The Situation Deteriorates

Chen Shouyi hung up on the president.

His face darkened as he silently digested the bad news.

"Damn!"

He couldn't help swearing.

The news wiped away all the good mood he'd enjoyed these past few days.

"Looks like I'll have to speed up the plan. Tam won't give me time." Chen Shouyi thought to himself, quickly forcing himself to calm down.

Things weren't at their worst yet. At least there were still a few years.

He raised his head, his mind made up.

"The government is deceiving us. They've kept everything secret."

It was noon in the square outside the library of Paris Diderot University. People bustled back and forth as several young people shouted themselves hoarse and rapidly handed out leaflets.

"They control the media. They control all public opinion. They control the entire academic world. They've kept every one of us in the dark..."

"Every newspaper we read talks about peace arriving and tells us not to believe rumors. But the truth is, they're building a giant spaceship."

The leaflets kept being handed out, and the crowd of onlookers grew until the entire square was packed.

"...Lots of people know all this, including some of our professors, but not one of them has stood up. Everyone has kept silent."

The young man at the front held up a document.

"This is a document from a laboratory to the government. Its title is 'Latest Forecast on When the Solar System Will Be Devoured.' Its classification code is Top Secret.

"Don't ask how I got it. As we stand here, we already know what our fate will be. It may not be long before the military police come and take us away."

"But our guilty consciences have made us stand up."

"Let me tell you the truth. Our world is