Chapter 21 Intergalactic Space Strategy Planning_1

The next day, the Wallfacer mobilization meeting was convened, and all parties arrived at the venue on time, heading straight to their respective seats.

What was odd was that Logic also sat in the audience and had no intention of going on stage. Shouldn't Logic be the main character of this mobilization meeting?

The meeting began, and Lin Sen stepped onto the podium.

"My name is Lin Sen, the Wallfacer's Assistant. I will be presiding over this mobilization meeting. Mr. Logic needs to stay in the audience; this is also part of the plan." A brief statement, bereft of pleasantries, and the meeting was underway.

"Everyone here will need to sign a confidentiality agreement, effective for 400 years."

Although it was somewhat abrupt, everyone signed nonetheless, not knowing what purpose it served. Keeping secrets from the Trisolarans was impossible.

Keep secrets from humanity? The role of the PDC representative was to supervise the Wallfacer and report the contents of the meeting back to the PDC. Could it be to conceal information from ordinary people, and was that necessary?

Lin Sen continued, "The agenda for this mobilization meeting is to devise a strategic plan for future work and to bolster our confidence in combating the Trisolarans. What humanity lacks now is not courage, but confidence; the Trisolarans are not invincible."

There was little reaction from the audience; they had heard such statements countless times and they stirred no waves in anyone's heart. Everyone knew that what humanity lacked was confidence, but how was that confidence to be obtained?

In many people's hearts, if there was even a sliver of hope of defeating the Trisolarans, then humanity would fight with everything they had.

Lin Sen said, "First, we need to establish a strategic plan for Earth's combat posture against the Trisolarans.

As Mr. Logic analyzed during the Wallfacer hearing, the Trisolarans fear our escape. The end-of-days battle scenario is that the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet needs to blockade us within the Solar System. It's highly likely that the Trisolaran fleet will adjust their deployment upon arrival at the Solar System, where they will encircle us from four directions through the Kuiper belt.

The Future Space Force Strategic Research Office must consider high-tech levels in researching future space warfare theories. Interstellar space warfare resembles our submarine warfare; there can be no exchanges of broadsides or aerial dogfights. Our battlefield must also extend to the Oort Cloud.

The two key elements of submarine warfare are stealth and speed, and in our engagement with the Trisolaran fleet, the first element is speed, followed by stealth. With the Sophons monitoring, we have no advantage in stealth, and thus we are certain to be utterly defeated in a head-on confrontation."

Wallfacer Logic's strategic planning is: to dispatch a part of the fleet to hide in the vast Oort Cloud, each warship stocking over a century's worth of combat supplies, without any logistical support. Hiding is possible; the Oort Cloud can stretch up to 2 light-years in diameter, and the Trisolarans can't possibly deploy that many Sophons to track all our fleets."

The fleet patrolling the Oort Cloud must cut off all communication with the outside world; any contact risks interception by Sophons, revealing their location. Even receiving any messages could potentially be disguised by the Trisolarans, aimed at eliciting a response from the fleet."

Faced with our widely dispersed fleet, the Trisolaran fleet could only pursue them separately. Likewise, they can't equip every warship with a Sophon; that's our opportunity."

In such a situation, hearing any "sound" means there is only one course of action: to attack and escape. If discovered by a Sophon, we do not need to discuss our fate; if, by some chance, there is no Sophon, then we have the chance to contend with the Trisolaran fleet. It's a matter of who exposes themselves first.

Regarding the issue of speed, the velocity of our future warships is set at 5% of the speed of light. Sophons move 20 times faster relative to us; unless they could send thousands of Sophons to track us, our warships might manage to remain hidden in deep space.

The speed of the Trisolaran fleet can reach 10% of the speed of light, but this is only for brief periods. That means if they expose themselves, there is a certain chance we could escape after attacking; we are not utterly without hope of survival.

Regarding offensive and defensive capabilities, everyone understands that our gap with the Trisolarans is like that between cold weapons and firearms; there is no comparison. But in interstellar space warfare, that's not important; what matters are speed and stealth.

The Trisolaran fleet's biggest weakness is resources, which we will discuss later. As long as the Trisolarans have not truly landed in the Solar System, using its resources to replenish their consumption, we stand a chance.

When they begin to replenish their industrial capacity with the resources of the Sun, that will be the moment of our defeat.

Therefore, the success rate of interstellar space strategic planning is extremely low."

General Chang Weisi nodded silently. He paid great attention to the Wallfacer plan. The Space Force High-Tech Strategic Research Office's understanding of interstellar warfare was not as thorough as Lin Sen's, yet the Wallfacer also had a clear recognition of the straightforward battlefield.

Lin Sen's statement made many realize the value of the Wallfacer anew.

A member of the Space Force High-Tech Strategic Research Office asked, "If the patrolling warships can't communicate with the outside world, how will they identify friend from foe?"

Lin Sen replied, "You've touched on a crucial point, and the truth is harsh. They can't identify; all warships entering deep space are enemies, no information can be trusted."

A murmur ran through the audience; they seemed unable to accept such an outcome. Such a plan was utterly impractical. Lin Sen's analysis of interstellar warfare sounded like an explanation of the Dark Forest; humanity must recognize the ruthlessness of interstellar warfare from this moment forward.

Lin Sen added, "The cruellest aspect is not that your comrades-in-arms become enemies, but that the warships setting out might never be able to return home. If they head back to the Solar System, they're likely to be detected by Sophons; the implications are self-evident.

Even if they receive information that humanity has won, the fleet dares not return home; all information could be a deceptive tactic. Ultimately, they can only become living fossils in the Oort Cloud, their fate sealed the moment they departed from home.

If they wish not to become living fossils, the only chance for survival is to return to the Solar System after exhausting all resources. If humanity has triumphed, they survive; if the war is ongoing or the Trisolarans have won, returning means annihilation."

"How could this be?" someone cried out from the audience.

Lin Sen stated, "War is inherently cruel, especially a war between civilizations. We must be prepared to pay any dreadful price; this is part of the plan.

Compared to the warships that set out, those remaining within the interior of the Solar System are in greater danger. We are not so arrogant as to believe that we could directly defeat the Trisolaran fleet; so what's wrong with setting out?

Lin Sen is not Hines; against the Trisolarans, plotting schemes is very difficult. Often, we must engage the Trisolarans with open strategies, laying all plans bare.

But there's another implication in sending out the warships—that all information within the Solar System is untrustworthy, except for one piece of information: humanity has lost, and the Solar System is occupied.

Because the Trisolarans would never broadcast such information, if they did, the fleet patrolling the Oort cloud would choose to flee into deep space.