Chapter 264: NPC Problem and Biological Transfer

Is Ella's computational model ahead of her time?

The answer has always been no.

Yan Xia, as her creator, is well aware of this. Although Ella has undergone extensive self-optimization, the essence remains the same—it's still about exchanging energy for computational power. The architecture of her system, despite being optimized countless times over the 21st-century design, is ultimately bound by a limiting factor.

Yan Xia is familiar with the concept of P=NP in computer mathematics, but it was so long ago that even with genetic memory, the details are fuzzy.

Only after Ella's explanation did he recall the concept of P=NP from his memory and understand its true significance.

The improvement in floating-point calculation capability brought by P=NP is not as evident. Typically, computational power is expressed as the number of operations per second, a quantitative measure. However, P=NP brings a qualitative change, allowing each unit of computational power to tackle more complex problems.

"To what extent can it go?" Yan Xia asked.

"It can probably increase the precision of existing models by a million times," Ella replied.

The Federation currently has numerous models, including the universe model, biological model, basic model, string model, and dynamic model. These models encompass all the knowledge the Federation has gathered about its domain. When you need information, you can input a query and receive an answer.

For instance, a multiplication table is a simple mathematical model. When you need to calculate 9x9, you can use a computer with this model to get the answer.

The purpose of models is not just for calculations but also for exploration. Only when a group of things is combined can you discover their correlations and find the shortest and most efficient computational methods.

The most common model they encounter is the big data model, which had a profound influence on the 21st century.

A million-fold increase in the precision of a civilization's model is a significant advancement, equivalent to tens of thousands of years of development.

The progress brought by P=NP will be comprehensive and revolutionary.

"I haven't finished upgrading my main system yet. It's just too massive, and the old hardware can't support the new computational architecture."

Ella believes there's still room for improvement.

"So, you need new hardware," Yan Xia said, pointing to the star Alnilam.

"Aren't you afraid that the explosion of this star will destroy me?" Ella asked.

Alnilam, being a blue giant, has a relatively short lifespan of only a few million years.

"By the time the star explodes, its power won't be enough to destroy you," Yan Xia assured her. After solving the P=NP problem, the Federation will enter a period of rapid development. Yan Xia believes he will soon witness the Federation surpassing the Olive Branch Civilization.

Imagine the once-difficult problems becoming simple, and all the super-problems in various industries that require computation will be directly solved.

How wonderful is that?

More importantly, the computational power of life itself will be enhanced.

With P=NP, the neural systems of living beings, the secondary brains within organisms, and even quark machines will have their computational power increased under the same energy consumption.

"Then let's do it," Yan Xia said.

Ella looked forward to her rebirth.

But before that, she felt she should address another issue.

"My main system is currently working on the NPC problem, and we might be able to add dozens of new NPC problems."

Yan Xia hadn't been aware of this, but upon checking, he found that the Federation already had several NPC problems.

The concept of the NPC problem is quite simple; it's an extension of the NP problem.

NP problems can also be classified as complex or simple. For instance, problem A is simple, and problem B is complex. Both problems are of the same type. Imagine Xiao Ming traveling by boat from point A to point B, with the current in his favor, at a speed of 19,839 km/s, while the water current is 2,897 km/s. If the distance from A to B is 2 light-years, how long will it take Xiao Ming to travel from A to B?

This is somewhat complex. Now, consider another problem: Xiao Ming travels by car from A to B at a speed of 29 km/h, and the distance from A to B is 298 km. How long will it take Xiao Ming to travel from A to B?

One problem is simple, and the other is complex. If I can solve the complex problem, does it mean I can also solve the simple one?

However, we don't want to simplify complex problems but rather make simple problems more complex.

This is because the complex problem can encompass the simple one, and when faced with other simple problems of the same type, I know that the complex problem can also solve the other simple problems. In contrast, if I only know the solution to the simple problem, I might be clueless when faced with other problems of the same type. For example, if the simple problem includes wind speed, those who can only solve the simple problem will be confused.

Following this idea, we can repeatedly search for a more complex problem that encompasses all other problems. This most complex problem is the NPC problem.

The P=NP problem is also related to the NPC problem. If the NPC problem has a polynomial algorithm, then P=NP.

Ella has found the necessary polynomial algorithm from the NPC problem. Of course, she didn't do this alone; countless information and mathematical scholars from the Federation have contributed to this research.

Now, Ella wants to use P=NP to explore more NPC problems and unify all problems, laying the foundation for a vast model.

"That will be amazing," Yan Xia said.

"Of course," Ella replied. "The first problem I want to solve is the biological transfer problem. The super-hedging biological transfer is already in the semi-finished stage. With the new computational method, this problem will be solved in a short time, making near-light-speed movement possible."

"In fact, scholars within the Federation are already using the new model for development."

This will greatly enhance the Federation's combat capabilities.

Super-hedging material transfer is more advanced than the gravity corridors of the Olive Branch Civilization because it has very low energy consumption. The only issue is controllability. If we can solve the controllability problem and achieve 99.99% material transfer, it will be perfect.

Hearing this, Yan Xia's previous gloom vanished, and he shared a drink with Ella.

"This moment should be remembered. A toast to the next ten thousand years!"

Yan Xia tilted his head, and a solid clock showed the number: 55147.

Yes, it is now the year 55147 in the public calendar.

"It's been 53,110 years," Yan Xia said.

It sounds long, but when you think about it, it's quite fast. Most of this time has been spent in confrontation with the Olive Branch Civilization, but Yan Xia also senses that this war, spanning over 40,000 years, is coming to an end.

The previous ending was for the Star City, and this time, it will be the end of the entire Olive Branch Civilization.