"Over the past few decades, we have never ceased our research on it."
Ye Changsi looked unperturbed as he faced Zhang Shoucheng, who had just taken the Geological Hammer, and continued to introduce (and fabricate):
"We donāt believe āKarstā poses a significant risk. If it wanted to, just manipulating the internet would be enough to accomplish a lot, but it hasnāt."
Weāve also acquired artificial intelligence technology; āKarstāsā capabilities shouldnāt be questioned."
"Then what do you think its purpose is?"
Zhang Shoucheng searched for a place to strike with the hammer but had no intention of acting rashly.
Others had already tried using a ray flaw detector; the results were unexpected yet within reason:
Gamma rays, X-rays, etc., simply could not penetrate the seemingly simple silicon carbide shell; New Yuan was right, there was another layer.
And from the feedback of the rays, it didnāt seem like the usual impenetrabilityārather, it was more like absorption, which was quite eerie.
Using electromagnetic devices containing constrained metallic hydrogen, the tightly contracted outer shell was extremely hard. The surface strength remained unchanged, but just below that, the density and structural organization had altered, hard to the point of being unbreakable.
Even if subjected to a magnetic resonance imager, thereās no fear, since no CT machineās intensity is able to contend with āKarstāāit either breaks down or shows nothing.
Luckily, Zhang Shoucheng was prepared for this, as ordinary materials would have deteriorated long ago if it truly had been on Earth for over ten thousand years.
What interested him now was the purpose of āKarstā and its relation to the Martian gravitational waves.
"I feel that it is guiding us, leading us into space, toward a specific direction."
It is consciously steering technological advancement, as well as guiding us step by step outward; we may still be in the early stages, far from its true goal."
After finishing, Ye Changsi looked at Zhang Shoucheng somewhat expectantly, hoping for some valuable answers, which would also address the doubts about the System.
"Guiding? It does seem that way. Now it is leading you to Mars, to Titan, and the next step will surely be beyond the Solar System. Perhaps only then will we know where it truly wants to lead us.
The designer of this thing... is very intelligent, certainly part of a scientific civilization, luring us to the desired location with the temptation of advanced technologyāutterly irresistible.
But Iām more interested in whatās inside this object; your technologies must have been altered. What does a genuine extraterrestrial civilization use to manufacture machinery? Thatās what concerns me the most.
And then thereās the energy source, over ten thousand years, huh, itās not enough just to have a small nuclear reactor installedāneither fusion nor fission would work, so what could it be?"
Zhang Shoucheng had countless questions and was in no position to answer Ye Changsi, his attention nearly entirely focused on the black shuttle-shaped object before him.
But with the baseās careful preparation, discovering something was unlikely, so seeing this, Ye Changsi could only smile bitterly internally, continuing to cooperate with them on the surface.
...
From the morning of the 23rd to the evening, the entire day for the group was almost entirely spent in the basement, until 10 oā clock when they emerged one by one with complex emotions to head towards the large seminar room prepared temporarily.
The dozen or so experts who flew in focused all their energy on āKarstā itself, while those precious technical documents were set aside for the time being.
The seminar room was on the first floor. Lin Ju originally wanted to give them some private time to communicate, but Zhong Cheng still had them stay.
"We have no secrets here."
Zhong Chengās statement was multi-layered, but nearly everyone present could fully grasp it.
"Professor Zhang, did you gain anything?"
Although he had basically witnessed all of Zhang Shoucheng and the othersā actions, Zhong Cheng still held a sliver of hope.
However, Zhang Shoucheng simply shook his head regretfully:
"New Yuan, āBlack Stoneā hasnāt discovered much over the years either. We have no means at our disposal, unless we use brute force to open it, but I believe that possibility is very slim and could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Nevertheless, it seems that āKarstā does not have a purpose that presents an immediate threat. First, empirical observation can be used as corroborative evidence, and second, it has not demonstrated the ability for superluminal communication.
Truthfully, this is good news. Einsteinās theory of relativity is still valid, and information cannot be transmitted faster than light, so we still have time.
As for the gravitational wave signal emitted from Mars, it should be treated seriously. Itās more akin to a broadcast sent to the entire universe; any other extraterrestrial civilization that deciphers it could trigger unpredictable consequences."
Zhang Shoucheng didnāt know about New Yuanās alternative communication technology based on superstring theory, a technology that wasnāt listed in the provided technical documentation.
Otherwise his last sentence would need revising. Superstring theory, developing from string theory, has always had numerous conflicts with Einsteinās theory of relativity. If New Yuan has confirmed the correctness of superstring theory, it would mean that Einsteinās general theory of relativity has flaws that need to be patched.
Moreover, superstring theory was proposed to unify the fundamental particles of the natural world with the four fundamental forces. If Zhang Shoucheng knew this, he certainly would try to use it as a foundation to achieve the grand unification of physics.
"So, youāre saying āKarstā doesnāt pose a threat for the time being?"
Zhong Cheng caught the drift after a while, more or less sensing Zhang Shouchengās point.
"More or less. Iām not saying thereās any absolute evidence, just that if it intended to destroy us, it could have done so in far simpler ways."