Chapter 312: Fault Lines of Fate

Watching the holographic map, Han Guoqiang pointed out the second fault line—a winding L-shape stretching a total of 7,580 kilometers.

“So you’re saying the fault lines can bend, and they’re not perfectly straight?”

Han Guoqiang nodded and explained, “Yes, we’ve simulated the first fault line too. It isn’t a straight line either. It starts at the California Bay, cuts through several Central American countries, then veers within Colombian territory toward the southwest, essentially following the edge of the Pacific Plate.”

With his explanation, the second fault line was marked on the map, measuring about 5,400 kilometers.

Combined, the two fault lines extend over 10,000 kilometers. According to Rukovsky’s theory, that’s sufficient to trigger a major ice age.

“Has Nebula finished modeling when the ice age will officially begin?”

A strange expression crossed Han Guoqiang’s face, as if he was reluctant to offer what he considered an absurd answer.

Du Qiu pressed, “What’s the matter?”

Taking a deep breath, Han Guoqiang replied, “Nebula projects it in five years.”

“Five years? That’s shockingly soon!”

Han Guoqiang continued, “Yes, normally our simulations indicate at least 15 to 30 years.”

“Did Nebula explain why?”

Du Qiu knew Nebula well. It’s an evolved copy of Star Ocean, emphasizing scientific theories, experimental data, and logical deduction.

With its immense computational power, Nebula’s prediction for the ice age should be highly accurate, yet it diverges wildly from our current understanding—something’s clearly off.

Nebula would list all these discrepancies for scientists to review; that’s its true purpose.

When researchers conduct studies, Nebula runs multiple scenarios based on provided parameters, letting scientists decide which possibilities to discard, thus saving time.

Han Guoqiang offered a wry smile and said, “It derived these results using the space-time distortion theory currently being researched by astrophysicist Dr. Su Liquang at the Astronomy Institute.”

Because the Pleiades aliens assert that the Solar System is immersed in a twisted space-time, this factor must be included in the calculations.

Dr. Su Liquang, analyzing developments since 2008, calculated a time distortion constant. Nebula’s five-year figure is simply our normal estimate divided by this constant.

Du Qiu was well aware that ever since the Pleiades aliens’ claim about the Solar System’s twisted space-time reached the Astronomy Institute, significant resources had been dedicated to its study.

Radio telescopes have been installed at various points across the Solar System to observe major galaxies and seek evidence supporting this theory.

Some researchers even pursued theoretical deductions directly, including Dr. Su Liquang himself.

“So Nebula has accepted Dr. Su Liquang’s time distortion constant? Otherwise, it wouldn’t have used it,” Du Qiu observed.

Han Guoqiang replied, “Exactly. The constant is 3.2, meaning that since 2008 the entire Solar System has effectively been accelerated by 3.2 times—we just haven’t felt it.”

Du Qiu was surprised, “3.2 times? That speed seems incredibly high. I don’t recall events happening so far in advance before.”

Han Guoqiang explained, “Because we’re within it, we can’t feel the acceleration. But in hindsight, we’ll all feel that time flew by.”

“To truly measure this value, we’d need to launch a probe out of the Solar System—to escape this twisted space-time. Only then could we accurately pin down the acceleration constant.”

Du Qiu chuckled, “Dean Reis at the Astronomy Institute has been pushing for that probe’s completion. It’s already been launched from the Solar System.”

“But we don’t know when it will finally break free from this twisted realm, since we have no idea how vast it is,” Han Guoqiang added.

Dean Reis is the Nobel laureate Du Qiu recruited, awarded for measuring the universe’s accelerating expansion.

Du Qiu had attracted him to Dream Technology by highlighting that the Solar System is in a twisted space-time and by pledging full support for his research.

With such a heavyweight on board, the Astronomy Institute’s research is booming; new probes are constantly being deployed as Dream Technology expands its Solar System projects.

Large telescopes have also been constructed and positioned in various locations, pushing the boundaries of cosmic exploration.

Previously, human telescopes were only set up on Earth or at Lagrange points, with no chance to station them on other planets.

Now, Dream Technology has even installed a telescope as far out as the Kuiper Belt, and the daily data and images it sends back keeps the Astronomy Institute busy.

Han Guoqiang asked, “So, do you believe Nebula’s prediction is accurate?”

Du Qiu answered, “Right or wrong, it’s a useful reference. For us, five years is our worst-case scenario.”

He continued, “In the best-case scenario, it’d be more than 15 years until the ice age. Besides, a major ice age doesn’t hit suddenly—it progresses gradually over five years, giving us time to prepare for relocating humanity.”

“Boss, are you planning to save all of humanity?”

Du Qiu laughed heartily and added, “I’m not that heroic—and Dream Technology doesn’t have the resources to rescue everyone.”

“Five years may seem long, but building Mars Living Bases or space cities to house everyone is simply unrealistic.”

“After all, Earth has a population of over 7 billion. If one Mars Living Base is meant for 500,000 people, you’d need 14,000 bases.”

“Each base takes at least three months to build, meaning we’d have to construct 700 bases every construction cycle.”

“Do you really think this is a feasible task?”

Han Guoqiang nodded, “Understood. I just got carried away thinking that our advanced technology might be capable of saving everyone—I was being greedy.”

He added, “In truth, it’s precisely our technological edge that gives humanity a lifeline, ensuring that at least some of us can continue our civilization.”

Du Qiu felt reassured that old Han wasn’t overcomplicating things; the company wasn’t about taking on the impossible.

He admitted frankly, without Dream Technology, humanity might indeed face extinction once the ice age arrives.

At the very least, many people would survive. As a businessman, Du Qiu believes that only those who are valuable should make it through.

In the end, only those fated will survive—history has always played out that way. Du Qiu leaves the rest to fate.

Once Dream Technology’s website released the news about the second fault line, world leaders were immediately alarmed.

They hadn’t expected that right after the discovery of the first fault line, Dream Technology had already computed the second one.

According to the theory announced at the Earth Union summit, fault lines extending over 10,000 kilometers will inevitably trigger a global ice age.

Before long, ambassadors stationed at the Tanga Federation began making urgent visits, desperate for further updates.