Chapter 79: Windfall from the Heavens
Chapter 79: Windfall from the Heavens
The course of history often moved forward through chance, or perhaps what appeared to be chance bound by necessity.
Beneath placid waters, events were always unfolding, much like Qin Yu’s current focus on turbulent flow.
It was unclear which whirlpool would ultimately disrupt the expected equilibrium,
causing history’s river, like matter experiencing entropy increase, to reach the limits of order and descend from predictability into chaos.
Year 280 of the Common Era,
On this day, an incident occurred at the Information Denoising Research Institute.
Within the institute’s crisis warning program,
the probability of human civilization facing imminent extinction or a doomsday crisis first abruptly jumped to 50%, then gradually receded, finally settling at 20%.
This “Doomsday Crisis Probability” was, in essence, symbolic.
It was the product of the Information Denoising Institute, tasked with crisis early warning, incorporating the Strong Artificial Intelligence from the Brain Intelligence Project into its doomsday crisis information alert system.
The Strong Artificial Intelligence would allocate some computational power to fulfill the Information Denoising Institute’s hopes for its crisis alert function:
it actively monitored, collected, received, and filtered information from across the globe that could potentially cause a crisis for human civilization, and then analyzed it.
By synthesizing all crisis information gathered up to that moment and considering all potential dangers, the Strong AI provided a real-time “Doomsday Crisis Probability” within the Information Denoising Research Institute.
Strictly speaking, this probability was also artificially set.
Therefore, the figure itself had no value for comparison against other things; its importance lay in comparing the current probability data against past probability data.
Since the creation of this symbolic “Doomsday Crisis Probability,”
the displayed probability of human civilization encountering imminent destruction at the Information Denoising Research Institute
had always fluctuated steadily around 1%. This didn’t mean human civilization actually had a one-in-a-hundred chance of annihilation in the next few days or years; it was merely a benchmark within the program.
During the rapid growth of the Intelligent Era, before controlled nuclear fusion became widely available,
this “Doomsday Probability” had briefly jumped to 2%, but had fallen back over the last couple of years.
Yet,
even if the probability itself wasn’t an absolute verdict,
the shift from 1% to 20% at this moment was very telling.
At the very least, it signified
that the Strong AI analyzed and judged the short-term threat to human civilization from a doomsday crisis and extinction to have significantly increased.
Therefore, naturally, the Information Denoising Institute’s crisis alert program directly sounded the alarm.
…
Immediately, Qin Yu, the head of the Negentropy Research Institute, and the Senior Leader, among others, were notified of the warning.
The Senior Leader and his group changed their plans and were already en route to the Negentropy Research Institute.
Qin Yu paused his own research and made his way to the Information Denoising Research Institute.
Such a sharp change in the “Doomsday Crisis Probability” naturally had a cause.
However, this time, the cause did not come from Earth.
It came from beyond.
“An extrasolar asteroid is approaching Earth directly.”
The Strong Artificial Intelligence from the Brain Intelligence Project, after receiving Qin Yu’s authorization,
accessed his bipedal robot. Through the robot’s speaker system,
it provided the main reason for the probability surge.
“This asteroid was observed by the Crater Valley observation installation on the Lunar Surface. The relevant data has already been transmitted back from the Lunar Surface to Earth.”
Large installations like the immense radio telescopes situated near the Lunar Base within craters, designed for deep-space observation and research,
also utilized intelligent programs in their operation. Therefore, the Strong AI, which also handled crisis information monitoring, possessed this data immediately.
Hearing this reason, Qin Yu was briefly dazed.
Over the past two hundred, nearly three hundred years,
Earth had been observed passing near a number of asteroids multiple times.
In several instances, the calculated probability of a collision had climbed to worrisome levels.
But thanks to several natural barriers protecting Earth within the Solar System, those asteroids ultimately never struck our planet.
This time, however, it seemed human civilization’s luck on this front had run out.
Logically and statistically, this seemed an inevitability.
Asteroid impacts had occurred on Earth before; there was no reason they would cease entirely.
Given how long Qin Yu had lived in this world, encountering such an event was only a matter of time.
The distinction lay in whether it happened when human civilization was capable of dealing with it easily, or before that point.
The Brain Intelligence Project’s Strong Artificial Intelligence
displayed the data on the observed asteroid on a screen for Qin Yu to examine.
First, comparing it to the asteroid believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs many years ago,
the threatening asteroid was much smaller in diameter, measuring only two kilometers across.
But, in terms of the threat it posed, the situation was precisely the opposite.
The reason lay in its extraordinary velocity.
Currently measured at 0.008 times the speed of light – approximately 2,400 kilometers per second –
it surpassed the speed of any asteroid observed by human civilization since the inception of the technological era.
Furthermore, judging from the data available,
its composition also seemed problematically dense. Its core was likely not the usual rocky composition;
a large portion seemed to be composed of various metal alloys.
Indeed, based on its mass, a significant part of this two-kilometer wide asteroid could potentially be gold.
Had it approached Earth at any other velocity, in any other state,
it would have represented a genuine windfall from the heavens for human civilization.
But encountering such a “windfall” in these circumstances made one wonder if the universe itself possessed an overly “dark sense of humor.”
“Academician Qin, based on current observations and calculations, the probability of this asteroid colliding with Earth exceeds 99%.”
“The collision event will occur in 19 months.”
“Mmm, understood.”
After acknowledging, Qin Yu meticulously reviewed the current asteroid data on screen and fell silent for a moment.
A 99% collision probability meant a certain impact, given its current trajectory.
And the impact in just 19 months, coupled with such a late discovery,
was directly attributable to the asteroid’s incredible speed.
Comparing its speed to that of other near-Earth asteroids,
it became apparent that this object was currently still quite distant from Earth.
We were able to detect the trace of this asteroid at this moment.
Apart from its relatively large mass,
it was also due to the observation devices built on the Lunar Surface.
Otherwise,
it might have been later that we could catch its trace.
When Qin Yu arrived at the Information Denoising Research Institute,
even though this crisis information was temporarily kept secret in a certain way,
but inside the Information Denoising Research Institute, of course, some core Researchers had already known it.
A group of core Researchers who learned the information,
at the very first moment, emotions like worry and fear had not come up yet.
Mostly, they just looked at each other without words, not knowing what to say at that time.
…
About only two hours later,
that Senior Leader had already arrived at the Negentropy Research Institute’s Information Denoising Research Institute using this era’s fast transportation system.
At such a critical time, some small talk was skipped.
Qin Yu directly handed the more detailed document files to this Senior Leader.
Even though he had learned some basics on the way here,
at this moment, the Senior Leader still looked through it again.
Even if the Senior Leader was not a scholar in the related field,
just the data listed in the files
were enough to make any ordinary person realize how serious this Asteroid 2801 crash crisis is.
Every piece of data about this asteroid
almost showed the huge destruction it could cause after hitting Earth.
“Academician Qin Yu, could you please tell me more directly and clearly what will happen when this asteroid collides with the ground?”
Qin Yu heard the Senior Leader’s words, thought for a moment, and then spoke briefly,
“According to the current path of Asteroid 2801, it will hit Earth head-on.”
“In terms of energy release, it is probably many dozens of times bigger than the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs long ago.”
“When entering the atmosphere, its rough rubbing will quickly heat up the whole world, cause global fires, and make oxygen in the air drop a lot.”
“When it hits the ground, it will make a crater about hundreds of kilometers wide right away; the explosive wave will destroy all plants, buildings, and life within thousands of kilometers around the crater.”
“In some areas, the ground will turn into lava; very strong earthquakes will happen everywhere, volcanoes will blow up, the air will be totally changed; some broken pieces will fly fast enough to escape into the Geosynchronous Orbit.”
“The huge energy release might cause big moves in land plates under the sea, changing the whole surface setting… the air environment will no longer be good for humans to live.”
“…From a chain of reactions, all living things on the land, animals and plants, will mostly die out very fast; the ecosystem and food chains will totally fall apart… there’s a chance Earth could turn from a life planet into a ‘dead star’ without any life.”
After Qin Yu finished talking, this Senior Leader also went silent.
Compared to the “mildness” of the past 236 Algae Spread Crisis,
the threat from this Asteroid 2801 crash, named for now, was much more violent without doubt.
There was no confusing stuff; plainly, it was extreme, over-the-top energy release.
An asteroid crashes and breaks Earth’s surface to bits.
And with the surface fully ruined, ecosystems and air all destroyed, all animals and plants all dead,
what about Human Civilization?
It was no surprise that the crisis warning program in the Information Denoising Research Institute suddenly raised the chance of Human Civilization facing Doomsday soon.
Because, this truly was a huge crisis for Human Civilization.
It could even be said that, even as a Doomsday Crisis, this Asteroid 2801 crash was way more serious than the algae spread crisis before.
The destruction of Asteroid 2801 hitting Earth was far too extreme.
“Academician Qin, is there any way?”
After being silent for a while, this Senior Leader asked again just like that.
Qin Yu gave no answer right away.
In those last ten-plus years, after Human Civilization entered the Intelligent Era, productivity had been growing fast.
People themselves could feel the quick changes of the whole civilization and society.
They felt the whole civilization growing and getting stronger.
But now, when the universe stopped being so gentle to Human Civilization,
maybe we suddenly saw that,
compared to the universe itself, the growth of Human Civilization over these years was still tiny, almost too small to see.
“With our current technical levels, the chance to directly stop this asteroid from hitting Earth is pretty low.”
Qin Yu gave this answer.
“Most of the weapons we have now probably can’t get close to Asteroid 2801 moving at 0.8 percent of light speed.”
Qin Yu’s words might have been too soft sometimes,
in truth, except for Laser Weapons, Human Civilization had no weapons that could hit Asteroid 2801 at all.
And even if they could hit, the power of current Human Civilization’s weapons is like a small itch to this big asteroid.
Under its scary moving energy, stopping it from coming close isn’t really possible.
And clearly,
this Senior Leader understood Qin Yu’s point and was quiet again.
But Qin Yu looked at the Senior Leader and went on to say,
“Though, under the threat of the Asteroid 2801 crash, Human Civilization going totally extinct should not happen either.”
Even if, after entering the Intelligent Era,
the growth over these years wasn’t enough for Human Civilization to directly solve an asteroid coming at Earth,
it didn’t mean that growth had no point.
In fact, facing such a devastating crisis, one that could end it all,
the total survival ability of Human Civilization was a lot stronger than before.
So, his biggest fear, Human Civilization dying out completely,
definitely wouldn’t occur this time.
This was Qin Yu’s quick judgment after seeing this asteroid crash crisis.
Even because Human Civilization had gone into the Intelligent Era,
the whole industry production system was run by Strong Artificial Intelligence.
As long as the data for the whole industry system stored in different Computing Power Towers are moved early on,
after this huge crisis, Human Civilization won’t even drop in tech level.
With Strong Artificial Intelligence and Human Reproduction Devices, in just ten-plus years,
Human Civilization could likely return to its earlier industry size and whole amount.
This Doomsday Crisis would wound Human Civilization overall,
but it falls far short of wiping out Human Civilization,
only,
during this Doomsday Crisis, Human Civilization will for sure lose many people.
“I get it.”
Hearing Qin Yu’s words, this Senior Leader nodded,
finally let out a long sigh,
“Academician Qin, you are an expert in many areas; fighting doomsday and keeping civilization going has always been the Negentropy Research Institute’s special field.”
“In the old 236 Algae Spread Crisis, the Negentropy Research Institute once made big contributions.”
“What do you think we should do now?”
“The Negentropy Research Institute will keep tracking the case of Asteroid 2801… for the rest, it might be to help as many people as possible to survive this Doomsday Crisis.”
“Reduce the damage this Doomsday Crisis does to us.”
In the small meeting room,
it was no longer just Qin Yu and this Senior Leader talking alone.
After confirming key matters from Qin Yu,
on the Senior Leader’s side and the Negentropy Research Institute’s side, more people joined this talk about Human Civilization’s Doomsday Crisis.
They discussed details on what to do next against the possible doomsday of Human Civilization.
Under the Doomsday Crisis, many things going on inside Human Civilization need to change.
The old path of Human Civilization’s history had to suddenly shift here.