Chapter 99 Future Changes_1

PDC Chairman: "Thank you, Mr. Lin Sen, for your contributions to the human world, which are plain for all to see. Your greatest contribution has been giving us the resolve to counter the Trisolarans.

"Particularly, your use of the Particle Accelerator Spaceship resource exchange plan and your own life as a gamble for Trisolaran intelligence has also made us truly realize the importance of Wallfacer strategies for the future of humanity.

"This war will demand a cruel price from us, and naturally, we will not be confined by the freedom of human thought.

"You have free rein to act, and we will let go of restrictions and constraints. No matter what challenges and setbacks we face in the future, what we can always do is to carry on with our burden.

"Do you have any plans for the near future?"

Lin Sen: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are fortunate to have you humans.

"Our future is still very long. What we need most now is to develop our technology to the extreme under current theories. With every advance in our science and technology, the future gains more ground for strategies to unfold. The only possible way to truly defeat the Trisolarans in the future will be through cunning.

"It is impossible to defeat the Trisolarans with scientific and technological means, and we must never entertain such a thought. If it were really possible for us to defeat the Trisolarans with technology, then they would not dare to invade the Solar System.

"Next, I will go to the Moon Base to arrange some matters. Once everything is arranged, I will enter hibernation and wait for the possible upheaval of human society."

PDC Chairman: "What upheaval are you referring to?"

Lin Sen: "I call it the Great Nadir. Sociological predictions indicate that human society might soon enter a period of social disorder. Not just that, according to meteorological experts, the Earth's climate environment will also undergo significant changes in the coming decades. We need to start preparing for it.

"The policy research offices of various countries should have foreseen this, though many believe its harm is controllable, preventable, and that despite some losses, we will get through it safely.

"But I don't see it that way. It could be more severe than anyone imagines.

"Wallfacers should not interfere with the domestic affairs of countries, but we now earnestly request the PDC and the representatives of all nations to start building large permanent underground shelters in regions with latitudes higher than 20 degrees. In the event of an irresistible disaster, at least the populace will have a place of refuge."

Country A Representative: "Your concerns have been discussed with us by Huaxia too, but our Science Advisory Board suggests the construction of many emergency disaster relief centers.

"The Science Advisory Board believes that the climate environment will indeed experience abrupt changes in the future. Even meteorologists think that within the next few decades, the Earth will enter an ice age, with global temperatures falling, rainfall decreasing, widespread land drying out, and food production massively reducing. We have taken corresponding measures for these aspects.

"We will cultivate farmland on a large scale in regions with suitable tropical temperatures, and we will build extensive water conservancy projects in temperate regions. We have enough confidence to face such crises, especially with current technology, which is more than sufficient to deal with an ice age.

"The Advisory Board does not think it necessary to build large permanent underground shelters, but out of respect for you personally, we will also build a small portion of underground shelters to respond to potential extreme climates.

"For a considerable time to come, our main resources should be dedicated to mainstream defense plans."

People in this era wouldn't think about environmental protection as a mindset exclusive to the ETO anymore; their madness was somewhat restrained, and they would deal with the development of things more rationally.

The representative from Country A also expressed the prevailing understanding of the times, concurring that future societies might indeed face changes in culture and environment. However, they believed that contemporary humans had the capability to resolve these issues and that constructing more emergency centers rather than large permanent underground shelters was advisable.

Lin Sen continued, "Let's get started then. We cannot predict the circumstances of the great downturn; we can only do our utmost to prepare."

"As for whether these preparations will affect the mainstream defense plan, there is no need for excessive concern. We still have at least two centuries, and our final battle target may not be the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet, but rather the 20 Whirlwind Stomps.

"For the time being, we can let our science and technology consolidate. With breakthroughs in quantum computers and controlled nuclear fusion, the small-scale explosion of human technology will undoubtedly continue for some time, and with a strong foundation, we can develop our space power more effectively.

"Those 20 Whirlwind Stomps are surely the crystallization of Trisolaran technology; otherwise, they would not have been dispatched to the Solar System. If we can defeat or capture them, I believe our technology will certainly experience another surge. Four centuries later, can the Trisolarans still contend with us?

"The Trisolarans' decision to dispatch 20 Whirlwind Stomps was a major strategic blunder on their part. Their best move would have been a full-scale assault on us once their fleet reached the Solar System.

"However, they chose to use the 20 Whirlwind Stomps to suppress us, a clear underestimation of our capabilities. Of course, this also provides us with a clear target for the next two hundred years: to destroy the Trisolaran Whirlwind Stomps. Given their small size, they surely cannot carry too many resources, which presents us with an opportunity. Even if those Whirlwind Stomps self-destruct, the leftover fragments will be a valuable asset to us.

"Therefore, we need not imagine the final battle to be excessively brutal. Our present life is also significant, and I hope we can allocate more resources to civil welfare and make additional preparations for the future downturn."

PDC Chairman: "Thank you, Mr. Lin Sen, for your analysis. We will take your suggestions into full consideration, and the representatives from various nations will do the same.

"We will also make appropriate modifications to the mainstream defense plan, which did not originally anticipate a significant breakthrough in human technology. However, the quantum computer brought by the Wallfacer, along with its associated technologies, has made such a breakthrough possible. Some members of the Science Advisory Board even believe that this technology lays the foundation for the fourth industrial revolution.

"While humans might not have enough confidence to confront the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet yet, we believe we can certainly handle the Trisolarans' 20 Whirlwind Stomps."

A reachable goal seems more important to humans now. Nobody knows what the Whirlwind Stomp is, but its small size gives us endless hope. Hope is the best medicine to suppress madness. To cherish hope, maintain optimism, and stay determined for the future are our finest qualities.

Lin Sen: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The stable development of human society is the best strategy to confront the Trisolaris crisis."

Subsequently, at the hearing, the Science Advisory Board also reported on the progress of the Space Particle Accelerator Starship. Despite the advent of quantum computers and controlled nuclear fusion, the design of the Space Particle Accelerator Starship still encountered countless technical challenges.

Breakthroughs in these technologies were also crucial for the construction of the future Space Fleet, which the PDC took very seriously. Fortunately, with the quantum computer, many technological breakthroughs could be achieved using brute computational force, becoming the mainstream approach to technological breakthroughs today.

Lin Sen didn't say much, regardless of how the breakthroughs were made or how inefficient the pace was; it was still much better than in the original timeline where these technologies stalled our progress for nearly 70 years. It was these technological constraints that caused humanity such immense loss and disaster during the great downturn.

Now, with assistance from quantum computers, all these technologies had the potential for breakthroughs, and humanity had finally bridged the vast chasm to truly enter space.