Gene Unlocking: I Evolve Every Day

Chapter 434: Chapter 376: Enslaving All Humanity?

Messages regarding ”gamma-ray bursts visiting the solar system” were transmitted to countries around the world.

Although the leaders of countries worldwide were skeptical upon hearing the news, when they learned that the information originated from the ancestral beings akin to God, they took it seriously at once.

Ugly Country.

George pondered for a moment after listening to the phone call from across the ocean.

To be honest, he did not believe that the ancestral beings from Huaxia had the ability to ”predict the future,” nor did he believe that gamma-ray bursts would truly reach the solar system.

However, with the mindset of ”better safe than sorry,” he picked up the landline on his desk and dialed an internal number, ”Ron, gather the experts on ’gamma-ray’ research and the top astrophysicists and bring them to my office.”

A middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end of the phone, ”Yes.”

After the call, George tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, making a ”thump, thump” sound.

He muttered to himself, ”I believe there is a strong possibility that the ancestral beings are exaggerating, but I cannot be certain yet. I’ll need to hear what the experts on ’gamma-ray’ research and astrophysicists have to say.”

He waited quietly for half an hour.

Knock.

Knock knock.

The door to the office was knocked on.

George called out ”Come in” to whoever was outside.

Immediately, a middle-aged white man, accompanied by seven or eight experts, entered the room.

The middle-aged man was Ron.

He approached George’s desk and said softly, ”Sir, I’ve brought the experts. You can ask them anything you need.”

”Okay.”

George acknowledged with a nod, looking toward the two experts in their fifties leading the group.

The one on the left was a slender, bespectacled elderly white man with completely white hair, named John Mather, currently one of the most authoritative astrophysicists in the Ugly Country on gamma-ray research.

He and another giant in astrophysics, George Smute, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for discovering the black body form and anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation.

The chubby, bespectacled elderly white man with black hair and white beard on the right was George Smute.

It could be said that these two hold a premier status in astrophysics, both in the Ugly Country and globally.

George naturally recognized these two, thus having great confidence in their expertise.

He slowly asked, ”In your recent study of celestial bodies, have you discovered any supernova explosions or gamma-ray burst events?”

John Mather replied steadily, ”Sir, the latest gamma-ray burst phenomenon discovered by humans was on October 9, 2022, accomplished by Huaxia’s High-Altitude Cosmic Ray Observatory ’Rappel’, which for the first time completely recorded the process of the brightest trillion-electron-volt gamma-ray burst so far. As for supernova explosions, the latest one observed by humanity was discovered by Huaxia last month, captured by the Nanyun Observatory. The ’shock-breakout signal’ observed in this supernova explosion provides a new key clue to the mystery of the late-stage evolution and death of stars, with this achievement published recently in the international journal ’Astrophysical Journal Letters’, and nothing has been observed beyond this.”

George pondered, then asked again, ”How far is the supernova that exploded from Earth?”

George Smute took over the conversation, ”It is a member of a Star System Group located twenty million light-years away from Earth, and it is speculated that the time of that supernova explosion should have been twenty million years ago.”

George furrowed his brow and asked, ”Truly, no other gamma-ray bursts or supernova burst phenomena have been observed?”

”None.”

”Whether it’s gamma-ray bursts or supernova explosions, they are quite difficult to observe and very rarely occur.”

”Sir, is there something that prompted you to ask this?”

A group of astrophysicists asked inquisitively.

George did not explain directly but asked again to confirm, ”Currently, the closest star to the solar system that you’ve observed is Proxima Centauri, right?”

John Mather nodded, ”Yes.”

George said, ”4.25 light-years from the solar system?”

John Mather nodded again, ”Correct.”

George blinked and asked, ”Do you think it’s possible that Proxima Centauri could have erupted in a violent gamma-ray burst like a supernova explosion four years ago?”

John Mather carefully explained, ”Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf, with a mass only about one-eighth that of the Sun and a diameter roughly one-seventh of the Sun’s. As such a ’weak’ star, even if it reached the end of its life, it would not undergo a supernova explosion and could not emit the strongest cosmic gamma-ray bursts. Moreover, based on effective projections, its lifespan could be up to twelve trillion years, and it has only existed for a little over four billion years. Without any external forces, it is impossible for it to be destroyed.”

George finally raised one more question, ”According to what you’ve said, is it safe to say that there is no possibility of a gamma-ray burst visiting the solar system in the near term?”

”A gamma-ray burst visiting the solar system?” George Smute chuckled unexpectedly, ”That seems impossible. Gamma-ray bursts are divided into short bursts and long bursts. Short bursts last no more than two seconds, and their energy decays rapidly. In simple terms, even if one were born, the rapid energy decay means it wouldn’t cause destruction at great distances, possibly not affecting anything beyond a light-day. Long bursts, however, are different, as they carry vast amounts of energy that can travel across tens of light-years. Generally speaking, as long as the distance exceeds fifty light-years, the energy decay of a long burst would mean it couldn’t significantly affect a planet. Within fifty light-years, we’re not too sure, as we’ve never observed a gamma-ray burst from such a close distance.”

John Mather continued, ”There are about 133 stars within fifty light-years of the solar system, but these are the ones we can observe. Some are quite dim, and despite our advanced technology, we still cannot observe them. Regardless of whether it’s 133 stars or more, we have currently not observed any supernova explosion phenomena, making the possibility of a gamma-ray burst visiting the solar system very small.”

George astutely noted some nuances in these words, ”Are you saying that the possibility of a gamma-ray burst visiting the solar system is very small, rather than absolutely impossible?”

John Mather adjusted his glasses, ”What we can observe in terms of supernova explosions or gamma-ray bursts is due to the light or radiation they emit, which can be detected or captured by instruments. In reality, if there were a supernova explosion emitting an intensely violent gamma-ray burst aimed at the solar system, the speed of the gamma-ray burst, which is almost at the speed of light, would mean that by the time we observed it, the burst would have almost reached us. Therefore, I can only say that the possibility of a gamma-ray burst visiting the solar system is very small, but not nonexistent.”

Initially very skeptical of the ancestral beings’ words, George fell silent when John Mather mentioned it was a possibility.

Although he still considered this possibility very small, John Mather’s statement confirmed that it could indeed happen.

That is to say, we cannot completely dismiss the possibility of a gamma-ray burst hitting the solar system.

George thought carefully for a moment and decided to be honest with everyone, ”I just received a message from Ancestral Man, he said that thirty-three days later, a gamma-ray burst will visit the solar system and strike Earth, destroying the atmosphere and causing surface creatures to go extinct in a short time. If such a situation were to truly occur, how could we effectively resist it?”

”Ah?”

”Did Ancestral Man say that a gamma-ray burst would visit the solar system?”

”Sir, forgive my frankness, if a gamma-ray burst really arrives, with our current level of technology, there’s no possible way to resist it.”

”The only thing we can do is to build a defense base made of ’lead’, and store enough food, water, and oxygen inside, and then eke out an existence, waiting for the resources to run out and death to come.”

One after another, the astrophysicists answered this question.

So there’s really no way?

George’s frown deepened, and internally he felt very conflicted.

John Mather noticed and softly comforted him, ”Sir, although Ancestral Man possesses immense power, even with the latest observations of his situation, we speculate he may have the ability to destroy the Earth’s surface, but his flight speed is only 0.06 times the speed of light. Observing a gamma-ray burst and then coming back to inform us is something impossible to achieve, so you don’t have to worry at all. I think he’s just spreading rumors.”

George could only hope for this, ”That’s what I think too. All right, you may leave now, and remember not to leak a single word of what I told you today.”

”Understood.”

”Sir, rest assured.”

”We’ll leave now.”

The group of astrophysicists turned and left the office.

George thought that what John Mather said made sense.

Unless Ancestral Man truly possessed the ability to ”predict the future”.

Otherwise, with a flight speed of nearly 0.06 times the speed of light, observing a gamma-ray burst and then coming back to relay the message is impossible.

Predict the future?

That’s even more unrealistic than a gamma-ray burst.

A gamma-ray burst is still something that can be analyzed on a physical level.

Predicting the future would truly involve theology.

George knew that Ancestral Man had power comparable to that of a god.

But he had never shown any ”miracles” beyond the physical level.

Even the most impressive ”annihilation” he knew of at present is actually still on the physical level.

Therefore, how could he possibly believe in ”theology” on this matter?

Thinking of this, George became even more puzzled, ”So why did he deliberately spread this information, which could potentially cause global panic?”

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he thought of a terrifying possibility, ”Could it be that Ancestral Man wants to rule the entire Earth, so he deliberately spreads panic-inducing remarks, making countries around the world panic, hoping he could become a savior, and take the opportunity to enslave all humanity?”

At this thought, George broke out in a cold sweat.

If that’s truly the case, it’s even more terrifying than a gamma-ray burst hitting the solar system.

After all, if a gamma-ray burst comes, at most everyone perishes together.

But if Ancestral Man enslaves all humanity, whether it’s this generation or countless future generations, they would all become slaves, working for Ancestral Man alone!

If it were someone else who might do such an insidious thing, George definitely wouldn’t take it seriously.

Do you think nuclear bombs are just for show?

At worst, sacrifice a large area.

Eliminate the person with such thoughts.

But unfortunately, the potential enslaver of all humanity is Ancestral Man.

A Divine Being that can ignore nuclear explosions.

Earth’s current technological civilization can’t resist at all!

”No, I can’t just sit back and watch such a terrible thing happen!”

George’s face turned pale with fright, ”I must quickly contact the high-level officials of other countries around the world to discuss with them. If Ancestral Man wants to enslave all humanity, how should we respond? Otherwise, humanity might never have a day of hope!”

He was really frightened!

George was almost scared shitless by his own speculation!

There was no helping it, Ancestral Man was too terrifying, it was hard not to be frightened!