Three Body 1: Earth's Past

Chapter 13 Three Body Mozi Flame
When Wang Miao returned home, he did not forget to buy a set of V suits in the game store.His wife told him that people from his work unit were looking for him all day.Wang Miao turned on her mobile phone, which had been turned off for a day, and returned several calls from the Nano Center, promising to go to work tomorrow.During the meal, he really drank a lot of wine as Da Shi said, but he didn't feel sleepy.After his wife and children fell asleep, he sat in front of the computer, put on the newly bought V-suit, and logged into "Three-Body Problem" again.

In the wilderness at dawn, Wang Miao stood in front of King Zhou's pyramid. The snow covering it had long since disappeared, and the surface of the large stones that built the pyramid had been weathered into potholes, and the earth had taken on another color.There were several huge buildings in the distance. Wang Miao guessed that they were all dry warehouses, but their shape was completely different from what he saw last time. Everything showed that long years had passed.

Taking advantage of the morning light in the sky, Wang Miao looked for the entrance of the pyramid. At that location, he saw that the entrance had been sealed by stones, but at the same time, he saw a long stone step built next to it, leading directly to the top of the pyramid.He looked up at the top of the tall tower, and saw that the original top of the tower that pointed straight to the sky had been flattened to become a platform, and the pyramid had also changed from an Egyptian style to an Aztec style.

Along the stone steps, Wang Miao climbed to the top of the pyramid and saw a place similar to the ancient observatory.There is an astronomical telescope several meters high in one corner of the platform, and there are several smaller ones beside it.On the other side are several strangely shaped instruments, much like the armillary sphere in ancient China.The most eye-catching thing is a large copper ball in the center of the platform, about two meters in diameter, placed on a complex machine, supported by many gears of different sizes, and slowly rotating.Wang Miao noticed that its rotation direction and speed were constantly changing.There is a square pit under the machine. In the dim light of the fire inside, Wang Miao saw several slave-like people pushing a turntable to provide power for the machine above.

There was a person walking towards Wang Miao. Just like the last time he met King Wen of Zhou for the first time, this person turned his back to the dawn of the horizon and could only see a pair of shining eyes in the darkness.He was tall and thin, dressed in a flowing black robe, his long hair was casually tied in a knot on top of his head, the rest blowing in the wind.

"Hi, I'm Mozi." He introduced himself.

"I'm a seaman, hello."

"Ah, I know you!" Mozi said excitedly, "In Civilization No. 137, you followed King Wen of Zhou."

"I've been here with him, but never believed his theory."

"You're right." Mozi nodded solemnly to Wang Miao, and then leaned closer to him and said, "You know, in the 36 years you left, civilization restarted four times, in the chaos era and the constant era. Growing up with difficulty in irregular alternation, the shortest time was only halfway through the Stone Age, but Civilization 2000 set a record and reached the Steam Age!"

"So, someone in that civilization discovered the law of the sun's movement?"

Mozi laughed and shook his head: "No, it's just a fluke."

"But people keep trying, right?"

"Of course, come on, let me show you the efforts of civilization last time." Mozi led Wang Miao to a corner of the observatory. The earth stretched out below them like a piece of old leather. The small telescope was aimed at a target on the ground below, and then let Wang Miao look at it.Wang Miao moved his eyes to the eyepiece and saw a strange thing, it was a skeleton, it was snow white in the morning light, and it looked very delicate in structure.The most amazing thing is that the skeleton is standing, the posture is very elegant and noble, one hand is raised under the chin, it seems to be stroking the beard that no longer exists, its head is slightly tilted, as if it is asking the heaven and the earth.

"That's Confucius." Mozi pointed in that direction and said, "He believed that everything should be in accordance with rituals, and everything in the universe is no exception. So he created a system of rituals and laws in the universe, and tried to predict the movement of the sun based on this."

"The result can be imagined."

"Yes, he calculated the time when the sun should follow the rites, and predicted a five-year-long era. Don't tell me, that time really lasted for a month."

"Then, one day the sun never came out again?"

"No, the sun came out that day, rose to the sky, but suddenly went out."

"What? Turn off?!"

"Yes, at first it slowly dimmed and dimmed, and then suddenly went out! As night fell, it was so cold that Confucius just stood there and froze into an icicle, and has been standing there until now."

"Is there nothing left? I mean the extinguished sun?"

"In that position, a flying star appeared, like the soul of the sun after death."

"Oh, are you sure the sun went out suddenly and the flying stars appeared suddenly?"

"Yes, it suddenly went out, and the flying star appeared. You can check the log database, the records are correct."

"Oh——" Wang Miao pondered for a long time. Originally, he already had a vague theory in his mind about the mystery of the Three-Body World, but what Mozi said overturned all his thoughts, "How could it be? ...Suddenly?" He said angrily.

"It's the Han Dynasty now, I don't know whether it's the Western Han or the Eastern Han."

"You have lived until now?"

"I have a mission to accurately observe the movement of the sun. Those wizards, metaphysicians, and Taoists are all useless things. They don't work hard, don't distinguish grains, and have extremely poor hands-on ability. They just immerse themselves in their own fantasy. But I am different, I can make practical things!" He said, pointing to the many instruments on the platform.

"Can you achieve your goal with these?" Wang Miao pointed to the equipment, especially the mysterious big copper ball.

"I also have a theory, but it's not metaphysics, it's summed up through a lot of observations. First of all, do you know what the universe is? It's a machine."

"It's like saying nothing."

"To be more specific, the universe is a large hollow ball suspended in a sea of ​​fire. There are many small holes and a large hole in the ball. The light of the sea of ​​fire shines through these holes. The small holes are stars, and the big hole is the sun."

"It's a very interesting model," said Wang Miao, looking at the big brass ball, and now he can probably guess what it is, "but there is a big hole in it: when the sun rises and sets, we see that it is in harmony with the stars. relatively moving, while the relative positions of all the holes in the large spherical shell should be fixed."

"That's right, so I came up with a revised model. The sphere of the universe is made up of two spherical shells. The sky we see is the inner shell. There is a big hole in the outer shell, and there is a hole in the inner shell." A large number of small holes, the light penetrating through the big hole in the outer shell is reflected and scattered in the interlayer between the two spherical shells, filling the interlayer with bright light, and this light penetrates through the small hole, and we see the stars."

"What about the sun?"

"The sun is a huge spot of light projected by a big hole in the outer shell onto the inner shell. Its brightness is so high that it shines through the inner shell like an egg shell, and we can see the sun. The scattered light around the spot is relatively weak. Strong, also illuminated through the inner shell, this is the clear sky we see during the day."

"What force drives the two layers of spherical shells to rotate irregularly?"

"It's the power of the sea of ​​fire outside the universe."

"However, the size and brightness of the sun are different in different periods. In your double shell model, the size and brightness of the sun should be constant. If the sea of ​​fire outside is not uniform, at least the size should be constant."

"You think this model is too simple. As the outer sea of ​​fire changes, the size of the outer shell of the universe will also expand or contract, which leads to changes in the size and luminosity of the sun."

"What about the Flying Star?"

"Flying stars? Why do you always mention flying stars? They are unimportant things, dust flying around in the cosmic sphere."

"No, I think flying stars are important. Also, how does your model explain the extinction of the sun in the sky during Confucius' time?"

"That's a rare exception, and it could be a dark spot or cloud in the outer sea of ​​flames that just drifted through the big hole in the outer crust."

Wang Miao pointed to the big copper ball and asked, "This must be your model of the universe, right?"

"Yes, I have created a cosmic machine. The complex set of gears that rotate the ball simulates the action of the external sea of ​​fire on the ball. The law of this action, that is, the law of the distribution and flow of flames in the external sea of ​​​​fire, is I have summed it up after hundreds of years of observation."

"Can this ball expand and contract?"

"Of course, it's slowly shrinking right now."

Wang Miao took a closer look at the railing beside the platform as a fixed reference, and found that what Mozi said was true.

"Does this ball have an inner shell?"

"Of course, there is a complicated mechanism between the inner and outer shells."

"It's really an exquisite machine!" Wang Miao admired sincerely, "But you can't see the big hole in the inner shell that casts the light spot from the outer shell?"

"There is no hole. I installed a light source on the inner wall of the shell as a simulation of a big hole. The light source is made of fluorescent material extracted from hundreds of thousands of fireflies, and the light emitted is cold, because half of the inner shell The thermal conductivity of the transparent gypsum ball layer is not good, which can avoid the general heat light source from accumulating temperature in the ball, so that the recorder can stay in it for a long time."

"Is there anyone else in the ball?"

"Of course, the recorder stands on a rack with pulleys at the bottom, and the position remains at the center of the sphere. After setting the simulated universe to a certain state of the real universe, its subsequent operation will accurately simulate the future state of the universe, Of course, it can also simulate the running state of the sun. The recorder recorded it and formed an accurate perpetual calendar. This is something that hundreds of civilizations in the past have dreamed of. You came just in time. The simulated universe has just shown that a The four-year-long Era will begin, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has issued a soaking edict according to my prediction, let us wait for the sunrise."

Mozi called up the game interface, and adjusted the speed of time to go a little faster.A round of red sun rises above the horizon, and the dotted lakes on the land begin to thaw. The frozen ice of these lakes is covered with sand and dust, and they are integrated with the earth. Countless eyes opened.At this high place, the specific details of the soaking can not be clearly seen, only the number of people by the lake is gradually increasing, like an ant colony swarming out of a cave in spring.The world is alive again.

"Don't you go down and devote yourself to this wonderful life? The newly revived women are the most eager for love." Mozi pointed to the revived earth below and said to Wang Miao, "It's meaningless for you to stay here any longer, the game It's over, and I'm the last winner."

"Your simulated universe is wonderful as a machine, but the predictions it makes... oh, can I use that telescope of yours to observe the sky?"

"Of course, please." Mo Zi gestured to the large telescope.

Wang Miao walked to the telescope and immediately realized the problem: "What should I do if I want to observe the sun?"

Mozi took out a black disc from a wooden box, "add this smoky filter." As he spoke, he inserted it in front of the eyepiece of the telescope.

Wang Miao pointed the telescope at the sun, which had risen in the sky, and couldn't help admiring Mozi's imagination: the sun really looked like a hole leading to a boundless sea of ​​fire, a small part of a larger existence.But when he took a closer look, he found that this sun was somewhat different from the one in his real experience. It had a very small core. If the sun was regarded as an eye, the core was like a pupil.Although the solar core is small, it is bright and dense, and the outer layer that wraps it seems somewhat lacking in reality and erratic, much like a gaseous state.And the inner solar core can be seen through the thick outer layer, which also shows that the outer layer is in a transparent or translucent state, and the light it emits is more likely to be the scattering of the solar core light.

Wang Miao was shocked by the authenticity and delicacy of the sun image, and he confirmed again that the author of the game intentionally hid a large number of details deep in the simple image, waiting for players to discover.

Wang Miao straightened up, thinking about the hidden meaning of the structure of the sun, and immediately became excited.Due to the acceleration of the game time, the sun has moved to the western sky, Wang Miao adjusted the telescope to point it again, and tracked it until it fell to the horizon.As night falls, bonfires are lit on the ground and the stars in the night sky are getting denser.Wang Miao took off the black filter on the telescope and continued to observe the starry sky. He was most interested in flying stars and soon found two.He only had time to make a general observation of one of them, and the sky was bright again, so he installed a filter and continued to observe the sun... Wang Miao continued to conduct astronomical observations for more than ten days, enjoying the fun of discovery.In fact, the speed of time passing is beneficial to astronomical observation, because it makes the movement and changes of celestial bodies more obvious.

On the No.17 day after the beginning of the Heng Era, five hours had passed since sunrise, and the land was still shrouded in night.There are huge crowds of people under the pyramid, and countless torches are swaying in the cold wind.

"The sun may not come out, the same as the ending of Civilization 137." Wang Miao said to Mozi who was compiling the world's first perpetual calendar.

Mozi stroked his beard and smiled confidently at Wang Miao, "Don't worry, the sun is about to rise, and the Era will continue. I have mastered the operation principle of the cosmic machine, and my prediction will not be wrong."

As if to confirm what Mozi said, the dawn really appeared in the sky, and cheers erupted from the crowd beside the pyramid.

The silvery white light of dawn expanded and brightened with extraordinary speed, as if the sun was about to rise to make up for lost time.Soon, the dawn had filled half of the sky, and even before the sun rose, the earth was as bright as the day in the past.Wang Miao looked into the distance where the dawn appeared, and found that the horizon was emitting a dazzling glare, which curved upwards and arched, forming a perfect arc across the field of vision. He quickly saw that it was not the horizon, but the edge of the sun's disc, which was rising. What rose was a gigantic sun!After the eyes got used to the strong light, the horizon still appeared in place, and Wang Miao saw wisps of black things rising from the horizon, especially clear against the bright background of the sun, which was the smoke from burning in the distance.Below the pyramid, a fast horse galloped towards the sunrise, and the dust it raised drew a clear gray line on the ground, and the crowd made way for it. call:
"Dehydration! Dehydration!!"

Following the horse came a large herd of cattle, horses, and other animals, all carrying flames, weaving a moving blanket of fire across the land.

The huge sun has risen halfway from the horizon, occupying half of the sky, and the earth seems to be sinking slowly along a brilliant wall.Wang Miao could clearly see the details of the sun's surface. The sea of ​​flames was full of swells and eddies, sunspots floated along irregular routes like ghosts, and the corona stretched lazily like a long golden sleeve.

On the earth, dehydrated and undehydrated people alike burned like countless firewood thrown into the hearth, the flames of which were brighter than the burning coals in the hearth, but were soon extinguished.

The huge sun rose rapidly, and soon reached the positive sky, covering most of the sky.Wang Miao looked up, and felt a sudden and wonderful change: before that, he was looking up, but now he seemed to be looking down.The surface of the giant sun constituted the land of fire, and he felt himself falling into this splendid hell!

The lakes on the earth began to evaporate, and clusters of snow-white water vapor rose high in the shape of mushroom clouds, and then spread out, covering the human ashes by the lake.

"The epoch will continue, the universe is a machine, I made this machine; the epoch will continue, the universe is..."

Wang Miao turned his head and saw that the sound came from Mozi who was burning. His body was contained in a tall orange pillar of fire. His skin was wrinkling and charring, but his eyes were still emitting the energy that engulfed him. A completely different light from the flame.His hands, which have become burning coals, hold a mass of flying silk ash, which is the first perpetual calendar.Wang Miao himself was also burning. He raised his hands and saw two torches.

The gigantic sun quickly moved westward, giving way to the sky covered by it, and sank below the horizon. The process of sinking was very fast, and the earth seemed to rise along the wall of light again.The dazzling sunset was fleeting, and the night covered the world in ashes like a large black cloth pulled by a pair of giant hands.The land that had just been scorched glowed dark red in the night, like a piece of charcoal that had just been pulled out of the furnace.Wang Miao saw stars appearing in the night sky for a while, and soon, water vapor and smoke covered the sky and everything on the red-hot earth, and the world fell into a dark chaos.A line of red words appears:
Civilization No. 141 was destroyed in flames, and the civilization evolved to the level of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The seeds of civilization are still there, she will restart and start to evolve in the Trisolaran world again, welcome to log in again.

Wang Miao took off the V suit, and after the mental shock subsided, he had the feeling again: "Three-Body Problem" was deliberately disguised as false, but it had a huge depth of truth; and the real world in front of him was like a painting. "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", which seems complicated and complicated, is actually superficial.

The next day Wang Miao went to work at the nanotechnology center. Except for some small confusion caused by his absence yesterday, everything was as usual.He found that work was an effective anesthetic, and by throwing himself into it, he temporarily escaped the nightmarish obsession.He intentionally kept himself busy throughout the day, leaving the lab only after dark.

As soon as he walked out of the Nano Center building, Wang Miao was overtaken by the feeling of nightmare again. He felt that the night sky full of stars was like a magnifying glass covering everything, and he himself was a naked bug under the mirror, with nowhere to hide.He had to find something to do for himself, so he thought he should visit Yang Dong's mother again, so he drove to Ye Wenjie's house.

Mother Yang was alone at home. When Wang Miao entered, she was sitting on the sofa reading a book. Only then did he realize that her eyes were both presbyopic and short-sighted.Mother Yang was very happy to see Wang Miao, saying that his complexion looked much better than last time.

"It's all because of your ginseng." Wang Miao said with a smile.

Mother Yang shook her head, "The quality of that thing is not good. At that time, good wild ginseng could be picked around the base, and I picked one that was as long as this... I don't know how it is now, I heard that there are no more people there. Alas, I am old, and I am always thinking about the past recently."

"I heard that you suffered a lot during the 'Cultural Revolution'."

"Listen to what Xiaosha said?" Mother Yang waved her hand lightly, like brushing away a spider's thread in front of her face, "It's over, it's all over... Yesterday Xiaosha called, in a hurry, and I listened to whatever I said I don’t understand, I just heard that something happened to you. Xiao Wang, in fact, when you reach my age, you will find that those big events that you thought the sky was about to fall back then are actually nothing.”

"Thank you." Wang Miao said, feeling that rare warmth again.Now, the old man in front of him who has become calm and indifferent after vicissitudes of life, and the ignorant and fearless Dashi have become the two pillars of his crumbling spiritual world.

Yang's mother went on to say: "Speaking of the 'Cultural Revolution', I was very lucky. When I couldn't survive, I unexpectedly ended up in a place where I could survive."

"Did you mean Red Shore Base?"

Mother Yang nodded.

"It was an incredible thing, and I thought it was pure legend at first."

"It's not a legend. If you want to know, let me tell you about the things I have experienced."

What Mother Yang said made Wang Miao a little nervous. "Ms. Ye, I'm just curious, if it's inconvenient, forget it."

"Oh, it's nothing, just treat it as if I'm looking for someone to talk to. I really want to talk to someone these days."

"You can go to the old people's activity room or something, and you will never be lonely if you walk around more."

"Many of those retired old guys are my colleagues in the university, but I can't get along with them. Everyone likes to reminisce about the past, but they all hope that others will listen to themselves, and what they say to others is not Bored. You are the only one interested in Hong An's affairs."

"It's still a little inconvenient to say now, isn't it?"

"That's true. After all, it is still a secret. But after the book was published, many people who experienced it said that it is an open secret. The person who wrote the book is very irresponsible. On the other hand, many of the contents in the book are also very different from the facts, and it should be corrected.”

So, Yang's mother told Wang Miao about the unsettled past.

(End of this chapter)