"It's our turn."
Almost the instant the order was given, the entire control room became a machine. Every researcher and engineer seated within it began working in orderly succession, like gears in a clockwork mechanism.
Tens of millions of kilometers away, in orbit around Mars, two circular rings surrounding a black metal sphere resembled the rings mounted around a globe. Driven by small electric thrusters, they slowly adjusted the orientation of the sphere at their center.
At last, a large, hexagonal, rivet-shaped protrusion pointed toward another Z Particle Clock floating in geosynchronous orbit tens of millions of kilometers away.
At the center of that protrusion, the outer casing slid aside, exposing intricate, finely engineered optical components to deep space.
Meanwhile, a solemn, steady voice rang out in the ground control center.
"Activate the high-power laser calibrator."
The order went out.
The signal transmitted from ground control was received by the Alpha Z Particle Clock floating in geosynchronous orbit.
Almost the instant it received the command, an invisible beam of infrared light shot from the exposed laser calibrator straight toward distant Mars, where it was picked up by the Beta Z Particle Clock orbiting the planet.
Like bass taking the bait, the two spherical Z Particle Clocks surrounded by rings aligned their transmission ports with one another under the laser's guidance, forming a link through the dark depths of space that was invisible to the naked eye, yet undeniably real.
Watching the two metal spheres connected by a red line on the floor-to-ceiling screen, along with the constantly changing orbital parameters and the [Calibration successful] notification, Director Li stood in the control room with his heart practically in his throat. Nearby, Luo Wenxuan, Edward Witten, and the other physicists invited to witness the experiment unconsciously clenched their hands.
The critical moment