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墨書 Inktalez
Many years ago, Cosmic String was believed to theoretically exist in spacetime. However, in 2050, when humanity launched gravitational wave communications, the communication waveband experienced a significant curvature about forty thousand light-years away from the solar system, as if it had collided with an invisible hard object, and then disappeared into Cosmic Space. Despite the observations from detectors in Europe and America at the time, there was no trace left.
This was something that made everyone feel regretful because this gravitational wave frequency was sent towards the edge of the galaxy, akin to going out of the house only to go missing. But Lian Hongbo proposed a bizarre and crazy hypothesis at the meeting: it could be the Cosmic String Dimension, and we might have found the first string existing in the universe. There is a possibility that life within the Cosmic String received the frequency band.
Cosmic String is not the same concept as the strings in String Theory; however, String Theory can predict the existence of Cosmic Strings using its methods. This is why Lian Hongbo chose to refine his research from microcosmology into the field of String Theory. I do not know why he is so obsessed with this theory that lacks practical evidence; so far, all I know is that his obsession is similar to mine in this regard. The difference is that I want to find my mother's soul. In my heart, my mother has never left; I will prove with facts that she is still alive.
The next evening, I was dragged by a friend to attend a social gathering where I met a girl I could talk to easily. Her name is Zhu Lin, and like me, she belongs to an academic doctoral program, but her field is aerospace materials technology. Zhu Lin is a short-haired girl who loves to laugh; her voice has a playful tone that particularly attracts men. However, she seemed very lively at the social event. When I invited her to sit outside alone for a while, she suddenly became like a mute. Ironically, we ended up sitting on a park bench sending WeChat messages to each other.
"Sorry, I'm a bit shy; don't mind me," was her first message to me.
"You weren't shy at all just now!" I could only respond in agreement.
"No, it's just that I've never sat alone with a boy before; it feels... a bit awkward. Let me get used to it; give me some time, hehe."
"I heard you're about to graduate with your doctorate; your advisor is still a nationally protected senior materials engineer?" I tried to find a topic.
"Yes, we've formed an experimental group and conducted several material design research projects under his guidance. Have you heard about our country's cosmic exploration plan mentioned at the conference? The only completed Fusion Engine Spaceship has an integrated circuit board that might be part of my academic report."
"Wow, that's impressive! It's really lucky to have such an advisor." I couldn't help but think of Lian Hongbo; although I've only been in my doctoral program for a year, it would be nice to have a project too.
"Keep it up; you'll encounter such opportunities too; we are all dreamers." Zhu Lin's words made me realize that she must not be an ordinary girl who just wants to find a job after graduation. Moreover, having reached doctoral studies without ever being alone with a boy makes me imagine how pure her life must be. But then I thought about my own state since my mother passed away.
"What dreams could I have?" I smiled bitterly and turned off my phone used for messaging. Feeling like I had found someone who understood me, I spoke without reservation: "Even if I achieve everything, my mother will never come back."
Zhu Lin's eyes widened in surprise before she lowered her head and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry; I didn't know about your family..."
"It's fine; I just wanted to vent; nothing more," I replied. "I mentioned at the gathering that my curiosity about string theory led me to pursue my doctorate, but frankly speaking, I'm just using my hypothesis to search for an answer that will finally let me give up."
"No, Fengqi," Zhu Lin's gaze suddenly warmed significantly. "Believe me; miracles always happen. If I thought your hypothesis was absurd, I wouldn't have agreed to sit alone with you. In half a month, our Beijing T-1 level Fusion Engine Spaceship will launch with global live coverage! Trust me; I'll help you understand that humanity's efforts are never in vain."
"Launch? Where? For what purpose?" I caught onto this information and asked.
"I'm not sure either; I've heard it's to explore those two newly arrived spherical objects in the solar system," Zhu Lin replied with a smile as she placed her hand on the empty space between us on the bench. "In another month, we'll see Seven Stars Aligned; let's make a wish together then."
I nodded but kept my left hand resting on my thigh until Zhu Lin left without placing it where her hand had been earlier. After she disappeared into the night, I lingered on the bench for five more minutes and slowly realized that it was actually me who felt awkward. At that moment, I inadvertently looked up at the moon and noticed that the eyes that had been hanging in the sky were no longer there.
It seemed that from this day forward, people became very interested in these newly appeared spheres in the solar system. Every time I picked up my phone, headlines were filled with reports about them while there was little mention of those eyes—perhaps because they hadn't reappeared in recent days. For Zhu Lin's sake, I specially adjusted my schedule for a month later, hoping to invite her to watch Seven Stars Aligned formed by seven planets of the solar system together. The last report on Seven Stars Aligned was back in 2022 when my father had just started elementary school; it was said to occur every 77 years. However, this year is 2080—only 58 years later—the spectacle of Seven Stars Aligned has returned.
At the same time, my father has been particularly busy these days. Whenever I called him, he always told me he was working overtime but never explained what kind of overtime he was doing. Lian Hongbo mentioned that recently people from the satellite bureau have been busy monitoring those two newly arrived spheres 24/7 while his hypothesis—that someone is spying on our Earth—has not received much attention; he even complained about it during class.
"Class dismissed."
Lian Hongbo packed his things and prepared to leave the podium when I stepped forward and said: "Director Lian, no matter what happens, I support your idea."
Lian Hongbo, my mentor, knew that I shared his belief in extraterrestrial theories. He raised his head to signal me and smoothly tucked his laptop into his briefcase.
"Do you know?"
I noticed that he didn't want to respond, so I was about to leave the classroom when he spoke up behind me, "There are some pieces of information we simply cannot disclose to the public, Fengqi. But you are my best student, and I trust you. I want you to understand the immense responsibility we are shouldering right now."
I didn't grasp his meaning and stood there, waiting for him to walk over to me. Lian Hongbo patted my shoulder, indicating that I should walk alongside him. After lighting a cigarette, he said, "Let me ask you first: if I need you to be my research assistant, would you be willing?"
Just yesterday, I had complained about how he never involved us in any projects. Hearing this today filled me with excitement, and I felt my mouth curve into an uncontrollable smile. "Of course!"
"That's good," Lian Hongbo replied with relief. "First, let me explain why. Fengqi, do you remember when you provided me with a mathematical model? You are remarkable and the most promising student I have ever taught. Your mathematical model supported my further research on whether chaotic connections exist in the Cosmic String Dimension. Your thought process mirrors mine exactly; using hypotheses from String Theory and the partial differential equations of Yukawa potential to demonstrate the possibility of Cosmic Strings' existence. Our field is so esoteric that my efforts have never received widespread support or attention; you are my only choice."
"So, what can I do?!" I asked excitedly.
"Summer vacation is coming up soon. Are you going home?" Lian Hongbo did not answer my question directly.
"It depends; my home isn't far from here."
"Then stay here, Fengqi. Your accommodation and meals will be taken care of."
I relayed this news to my father, who readily agreed. Although he opposed my pursuing a PhD with a strong sense of revenge as motivation, I acknowledged that he had never let me down in my academic journey. The only regret was that after agreeing to become Lian Hongbo's assistant, a date scheduled for a month later might have to be canceled.
After becoming Lian Hongbo's assistant, I found myself able to enter and exit the Chinese Academy of Sciences building freely, something I had never imagined before. Everyone I encountered there exuded the unique aura of academic researchers. Excitedly familiarizing myself with the place alongside Lian Hongbo, he finally revealed some recent developments—information that could not be disclosed to society.
"First, over the past twenty years, we have launched gravitational waves four times toward the area where they previously disappeared. Strangely enough, three times our gravitational waves passed smoothly through the previous location; however, the fourth wave has yet to arrive. But this result indicates one thing," Lian Hongbo said while sitting in his office, addressing me and a colleague beside me. "The Cosmic String Dimension is randomly stretching out like a pitcher plant that only closes its mouth when prey enters."
"Why do you insist on believing this is aliens?" my colleague asked sarcastically. "Do I need to explain several times that those eyes are just rare Cumulonimbus clouds?"
"Cumulonimbus? Is it raining?" Lian Hongbo shot back. "Must we wait until disaster strikes before believing the truth?"
I intervened gently to quell their argument. Lian Hongbo sighed at me in frustration and said, "Do you see? In this era where aliens can only exist in novels, all my theories are dismissed as mere toys by others."
"Just keep being yourself, Mentor Lian. What other news do you have?" I asked while glancing at the piles of documents on his desk.
"Those two spheres are not simple spheres," Lian Hongbo explained. "They are elongating while their own volume is decreasing simultaneously. We are trying to write a function that can describe their volume reduction so we can determine how long they will stretch."
"What does that mean?" I asked in confusion. Lian Hongbo opened his modeling program and showed me an animation. In the animation, a pipe with a diameter about twenty percent of the sphere's diameter extended from the center of the sphere—but it didn’t look exactly like a pipe; its texture reminded me of the threading inside a tank's main gun barrel—the entire sphere was undergoing shape deformation until it elongated into a Cannon Barrel while retaining its original spherical shape at the starting point.
"This is the result derived from my modeling; if it continues deforming at this speed, it will look like this in a month," Lian Hongbo said. "Fengqi, do you know what this means? Do you remember the Seven Stars Aligned incident?"
"I remember... Wait?!"
I stared at the pipe in shock and looked at Lian Hongbo for confirmation of my suspicions. His calm and serious expression indicated that my guess was correct as I voiced it: "This Cannon Barrel is meant to connect all the planets in our solar system?"
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