Hot Wavelength

Chapter 47 (Dawn and Dusk Line 1): A Different Way of Living
6500 million years ago, Venus
The ice mass around Saturn, nearly a million kilometers in diameter, acts like a giant lens, blocking ultralight waves from reaching the sun. The shadowed parts of the sun's surface form sunspots with diameters of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

Venus happens to be at the focal point of this giant lens. With the high-energy particle streams ejected by one after another explosive solar flare, Venus's rotation has gone from slowing down to stalling. It has changed from rotating once every 23 hours to rotating once every 200 days or so.

Venus is almost tidally locked to the sun; one side of it always faces the sun, making it unbearably hot, while the other side faces away from the sun, making it dark and cold.

Tens of thousands of Venusians who refused to upload their consciousness were forced to hide in the terminator region of Venus. The terminator is the meridian coordinate of a certain region that is exactly plus or minus ninety degrees.

As Venus completes one rotation each day, this location experiences alternating day and night, with both day and night occurring simultaneously.

However, once Venus's rotation period becomes almost identical to its orbital period, reaching over 200 days, the solar altitude angle at this location remains virtually constant. The sun is always above the horizon, neither rising nor setting.

The temperature in the terminator region remains stable at around 30 degrees Celsius, making it the only area suitable for Venusian inhabitants to live in.

On the advice of Dean Abbott, Director Deston of the Venus Union Office built a fully equipped small city in the terminator region before Venus's rotation stalled, a city large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

The Alliance government mobilized various means of transportation, including electric trucks, high-speed trains, and all sorts of aircraft, to transport all personnel and a large amount of supplies to the last city of the Venusian civilization.

Those who refused to upload their consciousness suddenly discovered that they had encountered an unexpected and wonderful thing: all the goods and daily necessities produced to satisfy nearly six billion people on Venus now belonged to these mere tens of thousands of people.

Currency becomes meaningless, and the concepts and actions of "transaction" and "purchase" all seem ridiculous. Resources are plentiful; use them only as needed.

The crowd built a huge bar in the city center square, which some named the "Dark and Chaotic Bar." Speaker Kent suggested calling it the "Neither Dark nor Bright Bar," and no one objected; whatever the name, as long as they could party all day long, that was fine.

The former speaker did not forget his mission, which was to maintain order as much as possible, prevent violence, and uphold the dignity of the Venusian people on Venus until the very last moment.

However, by this time, all the laws governing people's behavior had been abolished, because even if laws existed, there were no police or judicial organs left. The last group of government personnel, including Director Diston, were about to upload their consciousness, bidding farewell to those who remained.

The old speaker was indeed very resourceful; he understood people's psychology and was adept at communication skills. He went to the dimly lit bar and loudly addressed the people around him:
"I never imagined that this would be the happiest time for all of us. We have plenty of food and clothing, and an endless supply of fine wine. We don't have to spend money or work. We can take whatever we want. Isn't this the blissful life we've always dreamed of?"

The crowd got excited and started raising their glasses in agreement, drinking heavily. People in the distance gradually gathered around.

"There's still over a year until the final moment. In these precious days, can you tell me what your last wishes are?"

The atmosphere was both noisy and relaxed. Several burly men shouted, "Eat meat to your heart's content! Drink wine from large bowls!" Several women nearby were not to be outdone, saying smugly, "Changing clothes ten times a day! Putting on makeup five times a day!"

A tall, thin man grinned wickedly and shouted, "Sleep with women! Sleep with whoever you want!" His words caused a burst of laughter.

Suddenly, a plump, slightly overweight woman shouted out brazenly, "Sleep with men! Sleep with whoever you want!" A louder burst of laughter echoed through the bar.

The old speaker laughed along with everyone else, but after his laughter subsided, he paused and asked with a serious expression, "If those Venusians who uploaded their consciousness can really be reborn on Earth, do you hope to be remembered by them? Do you want to leave something behind so that future generations will know that you once came to this world?"

The noise in the bar seemed to have undergone a strange chemical reaction, instantly stopping. No one spoke immediately, but their minds were clearly racing.

Yes, humans are such strange creatures. After endless indulgence and pleasure, what we gain is not just pleasure, but always a kind of inexplicable melancholy.

Even as we face death with a sense of unease, we all hope to leave behind a trace of our existence.

As if by magic, the old speaker pulled a palm-sized wafer from his pocket and said, "This is a new material with super-stable anti-decay properties, newly developed by the Venus Academy of Sciences. It is made of silicon crystal with an added metal coating through a special process. To put it simply, it is a piece of gold-plated glass."

"This material is heat-resistant and cold-resistant, and as a hard drive, it can retain information for more than 10,000 years. I plan to make a movie to record our daily lives, burn the movie onto a hard drive, and try to send it out of Venus so that future generations can watch it."

"Is anyone willing to act in my movie? Regardless of gender, anyone who comes will be a lead actor. This movie doesn't have a name yet because it depends on the content of the finished product. It might be about indulgence and violence, unsuitable for children, or it might be about kindness and happiness. I don't know what it will be. I'm just the producer and director; you are the screenwriters and actors."

"Some people have already shared their wishes. If you're curious about what my wish is..."

Everyone stared wide-eyed, holding their breath, waiting for Speaker Kent to continue. The old speaker closed his eyes slightly, placed his right hand on his chest, and said in a soft but firm voice:
"I hope the movie will be called 'The Glorious Years: A Hero's True Colors' and end with the words: To be continued."

After speaking, the old speaker's eyes filled with tears. Someone shouted a slogan, which prompted the crowd to shout in unison:
"Glorious years! To be continued!"

Outside the bar was a spacious plaza, at the far end of which lay a row of makeshift houses, behind which was the Venus Alliance's last spaceship landing pad. Inside the makeshift houses, Director Diston looked serious, while Dean Abbott directed the staff as they worked methodically and efficiently.

After Director Deston and the last group of relevant personnel uploaded their consciousness, Abbott and the scientists and engineers of the project team will travel to the Iapetus base in a spacecraft.

The most important cargo on the spacecraft consists of genetic tissue samples from nearly six billion people on Venus, as well as several large computers containing the consciousness uploaded by nearly six billion people.

The moment of farewell arrived. Speaker Kent rushed over from the bar, intending to say goodbye to Diston and Abbott in two different ways. Diston and the others would "die" due to the uploaded consciousness, while Abbott and the others would embark on a new journey aboard a spaceship.

“I suggest you reconsider. It would be best if you didn’t upload your consciousness now. Come with me to the Iapetus base to join Tesla and the others. We need you to continue leading us,” Abbott said to Director Diston.

"Your computer contains the consciousness of nearly 60 billion people, and I want to be with them. Leave the outside world to you and Tesla. I believe you will overcome all difficulties and enable me and all the people to be reborn on Earth."

Speaker Kent gestured to Abbott that he didn't need to persuade him anymore, saying, "The three of us have our own roles. I will stay on Venus to uphold the last vestiges of dignity; Diston will upload consciousness to reassure the people on the circuit board; and you, Abbott, will be in charge of the Earth Rebirth Project."

The final batch of uploads proceeded smoothly, and it was almost Director Diston's turn, who was last in line. Suddenly, a question occurred to him, and he asked Abbott:

Can the consciousness of different people communicate with each other in a computer?

"Theoretically, it's possible, but we haven't enabled this feature to reduce power consumption. They can't communicate with each other; only people like us who are outside can send group messages."

Diston thought for a moment and said, "I don't know what it feels like to be trapped in a computer, but it probably won't be good. I'll write a letter, and you can send it to everyone to tell them that I'm here and will stay with them until the day we see the light of day again."

The letter to all Venusians has been written, and its contents are as follows:
Dear compatriots:
I am Deston, Director of the Alliance Office, and I greet you all on behalf of the Venus Alliance government.

None of you, including myself, ever imagined that we would end up like this, losing our physical bodies and having our consciousness locked inside computers. I know many of you are resentful; why did this happen? It's all the fault of those mad scientists and adventurers.

What are the facts? Are scientists sinners? Wouldn't it have been better if we hadn't studied the theory of superluminal waves and hadn't built superluminal wave power stations? I don't know how to answer these questions.

I know that science may bring risks, even the risk of destroying all of humanity on Venus, but I also know that we cannot do without science.

Scientists have brought us electric lights, trams, and various electrical appliances, but electricity itself is dangerous; nuclear power has brought us clean energy, but it has also brought us atomic bombs that could destroy Venus hundreds of times over.

Every major technological advancement carries the risk of jeopardizing human safety. Today, we, the people of Venus, are facing an unprecedented crisis.

Fortunately, our scientists have come up with a solution. After Mars explodes, the solar system will regain stability and balance, and Earth's landscape is changing according to the scientists' design. It will become our Venusian new home.

As I was about to upload my consciousness to reunite with you and be forced to say goodbye to Mother Venus forever, I could fully understand how you felt at that time.

The history of humankind on Venus spans thousands of years, with the flame of civilization passed down from generation to generation.

We, the people of Venus, have overcome countless difficulties and weathered crisis after crisis through faith, wisdom, courage, resilience, and unity. We have not failed the spirituality bestowed upon us by heaven; we, humanity—

To summarize truths derived from experience into science.
Transform the innate goodness into norms through consensus.
To condense the love that has risen from the heart into literature.

To depict the beauty perceived through the senses as art.

Our human consciousness resonates with the vast galaxies and the tiny specks of dust, shining with the brilliant light of natural philosophy in the boundless universe.

Dear brothers and sisters, elders and children! Today, we bid a reluctant farewell to Mother Venus. In the not-too-distant future, the flame of our civilization will be rekindled on Earth.

It is precisely that science that destroyed our original way of life that has given humanity the opportunity to live a different life. Please wait with hope; we will meet again in the next life! Please believe:
Venus will never perish, and so will humanity!

&
The poem composed of collected verses at the end of the chapter:
Lacking resources and having many options, Song Dynasty, Chen Shidao

Success and failure are intertwined; nothing is constant. — Lu You, Song Dynasty

Cultivating a true understanding is the way of the sage, Song Dynasty, Du Fan
Where is not my home, even with a broad mind? —Song Dynasty, Zhen Shanmin
(End of this chapter)