The bottom burst into laughter: "Yes! ”

The mothers here were also amused, and Mother Emma touched her mother with her elbow, nodded in satisfaction, and whispered:

"Your son is a good captain."

Miao Ji also whispered: "Your daughter is the same." ”

Ji Renrui was very pleased. He knew that his son's words were mainly to appease the mothers, and they were very effective, not only because of the cheerfulness and lightness of the speaker, but also because what he said was reasonable—the new universe also has the evolution of the old universe, which should be the most probable prospect. Knowing his son Mo Ruo's father, this kid has been naughty since he was a child, and he seems to be a little slippery, but he actually has a plank-eyed heart, a decisive heart, an organic change, and a strong affinity. He'd be a good captain.

After Ji Jichang finished speaking, he flew to the ignition button, where the synchronous activation of the six spacecraft was centrally controlled. Emma, the communications officer, stays in front of the intercom, smiling from time to time waving to the camera (that is, to her mother). In the solemn atmosphere of the spaceship, everyone waited silently, and in ten minutes it was about to start a one-minute countdown, and there was silence in the intercom.

It's only five minutes, three minutes. Now it's time to start the one-minute countdown...... Suddenly, the intercom of the "Wanhu" rang unexpectedly: "The 'Nuwa' urgently calls the Ji fleet, please stop the activation immediately!" The 'Nuwa' urgently called the Ji fleet, please stop the activation immediately! Please answer when you receive it! Please answer when you receive it! ”

Emma quickly ascertained the location of the call and reported in surprise: "Captain, the 'Nuwa' should be nearby!" ”

Ji Jichang quickly took the intercom: "This is the 'Brave New World' fleet, and the activation is suspended as instructed." But why abort? Please let us know why. ”

Due to the distance, it took twenty-six minutes for the reply to come. The overjoyed side was apparently so overjoyed that the usual phrase of the fleet's communications was no longer used: "Thank God! Changchang, I'm Aunt Yu, and I'm here with your Uncle Tianle. Don't be in a hurry, wait for us, it is estimated that it will be there in six or seven minutes. ”

"Okay." Ji Jichang issued an order to the ships, "After receiving an urgent notice, suspend the activation, and the ships will be on standby." ”

Ji Renrui on the "Nuwa" couldn't help but ask: "Leshui, Tianle, I'm Renrui." What's going on? ”

This time, the answer from that side arrived quickly, and obviously the distance had been greatly shortened: "Brother Renrui, don't worry, we are almost there, we will pick you up immediately." ”

The "Nuwa" determined the precise direction according to the other party's radio waves, and quickly found the Ji fleet in space. The "Nuwa" flew at the speed of light for six minutes, and now it is changed to conventional power drive, and soon a bright six-star cluster can be seen with the naked eye, which is the Ji fleet. The "Nuwa" drove over and joined the "Wanhu". After the engagement, the other party did not explain, but directly connected Ji Jichang to the "Nuwa". Then, the "Nuwa" joined the "Cosmic Bug" and took Ji Renrui and his wife over. This time, Chu Tianle was very cautious, he had to first explain it thoroughly in the small circle, think about the matters that should be considered clearly, and then announce it to the crew, so as not to cause unnecessary turmoil.

In the cockpit of the "Nuwa", he introduced the latest theoretical breakthrough to the three members of the Ji family. The new theory was very powerful, and the Ji family and his son immediately accepted it, and at that moment, Chu Tianle saw not only joy in Ji Jichang's eyes, but also a sense of disillusionment. Ji Jichang frowned slightly, thinking deeply. His mother, Miao Qi, was full of joy and kept saying:

"That's good, that's good, it's really Jitai. There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the willows and flowers are bright and another village, or the words of the elders are right. He added, "Not only is the catastrophe gone, but the good years are coming." It's the age of hydrogen, and the days are so rich that no human era can compare with it. ”

Ji Renrui's mood is quite complicated, of course, there is great joy, but there is also a serious loss, and he can't cry or laugh. At this moment, his mind flashed through the rough road he had traveled for twenty-eight years. Twenty-eight years of hard work by all mankind have brought dazzling scientific and technological progress, but the so-called catastrophe turned out to be just a pee tremor inadvertently by God! He even had a strong sense of disillusionment, disillusionment with Chu Tianle, and also disillusionment with human intelligence. He had worshipped such wise men as Chu Tianle, Pauli, Ma Shiqi, Alex, George, Barrow, Rogge, He Zizhou, and his son Changchang (he also considered himself a smart man, but that was a smart man in another field), and their genius was indeed dazzling and admirable. However, when these geniuses exhausted their talents and tried to climb to heaven and come to the throne of God, it only confirmed the insignificance of human beings. After God finished peeing, he shook the second child and walked away, but he was tired of the most outstanding geniuses of mankind who had to fight all their lives!

At this time, Ji Jichang had already considered it maturely, and said in a calm tone: "Uncle Tianle, thank you, you used your outstanding genius to help mankind clear the fog and recognize the direction. Although at first glance, humanity has only returned to the state it was 28 years ago, this false cataclysm has brought about extremely brilliant scientific and technological progress, which is unprecedented in the history of mankind. You are the pioneer of this shining era, and you have drawn a successful end to it, and history will write your name and a large number of people in golden letters! ”

Chu Tianle waved his hand, wanting to interrupt his praise. Ji Jichang then said: "I'm glad that the universe is safe again, and human beings don't have to flee, but I don't think this operation needs to be stopped." The goal of the Noahs was no longer to flee, but to discover the new world, which had become the belief of the Noahs. Crucially, this opportunity is fleeting, and if space shrinks below the tipping point of excitation, humanity will forever – or more in 100,000 years to be exact – lose the possibility of exploring a new universe. Uncle Chu, Aunt Yu, Dad, I hope this operation continues. If necessary, a referendum on six thousand crew members could be given to decide whether to continue the experiment. ”

Before Chu Tianle could answer, Ji Renrui said angrily: "Confused! I criticized you last time, and you haven't learned the principles of the 'Friends of Joy' – never afraid of any risk, but only the most necessary. At a time when humanity is in a desperate situation, the Baby Universe Project is a necessary adventure. Now that humanity is safe, it's unnecessarily crazy! Don't mention a referendum, a referendum is not inherently justified, especially in impulsive moods, and I don't think it compares to the sober trade-offs of a few wise men. If you really want to have a referendum, you can suspend the experiment, wait for a year, and wait for the mood to stabilize before it happens, and then the result of the referendum will be very different from today. And—" he looked his son in the eye, "I'm afraid it's not just a referendum for the crew, it's a referendum for humanity." At the very least, in the new situation, will the owners of the six spacecraft still be willing to donate expensive property for free? It's only fair that they should have the right to choose again. ”

Ji Jichang's face was miserable. He knew that what his father said was the truth, but that was precisely the reason why he was in a hurry to excite it, and if he continued according to the procedure his father said, the New Universe project would not only run aground, but might even be completely ruined. If nothing else, six property owners or property States alone would veto the action. When humanity is in a desperate situation, the collectivism of the people is strengthened to the greatest extent and can be generously given to the family. Now that the disaster has been resolved, the shipowner may have to worry about how to make a fortune and develop space tourism with the help of faster-than-light spacecraft. How many people would care about the affairs of another universe when "this universe" is already safe? Except for those who are extremely restless by nature – like Magellan, Columbus, Bering, Grandpa Kang and himself. But this restlessness, this strong desire to explore, is the most precious nature of human beings, and it is the driving force of human progress. But his father's words were reasonable and impeccable, and he couldn't refute them. After thinking about it, he said briskly:

"Well, if this is the decision of the 'Friends of Joy', I obey it unconditionally."

Ji Renrui turned back to Chu and said, "It's you who is more difficult to do." Tianle, Changchang just said right, you took the 'friends of music' and all mankind to create an incomparably glorious era. But...... How to put it, when the final truth is revealed, it is less like a heroic epic and more like an absurd drama. Together, we have created a powerful aura, and we want to puncture it with a needle. Tianle, Leshui, how should we deal with the aftermath? One sharp turn after another will shock the passengers. Moreover, there may be some small tragedies dragged on the tail of this good news, such as the 'Noah'. ”

Chu Tianle and his wife looked at each other heavily. Ji Renrui was right, the "Noah" that flew out had broken its string like a kite, and it was impossible to notify them. The "Noah" will eventually know this mechanism - when the cosmic shrinkage rate falls below a critical point and the spacecraft is stuck in the mud and cannot travel, just as Magellan's fleet was stuck in the windless Pacific Ocean for a long time. It was a bleak prospect, but it was unthinkable at the moment. Even if a spaceship is sent to follow the trail, it will not be easy to catch up, and the "Noah" has been gone for too long.

Chu Tianle sighed and said, "Brother Ji, you are right, such sharp turns one after another will definitely leave some unfortunate people behind and make them psychologically collapse." Let's take our time. I know what you're thinking at this point, and you want to suppress this discovery and not disclose it for the time being, but that's not realistic. If we hide it, how can we persuade the 6,000 crew members to give up their lifelong beliefs and go back with us? And, as I've always said, I'm not a genius in the world, that is, I can occasionally see one step ahead of others. Even if I don't publish it, someone will soon find out about this mechanism. My opinion, as it was last time, was resolutely made public. ”

Yu Leshui nodded, "Let's make it public." After all, this is good news, and if it causes turmoil, it is relatively easy to defuse. ”

Ji Renrui sighed, "You misunderstood me, I didn't plan to hide it this time, who can hide such shocking news?" It's just that...... Don't talk about it, Changchang, you go back and announce the new decision. ”

Ji Jichang took the "Little Bee" back to the fleet flagship "Wanhu", where he would announce his decision to suspend the operation. Ji Renrui looked at his son's back and said to Chu Tianle with a smile:

"Tianle, I haven't thanked you yet. I really admire your brain, being able to come up with the relay method of 'faster-than-light navigation plus radio waves', saving Changchang and his 6,000 subordinates. It's too dangerous, and it's all over one minute later! He turned to Leshui and said, "We all know about faster-than-light spaceships, but it's hard to jump out of the old thinking inertia. If you put me on that juncture, I can't think of a solution. ”

Tianle said indifferently: "The way to force it out." Put you in that position, and you'll figure it out too. Listen, Changchang is announcing. ”

In the intercom, Ji Jichang was giving an emotional speech to the 6,000 crew members:

“…… We've already snapped the knocker of the new universe, but we're having to retreat, which is of course disappointing, but the joy is heavier. Our old universe is safe, Mother Earth is safe, and fellow relatives are safe! We've got to go back and celebrate! As for the exploration of the new universe, I believe that this is only a temporary retreat, and in the near future, we will knock on the door of the new universe again! ”

The crew cheered and accepted the order to abort the operation. A formation of eight spacecraft embarked on the road back to Earth.

3

The flotilla returned early in the morning on Halmahera, the spacecraft still in synchronous orbit, and the crew returned to the surface in "little bees". Chu Tianle and the others immediately took the plane to rush back to the headquarters of the "Friends of Music". On the way, they received feedback that the world's observatories had recently observed that the space contraction, although still accelerating, was already showing signs of slowing down and may be close to its peak. Scientists from all over the world have built mathematical models based on Chu's new findings and made calculations, and soon obtained roughly similar results:

Twenty-one years ago, when the space was discovered, it had actually begun thirty-one years. In other words, the contraction began fifty-nine years ago. The half-cycle of this solitary wave (dense wave) is sixty-two years, and now it is close to the highest point of the curve, and it is estimated that the spatial shrinkage will reach its peak after three years;

This should be followed by a sixty-two year downward cycle, in which the space is still in a state of contraction, but the rate of contraction gradually decreases until it returns to the original standard vacuum (which is actually a vacuum of moderate expansion). By the way, the excitation region of the dense vacuum is twenty years before and after the peak point;

Subsequently, it continues to descend from zero point, which should be the acceleration of an isolated sparse wave with a period of 62 years in mirror symmetry. The universe has changed from a standard vacuum to an expansion, and the expansion rate has become larger and larger, reaching a peak after sixty-two years;

After that, there is a 62-year expansion deceleration period, and the expansion rate is getting smaller and smaller, and it returns to its original state after 62 years.

The day the universe was fully restored was 189 years after the present day.

This is really great news, but as Chu, Ji, Yu and others expected, although there is ecstasy rising in society, it is also mixed with a heavy blankness. It turns out that God is not particularly bad, not particularly vicious, he is just a careless and lazy father, who does not care much about the people in robes, and inadvertently shuddered, but he turned the world upside down. This incident is really a bit aggrieved, it makes human beings see their own insignificance, and paints the tragedy of survival with the color of farce.

Chu, Ji, and Yu immediately convened a plenary meeting of the "Friends of Music" Executive Committee. This is a retreat with the theme of "What to do in the new situation". There was no keynote speech, because "the hearts of several of our conveners are also a mess at this time." Don't wait, don't rely on, let's explore on our own, and wait for whoever has the first breakthrough idea, let's have another meeting. Ji Renrui said with a wry smile.

As soon as the retreat ended, the Chu couple immediately rushed back to the mountains. The incident was too sudden, the day before yesterday they threw the old lady and the grass halfway and left in a hurry, at this time the old lady must be in a state of confusion, and she had to go back quickly to resolve it. When I got home, it was already evening, and Sister-in-law Xu greeted her, lowered her voice and said:

"You're back. I knew you couldn't be disturbed for the past two days, so I put up with it and didn't tell you. After the eldest lady came back, she lay down, not eating, drinking, not saying or moving. I guess she's worried about Willow Leaf. ”

Cao'er also knew that she was worried, she hadn't slept yet, she took her mother's hand, and frowned like a little adult: "Mom and Dad, grandma is sick and hasn't eaten for more than a day, do you need to ask a doctor to give injections?" ”

The two coaxed Cao'er and let her sleep with Sister-in-law Xu, and the two came to their mother's house. Mother lying on the bed. As soon as they saw their mother's gaze, their hearts sank—there was calm despair in them, and their hearts were dead. Leshui sat down on the edge of the bed, and Tianle brought the wheelchair close to the bed, holding her mother's hand one by one, thinking about how to comfort her. Tianle Ma asked:

"Changchang, they're back?"

"I'm back."

"It's good to come back, Renrui and his family should be happy. Now the sky won't fall, let's live in peace. But...... Liu Ye and Yangyang will not know the news, and the telegram will not be able to catch up. The couple's hearts were blocked, but they couldn't comfort their mother, who was now thinking clearly and couldn't coax them. "But what should they do if they don't know anything and the space suddenly doesn't shrink?" I know that wormholes fly in a dense vacuum, and without a vacuum, the spaceship is like stuck in a mud pool. If the fuel on the ship runs out, the conventional power will not be used, and there will be only one way to starve to death. ”

She spoke in a calm voice (not wanting the grass next door to hear her), but two rivers of tears were raging. The little couple's hearts are like knives, barely supporting the calm of the appearance. Mom is right. After her intelligence improved, she could not be said to be proficient in matters involving technology, but the general outline was clear, and her worries were completely true at the moment. It's just that the danger they face is not starvation, the food reserves on the ship are enough to last three or five years, and if the fuel runs out, the crew will die of freezing and suffocation first. Tianle cheered up and said with a smile:

"Mom, don't cry, you are the head of the family, and when you take the lead in crying like this, you will cry the hearts of the army. Don't worry, the Noah is well-equipped, and Alex, Yangyang, and Barrow are extremely smart, and they can still discover the secrets we can discover. Besides, there are so many people in the 'Friends of Happiness', and there are so many smart brains in the world, they can always come up with a way. Think about it, over the years, the catastrophe of the collapse of the sky has not stumped us, and the response methods are one after another. Now that the sky is not falling, there is only such a trivial thing as a lack of fuel, and people can't do anything about it? Never. Mom, think about it, I don't pay attention to what I said. ”

Tianle's mother had a light of hope in her eyes, and whispered, "Is there really hope?" ”

"Definitely. Of course, this is indeed a difficult problem, it is impossible to come up with a way tomorrow morning, you give me three years, no, two years, I must come up with a way to establish contact with Liu Ye and them. ”

Tianle's mother smiled comfortably, "I know your smart brain. Mom don't worry, you guys hurry up and figure it out, I have to wait for a sure child before closing my eyes. ”

Leshui said: "That's not good! I know that I can't close my eyes, I have to see the willow leaves come back with my own eyes! ”

Tianle's mother was also happy, "Okay, I'll stay up for a few more years, wait for Liu Ye Yangyang and them to come back, and still hold my little grandson - no, no, I'm confused again, at that time, the little grandson has grown up early, maybe it's time to start a family." Just like your big brother Ji said, let him bring an alien daughter-in-law back. Alas, I can't come back, as long as it's safe outside. She waved her hand, "Let's go, you must be tired, and I should go to sleep." ”

"No, you haven't eaten for more than a day, and then go to bed after eating."

"Okay, let Sister-in-law Xu heat up the rice she brought just now."

She ate a small bowl of rice and went to sleep. The two said goodbye to their mother, returned to the bedroom, and spent a sleepless night. Yu Leshui knew that what her husband said just now was just comforting words, at least with the current understanding, the situation of the "Noah" was hopeless. She really wanted to ask her husband if there was a way, but she didn't want to put pressure on him, so she didn't ask. Tianle beside her had been thinking feverishly until the early hours of the morning, squinting for a while.

That night, her mother slept soundly, and the next morning, when Leshui called her to have breakfast, she found that her mother-in-law had passed away peacefully. So, when she stopped taking her last breath, was she holding on to hope or despairing? I hope it's the former. Leshui changed her mother-in-law's longevity clothes. Looking at her mother-in-law's calm remains, she couldn't help but recall her mother-in-law's life. Mother-in-law's life is ordinary, there are no shining moments, her life can be summed up in four words: alive, left behind. But these four words are the essence of biological nature.

The family sends the deceased to the crematorium. The grass was crying and almost dying. Over the years, the Chu couple has been too busy, and the grandmother and Aunt Xu who accompany Cao'er the most are the ones who are closest to Cao'er. Cao'er has understood death, and knows that grandma will never wake up from this sleep, and will never be able to hold herself in the future, never be able to tell stories close to her face, and no longer be able to make puppies for herself with dog tail grass. Cao'er ignored the Ma family's rule of "people don't cry when they die", and cried so much that her parents, Uncle Ji, Aunt Miao, Brother Changchang, and Sister Emma all had red eyes. Finally, the grass sobbed and took the torch from her mother's hand and lit the fire, the flame crackling and white smoke rising in the white smoke. A goshawk glides lightly across the blue sky and white clouds, skimming over the white smoke. Mom said that the goshawk came to carry the souls of the deceased to heaven, and it came when Grandpa was cremated. In the future, it will carry the souls of its grandparents and follow the road pointed by the white smoke to visit the grass from the sky.