Compared to common radiation sickness, the genetic mutations in the crew of the Nimbus spacecraft are irreversible. All the genetic repair drugs available in human civilization are ineffective against this. This was known when Wang Hao got the results of gene sequencing data.

Because of this, the ship's doctor on board the Nimbus is helpless against the pain of his companions. This was beyond her knowledge, and she simply did not have the ability to deal with such a lesion. Even, even Wang Hao, who is a top expert in the civilization, has no way to deal with it for the time being.

To put it simply, even if the crew of the Nimbus were at the time of their illness in the most advanced hospital in the capital city of Blue Star, the temporarily chosen political and economic center of human civilization that fled here, and received joint treatment from the best experts in all of civilization, there would be no way to alleviate or cure their disease.

From the moment this strange lesion began to occur in their bodies, they were already doomed to die in agony.

So far, Wang Hao has obtained a lot of key information, but this is still not enough. There are also several crucial issues that Wang Hao did not investigate clearly. The questions are, first, how does the disease arise? How many people will it be affected by how it is generated? Second, how can this disease be cured?

Although there is a high probability that the disease is not contagious, Wang Hao still does not dare to take it lightly. If its pathogenic mechanism exists on a large scale in human civilization, which will inevitably lead to a large number of human beings, it is very likely to cause another upheaval within humanity. And this is unaffordable for the current human civilization.

"So...... What is the reason why all the dozens of crew members of the Nimbus spacecraft suffer from this disease? Is it a special space environment, or is it some undiscovered design flaw in the Nimbus spacecraft? Or is it some kind of behavior of the crew? ”

Wang Hao knows that his mission is far from over.

At this time, a meeting was underway on the Phoenix system's largest planet, New Jupiter, the third-most massive moon, the planet known as the Blue Star.

The meeting was held at the Capital City Human Government Building, and was attended by senior government officials, including head of state Shen Qingyuan, heads of various departments, and a large number of scientists, engineers, and scholars.

This is undoubtedly a high-level meeting, and the discussion of such a meeting is usually a major event that has a bearing on the fate of the entire human civilization.

An old man with gray hair was meticulously reporting to the attendees: "According to the observation of the Phoenix Star Real-time Monitoring Team and the joint research of scholars in the Star Evolution Laboratory, we all agree that the instability of Phoenix Star is increasing. Although it is unlikely to have a supernova explosion in a short period of time, it is reasonable to assume that it will have at least one more violent burst of energy in the near future. ”

Shen Qingyuan, the current head of human civilization, who had meticulously combed his hair and a serious expression, and was as hard and cold as a stone, knocked lightly on the table and interrupted the old man's report: "I want to know what kind of impact this relatively violent energy burst will have on the galaxy ecology. ”

The old man lowered his head and checked the information, and said, "First of all, it will cause a significant increase in the intensity of interstellar space radiation, stellar winds, and magnetic field disturbances. This will have a significant impact on various interstellar spacecraft, and will directly affect all planets in the Phoenix system, including the Blue Star. Secondly, under the influence of the energy burst of Phoenix, the new Jupiter and the new Saturn will also undergo corresponding changes, which will affect the moons orbiting them for a second time. All of our activities are affected more drastically. ”

"By the near future, how long do you mean exactly?"

"The exact timing could not be determined. It's a matter of probability. According to our calculations, the probability of a violent burst of energy within a year is as high as 85%. In two years, it's 99 percent. ”

Shen Qingyuan's expression did not change in the slightest, he just wrote something on the paper with a pen, then put down the pen and said with some emotion: "It seems that the Phoenix Galaxy does not welcome us. ”

Another old man with the same gray hair said with some sadness: "It's not just a matter of welcome. Phoenix will become more and more active, and the intensity and frequency of energy bursts will become higher and higher - although this will only cause some inconvenience to our activities and will not completely destroy us, they are a sign that Phoenix has entered old age early, and it may end its life at any time with the most brilliant explosion. And its death will surely take us with us. ”

The old man who spoke before said in a deep voice: "Lao Li, don't be alarmist. According to our calculations, the probability of a supernova explosion on Phoenix within 100 years is only 1.3 in 10,000. ”

The old man, who was called Lao Li, was just about to refute when he was interrupted by a voice full of majesty.

"You mean that the probability of a supernova explosion on Phoenix within a hundred years is low, but it still exists? And, in the event of a supernova explosion, there is no chance that we will survive if we remain here? ”

In the face of this voice, the old man did not dare to slack off, and immediately replied: "Theoretically it is true. But Führer, you have to understand that reality and probability are two different things. There is absolutely no need for us to advance the departure time for the sake of such a small probability. That would be too hasty. ”

Shen Qingyuan was silent for a moment, and nodded slightly: "There is a sharp sword hanging over our heads at all times. However, I wonder why we chose the Phoenix Galaxy as our stopover at that time, given the risk of an early supernova explosion on Phoenix Star? ”

Facing Shen Qingyuan's inquiry, the expressions of the two old men became a little embarrassed. In the end, the old man known as Lao Li replied: "Führer, our existing theoretical system cannot completely accurately predict every detail of stellar activity and evolution. The first is that our theoretical system is still imperfect, and the second is that observation technology limits our cognition. We chose this place because of the two giant gaseous planets in the Phoenix system and the many abundant moons, but we were unaware of the risks hidden on Phoenix. ”

"Okay, now that the situation is clear, let's talk about what we should do. Do we continue to wait at the risk of 1.3 in 10,000 and wait for all the supplies to be collected before setting sail to return to the solar system, or will we set sail soon and leave this place where we are not welcome? ”

An official-looking man said: "I am in charge of the material reserves of the voyage plan. Let me inform you of the current progress of our material reserves: up to now, 97 percent of the fuel collection has been completed, and 98.2 percent of the total 37,236,05 material collection tasks have been completed, and only some of the many demands, such as No. 903 special steel, high-purity manganese ore, and some rare gases, have not yet been completed, and it is expected that they will be collected in another 30 years at most. In other words, even if we wait, we will only have to wait another thirty years at most. ”

Another official said: "As we all know, we are a whole civilization, not a single fleet. At the time of migration, it is expected that the total number of ships will be in the tens of millions, and with such a large number of ships, it is very difficult to coordinate, and each departure and docking will consume a lot of resources and time, and will bring many unnecessary risks. I tend to wait for a while, and when I have collected all the supplies, I will sail directly to the solar system at once, without stopping in between. ”

A middle-aged scientist said: "In terms of risk control, it is wisest to stay in the Phoenix system and wait for all the material collection tasks to be completed before setting sail." If supplies had to be stopped during the voyage due to lack of supplies, the risk would be more than 1.3 in 10,000. ”

"I don't think the judgment on this matter can be measured solely by risk. When it comes to the life and death of the entire civilization, even a 1 in 100,000 probability cannot be ignored. Even if stopping for supplies would pose some risk to us, so what? It's just a waste of our time, and if we stay here, if the Phoenix Star explodes, our entire civilization will be destroyed. ”

Faced with this issue, people began to have a heated discussion. In the room, the nearly 1,000 participants were divided into two distinct groups, and it was clear that both groups were prepared in advance, with a lot of data and cases to support their arguments.

More than a dozen hours passed from morning to evening, and there was never a two-thirds of the supporters of either view. If the number of supporters is less than two-thirds, it cannot be issued as a decision of the General Assembly.

This was the case in all three cases. According to the law, in such cases, the Führer has the right of final decision.

So, after the results of the third vote came out, the eyes of thousands of people in the entire conference room were all focused on Shen Qingyuan.

Shen Qingyuan seems to have a draft. His expression did not change in the slightest, as if announcing a trivial matter, and said lightly to the attendees: "I have decided to set sail and return to the solar system in a year's time. All units and departments should immediately draw up specific plans and make complete preparations within this year's time. Meeting. ”

The congregation knew so well about Shen's leadership style that once he made a decision, he would never change it, so no one tried to protest.

Both supporters and opponents have to accept this reality at this moment.

"Next year, we're going home......"