Backup (Heart Aroused by Urgency 2)

December 2029, Rocket City, Liang Nation

The Nikola-brand self-driving electric car sped down the highway, Daphne Braun resting her head lightly on Michael's shoulder. Michael's thoughts had long since drifted beyond the car window.

If he paused the plan to use superluminal waves to "light up" Enceladus, he didn't know if he could still persuade investors, including Prince Harufa, to believe he truly possessed a super energy source and would therefore be willing to pour astronomical sums of money into his project.

Daphne subconsciously touched her belly, her lips brushing Michael's cheek. Michael was pulled back to reality. His strong hand gently stroked Daphne's abdomen, seeking and sensing the tiny fetus developing within.

Daphne could feel the disappointment Martha's interview outline had caused Michael. At the same time, she was curious about the other experiment Michael had mentioned. When he spoke of the Saturn ring experiment, Michael began to talk enthusiastically.

Enceladus's semi-major axis exceeds 230,000 kilometers. Within its inner orbit lies a ring of Saturn's rings, divided by gaps into several differently named rings. Among these, the B ring is the brightest, with the greatest thickness and number of constituent rocks and ice chunks.

The observation history of these rings spans several hundred years. It wasn't until the Bright Country Space Administration launched probes to observe the Saturn System up close that astronomers were astonished to discover a faint, dim, but vast and enormous ring outside Enceladus's orbit, which was named the E ring.

Before this, astronomers believed that the rings of ice and rock, numbering in the hundreds of millions within Enceladus's orbit, were formed from the debris of a massive Saturnian moon that had exploded. Was the outer E ring also formed by a moon explosion?

The E ring extends from Enceladus all the way to the orbit of Tethys, and even faintly reaches Rhea, with a disk radius spanning nearly a million kilometers.

Calculating the dynamic rotation of the material in each revolution of this enormous "disk" based on the law of universal gravitation, astronomers concluded that the structure of the E ring could only exist for ten thousand to one million years. One million years, compared to the several billion-year lifespan of the Solar System's protoplanetary disk, is but a blink of an eye.

If the law of universal gravitation is correct, and the E ring's lifespan is indeed so short, astronomers must believe in such an awkward coincidence: that our human lifespan and the E ring's lifespan happen to overlap at the same point on the vast timeline of billions of years.

Daphne was well-versed in the situation of Saturn's rings. She said to Michael:

"No one previously knew the angular velocity of each ring of Saturn's rings. According to the law of universal gravitation, their angular velocities are faster on the inside and slower on the outside. If we set marker points on different rings and measure their respective angular velocities, and if the angular velocities approach being the same, the law of universal gravitation will be replaced by a new theory of gravity, is that right?"

"Yes, in fact, we don't need to wait for experimental results. Just from the photos of Saturn's rings, you can see that they don't look like rings with faster inner speeds and slower outer speeds at all, but rather like a tightly connected disk rotating as a whole. In that case, its lifespan would be far more than ten thousand years!"

Michael's phone rang. It was Irene, saying Prince Harufa wished for Michael and Daphne to join him for breakfast at his hotel tomorrow.

The next morning, Michael and Daphne arrived as scheduled. Michael's years of business experience told him that Prince Harufa seemed to have strengthened his intention to invest.

However, what made Michael less confident was that the abandoned Enceladus ice lamp plan could not showcase the power of the super energy he possessed. Moreover, the capital investment required to restart Mars was enormous, and the most critical point was that the payback period was very, very long.

Prince Harufa was very direct. He got straight to the point and asked Michael, "Can you tell me about your plan? How much money will it require?"

"My plan is to terraform and restart Mars, making it habitable for humans like Earth, or in other words, to turn Mars into a backup for Earth," Michael briefly stated his explosive proposal.

Irene's hand involuntarily pressed onto the dining table, causing the bowls, plates, and silver cutlery on it to emit a faint trembling sound. Prince Harufa placed his coffee cup back onto its saucer, raised his eyes, and looked directly at Michael, as if encouraging him to elaborate.

Michael turned to Daphne and said slowly, "My dear girlfriend is an expert in Mars research. Please, you tell us first, what needs to be done to turn Mars into Earth."

This was the first time Daphne had heard of this crazy plan from Michael. She said with great interest and familiarity:

"For humans to live freely on the surface of Mars, we need an atmosphere with moderate oxygen content, liquid water to sustain biodiversity, including oceans, lakes, and rivers, and a planetary-scale dipole magnetic field capable of withstanding high-energy particles from the sun and outer space."

After listening to Daphne's introduction, Prince Harufa, who had been leaning slightly forward, settled back into his chair. Michael completely understood the reaction of a normal person upon hearing his crazy plan for the first time.

Restarting and terraforming Mars, creating an atmosphere, liquid water, and a planetary magnetic field, was by no means achievable by human effort. The word "crazy" couldn't even describe this idea; it was sheer, nonsensical delusion.

"I have a method to obtain super energy. I plan to build a massive device on Mars to absorb energy and channel it into Mars's core. The cooled metallic core will be heated, turning into a scorching liquid, restarting the magnetic field."

"If that were possible, the ice beneath Mars's surface would melt, forming oceans," Daphne added. "The dry ice at Mars's south pole would sublimate into carbon dioxide, forming an atmosphere."

"Yes, the greenhouse effect and liquid water would promote the flourishing of plants like algae. Through photosynthesis, oxygen would be generated, and Mars would eventually become a habitable planet similar to Earth," Michael said.

Prince Harufa picked up his coffee cup again and asked, "Hmm, I imagine this plan would require a lot, a lot of money, right? It seems you're not just trying to convince me to make an investment, but rather to embark on a great undertaking. I suspect not many people would be willing to invest in you. Do you think I would invest in you?"

Michael's nerves instantly tensed. He stared intently into the Prince's eyes, hoping to discern something.

Prince Harufa's next words exploded like a bombshell:

"Even if all your plans are feasible, with my limited astronomical knowledge, I understand that it might take tens of thousands of years, or even longer, for Mars to be transformed into a backup for Earth. This is not an investment at all; no one could wait for a return."

Compared to Michael, Daphne and Irene at the table appeared even more awkward.

To everyone's surprise, Prince Harufa remained calm. He extended his right hand, palm facing up, formed it into a fist, and then slowly opened it, saying:

"There's a proverb in my homeland: sand turns into gold, and gold eventually turns back into sand. A clenched fist cannot hold sand; when released, even sand will slip away."

While everyone was puzzled, the Prince explained:

"My country is fortunate; the ground is covered in sand, and gold is buried beneath it. But the wisdom of our ancestors tells us that gold is panned from sand, and the gold in our hands will eventually turn back into sand."

Michael felt as if he had emerged from an ice cave, blood rushing to his face, his cheeks flushed. He eagerly asked Prince Harufa:

"Even with a huge investment and an uncertain return, you are willing to take this risk with me?"

Prince Harufa laughed heartily, extended his right hand, and clasped Michael's, saying:

"Why not? Before my gold turns back into sand, take it and prepare a backup for Earth."

Michael sincerely thanked the Prince for his courage and generosity. He suddenly recalled the public reports about the Prince's smart city cluster plan and asked:

"I heard you also have a grand plan to build a cluster of smart cities in the desert. If you have any needs regarding artificial intelligence, I will do my utmost to support you."

Michael said excitedly, thinking to himself, If I had known the Prince had such magnanimity, why would I have bothered with that 'ice lamp' on Enceladus!

Everyone chatted happily and raised their glasses in celebration. Irene said with regret: "Terraforming Mars, what a crazy and beautiful plan! Unfortunately, even if it were completely successful, none of us might live to see it."

Michael smiled mysteriously and said, "We might not necessarily not see it. I not only intend to transform the terrain of Mars but also to upload human genes and consciousness backups to Mars. That would truly be Earth's backup."