Chapter 159: Only Thirty Years

A ‘simple yet complicated’ problem now lay before Human Civilization.

Its simplicity came from the core question: whether to agree to Stuo Civilization’s proposal. The choice was just yes or no.

Its complexity lay elsewhere. Whether agreeing or not, either decision pulled many strings.

It was certain to deeply influence the fate of both Human Civilization and Stuo Civilization.

First,

Was such fundamental theoretical research truly necessary for Human Civilization?

The answer was absolutely yes.

Even if Human Civilization and Stuo Civilization had never met or contacted each other,

Human Civilization’s future growth and expansion would eventually hit limits set by its theoretical foundations someday.

It was just that, thanks to recent exchanges with Stuo Civilization,

Human Civilization’s theoretical and technological progress had suddenly leaped forward.

This directly led to Human Civilization touching the ceiling of theoretical limits much faster during its tech development.

Then,

For Human Civilization to conduct such fundamental theoretical research, did it truly require an experimental facility of this scale?

Actually, the answer was not necessarily yes.

The plan Stuo Civilization proposed involved building a massive ring-shaped accelerator collider.

Before the HCC era, similar structures existed on Earth.

After the HCC formed, they appeared on the Lunar Surface and even on Mars.

But the ring-shaped accelerator collider in Stuo Civilization’s current plan was far larger in size and possessed much higher energy levels during operation.

From a research standpoint, ring-shaped accelerator colliders weren’t the most efficient or clever design.

Theoretically, smarter structures could achieve the same fundamental theoretical experiments.

But so far, neither Human Civilization nor Stuo Civilization had ‘found’ that theoretically superior experimental device.

Yet, some kind of experimental facility for fundamental theoretical research was absolutely needed.

Then,

By bringing this matter and plan to Human Civilization now, Stuo Civilization essentially sought to share the risks.

Such enormous consumption of resources and effort was risky even for a civilization like Stuo Civilization.

Building the research facility together halved that risk for each.

Also, the research results gained from this facility were shared, but each civilization would still fully possess its own copy. That knowledge wouldn’t disappear.

This formed the basis for cooperation between the two civilizations.

For Human Civilization, the situation mirrored Stuo’s.

It was definitely better to build this device alongside Stuo Civilization than alone.

Making Stuo Civilization bear half the resource burden was a good choice for Human Civilization if proceeding with the project.

And passing up Stuo meant waiting who knows how long to find another willing partner on this level.

Then,

Only one last question remained: Could Stuo Civilization’s proposed fundamental theory research plan actually achieve the desired results?

“In past collaborations with other civilizations, Stuo Civilization also attempted to construct a more ‘efficient’ fundamental experimental device different from accelerator colliders. But that attempt failed,” Sies’s voice carried throughout the chamber.

“Stuo Civilization is willing to share with Human Civilization all prior research materials and data related to this topic. This information will form the foundation of our cooperative project in fundamental theoretical research.”

While Qin Yu and the heads of the Negentropy Research Institute teams pondered, Sies, leader of the Stuo delegation, continued speaking.

From this point, the sheer resilience of civilizations structured like Stuo was impressive.

They endured more than one failure in research of this scale without collapsing.

This highlighted the biggest risk of such massive research projects:

The massive investment over incredibly long periods could be wasted. Worse, a civilization’s progress in other vital areas often stalled during such projects, dragging the entire civilization down.

Stuo Civilization’s current proposal for fundamental theoretical research and their planned experimental facility…

To grasp its sheer, mind-boggling scale – Humanity’s previous large-scale development projects within the Solar System seemed grand enough.

Yet, they hadn’t drastically altered the Solar System’s overall matter distribution on a macro level.

Building the facility Stuo proposed?

Its construction process was highly likely to disturb the Solar System’s large-scale matter distribution patterns.

“Leader Sies, from my personal perspective, I acknowledge the value of the cooperative fundamental theory research Stuo Civilization proposes,” Qin Yu finally replied.

“I believe our two civilizations working together offers greater possibilities for achieving breakthroughs in fundamental theoretical research.”

From Humanity’s viewpoint, undertaking large-scale experiments in fundamental theory was necessary if its civilization were to advance further.

Sies and the other beings in the Stuo delegation remained silent and still.

The ultimate decision rested with Stuo Civilization’s Sacred Deciders. The delegation primarily served as messengers.

“However, as someone formerly engaged in physics research, I personally feel that…” Qin Yu paused slightly before continuing.

“…based on the construction blueprints Stuo Civilization provided for this experimental facility,…”

“…the device as outlined in the current plans remains… inadequate in scale.”

“I believe the device, built according to the current plan, might struggle to produce results achieving the research goals.”

Qin Yu too required experimental foundations for his insights during research.

He couldn’t see fundamental cosmic laws with his eyes, and his Super Brain couldn’t conjure knowledge from nothing.

But his Super Brain, combined with the current theoretical understanding of both civilizations,

allowed him to form reasonable predictions about experimental outcomes.

What he voiced to the Stuo delegation was a real, data-driven concern – insufficient scale meant insufficient results. He’d pondered similar questions before.

If Human Civilization truly committed to progressing this research with Stuo,

even sharing half the burden,

Qin Yu deeply desired success on the first attempt… Because even with him personally involved,

a failure in a mega-project of this magnitude would leave a civilization paralyzed for an unfathomably long time.

“Then, Academician Qin Yu, and the HCC’s position?”

“This specific viewpoint… will likely require some time before I can formally convey it.”

“But if Stuo Civilization acknowledges the need for an expanded construction plan for the experimental facility…”

“Time for both our civilizations to complete this project… may not be plentiful.”

Qin Yu paused again.

“If Stuo Civilization agrees, we must strive to complete this super project… within thirty years.”

He placed a strict, concrete time limit on the plan.

It was unclear how quickly the Stuo delegation grasped the significance of this deadline,

but instantly, among the heads of the Negentropy Research Institute teams, the realization hit like a shockwave.

Academician Qin Yu… simply didn’t have that much time left.

Though many subconsciously tried not to dwell on it,

there was no denying the fact: Qin Yu, in this life, was already over one hundred and forty years old.

With Qin Yu present,

this project consuming immense resource productivity could likely proceed smoothly.

But if Academician Qin Yu were gone…

Ensuring the smooth progression of this plan, preventing delays or unforeseen complications… became terrifyingly uncertain.