Chapter 64 Debate_1

The Jerusalem Space Station spacecraft was slowly rotating against the cosmic black backdrop.

The centrifugal force generated by the rotation perfectly substituted for gravity, allowing Cao Ge and the others to live normally within the spaceship.

It had been two days since they had returned to the Space Station.

The three had gradually moved past their despondent moods. Kupa had watched the video message sent from Earth and saw his daughter, who had aged as much as he had, crying her eyes out. In his memory, she was just eleven or twelve years old just a week ago, but now she was as old as him. After crying though, he felt even more determined to save her. Dr. Brand recalled the promise she made to her father, Old Brand, before departure—she must find a planet suitable for human habitation.

Luomi's thoughts were similar to Dr. Brand's; he would do his utmost to seek new hope for the survival of human civilization.

"Dr. Miller, are you saying that Planet 9 is not suitable for human habitation?"

"From what we see now, that seems to be the case. Planet 9 is too close to Cagantuya, and the flow of time around it is too fast. Although the planet has environments that can support human life, they are extremely harsh, barely meeting survival requirements, and full-scale development could only accommodate a hundred thousand people at most. It's not suitable for mass colonization." Cao Ge stood in the middle of the Space Station, explaining to the three people sitting around him.

Out of the three, Dr. Brand and Luomi were both taking serious notes on paper, contemplating the information Cao Ge had written on the whiteboard as they wrote.

"Dr. Miller, besides the Arctic region on the planet, are there any other landmasses?" After some thought, Luomi looked toward Cao Ge in front of the whiteboard and asked.

Cao Ge closed the marker in his hand, placed it in the pen tray below the whiteboard, then spread his hands and said, "I don't know. Maybe there are, maybe there aren't."

"I only arrived a few hours earlier than you guys."

Upon hearing Cao Ge's words, the three fell silent, simply staring at the information on the whiteboard and pondering.

"Is there a possibility that we could go down again? Planet 9 has water, organic matter, and an atmosphere suitable for human breathing. A planet that meets so many criteria might be exceedingly rare in the universe."

"Impossible, the cost in time is simply too great."

"Just a round trip would take up seven Earth years, not to mention conducting explorations. By the time we thoroughly understood whether it's suitable for large-scale colonization, Earth would already be devoid of people. I think we should spend our time exploring other planets. This planet could serve as a backup—if none of the remaining planets prove suitable for human habitation, we could explore this one later."

"I agree with Dr. Miller's idea. We should focus our time on the other planets," Kupa said.

With two out of four expressing their stance, Luomi looked to Dr. Brand.

Meeting Luomi's gaze, Dr. Brand furrowed her brow and pondered carefully before finally looking at the three present and saying, "I also lean towards exploring other planets."

"Luomi, what about you?"

Seeing Dr. Brand in agreement, Cao Ge turned his gaze toward Luomi.

Luomi met Cao Ge's gaze, then looked at Kupa and Dr. Brand on each side, and after some consideration, he looked at them and said, "Alright, you make sense, this planet can serve as a backup."

"Good, since we've reached a consensus, let's discuss the next topic," Cao Ge said as he walked toward the round table and sat down.

"Dr. Brand, you go ahead." After glancing through the materials in his hand that introduced the remaining planets, he addressed her.

The young Dr. Brand nodded, then flipped open the file in her hands and began introducing as she read, "Next, we have two unexplored planets left. One is Planet 12. The explorer assigned to this planet is Dr. Mann. According to the information transmitted, the planet has water, organic matter, and is suitable for human life. Planet 12 is about a seven-month journey from us. That's what we know about Planet 12."

After reading the material, Dr. Brand glanced at them and then turned a page, continuing with the information for the second planet.

"This planet is designated as Planet 5. According to information from Dr. Edmonds, the environment of this planet is relatively hostile, barren, but suitable for human life. Unfortunately, the signal was interrupted five years ago, and the cause is unknown. The journey to Planet 5 from us would take five years."

"That concludes my briefing. You can now share your thoughts on this and decide which planet we should visit next," Dr. Brand closed the file and looked toward the three people at the round table.

At that moment, the three were absorbed in their own files, silent.

Eventually, Kupa broke the silence and said, "I think we should go to Dr. Mann's planet. His information is very clear, inviting us to go there. It has an environment that can sustain human life, with water and organic matter, and moreover, it's close to us, only a three-month journey away." Kupa said, looking at the three.

"After reaching Planet 12, the Space Station should still have some fuel left. Even if Planet 12 turns out to be unsuitable in the end, we could consider going to other planets. But if we choose to go directly to Planet 5, we will exhaust our spaceship's fuel. If Planet 12 is unsuitable for human life, we would have no other options left."

"Kupa, as far as I know, our current fuel reserve, once we reach Planet 12, if it's not suitable for human habitation, our spaceship won't be able to make it to Planet 5 either," Dr. Brand said, countering Kupa.

It was clear that Dr. Brand was inclined towards Planet 5.

Kupa found Dr. Brand's attitude peculiar. He glanced at Luomi and then said, "Dr. Brand, you're right, but at least we would still have the capacity to return to Earth."

"Kupa, we're discussing the fate of human civilization. Please don't let personal emotions influence the decision," Dr. Brand said upon understanding Kupa's intention. Kupa was alluding to the idea that if Planet 12's environment didn't meet the requirements for human colonization, the Space Station would at least have enough fuel to allow them to return to Earth, to spend their last days with their families.

"Dr. Brand, you know as well as I do, no matter which planet we go to, we will not have the capacity to travel to another. Given this, why shouldn't we choose the one most advantageous to us?"

"Planet 12 has water and organic matter, and it's only a three-month journey away from us. You said it yourself; water is the cradle of life. As for Planet 5, not only has its signal been lost for five years, but also the information didn't specify the exact conditions of the planet—only that it could support human life. Besides, it's too far away, and there are too many unknowns. No one knows what it's like there now."

Pausing for a moment, Kupa looked at Cao Ge and the others, then addressed Dr. Brand, "If we choose to go directly to Planet 5 and it turns out to be unsuitable for human life, we would die there."