22 Go to the future

April 1, 2100.

Commander Miller summoned all members of the space station to the public hall for an emergency meeting, the last plenary meeting was on November 16 last year, and we remember that day was the day when everyone witnessed the consciousness of the N-star people together.

"I'd love to say it's an April Fool's joke, but don't doubt it, what I'm saying below is the truth." "The United Nations Space Command sent a message yesterday that they have confirmed that the spacecraft responsible for delivering the second batch of supplies to our space station has deviated from its intended course," Miller said in an extremely serious tone, "...... began to hum from below," ...... After several rescue attempts, the ship's rescue was finally declared a failure yesterday, so the supply ship we were scheduled to arrive next month has become space junk. Due to the sheer volume of supplies this ship carried, we lost at least a year or more in supplies. The supply ship will not arrive until the end of this year at the earliest......"

"How many supplies do we have left?" A voice asked, this is the question that everyone is most concerned about.

"Even if it is not an optimistic estimate, we will definitely be able to hold out until the end of the year when the third batch of supplies arrives, but in view of the accident of the spacecraft deviating from the course, we must reserve more than half a year of supplies for backup, and some resource consumables cannot be recycled, and must be replenished by supplies."

"Do you want to limit the use of rations?"

"There's no need. I have made my proposal to the Earth side, and they have agreed. My approach was to have half of the crew go into hibernation and wait to wake up if necessary, while the other half kept the station running while continuing to perform the necessary tasks. This is a method that I personally came up with, and I would like to hear your opinions here. ”

"Agreed." "It works." "Totally understood." There was a sound of support in the hall. Even without overly scientific and rational analysis, Miller's method is indeed the best solution, and in the face of possible crises such as lack of materials, the commander with rich experience in space station life is the most trustworthy and reliable.

"Then let's make a list, first of all, the people who will continue to carry out the current mission and maintain the operation of the space station......"

……

In the communication room, Miller and Gao Jie are checking the progress of the "Star Project" equipment manufacturing briefing from Earth.

"Every time, it's 'going well' and 'the progress is on time', and I get tired of seeing it." Miller complained.

Gao Jie responded with a wry smile: "To be honest, I don't understand these data, so let's just take it as a routine." After that...... It's hard for you to watch these things alone. ”

"No problem, it's as routine as you say." Miller said as if he were an elder.

"Thank you for letting me into the hibernation pod, just in time to get away from this data that I can't understand." Gao Jie said as if relieved.

"I thought you'd say no, but I really didn't think much of it." Miller said meaningfully, "Don't worry, I'll be in regular contact with your family, as well as my son." As for the Space Command, they also want you to be quiet, so as not to take the credit from them...... So you can sleep in peace. ”

"Thank you. What about Wang Chen, why did he also enter the hibernation cabin? Doesn't he still have to do maintenance work for the space station? Gao Jie asked suspiciously.

"Just let the other two technicians do the maintenance. For Wang (Chen), I think it's better to let him rest for a while, and the matter of Toda Meizi hit him too hard. The environment of our space station is very torturous, far from home and order, like a flat boat on the sea, there is no sense of security...... So it is necessary to take care of his mentality. ”

"You've thought it through, so you didn't hibernate Ryan to coordinate the atmosphere of the space station?"

"Of course, not everyone is as good as you."

"Hmm...... So when are we going to the future? ”

"The day after tomorrow."

"Then I'm going to say goodbye to everyone for a while."

"Then don't forget our N-conscious friend, he seems to like you." Miller half-jokingly.

……

Two days later, Gao Jie, Wang Chen and other 12 members of the space station entered the hibernation module, temporarily bidding farewell to the other members of the space station and going to the uncertain future.

Miller Batalov continues to hold on to the post of commander of the space station, and he is loyal to his duty, his mission, and the future of human civilization, whether it is the space station or the earth.

The team responsible for developing the N-particle control instructions did not go into hibernation, and for a long time to come, Sylka Vertanen would repeatedly ask Mike Carmack and Lucien Brown to read aloud all the books she had collected, including the relics of Mei Toda: 1984, A Clockwork Orange, and Prison Bird...... But so far, they have still found nothing.

Ryan Booker occasionally plays his beloved guitar to bring ease and joy to the space station, so that the health of the crew is not harmed by the high pressure of heavy work for long periods of time. Among the many guitar songs, he played the most "You are my sunshine", and everyone who heard it laughed and said that "Please don't take my sunshine away" was sung too fast, and he always smiled and thanked him, but never corrected it - because Gao Jie once said the same thing.

The rest of the people on the Minerva space station are also busy with their own missions, and they are not slacking off at all, for themselves, for the sake of their relatives on Earth, and even more for the sake of the entire human civilization.

The "butler" N-star consciousness stayed quietly in Research Room 2, and was almost always silent except for the occasional visitor who asked about the N-star. This long silence can't help but give one the illusion: Could the story of the N-star people be just a dream? yes, how I wish it really was just a dream.

The Minerva space station was still spinning, spinning like a bamboo, and the rolling disc could not be stopped like time. As far as it can see, a vague spherical cluster is pulling space around Jupiter's orbit - that is, the wormhole that once forced humanity into the "Age of Great Reconciliation", and what kind of world will there be on the other side of the wormhole?

——

From receiving a signal from a distant planet to the appearance of a wormhole;

From the self-help of mankind in the "era of great reconciliation" to the mysterious agreement of "Meet me at the gate";

From the secret execution of the "Mule Project" to the completion of the Minerva space station;

From the arrival of the N-star consciousness as promised, to the formulation of the "Star Plan", to the invasion of the Nt fleet, it is gradually approaching......

Nearly 100 years of extraterrestrial contact have come to an end for the time being.

And soon after—

-- The turning point in the fate of human civilization is approaching.

(The chapter with Gao Jie as the main perspective has come to an end for the time being, and the following chapters will be narrated from Wang Chen's main perspective)