Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 217 - The Gap in Technology
Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Gap in Technology
Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Gap in Technology
In the blink of an eye, it had been a year and a half since “Earth Era” arrived at this planet system.
Every day, a large volume of data and reports were gathered at the central control center. Whenever Zhang Yuan saw these data, a strong sense of achievement filled his heart.
The Underground City grew larger by the day, with its usable area already exceeding five million square meters. Various functional zones had been carved out, and in a little while, they would be able to accommodate an even larger population. Various ventilation systems and matter recycling systems were being methodically installed.
Just a few days ago, the first batch of dairy goats, incubated using artificial womb technology, were born into this world. These dairy goats would be able to reach lactation period in 7-9 months and produce a certain quantity of goat milk.
The goat milk could not only serve as the main food for newly born infants but also improve the diet quality for everyone.
Therefore, the first batch of about 100 artificially incubated infants was officially initiated today. It’s expected that these fertilized eggs would complete incubation in 10 months, becoming genuine human infants.
More fertility-related equipment was being produced around the clock…
Of course, this batch of infants had not yet been enhanced using genetic technology; they used sperm and eggs brought from distant Earth, not challenging too many ethical morals.
The shift in thoughts was gradual. For now, it was quite an achievement to have people accept artificially incubated wombs, and changing more wasn’t yet possible. Even now, some conservatives launched public opinion offensives on the internet, but in the face of solid facts, they could hardly make a big stir.
“Artificial wombs are truly a great technology!” Zhang Yuan remarked excitedly while contemplating in his mind how best to utilize this technology.
It wasn’t just about cows, goats, or human infants, but also implied that humans could incubate a multitude of other species to improve the ecological environment of living areas and, incidentally, food as well…
“Right, improving the diet can significantly increase public satisfaction, and the cost isn’t that high either.”
“Should we start with pigs, or chickens and ducks first? In the current environment… it’d better be the egg-laying kind,” Zhang Yuan thought to himself.
The most natural food at present was the mealworm, which was easy and efficient to raise and didn’t cause much biological pollution. Once fried, it tasted just like chicken and was pretty delicious! But insects alone still couldn’t satisfy the needs of the populace.
Thinking this, Zhang Yuan sent a breeding suggestion to the Agriculture Department. After all, it was just a suggestion; whether to adopt it or not was their department’s decision.
Then, he moved on to the next report, a research report on alien technology…
In people’s hands, there were two pieces of “Gaia Civilization” technology. The first was a High-dimensional Fragment, and the second was a Consciousness Upload instrument.
Research on these two items was slow because the technology gap between humans and the Gaia Civilization was significant.
Take, for instance, the Consciousness Upload instrument—so far, humans knew only that it was very likely a biological computer. Yes, a biological computer, yet they had no idea what its energy system was. It was definitely not chemical energy, nor nuclear energy.
Its energy system was a round metal sphere that continuously emitted heat, just like a Perpetual Motion Machine—showing no sign of weakening over the years.
Some guessed it was vacuum zero-point energy, while others speculated it might be some form of energy substance from high-dimensional space… simply a variety of wild and fantastical theories.
It was a matter of great significance, and scientists didn’t dare to disassemble the machine recklessly, so they were left with no choice but to decode and study it slowly.
As for the High-dimensional Fragments, they were even more of a mystery—people only knew how to activate them temporarily but had no idea how they were formed.
Anyway, society was thriving amidst the chaos, and all scientists were extremely busy. Amidst their busy schedules, many simply couldn’t remember this matter. Only a few experts were still diligently conducting research. As long as they weren’t causing trouble, they could do as they pleased…
Another report came in, regarding the satellite detection of Gliese 581.
Upon reviewing the report, Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows slightly.
Through the satellite’s remote sensing system, people had discovered some rather strange underground caves, which could have been formed by water erosion, or possibly other reasons, such as glacial movements, typhoons, and so on. A large number of living organisms were found in these underground caves, with over a thousand different animal species identified so far.
Of course, satellites are merely satellites; no matter how advanced, they couldn’t penetrate the thick layers of rock and soil to see what secrets lay beneath, and there could be many more such caves…
What troubled Zhang Yuan was that the satellites seemed to have found traces of what appeared to be industrial mining!
These traces were ambiguous; for example, some exposed iron ore areas looked as though they had been mined, and some regions resembled the foundations of buildings, yet they could also be naturally formed by coincidence.
After all, with the fierce winds on this planet, it wouldn’t be impossible for stones to be blown away…
In the report, the biologist and bionic scientist Yamamoto Ichiro wrote, “Due to the frequent typhoons and overcast skies on this planet, the effectiveness of satellite detection is not very good.”
“Compared to Earth’s creatures, we have found that the organisms on this planet are generally smaller, with the largest animals not exceeding 1.5 meters in length and not weighing more than thirty kilograms. This may be due to a lower oxygen content, leading them to undergo anaerobic respiration…”
“Based on our current theories, the energy provided by anaerobic respiration is far too little to support complex life forms. The mass of thirty kilograms far exceeds our predictions, suggesting there must be more complex biological mechanisms involved… Understanding these biological mechanisms will fill in the missing parts of the protein language.”
Reading this series of information, Zhang Yuan knew that Yamamoto was itching to go on an on-site exploration of the alien planet.
But, obviously, that was impossible.
First, humans were not yet capable of withstanding the frequent typhoons and inhospitable weather; second, there was no need to waste manpower on such endeavors at the moment. The planet wasn’t going anywhere; it would be more appropriate to wait ten or twenty years until human development was stronger before conducting scientific research.
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“Human civilization is poor, truly poor…”
Immediately, Zhang Yuan made a phone call and lectured Yamamoto, telling him to stop obsessing over unrealistic issues and not to lead young scholars astray. While scientific exploration was important, it wasn’t worth risking their lives, was it?
“Yes… I understand!”
The response from Yamamoto was so earnest it was frightening. If they had been talking face-to-face, he might even have been bowing repeatedly. Some aspects of the Earth Era culture still influenced his thinking, and Zhang Yuan found himself missing the young man who had once fretted over inspiration together with him in the Star Library…
Just then, he suddenly received an emergency call; taking a look, he saw it was from Captain Zhao.
“Old Zhang, where are you?” The voice was stern, with an underlying sense of urgency.
Zhang Yuan replied, “I’m in the office… still have some issues to deal with.”
Zhao Qingfeng said urgently, “Forget those for now, come to the Captain’s Room immediately!”
“Quickly!”
