Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones.

Chapter 373 Interweaving Reality and Illusion
After some adjustments, this gravitational telescope, which is based on the entire dwarf planet, is now fully operational.

The outer shell, 80 kilometers thick, blocks out the vast majority of radiation in the universe, allowing only a few highly penetrating particles, such as neutrinos and theoretically predicted gravitons, to pass through.

It's like a giant net, now quietly spread out, waiting for its prey to appear.

On its first day of operation, Li Qingsong observed as many as 1000 million particle collision events.

However, after Li Qingsong's verification, it was confirmed that 99.9% of these 1000 million particle collision events were neutrino collision events, the remaining 0.1% were other interfering particles, and there were no graviton collision events.

"It's alright. Based on the expected returns, even with the performance of this gravitational telescope, there will only be one graviton collision event on average once a year. We can just wait patiently."

While some clones and intelligent life scientists were reassigned to maintain its operation, Li Qingsong focused his attention on another aspect.

Mission to explore the internal turbulence of gas giant planets.

At this moment, a total of 100 million specially designed research spacecraft for this mission have been completed.

These spacecraft employ a special reinforced outer shell, capable of withstanding pressures of 20 million times the standard atmosphere and temperatures exceeding 30,000 degrees Celsius.

This capability is more than sufficient for them to enter the stellar atmosphere, and even the stellar plasma ocean.

For example, the surface temperature of the sun is only about 5500 degrees Celsius, which is well within the tolerance range of these research vessels.

Of course, these are research vessels, and their special internal structures allow them to possess these capabilities. Warships, on the other hand, obviously cannot be built in this way.

For Li Qingsong, waging interstellar warfare on the surface of a star remains a pipe dream in the short term.

These specially designed spaceships, like submarines, entered the atmosphere of the gas giant planet and then plummeted rapidly.

5000 kilometers, 1 kilometers, 1.5 kilometers, 2 kilometers, 2.5 kilometers...

It continued to descend until it reached a depth of 2.8 kilometers before stopping.

This gas giant has a greater mass than Jupiter, but a similar volume. Its radius is only 3.5 kilometers, so this current depth means it's practically at the core.

What Li Qingsong was presented with at this moment was a peculiar scene.

At this moment, Li Qingsong felt as if he had returned to the moment when the Destroyer Civilization used unknown means to intercept and kill him.

Surrounding these research spacecraft is an extremely pure, bright blue substance. It fills all of space, in all directions, leaving nothing out.

That's due to the radiation emanating from the object itself caused by immense pressure and extremely high temperatures.

Because the colors were so pure, Li Qingsong couldn't even see their movement with the naked eye.

However, the continuous rocking of the research vessel itself indicates that these substances are not calm.

Influenced by their own magnetic fields and internal convection, they surge and flow like ocean currents. Due to their extremely high density and enormous force, even with the most advanced stabilization systems, these research vessels still sway uncontrollably at times.

At this moment, switching to the clones located inside these research vessels, Li Qingsong felt as if he were in a vast blue sea, where everything was so peaceful and beautiful.

But Li Qingsong knew that this tranquil and beautiful scene was merely an illusion. The endless dangers lay hidden beneath this facade.

Because those substances are not seawater; they are liquid metallic hydrogen.

Their density is hundreds of times that of ordinary matter. Once they are taken to the outside world and lose the gravitational pull of a planet, they will explode, releasing at least ten times more energy than TNT.

This is a sea of ​​"explosives." And Li Qingsong's research vessels are navigating this sea.

Sometimes, these research vessels would suddenly disappear while they were sailing, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Just like the real ocean, the hydrological conditions here are extremely complex. Changes in the internal magnetic field, certain macroscopic convection phenomena, and so on, can lead to unpredictable changes in pressure, temperature, and radiation, which can instantly break through the protective system that Li Qingsong painstakingly built and destroy the research vessel in an instant.

After being destroyed, the materials that make up the research vessel will be ionized in an instant and merge into this sea of ​​bombs.

The whole process is extremely fast, and all these changes are completed silently, without even a chance to react.

After assimilation was complete, the ocean maintained its original tranquility and beauty, as if nothing had happened.

Even if the hydrological conditions remain unchanged, these research vessels could be destroyed instantly due to internal malfunctions at any time.

On the first day of deployment, a staggering 100 of the 12 million research vessels were destroyed. The remaining 88 are expected to be completely destroyed within the next month.

Fortunately, Li Qingsong had prepared for this.

His countless factories roared constantly, producing massive quantities of specially designed research vessels, which he then dumped onto the gas giant planet without regard for value or profit, maintaining a sufficient density of observations.

After all, such turbulent phenomena are extremely weak and, according to calculations, extremely rare, so a sufficient observation density must be maintained in order to have any hope of observing them.

At this moment, in addition to the tens of millions of research projects in various sub-fields and applications, these two experimental programs involving the most fundamental and basic laws of physics have been fully launched.

Two large nets have been fully cast. Whether they can capture this mysterious and unpredictable prey, the graviton, remains to be seen in the coming period.

Time slips away quietly, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

To date, Li Qingsong has deployed over ten million specially designed research vessels to gas giants. His gravitational telescopes have detected a total of four billion impact events.

But... unfortunately, none of the millions of research vessels detected a single instance of turbulence. And among the 40 billion particle collisions, not a single graviton collision occurred.

This result has attracted great attention from Li Qingsong and a group of scientists.

Things shouldn't be developing this way. According to previous theoretical calculations, even if we haven't directly detected gravitons yet, we should at least have detected some suspected events or some indirect effects.

It really shouldn't have ended up like this, with nothing to show for it.

Unless, of course, their assumptions were wrong from the beginning, or unless the properties of the graviton deviate significantly from their previous theoretical calculations.

So, it's time to prepare a backup plan.

While convening a large number of scientists specializing in intelligent life to hold one seminar and discussion after another, constantly exchanging and brainstorming new ideas and exploring new possibilities, Li Qingsong continued to maintain the progress of these two exploration missions.

Time continued to slip away quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fifth year.

The missions to explore the cores of gas giant planets and the gravitational telescope missions have yielded no results.

No, it cannot be said that we gained nothing.

Aside from gravity, Li Qingsong gained a lot in other areas.

With an average of over 1000 million neutrino collisions per day, Li Qingsong's neutrino astronomy has made significant progress, leading to a deeper understanding of cosmic evolution, large-scale filamentary spatial structures, various extreme astronomical phenomena, galactic mergers, early galactic changes, and other related fields.

Continuous observations of the interiors of gas giants have allowed Li Qingsong to accumulate a wealth of data and scientific knowledge about the internal structure and physical changes of gas giants, as well as the evolution of stars.

These two exploration programs cannot be described as "losing money".

If the initial investment was considered to be 100 yuan, these gains are worth about 150 yuan, which is still a profit for Li Qingsong.

The only problem is that Li Qingsong initially invested 100 yuan hoping to achieve a return of 1000 yuan, but now he has only earned 150 yuan.

For Li Qingsong, earning less is equivalent to losing money!

Furthermore, the 150 yuan was presented in a different way than what I wanted, which made things a bit tricky.

Li Qingsong sighed softly.

"Did we take the wrong path before? Then... where is the right path?"

Time slips away quietly, and more than 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the years, scientists and Li Qingsong have made countless conjectures and conducted numerous theoretical calculations and deductions, but they have never found a theoretical model that is mathematically self-consistent and fits with existing physical data.

After a long period without any breakthroughs, Li Qingsong began to feel a growing sense of unease.

The reason is simple: 20 years of stalemate is nothing to them, but it is unbearable for scientists of intelligent life from various races.

Intelligent life needs positive feedback, and its mental state needs to be maintained. Prolonged periods of stagnation can easily dampen their ambition and confidence, ultimately leading to a dead end.

But in the end, what Li Qingsong feared did not happen, because Haimeran stepped forward.

Li Qingsong observed that Haimeran, who ruled over all intelligent races as the deputy head of state, had even sensed this potential threat before he did. Preparations had begun years earlier, and he started addressing the issue as soon as signs of scientists losing their ambition and confidence began to emerge.

Various activities, such as interstellar exploration, cultural exchanges, social gatherings, entertainment events, and film and television works, were launched in turn, fundamentally shaping the basic public opinion of every intelligent race, making everyone more tolerant and inclusive towards scientific researchers, and striving to reduce the pressure on the scientific researchers participating in this basic theoretical breakthrough.

At the same time, they were given positive encouragement in various ways to keep them in a positive and optimistic state of mind, so that they could devote themselves to this war with a more positive attitude, even though the outcome was uncertain. In the blink of an eye, more than 30 years have passed, and it has been a full 50 years since this breakthrough was stalled.

Li Qingsong was initially shocked, then delighted to discover that all the researchers involved in the research were still maintaining the same positive and optimistic attitude as they had at the beginning of this "war" more than 50 years ago, and the stagnant situation he had worried about had not materialized at all.

"This Haimeran is truly a talent."

At this moment, Li Qingsong couldn't help but sigh.

I probably couldn't have done that myself.

This isn't about how much management effort or how many clones are invested; it's about whether you can dedicate yourself to it wholeheartedly.

Managing an entire vast civilization with countless matters to attend to, Li Qingsong clearly didn't have the mental and physical capacity to deal with the psychological problems of intelligent life scientists.

Now, Haimeran has taken on this responsibility in place of Li Qingsong.

"Haimerlan has done such a good job, we should find a way to reward him again."

Thinking about this, Li Qingsong became a little worried again.

In terms of material resources, and even the hugely expensive customized gene optimization program, Haimerlan, as the vice head of state, has already received the maximum treatment, and there is really no more to reward her with.

We can't just hand over the head of state position to him, can we?

After thinking it over, Li Qingsong simply called Haimeran over and asked for his opinion in person.

Haimeran smiled and shook her head, giving an answer that Li Qingsong had never expected.

"Your Majesty, to give me a job, to provide me with a platform to do something meaningful, is already the greatest reward for me."

Li Qingsong sighed inwardly, stood up solemnly, and shook hands with Haimeran respectfully.

it is more than words.

Li Qingsong knew that as long as the scientists of intelligent life could maintain this state, a breakthrough would definitely occur soon.

Li Qingsong was 100% certain.

The reason is simple: even ordinary nuclear civilizations can break through to become gravity civilizations. At this moment, he not only has the wisdom of twenty races gathered under his command, but also has such a huge industrial strength. Yet, he can't find the right direction and can't break through.
That's impossible; it doesn't make sense.

With absolute confidence, Li Qingsong once again threw himself into the seemingly endless theoretical analysis and calculations.

As Li Qingsong had predicted, several years later, a breakthrough that had emerged from an extremely obscure place gradually appeared before him.

That was a breakthrough in the analytical solution of the equations of motion of gauge bosons, which came with the advancement of mathematics.

This brand-new analytical solution had not initially caught Li Qingsong's attention. It was like a wild grass growing quietly in a corner where no one paid attention, and then it grew bigger and bigger until researchers accidentally looked back and found that it had actually grown into a towering tree.

After the research team published their findings, they first attracted the attention of scientists in related fields.

They applied this research to their own field and unexpectedly discovered that it solved the non-renormalization problem that had plagued them for many years. After the results were published, they not only attracted the attention of the entire scientific community, but also drew the attention of Li Qingsong.

When this finding was applied to other fields, Li Qingsong was surprised to see that it showed great potential in almost every field of fundamental physics.

Li Qingsong quickly realized that this was the breakthrough he had been waiting for!
It is like a key that easily unlocks the previously unbreakable lock of physics, and integrates multiple seemingly contradictory theories, making people realize that those seemingly incompatible theories are actually interconnected at a deeper level, only differing in their manifestation.

With this breakthrough, Li Qingsong finally succeeded in establishing the theoretical system he had been hoping for—one that was not only self-consistent but also aligned with real-world phenomena.

This newly established theory also provides a comprehensive explanation for why the two previous major exploration projects failed.

"So gravitons have properties similar to virtual particles... No wonder they can't be detected directly."

Virtual particles are a very peculiar type of particle, corresponding to real particles.

In Li Qingsong's existing fundamental physics theories, there is still no clear answer as to whether so-called virtual particles actually exist.

While virtual particles exist, they are absolutely impossible to observe. This is because any particle that can be observed is a real particle.

In other words, if a virtual particle is observed, then it is no longer a virtual particle.

It may not exist, but is merely a mathematical tool used for calculation, yet it can lead to a variety of observable effects.

It is the particle that transmits fundamental forces. For example, electromagnetic force is transmitted through virtual photons, while electromagnetic waves are transmitted through real photons.

In terms of gravity, normally the gravitational force between two planets should be transmitted through virtual gravitons, while gravitational waves should be transmitted through real gravitons.

However, unlike other fundamental forces, Li Qingsong, through calculations based on existing detection data and new theories, discovered that gravitons do not have a distinction between real and virtual forms.

There is only one type of graviton, but it can manifest in different ways.

It is "virtual" in most cases, and only in a few extremely special cases will it transform from virtual to real, exhibiting the characteristics of a real particle.

With the theory now at this point, the research direction for observing gravitons seems quite clear: it's simply a matter of creating an environment that allows gravitons to "transform from virtual to real."

However, because he failed to complete the quantumization of gravity, Li Qingsong was unable to know what that environment was like.

This seems to create another intractable dilemma: to detect gravitons, one must first create that kind of environment. And to create that kind of environment, one must first detect gravitons and complete their quantization.

"No, this can't possibly be a dead end; there must be another way. Otherwise, how did other civilizations break through the strong core and advance in gravity?"

With absolute certainty that there was still a way forward, Li Qingsong and many scientists once again began a collision of ideas.

Soon, just as Li Qingsong had predicted, a completely new approach emerged.

"Since it is not possible to create that kind of environment at this stage and then observe the real graviton in person, let's observe the virtual graviton first."

The so-called observation of virtual gravitons here does not mean actually "seeing" them, but rather, like other virtual particles, observing their indirect effects and thus determining their properties.

After some discussion, a brand-new gravity detector quickly completed theoretical verification and engineering demonstration, and entered the actual construction phase.

It is not the kind of graviton telescope built by hollowing out planets before, but a gravitational wave telescope that Li Qingsong had already mastered the construction technology of.

Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime. When a gravitational wave passes through space, all matter existing in that space, whether it is a spaceship or a planet, will oscillate with quadrupole moments along with these ripples, causing changes in its size, such as a sphere becoming an ellipsoid.

If we consider space as a pond, gravitational waves as water ripples, and objects as the moon's reflection in the water, this phenomenon becomes easy to understand: when water ripples pass through, the moon's reflection also ripples, and its volume, size, and dimensions change accordingly.

Since gravitational waves cause changes in the size of objects, various properties of gravitational waves can be indirectly detected by detecting these changes.

However, this mode presents a problem for the current detection.

Traditional gravitational wave detectors use laser ranging to determine size changes. Now, Li Qingsong hopes to use this detector to investigate what changes occur in matter when gravitational waves pass by, and what kind of interaction occurs between matter and the gravitational waves.

Therefore, traditional laser ranging methods cannot be used. After all, a laser beam has no physical form, so how can we detect its interaction with gravitational waves?

After some discussion, Li Qingsong clarified the main structure of the gravity detector he was building and what would replace the traditional laser ranging mode.

The answer is simple: a pillar.

An extraordinary pillar with extremely high technological content.

This pillar will be made of a similar material to the outer shell of those research spacecraft that detect the turbulence of gas giant planets, and will be manufactured using strong nuclear technology, but with a higher level of technology.

Its density is as high as 70 grams per cubic centimeter—a density that even exceeds that of the core of a gas giant, with its internal atoms arranged in an extremely dense manner. At the same time, it is extremely hard, capable of withstanding the bombardment of energy cannons.

It must also be extremely straight, because any bend could lead to uneven stress and affect the accuracy of the detection.

It must also be extremely long, because only by being long enough can the interaction between those extremely weak gravitational waves and itself be amplified by a sufficient factor to facilitate subsequent observations.

After comprehensive calculations, Li Qingsong finally determined the length of the pillar.

One billion kilometers!

With such a length, if it were used to connect the Earth and the Sun, it could make three round trips with some left over!
To ensure it is free from any disturbances, especially gravitational fields, it cannot operate inside galaxies but must instead be located far away from any large celestial bodies.

The construction site that Li Qingsong ultimately decided on was 2500 billion kilometers away from the star.

Fortunately, quantum mathematics has continued to develop recently, and long-distance communication technology has made further progress; otherwise, this distance would have exceeded Li Qingsong's communication limit.

In the vast emptiness of space, far from any major celestial bodies, Li Qingsong began construction of his massive industrial fleet.

(End of this chapter)