Earth Era

Chapter 4: Shelter

Wrapping himself tightly in the chilly morning breeze, Zhao Huasheng sat in the passenger seat of the car.

Today's meeting was of a very high specification, even higher than yesterday's. Not only the highest leaders of the alliance were present, but also leaders from various departments and fields, as well as related scientists. It was a meeting to discuss how human society should respond to the current solar crisis. Because of his special identity, Zhao Huasheng, a common researcher, was also invited to attend. This is also why Zhao Huasheng got up early again today.

Meng zhuo's driving skills are very high. Under Meng zhuo's control, Zhao Huasheng had the illusion that the family car he was riding in had been upgraded to a luxury car without knowing it. But this illusion did not last long, or rather, Zhao Huasheng's attention did not stay on it for too long. Meng zhuo is a silent and rational man, Meng zhuo does not talk, and Zhao Huasheng does not talk either. Zhao Huasheng just put his eyes on the outside of the car.

The bustling city was as usual. The influence of the strange temperature changes has not yet spread to the world of ordinary people. Zhao Huasheng saw people still hurrying around as usual, there were still snack cars calling out on the street, and office workers still squeezed together waiting for the bus. At this moment, the sun was dim, but no one paid attention to it.

Zhao Huasheng had a strange thought in his heart. "The entire vast human society is like a slow and slow-moving giant beast... It always responds slowly to external stimuli. When it really feels the bad effects of this change, it is often too late to make up for it."

Fortunately, humans have a powerful tool in science. If we were still in the dark ages, we would not have known what had happened until our extinction.

This thought was strange, so Zhao Huasheng dismissed it from his mind the next moment.

Meng Zhuo brought Zhao Huasheng to the door of the conference room and waited outside. The meeting would start soon.

"Let's start with the research department," said the host of the meeting.

The representative of the Research Department was a renowned stellar physicist. Originally, Li Qi should have been the representative, but Li Qi was no longer there.

After observation and research in this period of time, the scientist said, "We have not found any possible causes for the decreasing level of solar radiation. Although it is regrettable, we have to say this. The only thing we can tell everyone is that the level of solar radiation is still decreasing - in the past 24 hours, it has dropped by three thousandths again. We don't know how low it will go, how long it will last, or whether there is any possibility for the solar radiation level to be restored to normal in the future. We don't know anything. We can only suggest everyone to prepare for the worst."

"What does the worst preparation refer to?" asked the old man who was the leader of the alliance.

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The scientist was silent for a moment and replied, "The complete extinction of the sun."

"Please tell me the consequences of such a situation and the probability of it happening," said the leader.

"Sorry, we can't estimate the likelihood of this situation happening; we know nothing about it." The scientist replied, "As for the consequences... do you know about Neptune? If the sun extinguishes, the earth will become similar to Neptune. By that time, the surface temperature will drop to minus 200 degrees Celsius, and all liquids will solidify. All the gases that make up the atmosphere will solidify due to the extreme low temperature, and meteors and interstellar radiation will freely bombard the earth... All life will be extinct."

A buzz of voices filled the conference room. The host of the meeting asked, "So, what is your department's suggested course of action?"

The scientist hesitated for a moment and then said, "If possible... build a large number of shelters in the tropical area and gather all the people from the high latitudes and temperate zones to the vicinity of the tropics. The warming effect of the ocean and atmosphere is limited after all, and the temperate and cold zones will soon become unsuitable for human survival. If we humans are lucky and the situation of the sun does not worsen, the tropical area may still be suitable for human survival. At the same time, put our greatest energy into the research and development of new energy sources, and if controllable nuclear fusion can be achieved, we can at least keep a seed of human civilization."

"I also propose to carry out the most recent solar observation program, launching the most advanced solar detectors to the sun as soon as possible." And if necessary, we need to carry out manned observation programs; after all, only by finding out what happened to the sun can we find a way to save it."

The leader looked at the representatives of the industrial and social sectors: "What is your opinion?"

The representative from the industrial sector said: "With the industrial foundation of the current human civilization, we have the ability to establish a large number of shelters in the tropics and to tilt all industrial resources towards scientific research in a short period of time, as long as you give the order to allow us to stop all other non-essential engineering construction. As for the possible social impacts of stopping all other non-essential engineering construction, this should be left to the social sector to study and solve."

The representative from the social sector said, "No problem. We have one suggestion though: we suggest not to publicly disclose the real situation of the crisis at this moment. Making the truth public too early may cause social unrest, which is not conducive to the arrangement and implementation of subsequent plans."

The representative from the agricultural sector interjected, "If we implement the ration system, our grain reserves will be enough for all mankind to eat for three years. But after three years, we will face the risk of food shortages. Therefore, we request to allocate part of the scientific research resources to agriculture, and we request the scientific research department to quickly research and develop cold-resistant grain varieties, as well as hydroponic and indoor cultivation technologies."

The representative from the agricultural research department of the Central Academy of Sciences said, "This is what we should do."

.........

After the scientists representing humanity's current crises had reported their findings and put forth their requests, it was up to the relevant departments to discuss how to respond specifically. The meeting went on for a long time, and Zhao Huasheng had no right to speak. Even Zhao Huasheng's presence at the meeting was due to special circumstances.

Amidst the continuous speeches and discussions, Zhao Huasheng's thoughts gradually drifted away. The figure of Li Qi appeared in Zhao Huasheng's mind again, the farewell Li Qi said before his death and the piece of blank paper he left for himself.

In Zhao Huasheng's mind, that ordinary piece of white paper seemed to have a magical power. It was blank, but it seemed to bear Li Qi's thousands of words he wanted to say.

Li Qi knew everything, but he said nothing.

Zhao Huasheng knew that his identity was very special and that he was important, but even he didn't know exactly what was so special or important about him.

"Hello," said a young woman sitting next to Zhao Huasheng, snapping him out of his daydream. Zhao Huasheng nodded and replied, "Hello."

"My name is Li Wei. I am Li Qi's sister. I am currently working in the High-Energy Laser Research Laboratory of the Central Science Institute of the Alliance. I have heard my brother mention you. He said that you are a hardworking and intelligent young man."

Li Wei's age this year won't exceed 25. Sitting in her seat, her slender figure can be seen by Zhao Huasheng. Her delicate face and smooth long hair look so attractive. But Li Wei's eyes have a slight redness, which cannot be concealed even with makeup.

Hearing what Li Wei said, Zhao Huasheng's face fell, and he said, "Li Qi was a very nice person, he took care of me."

"I heard that Li Ge had drinks with you the night before he passed away," Li Wei asked.

"Yes," Zhao Huasheng nodded. "If I had known there would be an accident that night, I would have stayed with him even if it made him mad."

Li Wei lowered her head and took out a tissue from her bag, gently wiping her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to blame you." After a moment, Li Wei calmed down and said, "Nobody wanted this accident to happen. I just have some questions that I want to get answered from you."

"Please, go ahead," Zhao Huasheng said.

"My brother left you the only thing he had left... a blank paper? He also said that you could unlock all our doubts?" Li Wei asked.

Zhao Huasheng was a bit surprised that Li Wei also knew about these highly confidential matters. But thinking of Li Wei's identity, Zhao Huasheng felt relieved.

Zhao Huasheng nodded in confirmation of these matters.

Li Wei shifted her gaze away from Zhao Hua, her thoughts seemingly drifting far away: "I understand my brother... He was a very organized and disciplined person. As far back as I can remember, I don't recall him doing anything meaningless. So... I believe the last words he left behind. He must have had a reason for choosing to do this. I have a feeling that in this solar crisis, all of our human efforts will fail, and the final hope, just as my brother said, lies in you."