Chapter 327: Awakening Yang Dong_1
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In the 26th year of the Intimidation Era, the Solar System State achieved a tremendous breakthrough in dark matter research.
Utilizing dark matter, researchers finally confirmed the existence of the fourth dimension, although the universe's fourth dimension did not seem as vast and extensive as theorized.
Moreover, it appeared "lifeless," and researchers used many methods but struggled to construct a three-dimensional visualization of the fourth dimension with computers, let alone a credible model.
The research was halted by He Shanqi, who, when asked by the researchers for the reason, simply stated that they were wasting time and resources.
Furthermore, the purpose of the project had been achieved; through their research and experiments, the researchers had established a theoretical model capable of "detonating" dark matter.
That was precisely the outcome Rediaz and He Shanqi desired most, so there was no need to continue the subsequent research.
Only these two individuals knew that increasing evidence suggested that the universe's fourth dimension might have collapsed, just as Jiang Yu had proposed.
Therefore, continuing the research for the time being seemed pointless.
Especially He Shanqi, who had always considered Jiang Yu an outsider in physics—whether it was Jiang Yu's firm belief in the existence of curvature or his predictions about the fourth dimension, he had maintained a degree of skepticism.
It wasn't until today that He Shanqi realized he might be close to proving the existence of curvature, which significantly increased his confidence in some of Jiang Yu's statements.
The breakthrough in dark matter had a profound impact on string theory as well. With the macroscopic fourth dimension of the universe turning out to be different from what was imagined, should the other aspects of string theory undergo some revisions?
Moreover, with the further development of quantum mechanics, perfecting an increasing number of microscopic theories, string theory was also expected to make new strides.
Jiang Yu felt the time was ripe and decided to awaken Yang Dong so she could continue her research work.
As usual, no one was permitted to visit Yang Dong on the day she awakened.
The next day, Jiang Yu saw a somewhat weakened Yang Dong in the hospital ward. She was still as beautiful, possibly paler from just coming out of hibernation, which gave her an even more ethereal quality.
Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Welcome to the new era!"
After speaking, he gently kissed Yang Dong's forehead.
Yang Dong had grown accustomed to Jiang Yu's occasional displays of affection during their honeymoon over two hundred years ago.
Yang Dong smiled and said, "I feel like I've slept for a very long time. What's the situation now? It seems there's no gravity. Am I in space?"
"We are on Jupiter!" Jiang Yu, sitting in front of her hospital bed, began recounting the changes of the past two hundred years.
Jiang Yu spoke in detail, and Yang Dong listened attentively.
It took a whole day for Yang Dong to grasp humanity's current predicament: "Civilization is indeed a heavy burden."
Jiang Yu smiled and said, "No matter how heavy, we can still bear it."
Yang Dong voiced her concerns: "But does our research work still have meaning? If this universe is so dark, what if our research findings are exactly what the Advanced Civilization hopes we achieve?"
Jiang Yu let out a bitter laugh and said, "We have no choice but to keep moving forward, heads down!"
He paused, then added earnestly, "This is the inevitable path for a later developed civilization, we cannot stop moving forward just because of the uncertainty ahead.
"On the contrary, it is only by maintaining a spirit of resistance that we have a glimmer of hope for survival.
"So let's keep striving and see what this universe really looks like. What has it experienced in the years gone by?"
Yang Dong smiled and said, "You have always given me enough mental strength, I'll trust you once more."
Gently holding Yang Dong's hand, Jiang Yu said, "I was planning to find a physicist to tell you about the achievements we have now.
"But on second thought, you should first get used to the current life."
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Yang Dong, however, weakly shook her head, "I wish I could start working in the laboratory tomorrow!"
When she learned that the block on Sophon had been lifted, her heart had already flown into the cosmos.
In the end, Jiang Yu couldn't win her over, so the next day he brought a professor of basic physics to start telling Yang Dong about the achievements in quantum mechanics over the years and some revisions to the theory of relativity.
These achievements all indicated that string theory represented the future of fundamental physics.
On the day Yang Dong was discharged from the hospital, Jiang Yu first took her around Jupiter City, taught her how to use shared cars, how to use the shuttlecrafts, and then took her to the busiest commercial street.
Looking at the colorful billboards, Yang Dong suddenly felt like she had returned to the human world, except she noticed there weren't many people on the commercial street.
Jiang Yu, wearing a mask for fear of being recognized, pointed to the intelligent drones flying in the sky, "Now, there's no need to go to a physical store to buy things, only Common Era people like to shop in person."
Yang Dong indeed saw two intelligent drones eject from a shop and then immediately start rotating their propellers, quickly flying in a certain direction.
She smiled and said, "This is pretty much like online shopping back in the day."
"It's different," Jiang Yu smiled and said, "The communication between buyers and sellers has become more enriched. First of all, buyers can walk around the seller's store through VR glasses and see the actual products.
"Moreover, the try-on system is also very perfected now. For example, if you like a piece of clothing, the smart computer can simulate your body shape and provide a picture of what you would look like wearing that clothing.
"Basically, it can simulate vision, hearing, touch, and even taste."
Yang Dong picked up on the key point, "Taste?"
"Yes," Jiang Yu said with a laugh, "this invention might seem a bit silly to us, but it's quite popular with modern people.
"For instance, if you want to buy a piece of cake, you can use a device that looks like a pen to simulate the taste of the cake from a certain dessert shop on your tongue.
"If you decide to buy, the intelligent drone can deliver it within ten minutes, given you are in the same city."
Yang Dong sighed, "Modern people are becoming lazier and lazier."
Jiang Yu laughed and said, "That's because they have new forms of entertainment."
Saying this, he hailed a shared car with a wave of his hand. These cars were capable of flying and were extremely fast. To Common Era people like Jiang Yu and Yang Dong, they were dazzlingly swift.
Jiang Yu had ridden them many times but was still a bit nervous.
As for Yang Dong, there was no need to mention her; she, who had always been brave, clung to Jiang Yu's arm all the way.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Yu explained, "There are no privately owned cars anymore. The two swords of Damocles that hung over our heads back in the day, housing and cars, have both realized a distribution system and a sharing system.
"However, there is still room for the market economy. Wealthy people can still buy bigger houses, it's just that the prices for non-distributed housing are quite expensive, and the taxes are also higher.
"Even so, people with some money are still willing to move into Space Villas.
"In terms of cars and clothing, accessories, whether rich or poor, there is almost no difference now. So, to differentiate themselves as better than others, they can only do so through housing.
"Another way is the number, style, and intelligence level of domestic robots, which are also a symbol of competition and status."
Yang Dong asked with some curiosity, "Can private property not be eradicated?"
"That's where you're uninformed," Jiang Yu smiled and said, "The market economy is the harmonizer that maintains social vitality. After all, everyone has a different vision of a good life, and people need enough autonomy to pursue the life of their dreams.
"Furthermore, once private property appeared, it's impossible to erase it.
"It's an expression of human nature, whether now or in the future, and if you really tried to erase it, the consequences would be dire."