Chapter 89: The Slight Deviation of Fate’s Trajectory

The high-power laser weapon, driven by a Helium-3 fusion reactor,

under the best conditions and with very little room for error, had finished building and firing the laser,

but that did not guarantee it would actually hit.

Even though before this, Qin Yu led the team of researchers at the Negentropy Research Institute, working hard on the plan and overcoming many big challenges,

it only raised the chance of success for the whole high-power laser project to stop Asteroid 2801 a little bit.

At this point, after the laser weapon fired, the chance it would hit the target spot on Asteroid 2801 was still not high.

Right then, people had only gotten a high-power laser weapon that could work on Asteroid 2801,

but at the current distance, and with how fast Asteroid 2801 was moving in space,

actually hitting Asteroid 2801 with the laser was an extremely tough thing to do.

The lunar surface laser weapon would fire for thirty seconds each time.

The fired laser moved toward Asteroid 2801 at light speed; only after ten hours would it really get close to the moving Asteroid 2801.

Then after twenty hours, people could know if Asteroid 2801 was hit by the lunar surface laser weapon and did what they wanted it to do.

Asteroid 2801’s path and speed as it neared Earth were steady enough to make hitting it with the lunar surface laser weapon possible in theory,

but the truth was, the room for error was very, very small.

For the whole lunar surface laser weapon, leaving out the Helium-3 fusion reactor part,

when such high-power laser was fired, the energy it let out was too huge,

so the whole thing would not last long at all.

Being hopeful, the lunar surface laser weapon could fire four times, with each firing lasting thirty seconds.

Being less hopeful, maybe after just three times, it would be badly damaged, and that could not be fixed quickly by swapping simple parts.

Really,

human civilization was facing the threat of the Asteroid 2801 Impact Crisis at that moment,

and the biggest problem was how pressed for time they were.

If they had more time, letting human civilization take in all the fast changes from things like the Intelligent Era arriving, computing power technology, strong artificial intelligence, Helium-3 fusion working, and superconductor material tech breakthroughs,

human civilization would have stepped into a Type I Civilization, or even better.

Then even Asteroid 2801 might not be a threat anymore—there would be no need for all the steps now, as stronger laser weapons, or even a laser weapon group, could just destroy Asteroid 2801.

But sadly, how it really was, time was too tight, way too tight.

A crisis does not usually wait for a civilization to be ready before it comes.

…

The laser from the Hope laser device on the lunar surface was fired for the first time and kept going for thirty seconds before it stopped.

Everything around near-Earth space stayed quiet just as before.

At that very first moment, people could tell the Hope laser device had fired, but they could not know the outcome yet.

The strong artificial intelligence, as planned before, after the lunarn Hope laser device finished its first firing,

set up intelligent machinery itself, which then took over some parts inside the Hope laser device and began a full self-check of it.

Even though they were not sure if firing the Hope laser device this time had done what they wanted and made the plan work,

they naturally needed to use the next twenty-plus hours, while waiting for the result, to get ready for the next firing.

Qin Yu lifted his head and fixed his eyes on all the data from the instant the Hope laser device fired, pausing his stare for a while.

Over the years, his smarts had grown a lot.

But just now, with what they knew, he could not say for sure if the laser fired from the Hope laser device would hit the mark ten hours later.

Because this was not about cleverness anymore—

more than that, it might just come down to luck.

Right then, in the ground command hall,

the group of researchers, plus the Senior Leader and those with him,

also stared for a long while at the images and data beamed back from the lunar surface—from the last moment before the Hope laser device fired.

They knew they could not see the result right away.

Also, instruments including crater observation devices on the lunar surface and ones on the ground

kept tracking Asteroid 2801’s path.

Even if they saw tiny changes in how Asteroid 2801 moved in the near future,

they still could not change the path of the laser the Hope laser device had already fired.

But at least it helped a bit for the next time the Hope laser device fired.

Plus, from the new asteroid movement they watched later on,

the closer things got to the end of those twenty-plus hours, the easier it was to know if the laser would hit Asteroid 2801.

The aim point for the laser, once fired, was based on earlier guesses of Asteroid 2801’s path.

If Asteroid 2801’s path later moved just a little off from that guess,

then hitting it simply became impossible.

…

For the next twenty-plus hours,

the mood around the Negentropy Research Institute felt heavy for sure.

Researchers who had worked on the Hope laser device and the early studies before it

barely took any breaks.

Just staring at it all day would not make any difference, but at this point, most researchers could not easily fall asleep either.

Qin Yu himself did not need sleep to begin with,

so for those twenty hours or so, he just stayed awake the whole time.

And as time went by,

just as expected, things got clearer the nearer it got to the end of the hours.

When it was nineteen hours after the Hope laser device fired the laser,

the group of key researchers there felt more down.

The strong artificial intelligence added up all the latest data and gave the odds of a laser hit as two ten-thousandths.

And as more time passed, the odds dropped lower and lower.

Once the expected time of about twenty hours was up,

just as guessed,

the first firing of the Hope laser device failed to hit the target—it missed.

None of the watching devices saw any effect at all on Asteroid 2801.

By looking at the data from when the Hope laser device first fired and what they saw now about Asteroid 2801,

The first activation of the Hope laser device had very little deviation in each parameter from the actual values.

But there was no way. At a distance of over ten light-hours, any slight movement of the target would make the laser fired from the Hope vessel miss its mark.

Academician Qin Yu felt fairly calm about this outcome.

As for disappointment, he naturally felt a little.

But he understood deeply that the success of hitting the intended target on the very first try with the Hope laser device was a low-probability event.

In fact, it was even more likely that multiple attempts with the Hope vessel would fail than that a single one would succeed.

“Academician Qin, it seems our luck isn’t that good,” the Senior Leader said beside him with considerable poise, offering a light smile after a moment.

“Let’s try again.”

Academician Qin nodded and gave the command once more.

A Strong Artificial Intelligence coordinated the activation of the Hope laser device again,

adjusting the parameters based on over twenty hours of observation data.

Following its calculations, the Strong Artificial Intelligence triggered the Hope laser device at the precise moment.

This activation lasted thirty seconds, same as before.

Then came another twenty-plus hours of waiting.

During these next twenty hours,

it was no problem for Academician Qin since he didn’t need sleep,

but many others in the room, tensed and anxious, simply couldn’t handle it physically after the first long stretch.

The Senior Leader had to leave the Negentropy Research Institute to deal with some matters.

As for the core researchers in the command hall,

most collapsed in exhaustion right there—leaning on chairs or desks, slipping into heavy sleep.

They were only awakened by cheers growing from faint to loud.

Many who woke up from this deep sleep

were a bit confused at first.

But once they snapped back, they grabbed the excited people nearby asking, their voices hoarse,

“Did it succeed? Was it a success? Tell me! Did it work?”

“It succeeded! The Hope vessel’s second activation successfully hit the target!”

Upon hearing this good news,

they woke up fully, even though a second ago they were groggy and tired,

and joined the cheering, excited crowd.

In this Doomsday Crisis, hope was the most precious thing,

and now, the efforts and results from the Negentropy Research Institute

would preserve some of that hope for Earth.

Academician Qin Yu was still there.

Watching the thrilled, cheering crowd, he too smiled again.

Perhaps because it was confirmed early that Human Civilization wouldn’t be completely wiped out in this crisis,

or because the success of this High-Power Laser Weapon plan couldn’t change the fact that Asteroid 2801 would still collide with Earth,

it definitely didn’t mean the work at the Negentropy Research Institute was meaningless.

The difference between Earth’s entire ecosystem being totally destroyed and being ruined to just 99%

might appear small but was fundamentally different.

If before, the Underground Shelter City project ensured human survival through the end of the world,

now the High-Power Laser Weapon plan offered a chance to save bits of Human Civilization’s home and bring new possibilities.

“Academician Qin, it seems our luck isn’t that poor after all,”

said the Senior Leader, who had rushed back to the Negentropy Research Institute shortly before this laser result came out

to wait alongside other researchers.

Facing the cheers of the institute, he finally exhaled deeply and spoke with a smile.

At that moment,

the Strong Artificial Intelligence from the Brain Intelligence Project

used current data to predict Asteroid 2801’s new path.

As planned,

it would still collide with Earth but at a shifted point,

reducing the energy released on impact significantly.

On announcing this,

the cheers in the command hall grew louder.

…

Previously, the Laser Weapon plan hadn’t been made public to avoid spreading false hope.

But with this success,

it was finally announced.

Of course,

to prevent unrealistic expectations that the Doomsday Crisis was over,

Huaxin News Agency clearly stated in their approved report:

“Asteroid 2801 collision is unavoidable, and the Doomsday Crisis for Human Civilization remains…

But shifting the impact location will greatly lower energy release and increase the slim chance for ecological remnants to survive.”

“Recently, under the efforts of Academician Qin Yu and his team at the Negentropy Research Institute, the High-Power Laser Weapon built on the Lunar Surface successfully struck Asteroid 2801.”

“This is a miracle from countless Researchers’ hard work…

Though it doesn’t end the crisis directly, it allows ecosystems a slight chance to endure.”

To people already in or guaranteed entry to an Underground Shelter City,

this news brought relief about quicker recovery of environments post-crisis

and a faster return above ground.

For those still on the surface or without entry to such cities,

it meant little,

since they’d never see the after-world.

Some elders who voluntarily skipped Underground Shelter spots

took it well, finding some joy:

“I dug a pit in my yard and buried some seeds. If the crisis ends early, you might see flowers bloom from the past when you return?”

“I think it’s fine too. Most of us up here probably won’t survive, but tough creatures might live on?”

The internet buzzed warmly with this.

…

For the whole Asteroid 2801 crisis,

this small interference through a High-Power Laser Weapon was just a side story.

Time rolled on to February of year 282.

The Lunar New Year had just passed,

with under two months left before Asteroid 2801 hit Earth.

Based on its observed path and speed,

the collision would occur mid-March of 282.

By then,

the Negentropy Research Institute had to evacuate into an Underground Shelter City.

As the core hub of Human Civilization’s top Researchers,

losing them in the crisis would be a massive blow.

To ensure safety, they didn’t wait until the last minute to leave.

From a distance standpoint,

moving entirely to Lingchuan Underground Shelter City made sense,

but as worst-case planning,

they split the institute’s researchers into groups across different cities to avoid total loss.

As head of the institute,

Academician Qin Yu wasn’t bothered personally,

but others strongly insisted on protecting him, including the Senior Leader.

Once most evacuations were done,

Academician Qin would enter Lingchuan Underground Shelter City.

Before that,

the Senior Leader he knew so well visited again

for a chat and farewell that lasted hours,

covering aspects of the Negentropy Research Institute and beyond.