Chapter 237 Welcoming the Trisolaran Lost Warship

Lin Sen: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

"The third plan that I am preparing to execute is a deep space voyage to welcome our guests.

"As you all should know, twelve years ago, we observed the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet beginning to decelerate while passing through the seventh dust cloud, with the vast majority of the warships entering a state of deceleration.

"However, one warship did not. From its trajectory through the dust cloud, at its current speed, it will arrive in the Solar System a century and a half before the fleet.

"We speculate that this warship's propulsion system has been damaged and lacks sufficient deceleration capability; ultimately, it will skim past the Solar System and be forever adrift in interstellar space.

"Their only chance of survival lies in our rescue.

"With the current speed of our warships, it will take only 12 years to rendezvous with it 1.4 light-years away from the Solar System. This voyage has profound significance, and I hope I can personally lead the Human Fleet to undertake it.

"This could well be the beginning of a grand affiliation with the Trisolarans."

This plan was indeed astonishing; no one had previously proposed to venture into deep space to intercept the lost Trisolaran warship.

It's not that no one had thought of it, but that it was infeasible. The interception of this warship would not only have a major political impact, but it would also bring profound changes to the field of technology.

Humanity's political system would undergo earth-shaking change. Whoever could control this warship would gain an undisputable edge in technology and international prestige.

For this reason, all parties did not wish for others to acquire this warship, and this mutual checkmate situation prevented anyone from taking action.

People hoped that once the warship reached the Solar System, all of Humanity would welcome it together.

However, Wallfacers are special; they hardly involve themselves in the internal strife of various powers, nor do they compete for power and profit.

Welcoming this warship earlier is extremely important for humans, and Lin Sen's plan is also in line with Humanity's interests.

After consulting with other representatives for a while, the chairperson responded:

"We did not want you to take risks, but we still agree to this plan.

"After the federal fleet has been refurbished, we will dispatch 1000 warships to accompany you to welcome the Trisolarans.

"We cannot determine whether this warship still poses a threat, so it is best to have the federal fleet proceed with you."

Having the accompaniment of 1000 warships was more in line with Lin Sen's plan; he had been preparing to lead a large number of warships there himself.

Command Headquarters also realized the dangers of this mission, hence they dispatched a thousand warships to accompany Lin Sen.

Going to welcome the Trisolaran lost warship was just a pretense. Who knew if that warship was a Trisolaran ruse or not?

If they agreed to be captured by humans, that would be the best outcome. If they refused or self-destructed, Lin Sen would not be disappointed because that was never his target.

Lin Sen's target was something in the direction of Cygnus (right ascension 19 hour zone) but deviated towards the direction of the Trisolaran fleet (right ascension 14-hour zone), traveling approximately 1.3 light-years. There, Lin Sen intended to acquire what he sought.

Those familiar with the original work might guess what Lin Sen was looking for. Yes, the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments and the Magic Ring civilization within them.

The location of the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments is very close to the line connecting the Solar System with the Trisolaran Star System, but the exact position is unclear; Lin Sen could only speculate based on some clues from the original work.

The most important clue was that the "Universal Gravity" was about 3 light-years away from the Trisolaran Star System when it began broadcasting gravitational waves.

The encounter with the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments, being about 1.3 light-years from the Solar System, and the nearest distance from the Trisolaran Star System being 4.2 light-years, indicates that the Trisolaran Star System, the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments, and the Solar System are almost in a straight line.

However, according to the method in the original work, first heading in the direction of Cygnus, then turning towards the Trisolaran fleet's direction and where to turn was also unclear, the probability of finding the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments was too slim.

Therefore, it is best to use a thousand warships for a dragnet search, and the area of the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments is also very large.

The Four-Dimensional Space Fragments are gradually diminishing. Now, going to search for the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments 60 years in advance, they should be larger.

Lin Sen: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, once again."

"Finally, I hope we can accelerate the development of the Sophon Shielding Room. The Sophon-Blocked Zone is the key to our victory in this battle, and the key to our future.

"The principle of Sophon shielding is clear, and I believe scientists will certainly find other ways to achieve it.

"The development of the Sophon Shielding Room will provide us with a new strategic advantage; once we succeed in developing it, we will be able to hide more information and strategies from the Trisolarans, thereby increasing our tactical flexibility and strategic depth.

"However, it must be admitted that the scheming of the Trisolarans has greatly improved over these 200 years, and the Wallfacer plan no longer has such a significant effect on them.

"Many of our plans were laid out 200 years ago, when it was still possible to deceive them. Now, it's practically impossible to deceive them.

"What we need most now is to do our utmost to improve our hard power, which is the foundation of human civilization."

Lin Sen answered several questions from the representatives and then stepped down from the podium.

Logic was the second to take the stage.

Logic did not propose a plan, simply stating that he would "hold firm to his post."

As in the original timeline, Logic could not escape the fate of being the Swordholder, though the Swordholder Project was not as important as in the original timeline.

The Swordholder no longer needed to maintain constant deterrence against the Trisolarans, as the present peace was not achieved through prayer but was won through the strength of Humanity.

Just like nuclear deterrence, the deterrence of a superpower is entirely different from that of a smaller nation. The bullying goes on as before, as long as you don't resort to drastic measures, others will ruthlessly bully you.

The Joint Solar System Government believed that establishing a balance of deterrence with the Trisolarans was necessary, a decision made at the strategic level. It forced the Trisolarans to exercise restraint, securing precious survival time and development space for Earth civilization.

At the same time, one should not place all hopes for humanity's future under a deterrent system, as any balance can be broken.

But when Humanity actually faced the Trisolarans head-on, even if Cheng Xin became the Swordholder, the Trisolarans would not dare to move.

Next up was Hines.

Hines continued the research on miniaturization of the Sophon-Blocked Zone, which was also the most important research project for Humanity at the current stage.

They had many experimental directions; in fact, not just Hines, but Tyler had also been researching Sophon shielding in Quantum Space for nearly 200 years.

Hines also planned to equip each Human Warship sent to encounter the Trisolaran Lost Warship with a Sophon Shielding Room.

Hines's second plan was to use the Thought Induction Array to study Super-Distance Communication Technology through Quantum Space.

Since all high-power radio wave equipment was prohibited for Humanity, space communication was essentially at a standstill, and a completely new communication method was urgently needed.

All these plans required the Joint Solar System Government to provide more human and material resources.

Moreover, such research was also being conducted at the Wallfacer Headquarters.

Finally, there was Rey Diaz.

Rey Diaz accompanied Lin Sen to meet the Trisolaran's lost warship, and a fierce battle could not be ruled out.

Feng Zi would have been a good choice to go, but as the top official of the Moon Camp, his status was too important, and the Joint Government did not want Feng Zi to go.

Rey Diaz was the best candidate, whether in terms of political maneuvering or military capabilities, Rey Diaz was absolutely outstanding. Of course, Humanity also saw this as increasing the Wallfacers' status.

It was necessary to acknowledge that after the Earth Camp, Moon Camp, and Solar System Alliance, another political entity was born – the Wallfacer Camp.

And the Moon Camp, which also emerged from the Wallfacer Project, was a natural ally.

At this moment, Humanity also displayed unprecedented unity.

PS: There indeed seems to be some contradiction regarding the location of the Four-Dimensional Space Fragments; the critical point is that according to the original data provided in the novel, the Four-Dimensional Fragments are right on the line between Earth and Trisolaris, with Blue Space almost heading straight towards the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet.

Zhang Beihai originally chose the direction towards Cygnus (RA 19 hours zone), while the direction of the Trisolaran Fleet was in (RA 14 hours zone), their angular separation on the Ecliptic Plane being about 75 degrees.

After the Dark Battle, led by Chu Yan, Blue Space fled, changing direction after the judgment against Bronze Age, and the chase pursued by Universal Gravity. It was the result of half a century of psychological game of acceleration and deceleration, their direction was no longer the initial Cygnus direction.

The key question is why Chu Yan directly fled in the direction of the Trisolaran Fleet, something even the author did not understand.

A possible explanation is that Humanity had demanded the Trisolarans not harm Blue Space, which could be pursued only by their own ship, Universal Gravity, under Humanity's protection; Chu Yan was not worried about a Trisolaran attack.

The critical issue still is, why would Chu Yan head towards the Trisolaran Fleet unless she knew something was there from the start.

As for whether it is a mistake by Liu Cixin, it is possible!

Perhaps this story of Trisolaris is one that Liu Cixin wrote based on the memoirs and historical records provided in the cosmic drift bottles by Cheng Xin, and it narrates the events of some universe, where not all content in the Holy Mother's memoirs is necessarily accurate or reliable.

But there are things the Holy Mother probably wouldn't remember incorrectly, such as the Trisolaran world being destroyed in year three and ten months of the Broadcast Era, considering the speed of gravitational waves traveling at the speed of light, the point of light emission should be closer to the Trisolaran Star System than either of the two spaceships, and they almost immediately destroyed the Trisolaris star upon receiving information.

The only possibility left is that when Blue Space encountered the Four-Dimensional Space, it was not 1.3 light-years from the Solar System.

If so, that would be Lin Sen's most troubling issue because if such a crucial detail could be misremembered by the Holy Mother, perhaps life has always loathed that fleeing warship.

Poor Lin Sen, finding the Four-Dimensional Fragments just got harder.

Alas, Holy Mother, it's really time to rein in your power, your trouble-making halo has even radiated into the next universe.