Chapter Summaries

Li Qingsong learned that the Machina Calamity fleet had stopped accelerating, giving him at least 305 years to pursue his next breakthrough. He turned to proton-decay research, beginning with a massive detector intended to test his Grand Unified Model.

• Li Qingsong saw the dim star marking the Machina Calamity fleet disappear and confirmed that its speed was only 9.4% of light speed.
• Li Qingsong calculated that the fleet would need at least 305 years to return, giving him time to attempt a breakthrough to the Strong Nuclear level and build a stronger fleet.
• Li Qingsong decided to devote himself to Basic Physics research while preparing for the challenges still ahead.
• Li Qingsong completed a Neutrino Telescope beneath a Dwarf Planet to search for proton decay and test his Grand Unified Model.
• Li Qingsong estimated that the detector's 120 million tons of pure water contained about 4*10^37 protons, enough to register roughly forty decays per year if the proton lifespan matched the current lower limit.

Li Qingsong built a massive underground Proton Decay Detector on a Dwarf Planet, but realized that one detector could not provide enough observations to study proton decay. He chose the Brute Force Approach and began constructing one thousand detectors across the Pegasus V432 Star System.

• Li Qingsong designed a detection method that distinguished proton decay products from neutrino events using billions of Photomultiplier Tubes and a dedicated supercomputer.
• Li Qingsong completed a 120-million-ton water detector underground, requiring extensive excavation, thousands of clones, and the attention of many more.
• Li Qingsong concluded that the uncertain proton lifespan and the need for repeated observations made one detector inadequate, and decided to build one thousand.
• Li Qingsong sent tens of thousands of Scientific Research Ships to survey asteroids and Dwarf Planets for suitable detector sites.
• Li Qingsong selected one thousand target worlds, and Heavy Transport Ships delivered supplies, machinery, clones, and robots to begin construction with the Divine Craftsman AI.

Li Qingsong completed a vast network of Proton Decay Detectors and turned to building Magnetic Monopole Detectors to test his Grand Unified Theory. He began filling a kilometer-long, 10-million-ton detector with helium-3 in hopes of capturing the elusive particles.

• Li Qingsong and the Blueprint Humans spent decades building Proton Decay Detectors across more than a thousand planets.
• Li Qingsong left 120 million clones to maintain the detectors and redirected his research effort toward detecting magnetic monopoles.
• Li Qingsong designed a detector using superfluid helium-3 to reveal magnetic monopoles through minute magnetic-field fluctuations.
• Li Qingsong began constructing a massive first-generation Magnetic Monopole Detector and filled it with several million tons of helium-3.

Li Qingsong discovered that natural Helium-3 reserves in the Pegasus V432 Star System were too scarce to build more Magnetic Monopole Detectors, so he decided to produce it through deuterium-deuterium fusion. He began a massive expansion of fusion power stations, and four new stations came online, producing about three tons of Helium-3 per day.

• Li Qingsong found that natural sources of Helium-3 in the Pegasus V432 Star System could not supply enough for additional Magnetic Monopole Detectors.
• Li Qingsong chose deuterium-deuterium fusion to manufacture Helium-3, despite its lower efficiency and more demanding operating conditions.
• Li Qingsong assigned 500 million clones to upgrade, renovate, and build Nuclear Fusion Power Stations while his other industries and research continued.
• Li Qingsong brought the first Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion Power Station into operation, producing approximately 750 kilograms of Helium-3 per day.
• Li Qingsong commissioned four Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion Power Stations, shut down one Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Power Station, and began producing about three tons of Helium-3 daily.

Li Qingsong mass-produced Magnetic Monopole Detectors using helium-3 from more than a million fusion stations, building over 500 in ten years. Meanwhile, his 1,000 Proton Decay Detectors recorded no proton decays, suggesting the proton’s lifespan was far longer than he had estimated, and leaving him unsure whether to build more detectors.

• Li Qingsong used deuterium from gas giants to power more than a million Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion Power Stations, which produced 400,000 tons of helium-3 on their first day and 3.6 million tons by the ninth.
• Li Qingsong directed clones, engineers, robots, and Intelligent Machines to build Magnetic Monopole Detectors throughout the Pegasus V432 Star System, completing them at an average rate of one every nine days.
• Li Qingsong continued construction for more than ten years, bringing his Magnetic Monopole Detector total to over 500 while his 1,000 Proton Decay Detectors operated for more than 5,000 days.
• Li Qingsong and his research teams analyzed over one hundred million Cherenkov Radiation events but found no proton decays, leading him to suspect that the proton’s lifespan was at least 10^42 years.
• Li Qingsong considered increasing the number of Proton Decay Detectors but doubted that approach was feasible.

Li Qingsong struggled to find a path toward unifying the Strong Nuclear Force with the Electroweak Force before the Machina Calamity fleet returned. A Magnetic Monopole Detector then recorded a signal that Li confirmed as proof that magnetic monopoles existed.

• Li Qingsong concluded that his failure to detect proton decay probably meant his theory or research approach was wrong, and he recruited Blueprint Scientists to explore new frameworks.
• Li Qingsong and his scientists proposed and tested more than thirty theoretical systems, but every one failed while the Machina Calamity fleet's return drew closer.
• Magnetic Monopole Detector No. 559 reported a disturbance in its superfluid helium-3 pattern resembling the predicted effect of a magnetic monopole.
• Li Qingsong marshaled more than a hundred million clones to analyze the detector data and confirmed that the signal came from a magnetic monopole.
• Li Qingsong inferred that the monopole had traveled through the universe for billions of years, interacting only weakly with ordinary matter.

Li Qingsong detected a magnetic monopole, confirming major theories about the early universe and helping him revise his model of proton decay. He discovered that proton decay produced a rare, highly penetrating massless particle rather than photons, leaving him unsure how to detect it.

• A magnetic monopole passed through one of Li Qingsong’s detectors, and its signal gave him solid evidence that magnetic monopoles existed.
• Li Qingsong concluded that the discovery supported the unification of the Strong Nuclear and Electroweak Forces and the Cosmic Inflation Theory.
• Li Qingsong planned to study the monopole data further and keep his detectors operating while turning attention to proton decay research.
• Li Qingsong revised his theory and realized that proton decay produced a new, photon-like massless particle instead of photons.
• Li Qingsong concluded that ordinary Proton Decay Detectors were unlikely to detect the scarce, highly penetrating particles and was left wondering how to detect proton decay.

Li Qingsong struggled to find a practical way to detect the Light Neutrinos produced by proton decay. A new model of Gas Giant Planet cores suggested that the vibrations caused by proton decay in their Liquid Metallic Hydrogen Layers might offer another way to detect it, though he was unsure whether those vibrations could be measured.

• Li Qingsong and the Blueprint Scientists searched for a way to detect Light Neutrinos without building an impractical number of detectors.
• Li Qingsong continued developing his theoretical frameworks, but made no progress on the theory of proton decay.
• Li Qingsong completed a more accurate model of Gas Giant Planet cores and realized their Liquid Metallic Hydrogen Layers might serve as research sites.
• Li Qingsong calculated that proton decay in a Gas Giant Planet's Liquid Metallic Hydrogen Layer could cause tiny vibrations as protons disappeared.
• Li Qingsong considered testing whether those vibrations could reveal proton decay, despite doubting they would be observable.

Li Qingsong abandoned his plan to probe the Gas Giant Planet’s Metallic Hydrogen Layer after only one of a thousand Submarine Probes returned from 5,000 kilometers down. He conceived a new detector for proton decay, then committed to building it despite the immense engineering challenges.

• Li Qingsong sent a thousand Submarine Probes into Gas Giant Planet No. 2, but lost contact with them in the planet’s harsh atmosphere.
• After waiting for the probes to return, Li Qingsong recovered one battered but functional Submarine Probe and analyzed its data.
• Li Qingsong concluded that the pressure and weather made reaching the Metallic Hydrogen Layer impractical and abandoned the probe plan.
• Li Qingsong devised a detector using a large, highly pressurized mass of hydrogen in zero gravity to detect vibrations caused by proton decay.
• Li Qingsong recognized the challenge of stabilizing up to 1.6 billion tons of hydrogen at hundreds of thousands of atmospheres, but decided to build the detector.

Li Qingsong built an Ultra-Pure Hydrogen separation plant, a massive Proton Decay Detector, and nearby fusion power plants to support it. After nearly a year of construction, he began filling the detector’s inner sphere with hydrogen and steadily raised its pressure.

• Li Qingsong sent Jupiter Aircraft into Planet 2’s atmosphere to collect protium and transported it to a remote, low-gravity location.
• Li Qingsong built an Ultra-Pure Hydrogen separation plant and began refining hydrogen for the detector.
• Li Qingsong assembled the detector’s enormous outer sphere, reinforced it with Space Elevator cables, and installed its magnetic control equipment and inner shell.
• Li Qingsong began building seven Deuterium-Tritium Fusion power plants to supply the detector’s immense, continuous power demand.
• After nearly a year, Li Qingsong finished the detector and started pumping Ultra-Pure Hydrogen into its inner shell.
• The magnetic control equipment held the inner shell intact as its hydrogen pressure climbed from one atmosphere to thousands.

Li Qingsong completed the pressurization and cooling of his Proton Decay Detector, then began its silent observation phase. After the detector registered a faint vibration and ruled out external interference, he concluded that he had detected proton decay for the first time.

• Li Qingsong inspected the detector, resumed hydrogen injection, and filled its inner shell with 1.6 billion tons of solidified hydrogen at 400,000 atmospheres.
• Li Qingsong confirmed that the detector was functioning normally, withdrew personnel and robots, and began observing in near-absolute silence.
• The detector’s precision equipment reported an extremely faint vibration, and Li Qingsong directed tens of thousands of clones to inspect its data and exclude external interference.
• Li Qingsong judged that a proton had decayed inside the detector, causing the vibration, and celebrated the first confirmed detection of proton decay.

After confirming proton decay, Li Qingsong expanded his research, completed his Grand Unified Theory calculations, and built a massive Particle Collider to test the unification of fundamental forces. The collider passed inspection, and he began its first particle collision experiment as the Machina Calamity fleet's return drew closer.

• Li Qingsong determined that proton decay meant the universe would eventually reach heat death, but chose to focus on advancing his civilization before the Machina Calamity fleet returned.
• Li Qingsong built many Proton Decay Detectors, studied their vibrations, and indirectly determined the properties of Light Neutrinos.
• Li Qingsong completed enough of his Grand Unified Theory to calculate the precise Grand Unified Energy Scale.
• Li Qingsong calculated that reproducing the energy scale required a 1,000-kilometer Particle Collider powered by 100 large Nuclear Fusion Power Stations.
• Li Qingsong completed the collider after more than a decade, finished its inspections and calibrations, and began the first particle collision experiment.

Li Qingsong used particle collisions to confirm predictions of his Grand Unified Theory, detecting X and Y Bosons alongside proton decay, magnetic monopoles, and micro black holes. After centuries of research, he completed the theory and became a Strong Nuclear Civilization.

• Li Qingsong accelerated two proton beams to near-light speed and collided them inside the particle collider.
• The collision produced particles whose properties matched the predicted X and Y Bosons, confirming that the fundamental forces had unified at the collision's energy scale.
• Li Qingsong's detectors recorded magnetic monopoles, numerous proton decays, and photons from evaporating micro black holes.
• Li Qingsong built additional colliders and analyzed repeated collisions to uncover more physical laws.
• Li Qingsong completed the final formula in his Grand Unified Theory and became a Strong Nuclear Civilization.

After mastering the Grand Unified Formula, Li Qingsong understood how a Strong Nuclear Civilization could surpass an Electroweak Civilization in energy, propulsion, defense, and weapons. He could not yet build these technologies, but he saw the engineering paths that might let him match the Machina Calamity fleet.

• Li Qingsong realized that manipulating the Strong Nuclear Force could enable more efficient fusion by lowering the barriers to Proton-Proton Chain Fusion and reducing energy lost to neutrinos.
• He saw that Strong Nuclear Force-based acceleration could make Ion Thrusters eject propellant dozens or hundreds of times faster, greatly increasing their efficiency and spacecraft cruising speeds.
• Li Qingsong deduced that the Machina Calamity fleet's Energy Shields used a responsive Gluon Plasma layer to protect spacecraft.
• He identified Energy Cannons as a further possibility, with projectiles held in a Strong Nuclear Excited State that could release nuclear energy on impact.

Li Qingsong considered how the Grand Unified Formula could lead to delay-free communication, advanced materials, and other technologies, and reflected on how far the Machina Calamity Fleet had surpassed him. Though he longed to begin researching, he decided to flee again and pursue further breakthroughs during the journey before the fleet returned.

• Li Qingsong realized that the Grand Unified Formula could enable quantum supercomputers and real-time Super Distance Communication, potentially linking his consciousness to his clones across vast distances.
• Li Qingsong concluded that manipulating the Strong Nuclear Force could produce materials far beyond ordinary elements and alloys.
• Li Qingsong recognized that the Machina Calamity Fleet's superior energy, mobility, defenses, and weapons had made his narrow victory extraordinarily fortunate.
• Li Qingsong suppressed his urge to pursue immediate research because the Machina Calamity Fleet would return within at most a hundred years.
• Li Qingsong decided to flee with sufficient supplies and continue making technological breakthroughs while traveling through space.

Li Qingsong decided to stockpile materials for a deep-space escape by building a Flying Star instead of an enormous fleet of Aerospace Carriers. After thirty-two years of construction, the Flying Star became a nearly spherical, fifty-kilometer-radius storehouse containing 202 trillion tons of supplies.

• Li Qingsong chose to leave the Star System with a vast stockpile so he could continue research and strengthen his fleet in deep space.
• Li Qingsong redirected Transport Spaceships to an empty region of space and assembled a core from steel containers.
• Heavy Transport Ships added gases, chemicals, machinery, and countless other supplies to the growing Flying Star.
• Over thirty-two years, nineteen million Transport Spaceship runs delivered 202 trillion tons of materials.
• Li Qingsong completed the Flying Star, a low-density sphere fifty kilometers in radius.

Li Qingsong tested the gravity and interior atmosphere of the enormous flying star he had built from more than two quadrillion tons of prepared supplies. With the star’s usable materials assembled and its core able to sustain human breathing, he prepared to pack it for the long voyage.

• Li Qingsong sent a spacesuit-wearing clone across the flying star and tested its surface gravity, escape velocity, and orbital speed.
• The clone reached orbital speed, circled the star twice, then used its thrusters to return to the surface.
• Li Qingsong observed that the star’s gravity gathered stray gas around it and compressed its core gas to roughly half of Earth’s atmospheric pressure.
• The clone entered the core, removed its spacesuit, and breathed in the compressed atmosphere.
• Li Qingsong noted that the star held purified, ready-to-use supplies and declared the luggage for the long voyage ready to be packed.

Li Qingsong packed the Flying Star for interstellar flight and completed preparations to flee the Pegasus V432 Star System before the Machina Calamity Fleet returned. He launched with his main fleet and five Disguised Fleets traveling together, while anticipating that automated surveillance devices might record their movements.

• Li Qingsong bound the Flying Star’s materials with specialized ropes and fitted it with more than a million thrusters controlled by a dedicated system.
• Li Qingsong completed preparations for the main fleet and five Disguised Fleets, each with a Flying Star or an asteroid to conceal its true purpose.
• Li Qingsong reflected on his memories of leaving home with a bed-sheet bundle and resolved to turn his research in Basic Physics into practical power and defeat the Machina Calamity Fleet.
• Li Qingsong ordered hydrogen bombs to destroy the industrial facilities in the Pegasus V432 Star System as his fleets and the Flying Star began accelerating away together.
• Li Qingsong reasoned that the Machina Calamity Fleet might have left automated surveillance devices behind to record his movements.

Li Qingsong sent his main fleet and five Disguised Fleets fleeing together before splitting them apart beyond the Pegasus V432 Star System’s probes’ reach. Decades later, as his fleet traveled three light-years away, a clone warned him that the Machina Calamity fleet had returned earlier than expected.

• Li Qingsong decided to keep all six fleets together until they had traveled far enough that the Machina Calamity fleet’s spy probes could no longer identify them.
• After ten years of accelerating away from Pegasus V432, Li Qingsong ordered the six fleets to head in different directions.
• Three years later, Li Qingsong’s main fleet reached 8% of light speed, began random maneuvers, and continued fleeing.
• Forty-six years later, Li Qingsong received a delayed consciousness link from his clone in Pegasus V432, warning of a suspected approaching Machina Calamity fleet.
• Li Qingsong realized the Machina Calamity fleet had returned earlier than he had expected and was relieved that his fleet had escaped.

Li Qingsong evaded the Machina Calamity fleet, which analyzed six possible flight paths and began pursuing one of them. With at least fifty years to develop before the enemy might catch his true fleet, Li Qingsong focused on advancing his technology, though the effort had consumed much of his supplies.

• Li Qingsong used low-thrust Random Maneuver Mode as the Machina Calamity fleet sent a smaller subfleet into the Pegasus V432 Star System to gather information and guide its pursuit.
• More than a year later, the Machina Calamity main fleet used the detector data to pursue Li Qingsong without entering the star system.
• Several years afterward, the Machina Calamity fleet found the point where Li Qingsong's main fleet and Disguised Fleet had separated, and Akainu AI analyzed six flight paths and ordered the Prey Civilization captured to replenish Life Wisdom.
• The Machina Calamity fleet chose one flight path and departed, but Li Qingsong saw that it was not the direction of his true main fleet and estimated he had at least fifty to a hundred years to develop.
• Li Qingsong continued research during the journey, reducing the Flying Star's mass from about 202 trillion tons to 140 trillion tons while making considerable technological progress.
• Li Qingsong focused on two spacecraft thirty million kilometers apart, each containing a massive device connected to the other by a peculiar method.