Four

"Then Professor Shi, what is your attitude towards this matter?" The hostess asked. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The pot-bellied middle-aged man sits in an armchair, somewhat bowed, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and the introduction at the bottom of the screen is "well-known extraterrestrial life research expert".

"First of all, one thing is certain, this is by no means done by human beings, and no country in the world has this scientific and technological strength." Professor Shi said, "Then it can only be the masterpiece of an alien civilization...... Many people in the outside world are very excited, thinking that this is a milestone in human history...... But I personally think they're overly optimistic. ”

"What is your basis?"

"It can be inferred from two points...... The first is their message to humanity, which is so visible that it can be seen by people all over the world...... It is the number on the moon, and if they want to communicate with the human world, in order to avoid causing panic and unnecessary hostility, they must first contact the top of the government, but they send the message to the world in the most understandable way...... What is it? This is a warning! Only warnings will be made public to maximize their effect. NASA realized this, so they panicked...... They had just announced that they were going to land on the moon in a week, probably the most hasty space program in human history, because they knew there was no time. ”

The hostess nodded in agreement.

"It was 30 the other day and 25 tonight...... Anyone can tell it's a countdown. Professor Shi continued, "What is the countdown?" I think the worst scenario is a ticking time bomb...... A bomb planted by an alien civilization to destroy humanity. ”

"If aliens have far more technology than humans, then why don't they just invade Earth?"

"I have two assumptions about this." Professor Shi straightened up with some difficulty, "First, the moon itself is a bomb...... It was transformed into a giant bomb by an alien civilization in the past 4.6 billion years of history, and now it was time to explode, so the countdown began, and I remember that there were conspiracy theories that the moon was hollow before...... Now it seems that it cannot be completely denied. ”

"And what about the second one?"

"The second is that aliens are on their way to Earth, and the countdown is a sign of their arrival. In order for any civilization to develop to such an extent, it must have the corresponding social morality, otherwise it will destroy civilization itself...... They are forced to occupy the earth as a habitat because of their survival, but their survival instincts conflict with morality, and they are unwilling to exterminate human beings, who are also intelligent creatures...... So set aside a month for humanity to escape......"

Yang Yuan turned off the TV and looked out the window. These days, almost all news media are hyping sensational texts such as "aliens have invaded Earth". Yang Yuan is a graduate student in radio astronomy, and he is not an amateur in this regard, and he does not blindly follow the trend...... But iron-like facts prove the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations, because humans could not carve such a huge number on the moon.

Yang Yuan didn't have the heart to refute the ridiculous statements in the media that were completely untenable, and at this time, really capable people would not have time to show their heads on TV.

The mobile phone vibrated at hand, the caller ID number was very familiar, and Yang Yuan answered.

"Xiaoyuan?"

"Dad...... It's me. ”

"You...... You okay? Can you go home? ”

Yang Yuan was silent for a long time, his parents are typical Chinese parents of this generation, they are honest farmers, farming in the fields with their backs to the loess, they haven't read much, they don't know what the so-called "alien invasion of the earth" means, but even though their senses are dull, they are extremely sensitive to the safety of their son.

Yang Yuan remembers that he was admitted to university that year, and in that small mountain village where information was closed, he represented the hope of the whole village as the only college student in his family and even in the village, and his parents stuffed the 2,000 yuan from the sale of pigs in exchange for the medical expenses for his mother's leg treatment into his hand and asked him to buy some food on the road. They were so happy to think that this generation could get rid of the loess and fly into the clouds, Yang Yuan couldn't even bear to tell them that it was worthless to flood college students everywhere now.

"Can't...... Dad, I'm going to work overtime this month. Yang Yuan was telling the truth, in the face of this sudden situation, the workload of the observatories across the country increased rapidly, he looked out the window, and the armored car was loaded with guns and ammunition armed police driving by on the road...... This place has been taken over by the army since yesterday.

"Oh...... Oh that......" The old man on the other side of the phone was a little confused, "Then you have to be careful, it's messy outside." ”

"It's okay, Dad." Yang Yuan smiled, "I still have soldiers here to stand guard for me." ”

"That's good, that's good......"

There seems to be no common language between father and son, let alone an illiterate old farmer and a young graduate student of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the distance between the two generations is as if the whole world is separated...... But the old man was still searching for something to say.

"Dad, listen to me, don't go out for the next month." Yang Yuan whispered, "Buy more salt and put it at home, fill the water tank at home, and remember to lock the door at night." ”

Yang Yuan could almost foresee the disaster, but all he could do was warn the old men to be safe, and he couldn't even go back to see them.

"Good...... I listen to you. ”

"Dad...... Information control will be in place from tonight. Yang Yuan said, "I won't be able to call you for the next month." ”

There was silence on the phone.

"Then you have to pay attention to your body, I wanted your mother to talk to you, she just went to the vegetable garden to hoe grass." The old man said, "The winter melons at home are growing well, and when you get home, I will ask your mother to make them for you." ”

“…… Good. ”

The phone hung up, and Yang Yuan felt that something in his heart was also broken.

The old academician stood in the operation control hall, looking up at the LCD screen on the wall, the young people hurriedly passed him with documents in hand, the atmosphere in the hall was unusually solemn, there was only the noise of electricity in his ears, no one spoke, the heavy breathing was amplified in the silence, the old man remembered that the last time it was so dead here was when he was trying to wake up the Moon Rabbit rover...... Everyone was staring at the screen and holding their breath until the image flickered in front of them.

The long silence was followed by cheers that almost toppled the ceiling, and although the process was thrilling, it was a comedy ending after all...... But the old man knew that this time the luck might not be as good as the last time.

The huge moon occupied all the old man's field of vision, and he gazed at the only satellite of the earth for a long time, and the old man spent his whole life on it, thinking that there would be no one in the world who was more familiar with the moon than he was...... But looking at the numbers on the moon at this time, he suddenly realized that he had never really understood it.

The first sound to break the silence was the debriefing data.

"The digital elevation model of the moon has been built."

"Multispectral images are also out......"

"3.0GHz microwave radiation brightness temperature data analysis completed."

"Data analysis of high-energy particles and solar wind ions in near-moon space has been completed."

"How's it going?"

The answer is hopeless.

“…… There are no anomalies. ”

The most worrying of all has finally happened...... None of the available detection methods can determine the cause of the lunar anomaly.

If you don't know why, you can't stop it.

The god bypassed the eyes of humans and carved a countdown on the surface of the moon, and humans could only watch as the numbers returned to zero.

Five

The president never imagined that he would have the privilege of staying in Cheyenne Hill during his tenure at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a Colorado behemoth that is the safest nuclear bunker in the country, and the scar-rattling of the Cold War has created this almost absurd project...... A fifteen-storey building was built underground by digging through 500 meters of granite, with a two-meter-thick reinforced concrete gate to prevent any possible crisis.

Nearly 30 years after the clouds of the Cold War dissipated, this underground nuclear bunker, which has long been engraved in history, has begun to play its most primitive function...... The oldest form of defense is made of airtight rock, steel, and concrete.

The U.S. government has never been more nervous since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but now they may face a far greater enemy than the Soviet Union.

"It's ridiculous." The president closed the folder and was furious, "You have a budget of tens of billions a year, but you still use a spaceship from fifty years ago? ”

Charles was silent with his head down, he had just brought bad news to the president...... The moon landing failed, and the Saturn V rocket disintegrated three minutes after liftoff, scattering debris across the Atlantic Ocean.

Saturn V is the largest vehicle ever built by mankind, it has created the greatest innovation in human history, and NASA has recreated the Apollo program in order to ensure absolute success.

But success is not absolute.

"Mr. President...... It's not a technical issue. "It's not surprising that a high-risk undertaking like manned space flight fails at any time." ”

"But we don't have time to spare!" The president pointed to the electronic clock hanging on the wall behind him, the red LCD had only one number "20" on it, which made it look more like a time-bomb timer, but no one knew what would explode when the number returned to zero.

"I'll only give you three days!" The president reached out and grabbed the chief by the collar, "One more moon!" ”

"Mr. President...... It's not realistic. Charles shook his head and spread his hands, "Landing on the moon in three days is beyond our capabilities. ”

"Then let the whole world unite." The president let go of the chief and turned to look up at the glaring crimson numbers on the wall, "I'm here to call Moscow, Beijing and Brussels." ”

A third of the way to the countdown, humanity has done nothing but recognize the limits of its own abilities and despair. Due to the government's inaction, panic began to spread like wildfire, the social system was on the verge of collapse, inflation was completely beyond the scope of market regulation, people began to rush to buy daily necessities in the skyrocketing prices, the credit of the government and banks was reduced to a dead letter, and the comprehensive depreciation of paper money was followed by a boom in the exchange of hard currencies such as gold around the world.

Many eschatological theories, fueled by national panic, began to flourish, and even many official media admitted that the end of mankind was near. The Vatican's pope announced that he would personally celebrate a grand Mass to pray for God's forgiveness to delay the Judgment Day.

A worldwide pilgrimage of Christians from all over the world has gathered in Italy, probably the largest religious movement ever seen in human history, far larger than the Crusades of the Middle Ages and the pilgrimage of Islam.

As a result, Italy is so overpopulated that the police are powerless. On the day of the Mass, thousands of people were empty, and some fanatics even tried to detonate them at the venue with bombs strapped to their bodies as sacrifices to ask God or the devil for forgiveness.

However, the Mass did not end in a happy ending, because of the large number of people, there was a mass stampede on the day of the venue, the scene was chaotic and miserable, and the largest religious event in human history did not stop the numbers on the moon for even half a second, except for the tragic death of more than 2,000 faithful believers.

People were abandoned by God, and the religious community was hit like never before, and it has never recovered.

But humanity's elite is still trying to find a way, and the ultimate space program, led by NASA, is in full swing.

For the first time, the whole world was caught up by time, and in this competition that may be related to the survival of human civilization, human beings began to exert their full potential to try to distance themselves from the numbers on the moon, and for the first time, the development of science and technology was not driven by human beings but forced forward, and the huge machine composed of 6.5 billion people was at full power, seeking only a glimmer of life.

At this time, it would be extremely foolish to cherish any broomstick, and the United States and Russia have come up with a surprising technological reserves, and the space race between the two old space powers that has lasted for half a century has left an extremely strong legacy.

With the influx of money from all over the world, Russia's space industry, which was once languishing and impoverished, struggling on the brink of survival, quickly regained its astonishing vitality.

Experts from various countries reached a consensus with unprecedented efficiency and decided to build a total of 12 lunar spacecraft, eight manned and four cargo spacecraft, each with a payload of an incredible 190 tons.

It was decided to move all the detection and observation instruments that could be moved, and to move the entire large laboratory to the moon, which is an unprecedented and huge project, equivalent to the construction of four International Space Stations...... An International Space Station took decades for humanity, but they now have four times as much work in just three days. In the face of an unprecedented crisis, people are crazy at all costs.

The whole of Europe is responsible for assembling these massive chemically powered rockets, which are then airlifted to launch sites around the world.

China is responsible for signal detection for the entire program.

"Teacher Ouyang, do you think the world will be destroyed?" Yang Yuan sat on the grass as the radio telescope's massive parabolic antenna cast irregular shadows cut by buildings.

The old man stood in the shadows, looking up at the antenna.

"Xiaoyuan...... Look at this telescope. ”

Yang Yuan raised his head, the circular antenna was above his head, and at such a close distance, people could feel the power and beauty contained in this huge and shocking steel frame structure, like a giant in the sky.

"The ancients said that virtue carries things." The old academician smiled, "Isn't it the same with this telescope...... Carrying the Chinese nation's thousand-year-old dream of flying to the sky, he carries it so heavily and stands so steadily...... This is virtue. ”

The old man squatted down beside the young man, "The wisdom of our ancestors will not go out of style for thousands of years. If you are virtuous, you can bear it, you look at the earth under our feet, how much weight does it carry? ”

Yang Yuan lowered his head silently.

"Teacher Ouyang...... The rocket is going to be launched today, right? ”

"yes...... Jiuquan, Xichang, and Wenchang are all to be launched. The old academician nodded, stretched out his hand and pointed to the telescope, "At that time, it will be us and it who will be responsible for receiving the signal." ”

"Will we succeed?" Yang Yuan raised his head, his face haggard. As the countdown returned to zero step by step, he also became more and more anxious, this was not Yang Yuan's reaction alone, it was generally the case with all the young people in the entire observatory...... Symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and psychological imbalance are spreading among the population.

The leader tried to hire a psychiatrist, but in this place that can be said to be the closest place to the moon in China, the psychiatrist could not protect himself, and the poor middle-aged man was infected by the solemn and tense atmosphere, and he also began to feel anxious.

"It doesn't really make much difference whether it will work out or not." The old man shook his head, he lightly tapped his toes, Yang Yuan squinted his eyes, there was a low dogtail grass at his feet, and next to the grass roots was a small burrow, ants came in and out in twos and threes, this was an ant nest.

"Look at this ant nest," ...... old man whispered, "what is the difference between us and these ants?" ”

"Humans are intelligent creatures, how can they be compared to lower arthropods like ants?"

"That's because we're at the top of the planet's biosphere." The old man shook his head, "If the galaxy also has an ecosphere...... So in the eyes of those civilizations at the top of the galactic ecosystem, we are just like ants, but we are just lower species on earth. Do you think these ants will know that the Earth is in serious trouble? ”

Yang Yuan looked at the ants on the ground in a daze, a black ant was poking its head out of the hole, it may have just been born, the first time it stepped out of the cave to see the light of day, immersed in the joy of embracing this vast and vast world for the first time.

"In some ways, humans and ants are very similar." "A high degree of sociality and discipline increases the chances of a species surviving a disaster, but at the expense of the individual...... Ants are sacrificial creatures, and when you are part of this large collective, the collective destiny is the individual destiny. Back then, we also relied on this spirit to create New China...... This is ant life, something that flows in the blood of every Chinese. ”

"Ant life......" Yang Yuan muttered.

"Everyone must have the courage to move forward in the face of disasters." The old man patted Yang Yuan on the back, "We have no way of knowing the final result, but we must do our best." Human power is limited, and we can only build these twelve ships with the strength of the whole world. Now that you've done your best, what's the matter? ”

The old man's open-mindedness convinced Yang Yuan, and he realized for the first time that there was actually such a group of people in this world, who were not panicked or crazy, would not rush to the doctor and would not hope for the illusory God Allah, even if they faced the end of the world, they would only quietly stay in front of their posts and silently watch the changes in numbers.

"For a man who is already in his old age," ...... old man smiled, "death may be the only thing he has not experienced." ”