In the hibernation room of the "Fire" spacecraft, a hibernation cabin door slowly opened, and Zhao Changxing, who was lying inside, slowly regained consciousness.
He sat up slowly and looked around in a daze, and saw that there were nineteen other hibernating cabins near him, but none of their hatches were open.
"Captain, welcome to wake up."
The neutral voice of the spaceship's artificial intelligence, Xiao Xi, came over.
Zhao Changxing recovered for a moment, suppressed his physical discomfort, and asked: "The voyage, is the voyage over?"
"Yes. We are still half a month away from the target, and the scheduled wake-up time has been reached."
Zhao Changxing felt disappointed.
It turns out that 55 years have passed...
Recalling the scene 55 years ago when I and my companions embarked on a voyage with the blessing of the human world and began to carry out this mission to continue human civilization, it seems like just yesterday. But in the blink of an eye, decades have passed
It's already passed.
"They...why didn't they wake up?"
Zhao Changxing pointed to his companions.
"Unfortunately, after I performed the wake-up operation, you were the only one who woke up."
Zhao Changxing was shocked.
If they can't wake up, that means they will never wake up.
Once life is lost, it is impossible to come back.
Hibernation technology was developed in a hurry by human civilization and is not mature. Before entering hibernation, he and his companions were mentally prepared to never wake up again. But he did not expect that when he arrived,
When the voyage finally ended, he was the only one who successfully woke up.
Zhao Changxing was silent for a moment and had to accept the result.
"What about...our civilization?"
Xiao Xi said: "I received the last message from the earth nineteen years ago, and I haven't received any more since then."
There was a screen above the hibernation cabin. The next moment, the last message Xiao Xi received appeared on the screen.
That is a piece of text.
"Affected by the gravitational disturbance during the process of the black hole swallowing the sun, an asteroid with a diameter of more than seven kilometers will hit the earth in a month. It is estimated that this impact will trigger a global earthquake. If there is no miracle, we will
All survivors will die in this impact. This will be the last message our Earth base sends to you.
We pray with great piety that some of you can read this letter. If anyone can read it, then, on behalf of all the survivors and victims on our planet, I would like to express my most sincere wishes to you or your
Wishes. I wish you have successfully reached your destination at this moment. I wish that the "Fire" spacecraft is operating normally. I wish you all the best in your follow-up work. I wish you can successfully continue our civilization. I wish our human civilization will one day be able to embark on a successful journey.
Entering the universe and the galaxy, you will no longer be afraid of these disasters.
We will bless you on earth until the last moment. May civilization last forever and the spark never go out."
A huge sense of unreality enveloped Zhao Changxing. Although he had already anticipated this situation before starting hibernation.
"I, I... I am the last human being alive in this universe?"
"It should be." Xiao Xi said: "Of course, if you want, you can breed more humans at any time. The sperm bank and egg bank on the spacecraft are still well preserved."
Zhao Changxing waved his hand feebly and remained silent for a long time.
This disaster originated nearly a hundred years ago.
At that time, human astronomers observed some unusual gravitational disturbances. It seemed that some external gravitational source was pulling on these celestial bodies in the inner solar system. However, people searched repeatedly, but no celestial bodies were found near the calculated coordinate points. Until
Observation equipment continued to be upgraded, and people finally determined that it was a black hole.
A miniature black hole about 1.5 times the mass of the Earth.
People don’t know where it comes from, or what disturbances it received before rushing into the solar system. People only know that it will eventually rush towards the sun and completely swallow it up. In the process, the mass will
The gravitational chaos of the galaxy caused by the transfer, the radiation emitted by the black hole devouring the sun's mass, and the radiation erupted by the sun's "struggle" will make the entire inner solar system no longer suitable for human survival.
Even hiding underground will not work. The gravitational chaos will cause a large number of asteroids, comets, etc. to rush into the inner solar system and continuously impact all major planets including the earth. The violent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. they cause will cause people hiding in
Kill all the people underground.
The demise of human civilization is a foregone conclusion. But people are not willing to call it quits on the cosmic stage.
Led by the Civilization Management Committee, countless scientists and engineers devoted themselves to the "Fire" project. It took thirty years to finally build the "Fire" spacecraft where Zhao Changxing and other twenty astronauts are now.
It contains a sperm bank and egg bank capable of breeding millions of people, hundreds of thousands of seeds and millions of frozen animal embryos, as well as a larger number of bacterial and viral specimens, as well as the latest developed nuclear fusion engines and
Ion and conventional hybrid propellers, the most efficient water circulation and heat circulation systems, soilless cultivation plantations, almost fully automated livestock farms, artificial intelligence medical centers and other facilities.
We cannot stay in the inner solar system, and interstellar navigation is unrealistic for the current level of human science and technology. The only thing that can possibly continue human civilization is the distant celestial body beyond Neptune. Although it is cold, dead, and lacks light, it has the most
With advanced human technology, there is still hope to build a base there, slowly multiply the population, and slowly expand the homeland.
Given time, maybe it can really become a place for the revival of human civilization.
The target chosen by the Spark spacecraft is a planet that is 11.4 billion kilometers away from the sun at its closest point and 77.5 billion kilometers away at its farthest point. It has a diameter of only about 1,000 kilometers and a mass that is only about 1/73 of the moon.
A distant planet. This planet is numbered as asteroid 90377 and is also called Sedna.
It is one of the solar system planets known to be the farthest from the sun that has reached hydrostatic equilibrium. Its such a long distance reduces the influence of the radiation released when the sun is swallowed by the black hole.
lowest.
Because it is too empty there, the possibility of being hit by an asteroid is very low. In addition, its surface is rich in tholin, a mixture of simple organic compounds such as methane and ethane that is formed by ultraviolet irradiation and can be used as fuel.
, as well as a considerable amount of water ice, and further observations showed that most of the various raw materials needed to support the industrialization process of a civilization have considerable content, and people finally selected it as the destination of the Tinder Project
.
Of course, it is still too small compared to the earth to support a prosperous civilization, but even if everything goes well, the fire of human civilization that has just migrated there will spend its initial stage of civilization development - with a population of more than a thousand
Ten thousand years ago, hundreds to thousands of years may have passed since then. Human scientists at this stage really cannot predict what will happen at that time. It is left to the people at that time to decide how to choose in the future.
Now, the Fire spacecraft is about to reach its destination. And Zhao Changxing has become probably the only human being in the entire universe.
"Captain, during these years of voyages, our spaceship..."
"I need to take a rest."
Zhao Changxing stopped Xiao Xi from continuing. After that, he staggered out of the hibernation cabin and came to his lounge.
He stayed in the lounge for five full days. During these five days, he recovered physically while making psychological adjustments, and received psychological treatment through interactive videos produced by the top psychologists on the planet.
.
It is not easy for Zhao Changxing to accept the situation at this moment, even for Zhao Changxing, who has passed the most stringent psychological test before departure and has a psychological quality that is so tough that ordinary people can't imagine. But he knows that he must accept this situation as soon as possible.
The situation and adjust your mentality. You must be energetic, confident, positive and optimistic, and determined. Because only in this way can you hope to complete the task of continuing human civilization.
So five days later, when Zhao Changxing left his lounge, the person he was once familiar with was always confident and calm no matter what difficulties he encountered, as if he would not be knocked down by any difficulties, always energetic, optimistic and positive,
Zhao Changxing, who always has a faint smile on his lips, is back.
"Hello, Xiaoxi."
"Hello, Captain. You seem to be in a good mood today."
"Of course. The first such long-distance interstellar voyage was successful. After hibernating for 55 years using immature hibernation technology, I can still wake up successfully without any sequelae. Isn't this worthy of happiness? Okay, Xiao Xi, let's go
Tell me everything that happened in these 55 years."
"Okay. Here's the situation..."
Xiaoxi's report was very long. With the help of audio, video and written materials, Zhao Changxing finally understood the overall situation of the spacecraft at the moment.
Due to an impact during the voyage, the main axis of the spacecraft was seriously damaged. After decelerating into orbit this time, and entering the orbit around Sedna, it will no longer be able to support another acceleration and deceleration action. The third circle was smashed by an asteroid, and the reserve
Almost all supplies were lost. Water, fusion fuel, oxygen reserves, and food reserves were all in critical condition. As for the remaining components, there were malfunctions, gas leaks occurred in some places, and some circulation channels were blocked. Needless to say, there were minor problems.
The main shaft of the spacecraft was severely damaged. This failure was not fatal for the time being. After all, after entering the orbit around Sedna, Zhao Changxing did not prepare to leave again in a short period of time. However, the loss of materials in the third circle was more serious.
Because the food for the astronauts to survive is stored there.
Without food, Zhao Changxing will starve to death here.
"The situation is really bad." Zhao Changxing said to himself: "But it doesn't matter, there will always be a way."