Chapter 33: An Unusual Signal

Words : 1583 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

For millions of years, since the first early humans gazed at the stars, humanity’s exploration of the mysterious universe had never ceased. Now, Xiao Yu had taken the decisive step forward. Humanity had finally moved a full light-year from the Sun. Though, in this vast universe, Xiao Yu was the last human alive. Here, in the Oort Cloud, one light-year from the Sun—roughly 9.5 trillion kilometers away—the Sun appeared dimmer than Sirius did from Earth. The Sun had truly become just another ordinary star among countless others. In the distance, a dark asteroid roughly ten cubic meters in size flashed by, hurtling toward the Sun. Xiao Yu smiled bitterly. Observing it closely, he realized that the mass of his fleet had altered the asteroid’s trajectory. Calculations showed that thousands of years later, it would enter the inner solar system. After forming a spectacular comet tail, it would eventually evaporate completely under the Sun’s heat. The Oort Cloud held hundreds of billions of such asteroids scattered in the vast darkness, with a combined mass estimated to be ten times that of Earth. These were remnants of the Sun’s formation. Unlike Earth or Mars, which coalesced into planets, the Oort Cloud objects had been ejected during the gravitational battles of the early solar system billions of years ago, sent to this lonely frontier. Only a rare few ever found their way back toward the Sun. This region was so distant from the Sun that other stars could also influence these objects. In a few million years, a star known as Gliese 710 would pass close to the Oort Cloud. At that time, some Oort Cloud objects would be captured by it, while others would be flung into the inner solar system. Xiao Yu directed a “Village-Class” ship to maneuver skillfully toward a roughly 30-cubic-meter asteroid, capturing it within the ship’s hold. Such asteroids contained traces of the early solar system, invaluable for Xiao Yu’s research on stellar evolution. Beyond these isolated observations, the Oort Cloud was just as empty as other regions. Xiao Yu’s fleet pressed forward, maintaining its rapid pace. The Oort Cloud marked the ultimate boundary of the Sun’s influence. Beyond it lay interstellar space, where no objects remained under the Sun’s gravitational dominion. Apart from faint starlight, the Sun had no power here. Perhaps in five billion years, when the Sun dies and forms a planetary nebula, its remnants may reach this distant frontier. Time flowed relentlessly. More than 2,000 years passed after Xiao Yu left the Oort Cloud. At the 1,600-year mark, Xiao Yu’s stockpile of spare parts was entirely depleted. Over the next 400 years, fifty “Village-Class” ships had to be abandoned. Their components were salvaged to repair the remaining ships, leaving the abandoned vessels as empty shells. Without propulsion systems, these derelicts could no longer follow the fleet and were left to drift endlessly along fixed trajectories in the cosmos. Alongside the fifty “Village-Class” ships, two “Town-Class” ships were also discarded. While the three “County-Class” ships underwent major overhauls, they retained sufficient functionality to continue the voyage. At this point, 40% of the journey had been completed, covering a staggering distance of four light-years. Had Xiao Yu chosen Alpha Centauri as his destination, he would already have arrived. Alpha Centauri, was a triple-star system where three stars orbited chaotically around each other. Observations suggested no stable planets could exist there. Despite its proximity, Xiao Yu had decided against it. During the 2,000-year journey, Xiao Yu passed through at least four massive gas clouds. Each crossing slowed his fleet, requiring acceleration and course corrections, which consumed significant amounts of fuel. Fortunately, Xiao Yu’s initial nuclear fusion fuel reserves were sufficient to sustain the journey to Proxima Centauri. The largest gas cloud Xiao Yu encountered spanned one light-year in length and over ten light-days in width. It took Xiao Yu more than 20 years to traverse it. In the universe, such massive gas clouds are not uncommon. In fact, the solar system itself was born from one of these clouds. Billions of years ago, under the disturbance of a nearby supernova explosion, the gas cloud began to contract slowly toward its center. Over time, the density and temperature of the central region increased until nuclear fusion was triggered, giving birth to the primordial Sun. The strong stellar wind of the primordial Sun blew away the surrounding dust, which eventually coalesced into planets. After billions of years of development, these planets stabilized into the forms we see today. If an external force were applied to this gas cloud, it might eventually form a new star. Unfortunately, Xiao Yu lacked such capabilities, though the thought of creating a star intrigued him greatly. This gas cloud had reduced Xiao Yu’s speed from 563 kilometers per second to 506 kilometers per second and caused a deviation of 0.001 degrees in his trajectory. Interstellar navigation requires absolute precision. The required accuracy far surpasses shooting a mosquito on the Moon from Earth. Over such vast distances, even the tiniest initial error is magnified exponentially. Left unchecked, this 0.001-degree deviation would result in Xiao Yu missing his destination by tens of billions of kilometers. Fortunately, Xiao Yu had access to a pulsar navigation system. Using signals from six pulsars, he recalibrated his trajectory and continued his journey toward Proxima Centauri. At this point, he was five light-years from the Sun and 5.5 light-years from Proxima Centauri. The journey was nearing its midpoint, and 3,700 years had passed since Xiao Yu departed from Saturn. The losses in his fleet had increased significantly. The number of “Village-Class” ships reduced to 135, and “Town-Class” ships decreased by eight. However, the three “County-Class” ships remained fully operational. This was no coincidence; Xiao Yu prioritized the preservation of these valuable vessels by salvaging parts from smaller ships to repair them. Sacrificing the smaller ships was the price paid for maintaining the larger ones in working condition. Xiao Yu’s fleet resembled a band of refugees fleeing disaster, with some left behind along the way due to cold and hunger, abandoned without sentiment. Despite nuclear fusion being the most efficient energy source available and the materials used in ship construction representing the pinnacle of Xiao Yu’s technological advancements, they were no match for the passage of millennia. Until further technological breakthroughs were achieved, such losses were inevitable. At five light-years from the Sun, the Sun’s brightness diminished further, blending into the stellar background, indistinguishable from other stars. Meanwhile, the light from Proxima Centauri grew brighter. Without the interference of gas clouds, Proxima Centauri now appeared even brighter than the Sun from Xiao Yu’s position. During these nearly 4,000 years, Xiao Yu’s technology advanced steadily, albeit primarily in applied fields. For instance, he developed a new photon computer architecture, which promised to deliver computation speeds tens of times faster than the current models while consuming less energy and requiring less space. He also made strides in improving nuclear fusion applications and simulating the process of Jovian Phantom-enhanced materials using strong magnetic fields, though the efficiency still fell short of that of the Phantoms. One of the most significant breakthroughs was in laser technology. In addition to traditional laser weapons like guns and cannons, Xiao Yu began theorizing about energy shields. His preliminary hypothesis was to use strong magnetic fields to confine high-energy photons outside the ship’s hull, creating a protective membrane. However, practical verification would have to wait until he reached Proxima Centauri and secured sufficient material resources. Conversely, progress in fundamental physics remained stagnant. Yet Xiao Yu was not discouraged. He believed that once he constructed a massive particle collider around Proxima Centauri, breakthroughs in fundamental physics would be inevitable. Xiao Yu even entertained the hypothesis that if the collider successfully detected the Higgs boson and confirmed the Higgs field, he might unlock near-limitless energy sources. Such a discovery would render all obstacles to his journey insignificant. This highlighted the enduring brilliance of relativity and quantum theory. Despite possessing technology far beyond human capabilities, Xiao Yu’s advancements fundamentally rested on the foundation laid by these theories. As the endless journey continued, a “Village-Class” ship scouting ahead suddenly detected an unusual signal. It was a patterned burst of radio waves. Xiao Yu immediately recognized that the signal was not emitted by his fleet. This anomaly captured Xiao Yu’s full attention. However, the signal was too brief for him to pinpoint its origin. After contemplating for a moment, Xiao Yu made a decision. [T/N: I wanted to address a few inconsistencies I’ve noticed in the story so far. In earlier chapters, it was stated that Xiao Yu’s destination was the nearest star to the solar system, Proxima Centauri, which is part of the Alpha Centauri system. However, in this chapter, it’s mentioned that Xiao Yu decided not to go to Alpha Centauri due to its chaotic triple-star system, which creates confusion since Proxima Centauri is part of that same system. Additionally, the stated distances don’t align—Proxima Centauri is about 4.24 light-years away, but the narrative later places Xiao Yu at five light-years from the Sun with another 5.5 light-years to travel, which is inconsistent. I don’t know if the author made a mistake with the distances or not. For now, I’ll keep the destination as Proxima Centauri and the name consistent throughout. If further context in later chapters requires it, I’ll make the adjustment to a more appropriate name. Thanks for your understanding!]

Chapter 33: An Unusual Signal

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