Chapter 27
Earth’s Joint Defense Agency
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is 15:22 on October 4th, 2028, Xia time. At this moment, we will witness the space heroes Zhang Tao, Liu Ning, and Wang Dong Dong return to Earth on their legendary spaceship, the ‘White Rabbit Nine.'”
“White Rabbit Nine is ready. Let’s follow the camera and embark on this great journey back home…”
“Counting down, 3, 2, 1, ignite!”
Following Zhang Tao’s command, a raging fire rose from the bottom of White Rabbit Nine, blowing the surrounding sand and soil in all directions.
”
Rumble
~!”
After a loud bang, the camera began to shake violently.
Through the window, he could see the ground rapidly moving away as the spacecraft slowly rose.
The host stopped talking and quietly watched the spacecraft’s movements with the audience.
Ten seconds later, the camera gradually became still once again, and the last line of the horizon outside the window disappeared.
“Take-off successful!”
“After that, our White Rabbit Nine will enter lunar orbit and fly around the moon for one and a half times. After adjusting its attitude, it will be able to set off for Earth…”
“In the next three days, the eight billion people of Earth will witness the return of the space heroes…”
Not long after White Rabbit Nine took off from the dark side of the moon, another ‘rock’ rose into the sky only a dozen kilometers away.
The ‘rock’ did not spit fire or raise dust during its flight. It was completely silent.
As if there was some mysterious force supporting it, it rose rapidly, violating the law of gravity.
Before White Rabbit Nine reached the lunar orbit, it was one step ahead and plunged into the vast sea of stars. It blended into the darkness and disappeared.
“Will our spacecraft be discovered by the Earthlings?!”
Zhao Yu looked at the deep starry sky through the screen and was a little worried.
“No problem, sir. Before we flew, I found a meteorite heading for Earth. As long as we replace it and follow its original trajectory, no one will notice!”
With the various detection equipment and more accurate data, Uncle Da became more confident.
On the other screen, there were more than 30 red dots. They were the satellites detected by the satellite remote sensing device.
These were all the satellites that the four major countries had sent into lunar orbit.
When the strange stones rose into the air, they did not react at all. The camera did not even move.
In their eyes, the moon was the same as always.
“It’s fine as long as there’s no problem. Just do as you see fit. Man-made satellites can be produced every ten hours. When it’s time, arrange for them to take off on time…”
Zhao Yu used the technology he had on hand to build the satellite production line for the ten detection equipment.
Coupled with camouflage technology, it was completely possible to take off without being discovered by the people on Earth.
Moreover, even if the satellite reached the orbit of the moon and the earth, it would definitely not be discovered. Like, who would pay attention to a harmless meteorite?
By the way, on Earth, anything could be considered as a spaceship as long as it could reach outer space. That’s not the case on Zhao Yu’s moon base. Whatever the device might be, if it could only carry satellites and not people, Zhao Yu would consider it just a flight vehicle.
“Don’t worry, sir. The first generation of the firmament system will be completed in eight days. By then, there will be no blind spots on the entire moon…”
“According to our calculations, we only need 66 satellites to cover the Earth. In 28 days, the second generation of the firmament system will be completed…”
“How long will it take for our satellite to reach Earth?” Zhao Yu nodded.
“Two days…”
Uncle Da explained, “The level of the magnetic power aircraft we have now is too low. The amount of power that can be borrowed from the nearby magnetic field is very limited. In the space environment far away from the planet, its speed is not much faster than a jet spacecraft. This is also because the distance between the Earth and the Moon is relatively close…”
Zhao Yu understood this. This flight vehicle relied on magnetic forces for power. If it was traveling on a planet and not outer space, it could borrow the power of the planet’s magnetic field to reach speed faster than a jet-propelled spacecraft. However, in space, since there was no magnetic field in between planets, a radiation propulsion system would be a more efficient power source than a magnetic system.
“In that case, just combine nuclear power and magnetic forces. We’ll have dual-core spaceships…”
Zhao Yu nodded slightly. As long as he waited patiently, he would have the technology points to afford for these technologies in the future.
..
On the way back to Earth, the higher-ups of the Great Xia were starting gain understanding of the function of the projection touch watch through Zhang Tao’s demonstration on camera.
Without taking any breaks, they immediately summoned all the top experts in the relevant fields to hold a meeting. After that, they went on to discuss how many years this technology was ahead of Earth. They also talked about how long it would take to replicate the watch after it was obtained.
“There are many fields that this technology is related to. The most difficult one is optical touch control. It’s a little unbelievable to achieve bare-handed touch control without installing a sensor device on the finger…”
At this stage, similar research projects were carried out using support tools such as finger sensors.
It was already beyond imagination that he could touch the air without using any external objects.
After half a day of discussion, the experts finally came up with a rough idea.
“According to my guess, this technology might be achieved by relying on ultrasonic sensing. Other than that, it also requires a very powerful infrared image processing system. These are technologies that Earth barely knows about…”
Senior Colonel Chu didn’t care for the explanation, “How long will it take for you to fully understand the technology after you get the prototype?”
The experts looked at each other. No one could tell how long it would take for them to study this alien technology. And there wasn’t anyone who would lie to get ahead in this project, either. None of them became scientists just for the money.
“I can’t say for sure. In the field of science, it might seem like you’re just one step away, but if you don’t fully comprehend that step, you might be stuck for decades or even centuries!”
“In the scientific world, theories are usually put first, followed by applications…”
“Mankind is still very new to theories of optical touch, ultrasonic sensing, and infrared imaging systems…”
As of now, they had not even come up with conjectures of how the watch worked. Even so, every expert was in high spirits despite how difficult the project was.
To them, being able to study such a product that was hundreds of years ahead of Earth’s technology was definitely an invaluable experience.
“However, it’s the same the other way around. With the product in hand, we can slowly reverse engineer and perfect the theory…”
“Maybe I can figure out its principle in a month, or maybe it will take a long time…”
“Ok, then!”
Senior Colonel Chu turned around and entered another room.
The room was filled with many elites just like him.
“What are your thoughts on the aliens’ intentions?!”
Senior Colonel Chu asked directly.
A young, bald man stood up.
“Let me see.”
“This alien should have been in the solar system for some years.”
“There are two possibilities. First, they were sent by an advanced civilisation to observe Earth, so it can explain why they only built a base on the Moon and did not make contact with the Earthlings…”
“The second possibility is that they are aliens who just happen to be passing by. The spaceship they were on had an accident and crashed on the moon. In order to repair the spaceship, they established a base on the moon. That explains why White Rabbit Nine and so many exploration vehicles were captured…”
Both possibilities seemed plausible, but there were certain problems.
“No matter which scenario it is, the aliens did not intend to come into contact with humans…”
“It’s only because of their machines that they accidentally captured White Rabbit Nine and three astronauts that they were exposed to…”
“The three astronauts disappeared for 14 days and reappeared. They were even released back to Earth by aliens. I believe that during these 14 days, they were discussing how to deal with this unexpected situation…”
“You’ve seen the final outcome. They chose to negotiate with the Earthlings and gave each of them a touch watch!”
“What’s important is not the watch, but the attitude after fourteen days of discussion…”
“They chose the peaceful mode of communication…”
“Let’s assume that the aliens happen to be on the Moon because of the second possibility, which is that their spacecraft accidentally crashed there…”
“Then, this touch watch is an opportunity, a start for a win-win deal for both of us!”
“They need to repair the spaceship, and we need their technology. We’ll take what we need. Once they repair the spaceship and the cooperation ends, they’ll go home, and we’ll continue living our lives…”
Before the bald man could finish, someone interrupted, “What if they leave behind a weapon that can destroy the entire world?!”
“This is the reason why you are here!”
“I’ll be in charge of thinking optimistically, and you’ll be in charge of thinking pessimistically. We’ll be prepared for whatever happens!”
The bald man said with a smile. He was very clear about how governments of any state worked. Whatever the situation was, there must always be a backup plan and room for manoeuvre.
Senior Colonel Chu nodded slightly. Throughout the day, the people from the think tank provided many ideas and possibilities.
In terms of results, there were only two options, good or bad. No matter what the aliens ‘origins were or what their purpose was, they only needed to take out the best and worst options.
“Ahem, it’s almost time. Any results?”
At this moment, an old voice came from the shadows.
“The other three countries have been urging us for a day. If we don’t tell them something, the higher-ups won’t be able to withstand the pressure…”
Senior Colonel Chu shrugged and said, “Isn’t the answer the same as before?”
“Yes!”
The old man nodded, “Then we’ll establish the Earth’s Joint Defense Agency and start cooperating with the three countries . Together, we’ll deal with the opportunities brought by the alien civilisation…”
“…and the risks that come along with it.”
Dealing with … Indeed, danger came before opportunity!
Senior Colonel Chu sighed. He still thought that the Xia government was being too cautious.
“Little Chu, you will be the first person in charge. Think of a way to pull the aliens from the moon to invest on Earth. Whatever they want, we can discuss it…”
“Perhaps, we can determine their true purpose for coming here based on what they need…”
“There is much to do. Hopefully it’d be beneficial for mankind…”