Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Actually, there's no need to go that far."

Lu Yongchang shrugged and waved at the huge sun projection beside him, shrinking it back to its original size.

"By 2034, the Earth's surface will no longer be suitable for human habitation."

"As for solutions, I've come up with two at the moment."

"The first method involves rapidly constructing a spaceport using a space elevator and zero-based technology."

"Build giant starships in spaceports that can accommodate millions or tens of millions of people."

Fang Xu interrupted Lü Yongchang directly, saying, "This, this is impossible!"

"A starship capable of housing millions or even tens of millions of people—that's definitely not the technology we currently possess!"

"Let me finish," Lü Yongchang said helplessly. "When did I say I wanted these people to live inside?"

"You!" Fang Xu's breath hitched.

In just a few seconds, he realized: "You mean... a hibernation pod?!"

Let me give you a simple calculation.

"The current standard hibernation pod is 2.5m long, 1m wide, and 1m high. Let's just consider it as a cuboid."

"Therefore, a standard hibernation pod occupies approximately 2.5 cubic meters of volume."

"Let's assume we're transporting ten million people."

"If we calculate it in the simplest way, we only need a cube with a side length of 293 meters to put them all in."

"Considering various redundant equipment, maintenance robots, and some essential power equipment... based on zero calculations, a starship approximately 800 meters long could successfully transport 1000 million people."

"And this starship doesn't need any extra capabilities." Lü Yongchang raised an eyebrow slightly. "When necessary, it can simply be a metal shell with engines and some life support."

"The plan is to build more than 500 of these starships to take away 50 billion people."

"Of the remaining 5 billion, after filtering out those unsuitable for interstellar travel, those who died of natural causes, those who are too old, and those who are unstable, etc., there will probably be 50 million left."

Faced with Lü Yongchang's description, Fang Xu swallowed again.

"So where do you plan to put these metal shells?"

Lu Yongchang silently reached out and pointed to a location in the solar system.

"Kuiper belt".

"In other words, these 50 billion people are essentially starting a few years earlier than us."

"With the help of weak artificial intelligence and hibernation pods, these 50 billion people can spend at least 50 years safely near the Kuiper Belt."

"As for what will happen fifty years from now..."

Lu Yongchang's gaze suddenly dimmed: "If we can't catch up with them in the next fifty years, then humanity is basically doomed."

"As for the remaining 500 million people, as essential laborers and researchers, I will place them in the spaceport."

"Once the technology is mature and the spaceships for interstellar travel are manufactured, we will begin to escape the solar system."

"What about the second solution?" Fang Xu suddenly asked. "Tell me about the second solution first."

"Mars colonization".

Lu Yongchang stated succinctly, "After the sun expands, we can use Mars as a springboard to gain more time for development."

"After acquiring enough resources in the solar system, we will then embark on interstellar travel."

"After all, the power of a helium flash cannot affect the entire solar system."

"However... I'm not sure how much computing power Zero would need to complete this massive immigration project, and the consumption of resources is also a major issue."

Silence fell over the office again, leaving only a few holographically projected planets slowly orbiting in the sky.

Fang Xu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Why don't we combine our efforts?"

……

The next day.

A remote mountain village.

"Sigh, the weather is getting hotter and hotter."

An elderly man with gray hair, dressed in a white undershirt as he did every year, sat under the shade of a tree in front of his house, fanning himself with a bamboo fan.

It's completely useless.

At 40 degrees Celsius, even the wind is scalding hot.

"Uncle Qi! Still enjoying the shade under the tree?!"

A girl dressed like a middle school student opened the window, stuck her head out, and shouted, "You can't go out to cool off like this in this weather!"

"Please come in and have a seat at my place, there's air conditioning!"

Following the girl's shout, a strong, resonant voice rang out: "Old Qi! Come on, I'm waiting for you to play chess with me!"

In response to his neighbor's invitation, Grandpa Qi smiled, patted his bamboo fan, stood up, and walked towards the neighbor's house.

As soon as I opened the door, a blast of cold air hit me.

Upon entering the house, an elderly man with equally gray hair was sitting at the table, a chessboard laid out in front of him. He beckoned to him, "Come on, Lao Qi, we haven't played chess for days!"

Grandpa Qi shivered slightly: "Hey Old Zhang, doesn't it waste electricity to keep your air conditioner on all day?"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Zhang paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "I told you, Old Qi, to watch the news more often, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Electricity has become worthless since last year!"

"Thanks to Professor Lü, after that fusion technology came out, electricity is practically free!"

Grandpa Qi shook his head with a wry smile: "I'm old, I can't keep up with the times!"

"But... it's been getting hotter and hotter these past two years."

"It wasn't this hot before."

"Oh, by the way, your granddaughter started school, do you know why?"

Hearing this, Grandpa Zhang turned to the girl beside him and said, "Xiaoman, do you know what's going on? I'm wondering about this weather too!"

Zhang Man frowned and said, "It must be because of the sun. Our teacher said..."

After the explanation, both old men fell silent.

"So, according to you, in a few years, the sun will explode?" Grandpa Qi shook his head with a smile, clearly not taking the words to heart.

"Uncle Qi! I'm telling the truth!" Zhang Man's face flushed slightly as she whispered in protest, "That's what our teacher just said; it was already on TV!"

"Okay, okay!" Grandpa Zhang replied with a smile. "By the way, Xiaoman, go turn on the TV. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've watched the news."

A few minutes later.

"...According to the latest observation data from the First Laboratory of the Human Union, the rate of solar anomalies has accelerated again. Currently, the global average temperature has already risen by 2 degrees Celsius, and it is expected that in the next three to six months, the global average temperature will rise by another 20 degrees Celsius. At that time, the Earth will be unsuitable for human habitation."

The laughter and chatter in the living room stopped instantly.