Chapter 80 - 80: The Sky Screen’s Impact on the Future!_i
” What’s that?!”
Everyone outdoors was captivated by the spectacle in the sky.
A layer of transparent light blanketed the entire heavens.
People gazed upward, puzzled about what was happening on the Earth.
Many reached for their phones to capture the moment.
“Is this Aurora?”
Most were merely intrigued, forming huddles and pointing at the celestial light show.
A few, more impatient, rushed home at the sight, switched on their computers, and sought to share this view with their loved ones.
To their surprise, the internet was abuzz with similar conversations.
“Do you have this light screen too?”
“We have the coordinates here. Sun City…”
“We’ve got one too. I’m in the southern city…”
Many thought this occurrence was limited to their location. Who knew it was a worldwide phenomenon?
“It appears like a sphere that’s entirely wrapped around the Earth…”
“Damn, could it be aliens?!”
“Spherical, surrounding the blue planet. It reminds me of the Dyson Sphere…”
“Are aliens trying to drain all the energy from our planet?!”
“Before this screen appeared, I saw robots in space. Do you think it’s related to Blue Moon Technology?!”
“This is a superweapon named ‘Luminous Star’. It operates on the principle of a magnifying glass reflecting sunlight. It’s aiming to blow up our planet!”
“It’s over. The end of the world is near. I can already feel the heat. The global temperature will rise by one degree per day. In less than a month, we humans will be completely wiped out…”
Online, there were diverse opinions. Some took it lightly, while others were genuinely scared.
Just as people were speculating wildly, believing every theory to be plausible, an official statement was finally released.
“The sky covering the Earth is a defense system installed by Blue Moon Technology Company to counter the asteroid threat…”
“The Protective Shield System can intercept all universal threats. Please, do not panic…”
Seeing this announcement, the internet went into a frenzy.
” Blue Moon Technology again?!”
“Where did this company spring from?!”
“Robotics, magnetic levitation, projection touch – the technology embodied in these products is decades, even centuries ahead of our time. Now, they have introduced a global protection system?!”
“Blue Moon Technology is incredible. I bet they are the ones who intercepted the asteroid that was set to hit the blue planet the last time…”
“It is highly likely. How can an asteroid traveling at Mach fifty suddenly decelerate and halt just before hitting the Earth…”
“Right, there was a Mach twenty asteroid in the Bier region before. But it wasn’t drawn in by the Earth’s gravity and crashed normally, even causing a five hundred-meter diameter crater…”
The announcement did not ease the public; it added to their worries instead.
“I’m only anxious about one thing now. Is this Blue Moon Technology Company from our Earth
” What do you mean?!!”
“The technology that Blue Moon Technology has introduced is excessively advanced and spans across many fields. It doesn’t seem like something that our Earthlings could create…”
“It’s more like an alien…”
“Oh my…, Blue Moon Technology Company is owned by aliens?!”
“It is possible. Maybe we are already captives of aliens…”
At Xia Du’s Base.
Tens of thousands of specialists from various fields had gathered, initiating comprehensive research on the Sky Protective Shield.
“What effect will this canopy have on the Earth? Will it aggravate the greenhouse effect?”
Councilman Zhou was personally directing the entire operation.
” Testing the refraction index…”
Outside the base, a team armed with an array of equipment was conducting experiments.
“Teacher, it does not seem right…” One of the staff members expressed his alarm as he checked his instrument.
A grey-haired, elderly man was taken aback by the remark. He grabbed the prism from the student’s hand and ran his own tests using a heap of precision instruments.
When he conducted the test himself, a look of shock surfaced on his face.
Councilman Zhou quickly approached, inquiring about the situation.
The grey-haired man explained, “We just used the diagonal method to test the Sky Protective Shield’s Refraction Index. The result is…”
“What’s the result?!!”
“No refraction index!”
“The light curtain seems to be able to absorb light. Or could it be obstructing our testing methods in some unknown way?!”
This was the first time he had encountered such a scenario. The old man’s eyes flashed with confusion, but he quickly regained his composure and directed his gaze towards the students.
“Test it with the auto-alignment method…”
“Understood!”
The student managed to hide his fear and quickly switched testing methods.
A few other students stood by, clutching pen and paper, ready to jot down the parameters and commence calculations at any moment.
“Teacher, it’s still not…”
” What?!”
The grey-haired man was shocked again. This time, he didn’t personally intervene. After a moment’s thought, he instructed, “Use the critical angle method to calculate again!”
This method required two mirrors to be in contact and was not as accurate as the previous two methods.
But at this moment, the grey-haired man was eager to confirm a certain point.
The test concluded. Seeing the students shaking their heads, the elderly man took a deep breath and addressed Councilman Zhou. “Although the critical angle method isn’t as precise, any prism should definitely be able to show the boundary between light and shadow. But we see no such thing now…” “What does that mean?” Councilman Zhou couldn’t quite grasp it.
“It implies that this protective shield has absorbed or blocked all light signals within our planet…”
Councilman Zhou was stunned. Still puzzled, he asked, “Does it have any impact on our Earth?”
“Will the world heat up?”
“The world would not heat up. It might even cool down…”
“That’s a relief… no global warming then.”
Councilman Zhou sighed with relief.
“It’s not good news!”
“From now on, our Earth will no longer be able to observe the real universe,” the old man said, his face grave.
“What?!”
Councilman Zhou was taken aback. Were not the aliens supposed to ensure the Protective Shield would only prevent other civilizations from spying on the Earth?
How could it end up blocking even the Earth’s view of the universe?!
“Councilman Zhou, are you sure we have not let the wolf into the house?” The old man said shaking his head in despair.
“If we can not observe the universe, it is akin to imprisoning the Earth. Our scientific and technological progress will be halted…”
“The consequences are severe. It may not affect much in the short term…”
“But in the long run…”
“Blocking the Earth is equivalent to depriving it of another Copernicus, the one who proposed the ‘heliocentric theory’…”
“Earth’s understanding of the universe will completely halt at this ‘geocentric’ point. There will be no further progress…”
“What?” Councilman Zhou was startled. He quickly queried, “You are saying, our technological advancement will cease?”
“Our technology can probably evolve for a few more decades…”
The grey-haired old man sighed.” But what’s critical isn’t just technology, it’s science…”
“Science is a process of continuously forming hypotheses, using various methods to validate them, creating laws, and then constantly overturning them…”
“From today, we can formulate hypotheses and laws, but we will no longer have a way to confirm whether these laws are true or not…”
“It is like Newton’s law of universal gravitation. It was considered the absolute truth for a hundred years and could validate the laws within the solar system.” “However, with the advent of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, we found flaws in the law of universal gravitation. Firstly, it could not solve the problem of instantaneous gravity. Secondly, it could not solve the problem of the length contraction of objects. Thirdly, it misunderstood the effects of distant gravity.” “With the Sky Protective Shield in place, there would not be another Einstein in the realm of science. Even if one emerges, he will only end up on a misguided path…”
“Humanity’s understanding of the universe will cease at this very moment, today!”