Chapter 34: A Calm World
Chapter 34: A Calm World
“This station reports that the asteroid designated 2025S01, first spotted and named by the Alpha Observatory, had its chance of hitting Earth raised to 5% after ongoing monitoring by various countries’ astronomy groups and observatories. Yesterday, all astronomy bodies, the North American State Astronomy Union, and the World Astronomy Union confirmed the rise. If this asteroid does not get captured by Neptune or outer objects in the Solar System, the risk of it hitting Earth will go up even more.”
Beside Lingchuan University, there was a barbecue shop.
Even late at night, a few groups of guests were clinking glasses and drinking.
The grill squeezed next to the shop entrance still let out smoke from the now-burning charcoal.
The shop owner, with a towel over his shoulder for wiping sweat, kept working behind the grill, now and then turning the grilled skewers and meats.
A small TV was hanging on the wall above the counter, showing a rerun of the news without any sound coming out.
More than a TV for watching, it was really just like a decoration that people did not notice without meaning to.
In the whole shop, only the person sitting opposite the TV was actually watching the broadcast news.
This person,
of course, was Qin Yu.
All of a sudden, Qin Yu got the urge to go out for a bite to eat. He came outside straight away using intangibility and disguise.
At that moment, to others, he had a plain face—one of those you could not pick out in a crowd.
“Hey young man, here we go—some grilled beef. The rest is still on the grill. Eat this first.”
The lady boss had just then placed the cooked barbecue on the table in front of Qin Yu as she called out.
Then she looked where Qin Yu was peering.
“Do you want me to turn up the sound on the TV? The sound has been kept down low all along.”
“Not needed.”
This barbecue shop owner’s wife was always so warmhearted, Qin Yu shook his head.
He had already seen the news the day before, and there were reports on the internet about it.
The lady boss listened to Qin Yu and did not probe further.
From her point of view, she probably thought he forgot his phone or its battery was down, so he had time to stare at the TV.
After the lady boss walked off again, Qin Yu turned his head and glanced at the wall of the barbecue shop.
There hung a photo on the wall.
It was just a snapshot taken from a surveillance camera back when he had dropped by this place.
This barbecue shop was the one he went to after leaving Lingchuan University on the night he had made Compound 2611.
Qin Yu had no clue how the shop owner recalled he had been to the place and even found that old photo.
It really was like magic.
Word had it that since offering that photo there, the shop’s business picked up a lot from before.
If Qin Yu stepped up and said aloud that the photo was snapped on the very night Compound 2611 came to life, the shop might see an even hotter trade.
Qin Yu grinned a bit and picked up a beef skewer from the plate.
He took a bite.
Hmm… not as good as before.
He was not sure if the taste truly changed at this shop,
or if, over the past while, the meals set for him by officials inside Research Institute 011 were just too fancy.
It made Qin Yu’s taste buds act pickier.
But Qin Yu did not worry about it. At times, noticing a shift was evidence that life marched on.
Holding the beef skewer, chewing away, Qin Yu cast another gaze at the TV with its about-to-finish news.
Asteroid 25S01—it had been five years since humans first spotted it.
If bad luck struck, it would crash onto Earth in about a year.
Still, from how the guests in the barbecue shop were still knocking back drinks here and there, the news mostly gave those tension-filled folks stuff for nightmares over a couple of days.
Down in the comments about this story online,
basically, you could make out just three kinds of replies.
Some with slight nerves.
Some words of comfort for others.
And yells for Human Civilization to go down quick.
All told, it was mostly jumping in for the buzz—barely anyone genuinely felt this rock would smash into Earth.
Because before, tales like these ended in nothing happening.
It strangely worked like the boy who called wolf.
Plus, if doom really drew near, everything would have fallen apart by now.
Even so, for this exact asteroid, the odds were truly low it could pound Earth.
Versus a clear course to Earth, it was far more likely to get swung off path or trapped by the pulls of big planets in the outer Solar System.
Most asteroids aimed at the Solar System went that way before.
Qin Yu thought the same about this rock.
But so what if this one missed? How about the next? The one after?
Odds were high the one prime to hit Earth dead-on was already on its Solar System-bound trip.
Right like how, two decades before the asteroid that wiped the dinosaurs struck Earth, the dinosaurs knew zip that they were toast in twenty years.
The big puzzle was whether that future asteroid arrived before or after Human Civilization could shield itself.
After seeing the logged-off news, Qin Yu thought for a short time, then looked away.
Around that same time,
the HCC (Human Coalition) place of work had a get-together on situations and war.
The top three in the HCC—Huaxia Nation, North Bear Nation, and Moon Nation—sat in.
The reps from Huaxia Nation, true to form, hoped every group kept cool heads and not turn spats into war lightly.
But among North Bear Nation, Moon Nation, and all lands under their sway,
was a table stood sharp against table.
What went down right then was not that tricky.
It boiled down to groups inside the HCC tied to Moon Nation and North Bear Nation having fresh scrapes outside Nine Provinces, around Europa Continent zone.
The deeper reasons, though, spun all knotted and roundabout.
Before now, when the 2611 Longevity Injection spread wide,
because the whole human life span leaped big all at once,
Worldwide, the desire for conflict among the vast majority of people suddenly decreased significantly.
Accordingly, on a macro level, the frequency of wars on a global scale also reduced noticeably.
At that time, many experts believed that such a state certainly could not last long.
Once the next generation, people accustomed to 180-year lifespans, grew up, this state would come to an end.
But in reality, due to various reasons, this peaceful era worldwide did not even last a few years.
There were several main reasons.
First and foremost, it was the popularization of the 2611 Longevity Injection.
Although the rise in lifespan caused a sharp increase in the ‘cost’ of conflicts, leading to an objective reduction in fighting frequency globally,
the underlying reasons for conflicts did not disappear with the spread of the 2611 Longevity Injection,
and there was even a tendency for them to become stronger.
Next, globally, most conflicts primarily originated from the two factions within the HCC (Human Coalition): the North Bear Nation and the Moon Nation, along with their spheres of influence.
Because the influence of Huaxia Nation grew under the effect of the 2611 Longevity Injection, these two factions felt pressured and formed a brief alliance when facing Huaxia Nation.
So at that time, the fighting between them paused for a short while.
But the problem was that their interests were essentially contradictory; in the world’s structure, these two HCC (Human Coalition) factions occupied the same position, so conflict was unavoidable between them.
Thus, this relationship simply could not last.
Finally,
a very crucial reason was that after the 2611 Longevity Injection became widespread, global productivity itself did not increase.
On the contrary, the total resources needed over an individual’s lifetime suddenly multiplied by several times.
This issue was particularly severe in the nations under the influence of the Moon Nation and North Bear Nation.
After spending huge resources to obtain the 2611 Longevity Injection from Huaxia Nation, they did distribute it to the public, but those in charge definitely had to recoup the cost from the masses.
In recent years, people in these factions had longer lives, but many felt their lives became increasingly hard.
Additionally, the problem of social rigidity caused by lifespan extension from the 2611 Longevity Injection—such as the inability to use the Human Reproduction Device to ensure growth in new population—also worsened over time in these areas.
They also needed to find ways to shift the focus away from these problems.
Since Huaxia Nation held the key to the 2611 Longevity Injection and was too formidable to provoke, who else could they pick on?
These factors inevitably pushed the two factions to this point.
Meanwhile, because Huaxia Nation benefited from the 2611 Longevity Injection, this issue was not as severe there yet.
Also, thanks to the widespread use of the Human Reproduction Device, long-term problems were mostly non-existent.
But even if the Human Reproduction Device were made available to these other two factions, they couldn’t easily use it as Huaxia Nation did.
“‘We call for peace. Only peace can ensure the long-term progress of our civilization.’”
“‘We sincerely hope that our civilization, our world, does not end up destroyed by our own hands.’”
A minor nation of a small-nation alliance also urged the same.
After more than five years, the entire world was once again in a stormy state.
…
That same night,
at Huaxia Nation Capital University.
Professor Wu Zhenmin, who conducted research in polar science on microbial ecosystems in extreme cold regions, had just finished his work for the day.
Since a polar research expedition over two years ago, he hadn’t returned for any such projects in the last couple of years.
Instead, he focused more on lab work and teaching students.
Checking the time, which would be daytime in North American State,
Professor Wu Zhenmin phoned a collaborator from the International Polar Research Organization there.
“‘Wu, if I remember correctly, it’s late night over there, isn’t it?’”
“‘Not asleep yet. Thought I’d check in with you. Has the sample analysis come out on your end?’”
“‘Ah… Wu, you should know that work was assigned to the research team at ReasonTech Research Institute. But as you’re aware, over the past two years, nearly all researchers in the Field of Life Sciences have crowded into studying the Lifespan Mechanism. Their institute probably has few people handling our sample analysis. It might take some more time.’”
Hearing this, Professor Wu Zhenmin felt helpless,
though he couldn’t blame anyone, as before Qin Yu spoke out and halted the study of longevity mechanisms, research on it was the hottest globally.
No choice—rich people were truly willing to fund it.
“‘Haha, maybe the samples we collected contain ancient viruses that could wipe out humanity? Perhaps we should be glad we haven’t released them yet.’”
“‘Thanks for the comfort, Professor Pickel. But your cold joke really wasn’t amusing.’”
“‘Alright then, here’s an un-funny one: recent research teams brought back some pictures. Compared to a few years ago, glaciers at both poles are melting further due to climate changes.’”
“‘You’d better make that a cold joke again, Professor Pickel.’”
…
At ReasonTech Research Institute,
a private institute in Moon Nation within North American State,
funding mainly came from partner companies and contracts for research projects.
As a private institute,
it didn’t have highly fixed research projects.
They tackled whatever was popular—or, more bluntly, whatever secured funding easiest.
Before Qin Yu reappeared after a couple of years, most of the institute worked on the Lifespan Mechanism and research on the 2611 Longevity Injection.
After Qin Yu gave that brief interview, the institute cut some related projects,
but still kept many on lifespan-related studies.
After all, as they put it,
Professor Qin Yu wasn’t researching longevity aspects lately, so those rich folks had no other options.
Want to live beyond 180 years? Come, give us your money, and we’ll try to get you there.
“‘Grover, Brook, I’m thinking, how about we start a study on extending the lifespan of animals?’”
Now, in one research team at ReasonTech Research Institute,
three researchers of varying ages were chatting.
“‘Aren’t people animals?’”
“‘No, I mean wild animals like lions, tigers… oh, wait, or pets like cats and dogs. How about studying ways to extend their lifespans?’”
“‘That sounds like a great plan. Now we all live over a hundred years, but cats and dogs still only last a decade or so. Think about how sad it makes us every time a pet passes away.’”
“‘Buddy, I feel like those rich people prefer knowing how to add a few more years to their own lives.’”
“‘But we can’t crack the 2611 Longevity Injection and improve it further, right? So why not use similar ideas to see if we can extend other animals’ lives?’”
“‘A dog that lives 80 years? That’s crazy! Wouldn’t it become too smart or something.’”
“‘…Then why not extend virus lifespans with that approach? Viruses that live a year or two outside human bodies—wouldn’t that be cooler!’”
“‘That idea is even better! Pure genius!’”
The three researchers talked more excitedly, but it felt more like boasting than serious plans.
At that moment,
another researcher entered the Laboratory with a troubled expression.
“‘Boss… we’ll get started on the experiment right away.’”
The other three immediately silenced.
Their Laboratory head had walked in.
This man, reportedly hired from a secret lab in South American Continent, often had a bad temper.
More than pushing the team’s projects forward,
he preferred tinkering alone with his own studies.
“… No. You go write a proposal for that research topic you just mentioned.”
“‘I like it. It might be meaningless, but it’s way easier than researching how to extend human life beyond the effects of the 2611 Longevity Injection.’”
“‘And those rich guys will pour money—lots of it—as long as they see any progress in lifespan extension, even if it’s for dogs or cats now. After all, it’s still research progress, isn’t it?’”
The Laboratory head spread his hands as he spoke to the others in the Laboratory.
…
That night, the whole world and all of Human Civilization once more passed in quiet peace.
Nothing happened.