In the past five years, as the guards of both sides have been gradually relaxed, the mutual visits of high-level officials of the two sides have become more frequent, especially between scientists......

Scientists have to be curious about the outside world, and scientists from Goertek are eager to experience life on a spaceship and prepare for possible future interstellar voyages.

Of course, the Gliezers always bring some technology from their own civilization in exchange.

After the necessary safety tests and biochemical disinfection, the Gliese people soon put on spacesuits, re-landed on the "Earth Age", and lived in their own living quarters.

This time, the guests, mostly mathematicians, except for some politicians, talked about some conjectures about "transcendental numbers", which would live in the spaceship for half a year.

A small pangolin took the stage and introduced a new method of judging transcendental numbers.

Mathematics is always the same language of the universe, and the four ancient civilizations of mankind have all given birth to their own mathematical systems without being related to each other. As a "high art", a civilization that cannot enjoy the pleasures of mathematics is absolutely ignorant and uncivilized.

But compared to the endless mathematical problems, there are too few mysteries that humans can solve.

As a simple example, is π beyond numbers?

It can be proved that it is indeed a transcendent number.

Is Euler's constant e a transcendent number?

Of course it is, and it can be proven!

What about eπ?

The answer is: I don't know.

It sounds like a simple question, but it's a world-class problem!

Even a master of mathematics like Zhang Yuan has no way to judge whether eπ is a transcendent number or not, and the development of human mathematics to the present can only solve quite limited problems. Even if a computer can calculate (eπ) to several trillion significant digits, it is not much different from zero than infinity.

And the exchange of civilizations with civilizations can indeed quickly promote the development of these disciplines.

There is a great difference in thinking between different civilizations, and there are places to learn from each other's strengths, and this kind of exchange is not as simple as 11.

Of course, these mathematical problems, for the time being, are hardly likely to affect the productivity of society as a whole, and at most they are equivalent to the self-amusement of top scientists.

The orbit of the space vehicle with the highest accuracy requirements, the accuracy of pi is only 15 or 16 decimal places, and it does not have much to do with whether pi is a transcendence number at all.

10 decimal places is enough to make the Earth's perimeter accurate to within 1 inch! 30 decimal places can make the entire circumference of the visible universe accurate to a single amount that even the most powerful microscopes can't tell! Therefore, the two sides will generously exchange this knowledge with each other, and the high-level of the new civilization does not prohibit this kind of behavior, but faintly encourages it.

But why should we judge the solution of these math problems that seem inconsequential?

Because......

It's right there!

“…… The above is our latest research, about a way of judging beyond numbers, thank you for listening, thank you. ”

There was thunderous applause and endless discussions. The fact that Flashdance was able to receive warm applause shows that this time the speech was still very popular.

And this group of pangolins has also become accustomed to human etiquette and communication, and they wear spacesuits, and after being complimented, they look quite satisfied.

"Professor Anbogu, I have a slightly different opinion about your inference 314......" Zhang Yuan stood up and raised a few doubts, all of which received good answers.

After the first meeting, the Gliese people will have more than ten days of rest, and then the second and third exchanges, and the humans have long been accustomed to their routines.

Zhang Yuan didn't want to wait for more than ten days, and when the other party returned to the living area, he followed and asked: "So, Your Excellency Gan Yaduo, what interesting trading ideas have come up with during your visit?" Let's talk about it first, so let's be mentally prepared. ”

"As long as it meets the demands of both sides, I believe there is still a lot of room for negotiation......

There are many things that humanity is lacking at present, such as smartphones, which can significantly improve the quality of life of ordinary people, but they are not at all the focus of the development of the new civilization.

It's also a good idea to buy some from the Gliese civilization.

There are also some high-end robot chips and high-precision parts, if the Gliese people can produce them on their behalf, then the development of human beings will be smoother and the progress will be faster.

And most of what human beings pay is entertainment products and their own scientific and technological heritage.

In fact, this exchange is acceptable.

This time, the other party brought a lot of goods, including more than 10,000 traditional silicon-based chips, which is not too much compared to human demand, but it can be regarded as a good opening.

Scientists are examining the quality of these goods, as well as studying compatibility issues.

Gan Yaduo turned his head, feeling slightly tired because it had not been dormant for a long time.

It said solemnly: "Your Excellency Zhang Yuan, our biggest demand is a star-level spaceship...... Everything else is easy to say, just add-ons to this ship. ”

"You also know that only a mothership like the Earth Age is enough to take on the task of restarting a civilization without leaving an entire civilization extinct on another planet."

"And we also need interstellar colonization-related technologies, such as space elevators, the construction of large centrifugal wheels, and the construction of ecological circulation systems...... We'll at least have to learn how to repair the ship, right? ”

This knowledge must be very expensive, and it is impossible for the new human civilization to sell it cheaply, so it can only be traded slowly and little by little. Including those chips that were brought up, they also belonged to the category of transactions.

Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "I'm sorry, personally, I really want to make this biggest deal and build a giant mothership to help you get off this planet......"

"But limited to productivity, we can't produce such a giant spaceship for the time being, and even if humanity continues to develop very smoothly, it will be a hundred or two hundred years later. We can't promise hundreds of years from now...... This is a responsibility to both parties. ”

Gan Yaduo pointed to his feet: "No, no, no, I mean, how long will your current mothership, the Earth Age, be in service?" ”

"Duration of service?"

This topic is a little sensitive, but it is not a big deal to reveal a little information, Zhang Yuan said: "It depends on how the specific maintenance is, the main skeleton of this spacecraft is a high-strength metal, if it is placed in space, there will be no change for thousands of years or tens of thousands of years."

"There may be some wear on the bearings of the centrifugal wheels...... The radiation protection layer and aerogel layer in the living area have a shorter lifespan. The appearance is a flexible material, almost fifty years. ”

"There are also some electronic devices that have a shorter lifespan, and they have to be replaced after a few years or decades......"

"So, its service period has at least fifty years to live."

Therefore, if human beings had developed in peace for decades, they would have already undergone earth-shaking changes, and human beings would gradually become habitable to the surface.

The original mothership will also be phased out, and it is inevitable that humans will not be able to live in the ship forever.

"So, is it possible to complete an interstellar journey again?"

"What do you mean ......"

Zhang Yuan was slightly startled, and quickly thought of a possibility.

Could this guy ...... Want the Earth Age spaceship?

Not now, of course, but for decades, after all the humans have moved underground and eliminated the ship......

The Gliese people have patience to wait.

As if seeing Zhang Yuan's doubts, Gan Yaduo explained: "We will choose a closer planet as a settlement point, and strive to complete this interstellar journey within five hundred to one thousand years...... Correspondingly, the spacecraft we need must also have such a high service life. ”

"Buying a second-hand spaceship is almost the minimum we need, and we hope you will consider our request well."

Seeing this leader leave, Zhang Yuan kept thinking in his heart.

The idea, as if ...... Not without feasibility!

It can even be said that ...... The feasibility is great!

He quickly brought the news back to the captain's room.

"What?"

After listening to Zhang Yuan's story, everyone jumped up in surprise. Even Captain Zhao was taken aback.

Rebuilding a spaceship that sails between stars can take a hundred or two hundred years of human development, consume enormous productivity, and even delay the development of other industries. So thinking about it, a little reluctant.

Even if you get a universal factory, you have too much to lose.

However, if only the Earth Age is renovated on a large scale, the amount of work and difficulty required will be much smaller, perhaps only thirty or forty years of development!

"Manufacturing and refurbishment are two completely different levels of difficulty. The skeleton of Earth Age is intact, and it is not impossible to complete another interstellar journey if it is renovated. ”

Captain Zhao frowned and said, "It is definitely feasible from an economic point of view...... If, in a few decades, our population has completely relocated out. Use it to exchange for a universal factory, it is not too much to say that it is a big profit! ”

"After all, the Earth Age is a technology from 3,000 years ago, and now we will definitely be able to build a better and better mothership."

Zhang Yuan also agreed: "It is equivalent to them taking a big step back, from the new spaceship they originally needed, to a second-hand spaceship...... Let's do the math, how much work will it take to renovate Earth Age in its entirety, and how much time will we be able to earn? ”

For a while, everyone fell silent, and if they wanted large-scale repairs, they must first have a large enough starry sky port to build a repair dock.

"It is estimated that this production target will be achieved in 20 years."

But Earth Age is really too old and will have to be overhauled if it wants to continue its next trip to the stars. Except for some frame skeletons that do not need to be modified, the rest of the parts, including the living area, bearings, heat dissipation area, and central control area, have all to be repaired.

One of the experts said, "...... Allocate a certain number of production lines, add 80,000 people to this repair work, and it is conservatively estimated that these repairs should be completed in 20 years. In some core areas, the Gliese people were involved in the manufacture of the computers, which saved a lot of trouble. ”

"20 plus 20, that is, will it take at least forty years to complete this deal......

Forty years, what a long number!

But it took forty years to complete the deal, which was still very cost-effective for humanity, when the population was less than five million, and the combined productivity of all of them was probably not as good as that of a universal factory.

"Even without this deal, humanity would still have to build functional buildings such as starry sky ports and docks."

"So, at most, it's just some repairs."

That's right!

Zhang Yuan suddenly asked Professor Xiang Yamamoto, "After forty years of hard work, can you develop virtual technology, and then slowly guide and tempt all the Gliese people in the remaining 12 cities into the virtual world?" ”

"If there are 12 universal factories, we can completely ignore the troublesome business of this one, and even grab it directly......"

After listening to Zhang Yuan's proposal, the conference room fell silent for a while.

Li Zhendong, who was sitting next door, couldn't help but scratch his head with his fingers, Zhang Yuan, this guy, how can he ...... What about so many bad ideas?

He Li Zhendong still has to be cheeky...... It's really hard to be in a friendly math meeting in the first few minutes, and secretly discuss stealing someone else in the next few minutes.

No, it can be said that the entire human civilization wants to be faced!

Sending those drunken and dreaming guys into the virtual space doesn't have much of a psychological burden, but now, ...... Goethetic is already the last hope of this civilization!

"Okay, it's my fault......" After some calculation, Zhang Yuan vetoed the plan himself.

"Although this plan will bring short-term benefits, in the long run, plundering will make the people's ideology less friendly and not conducive to the governing philosophy of our whole school......"

"If we have 12 universal factories, there is no need to snatch other people's for one......

There is nothing wrong with being greedy, but it is always a sin to be insatiable.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Qingfeng vetoed Zhang Yuan's plan from another angle: "Even if this technology is successfully developed, forty years is definitely not enough!" ”

"You know, the Gliese people don't have the same life cycle as we do. We think forty years is a long time, but they don't think that way at all. Forty years is about the same as our four years, and it is simply impossible to produce a huge ideological shift. ”

"Therefore, even if virtual technology is out, it is impossible to completely brainwash them in just forty years......"

"One or two hundred years is almost ......"

Zhang Yuan agreed with this point of view: "Okay, that is, time does not allow it at all...... Then in 40 years, let's try to fight for this most accessible universal factory, and it would be good to leave a spark for the Gliese civilization. Hey, so be it, this calamity-ridden civilization. ”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss the next construction rectification.

After thinking about it for a while, Captain Zhao thought of something again, and said with a wry smile: "Everyone, if you use the 'Earth Age' spaceship to trade, there is another thing I am worried about. ”

"That is, the problem of folk sentiment. The thinking of our group of people is always a little different from that of the people. ”

"From a purely utilitarian point of view, renovating and selling it is indeed the best choice, and there is no big problem."

"But the people can't control so much, and I can already expect this kind of opposition from all over the mountains. This mothership has been with us for three thousand years...... The long road to the stars has finally reached its destination, and it has accompanied us to develop and gain a foothold on this alien planet. ”

"As a result, after squeezing out the last bit of residual value, you have to sell it again? What's the difference between this and selling your old mother? ”

"That's right!" Information scientist Li Zhendong knocked on the table and touched his chest again, "I just said, I always feel a little wrong, so that's the case!" So this scheme is not easy to pass! ”

Zhang Yuan sneered, "Sell your old mother? That's a stupid statement...... No, sensual! ”

"So you say, what is the use of this spaceship when all the population is relocated to the surface? Now it can still be used as a space elevator, but after the construction of the star port is completed, the space elevator will not be used as a space elevator, so it will be put aside and scrapped? Or as an amusement park or museum? ”

"It's just going to slowly wither and die there!"

"Hundreds of years later, does anyone still remember its existence?"

One of the co-captains interjected, "At least it will bring a little security." For the people, it is also good to leave it there to wither...... People will be reluctant to give up, and they will think that even if they leave it idle, it is better than selling. ”

"What sense of security? If there is a real war, will it still be able to run away with everyone? We can develop specialized interstellar warfare weapons, railguns, and drones, and we can still use this scrapped mothership?! ”

Zhang Yuan found that he was a little more emotional, and quickly cleared his throat.

He said excitedly: "In fact, the problem of public opinion is very simple, but I think of a propaganda slogan: instead of letting our mothership sit idle here and die alone, it is better to let her carry the hope of another civilization and ...... again."

"Set sail!"

"Complete your own glorious journey, a ...... of a civilization The journey of redemption, this is the greatest meaning of her existence! ”