Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 212 Light Speed ​​Spaceship

The leader asked, "How is the development of the light-speed spaceship progressing?"

Upon hearing this news, the Science Administrator experienced a surge of emotion, and it was excited: "Your Majesty! Thanks to the Trisolaran Great Depression and the destruction of the Old World, the Enlightenment and Renaissance have brought tremendous intellectual liberation to the scientists of the Trisolaran world!"

Our scientists have now preliminarily determined the correct direction for developing a light-speed spacecraft: utilizing the curvature of space. However, it will still take some time—we are currently facing some bottlenecks.

The leader said, "The warp drive spaceship route has been proposed for nearly 150 Trisolaran years. With all the hard work, what technological bottlenecks will we encounter?"

The Science Governor: "Your Majesty, it has nothing to do with technology. In the experimental development of the regional light-speed engine, we have successfully moved a piece of dehydrated skin a very short distance at the speed of light within the curvature engine. This is a good start, but in this technological achievement, we have seen uncontrollable catastrophic consequences."

The leader: "What catastrophic consequences?"

The science governor became serious: "Existing experimental data shows that warp drive will leave permanent low-light speed 'tracks' in space, forming traceable interstellar routes, thus exposing the location of civilizations. You know what it means once the coordinates of a civilization are exposed."

The leader's expression also turned serious. He looked out the window at the vast Trisolaran world, which was now being lashed by the winter caused by the three flying stars. Although the growth of the Trisolaran civilization had made the Trisolaran world no longer afraid of the eternal winter, and simple controlled nuclear fusion technology could provide the Trisolaran civilization with eternal light and heat, the Trisolaran leader could not help but feel a deep sadness when he looked at this profound darkness.

The leader asked, "What does this mean? Does it mean that warp drive spaceships cannot be developed, or even if they were, they couldn't be put into use?"

The Science Administrator shook his head: "That's not it. If the warp drive is successfully developed, we can completely send our fleet away from the Trisolaran system and the solar system before using warp drive. This would avoid exposing the Trisolaran system and the solar system. However, this would delay the originally short journey by a considerable amount of time. For example, with light-speed drive, our fleet would only need 4 Earth years to reach the solar system, but to avoid exposure, the journey could be delayed to about 10 Earth years."

The leader was relieved: "That's enough. The delay in the journey is just a negligible price for the Trisolaran civilization. The Trisolaran civilization has already endured so many difficult times, and we absolutely cannot let impatience lead to a crisis of extinction. Please speed up your research. The Trisolaran society desperately needs light-speed warp drive spaceships to boost confidence. You should know that the speed of human spaceships has far exceeded that of the First Fleet and the Second Fleet, which worries me greatly."

The Science Administrator shook his head, a hint of disdain appearing on his mind membrane: "Your Majesty, nuclear fusion is an outdated technology, even if it reaches 20% of the speed of light. Any technology that requires fuel is unreliable, and nuclear fusion engines are a dead end for space travel. Humanity has been complacent about taking the wrong path under the pressure of the Sophons."

True space travel requires the ability to replenish energy anytime, anywhere in a vacuum. The First Fleet obtains propulsion by collecting particles and antiparticles to annihilate matter. Although its speed is relatively slow, it can ignore the dilemma of replenishing energy. From this perspective, humanity's so-called 20% light-speed travel warships are merely one-time acceleration boats. Your Majesty, please do not worry about this.

The leader said, "You're right. Perhaps I'm worrying too much, especially after being provoked by the Devouring Empire. The First Fleet still needs 200 Earth years to reach Earth. So, what's the status of the Second Fleet?"

In 1982 AD, the Trisolaran First Fleet set sail.

In Earth's year 2027 (Crisis Era 20), influenced by Luo Qing, the Trisolaran Second Fleet began construction ahead of schedule. (See Chapter 97)
In 2032 AD (Crisis Era 25), the Trisolaran Second Fleet officially set sail.

Although the Second Fleet was only 50 Earth years behind the First Fleet, its technological level was significantly higher. Compared to the First Fleet, which was primarily reinforced with strong electromagnetic materials, the Trisolaran Second Fleet was entirely constructed from materials with strong interaction forces. For the First Fleet, these materials were extremely valuable, but for the Second Fleet, they were merely consumables that could be manufactured at any time.

At the request of the previous Trisolaran leader, the Second Fleet was equipped with a complete ecosystem compared to the First Fleet. This bold move directly gave the Second Fleet the ability to break away from the Trisolaran civilization and operate independently.

Although both are driven by matter-antimatter annihilation, unlike the First Fleet which can only obtain matter and antiparticles in the universe for low-intensity annihilation, the Second Fleet can use interstellar matter to autonomously create matter and antiparticles, which makes the Second Fleet's average speed reach 120% of the First Fleet's.

Of course, long-term full-power acceleration at 10% of the speed of light is still impossible. The speed at which antimatter particles are produced or captured cannot keep up with the speed at which the fleet accelerates and consumes them. Although antimatter is good, its production and capture are major problems.

Most importantly, compared to the First Fleet, the Second Fleet was designed with space reserved for light-speed engines from the outset, and it possesses a comprehensive scientific research system. Furthermore, the 40 dehydrated Trisolaran elites stored within the Second Fleet allow it to readily achieve its goals in other star systems.

Although the Second Fleet still maintains communication with the Trisolaran system through the Sophon and is still heading towards the solar system, it has essentially become a completely independent entity.

All of this is thanks to the visionary Trisolaran leader of the previous generation. Of course, the promises that this leader had already fulfilled during the turmoil of the Trisolaran Great Depression decades ago were burned away as a spark for the new era.

Compared to the hastily departed First Fleet, the Second Fleet, which followed closely behind, truly represents the full strength of the Trisolaran civilization. If the Trisolaran civilization were to achieve a breakthrough in warp-driven light-speed engines, the Second Fleet could immediately begin manufacturing warp engines, allowing the entire Second Fleet to evolve into a fleet capable of traveling at the speed of light.

Both the Solar System Fleet and the Devouring Empire will be completely annihilated by the Second Fleet's light-speed travel.

This is precisely why the current Trisolaran leader has a great desire for the Second Fleet, and it is the existence of the Second Fleet that has caused the Trisolaran civilization to suspend the construction of the Third Fleet.

The space fleet is like a child that grows up and becomes completely unruly. The Trisolaran civilization has come to realize this deeply, and the Trisolaran people oppose the continued construction of the Third Fleet.

Influenced by Earth's culture, the current leader of the Trisolarans is a democratically elected leader, and the leader must ultimately take into account the opinions of the Trisolaran people.

In response to the head of state's question about the Second Fleet, the Science Administrator gave a powerful answer: "The Second Fleet is still heading towards the solar system, but I am confident that the warp drive will be developed before the First Fleet arrives in the solar system. At that time, the Second Fleet's radiance will shine in the solar system."

A simple sentence appeared in the mind membrane of the scientific governing official.

"In this battle for the beautiful solar system, the Trisolarans will surely prevail!"

(End of this chapter)