Chapter 249: The Black Hole Plan

If a starship can be built, can another project be completed as well?

Yan Xia has always wanted to construct a Dyson Sphere.

"A Dyson Sphere is not just about utilizing a star's energy, it's also about creating an expansive and boundless world to the greatest extent possible."

"Although the Ring World is large, it's still not as big, and after enveloping an entire planet, it can be hidden in deep space, making it difficult for enemies to lock onto it."

After careful consideration, Yan Xia realized that the benefits might not outweigh the costs.

"At this stage, we can use a Dyson Swarm to collect and utilize stellar energy, and a Dyson Sphere doesn't seem necessary."

He even struggled to convince himself.

"A white dwarf is not a bad choice," Ella spoke up.

There is only one white dwarf within the Federation's borders, and it is known as the Gods' Abode.

Yan Xia's idea was simple: to maximize the expansion of the Federation's citizen population. In a compact world, the expansion efficiency is much higher than in the vastness of space.

The Federation has yet to undertake another task: the large-scale introduction of created life, which could potentially solve the problem of population control.

However, this goes against the laws of biology and would inevitably lead to instability and imbalance within the Federation.

The most likely outcome would be discrimination.

Therefore, Yan Xia still hoped to create a more compact world to facilitate the expansion of the citizen population.

"How is the situation at the Water Commission One?" Yan Xia asked.

Ella leaned back, resting her head on her hands and g, seemingly lost in thought, replied, "A significant number has already been formed. Currently, the Ring World has a citizen population of 103 trillion, making it the fastest-growing region within the Federation."

Yan Xia glanced at Ella, who played the role of a sultry girl, carefree and rebellious, and she portrayed the character perfectly.

In the current stage, the birth rate among the Federation's citizens has been declining, which is why Yan Xia has been so determined to create a new world.

Since the war with the Silk Civilization began, the Federation has lost nearly 10 trillion citizens, but the overall population has continued to grow. Today, the total citizen population of the Federation stands at 279 trillion, almost doubling in size.

More than a third of the citizens reside in the Ring World, which clearly demonstrates the impact of a compact world on birth rates.

After all, the perspectives of the Federation's citizens have changed.

A Federation Star City can typically accommodate 100 billion citizens, but to these citizens, it feels like they are constantly floating without a sense of stability. Even if they live their entire lives in a Star City, most of them might not even venture out of their district. However, the majority of citizens perceive Star Cities as mere counties within the Federation.

They lack a sense of security, knowing that a Star City can be destroyed at any moment, which significantly diminishes their desire to have children.

On the other hand, the Ring World is the capital of the Federation and the safest place. Additionally, the Ring World encourages childbirth by offering land grants, which motivates most citizens to have children, even in space, as land is considered a small fortune.

While space is vast, habitable places are scarce, and the quality of life is crucial. The Ring World offers the highest quality of life within the Federation.

Recently, Yan Xia reviewed some data.

Eighty-three percent of the citizens in the Tian Cang Five Star Domain wish to migrate to Water Commission One, which highlights the problem.

"So, the Tian Cang Five Star Domain also wants a Ring World?" Ella grasped the crux of the matter.

Stability, security, and sustainability are centralized issues that the Federation must address.

"Indeed, that's a valid point."

Yan Xia believed this was the perfect solution, but it could also increase the willingness of some citizens to have children.

"The pressure on the Federation's infrastructure is already immense."

Ella wanted to bring up the recent proposal by Yan Xia, the Deep Space Development Plan, which contradicted the Federation's current main agenda.

To alleviate the pressure on infrastructure, the Federation had previously destroyed numerous stars.

This approach of wanting everything everywhere is clearly not ideal.

Yan Xia was aware of this problem and was also seeking a solution.

"Regarding energy supply, I've been thinking about it for a while. If we continue to rely on stars for energy, we will inevitably expand our stellar territory, making us overly bloated."

"So, I plan to utilize the gravitational energy of black holes."

"The stable black holes we can create at present are unlikely to meet the Federation's energy needs, and the input-output ratio is far from comparable."

"Then we need to find natural black holes."

"The closest black hole to us is Gaia BH1, approximately 10 solar masses and 1,500 light-years away."

"That's still too far. The closest stars that could potentially become black holes are Betelgeuse and Antares A, both within 600 light-years."

"Can we use these two red supergiant stars to create black holes?"

Betelgeuse, located in the direction of the Orion constellation, is situated midway between the Federation and the Orion Nebula. It has a mass of 13.1 solar masses and a diameter 922 times that of the Sun. Not far from Betelgeuse is Bellatrix, the brightest star in the Orion constellation, with a mass of 22 solar masses, but its diameter does not meet the criteria, being only 77 times that of the Sun.

Antares, on the other hand, is a binary star system consisting of a red supergiant and a blue dwarf. Antares A has a mass of 12 times that of the Sun and a diameter 730 times that of the Sun, while Antares B has a mass of 7.2 solar masses and a diameter of only 5.2 times that of the Sun due to its dwarf nature.

Both are potential candidates for future black holes.

"Antares has a higher probability of becoming a black hole. We can cause a collision between the two supergiant stars. Betelgeuse's position is more favorable, and we will likely expand towards the Orion Nebula afterward."

If black hole gravitational energy can be harnessed, the Federation's energy supply will reach a terrifying level.

According to Ella's calculations, if the Federation can acquire the gravitational energy technology of the Olive Branch Civilization, it can elevate its energy level to 2.6 or even close to 2.7.

That's the power of black holes.

Gaia BH1 is ready, but it is indeed a bit far, and that star domain is unknown, so it's possible that another civilization has already claimed it.

Currently, there are no Level 3 civilizations in the Milky Way, but there are still Level 2 civilizations.

The conversation between the two lacked enthusiasm.

These are matters to be considered later, and the focus now is to implement them as quickly as possible, with the estimated time frame being in the tens of thousands of years.

"Let's make a backup plan. The Federation may not be able to completely defeat the Olive Branch Civilization by relying solely on stellar energy."

This was just a minor interlude.

Yan Xia's attention remained on the Star City, as the war there had only just begun and was far from over.

Anything is possible.