Not Standing Beneath a Crumbling Wall
The last time, it was nuclear energy.
Leaving aside distant examples, the Space Elevator technology itself is quite valuable to humanity. As mentioned before, Human Civilization is now a Wandering Civilization, and when encountering danger and fleeing, its main strategy is to quickly resupply and escape.
With Space Elevator, you can just reel in your bait and leave, just like when you're fishing.
Of course, Space Elevator aren't all that great. Although humans haven't built one yet, they've noticed their potential once they acquired the full suite of space technology, thanks to the comprehensive data provided by the Nair People.
The weight of cargo that Space Elevator can carry depends on the quality of its cable material; the stronger the cable, the greater the carrying capacity of the Space Elevator.
The data from the Nair People clearly states that many large finished components, such as a spaceship that cannot fly into space on its own, cannot be transported by the Space Elevator. Therefore, their Pot Lid Five Planet uses both transportation methods.
However, if the primary purpose is simply to transport mineral resources and supplies between Earth and space, then Space Elevator is more than sufficient. Furthermore, the passenger transport capacity of Space Elevator far surpasses that of Orbital Mass Accelerator.
It can be said that acquiring Space Elevator technology will increase humanity's space transportation capabilities by at least tenfold.
Humanity's Manufacturing Department has already begun planning to build five units once they leave the Pot Lid Vastness Star and reach the next star.
The reason we didn't build them here is because we don't have enough resources. After all, this is all Nair People's territory. Humans are lucky if they can replenish the fleet's supplies and fuel; they don't even dare to expect the Nair People to provide resources for a few more Space Elevator.
Moreover, once you reach an unclaimed Star System, you'll have access to an abundance of resources—it's practically inexhaustible. And there are countless unclaimed stars in the universe; once you've Pot Lid Vastness Star, you can simply stay away from the territories marked on the Nair People's star map.
This is also the next Star System that humanity will travel to. Since the Nair People had already given humanity the star map, the target has already been chosen. It is about 27 light-years away from the Pot Lid Vastness Star.
Once everything here is settled, the humans will leave.
Based on the current resupply schedule, the fleet will be fully resupplyed in about five years. In fact, if humans were to mine resources themselves, it wouldn't take five years at all, but the Nair People wouldn't allow it, so humans can only wait to receive ship after ship of supplies from the Nair People.
Fortunately Nair People had their own fleet, so they were quite experienced in resupplying, otherwise it might have taken even longer.
That day, Yue Yuan was in his office dealing with his daily affairs when he heard a knock on the door.
After Yue Yuan called out "Come in," he looked up at the door and saw a man and a woman stepping in.
Yue Yuan knew all the leaders on the Lyra. The man was from the Staff Department, surnamed Wei, and the woman, surnamed Lei, was the person in charge of the supply operation.
"Commander Yue, are we really not going to wait for that Transport Fleet coming from the direction of Great Blaze Star?" It was Staff Officer Wei spoke.
Yue Yuan shook his head and said, "We can't wait any longer! Five years from now, that fleet will probably reach its deceleration distance in about three years. If we wait any longer, there might be big trouble if that fleet isn't Transport Fleet. We're not afraid of trouble, but there's no need to take unnecessary risks."
From what Yue Yuan said, it's clear that the plan of the Nair People on the Pot Lid Vastness Star was effective. At least many people in the Command Department, including Yue Yuan, felt that the matter was too suspicious and that it was best to leave as soon as possible.
As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. Although that fleet may indeed be what the Nair People said—a transport fleet carrying a lot of cargo from the Great Blaze Star —humanity has already obtained what it wanted on the Pot Lid Vastness Star, so there is really no need to take this risk.
"I understand. Commander Yue, there's one more thing. I'm applying to stay here for the next five years to assist Director Lei, so I won't be going back with the Lyra."
"Oh?" Yue Yuan raised an eyebrow, glanced at Staff Officer Wei and then at Director Lei next to him, seemingly realizing something. He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll give you a five-year leave, but after five years, you have to return to the Lyra to report."
"Commander Yue." Staff Officer Wei saluted Yue Yuan with a happy expression.
"Hmm, Director Lei here for this matter as well?" Yue Yuan looked at the other one.
"No, Chief of Staff, I'm here to report on the recent situation regarding the storage of supplies," replied Director Lei from the Supply and Logistics Department.
"Alright, I understand. Just send the data over according to the procedure later. There's no need to report back personally." Hearing this, Yue Yuan knew it was just an excuse. Director Lei must have come to ask for leave for Staff Officer Wei. He probably didn't expect Yue Yuan to grant him leave so readily.
"If there's nothing else, you can go about your business," Yue Yuan said, signaling them to leave.
"Yes, Commander Yue!"
"Understood, Chief of Staff."
The two turned to leave, but as soon as they stepped out of the office, they heard Yue Yuan's words drifting into their ears from afar. "By the way, you two should have a few more children in five years. If you're busy, just register with the Population Management Department, and they'll handle it. Hmm, mainly because the weightless environment can also have some impact on the baby's growth."
Yue Yuan's words made the two pause, but they didn't stop.
Just now, after Yue Yuan noticed something amiss, he checked the expiration dates of the Life Elixir the two of them were holding and found that they were both expiring in the next two years. He knew then that the two of them were getting married, which is why he so readily granted them a five-year leave.
Due to the issues with the Life Elixir, human population growth is currently very slow. Under normal living conditions, the birth rate is acceptable, but during interstellar travel, it's even worse.
Fortunately, the number of natural deaths was also low, otherwise there would definitely have been negative growth.
In fact, since Callisto was discovered, new Life Elixir have been continuously developed, and so far no human has died of old age. From this perspective, it cannot be said that the Life Elixir are to blame.
The main issue is the duration of drug expiration for both men and women.
If two people in love are experiencing a situation where one person's drug effects wear off while the other's condition persists for decades or even centuries, they might not have a chance to continue even if they wait until they die of old age.
In fact, Population Management Department have noticed this situation for hundreds of years, but without changes to the population system, the population growth rate will certainly not see a major breakthrough.
Because the original regulations stipulated that both men and women had children before they could register to use the Life Elixir, the main force driving human population growth now is actually the newborns who grow up generation after generation.
As for those who have used the Life Elixir, even if both men and women reach the end of the potion's effect hundreds of years later, their desire to have children is not as strong, and a large portion of them directly apply for a renewal of the potion.
This is one of the reasons why, after so many years, the human population is still less than 200 million.