Chapter 171 Breaking the Cage and Confronting Deterrence_1

The Crisis Era, year 80.

In the past two years, the Moon had completed a comprehensive blockade of Earth by deploying a great number of small, integrated offense and defense Starports in its orbit around Earth. They even established an intricate network of defense chains in low Earth orbit, known as the "Sky Net" project.

All this time, the Earth Alliance had been devotedly researching new technologies and weapons underground; neither the space elevators nor the Spaceports were immediately rebuilt.

The Crisis Era, year 100.

Over these 20 years, the Earth Alliance experienced a continuous explosion of technological breakthroughs. Most Underground Cities in the depths of their nadir developed different technological systems due to various constraining factors. They evolved independently, creating a unique technological ecology.

In the merger of the Alliance, the integration of these technological systems brought about an unprecedented wave of innovation and transformation. The technological exchanges and cooperation between different Underground Cities significantly enhanced the Earth Alliance's level of technology like never before.

The cultures, thoughts, and concepts of each Underground City, driven by the integration of technology and through intense conflict, blended with one another, moving towards a paradoxical unity of opposites, akin to a new intellectual revolution.

It could be said that human civilization moved from unity to dispersion, and then from dispersion to a confrontational unity. The Earth Alliance had forged its own path.

Looking back on the hundred years of the Crisis Era, there has never been another period in human history with such rapid social upheaval, with such a far-reaching impact—a great transformation unseen in five thousand years.

Humanity had encountered countless setbacks and trials, but each fall had fostered new hopes and strengths.

From the initial extraterrestrial threats, ideological crises, and climate crises, to social upheavals and the subsequent lunar Deterrence, Earth's humanity always persevered, forging ahead bravely, and establishing a new social order and economic paradigm.

Without a doubt, this century of transformation was the most brilliant chapter in human history, constituting the most radiant and magnificent tapestry.

The Earth Alliance still lay in wait, and besides Feng Zi and the Trisolarans, no one truly comprehended how formidable the Earth Alliance had become in terms of technological strength.

Of course, because of the impact of a particular event, the Trisolarans, seeing that the Earth Alliance had yet to make a move, were nearly driven insane. Even with their strong mental fortitude, many Trisolarans could not endure and chose to commit suicide.

...

The Crisis Era, year 108.

The construction of the Earth Alliance's space elevator project had begun, with humanity launching the simultaneous construction of six space elevators.

The new space elevators retained the appearance of the original design, comprising multiple cabins along transportation tracks that formed a giant ring. (Similar to "The Wandering Earth," but the supporting ring was modified into a supporting column.)

The new space elevators were much larger than the originals, each cabin also larger, and the number of cables per cabin had increased from four to six. The number of transport tracks for the cabins had also risen to 18, and the entire diameter of the space elevator was double the original, nearing 600 meters.

The support columns also underwent significant modifications, considerably lengthened from the original. Such a structure played an important role, but no one from the Moon was aware of it.

Everyone only noticed that the transport capabilities of the new space elevators had greatly increased, but they overlooked the true purpose of these space elevators.

After 14 months, the construction of the six space elevators was completed. The Earth Alliance, having lain dormant for 30 years, now bared its fangs as the "Cage Break" plan was set into motion.

For the "Cage Break" plan, the Earth Alliance prepared a multitude of other deception plans for distraction and confusion.

For example, the Earth Alliance had continually been building small Starports over the years. These Starports used modular construction, and while offering both offense and defense capabilities, they could also be combined to form massive Starports.

The Moon Base also occasionally struck at these Starports, employing a vast array of scouting methods to monitor all Starport activities.

Building a space battleship required the establishment of massive Starport docks, which were prime targets for the Moon Base's attacks. Without space battleships, the Earth Alliance would remain blockaded on Earth.

The Moon Base had grown accustomed to these attacks on the Starports, treating them almost like a game. They were oblivious to the fact that in war, the greatest disasters often stem from habits and a playful mindset.

Feng Zi realized this, but he didn't alert the Moon Base, nor the Trisolarans. He chose hibernation instead.

This was all part of the plan; the Earth Alliance had to break free from Earth.

The Moon Base needed to deal with the consequences of their game-like behavior, and the Earth Alliance needed to develop on a broader stage to garner enough strength to counter the Trisolarans, or risk being too late.

After the doomsday battle, Feng Zi did not know whether he should feel regret or relief; at the very least, he had chosen hibernation.

...

The Crisis Era, year 109.

One of the six space elevators was destroyed by the Moon Base, leaving only five remaining.

That night, a virtual light film suddenly appeared between the support columns of the Earth's space elevators. To be precise, this virtual light film was a special kind of 3D virtual imaging technology.

The purpose was to form a light film around the exterior of the space elevator, displaying past events in 3D imagery, identical from all directions and seamlessly integrated with the surrounding environment.

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This resembles a form of invisibility technology; whatever is happening inside the space elevator remains unobservable to the outside world. However, this project is massive, spanning 36,000 kilometers. Each segment of the space elevator's bracing tube uses a virtual light film, which also needs to evade detection by the Moon.

Within the virtual light film, some subtle transformations are currently underway in the space elevator, with plans set to initiate soon.

Current gravitational wave detection and neutrino detection technologies are still not mature, mainly relying on thermal imaging, visible light, and radar wave detection, which is why the Moon Base remains unaware of the Earth Alliance's activities within the space elevator.

Inside the space elevator, between the tracks of the 18 lift cars, a massive space battleship suddenly comes into view, with the lift cars connected to the battleship via connecting rods and cables.

No one would have thought that the space elevator was not only for transporting materials but could also combine all the lift cars to utilize the vast space in the middle of the elevator ring, directly transporting battleships.

Underneath the base of the space elevator, the Earth Alliance secretly constructed several space battleships, ready to use the space elevator to stealthily transport them into space.

This is the Earth Alliance's latest battleship, 1600 meters long, 520 meters at its widest, with a net weight of 2 million tons and a full load of 4.6 million tons; most of the battleship's mass is outfitted with various resources and industrial facilities.

The latest Earth Alliance battleship's capabilities have reached the level of the Moon Base's 20th generation battleships, while those of the 20th generation only exist theoretically; the most advanced battleships on the Moon currently are of the 17th generation.

Its attack range can reach 20 astronomical units, with a maximum speed of 15% of the speed of light, and an acceleration force reaching 160G.

The Earth Alliance's battleships could actually take off directly from ground launch shafts, but this would certainly be detected by the Moon's surveillance net, followed inevitably by strikes from the Moon Base, an area of surveillance the Moon has never relaxed.

The only way is to rely on the space elevator's cover to transport the battleships to the geostationary space stations.

Then disguising the space battleships as small starports and releasing them, with other small starports serving as cover, there is a very high likelihood that they would be overlooked by the Moon Base and thus evade attack.

This plan of the Earth Alliance has been ongoing, with each geostationary space station releasing a small starport every two weeks, which has been consistent with previous activities and has not drawn the Moon's attention.

...

On this night.

As the Moon slowly moved between the Earth and the Sun, suddenly, 60 sun-like beams of light pierced the darkness, illuminating the tranquil night sky as if it were daylight.

This was the light from the engines of 60 enormous battleships as they started up, shedding their disguises to reveal their majestic forms to the world.

These beams of light intertwined, creating a heart-stopping tableau, as if the entire universe were illuminated at that moment.

Meanwhile, on the Earth's surface, many "deep wells" opened up, these profound pits gazing at the starry sky like the eyes of the Earth.

Countless high-energy laser beams and high-energy particle beams burst forth from these wells, piercing the sky with their targets aimed directly at all the starports orbiting the Moon.

The beams left dazzling trails in the night sky, like the wrath of the gods, reducing any obstacle to dust.

The Moon Base also received the news at once, and the only force that could prevent the Earth Fleet were the numerous space battleships hidden on the Moon's side.

However, the battleships near the Moon were on the far side and couldn't reinforce in time, and although the ships from Mars and Jupiter could reinforce, their capabilities and state of readiness were far inferior to the Earth Fleet.

There was no need for this battle to be fought; if an effective strike could not be launched at the beginning of the Earth Fleet's deployment, then complete eradication was impossible. In other words, if the battleships from Mars and Jupiter couldn't ensure that all 60 battleships would be detained, they would inevitably provoke intense retaliation from the other ships, and this too was deterrence.

Escaping Earth battleships would venture into the vast space beyond Neptune and the Kuiper Belt, and due to the excellent stealth capabilities of the ships, even if the Moon's fleet gave chase, discovering them would be very hard.

The hidden battleships in the depths of space would be the greatest deterrent to the Moon, with a Sword of Damocles appearing over its head, making future unbridled attacks on Earth no longer feasible.

Space warfare is about sudden attacks, and with the Moon having developed many bases over the past few decades, these could all be potential targets for the escaping Earth Fleet.

At this point, a mutual deterrence had formed between Earth and the Moon, preventing either side from attacking the other at will, and a new era of peace was born.

The Earth Alliance could also continue to colonize and develop other planets without fear of imminent attacks from the Moon.

The Moon too must intensify its struggle for living space in the Solar System, as once the Earth Alliance breaks free of Earth's gravity, it's only a matter of time before they face retaliation.

A day later, Feng Zi awoke from hibernation. With Feng Zi present, the Earth-Moon Lagrange conflict would continue, part of the plan.

The Moon Base also needed to exist despite setbacks, or else it would be inevitably rendered obsolete.

This is the ritual of a deterrence confrontation, a prelude to a new Deterrence Era.

PS: Everyone is invited to speculate on the reason why the Trisolarans are so desperate they are even choosing to commit suicide; the answer can be found in Chapter 153.

In later chapters, there will be a discussion on the societal structure of the Trisolarans, which is the author's personal interpretation and analysis; feel free to discuss, but please refrain from harsh criticism.

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