Chapter 3 Coordination Centre for the Solar Crisis

"Our human civilisation has encountered one of the most serious challenges ever." The old man stood up and looked around at the people in the conference room, his voice a little deep in pain.

　　"Our human civilisation is still far from being fully developed ... we can't even land on Mars. I can understand the insignificance of human civilisation and how ridiculous and difficult it is to rely on its power to change the sun. But we have no choice. We must rise to the challenge, and if we overcome this crisis, our human civilisation continues to continue, if we fail, we perish, it's as simple as that." The old man said, "Fortunately ... fortunately, our technology has developed, things are tough, but not without a little hope."

　　"I order ... From this moment on, the Human Alliance enters into a wartime emergency phase, and we will mobilise all the forces at our disposal to face this crisis. All scientists, all engineers, politicians, workers, businessmen, all levels of society must unite. Only then will we have any hope of winning."

　　"Adjourn ... Watson, Meng Zhuo, you two stay." The old man said.

　　People dispersed, and only Zhao Watson and Meng Zhuo remained in the large conference room.

　　"I've read your information." The old man glanced at Zhao Watson, "From primary school until you entered the Stellar Physics Research Institute, you have always shown unusual talent, you're very intelligent and hardworking."

　　Zhao Watson felt fine when there were many people just now, but now that he was left to face this old man directly, he felt that enormous pressure. This old man in front of him was the highest head of the Human Alliance, and belonged to the kind of character that Zhao Watson would never have the chance to meet.

　　Facing this old man's praise, Zhao Watson didn't know what to say.

　　"This is something you don't have to be presumptuous about, because you are indeed very smart and studious." The old man slowly said, "But ... placed within the scope of the entire human civilisation, your intelligence, your diligence is still within the range of normal people. You have not shown some kind of ability that can be called heaven-defying. Even in the scientific community, and even within the Stellar Physics Research Institute as an institution, your qualifications are not considered to be the most top-notch, and at most can only be considered to be in the upper echelon."

　　"There are many people smarter than you, and many more diligent than you. So, Watson, I'm curious, ah, why did Director Leach pick you at the last minute to take on this most difficult task? Can you tell me why?"

　　"I ... don't know." Zhao Huasheng pondered for a while, and finally had to admit this fact in a disheartened manner. Because the reality was indeed true, the words the old man had said were cruel, and although they didn't take care of his own pride, they were all the truth.

　　"Ai." The old man sighed and stood up, walking over to the window and looking at the bustling city at his feet through the floor-to-ceiling window, leaving only Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo with a slightly stooped, but still very generous back.

　　"Watson, to tell you the truth, I don't have the confidence to overcome this crisis." The old man said, "The mass of the sun is more than a million times the mass of the earth, and we are still so powerless in the face of a tiny earth, let alone in the face of the sun. But you know in your heart that these words cannot be said in public. The only thing I can do is to try my best to tilt the resources in this direction, so that the scientists and engineers can represent our entire human race to pursue the little bit of hope that is drifting away."

　　"To tell you the truth, I almost despaired when I just received this news. But fortunately, I received the next piece of news right after that, and I learnt that Director Li Qi had long been clear about these things, and I learnt that Director Li Qi had left the only relic to you and said that you can answer all our doubts ... I have had contact with Li Qi, and I know what kind of a person Li Qi is. Since Li Qi said that you can answer all our doubts, then you will certainly be able to do this. In the midst of this incident, if my confidence in our human civilisation's technology is one percent, then my confidence in Li Qi ... is at least twenty percent."

　　"So ... Watson, right now, I'm placing this twenty per cent hope on you." The old man turned around, placing his heavy gaze on Zhao Huasheng, "I know that the current you is also puzzled, and you can't figure out what's going on, but since Li Qi did this, then Li Qi must have his reasons for doing this. If Li Qi believes in you, then I also believe in you."

　　"Watson, I will provide you with all the resources you need, as long as you think it's necessary, as long as you think it will help you understand what Li Qi is saying, even if you want to go to the moon, I can satisfy you." The old man walked over and patted Li Qi on the shoulder, and said warmly, "You can tell Montrose anything you need, and Montrose will take care of everything for you. That's all, Watson, remember, you hold the fate of humanity in your hands."

　　As the old man turned to leave, only Zhao Watson and Meng Zhuo remained in the conference room.

　　Zhao Watson leaned back in his seat and covered his face with his hands, his mind in turmoil.

　　"Why me ... Why me? Reeko, why did you choose me at the end?"

　　"In the future, in order to facilitate understanding and communication between us, I will address you as number one." Meng Zhuo said coldly, "You can address me as number two."

　　Zhao Huasheng forced a smile, "Where's the trouble, I'll just call you by your name."

　　"Yes." Montrose still looked icy, "Number One, please instruct the next course of action."

　　"Go home first, go ... home and let me rest." Zhao Watson reluctantly stood up and walked towards the conference room door.

　　The car was still being driven by Meng Zhuo, and Zhao Watson was sitting on top of the co-pilot, his thoughts had long since flown to nowhere. Even so, Zhao Huasheng felt that the world he saw was also so unreal, the flow of people, long lines of vehicles, towering buildings, and even hanging in the sky, slightly bleak sun all revealed a false meaning.

　　"How could this happen, how could this happen?" This sentence was always hovering in Zhao Huasheng's mind.

　　The sun has been burning steadily for more than four billion years, ever since it was born from the primordial interstellar gas. Compared to this time scale, the 5,000 years that human civilisation has been recorded in writing can almost be said to be a snap of the fingers. But in that snap of a finger, the sun changed drastically. And it was also during this snap of a finger that human civilisation developed and possessed some preliminary interstellar exploration capabilities.

　　Within six hours of the solar upheaval, a comprehensive organisation was set up that combined the crisis management department, the scientific research department, the psychological intervention department and so on. This institution was named the Solar Crisis Coordination Centre, with the Head of the Human Alliance personally acting as the Director of the Centre, and with the Old Man himself giving the right to coordinate and control any other departments during the crisis.

　　The Solar Crisis Coordination and Handling Centre had two job duties, the first duty was to explore the inner physical mechanism of the sun changing so much and find a solution, the second duty was to find a way to pass on human civilisation in case the crisis could not be solved. The matters between Li Qi and Zhao Huasheng were not made public out. The people who knew about them were limited to those top scientists who attended the meeting in the morning, as well as a few of the higher-ups of the Human Alliance. It was as if that old man had said, "I'm placing my greatest hopes on you and giving you the greatest authority and resources tilted in your favour, but these things can't be brought out into the open.

　　For this, Zhao Watson was understandable.

　　The first day of the weekend was spent in this bizarre situation. Zhao Watson had spent the day holed up at home, not eating, not answering the phone, Zhao Watson just sat quietly in his seat, not moving a muscle.

　　Meng Zhuo just stood next to Zhao Watson like a statue.

　　In just one day's time, Zhao Watson was deeply emaciated. It wasn't until night time that Zhao Huasheng sighed and spoke in a voice that was hoarse to the point of being somewhat unbelievable to himself, "Meng Zhuo, go sleep in the middle of the guest room."

　　After settling Meng Zhuo, Zhao Watson also sank into dreamland. But even in his sleep, Zhao Watson's thoughts were still unsettled. Zhao Huasheng always dreamed of the cries of countless people, dreamed of tall buildings collapsing, dreamed of the earth being covered in ice and snow, dreamed of the tragic deaths of countless people ... and sometimes dreamed of Li Qi, dreamed of the last words Li Qi said to himself before he went home, "Goodbye." ...

　　Zhao Huasheng knew that from today onwards, his fate had changed drastically. This change started from the moment Li Qi invited himself to join him for a drink, from the moment Li Qi left his only relic to himself.

　　The sky gradually dawned. Although he was extremely tired, Zhao Watson still woke up in the early morning hours.

　　Today was the second day after the solar crisis. Not out of Zhao Watson's expectation, today's temperature was a bit lower than yesterday's, and the sun had become even more dim. This forced Zhao Watson to dig out the long sleeves and trousers that he had long since sealed away, putting on spring and autumn clothes right at the height of this summer.

　　Temperatures will still drop, inexorably. Although the specific heat capacity of water is very large, although more than seventy per cent of the earth's surface is ocean, although the earth has a thick atmosphere to preserve heat, but it is still not enough. When the root cause of a thing has changed, the rest of the branches, no matter how many, can only slow down the pace of things. In the case of the solar crisis, the lowering of solar radiation levels is the root cause.