Chapter 84: A Possibility of Limited Value
Chapter 84: A Possibility of Limited Value
December, Year 280.
Thanks to Qin Yu’s complete dedication,
the Helium-3 fusion research that had been ongoing for some time finally showed signs of progress.
Before making a breakthrough in material technology, Qin Yu first found a key advancement in the study of Turbulence Theory.
He developed a new, more complete theoretical framework for turbulence,
much like how he had first introduced the foundational theory for General Artificial Intelligence.
Using this Turbulence Theory, leveraging the Strong Artificial Intelligence from the Brain Intelligence Project, and utilizing computing power from some Computing Power Towers,
Qin Yu identified a turbulence model better suited for Helium-3 fusion reactors. This model promised more effective and precise control over the Plasma within the fusion reactor.
Building on this, a fusion test reactor was quickly constructed for experimental verification.
The experimental data confirmed this, proving Qin Yu’s theoretical predictions.
This meant that
the challenge of Helium-3 fusion was half-solved; only the material issues remained.
It was at this moment
that the Senior Leader, despite his busy schedule, immediately visited the Negentropy Research Institute (NRI) once again.
Though not solely because of Helium-3 fusion, it wasn’t entirely unrelated either.
…
Inside a meeting room at the Negentropy Research Institute,
the Senior Leader was carefully reviewing a report Qin Yu had handed him.
The report contained extensive data,
which the Senior Leader, not being a specialized Researcher in the field, didn’t fully grasp.
But the conclusion of the report was something he understood clearly.
“Huff… Academician Qin, are you saying it’s possible that we might be able to influence Asteroid 2801’s trajectory?”
The Senior Leader started to put the report down but stopped and kept holding it,
then looked at Qin Yu. He let out a long sigh before posing this question.
“There’s a theoretical possibility, but it won’t avoid the collision in the end.”
Qin Yu stated the final assessment directly, based on the report’s content.
Over the past few months,
while the collision of Asteroid 2801 with the Earth had become an established fact,
neither Qin Yu himself, the relevant Researchers at the NRI, nor any of the research teams
had actually given up studying Asteroid 2801, searching for ways and possibilities to change the outcome.
As Asteroid 2801 continued its approach these months,
information gathered through various observation devices during its tracking increased.
This abundance of data did present Qin Yu with a new possibility.
In fact, this matter was closely connected to the Helium-3 fusion research.
“Please explain it simply, Academician Qin.”
“In simple terms: using a high-power Laser Weapon, strike a specific point on Asteroid 2801. The energy released by the weapon would exert a small, targeted push on the asteroid, slightly altering its course.”
Qin Yu described briefly.
“Currently, Laser Weapons are our only feasible means of hitting the asteroid. Right now, the trajectory and speed of Asteroid 2801 are very stable and predictable. This means that with precise calculation, hitting it in space is possible.”
“However, limitations in current Laser Weapon technology mean we have to wait until Asteroid 2801 gets much closer to Earth before we can attempt such a strike.”
“Similarly, due to the technical constraints of our Laser Weapons, the amount of force we can actually transfer to the asteroid is extremely small. Even by targeting a specific location using existing features on Asteroid 2801’s surface won’t change this fact. By the time of impact, it will be too close to Earth; this weak nudge won’t be enough to prevent the collision.”
Asteroid 2801’s immense speed meant that by the time it was detected, there wasn’t much time left before impact.
It was easy to overlook that at its current actual distance from Earth, executing this laser plan effectively was nearly impossible.
“In other words, theoretically, we might be able to influence Asteroid 2801 somewhat, but we cannot change the fact that it will still collide with Earth. It might just reduce the destructive power slightly.”
Qin Yu added.
This was ultimately a simple and straightforward plan.
The reason it was only brought up now was clearly because of some other complicating factors.
Hearing Qin Yu’s explanation, the Senior Leader contemplated before continuing,
“And if we succeed in reducing the impact force… what would the optimistic result look like?”
“In an ideal scenario, Asteroid 2801 wouldn’t hit Earth head-on, but rather ‘graze’ past it. A partial impact would still occur, but the total energy released would be less than before.”
“If an unaltered collision would cause the extinction of almost all life on the surface, then applying the laser plan might… reduce the extinction rate to about ninety-nine percent.”
“It would significantly aid our later efforts to restore Earth’s ecosystem and atmospheric conditions.”
Qin Yu’s point was clear: even if the plan succeeded, the surface would still face near-apocalyptic devastation—just perhaps slightly less complete annihilation.
Conversely, for people sheltering in Underground Shelter Cities, their relative safety would be marginally improved.
“I understand, Academician Qin.”
The Senior Leader nodded, then asked directly,
“So, Academician Qin, what’s the main difficulty with this plan?”
“Our current Laser Weapons lack sufficient power. The entire laser-based plan I described earlier isn’t based on what we have now, but on achieving the theoretical maximum potential power of Laser Weapons we could develop.”
In other words, achieving this plan required creating such an idealized, maximum-power Laser Weapon.
Currently, that weapon didn’t exist, and the state of the technology needed to create it was far from ideal.
The Senior Leader understood and looked at Qin Yu, waiting for the details.
“We would need to build an unprecedented, giant Laser Weapon on the Lunar Surface. And then, we’d need a powerful enough energy system to support its immense power requirement.”
“Can’t our existing Controlled Nuclear Fusion Reactors provide that support?”
“Given the massive scale of current Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Reactors, constructing one on the moon would be extremely difficult.”
“Some advancements in Turbulence Theory might allow us to shrink the size of these giant Deuterium-Tritium reactors a bit, but with current transport capabilities across the Earth-Moon distance, the pressure remains immense.”
“Furthermore, the Deuterium-Tritium reactors also fall short in terms of the energy power they could provide.”
The current Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Reactors were massive, spanning several stadiums and towering over two hundred meters tall.
Their widespread construction relied entirely on the era’s formidable industrial output.
A rough estimate quickly showed that a single such reactor could weigh tens of millions of tons.
Even ignoring the volume of individual components,
the sheer weight alone, transported by rockets with a mere 200-ton payload capacity per trip to the moon, would require a staggering number of launches.
“Even if we tried to brute-force this logistical nightmare using sheer production capacity – employing vast numbers of rockets to assemble a Deuterium-Tritium reactor on the moon – consuming so much capacity would likely delay the construction of planned Underground Shelter Cities. It wouldn’t be worth the cost.”
Listening to Qin Yu, the Senior Leader nodded. By this point, he understood where the core dependency of this plan lay.
“So?”
“This plan relies entirely on the successful development of the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor.”
“In the original plan, the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor was more compact and smaller than the current Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Reactor.”
“Plus, according to calculations, the energy from a single Helium-3 Fusion Reactor could power this ideal Laser Weapon.”
“In that case, Academician Qin, you all face huge pressure. Is it possible to finish developing the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor in less than fifteen months?”
Listening to the Senior Leader, Qin Yu didn’t make big promises. Research itself is full of uncertainty.
Helium-3 Fusion research is incredibly difficult.
Though they had solved one key problem, the whole Helium-3 Fusion Reactor was a huge system with many issues still needing work.
Qin Yu could only promise they would try their best.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Yu told the Senior Leader,
“We can only attempt it, without holding too many expectations. Timewise, we might skip the ground-based test run for the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor. Instead, we could directly build and run the very first one on the Lunar Surface. If successful, this first Helium-3 Fusion Reactor would power the Laser Weapon. If it fails… it just fails. There likely won’t be enough time left for a second construction or another try.”
Essentially, Qin Yu wanted them to take a shot, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. Succeeding would be great, but failure was a real possibility. Failure wouldn’t change much; things would stay as they were. Attempting this under such tight deadlines was only possible now, in the Intelligent Era.
Before the Intelligent Era, such an attempt would be unthinkable.
Even though Qin Yu, using his ‘Super Brain,’ had overcome some challenges in Helium-3 Fusion technology,
human civilization wouldn’t have had the time in that short span to build the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor on the moon.
It was only in this Intelligent Era, with sufficient production capacity, that trying this became feasible.
“Alright, Academician Qin, we certainly support your plan.”
“But, as you said, success here relies on everything going perfectly according to plan. We won’t demand this attempt must succeed. So, you and the Researchers at the Negentropy Research Institute, and the other teams, don’t need to feel too burdened.”
“Honestly, we never really thought we could do much about the impact of Asteroid 2801. Even if the deflection plan didn’t work, it wouldn’t stop Human Civilization from continuing through this Doomsday Crisis, this doomsday disaster.”
The Senior Leader stood up again, extending his hand. He shook Qin Yu’s hand, showing his support for Qin Yu and the Negentropy Research Institute.
Qin Yu nodded, not saying anything.
For Qin Yu, this was just an attempt.
Because even if it succeeded and had some minor effect on Asteroid 2801 hitting Earth,
it wouldn’t really change the harsh fact:
at that point, those still on the surface would have basically no chance of surviving.
Whether this plan succeeded or not only affected how long it would take afterward for humans to restore Earth’s ecosystem and make the surface habitable again.
…
Time
quickly moved to February of the following year.
Six months had passed.
The first group of Underground Refuge Cities had completed opening up their main volumes and constructing their core support structures.
However, for these cities, the ‘internal outfitting’ job was far larger than just finishing the main structures.
This ‘internal outfitting’ meant turning the newly opened underground spaces into fully functional refuge cities.
First priority: making the inside meet the basic conditions for human survival.
This sounded simple, but deep underground in these essentially closed-off spaces, it was quite complex.
From room temperature to the mix of air, they needed people to design, tweak, and run a whole life-support system to keep things running.
Luckily, Human Civilization had Controlled Nuclear Fusion Reactors. They provided the huge energy needed to keep these complicated systems running for a long time.
They also had Intelligent Programs and Strong Artificial Intelligence to help manage this work.
Then, after the basic environment was set up,
it was time to move industrial facilities and workshops underground and get them running.
Besides sheltering people, holding lots of industrial facilities and workshops was a key job for these refuge cities.
These workshops would be vital for keeping Human Civilization going underground.
They were also the foundation for humans to get back to the surface quickly after the disaster.
On top of that, huge amounts of basic supplies needed to be moved into storage inside the cities.
However,
during this process, one organization within the Negentropy Research Institute moved into the first wave of refuge cities very early on.
This was the Doomsday Gene Bank.
A place founded by Qin Yu, created specifically for the apocalypse.
The Doomsday Gene Bank stored the genes, embryos, and seeds of almost every living thing humans had ever found.
This included human genes.
Every year, when new species were discovered, the bank specifically collected and saved their seeds and genes.
The 236 Algae, which caused humanity’s first Doomsday Crisis long ago, was stored there too.
Projects researched earlier at Research Institute 011 in the field of biology also had backups kept here, like the first Yu-type Bacteria.
Also stored inside were some Human Reproduction Devices.
After the Intelligent Era began, the Doomsday Gene Bank connected to the Intelligent Programs, linked to the Strong Artificial Intelligence.
In theory,
if Human Civilization ever actually died out, the Strong AI would activate the Doomsday Gene Bank and restart civilization.
The other knowledge, data on how to build things, stored inside its Computing Power Tower would let Human Civilization make a swift comeback in a very short time.
This was another layer of insurance added by Qin Yu, this ‘patient’ with Apocalypse Anxiety.
As long as something didn’t wipe out humans and all their factories instantly,
Human Civilization could eventually spring back to life on Earth.
During the same period,
while work on the Underground Refuge Cities moved ahead,
Qin Yu naturally focused his main energy on materials research.
Using some of the power from the Computing Power Tower and starting from Computational Materials Science,
he conducted some attempts.
Thirteen months until Asteroid 2801 impact.
That month, Human Civilization remained busy, urgently preparing for the end.