Reflection and a New Journey
"Our original target was Barnard's Star, which is only 5.6 light-years away from us. However, considering that the Silver Mist might have obtained interstellar travel technology from our factory, we changed our target and went to the more distant Wolf 1061."
The Science Officer replied, "Wolf 1061 is about 8.1 light-years away, more distant than Barnard's Star, but relatively safer. Within 15 light-years of the Ross 154 Star system, there are about 24 stars. Even if the Silver Mist had truly mastered interstellar travel, I don't think it could possibly know we were in the vastness of space. However, I also don't think Wolf 1061 is entirely safe, considering the Silver Mist..."
"I know!"
Yue Yuan walked to the porthole, looked at the exterior of the Starlight Three, and sighed, "If the Silver Mist really develops technology from our abandoned factories, then this entire star field may not be safe. If they master Controlled Nuclear Fusion technology, then their travel speed will definitely be much faster than ours. In a few hundred years, it may develop into a cosmic disaster."
"Yes, so Wolf 1061 is just our temporary destination. We need to go much further. Before we reach Level 3 Civilization, we'll go as far as we can." The Science Officer said while fiddling with the equipment in front of him.
"It seems we won't be able to stay in one place for long in the short term." Yue Yuan still rested his hands on the railing, gazing out the porthole.
Humanity has escaped the Silver Mist, but it's uncertain how long this escape will last—it could be a hundred years, or it could be several hundred. However, as long as the Silver Mist remains, this star region will still be Dangerous Star Region for humanity.
In other words, it will be very difficult for humans to stay in one place for a long time in the future.
As the Hope spacecraft slowly sailed into deep space and gradually disappeared into the brilliant starry sky, humanity embarked on a new journey.
However, the influence of the Silver Mist has not faded from human life.
In daily life, people still occasionally mention the Silver Mist, a creation of Alien Civilization. The New Government, which leads humanity, also held a Summary Conference regarding this event.
The main purpose is to summarize the gains, losses, and lessons learned in this Silver Mist Incident.
At the meeting, Yue Yuan first reflected on his judgment in the final stage, admitting that he should not have agreed to carry out the final useless shelling, which would have put humanity in danger.
While it's true that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, this kind of thing is indeed wrong.
However, in response to Yue Yuan's self-criticism, the attendees stated that without sufficient prior preparation, humanity would not even have had a chance to escape.
That being said, it also demonstrates humanity's lack of experience in dealing with Alien Civilization. It can be said that the Silver Mist truly taught humanity a dangerous lesson about Cosmic Civilizations.
This course is very demanding.
It also made humanity clearly realize that an advanced civilization is an advanced civilization, and even a miner who only knows how to mine is not something that Low-level Civilization can defeat.
At the same time, it also tells humanity that sometimes greed can cost you your life.
If humanity had ignored the strange signals from the beginning, if humanity had never intended to rescue the Moke Star People, if humanity had only ever thought of running away... There are no "what ifs" in the world. Such lessons can only be etched into people's hearts, so that they can always remain vigilant in their future actions.
Besides self-examination and reflection, the meeting also included the assignment of tasks for humanity's next journey and general strategies for dealing with potential encounters with Alien Civilizations.
It is confirmed that, during the journey to Wolf 1061, most of humanity, like in the previous millennia-long voyages, entered a prolonged period of hibernation. At a distance of 8.1 light-years, traveling at 15% the speed of light, and considering a slight time dilation, the journey would take approximately 54 years.
54 years is just a short time; it'll pass in a good night's sleep.
After achieving Controlled Nuclear Fusion, the mere 8.1 light-years beneath our feet no longer require the arduous journey of over 800 years.
After this experience, almost no one on the Hope now harbors any illusions about aliens.
Yue Yuan believed that if they ever encountered other aliens again, no one in humanity would ever believe any more nonsense about friendliness.
Moreover, this event could very well change humanity's attitude towards Low-level Civilization.
Many who initially harbored ideas of peaceful exchange have largely abandoned them after the Silver Mist Incident. Yue Yuan even suspects that if humanity were to encounter a Low-level Civilization after it has matured, it would likely launch a massacre without hesitation, and probably no one would object.
He had heard many such extreme opinions at the meeting.
Yue Yuan said he was very happy with this change.
Before humans began their long hibernation during the Hope's voyage, Yue Yuan also organized several special meetings for various departments and of various types.
Most notably, the symposium explored solutions to the challenges of human navigation. Discussions primarily centered on the incompatibility between the fragility of the human body and the powerful propulsion of Controlled Nuclear Fusion.
For Yue Yuan, this conference had two main themes: one was to research Biotechnology to enhance humanity itself, and the other was to research materials technology to develop Acceleration Buffer Fluid.
For scientists, there is only one theme to this conference: to get money, resources, and talent to conduct research.
Supporters of both sides also engaged in heated discussions about these two routes, but just like the dispute between Xu Zhenyi and Yi Kai back then, they each held their own opinions and there was no result.
Such disputes are not about denying the other party's approach and refusing to study it, but rather about both sides believing that they should first increase their investment in the approach they have proposed.
Therefore, after the meeting, Xu Zhenyi Yi Kai went to Yue Yuan's office again to reiterate their views, hoping that Yue Yuan would give priority to their proposals.
"Chief, humanity currently lacks the corresponding Biotechnology. Not only is the technology lacking, but even the theory of body enhancement is insufficient. Therefore, it would be better to focus our efforts on developing the Acceleration Buffer Fluid, since this material technology already has a considerable theoretical foundation. Prioritizing the Acceleration Buffer Fluid is the best way to solve humanity's high-G acceleration problem in the shortest possible time," Xu Zhenyi said.
Yi Kai, standing to the side, immediately shook his head. "Although there is some theoretical basis for Acceleration Buffer Fluid, if we really want to make this, we would have to upgrade the spaceship and warship from scratch. After all, the so-called Acceleration Buffer Fluid is also a liquid, so we have to consider the operation of various electronic devices on the spaceship in this liquid."
"That's not a problem, Doctor Yi!" Xu Zhenyi told Yi Kai his idea before he could finish speaking, "I've spoken with Doctor Yu Nanfeng from the Engineering Department. We don't need to completely modify the spacecraft's internal facilities. We just need to design a separate buffer acceleration zone for injecting the Acceleration Buffer Fluid."
"The problem with electronic equipment is not difficult to solve. We have a Coating Technology that can separate electronic equipment from liquids. Doctor Yi, our Electrical Equipment Components have all been replaced with superconducting materials, so there is no problem with resistance and heat dissipation. The Coating Technology is entirely feasible."