a real treasure for this field of research.

Zhang Yuan quickly said, "Oh, I’m aware of the Tos Civilization, I even personally dealt with the research material from that trade. For us humans, static magnetic field perception is indeed the first target we need to conquer."

Another young assistant asked, "Mr. Zhang Yuan, could you talk about the world you perceived at that time?"

Zhang Yuan quickly waved his hand, "There’s no need for such formality! After all, we’ll be colleagues from now on. As for the so-called superdimensional perception, I can’t really describe it. It’s a world full of different colors. Take magnetic field perception, for example. The magnetic field is like a layer of complex ripples, and I could easily touch the thickness of those ripples—that is, the intensity of the magnetic field. Do you understand? It’s actually not what we think of as magnetic field lines or anything like that, but something very natural."

Kate said with a sense of helplessness, "It’s hard to understand, really hard. Although you liken it to a sense of touch, it’s not actually touch, but some other kind of sixth, seventh sense. Is that right?"

Zhang Yuan nodded and casually asked, "Since I didn’t work in this area before, I’ll need to catch up on the knowledge... How is your research going now? Have you had any results?"

Kate thought for a moment and said, "We’re currently still researching magnetic field perception. Although such things as magnetic fields can be very easily sensed with instruments. Converting the instrument readings into electrical signals and inputting them into the human brain isn’t a problem."

"But that’s not real perception, is it? What does real perception feel like? How do we smoothly integrate this ability into the human brain? No one knows what it feels like to have a third eye, so how can we turn this perception into the ’ripple’ sensation you talked about?"

These men and women really saw Zhang Yuan as their lifesaver.

They just didn’t have this concept in their minds, it was too difficult!

That feeling of helpless effort was indeed not pleasant.

Zhang Yuan quickly said, "Right now, my level is insufficient to help. But if there are any promising results, I can try to experience them in the Virtual World. Don’t be shy, feel free to make use of me!"

The Virtual World had become a crucial technology for brain perception experiments. The pioneering experiments would surely be used to challenge humans in the virtual realm.

No one knew what kind of changes would occur in their thinking if humans gained a higher level of perception ability. If it proved good, then it would be applied to real humans, and if not, it would naturally be discarded.

Zhang Yuan had mentally prepared himself; this job was difficult and abstract, but necessary.

A couple of hundred years without results is normal. However, once complete, it will be a product as epoch-making as Curvature Technology, heralding the prelude to a new era!

...

Amid these arduous endeavors, years passed one after another, all work proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Before long, it was already the sixth year since New Human Civilization arrived at the Huantai Civilization Trading Market.

Humans had gained some clues about Curvature Technology, but research in this area cannot be rushed—it’s not as if people can simply demand a breakthrough and slam the table to achieve it. It must coincide with the right time, place, and talent.

The curvature engine is a project even more complex than nuclear fusion, requiring a vast accumulation of technology.

First, the specific properties of "strange matter" must be thoroughly studied; only then comes the engineering aspect. People haven’t even fully understood the first step, let alone the subsequent second and third steps.

And among those Level 3 Interstellar Civilizations that have stayed in the trading market, some have developed for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years—definitely entities several steps ahead. Don’t assume other civilizations are fools.

The Solar System Ring Accelerator in the marketplace may lack a bit in energy level, but it’s still a good tool for researching the subatomic discipline. Hence, Human scientists are preparing to make the most of Huantai Civilization’s research tools to accumulate more data and experience, and to train more scientists.

In short, spending more time here isn’t such a bad idea.

On the other hand, Astronomers are constantly scouring this part of the sky, searching for Black Hole-neutron star binary star systems or neutron star-neutron star binary star systems, even willing to lower the requirements—neutron star-White Dwarf Star would do!

However, after six years, no suitable scientific observation site has been found; not within fifty light-years, not within a hundred light-years; not even... within 150 light-years.

That’s a rather unwelcome piece of news, genuinely headache-inducing!

If people can’t find any neutron stars about to collide, what’s the point of all this?

There are two main reasons: First, such celestial structures may not be plentiful in space; second, neutron stars and White Dwarf Stars, with their low luminosity, are challenging to observe.

The first neutron star observed by humans was a Pulsar discovered by the British in 1967. This neutron star emitted regular pulses of radio waves—at first, people thought it was a signal sent by Aliens, but as more signals were found, it was determined through research to be a neutron star.

However, such Pulsars represent only a small fraction of neutron stars. To expect these observable Pulsars to collide with each other would be waiting for an eternity—at least within 150 light-years, there are definitely none.

To better explore this part of the sky, Human diplomats even tried spending AmiBa Points to use Huantai Civilization’s astronomical telescopes.

The telescope was almost half the size of a Planet, technologically advanced and had reached the limits of cosmic resolution. If even this device fails to find a suitable observation target, then the only option is to pay an even greater price to purchase relevant information.

"Your civilization wishes to borrow our telescope? No problem, of course, no problem!" The Cocos-shaped Wart, especially in charge of liaising with Humans, showed a face brimming with "smiles." "Rest assured, we won’t inquire about what you intend to do with it, as long as you pay enough AmiBa Points. Afterwards, you can erase all the observational data!"

"Of course, you must realize that there’s a resolution limit to conventional astronomical telescopes—even if it’s nearly half the size of a Planet, it still may not meet your needs," the large Insect said with precision.

"If you still haven’t found the Planet you need, we also don’t provide refunds. I hope your civilization will discuss this clearly."