Chapter 367: Dark Matter Enigma

The entire big screen was covered with six images, each featuring a pulsating bright spot.

That bright spot fluctuated in size—when large, it filled the entire image; when small, it was merely a tiny dot.

When pieced together, the six images made Barnard’s Star seem colossal, occupying the entire pentagram area.

Keep in mind, this view is taken from roughly 4 light-years away—no telescope could capture an image this vast.

In other words, all six telescopes experienced gravitational lensing. This indicates that the entire region of the Tur Fleet is enveloped by a Dark Matter Lifeform.

With the Tur Fleet’s armada spread over a staggering 100 million kilometers, such an enormous lifeform is almost unfathomable.

“Boss, do you think this Dark Matter Lifeform is one gigantic entity or a swarm of countless smaller ones?” Chen Guangnan finally couldn’t hold back his question.

Director Best immediately replied, “Isn’t it obvious? It has to be one huge entity—do you really think a tiny thing could cause the gravitational lensing we observed?”

Gravitational lensing is usually used in astronomical observations, especially for stars, where a star can appear different in size from various angles.

After thorough calculations, the gravitational lensing effect was confirmed.

When observing a star or quasar, the presence of a massive object along the line of sight bends the light it emits.

It’s like peering at Barnard’s Star through a magnifying glass.

The core of this phenomenon is a massive gravitational object along our viewing path. Even though the Tur Fleet boasts 7,680 warships, none could produce a gravity strong enough to bend light.

It’s now clear that there exists an enormous, invisible entity with immense gravitational pull.

Based on our current understanding of cosmic materials, an unseen, life-infused substance is most likely a Dark Matter Lifeform.

Chen Guangnan shot Director Best a glare before asking, “Boss, even though we’ve confirmed the presence of a massive gravitational body, how can we be sure it’s composed of dark matter? If we can’t pinpoint that, we won’t be able to develop targeted weapons against it. If our weapons prove ineffective, we’ll have no chance.”

Du Qiu nodded slightly and added, “Exactly. We only have one shot at activating the Civilization Bastion. Once triggered, we must be certain to eliminate it—otherwise, who knows if we can escape its assault. With the potential to annihilate the Tur Fleet in a single moment, we might not stand a chance!”

Director Best suddenly interjected, “Boss, Professor Weitman has recently been researching dark matter and dark energy. A progress report mentioned that by labeling gravitons, it might be possible to make dark matter visible.”

Everyone knows dark matter lacks strong force and electromagnetic interactions—it only exerts gravitational pull. In the Grand Unified Theory, all four fundamental forces have established conversion formulas.

Because dark matter exists like a quark cloud, photons pass through it without reflection, making it invisible to us.

Moreover, without electromagnetism, there’s no radiation.

Yet, through gravitational lensing, we can detect the presence of dark matter.

However, such detection only qualitatively indicates that dark matter exists in a certain area without providing precise measurements.

But in the Grand Unified Theory, gravity isn’t just a force—it’s also carried by particles called gravitons.

Professor Weitman discovered gravitons while researching faster-than-light travel, using force field generators to bend space into curvature bubbles.

This breakthrough also aligned with the experiments conducted at the Physics Research Institute on various particles, ultimately cementing the foundation of Dream Technology’s Grand Unified Theory.

Within the Dream Technology research system, Professor Weitman has earned the title ‘Father of Gravity’ for his groundbreaking work on gravitons.

Du Qiu admits he hasn’t immediately reviewed Professor Weitman’s latest report, as he’s been absorbed in his own research; he hasn’t read every progress update from the multitude of project teams.

After all, research in each field is a long-term endeavor, and if a report lacks conclusive findings, Star Ocean usually doesn’t prompt Du Qiu’s attention.

With countless projects under way in the research system, Du Qiu simply doesn’t have time to read every progress report.

“Did you say Professor Weitman has developed a method to label gravitons?”

Du Qiu couldn’t hide his excitement. He understood the tremendous benefits such a labeling method would bring—not only to dark matter research but also as a breakthrough for spatial technology.

His repeated simulations in Dreamland, constructing Level Six Pinnacle Civilization warships, had only deepened his fascination with spatial technology.

He came to believe that spatial technology was the pinnacle of universal science—a mastery of it would enable one to dominate the cosmos.

Yet space itself is elusive—more felt than described.

You might call a container a space or view a starry sky as space, but in essence, neither truly captures it.

They’re merely external manifestations. The real question is: what is space, and how can we harness and control it?

But one thing is certain—space contains energy and possesses its own kind of gravitational force.

If Professor Weitman can truly label gravitons, perhaps space itself can be visualized.

Director Best hesitated before continuing, “My progress report only indicated that he might have found a labeling method—it’s probably still under verification.”

Du Qiu calmed himself slightly and said, “Hmm, if it proves viable, our capabilities in several areas will see significant improvement.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the massive dark matter distribution diagram on the big screen—generated by six telescopes—and pointed, “We’ll finally be able to truly ‘see’ it!”

Chen Guangnan remarked, “Indeed, being able to label it means we could unlock new breakthroughs across many research fields.”

Over the past decade, the Dream Technology research system has been ablaze with unprecedented enthusiasm—a genuine explosion of knowledge with breakthrough after breakthrough.

It’s safe to say that the developments of the last decade rival those of several past centuries.

After all, human civilization had only advanced from Level 0.2 to 0.9; thanks to Du Qiu’s lone efforts during Dream Technology’s developmental phase, the tech level leaped from 1 to 2.

This knowledge explosion then accelerated civilization’s tech level from 2 to 4—a span that is truly astonishing.

Although the Dream Technology Fleet has never left the Solar System, no one doubts its ability to venture into other star systems.

None of this would be possible without the emergence of top-tier scientific talent, such as Professor Weitman—the ‘Father of Gravity’; Dr. Xi Chenglong, known as the ‘Father of Bosons’; Nie Ying, the ‘Mother of Genes’; and Zhao Jianwei, the ‘Father of Quantum Mechanics,’ among others.

It is thanks to the contributions of brilliant minds across various disciplines that the Dream Technology scientific team has achieved such remarkable success.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the foundation laid by Du Qiu and his visionary leadership.

Just as the team began to envision new progress, Star Ocean’s voice suddenly resonated throughout the command hall.

“Sir, according to the latest solar observation data, the Sun’s lifespan has dropped from 5 billion years to only 1 billion years! Moreover, its decline is accelerating dramatically!”

“What?! The Sun has only 1 billion years left? And it’s decreasing even further?”

Chen Guangnan was the first to exclaim in shock. Glancing at Director Best, he immediately saw an expression of disbelief on his face.

Du Qiu’s mind buzzed as if struck by lightning. He struggled to steady his racing thoughts.

He asked, “Are you sure the calculations are accurate? Has the Sun really lost its lifespan?”