Age of Cosmic Exploration, 1

by Zhttty

  The superhuman state came with its own complications though. The exertion it had on one’s physical and mental vigor was astronomical. It was enervating. As if proving the point, Yao Yuan spotted out of the corner of his eye both Jay and Zhang Heng soundly asleep. He envied them deeply because his short nap barely helped. What he wouldn’t give to lie down there and enjoy a restful sleep.

  But he knew it was not the time for sleep.

  He could hear the sound of rejoice echoing through the Hope. But for Yao Yuan, it belied people’s desperate need for safety and stability. And at the moment, the Hope was everything they had.

  Yao Yuan could almost pick out the thread of worry weaving through the cheers because he of all people knew that the Hope’s excursion to Planet Sahara was not without its heavy price!

  For one, they had lost an incredible amount of energy. The amount of energy that had been drained was massive enough to support almost two space warps!

  For another, they had not found any radioactive minerals on the planet. Yao Yuan suspected that these had all already been converted into energy crystals by the plants. All in all, humanity came off worse from the ordeal…

  Based on initial reports, the Hope had enough energy left for one more space warp.

  Even if they decided to go on with the space warp, the numbers were definitely not on their side!

  To have the first warp land within a solar system system with a terrestrial planet was already in itself bordering impossibility and the chance of continuing that streak was… indescribably small!

  To give the Hope a fighting chance, Yao Yuan had to know exactly how much energy the ship had left. He also needed to have a meeting with the Academy to figure out whether it was possible to unlock the energy crystals found within the plants, and to use them as fuel for the Hope.

  With these missions in mind, Yao Yuan steeled his determination as he dragged his bandaged body out of bed.

  At that moment, a few lieutenants rushed into the room. They were led by Liu Bai, who, right after stepping into the room, knelt before Yao Yuan to give him a cursory check. "I’m glad that you’re doing fine, Ol’ Cap’n… By the way, what is your next course of action regarding the capsule of energy crystal you brought back with you? None of us dared to move it without your orders, so it has been left sitting beside the broken shuttle. The scientists have been notified of this, so what’s the plan?"

  "Energy crystal?" questioned Yao Yuan. He recalled the baggage that he had grasped before falling. He originally thought it housed some sort of mineral.

  "The crystal itself should be quite stable. If not, it would have exploded during the tumble… But to be safe, keep it out of the civilians’ reach. For all we know, it could be highly radioactive. Let the scientists do their analysis first."

  Nodding his head, Liu Bai added earnestly, "Yes, sir… Ol’ Cap’n, the doctor told me of your request. I believe you should take a longer rest; God knows you deserve it."

  Yao Yuan only laughed wryly. Other than the few scientists who were directly responsible for the Hope’s store of energy, Yao Yuan had told no one about the spaceship’s dangerously low energy level. He had been trying to breach the topic with the Black Star Unit, but he couldn’t do it with so many unrelated personnel in hearing range. He didn’t want to sow the seeds of panic.

  Ten minutes later, Yao Yuan was already in central command, having a video meeting with the few selected scientists.

  "Major, the Hope’s current energy level has been calculated… We are relatively confident that it can still support one more space warp. After that, the remaining energy could keep the Hope running for another 25 days, give or take five days," said a frowning scientist as he glossed over his report.

  Yao Yuan guzzled down the tea that someone handed him before replying, "How about solar energy? Hasn’t the Hope been using its solar panels to gather solar energy?"

  Another scientist interjected to pan the idea. "I’m sorry, Major, but that won’t work. The level of energy the Hope uses is too high to be supported by solar energy. Even if we transfer all the solar energy away from the biomes, it can only supplement a third of the ship’s total energy consumption. However, due to the importance of the biomes, we really shouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary."

  Yao Yuan lowered his head to think. After a minute, he asked, "How about the desert planet? Now that the heart of the plant has been vanquished, couldn’t we issue another landing to search for radioactive minerals or to salvage them from the dead plants?"

  A cloud of gloom eclipsed the faces of the scientists on the screen. One of them finally said, "That would not be possible… Major, we are sorry to report, but I’m afraid that what you destroyed is only a single heart of the plants."

  "A single heart of the plants? What do you mean?" Yao Yuan demanded.

  The scientist turned to whisper to one of his interns that were standing by. After a few seconds, a window appeared on screen. It showed the map of Planet Sahara. Circling a spot, the scientist explained, "Major, this area is around where the Hope landed. As you can see, as big as the Hope may be, it occupies only a small space when viewed in relation to the whole planet’s land mass. However, it didn’t take long for the plants to get attached to the Hope. This could only mean that the heart for this particular set of plants wasn’t that far away from us. If we take into account the size of the heart that we saw and the size of this planet, we can safely speculate that there are almost forty hearts occupying this planet. They are evenly spread across Planet Sahara, and it was rather fortunate for us to stumble into only one of them…"

  The more Yao Yuan looked at the graphs and statistics on screen, the more he was convinced of the scientist’s argument. If there really was only one heart, then it meant that they had been extremely unlucky to have landed within its gathering zone. The odds of that happening had also been calculated, it was one over forty… It was not an odd Yao Yuan favored.

  In other words, the biggest possibility was that the planet housed more such plant hearts.

  "Major, this is why we are incredibly adamant against another landing. This is a chance that we are unwilling to take. We can’t afford to have any more energy drained…" the scientist offered despairingly.

  Gritting his teeth, Yao Yuan sat brooding. Finally, he sighed. "I understand. We can’t gamble with the lives of 120000 people. But space warping is also a risk, a bigger risk in fact… Then again, since we can’t land on this planet, how about other planets in this solar system? Have there been any other discoveries?"

  An astronomer stepped forth to answer. "Major, we have managed to detect six more planets in this solar system. Three of them are terrestrial planets and the other three are gas giants. But regretfully, getting to the nearest terrestrial planet will take at least one month. The furthest planet requires us to travel for almost a year before we can reach it… In conclusion, they are all too far from where we are. Other than the space warp technology, the rest of the Hope is equipped with Earth’s technology. We still aren’t advanced enough to be able to cross great distances in a short span of time."

  "Is that so?"

  Yao Yuan closed his eyes. After a while, his head dipped. He remained still for so long that the people around him thought that he had accidentally fallen asleep. Suddenly, he said, with a pained expression, "Then do the space warp. We can’t afford to waste more time staying put. We have tried our best and so we shall leave it all to God. May he smile upon us… We will prepare for the space warp in an hour. In the meantime, Lieutenant Wong will be the acting captain. It is instrumental to save every single ounce of energy possible because we have to be prepared for all situations…"

  Yao Yuan’s voice slowed before finally tailing off as he slipped into slumber…

  Everyone else who was present gazed silently at their leader’s sleeping profile. This was a man who had saved the lives of 120000 people twice; once on Earth and once on Planet Sahara. In the eyes o
f these men and women shone immeasurable respect and reverence.

  The scientists ended the video meeting and then everyone started retreating quietly out of the room. Central command descended into a pool of silence with the exception of Yao Yuan’s light snoring and the pitter-patter of receding footsteps…

  For the people that left the room, their hearts were as heavy as their footsteps.

  They had survived a supposedly doomed planet, a miraculous space warp, and an industrialized plant species, but what would their future hold? How much longer would this journey be?

  No one truly knew…

  An hour later, the Hope blinked out of this starry solar system, erasing all traces of its existence. It was as if it had never really been there…

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  Chapter45 A Cradle of Stars

  It was the deepest sleep Yao Yuan had had in a long time. He dreamt of a great many things.

  From his childhood years to his new recruit days, from mundane paperwork to dangerous gunfights. Finally, he dreamt of her…

  "You silly oaf, promise me you’ll stay alive. No matter how tired you might be, you are not allowed to surrender. The most I’m willing to allow is a short nap, like the one you’re taking right now…"

  "But… I’m so tired."

  "I know… but you can’t give up. You are not only my hope, but the hope of a lot more people, so don’t give up, don’t let these people’s hope die with you…"

  "I promise you, but please don’t go… I know this is a dream, but I want you to stay with me…"

  Yao Yuan gradually lifted his eyelids, hoping to see her eyes staring back at him. Alas, what greeted him instead were the lights dancing on the room’s metallic ceiling. Resigned to the cruelty of reality, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

  He sighed inwardly. Dreams will be dreams…

  When he woke up again 15 minutes later, he felt more like himself as he started instinctively observing his surroundings.

  Yao Yuan knew that the room he was in was part of the Barracks’ infirmary. He remembered falling asleep after giving his orders, so he assumed that some medical units had transported him here afterwards.

  Yao Yuan noticed that the scars and wounds on his body had already begun to heal and the pain had lessened significantly. Based on the degree of convalesce, he figured he had been asleep for about one whole day.

  The steady flow of light from the room’s lighting meant that there had been no issue of short-circuiting. That combined with a lack of noise and commotion told Yao Yuan that the last space warp had been successful, or at least nothing momentous had changed within the Hope.

  Then Yao Yuan sat up and pushed the emergency button by his bed.

  Following that, sounds of footsteps could be heard coming from the outside corridor. A group of doctors and nurses came into the room and Yao Yuan was glad to spot a familiar face among them. The leading doctor that had been assigned to him when he first came to after the shuttle crashed appeared to be leading this crew of medical personnel as well. With a kind countenance, said doctor strode to Yao Yuan’s side and started to pore over the medical apparatus that had been set up by Yao Yuan’s bed.

  "Major, you appear to have recovered nicely. Apart from some minor abrasions and cuts, there is no evidence of bone fractures or a concussion. Remember to apply this balm over the wounds and make sure to stay away from water. You’ll be back to top form in no time." The doctor smiled as he handed Yao Yuan the medicine.

  After the nurses removed all the tubes attached to his body, Yao Yuan swung off the bed to give his body a stretch, then he remembered to ask, "How about Zhang Heng and Jay? Are they doing well?"

  The doctor kindly replied, "Both of them are doing fine. They collapsed from fatigue, nothing serious. They left the infirmary after they awoke from their rest. If I’m not mistaken, Lieutenant Zhang Heng is still somewhere around the Barracks, while Mister Jay has returned to the civilian campgrounds."

  "That’s good to know. In any case, I would like to thank all of you for your service," said Yao Yuan as he approached each doctor and nurse to shake their hands. "I have to take my leave now. There are still many things that remain to be done. Thank you again."

  The leading doctor pulled him in for an embrace. "No, Major. We should be thanking you and the two young heroes. Without the three of you, we would have been stuck on leave Planet Sahara… So please accept our gratitude, hero of the Hope!"

  Yao Yuan patted the doctor on his shoulder and removed himself from the embrace. When he finally left the room, he was surprised to find two black-star close guards standing by. They saluted Yao Yuan and stood squarely in position.

  "Fetch me an electromobile and get me to command central," ordered Yao Yuan after he saluted the pair in return.

  On the electromobile, Yao Yuan started asking about the things that had occurred while he was asleep.

  "According to the doctors, I’ve been out of it for about 36 hours… What have happened in that time? Have there been issues with the space warp? And where is our current location? Has the Academy found any hospitable planets nearby?" Yao Yuan asked in quick succession. He was particularly emphatic about the last question because its answer would decide the fate of 120000 people.

  A concerned look passed between the two guards before one of them spoke up. "Nothing worth reporting has happened in the past 36 hours, sir. The one thing of note is that a petition has been gathering support among the civilians. They want to have a large-scale carnival to celebrate the Hope’s successful escape from Planet Sahara. There has also been a growing request to have a memorial for the lives that have been lost. The people wish for their families’ and friends’ sacrifice be recognized and honored."

  "We can proceed with the carnival as long as it is not too demanding of the Hope’s store of supplies. And of course we will be honoring the lives of those who have fallen; it is the right thing to do. However, since most of the bodies were lost on Planet Sahara, planning a memorial will be a bit tricky. Perhaps we can have a symbolic burial. We can discuss the details after we have secured the permission of the family members…" Yao Yuan explained before adding, "Is that all? How about the space warp? Which star system have we landed in? And are there any visible planets around us?"

  The two guards started to stutter; they were trying but failing to provide a sufficient answer. Right then, the electromobile passed through a long corridor. It was a walkway that bordered the outer perimeter of the Hope and had a transparent wall that allowed one to view the scenery outside. Yao Yuan unconsciously turned his head to take in the view…

  Instead of the gloomy star-scape that he had come to expect, he was greeted with a luminous band of twinkling stars… Against a deeply cerulean backdrop, multiple light novas exploded across the space as stars came in and out of existence…

  The majestic view made Yao Yuan’s jaw drop to the floor. He had so many questions, but he knew had to keep them in until they reached central command. After all, there was no telling who might be listening in. When they finally arrived at their destination, the rest of the Black Stars and about ten scientists were already waiting. Without preamble, Yao Yuan launched into his questions. "What is happening outside the Hope? Have we warped into some weird dimension? Or are we stuck in some gas giants? No, that’s not possible because if that were true, the Hope would be crushed by its high pressure by now… Then what exactly is going on? Wasn’t space supposed to be dark? Why is it almost as bright as daylight out there?"

  The gathered scientists were mostly astrophysicists. They were led by Alan, who volunteered to answer Yao Yuan’s questions. "No, we are most certainly still in space, and we have not crossed the wall of dimensions… To suggest that is preposterous because how could we as three-dimensional creatures even possibly survive in other dimensions? Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that space-warping will not warp us acr
oss dimensions. We are still in outer space and definitely not in the body of some gas giant. As a matter of fact… according to our analysis and discussion, I highly suspect that we have somehow found ourselves in the middle of a nebula."

  "A nebula?" echoed Yao Yuan incredulously.

  Ever since they had located the Hope, Yao Yuan had spent plenty of time furbishing his space knowledge. He felt that it was necessary for him to be familiar with entities that the Hope might one day stumble across. In the course of his study, he had learnt about neutron stars, white dwarfs [1], red giants [2], supernovas, and black holes.

  Incidentally, he had also learnt about nebulas…

  "That can’t be right! Nebulas are supposed to be expansive. It is because of Earth’s extreme distance from known nebulas that we got the impression that they are compact, bright, and hold a shape. In reality, if we are in the middle of one, it still should look like normal space. Or to be specific, nebulas are so big in size that we should not be aware that we are in one, because it would not look any different from other stretches of the cosmos! In fact, parts of it shouldn’t even have stars because they are spaces of vacuum. Isn’t that right?" Yao Yuan queried.