An hour later, after receiving the report submitted by Luo Jinyong, Stark convened a meeting of the chiefs of the general staff.

"Guys, before we can find out why the light shines, we must admit the fact that it is no longer possible to keep the 2014X1 asteroid a secret." Stark began by making it clear that the number one topic of the meeting was how to deal with the impact of the spread of news. "The truth is about to be revealed before the whole world, and we cannot remain silent. My point of view is that our primary purpose is to maintain the basic stability of the situation in the world, do our utmost to curb large-scale social unrest, and reduce the impact of the spread of information. ”

Stark had a point, and the other chiefs of staff all expressed their support.

"Guys, do you have any comments or suggestions?"

"Overall, this is a security incident, so I recommend listening to a professional." Under normal circumstances, Yang Fanglie is the second to speak. "In any case, we are soldiers, and we do not know as much about security and confidentiality work as the commissioner."

Stark did not object, and agreed to allow the commissioner to speak at the meeting.

Under normal circumstances, the commissioner only observes the meeting and cannot speak without permission, let alone express opinions and views at will.

Zhang Xiaogang deliberately waited for a while, and saw that none of the other commissioners meant to speak, before he said: "For the purpose of maintaining the stability of the situation in the world, we have to take action in stages and step by step according to the actual situation. First of all, if the existence of the 2014X1 asteroid cannot be concealed, it is necessary to admit it in an official capacity before the news spreads to the people, so as to guide public opinion. ”

"Is this necessary?" Stark asked.

"The more this kind of sensitive matter is covered up, the more it will attract the public's attention. Is there no problem that even astronomy enthusiasts can see asteroids with amateur astronomical telescopes, but the National Planetarium is silent? Zhang Xiaogang paused slightly, and then said, "It's just that from the perspective of stabilizing the situation, we can't release all the news." With the current situation, astronomy enthusiasts can only see the 2014X1 asteroid at most, and cannot calculate the asteroid's orbit, so they do not know that the asteroid will hit the Earth. It's just that this situation won't last long. Through continuous observation, someone will surely be able to calculate the orbit of an asteroid, even if it is not precise enough, and will know that an asteroid may hit the Earth. For this reason, when guiding public opinion, we have to take the first step, such as claiming that the asteroid will pass very close to the earth, and even announcing some uncertain data, such as the possibility that the asteroid will hit the earth, but the probability is very small. ”

"Isn't that counterproductive?" Sergeyev asked.

"Guys, let's put ourselves in a different position and think about what people would think when they heard the news that an asteroid with a diameter of ten kilometers was flying towards Earth at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second. No doubt everyone will be shocked. Even if you don't consider whether an asteroid will hit the Earth, this speed can surprise people with a little bit of astronomical knowledge. Not to mention that in the solar system, even in the cosmic space that optical astronomical telescopes can observe, we have not yet discovered a celestial body moving at the speed of a thousandth of a light. In this case, the most concerned thing for the public must be whether the asteroid will hit the earth and whether it will lead to the destruction of the earth. If we remain silent, or if we avoid talking about this issue, we are obviously secretive about it, which leads to associations among the public. If we discuss this issue openly, and let a well-known astronomer like Professor Burke come forward and publish some exciting news, even if it is only for a temporary time, it will dispel the suspicions of the people and convince them that the world will not be destroyed in ten days. To put it bluntly, that's what it likes. We will say whatever the people want to know, but not all of them are true. ”

Sergeyev nodded thoughtfully, expressing support for Zhang Xiaogang's proposal.

"How long will it last?" Stark asked again.

Zhang Xiaogang did not answer this question because he did not know either.

"A week at most, maybe only five days." Luo Jinyong spoke. "As long as the asteroid continues to glow, even with rudimentary astronomical observation equipment and good astrophysics and mathematics, anyone can calculate that the asteroid's orbit is exactly passing through the center of the Earth without a deviation of more than 6,000 kilometers. That is, the asteroid will definitely hit the Earth, and maybe someone will be able to calculate the time of the impact. ”

"What happens in five days?" Renault asked. After Italy's accession to the European Union, the Franco-German-Italian iron triangle was formed, and Renault became the third person in the General Staff Conference after Stark and Yang Fanglie, so he wanted to be recognized by others.

Luo Jinyong sighed, this was not a question he could answer.

"There is no choice but to admit the facts." Zhang Xiaogang said.

"Admit the facts!?" Renault looked surprised.

"If even a college student can calculate that the 2014X1 asteroid will hit the Earth on September 1, what else can be hidden?" Zhang Xiaogang obviously didn't take Renault seriously. "In such a situation, the only way is to activate the emergency plan that has been in place for a long time, impose total military control, and then declare the existence of the Planetary Defense Council to restore public confidence through a show of power."

"In that case, it would be necessary to publicize defensive works like Operation Courage." Sergeyev said a word.

"It also needs to get the support of the legislature." Stark sighed.

"General Stark, the situation has developed to this point, do you think there is room for retreat?" Zhang Xiaogang showed his usual pungent style. "It is undeniable that the United States is a country governed by the rule of law, and the ten member states of the Planetary Defense Council are all civilized countries with the rule of law, but in the face of the survival of human civilization, I think it is worth making some necessary sacrifices, even if it is to destroy the existing legal order."

Stark didn't argue with Zhang Xiaogang, which would lower his status.

"Of course, if you need to get the support of the legislature, then you have to act now." Zhang Xiaogang knew that Stark was very embarrassed. "It's just that I suggest that we must try to control the spread of the news, and never leak the news that the asteroid will hit the Earth in advance. If the news spreads early, it will inevitably cause global upheaval, and all the efforts we have made over the past two years will be in vain. ”

Stark nodded, indicating that he understood what Zhang Xiaogang meant.

To put it bluntly, even if there are hundreds of thousands of participants in the Planetary Defense Council, it is not difficult to control the behavior of more than 8 billion people around the world compared to controlling the thoughts and actions of more than 8 billion people around the world. When more than 8 billion people know that the human race is about to become extinct, the social relations that maintain order in the world will collapse in an instant, no one knows what will happen to the Dao, and no one even dares to guarantee that the Planetary Defense Council will still operate normally.

"Everyone, do you have any comments or suggestions?"

"Generals, I want to emphasize one more point." When the attention of the ten chiefs of general staff turned, Zhang Xiaogang said, "There is another matter that is as important as maintaining the stability of the world order, that is, to find out the cause of the 2014X1 asteroid's luminescence and the possible impact." ”

"Does it matter?" Yang Fanglie asked.

"Two years ago, the 2014X1 asteroid collided with another asteroid just before it left the asteroid's orbit, revealing that it was an asteroid controlled by intelligent extraterrestrial life, which led to the formation of the Planetary Defense Council to concentrate the strength of all mankind to resist the invasion of extraterrestrial civilizations. Almost twenty days ago, the asteroid began to accelerate when it reached perigee in Mars orbit, allowing us to roughly calculate the time of impact on Earth and speculate on the asteroid's deceleration method, so as to make comprehensive adjustments to the ongoing scientific research and defense projects. While these may all be coincidences, I prefer to believe that they are not pure coincidences. ”

"Commissioner Zhang, what do you mean......" Sergeyev immediately asked.

"Guys, don't you think we've been led by the nose all the time?" Zhang Xiaogang sighed and said, "Although I am not a scientist, I know that to accelerate an object with a mass of 50 billion tons to the speed of one thousandth of a light, it requires not only huge energy, but also extremely advanced technology. If nothing else, even if we fully exploit the value of existing physical theories, we will not be able to do so. Extraterrestrial civilizations have such great technological prowess that it is obviously easy for the 2014X1 asteroid to avoid other stars, or to accelerate in other ways. Isn't that telling, but the opposite? ”

"What's the problem?" Stark couldn't help it.

"I'm not a scientist, so I can't give a scientific explanation, but I'm a commissioner, so I feel like extraterrestrial civilizations are influencing us in this way to make us do what they want us to do. To put it bluntly, what we are doing is most likely helping the enemy. ”

At this moment, the eyes of the ten chiefs of general staff widened, and Yang Fanglie was no exception.

The special commissioner and the chief scientific adviser who were watching also looked similar, only Luo Jinyong was not surprised, because he had already asked Zhang Xiaogang this question.

"If that's the case, what are we going to do?" Renault broke the silence.

"I don't know the way, if I know the way, I won't be human." Zhang Xiaogang smiled reluctantly and said, "However, figuring out the reason for the asteroid's glow will definitely bring us one step closer to the truth." If we want to win, we must seize the initiative, and only if we understand the enemy's intentions. ”

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

"I suggest that Professor Burke assist Professor Luo Jinyong, and that the top priority is to find out why the asteroid is shining." Yang Fanglie made a quick decision. "Despite his mistakes, Professor Burke is the finest astronomer and astrophysicist on the Scientific Advisory Board. I believe that he will seize this opportunity to make up for his previous mistakes and prove his worth with his actions. ”

Obviously, Stark would not object to Yang's proposal.

Soon, the meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff made two decisions, namely, the gradual disclosure of information, and the mobilization of all resources to find out why the asteroid was shining.