Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 57: Arrival at Tianyuan IV
Xiao Yu began the bustling preparations for his new home. The design of a large particle collider encircling Tianyuan IV became a top priority, and the selection of the main base location commenced.
At this distance, Xiao Yu’s advanced technological means allowed for precise and detailed measurements of the Tianyuan IV star system. Observations revealed that Tianyuan IV bore remarkable similarities to the Solar System, differing only in certain specifics.
Tianyuan IV was about one billion years old, still in the early stages of its stellar lifecycle. It exhibited numerous characteristics of a young star, resembling a youthful version of the Sun.
Using the transit method, Xiao Yu determined that Tianyuan IV had one rocky planet and two gas giants. The closest planet, a rocky one, orbited Tianyuan IV at a distance of 30 million kilometers. With a mass 0.4 times that of Earth and a size comparable to Mars, this planet was tidally locked, perpetually presenting one face to its host star.
Xiao Yu chose this rocky planet as the location for his main base. While constructing a base on a moon of one of the gas giants would have been more convenient for fuel extraction, other considerations led him to settle on this planet instead.
Further out, at approximately 50 million kilometers from Tianyuan IV, was a magnificent asteroid belt. This belt was significantly larger than the Solar System’s asteroid belt, with an estimated total mass about six times that of Earth.
Whether this belt would eventually coalesce into a new planet remained uncertain, as the numerous initial physical factors influencing this outcome were too chaotic for Xiao Yu to predict.
Four hundred million kilometers beyond the asteroid belt lay a gas giant 1.6 times the mass of Jupiter. This giant was in orbital resonance with the third planet in the system, with a ratio of 3:2—three orbits of the gas giant matched two orbits of the third planet.
At a distance of three hundred million kilometers from the second planet was the third planet, another gas giant. This one was five times the mass and nine times the volume of Earth, indicating a much lower density compared to Earth. Xiao Yu speculated that this planet was still evolving, continuing to grow as it absorbed interstellar gases.
The Tianyuan IV system retained a substantial amount of raw material for stellar and planetary formation. The interstellar material density in Tianyuan IV’s space was about six times that of the Solar System, suggesting that the third planet would continue to grow, potentially becoming a Jupiter-like gas giant.
The first and second planets, being too close to Tianyuan IV, had their material blown away by the star’s intense stellar winds and thus lacked the potential for further growth.
This dynamic system of three planets, countless asteroids, and a young, vigorous star formed a vibrant celestial landscape.
Xiao Yu named the first planet Tianyuan A, followed by Tianyuan B and Tianyuan C for the second and third planets.
“Tianyuan A will become my primary base. I’ll construct massive research facilities and spaceship production sites on its dark side. Tianyuan B will serve as my fuel base, supplying me with endless fuel. The Tianyuan IV star system will become my new home. This… this is paradise!”
Xiao Yu thought joyfully.
The journey had only two hundred years remaining.
With eager anticipation, Xiao Yu spent 190 years making progress. When only ten years remained, he finally entered the heliosphere of Tianyuan IV.
The heliopause marked the outer boundary of Tianyuan IV’s influence, where its stellar wind halted. Beyond it lay interstellar radiation, while within was the domain of Tianyuan IV.
At this boundary, 200 billion kilometers from the star, Xiao Yu detected high-energy charged particles emitted by Tianyuan IV for the first time.
Interestingly, unlike the Solar System, Tianyuan IV lacked a Kuiper Belt. Xiao Yu speculated that the unique configuration of its inner planets had gravitationally cleared this region of material.
This absence suggested that the Tianyuan IV system had far fewer observable comets compared to the Solar System.
Navigating the remaining 200 billion kilometers would take another ten years. During this time, Xiao Yu watched with delight as the stellar wind grew stronger—an indication of his approach to Tianyuan IV.
As time passed, Xiao Yu approached within 30 billion kilometers of Tianyuan IV, a distance comparable to Uranus’s orbit around the Sun.
Here, Xiao Yu observed the stunning auroras of Tianyuan C for the first time. With a magnetic field five times stronger than Earth’s and stellar winds thirty times more intense than the Sun’s, the auroras on Tianyuan C were breathtakingly vibrant. They resembled a bright blue interstellar whip, cutting through the vastness of space with unparalleled grandeur.
Commanding his massive fleet, Xiao Yu began decelerating. After twenty days, he arrived at Tianyuan C’s orbit, just as the planet passed close to his fleet.
Gazing at the small gas giant, Xiao Yu felt an indescribable surge of excitement.
A large number of probes were launched by Xiao Yu into orbits around Tianyuan C, streaming continuous data back to him.
“I’m going to build a massive artillery base on Tianyuan C,” Xiao Yu thought determinedly. “If anyone dares to invade my territory, I’ll strike them mercilessly.”
The dark universe principle loomed like a shadow over Xiao Yu’s mind. To defend against potential alien threats, he had to bolster his strength and ensure the success of his scientific research plans.
Sixteen days later, Xiao Yu passed Tianyuan B’s orbit. Unfortunately, Tianyuan B was on the far side of Tianyuan IV at that time, and he couldn’t get a glimpse of the planet’s true appearance.
Another twenty days passed, and Xiao Yu finally reached the orbit of Tianyuan A.
This planet was a mere 30 million kilometers from Tianyuan IV, half the distance of Mercury from the Sun. The radiation here was at least seventy times more intense than that near Mercury, but Xiao Yu had prepared powerful anti-interference communication devices to maintain control over all his ships.
“The interference here is intense… It’s time to begin research on superluminal communication. Superluminal communication isn’t affected by interference. Besides, without it, fuel collection operations on Tianyuan B and Tianyuan C will have to rely solely on automated programs, and I don’t feel comfortable with that.”
Resolving to address this issue, Xiao Yu began to plan.
In the current theoretical framework, superluminal communication could only be achieved through quantum entanglement technology. This had been researched extensively on Earth but had made no real progress. Whether breakthroughs could be achieved in the future remained uncertain.
The problem lay in the fundamental limitations of quantum entanglement: while influencing a particle at point A would instantly affect its entangled counterpart at point B, there was no way to discern what information had been transmitted. A decryption key—information on what was done to the particle at point A and its observed results—was needed to interpret the signal. But the key could only be transmitted by traditional, slower-than-light means, making it technically subluminal overall.
Xiao Yu, however, had a hypothesis. Perhaps, with specific methods, this limitation could be cleverly circumvented. All that remained was to conduct extensive experiments to test his theory.
From this close, Tianyuan IV appeared as a dazzling sphere with a diameter of about five to six meters in the sky. Its brilliance was so intense that direct observation was impossible. This region was like an ocean of light, with an overwhelming surge of energy pouring outward like a raging sea.
Compared to Tianyuan IV, Tianyuan A was like a tiny sesame seed on a basketball. Tidally locked to its host star, Tianyuan A always faced Tianyuan IV with the same side, which provided Xiao Yu a distinct advantage. The planet’s dark side served as a shield against excessive radiation, allowing him to build his base and develop technology in relative safety.
Xiao Yu reduced his fleet’s speed relative to Tianyuan IV to 97 kilometers per second. Relative to Tianyuan A, his speed was only 20 kilometers per second. He carefully approached the planet, waiting for the right moment to descend and begin construction.
Being so close to Tianyuan IV, Tianyuan A had lost its atmosphere to the star’s powerful stellar winds. The planet was barren, without an atmosphere or any moons.
Tianyuan A had a high density, resembling a solid iron ball. It lacked geological activity, and its surface was pockmarked with craters from meteor impacts. Temperatures on the star-facing side soared to 700°C, while the dark side plunged to -150°C—a characteristic similar to Saturn’s moon Titan.
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Although Tianyuan A lacked methane lakes like Titan, Xiao Yu’s technological capabilities allowed him to shuttle between Tianyuan A and Tianyuan B in just ten days, making fuel collection convenient despite the absence of local resources.
A month later, Xiao Yu finally caught up with Tianyuan A. Three County-Class ships, all the Town-Class ships, and 200 Village-Class ships entered orbit around Tianyuan A. The remaining 600 Village-Class ships, laden with instruments and equipment, began the descent to the planet’s surface.
