The year was 2040.
The Sun had expanded almost as far as Venus's orbit.
Venus, once shrouded in a thick atmosphere, had been stripped bare by the solar wind storms sweeping over it at close range.
Just like Mercury before it.
"Zero, when will Venus fall into the Sun?"
Lü Yongchang looked at the holographic image in front of his desk and asked softly.
"December 10, 2042, Professor," Zero answered succinctly.
Lü Yongchang stared blankly at the ever-expanding ball of fire.
On December 10, 2042, Venus would fall into the Sun.
That was humanity's deadline for leaving Mars.
Unlike Mercury's fall, the impact of Venus plunging into the Sun would be enormous.
There were two reasons.
For one, Venus was closer to Mars than Mercury was.
For another, Mercury, the smallest planet in the Solar System, had an average radius of only 2,440 kilometers, while Venus's average radius reached 6,073 kilometers!
That meant Venus's fall into the Sun would trigger a far more powerful solar wind storm!
If humanity remained on Mars, the outcome was easy to imagine.
"Zero, how far along is the Heavenly Court Project?"
After a moment of silence, Lü Yongchang spoke again.
A year earlier, once the energy crisis had been resolved, Lü Yongchang had immediately given the go-ahead to launch the Heavenly Court Project.
After the Heavenly Court Project began, Zero had devoted almost all of its computing power to the various factories.
As Lü Yongchang finished speaking, the holographic image before him abruptly changed.
The map of the Solar System vanished, replaced by a view outside the Mars spaceport.
Rows of starships, each 1,500 meters long, were neatly arrayed in the deep darkness of space.
"Professor, the Heavenly Court Project is 63.8% complete," Zero's voice sounded beside him.
"To date, all 500 [Home] Nebula-class