Chapter Summaries

Hope and the crew of the Exploration Ship Poseidon faced four deep-sea giant fish that attacked whenever the ship tried to move. After testing their response to a decoy, Lü Yongchang concluded that the fish were intelligent but not highly intelligent organisms, with one likely acting as their leader.

• Hope noticed that one of the four giant fish had vanished, but Lü Yongchang spotted it beside the Exploration Ship Poseidon just before it struck.
• Hope ordered Zero to shut down the propulsion system, and the attacks stopped when the ship remained still.
• The four giant fish surrounded the ship, leading Hope to suspect they had mistaken it for a feeding machine.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to release a decoy containing cesium chloride and rubidium chloride, and one fish moved toward it before the leader's pulses called it back.
• Lü Yongchang concluded that the fish had limited intelligence and that their leader had likely mastered basic deception.

Lü Yongchang ended the damaged Poseidon’s exploration mission but revealed that Hope and Hansent would soon return for another one. He initiated an escape plan that used the abandoned ship to draw the four giant fish away from the separated cockpit, and the chapter ended as Zero activated the escape procedure.

• Lü Yongchang, Mao Zhengzhi, and the others devised an escape plan and ended the exploration mission because the Poseidon was badly damaged and giant fish threatened the crew.
• Lü Yongchang told Hope and Hansent that a Poseidon Type II ship and a supply vessel were on the way, leaving them disappointed that they would soon explore again.
• Hope and Hansent sealed the Skin Sample in a container, entered Deep-Sea Pods, and separated the cockpit from the Poseidon.
• Zero activated the Poseidon’s sonar and propulsion systems to agitate the four giant fish and draw them toward the ship.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to activate the escape procedure as all four giant fish charged the Poseidon.

The cockpit escaped the liquid ammonia ocean using its Hall Thruster, burning one of the pursuing Amino Giant Fish and frightening the others away from the Exploration Ship. Back in orbit, Lü Yongchang recruited Meng Lu to analyze the fish’s ultrasonic signals and identify their language system.

• The cockpit’s Hall Thruster sent it racing through the liquid ammonia, and the leading Giant Fish was scalded by the hot bubbles before retreating and warning the others.
• The remaining Giant Fish cautiously approached the Exploration Ship after their leader urged them on, while the cockpit burst out of the ocean and reached synchronous orbit.
• Lü Yongchang learned that both pilots had entered cryosleep and told Mao Zhengzhi they needed to decode the Amino Giant Fish’s language before the Poseidon Type II was completed.
• Mao Zhengzhi recommended language researcher Meng Lu, and Lü Yongchang asked her to study more than a hundred thousand ultrasonic recordings from the fish.
• Meng Lu agreed the signals likely formed a language and began examining the acoustic spectra for patterns.

Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi failed to find patterns in the giant fish’s sounds while waiting to study a skin sample. Meng Lu took a different approach and announced that she had deciphered the giant fish’s language system.

• The Giant Fish Leader kept ramming the abandoned Exploration Ship, and Lü Yongchang used the Active Sonar Device to collect more audio data.
• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi tried treating the giant fish’s recordings as encrypted messages, but their analysis produced no discernible pattern.
• Zero reported that Glutton had entered its designated orbit and that the Poseidon cockpit had been received, so Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi turned their attention to the skin sample.
• Meng Lu grouped sound segments by duration and asked Zero to mark their frequency changes, revealing patterns in the data.
• Meng Lu concluded that the researchers had been approaching the language incorrectly and told Zero to inform Professor Lü that she had deciphered the giant fish’s language system.

Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi examined the Amino Giant Fish’s skin and found it appeared to be alloy, raising questions about whether the creatures were artificial. They then met Meng Lu, who explained how she had identified the fish’s language phonemes, though the meaning of the patterns remained undeciphered.

• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi examined microscope images of the Amino Giant Fish’s skin and concluded it resembled an alloy rather than biological tissue.
• Lü Yongchang wondered whether the fish were artificial, then questioned that idea because one had appeared to feel pain when burned.
• Zero told Lü Yongchang that Meng Lu had deciphered the giant fish’s language system, so Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi went to her laboratory.
• Meng Lu explained that the fish used ultrasound as a carrier and encoded information in rapidly changing frequencies.
• Meng Lu used Zero to compare frequency samples and identified fifty-two recurring patterns, which she concluded were phonemes in the fish’s language.

Lü Yongchang, Meng Lu, and Mao Zhengzhi analyzed the giant fish’s language and discovered that it combined communication with ultrasonic environmental sensing. Their investigation found that the fish repeated and rearranged syllables without an apparent grammar, leaving the researchers to begin a difficult process of categorizing them.

• Meng Lu explained that she had identified fifty-two phonemes in the giant fish’s speech so far.
• Lü Yongchang isolated the ultrasonic frequencies the fish used to sense their surroundings, revealing that they carried speech information on top of the probing sounds.
• Meng Lu showed that the giant fish leader’s forty-three speech segments shared phonemes and syllables but arranged them in different orders.
• Meng Lu suggested that the fish repeated and rearranged syllables until their companions understood, and Lü Yongchang compared them to repeat players.
• Lü Yongchang told Meng Lu to organize the data, identify matching syllables, and analyze their meanings from the recordings.

Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi discovered that the giant fish’s apparent armor was mineral plating attached with mucus, not a natural part of its body. The revelation suggested valuable minerals lay beneath the Liquid Ammonia Ocean, and Lü ordered an expanded exploration effort at the Ice Giant.

• Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi examined the giant fish’s unusual outer layer and debated whether it was natural or artificial.
• Zero reported that repeated impacts had damaged the [Poseidon] Exploration Ship and that some of its armor had stuck to the giant fish’s tail.
• Lü recognized that the fish’s apparent armor was actually armor taken from the Exploration Ship, and Mao Zhengzhi suggested the fish used mucus to attach it.
• Lü and Mao watched the giant fish ram a loose armor plate, coat it in transparent mucus, and solidify the mucus around it like skin.
• The giant fish struck the [Poseidon] again and destroyed its camera, after which Lü ordered more [Poseidon Type II] Exploration Ships, engineering ships, and supply ships sent to the Ice Giant for mineral exploration.

After the Academy of Sciences nearly finished deciphering the Amino Giant Fish’s language, Lü Yongchang sent Hope and Hansent back to the Ice Giant to test the new Poseidon Type II and resume their exploration. The pair set off aboard the larger vessel, tasked with following the giant fish to find the mineral in their armor.

• Hope reminded Hansent that they had to wait for the Academy of Sciences to decipher the giant fish’s language before beginning another mission.
• Lü Yongchang told Hope and Hansent that the decipherment was nearly complete and ordered them to test the Poseidon Type II’s Ultrasonic Generator at the Ice Giant.
• Lü Yongchang assigned them to follow the giant fish and locate the mineral believed to make up its armor.
• Three days later, Hope and Hansent boarded the Poseidon Type II, where Hansent found the entertainment he had suggested and Hope claimed the game console for himself.
• Hope and Hansent launched from the Glutton Supply Reserve Ship and headed toward the Ice Giant.

Hope and Hansent descended into the Liquid Ammonia Ocean aboard the [Poseidon Type II] to test whether they could communicate with an Amino Giant Fish. A translation error brought the fish dangerously close, and the chapter ended as the main searchlight illuminated it directly in front of the ship.

• Hope and Hansent guided the Exploration Ship into the Liquid Ammonia Ocean, using a modified sonar and an Ultrasonic Generator to avoid provoking the giant fish.
• Zero detected an Amino Giant Fish circling the ship, and Hope used the translation program to interpret its pulses as expressions of confusion.
• Hope sent greeting keywords through the Ultrasonic Generator, and the fish replied with apparent joy.
• After Hope sent a joyful reply, the fish stopped responding and rapidly approached the ship, triggering a collision warning.
• Hope alerted Lü Yongchang that the translation program was malfunctioning, and the ship narrowly avoided a collision.
• Hope ordered Hansent to turn on the main searchlight, revealing the giant fish hovering directly in front of the Exploration Ship.

Hope and Hansent encountered the Giant Fish leader that had armored itself with wreckage from the old [Poseidon] Exploration Ship, and the ship’s crew discovered that their ultrasonic translation program had accidentally provoked it. The fish issued a new, hostile warning, leaving Meng Lu and the others needing to respond before it attacked again.

• Hope and Hansent recognized the Giant Fish leader and saw that it had used pieces of the old [Poseidon] Exploration Ship as armor.
• The Giant Fish charged the [Poseidon Type II Exploration Ship], and Meng Lu told Hope to turn off the Ultrasonic Generator.
• Meng Lu explained that the crew had used words from the fish that sounded like a superior addressing a subordinate, provoking it.
• Meng Lu remotely operated the translation program as the fish swam in front of the ship and issued an untranslated warning.
• Meng Lu assessed that the fish was intimidating what it believed to be a rival territorial leader, while Mao Zhengzhi warned that it might attack if the crew did not answer.

Meng Lu’s ultrasound translation led the Exploration Ship Poseidon to be mistaken for a giant fish’s mate, and Lü Yongchang told Hope and Hansent to use the encounter to locate special minerals. After the giant fish ate their chemical bait and swam away, Hope pursued it to continue the mission.

• Meng Lu adjusted the translated words and Hope reactivated the Ultrasonic Generator, causing the giant fish to calm down and circle the Exploration Ship.
• Meng Lu suggested another set of words, and the giant fish swam close and rubbed against the ship, triggering a low-level neutron radiation warning.
• Meng Lu realized the words might have come from the giant fish’s mate, and Lü Yongchang told Hope and Hansent to stay in character and use chemical bait to make it lead them to special mineral resources.
• Hope released cesium chloride and rubidium chloride, which the giant fish ate before leaving the Poseidon.
• Meng Lu translated the fish’s urging them to follow, and Hope activated the Waterjet Propulsion System while Hansent tracked its ultrasonic signal.

Hope and Hansent followed a giant fish leader through Neptune’s Liquid Ammonia Ocean, where they discovered a small but diverse biosphere. As they descended into warmer depths, the smaller organisms disappeared, leaving the giant fish as the only life known to thrive there.

• Hope and Hansent followed the giant fish leader into a gathering of dozens of giant fish, and the leader used ultrasonic calls to clear them a path.
• Hope spotted a slender shadow in the murky water, and Lü Yongchang replayed the footage to identify it as a living organism.
• Mao Zhengzhi identified swarms of krill-like creatures as probable food for the giant fish and suggested they supplied fuel for their Fusion Reactors.
• Hope and Hansent continued descending as the crew discovered more strange species and confirmed the Liquid Ammonia Ocean supported a simple biosphere.
• Mao Zhengzhi observed that the smaller organisms vanished in the warmer depths beyond their habitable range.

Hope and Hansent discovered an enormous star gold vein in the Liquid Ammonia Ocean, but the Giant Fish leader kept them at a distance. The chapter ended with the leader striking the vein and swimming toward the fragments while sending ultrasonic signals to its mate.

• Hope and Hansent identified a vast pyramid-shaped formation as a star gold vein, and Lü Yongchang reminded them that their reward would mainly be contribution points.
• The Giant Fish leader approached the vein, then signaled for the Exploration Ship to retreat; Hope and Hansent backed away a kilometer.
• The Giant Fish leader swam into the distance, turned, and rammed the top of the star gold vein, breaking off small fragments.
• The Giant Fish leader swam toward the fragments and sent ultrasonic signals to its mate.

Hope and Hansent used an ultrasonic repulsion program to escape a giant fish’s attempt to guide their ship, then completed their Ice Giant survey and returned with star gold ore. As humanity began planning to use star gold for stronger ships, Hope returned to the Ice Giant and formed a cooperative bond with the giant fish, finding another deposit.

• Hope and Hansent decided to use an ultrasonic repulsion program to drive off the giant fish, which fled after the sound became painful.
• Hope steered the Exploration Ship to a star gold vein, and he and Hansent completed their survey before returning to the [Glutton] Supply Reserve Ship.
• A synchronous-orbit space station was established, and the Black Lady Two carried the mined star gold ore toward Dawn Star.
• Lü Yongchang and Cao Liangcai discussed using star gold and carbyne to strengthen ship hulls and build mining ships for future construction of the Asteroid-Class [Earth].
• Zero told Lü Yongchang that Hope had recovered by applying for another exploration mission and serving as the giant fish’s keeper.
• Hope and Hansent followed the giant fish to a second star gold deposit while Hope fed it cesium chloride and rubidium chloride.

Lü Yongchang learned that the Human Federation’s falling birth rate would meet its rising mortality rate in three hundred years, despite its plentiful population reserves and resources. The chapter left the Federation without a workable solution: raising children on Dawn Star demanded years of commitment, while infant cryosleep failed because it deprived children of essential education.

• Zero presented calculations showing that the Human Federation’s fertility and mortality curves would intersect in three hundred years, much sooner than previously predicted.
• Lü Yongchang considered how the Federation’s enormous population reserves and abundant resources would not prevent its birth rate from declining.
• The chapter explained that Dawn Star’s 1.9g gravity required children to grow up in synchronous orbit until age twenty-five, placing a lengthy burden on their parents.
• The Academy of Sciences introduced infant Medical Pods that let children remain in shallow cryosleep until adulthood, reducing parents’ caregiving time.
• The infant Medical Pod plan failed because children still needed early education, worsening the already declining birth rate.

Lü Yongchang urged Hong Qiming to approve a trial of the social public child-rearing system, arguing that the Human Federation needed bold reform before its population expanded. Hong agreed to begin a publicity campaign, while Xu Ting and Qi Yang’s hesitation about having a child illustrated the pressures facing ordinary citizens.

• Lü Yongchang reflected on how the social public child-rearing system had failed to restore the Proxima Centauri Humans’ prospects for growth.
• Lü Yongchang met Hong Qiming and argued that only strong measures could address the Human Federation’s underlying problems.
• Lü Yongchang explained that the proposed reform could set civilization back by a few hundred years in the worst case, but that the current population made it the best time to try.
• Hong Qiming approved a trial publicity campaign for the social public child-rearing system.
• Xu Ting and her husband, Qi Yang, kept postponing having a child because they could not afford the costs and feared the career consequences.

Xu Ting learned about artificial womb technology through a broadcast and watched public opinion shift toward supporting it. Six months later, the Academy of Sciences launched an artificial womb program that also offered child-rearing centers, leaving Xu Ting tempted but unsure whether to participate.

• Xu Ting watched a researcher explain that artificial wombs could let married couples have children without pregnancy or childbirth.
• Publicity about the technology drew support from most people, and Lü Yongchang ordered the campaign to continue before a second phase began six months later.
• Xu Ting's colleagues discussed the Academy of Sciences' artificial womb program and its option to raise children at a Human Federation Child-Rearing Center.
• Her colleagues asked whether she would try the program, and Xu Ting admitted she might while struggling to focus on her work.

Xu Ting and Qi Yang decided to try having a child through an Artificial Womb, and the Human Federation launched the first trial of its social public child-rearing system. The first 10,000 slots filled in under three hours, and Lü Yongchang insisted that the program expand gradually to avoid provoking public resentment.

• Xu Ting told Qi Yang about Artificial Wombs and social proxy-rearing, and they agreed to try the program.
• A month later, Lü Yongchang and the Academy of Sciences team watched as Qi Yang and Xu Ting's eligible application arrived with a request for social proxy-rearing.
• Applications surged, and all 10,000 trial slots were filled in two hours, thirty-six minutes, and forty-three seconds.
• Lü Yongchang refused to add slots, saying the program had to proceed gradually and that slots must not exceed the number of deaths in the Human Federation.
• The head of the Sociology Division reported that 93.16% of applicants who passed eligibility review chose social proxy-rearing.

Lü Yongchang responded to the popularity of social proxy-rearing by ordering strict oversight of the Child-Rearing Centers and launching the Light Satellite One Planetary Fortress Conversion Plan. Ten years later, Qi Yang and Xu Ting visited their daughter Qi Mengshu at a space Child-Rearing Center, where the chapter showed how the system was reshaping family bonds.

• The head of the Sociology Division told Lü Yongchang that 73.16% of applicants had chosen social proxy-rearing.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to oversee the three Child-Rearing Centers and ensure the surrogacy process stayed transparent and parents could contact their children.
• Lü Yongchang launched the Light Satellite One Planetary Fortress Conversion Plan.
• Ten years later, Qi Yang and Xu Ting traveled to Space Child-Rearing Center No. 2 to visit their daughter, Qi Mengshu.
• Qi Yang and Xu Ting spent a day with Qi Mengshu, then left as she showed little sadness, reflecting how the new generation had grown accustomed to social proxy-rearing.

The first generation of people raised under the Social Surrogacy system completed their Coming-of-Age Ceremony and prepared to begin adult lives on Dawn Star. Qi Mengshu joined her companions on the journey to City One as the experiment entered its next stage.

• Qi Mengshu reassured her parents, Qi Yang and Xu Ting, that she would travel to Dawn Star with her companions after the ceremony.
• Lü Yongchang learned that the ceremony had begun, with Lifespan Extension Modification and Human Enhancement Modification scheduled over ten days.
• After the ceremony, the space elevator brought ten thousand twenty-five-year-olds down to Dawn Star's surface.
• Qi Mengshu boarded a public starship with her companions and headed for City One to begin their new lives.