章 40: Chapter 40: Quark-Sized Devices and the Energy Reservoir in Proxima Centauri A
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
Yan Xia had been waiting for the latest-model spacecraft designed to explore the interior of stars—the Luanfeng.
The Luanfeng wasn't large, only about 30 meters long and weighing 262 tons, resembling a sleek fighter jet in appearance.
The exterior of the jet was painted in a bright orange-yellow color, not for aesthetics but to enhance the metal's heat resistance.
Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri binary star system, was located 0.21 light-years away, approximately 13,281 astronomical units.
The Luanfeng, modified to withstand the extreme temperatures inside the star, could only reach a maximum speed of 31 km/s. It was towed by another transport spacecraft to the star's surface before venturing into the heart of Proxima Centauri B.
Yan Xia sat in the control room, staring at a white screen.
After Ella's calibration, the screen displayed a negative image, with bright areas turning dark and vice versa, similar to the "negative mode" found on smartphones.
The screen primarily showed dark purple, with black and white hues as well.
The interplay of colors revealed black patches, indicating regions of extreme heat.
The Luanfeng flew for 200 kilometers, reaching the predicted location of the device according to Ella.
But after circling the area, nothing was there.
"My calculations must be correct; the cavity inside the star should be here."
"Could the second civilization have fine-tuned the mass within the star as well?"
Ella performed urgent calculations, and the results pointed to a location diametrically opposite to the previous calculations—the southern hemisphere of Proxima Centauri B.
The Luanfeng exited the star's interior and, from the surface, dove into the new location.
But still, nothing was there.
"This can't be!"
Ella dedicated 80% of the mainframe's computational power to the task, but the results remained largely unchanged.
Her error surprised Yan Xia.
After all, Ella's calculations had always been flawless, leading him to believe she was an omnipotent system rather than an AI he had programmed line by line.
Now, when faced with a higher-level civilization, Ella's limitations were becoming apparent.
However, such a fundamental miscalculation was unlikely for Ella.
Whether it was the missing radioactive elements or the shift in the binary system's center of mass, something was amiss.
The reason the Luanfeng couldn't detect the device was likely because it had been hidden using a special method.
As Ella grew anxious, Yan Xia also pondered the question.
What means could the other civilization employ to conceal itself?
It was almost certain that they were a Type II civilization or higher.
After eight days of contemplation, Yan Xia suddenly arrived at a conclusion.
"We've been trapped in a cognitive bias, assuming that if there's a device, it must be massive."
"But what if the device isn't an individual entity but a collective?"
"A collective of extremely tiny devices, only visible at the atomic level!"
Even Yan Xia found his own speculation incredibly sci-fi.
The reason for this hypothesis was another technology of human civilization—nanorobotics.
If a Type II civilization could unify the four fundamental forces, they must have discovered strings, the microscopic fundamental units. In the world of strings, even nanometers are too large.
The estimated size of a string is 10^-34 meters, while a nanometer is 10^-9 meters. There's a difference of 25 orders of magnitude, and for a Type II civilization that has discovered strings, a nanorobot is like a drop of water compared to the Earth.
Yan Xia's words were an epiphany for Ella.
As an AI, she could simulate various possibilities, but these were derived from keywords.
Her keywords encompassed all understanding of existing technologies, but anything beyond known science was excluded as science fiction. After all, there were countless possibilities in that realm, and including them might yield a trillion possibilities. Even if each possibility were explored for just one second, it would take nearly 2 million years.
Ella had the Luanfeng capture some particles from the star's interior, collecting samples from 100 regions.
After Ella's thorough analysis of these fusion atoms, something was isolated.
"Yan Xia, you're a genius!"
Ella used a scanning tunneling microscope, which appeared to weigh over 50 tons, to examine the structure of the isolated object.
Surprisingly, it resembled a lepton.
Yan Xia, observing the image, noted that it was similar in size to a lepton, but it was not a lepton. As he had guessed, it was a microscopic mechanical particle.
It was like a quark-sized, ultra-small mechanical energy converter that absorbed and stored the energy released during the decay of radioactive elements.
"This energy storage method is incredible."
Ella observed that the energy storage mechanism converted the energy from decaying radioactive elements into gravity, or mass.
This made this tiny energy converter 1000 to 7400 times heavier than a typical lepton.
"It seems there's indeed grand unification!"
Without grand unification, it would be impossible to convert one force into another.
Ella tried to grasp these mechanical energy converters, but their intricate structure defied analysis.
However, the discovery prompted Ella to recalculate the center of mass of the Alpha Centauri binary system.
She soon realized that the large cavity she was searching for wasn't in Proxima Centauri B; it was just a 2B-type star. The true, massive cavity was inside Proxima Centauri A.
These ultra-small energy converters provided additional mass to Proxima Centauri B, making it much heavier than previously calculated.
The Luanfeng flew again.
This time, it ventured 700 kilometers deep into Proxima Centauri A, where the extreme temperatures overwhelmed its energy shields, melting the spacecraft's surface.
But in an instant, the Luanfeng entered a new world.
Ten overlapping, rotating rings generated powerful energy, forming a gigantic spherical space with a diameter of 120 kilometers.
Each ring was pitch black, seamless, and appeared to be cast as one piece, encircling a bright core. This core was not a light source but a massive compressed energy body.
The energy from the radioactive elements captured by the small mechanical factories was stored here.
The energy intensity was immense, far surpassing the combined might of the Kaitian Civilization, Yan Xia's fleet, and the Chasing Light Civilization (the Hundred Eyes Race).
Ella's analysis revealed that this energy cluster had reached the total energy of a Type 2.1 civilization.
The ten rings were energy confinement devices and the production lines for the small mechanical energy converters.
This device mass-produced the small energy storage machines, placing them inside and around the star to absorb and store large amounts of radioactive elements.
A complete production chain.
Yan Xia wondered why this civilization would store energy in a star system they didn't control.
Nevertheless, the existence of the second civilization was confirmed.
When the energy here reached the set 100%, it might be time for that civilization to harvest it.
"Ella, let's proceed with the original plan."
"No matter what, we must reach Type II on the energy scale."
"The civilization we're facing might be doing this in hundreds or even thousands of star systems. Their level might be Type 2.5 or higher."
Another civilization as powerful as the Light Civilization.
This civilization could be a dominant force within the Milky Way.
How could they contend with such a civilization?
Hiding like the Kaitian Civilization, hoping not to be discovered, was akin to plugging one's ears while stealing a bell. True strength was needed.
Yan Xia was determined to advance to Type II.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット