Chapter 388 The Development of Teegarden's Star

Crisis Era Year 371.

After a journey of 180 years, the Natural Selection finally arrived at Teegarden's Star. The journey actually deviated a bit in distance, with an average speed around 9% of the speed of light.

This location was an obvious choice for both humans and Trisolarans to consider as a stopping point, so it was not chosen as a new home for humanity, but rather as an indispensable temporary shelter, a place for brief repairs and resource replenishment.

At the same time, there was also a slight hope that other human Deep Space Fleet warships might be encountered here.

The two planets of Teegarden's Star, as predicted by humans, had Teegarden b with a warm average surface temperature of 28°C, while Teegarden c had a constant average surface temperature of -47°C.

Both planets were also tidally locked by the gravity of Teegarden's Star, meaning these planets had no day-night or seasonal cycles, only perpetual light and shadow.

It is commonly defined that the point directly under the sun is the North Pole, and the dividing line between light and darkness is called the Twilight Line. North of the Twilight Line is the Northern Hemisphere, and south of it, the Southern Hemisphere.

Some believe that such planets, if retaining their atmosphere and oceans, could potentially foster unique life forms in the regions north of the Twilight Line, and perhaps, over endless eons, develop a dazzling civilization of great intelligence.

However, observing Teegarden b, it perfectly matched Earth's conditions with both atmosphere and oceans preserved, and the temperature at the Twilight Line was also suitable.

This planet was already 8 billion years old, with a year lasting only 4.9 days. It is possible for life to appear, but almost impossible for an intelligent civilization to develop.

In the Southern Hemisphere of Teegarden b, the temperature got progressively colder towards the South Pole, extremely frigid, even to the point where the atmosphere could liquefy. In contrast, the Northern Hemisphere was like being in a furnace, exceedingly hot, with temperatures high enough to boil water at normal pressure.

Therefore, with such extreme thermal differences, the surface near the Twilight Line formed super violent, cold, and dry southern winds, like a giant beast from ancient times, relentlessly ravaging the land all year round.

These cold winds, which carried little ice and snow, were also enormously powerful, comparable to the superstorms experienced during the "Great Low" period in human history. They ruthlessly swept through everything, leaving nothing unscathed.

Near the Twilight Line, under the ceaseless sculpting of this endless storm, the landscape had long lost its original form, becoming fragmented and generally showing a peculiar terrain of high in the north and low in the south, eventually transforming the area into a vast expanse of desert or bare rock plains, dead and desolate.

Between the latitudes of 30 and 45 degrees in the Northern Hemisphere, where the temperature was suitable, it should have displayed a gentle prairie. Theoretically, it should enjoy a climate of eternal spring.

But reality was starkly different from imagination; it was also a desert, extremely dry. The reason lay in the extreme cold of the Southern Hemisphere, which caused the thick ice layers to never melt, growing thicker year by year, and the water resources, as if pulled by an invisible force, almost entirely draining to the Southern Hemisphere.

This in turn caused a significant drop in sea level in the Northern Hemisphere, with nearly all land exposed to the sun. The surface, due to increased reflection and scarcity of water resources, hardly allowed clouds to form, making rainfall extremely rare.

High-latitude areas in the Northern Hemisphere, also nearly devoid of water resources, could not support a tropical rainforest zone. Here, the air seemed scorched by flames, the earth cracked open gaping mouths longing for water, with almost no life able to find a niche for survival on this scorched land. This vast expanse of land could only silently endure the jokes of fate, leaving behind a landscape of fervor and silence.

Thus, in the temperate regions of this planet, super hurricanes roamed like perpetually tireless beasts, year after year; due to the extreme dryness and scorching heat, it became even more merciless than purgatory; and in the cold belt regions, perpetual lack of sunlight almost rendered it impossible to ignite the spark of life.

Under such conditions, if life indeed managed to stubbornly emerge, it must be species that simply adapted to extreme conditions. Yet for such life to evolve into more complex forms seemed filled with endless possibilities but also hid insurmountable barriers.

*

However, all of these aspects of Teegarden b were merely inconsequential background noise to the presence of Zhang Beihai's imposing warship stationed there. In fact, such a tumultuous environment even added a bit of concealment and tranquility for it.

The warship, like a giant steel island, firmly anchored at the subtle Lagrange L1 Point between Teegarden b and Teegarden's Star.

When humanity finally set foot on this planet, Teegarden b, and began large-scale exploitation during the New Era, they were amazed to discover that its material composition was surprisingly similar to Earth's and its mineral wealth was vast and easy to extract, which was breathtaking.

Thus, at the Lagrange L1 Point, a magnificent space dock quickly rose, its task being to construct new deep-space warships.

A single warship had too weak a capacity to withstand risks in interstellar navigation. It required a significantly large fleet, comprising over a dozen warships, and utilizing humanity's genetic repository to cultivate the next generation of humans, before setting off again.

These warships, designed with nearly 8 million tons of displacement, appeared huge and cumbersome, and were slightly lacking in combat capabilities. However, they also served as resource ships, bearing humanity's boundless hopes and aspirations for the future.

As for the actual military use of warships, under the current circumstances, they couldn't possibly contend with any interstellar civilization, so the development of military warships was not an urgent matter. What they needed was time, was accumulation.

They had no plans to massively breed the next generation of humanity at this moment, nor was it suitable to heavily develop human civilization now. They had to find a Stellar System truly suitable for human propagation and development before they could plant the seeds of civilization there, allowing them to take root in the soil of the universe.

While the field of human technology would develop, they were unable to and powerless to heavily invest in those technology projects that demanded massive inputs and huge scientific research teams.

For example, building large particle colliders was a comprehensive technology system that required the wisdom and sweat of countless scientists and engineers. Now, humanity totaled just over 2,000 individuals, with even fewer scientists.

Therefore, they had to wait. After reaching the new Stellar System, they would wait for an era to arrive that would allow them to give it their all.

Before then, they could only rely on vast numbers of robots to build docks, warships, and those resources that would allow them to navigate the stars.

*

Development on Teegarden's Star by the Deep Space Fleet was proceeding smoothly and methodically, with steady progress in the expansion of the fleet size and the depth of resource extraction.

Crisis Era, year 393.

It was in this year that another deep space warship "Infinite Frontier" bearing humanity's hopes arrived at Teegarden's Star. The meeting of the two was like two lone boats adrift in the cosmic flow, cautiously making contact and confirming each other's identities, tightly linking the fates of the two warships together.

This unexpected encounter stirred complex emotions in the hearts of both crews, filled with both the surprise of an unknown meeting and a sense of the vastness of the universe.

As for the consequences of the unknown war with the Trisolarans, their hearts were filled with uncertainty and apprehension. Even though humanity had withstood the Trisolaran's 20 "Whirlwind Stomps," the Trisolaris First Fleet should now be approaching the Solar System.

For now, their only option was to "stay alive."

Subsequently, "Infinite Frontier" docked at the Lagrange L1 Point of Teegarden C, and it began ferociously devouring the rich resources of the planet.

With the experience and foundations accumulated by "Natural Selection," their mining efficiency and warship construction speed had achieved unprecedented improvements.

*

Crisis Era, year 440.

The two warships had completed their prearranged plans and, joining together, formed a massive interstellar fleet.

At this moment, they were ready to set off again, presumably with no new deep space warships arriving.

The arrival of the "Infinite Frontier" was undoubtedly the most dazzling miracle in this silent death. Looking back at the once mighty 700 deep space warships, only a dozen chose to flee, while the rest opted to continue staying in the Oort Cloud of the Solar System.

These dozen warships, like wanderers adrift in the universe, each chose different directions and embarked on their journeys of escape. In fact, there were quite a few Stellar Systems more suitable than Teegarden's Star.

When the Deep Space Fleet set sail again, they had also given themselves a name, Star Alliance International.

The choices of Star Alliance International would determine their development direction for a considerable length of time in the future.

Their gaze was locked on the distant and mysterious Lousu Yi in the Perseus constellation, a binary star system located in Aries Constellation, 59.6 light-years from Earth.

It was a glowing pearl in the starry sky, waiting for Star Alliance International to explore and conquer.

At this moment, the civilization technology level of Star Alliance International had already reached 1.0 high-grade. As long as they could successfully reach Lousu Yi, accompanied by the vigorous development of civilization, they would surely quickly advance to level 1.1.

In this year, Star Alliance International set sail again, filled with longing for the future and a desire for the unknown, once again heading toward that sea of stars filled with infinite possibilities.