Beijing.
Institute of Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A group of people gathered in a rather small conference room.
Most of them were top leaders of major public mathematics research institutions in China and the most prestigious scholars of various schools.
As for why they were sitting here…
In fact, they don’t know either.
“How come there isn’t even a meeting agenda?”
Wang Shicheng looked at the mineral water bottle standing alone on the conference table and frowned.
Just when he was about to find a staff member to ask some questions, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.
“Wang Shicheng? Haha, you were also invited?”
Wang Shicheng looked sideways with an unhappy expression. He saw Academician Xiang approaching with a smile on his face and sat down next to him.
“Us Yan University mathematics research institute is also a top mathematics research institution in China, so why won’t I be invited?”
“Haha, that’s not what I meant. I was just a little surprised.” Academician Xiang looked around and lowered his voice as he continued, “I looked around. It seems that it is not just people from major research institutions. The top leaders and the top domestic experts in number theory have all been invited… I wonder what the meeting is about.”
“Wrong.”
“Wrong?” Xiang Huanan looked at him with a look of confusion.
Wang Shicheng just raised his eyes and glanced around the conference room and said lightly, “There’s one expert in the field of number theory who hasn’t come.”
“You mean Academician Lu?”
“Yes,” Wang Shicheng said after nodding his head. He continued, “He’s by far the most authoritative figure in number theory. Since he is a number theory scholar, but he is not here, I guess that this meeting is probably related to him.”
Although he didn’t particularly like the young man, he still admired the man’s mathematical achievements.
While talking, a middle-aged man in formal clothes walked to the podium in front of the conference room.
The man coughed slightly. The voices in the conference room gradually became quiet.
Although he was not in academia, as the second in command of the Ministry of Science and Technology, most scholars sitting here were familiar with him.
“Looks like this conference is important.”
After hearing Xiang Huanan’s voice, Wang Shicheng did not respond. Instead, he nodded in silence.
A conference hosted by the second-in-chief of the Ministry of Science and Technology…
Of course it’s important.
“Long story short…” After a light cough, the man standing in front of the podium quickly spoke with a serious expression, “What you are about to hear is the state’s top secret. The time frame for confidentiality is thirty years. After the meeting, discussing related issues in private is prohibited. Disclosing or divulging any relevant information about the meeting is also prohibited.
“Of course, the specific top-secret information has nothing to do with you or me. In order to facilitate the work, I will talk about the main points here.”
After a pause, the man nodded to the staff nearby and motioned him to turn on the projector.
Soon, the projector was turned on. A PowerPoint with black characters on a white background appeared on the screen.
As soon as everyone saw the slide, whispers spread in the conference room.
Almost everyone’s face was filled with unexpected expressions.
“ABC conjecture?!”
“What the hell is going on, I don’t understand.”
“They seem to be calling on everyone to solve a mathematical problem.”
“This is nonsense, is this even something that can be done by concentrating effort?”
Academician Xiang Huanan listened to the discussion in the room. He looked at Wang Shicheng after a while and spoke.
“Old Wang, what do you think?”
Wang Shicheng was totally muddled. It took him a while before he spoke.
“… I don’t know, don’t ask me.”
ABC conjecture…
Even though they didn’t know what this problem had to do with state secrets, his intuition told him that inviting the domestic experts for a meeting wasn’t enough to solve this problem.
“This is obviously a math problem. I believe that with your capabilities, I shouldn’t need to explain much. I will only talk about the key points.” The man looked around the room. The expression on his face did not change as he said, “The Ministry of Science and Technology has established a special scientific research fund with an annual budget of 100 million yuan.
“Whoever can solve this problem… this fund will go to them.”
Whoever can solve this?!
When they heard this, everyone took a deep breath.
Even Wang Shicheng, who had been retired for many years, couldn’t help but wonder.
A hundred million in scientific research?!
And that’s annually…
Are they f*cking crazy?
For some professional engineering academicians, a hundred million yuan fund might not be a big deal; it was only enough for two scientific research. Especially for those researchers who built rockets, even a billion wouldn’t be enough.
However, for a “poor” area like mathematics, one hundred million was an astronomical number.
The only thing they would have to worry about was how to spend it.
“What the hell happened? Why is the Ministry of Science and Technology spending so much…” Academician Xiang Huanan said as he frowned.
“I don’t know…” Academician Wang Shicheng shook his head solemnly and said, “But I’m certain that there is more to the story.”
…
In fact, the guesses of many scholars in the conference room, including Academician Wang Shicheng, were correct.
The report from Mars not only turned Project 128 into a Class A secret but also put the Mars landing office on the highest alert.
An extraterrestrial civilization…
Just a day ago, this sounded like a fantasy concept.
But now, this had become a problem that everyone had to face.
While the leaders of almost all public mathematics research institutes across the country were called to the Chinese Academy of Sciences for a meeting, a ministerial-level closed-door meeting was also going on at Chang’an Avenue.
“… Might as well directly disclose to the international community. Who cares about the losses or benefits; the risks are too high! If everything goes well, it would be fine. But if it is not handled well, ten years of hard work and achievements would have been in vain. We would be sinning for all of mankind.”
“I agree with Minister Wang’s. Just like global climate action, this is no longer a problem faced by our country, but a problem faced by all of mankind. Even if it is top secret, it will only remain a secret for at most 30 years. The world is too big to take on the risks ourselves. It is better to make a limited degree of disclosure.”
“I object, before confirming the safety aspects, we should ensure that all choices are in our hands!”
“Second! What will happen if this becomes public? Apart from the unnecessary tension, do you really think the Americans will help?”
“I do not approve of international disclosure, but I do not approve of the situation right now either. We can disclose some information with reservations. Under the premise of controlling the channels of dialogue, we can set up an international organization to discuss countermeasures together. Not only will this help us enhance international influence, but it can also avoid the risk of a breach of trust. Otherwise, once a little bit of news is leaked, or if other countries have evidence that we have contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, it is likely that our relationship with the international community will fall into a very tricky situation.”
“It’s true… It’s really difficult to keep a secret for ten or twenty years without revealing a little bit of news!”
Contact with extraterrestrial civilization was a matter full of risks.
This risk not only came from light-years away, but it also came from neighbors of planet Earth.
If a country was in contact with extraterrestrial civilizations alone, it meant that they had all the powers of diplomacy with extraterrestrial civilizations, including war declarations and peace talks. Other countries could only become passive recipients of the results of the dialogues.
The benefits would be taken by others, but they would have to take the risks alone. It would be nice if it could be kept secret, but obviously, this was impossible.
The President looked at the conference room. He then looked at Lu Zhou and asked, “The ABC conjecture, can’t you solve it?”
Although this question seemed to have nothing to do with the meeting agenda, this was actually the most critical problem.
Being able to solve this mathematical problem seemed to be the prerequisite for dialogue with the extraterrestrial civilization.
The voices of the discussion gradually subsided as everyone in the meeting room became quiet. They were waiting for his answer.
“I don’t know.” Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “I don’t know until I try… And my instinct tells me that even if it can be solved, I’m afraid it will take a long time.”
The old man thought for a while and nodded.
“Let’s not think about questions that have no answers. Now, suppose you have solved this problem. What choice do you think is better?”
“From a sincerity point of view, it is better for the problem solver to go.” After a pause, Lu Zhou continued, “In the end, if it is me… and not someone else who solves the problem, I am willing to go to Mars.”
The President frowned.
“Can’t you talk with them remotely?”
“It’s very difficult.” Lu Zhou said as he shook his head, “Forget about Mars, even on Earth, radio signals can’t be transmitted deep underground. Unless a communication base station is built on the ground and an optical cable is laid down… However, with the current conditions of the scientific research on Mars, it is almost impossible to achieve this.”
After a pause, Lu Zhou looked at the others in the conference room and continued, “Also, I want to go over and see what the so-called alien looks like.”
“I think it’s still too risky.” Although Director Li was touched by Lu Zhou’s selfless dedication, he couldn’t help but say, “Mars is tens of millions of kilometers away… What if something goes wrong? This is not a joke.”
“Science itself is an adventure. When did I say that I was joking around?” Lu Zhou said calmly. He looked at his old friend’s face, which was full of concern, and said, “If everything goes well, the impact of this may be greater than controllable fusion.
“Whether it is from the standpoint of a country or human beings as a whole.
“I’m responsible for going there myself!”
