Chapter 614: Birth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

This historical migration would take between two to three years.

The maximum speed achievable by Blacklight Biotechnology's nuclear power engine could accelerate the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p to one-tenth the speed of light, which was equivalent to thirty thousand kilometers per second. The distance between the two designated points was 1115 light-years, which meant close to eleven thousand years of journey.

However, the existence of the subs.p.a.ce greatly cut short what would be an eleven thousand years trip to Kepler-642b from the earth by close to ten thousand times. Under the distorted time-s.p.a.ce law of the subs.p.a.ce, it would only take up to two years for the Blacklight s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p to reach Kepler-642b.

It was a terrific speed.

The diameter of the Milky Way was roughly measured at one hundred thousand light-years. A thousand light-years would be equivalent to one percent of the diameter of the Milky Way. To travel such a distance in just two years was completely unfathomable for mankind even several years before this. It was more than an astronomical feat.

Furthermore, as the Blacklight Biotechnology research team gained a further understanding of subs.p.a.ce, they also discovered two peculiar coordinates in the dimension, what was known as the “Mandeville Point”.

The coordinate was discovered by a subs.p.a.ce scientist named Mandeville. The tabulated ma.s.s of the solar system was calculated into the relative geographic location of the Milky Way and at last, subst.i.tuted into a formula known as the “Mandeville Subs.p.a.ce Equation”. This equation calculated the influence factor of the subs.p.a.ce corresponding to the real universe to obtain a specific coordinate.

This coordinate pinpointed the safest location for entering or exiting the subs.p.a.ce.

A stable and safe subs.p.a.ce entry and exit position were present in each galaxy. When entering or jumping out of the subs.p.a.ce in these exact positions, the gravity of the subs.p.a.ce ma.s.s and concentration became nullified, thereby creating an ideal location for maneuvering in and out of the subs.p.a.ce with minimized risk.

There were two such Mandeville Points located in the solar system, one of which was located near the orbit of Ura.n.u.s while the other near the orbit of Pluto.

Since it was Mandeville who formulated this equation, it was thereafter named after him while the produced coordinates following this equation were labeled as the Mandeville Points.

Upon learning of this, Chen Chen suddenly understood why Pluto was specifically chosen as the starting point for performing subs.p.a.ce s.p.a.ce warp in the movie Event Horizon.

It was because the Mandeville Point was located precisely on the orbit of Pluto.

Having gained this knowledge, it was relatively easy to progress from here on. Without informing other parties of this exciting discovery, Blacklight Biotechnology conducted two trial runs secretly. All of the required preparations were made. The trial run for future galaxy colonization was underway...

“Blacklight departing port A...

“Releasing porting module A...

“Activating engines, the Blacklight will be reversing, please take caution...

“The Blacklight is departing the port...”

Shaw sat at the head of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p's bridge and listened to the routine notice of the artificial intelligence systems.

Shaw's overall presentation had undergone a drastic transformation over the last year. His entire persona had become weathered and stoic, his cheeks were sunken and the texture of his skin turned coa.r.s.e and tough. It seemed as if he had aged by decades.

The most notable transformation was that he had shaved his head bald. There were jet-black things that looked like large b.u.t.tons fixed into the sides of his polished scalp. It was a device known as a brain-machine interface.

This drastic transformation was required to build up his resistance against the harmful qualities of the subs.p.a.ce. As Chen Chen did not purge all of the subs.p.a.ce presence in his body a year ago, he had been plagued by nightmares all year round.

The subs.p.a.ce energy chipped away at his psyche gradually, but it also served to harden his mental psionic strength, beating it into tempered steel over time.

Three months ago, with the help of a team composed of the world's best therapists and psychologists, Shaw managed to overcome his inner demons and finally got over the death of his wife. Seeing this, Chen Chen deemed that he was now worthy of a central role in the galaxy migration project.

Accompanying Shaw were two other members, a male and a female respectively.

The man was in his mid-twenties. Moments before the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p commenced launching, he was still stricken with nerves and agitation while the woman beside him who seemed to be in her thirties was cool and collected.

All three of them were bald and fixed to their seats. To be precise, they were practically chained to the seats.

The seats of the trio were arranged in a triangular pattern. Shaw's seat was positioned closest to the window and at the sharpest angle of the triangle, clearly indicating that he was the one in command.

“Establis.h.i.+ng a connection to the life support system...”

The artificial intelligence system broadcasted another notice to the crew members again. Shortly after that, a large tube appeared overhead and quite rudely inserted itself into the mouths of the crew members. Then, a soft hose extended from inside the tube and explored the insides of their mouths before stretching all the way down their throat.

“Hnnghh...”

The other two members could not stop themselves from retching at this gross sensation.

Shaw ignored them and did what he could to relax and let it pa.s.s silently. He felt the hose reaching deep into his stomach region. A similar procedure was repeated, this time, with a tube built into the seat coming from underneath them that prodded into their r.e.c.t.u.m region.

This was not the end of it. It was quickly followed with several inserts into the veins in their limbs. Upon its completion, they were fixed to their seats without any escape.

“Establis.h.i.+ng a connection with the brain-machine interface...”

Several ports appeared overhead and latched themselves into black b.u.t.tons that were the brain-machine interface specially fixed into Shaw's head. Shaw instantly felt his vision turning pitch-black. His bionic eyes were temporarily shut off.

Although his vision was gone, he could sense that his brain was now directly connected to the central systems of the Blacklight. From here on, his brain had become the interface itself and every thought he formed was issued as commands that would be performed without any delay.

This was the specialized role that Chen Chen had created – Subs.p.a.ce Navigator.

Shaw of all people was aware of the dangers subs.p.a.ce travel entailed. The navigator needed to be cautious at all times as the slightest distraction could yield fatal results. Therefore, the navigator had to be bound to the seat for however long the journey may take. Basic human needs such as eating, drinking, and organic excretion would be taken care of by artificial intelligence.

Remaining seated for an extended period may cause long-term health issues such as poor blood circulation or muscle necrosis. Blacklight Biotechnology had factored this into their blueprints and the navigator's seat was fitted with an elaborate ma.s.sage system working at all times to keep blood circulation flowing. Simulation of the nerves was performed with mild electric pulses. One could remain in this seat for decades without worrying about body functions degenerating.

Of the three subs.p.a.ce navigators, it was undoubtedly Shaw who a.s.sumed the central role in the operation. The other two were merely his a.s.sistants that Blacklight Biotechnology had a.s.signed him. These navigators gained their abilities artificially by receiving an injection formulated using an extract from Shaw's blood. However, there was a distinct gap between their astral sight and Shaw's naturally acquired astral sight. The range of their observation only reached up to several thousand kilometers so the best they could do was serve as a.s.sistant to the more qualified Shaw.

“Brain-machine interface connection complete.

“Preparing for launch... Destination, Ura.n.u.s...o...b..t...

“Beginning acceleration...”

The artificial intelligence system continued issuing notices into Shaw's mind. Although Shaw's bionic eyes had been deactivated, the connection established between the nerve center in his brain to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p central system meant that his so-called “mind's eye” was open. There were a lot of things he could do and many entertainments at his disposal. He could play games, chess, watch movies, and many more activities to spend the next millennium leisurely.

Though the subs.p.a.ce dimension was a perilous world, not a single person in the world could be expected to remain vigilant at all times, especially not for months, even years. This was where having two a.s.sistants came in handy. Iit was so that the navigators could take s.h.i.+fts and take a break whenever needed.

This system ensured a proper balance so that the navigators could function in a healthy state of mind without suffering from fatigue.

As the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p took flight, Shaw communicated to his two a.s.sistants by directly conveying his thoughts to them through the brain-machine interface, “Gordon, Marcy, let's work well together over the next few years. Let's accomplish our tasks dutifully. If this voyage is successful, we'll have achieved something grand and have a bright future ahead of us.”

“Understood, Captain.”

The two of them responded to Shaw's speech enthusiastically. Just like Shaw, they were felons acquired by Blacklight Biotechnology from other countries through underground networks. Though they could not secure their freedom yet, they were lucky enough to emerge among hundreds of candidates and graced with abilities like Shaw's.

The current voyage was their lifeline at achieving the long-sought-after freedom. If they could see this voyage to its succession, they would be offered the choice of freedom.

Shaw was satisfied with their response. As the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p took off, he took a look at the deeper sections of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p where two thousand occupied cryogenic chambers were situated. The pa.s.sengers were all put in a cryogenic state to conserve the limited supplies in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p and also to protect themselves from the dangerous subs.p.a.ce energy.

Granted that no accidents occur, they should find themselves on Kepler-642b upon waking up.

Shaw was designated the highest authority level on this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, second only to the artificial intelligence system. This essentially meant that he was the captain of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. As the captain, he had access to the information of all the pa.s.sengers on board. While they were still on the way to the subs.p.a.ce, he decided to go through the report of these two thousand pa.s.sengers just as a means of killing time.

Just to be on the safe side, Blacklight Biotechnology would wait for another ten days for conditions to stabilize before entering Jupiter's...o...b..t. From there on, the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p would perform a gravitational acceleration and bound for Ura.n.u.s. The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p would accelerate gradually until reaching the maximum speed which was one-tenth of the speed of light until arriving at the discovered Mandeville Point located along the orbit of Ura.n.u.s.

The entire journey was estimated to take up to a month. This meant that Shaw along with his two a.s.sistants had a month to prepare themselves for the most challenging part of the journey, which was inside the subs.p.a.ce where their powers would be called to use...

Just like that, the Blacklight had departed from the geosynchronous...o...b..t of the earth and ventured into the vast expanse of the universe.

This shocking maneuver alarmed the Earth Federation. Tens of thousands of astronomical telescopes all over the world zoomed in on the magnificent wonder that was the departure of the Blacklight while the Earth Federation was completely ignored on the sidelines. The representatives of the four major continents immediately called for a Lilith a.s.sembly, but Chen Chen's shadow was nowhere to be seen during the a.s.sembly.

This blatant disrespect greatly angered the four major continents. The ma.s.ses began slandering Blacklight Biotechnology for not honoring their end of the agreement. Initially, the Blacklight Foundation was founded to form a global alliance but now it would seem that Blacklight Biotechnology had completely discarded its initial promises. It would appear that Blacklight Biotechnology was starting to exact its will whimsically now that it was powerful enough to overpower the Earth Federation!

It hardly mattered how much they tried to ridicule and provoke Chen Chen. He already decided a long time ago that he would not entertain them any longer.

A month later.

Chen Chen strolled in the Ares Science City all by himself.

The Ares Science City was the first and also currently the only human colony built on Mars. Based on Chen Chen's drafted plans, this planet would become the first industrial-focused planet. He planned to relocate a large portion of the manufacturing industry to Mars to alleviate the environmental pollution burden on Earth.

This was why hundreds of thousands of factories belonging to Blacklight Biotechnology were erected near the borders of Ares Science City. An industrial park even larger in scale than the Eco Science City was taking shape here on Mars.

After two years, the initial hundred thousand people who migrated to Mars from Earth had gotten accustomed to life on Mars. Furthermore, a second and third batch had been transported to the planet, raising the total population on Mars to near half a million.

Observed from s.p.a.ce, the surface of the once barren planet had been transformed into lush patches of oasis. Tardigrade moss now dominated the local ecosystem, constantly producing oxygen into the ozone, restoring the planet's atmosphere organically.

Meanwhile, the dwarf planet Ceres that was also the Mar's variant of the Moon continued orbiting around Mars from thousands of kilometers away. Its presence allowed Mars' planet core to restore its magnetic field over time until it could withstand the Sun's solar wind.

Chen Chen sensed the weaker gravitational force on Mars with every inch of his body. Then, he observed the ma.s.ses of Mars inhabitants traveling across the city, all occupied with their day-to-day tasks. Most of the crowd were Androids since the social system of Mars was designed in a way that most of its inhabitants were well-off and could afford fine luxuries. While the employment of Androids was scarce on Earth, it could be seen everywhere on Mars.

The human residents were usually at work in their offices or staying at home, taking care of their children. Every day after office hours, the city would be filled with the hustle and bustle of real humans.

“Excuse me, sir...”

“h.e.l.lo, sir...”

Chen Chen walked amid the stream of Androids. They would politely file out of the way when Chen Chen stepped into their path since they were programmed to do so. These Androids were non-hostile and would never harm humans. Even if they were directly threatened by a living person, they were programmed to escape instead of defending themselves. Soon, Chen Chen arrived at the entrance of the city's central hospital.

Upon his arrival at the hospital, he suddenly perked up and narrowed his eyes that were beaming with concentration.

Moments after that, he unleashed a ripple of Field that immediately enveloped the hospital compound. It effortlessly seeped through the windows and explored every nook and cranny of the hospital.

In one of the operation rooms, Chen Chen heard the energetic cry of a newborn baby.