photonic computer

After completing the final comprehensive check, Xiao Yu issued the command to ignite and launch.

Pale yellow flames burst from the rocket's tail, and under their reverse thrust, the massive rocket began to ascend slowly, its speed increasing rapidly. Within seconds, the rocket soared tens of meters into the sky, tilting slightly as it followed the rotation of Titan.

This maneuver allowed the rocket to gain a bit of speed from Titan's rotation, making it easier to achieve orbital velocity and saving a considerable amount of fuel.

The Fengshen-1 helicopter ascended to an altitude of ten thousand meters, silently observing the rocket as it climbed higher and higher. In this launch, Fengshen-1 temporarily served as a communication relay station.

A minute later, the rocket reached Titan's orbit, successfully separated from the engine, and the capsule opened, releasing a string of twelve satellites, which had been securely fastened together.

On the far side of Titan, where communication relay stations were scarce, the satellites temporarily moved out of Xiao Yu's monitoring range. In other words, they had disappeared from Xiao Yu's view.

From this point on, the next steps would no longer be under Xiao Yu's command but would follow the pre-programmed sequences.

Xiao Yu waited silently on the ground. If all went well, within thirty minutes, he would receive the first signal transmitted back by one of the satellites. The wait should last no more than forty minutes. If no signal was received after forty minutes, it would indicate that the launch had failed.

Although Xiao Yu had confidence in the programs he had embedded in the satellites, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Watching the countdown timer shrink, his heart was filled with anticipation.

In Titan's orbit, a hundred kilometers above, two strings of objects, resembling candied hawthorns, floated quietly. They had reached a speed of 2.4 kilometers per second, surpassing Titan's escape velocity, ensuring they would not fall back down.

Behind them, the remnants of the rocket were slowly descending toward the surface, having completed their mission. As they fell, they would burn up in the atmosphere, leaving no trace.

The silence lasted only ten seconds. After that, the strings of objects made a slight noise, and suddenly, the connections between them snapped, transforming the strings into twelve individual entities.

However, their orbits and speed remained unchanged, so they continued to fly forward in formation, quietly and orderly.

A few seconds later, faint blue flames suddenly emerged from the tails of these twelve objects. Propelled by the blue flames, they gradually distanced themselves from one another. When the separation was sufficient, the flames flared up, rapidly pushing them away in different directions like a group of frogs startled by thunder.

They were now each guided by their pre-set programs, seeking out their own orbits.

On the ground, Xiao Yu stared at the clock, lost in thought. Thirty minutes had passed, yet no return signal had been received.

"Don't panic, there are still ten minutes before the deadline," Xiao Yu reassured himself. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a signal wave was transmitted into Xiao Yu's receiver.

"Base, reporting: War God-1 is functioning normally!"

"War God" was the codename Xiao Yu had given these satellites, named sequentially from War God-1 to War God-12.

"Excellent!" Xiao Yu was overjoyed upon receiving the return signal. He immediately took control and ordered War God-1 to establish contact with the other eleven satellites.

"Base, reporting: War God-7 is functioning normally!"

"Base, reporting: War God-4 is functioning normally!"

…

"Base, reporting: War God-12 is functioning normally!"

All twelve satellites were functioning perfectly!

Xiao Yu let out a huge sigh of relief.

From now on, these satellites would form a vast network in the sky, covering the entire planet. With signal reception and transmission equipment installed, Xiao Yu could now communicate with any point on Titan's surface, no longer confined to a limited range of five hundred kilometers.

"Alright, Fengshen-1! Let's move out!"

Filled with confidence, Xiao Yu immediately dispatched the Fengshen-1 helicopter, now supported by the satellite network as a communication relay, to continue its exploration along the path previously detected.

Although Xiao Yu had already created a rough 3D map and conducted preliminary mineral surveys before landing on Titan, the precision of high-altitude surveys couldn't compare to ground-level ones. To obtain more detailed information on Titan's mineral distribution, Xiao Yu had constructed Fengshen-1.

Xiao Yu estimated that it would take approximately three months for Fengshen-1 to complete its survey of the entire Titan. Then, he would select valuable mineral deposits, send robots via Fengshen-1 to conduct on-site investigations, and, if feasible, transport appropriate mining and smelting equipment for extraction.

With the satellite launch complete, Xiao Yu turned his full attention to developing the next generation of advanced computers.

On Earth, various research directions for the next generation of computers had been pursued, including photonic computers, quantum computers, and neuron-based computers. Xiao Yu focused primarily on photonic computers, as they were the most practical and likely to be realized.

Photonic computers offered advantages such as low energy consumption and high processing speed. Xiao Yu estimated that with the same volume and energy consumption, a photonic computer would be hundreds of times faster than his current ordinary computers.

When that time comes, computational limitations would vanish completely. Xiao Yu could even establish multiple bases, and the computing power would still be more than sufficient.

Xiao Yu had already begun research in this area while still on Earth. The original plan was to install photonic computers on his spacecraft. However, due to unresolved technical obstacles, Xiao Yu was forced to use the current generation of computers. Nevertheless, Xiao Yu's research into photonic computer technology was among the most advanced on Earth.

Now, with unparalleled computing power and exceptional innovative thinking, Xiao Yu broke through the technological barriers within just three months, bringing photonic computers from the laboratory into practical application.

"With my current level of distributed computing technology, the best solution is to assemble thirty thousand photonic CPUs. Any more than that, and the distributed computing capability won't be sufficient, causing a decline in overall processing power."

After making this calculation and reaching a conclusion, Xiao Yu immediately began the large-scale production of photonic computers.

The assembly took place in the central base, where Xiao Yu used the most advanced materials, even enlisting the help of "Number One," captured from Jupiter, to enhance material properties before constructing the computer room.

Given that Xiao Yu expected to live here for nearly a century, he couldn't afford to be careless. As a result, the computer room was built to an almost unimaginable level of durability—capable of withstanding the blast of a nuclear explosion without affecting the interior. The price, however, was that "Number One's" radiation intensity decreased by a full twenty percent.

Inside the computer room, over a thousand robots were busy placing photonic hard drives into cabinets in order, with liquid hydrogen cooling pools behind them. Robots tirelessly inserted photonic CPUs into slots submerged in the liquid hydrogen.

The computer room, spanning several hundred square meters, was divided into small areas for data storage, computation, connections, caching, and more. Countless black fiber optic cables connected every component.

Once the photonic computer was fully assembled, Xiao Yu eagerly connected to it through data lines. A slight turn of his head and the astonishing speed left Xiao Yu ecstatic.

Previously, analyzing the behavior of electrons during a controlled nuclear fusion reaction and their impact on the final outcome required Xiao Yu to dedicate five percent of his total computing power for three hours. But now, the calculation was completed in an instant, and calculating pi to a trillion decimal places took only a fraction of a second. The computing speed was not merely a hundredfold improvement—it was at least a thousand times faster than his previous central computer!

Overjoyed, Xiao Yu immediately began transferring data. The vast amount of data generated in the years since leaving Earth had been stored on the original hard drives. If these hard drives were lost, it would be as if Xiao Yu had forgotten that knowledge and information, something he could never allow.

The massive transfer of data, calculated in petabytes, took almost three months to complete, fully relocating into Xiao Yu's new home.

All previous data interfaces were transferred to Xiao Yu's new system, and the massive flow of data continued unabated. Yet, in the face of Xiao Yu's incredible computational power, this deluge of data seemed like a small stream attempting to breach a dam—utterly insignificant.

Xiao Yu handled the data from the heavens, the earth, and even below ground with ease, relaxed and content.

During this period, Xiao Yu discovered 365 different mineral deposits, 96 of which were deemed valuable for extraction, covering nearly all the necessary elements. However, the lack of titanium and zirconium, two metals crucial for space travel, left Xiao Yu disappointed.

"Relying on by-products to obtain titanium and zirconium yields too little. On Earth, the reserves of titanium and zirconium were plentiful. Perhaps it's time to consider launching a spacecraft to mine the asteroid belt. But that will have to wait until controlled nuclear fusion is developed."

"Alright then, let's begin research on controlled nuclear fusion!"