Chapter 58 China Sun_1
No one knew what had happened that night which would change the human world and the Trisolaran world, where the fate of humans and Trisolarans would go, no one could tell.
The Trisolarans couldn't stay silent anymore, silence was the greatest indifference. In the original timeline, the Trisolarans disregarded humanity for two centuries, until they were forced to respond after Logic used the Dark Forest to deter them.
The Trisolarans, who would have disregarded Earth for two centuries, now had to take Earth's humanity seriously, and Lin Sen was also waiting for their response.
After that night, Logic desperately sought ways to protect the safe; it was civilization's last chance.
If the safe were destroyed, the Trisolarans would do everything possible to assassinate Lin Sen and Logic. If the PDC learned the information inside the safe, they would quickly deduce the Dark Forest Theory, and the future would become completely uncontrollable. Whether deterrence could be established was unknown; even Logic did not know if he could establish it.
Logic also went to consult the Science Advisory Group to ensure the safe's security, placing the safe in a censure bullet-proof facility 300 meters underground and guarded by absolutely reliable troops.
Surveillance devices were deployed throughout the surrounding area and within the soil layers to prevent the approach of any person or object.
...
The New Year had passed, and everyone else had gradually returned to their posts, with Logic's direct Wallfacer departments all moving forward according to plan.
Wang Miao was the first to rush back; for him, every second was of the essence.
Ding Yi's research into controlled fusion had temporarily stopped; he had to wait for the final verification results from the PDC, and now he was shifting to studying the mathematical model of quantum tunneling effects.
Marcus and Wu Yue stayed in the lab researching brain-computer interfaces, showing no interest in the holidays.
This team seemed to have expanded, although outsiders were unaware. Tyler continued with high atomic research, and Rey Diaz carried out preliminary investigations and proofs for the Moon Base, which for the time being, did not require the involvement of Lin Sen and Logic.
Having arranged everything, barring any accidents, Lin Sen and Logic were preparing to enter cryosleep to await the completion of the space elevator. If an emergency arose, the direct Wallfacer departments, Tyler, and Rey Diaz all had the authority to wake them.
Unexpectedly, something happened, which wasn't exactly a surprise, more accurately a delight. Lin Sen accidentally learned that Logic had an uncle, Zhuang Yan's cousin, a doctor in solid-state physics but not in the best of situations currently.
This uncle would not have impacted Logic and Lin Sen's plans, and Lin Sen only paid a bit of attention and discovered that Zhuang Yan's cousin, also a familiar face, was Zhuang Yu. As a Wallfacer's Assistant, Lin Sen had almost the same level of access to information as Logic did.
If one was good at discovering, it turned out that the world was full of surprises. The appearance of Zhuang Yu gave technical support to another of Lin Sen's plans, an important one for both the great economic decline and the Moon Base.
Speaking of Zhuang Yu, he was currently down on his luck, a university professor now squeezing in with a bunch of rough men on the bunk beds of a makeshift rental room.
Zhuang Yu invented a type of nanomirror film material, and wanted to bring this achievement to market, but his endeavors met with no interest, leading to a complete financial loss. Now, he even has to pay rent to Shui Wa, who has just arrived in the city.
Shui Wa had ventured from a poor mountain village, where his greatest dream was simply to drink water that was less bitter. He was someone pure removed from petty tastes; no, he surpassed any constraints of taste altogether.
Had it not been for the Trisolaran crisis, Zhuang Yu and Shui Wa both might have embarked on different life journeys, entwined in a tale about China's sun.
The "China's sun" referred to here doesn't imply controlled nuclear fusion; rather, it signifies a super environmental engineering project.
A massive reflector, spanning thirty thousand square kilometers, would be constructed in geostationary orbit around Earth. Computer simulations projected that by concentrating sunlight to the needed areas, by influencing a pivotal point, we could modify the climate of the targeted region for a certain period...
The story begins with Shui Wa, who, with an educational level of only third grade, prepared to leave his birthplace, a small village cursed with eternal drought.
He set foot on the dust-engulfed path, heading toward the place he yearned for, where the water might taste less bitter. What he did not know was that he was heading toward a place beyond his wildest dreams.
Shui Wa's first life goal: drink less bitter water and earn some money. He worked in the mines, tasted water that wasn't bitter, and learned of the big cities. Cities with lots of lights and truly delicious water!
Shui Wa's second life goal: to go to the city where the lights shone brighter and the water tasted sweeter, to earn more money. The city was wonderful, with chances to make money, buy lots of things, and to start a new job—shining shoes. It was here that Shui Wa met Zhuang Yu, who opened the door to a new world for him and showed him his invention, the nanomirror film. Shui Wa thought it to be nothing more than a fancier Solar Cooker.
Shui Wa's third life goal: to go to an even bigger city, to see more of the world, to earn even more money. Zhuang Yu, for the sake of his enterprise, and the initiation of the China Solar Project—which found the best use for the nanomirror material—paired with Shui Wa's desire to shine more shoes, led them both to Beijing.
Shui Wa's fourth life goal: to become a Beijinger. No longer just shining shoes, Shui Wa switched to washing high-rise windows, seemingly finding a special solace in the cleanness, busying himself polishing windowpanes and, in turn, brightening his soul.
Perched up high, Shui Wa also found his own insights: one must view things from a higher vantage to see them clearly. Those within the city, mired in complexity and hustle, fail to grasp the world and even themselves clearly. From above, the world appeared as boundless.
Shui Wa's fifth life goal: to fly to space and clean the sun. China's sun, made from Zhuang Yu's nanomirror material, has enormous reflective surfaces, but over time the Solar Wind coats them with a thin film of mist, reducing their reflectivity, thus requiring the service of high-altitude cleaners.
On Zhuang Yu's recommendation, Shui Wa landed the job. He worked at it for twenty years, continuously contemplating the true essence of life. He beheld boundless continuum and his understanding became akin to that of eminent intellectuals. The only difference was in the soul; his remained untainted by dust.
Shui Wa's sixth life goal: to fly into the starry sea and redirect humanity's gaze back into the depths of the universe. Zhuang Yu had changed the direction of Shui Wa's life more than once, but Shui Wa's vision had transcended human limitations.
As China's sun approached retirement, Shui Wa asked Zhuang Yu to transform it into a starship, to harness the pressure of sunlight to accelerate the craft out of the Solar System. All he requested from the Earth government was a highly reliable albeit small-scale ecological recycling system and a Life Cryosleep System.
Thus, Shui Wa flew out of the Solar System, toward Proxima Centauri, gliding past Sirius A and B, possibly reaching the Piscis Austrinus Constellation — ε star, and perhaps even arriving at 79 Ceti. These stars were believed to possibly host planets, and the journey there could take a thousand, even ten thousand years.