Chapter 716 - 692 Theory and Reality

On June 1st, the Artemis V mission was successfully launched after a one-month delay.

The delay was mainly due to issues with the service module, as the European Space Agency was preoccupied with its own space programs and lacked spare capacity, and although NACA had identified Grumman Corporation as a replacement early on, there was still some procrastination.

Grumman Corporation, running at full capacity, fully supplied the consumption for the upper Centaurus project; NACA was planning to squeeze out four Moon landing missions in the second half of the year.

Besides constructing its own "Columbus" camp, the many Moon missions also aimed to coordinate with the subsequent plans of the "Skylight" series.

According to the schedule of the joint blasting team, after the trial explosions, the mining sites would be blasted out in stages, with the latest mission set for July 12th, intending to detonate eight 10-megaton hydrogen bombs simultaneously to carve out the embryonic form of a super mine pit.

NACA did not want to miss such a grand event, and following the negotiations with United Mining, the Artemis VI mission would land at the Jade Tree Minefield to assist with the related preparation tasks.

As for the hiccup half a month ago, it has gradually calmed down.

America had given up on demanding a re-review of United Mining’s qualifications for using nuclear devices, while simultaneously proposing an addition to Article III of the Outer Space Treaty:

Listing high-power laser emission devices as restricted weapons, they were to be treated like nuclear bombs and not allowed to be deployed in outer space.

This proposal elicited varying responses: China and Russia’s lack of a stance essentially signified a negative attitude, while the UK and France were more enthusiastic, particularly the UK.

However, the consensus among others was confusion; they were unclear as to why America had suddenly proposed such a requirement, as it seemed unnecessary at the moment and could potentially create complications for the future.

Only Xu Rang knew that this was America expressing its dissatisfaction. Of course, such a proposal was never going to pass, and America was surely accelerating its own research on space-based lasers, so they would not set themselves up with preemptive constraints.

It was merely an expression of a certain attitude, discontentment with the previous standstill in negotiations.

In actuality, Xu Rang was also somewhat unsure of the domestic stance as of late; there had been assertiveness earlier, but recently there was a sudden instruction for him to "maintain the status quo," as if there were some concern.

Years of diplomatic experience made him keenly aware of this vacillation, which indicated that the domestic front was hesitating, or rather deliberating.

Worried about escalating the situation? Or something else?

...

"So you’re saying, once we start excavating the relics on Mars, it might be impossible to keep it a secret?"

The superior instinctively reached for a cigarette but then remembered to grab his teacup halfway through the motion, taking a mechanical sip instead.

He actually didn’t like smoking, nor did he have the habit, but since the early morning of the 23rd until now, his tobacco consumption had caught up with that of a seasoned smoker, and it was foreseeable that this would become a long-term habit.

Now, he was substituting tea for smoking purely because of the identities of the others present.

Zhang Shoucheng, Ye Changsi, Lin Ju, Zhong Cheng, Wu Yunfeng, Yang Zhongkai—six individuals were here to report on recent achievements and answer questions.

"The best outcome would be as follows,"

Ye Changsi was the first to explain:

"The information about Zero Plain was provided to us by ’Karst’, and we only speculate that the gravitational wave emitter is located there, so a large-scale excavation is inevitable and cannot be concealed.

If the impact is confined to Mars and Earth cannot observe it, then the detectors belonging to NACA and the European Space Agency on Mars will detect it;

"The impact is significant. If even Earth can see the abnormalities, then it’s even harder to keep under wraps. We’re not certain what we’ll uncover."

The superior said, "According to your plan, you’ll prepare for a year. You’ll depart between June and August next year and arrive on Mars in December."

Ye Changsi said, "One year is the minimum preparation time. We need to carefully adjust the March spacecraft, store fuel and supplies, plan the route and mission schedule, prepare the landing spacecraft, and support the materials. A year is very rushed; it might not be enough time.

But as long as we depart before September 2019, we can arrive by the end of the year, which means we have at most a year and a half to decide."

Making the decision naturally raises the question of how to explain the abnormalities discovered at that time or should we all feign ignorance?

But that’s a bit too far-fetched. After all, you Chinese people are hastily and at any cost organizing a Mars expedition team. As soon as you go, you break the news of aliens; who would believe that it’s unrelated?

The later we land on Mars, doesn’t mean we can keep this secret for a longer time. Don’t forget the triggering conditions for this gravitational wave!

Scientists have largely confirmed that the lunar nuclear explosion triggered the gravitational wave, and United Mining is set to detonate more than thirty more. If each one triggers it, other gravitational wave observatories around the world are bound to notice the problem.

So it’s not just about considering the future; in fact, the superiors are seriously considering whether to strongly intervene and halt United Mining’s mining detonation plan or find another way.

On the surface, weighing United Mining against an alien civilization seems easy. However, suddenly phasing out massive investments might severely impact space resource exploitation, tying our own hands."

"So the problem now is to figure out whether every lunar nuclear blast will trigger the gravitational wave signal."

Zhang Shoucheng tapped the armrest of his chair and voiced the superior’s current dilemma:

"Actually, we need to take another gamble, to see if there will be a gravitational wave signal again in July. My inclination is to take the risk."

The superior asked, "Take a risk?"

Zhang Shoucheng replied, "There’s no reason for every explosion to trigger a signal; it’s pointless.

We’re almost certain that the target of gravitational wave communication is at least several light-years away, if not much further. In the signal transmission period calculated in years, it makes no sense to frequently send the same signal.

Humanity actually has nothing to lose. In the universe, we are barefoot; facing a real interstellar civilization, failure means death."

Zhang Shoucheng’s stance was resolute. He was very aware of how powerful a civilization capable of building a gravitational wave emitter in the Solar System was. Faced with such an absolute disparity in power, no amount of maneuvering would prevent death, so he’d rather take a chance on luck, especially since they also had some basis for it.

Both Ye Changsi and Lin Ju immediately nodded in agreement, and internally, New Yuan held the same opinion; they were not willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The superior said, "But what if there is a signal? There are two other countries in the world with observatories that could detect a gravitational wave of this level. We must be prepared."

"To be precise, it’s one country."

Lin Ju added:

"Italy’s ’Virgo’ Observatory has also joined America’s LIGO. America has the capability to control it. If we don’t want the information to spread further, we have to find a way to keep LIGO—or rather, America—from letting the news spread.

Looking further ahead, if America cooperates with us, the impact of the Martian alien relic is also contained to an extent. We can keep Mars quarantined, distance is a natural barrier."

"It’s too difficult; the operation is too complex. We can’t lead America by the nose. That’s impossible."

After a brief reflection, Zhong Cheng expressed opposition. What Lin Ju proposed was theoretically feasible, but relying on America’s cooperation? That was as challenging as pleading with aliens to come to do good deeds.