The stars, but they become the gray wind

"Going to another planet hundreds of millions of kilometers away was an impromptu decision?" Kelly looked incredulous.

"This isn't a simple trip. You improvised to travel to another planet hundreds of millions of kilometers away. That's not how you make impromptu decisions!"

"Dave, I know you can still do whatever you want over there, and people will still flatter you, but at least here we're really trying to get things done, and you caused such a rotten accident?!!"

"I understand. I know you and your team have designed a very good plan to capture and mine asteroids, but the real action is in space, on Mars."

"As one of the initiators and leaders of this operation, I must go where I am most needed."

"But the problem is, if you go to Mars, who will negotiate with the representatives of various countries? About the Goldilocks asteroid development rights?"

Dave, who was leaning against the desk, did not answer the question directly, but looked at Aleida without saying a word.

"No, I'm an engineer, not a lobbyist!"

"Don't worry, Aleida. I believe you can do fine."

"Also, Kelly, we need to talk about your robotics project."

"I'm guessing the extraterrestrial microbiology research project is going to be delayed again because of the asteroid thing? Put on hold again? Is that correct?"

"No, on the contrary. I want to increase the funding and schedule for this project. I need you to go to Mars with your team and equipment."

"Okay, the explorers and related equipment are ready, but I think the expedition team members may not be ready in time. I originally estimated that it would take at least six weeks for them to learn to operate the equipment proficiently and receive basic training to work in the Martian environment. This is too rushed. Even if the equipment is ready, the personnel will not be able to keep up."

"I have a solution. You come with us," Dave said to Kelly.

"What?"

"It will take at least three months for us to get to Mars by spacecraft. You can train the team on the way, and when we arrive on Mars, they can start working immediately."

"Dave, I understand what you mean, but there's no way I'm going to drop everything and go to Mars with you."

"Why not?"

"I have a child. I can't leave him alone on Earth for several years or even longer?"

"You've spent 15 years searching for evidence of extraterrestrial microbial life. Wouldn't it be a shame if you gave up halfway when you were about to achieve success?"

"Of course, the decision is yours, and I won't interfere with the decision you make."

"At the same time, I need to take care of a few personal matters before leaving for Mars, so I may be out of touch for a few days." Dave said as he opened the glass door of his office as if nothing had happened.

"A few days?! But now we are revising the asteroid capture process and plan, this is..." Before Aleida finished her words, Dave disappeared around the corner.

"........."

“…I’m so tired…”

Aleida and Kelly looked at each other awkwardly in the empty office.

Sky Star, orbital star ring, Aze looked at the spaceship that was leaving the dock above. As a colony ship produced by Sky Star, its shape was quite strange. The long axis of more than 750 kilometers and the width of 160 kilometers at the narrowest point made it completely impossible to pass through some small and medium-sized anchored wormholes and star gates. Even for large star gates, the spaceship's excessive mass and size could only accommodate two such spaceships at a time. Whether from the perspective of Sky Star or the glass eel civilization, such a ship seemed quite impractical.

"This is... the latest model of automated, unmanned integrated colony ship?"

"Why do these data indicators seem a bit impractical? Or should I say, useless?"

"It's not bad. After all, as a slow-moving fortress-type mobile space station and a fully automated command center for star system development, aside from the obvious shortcomings compared to a normal Titan, it's still quite practical."

"But not only is its jump speed only a quarter of that of a Titan ship like the Salem, it can't even pass through small or medium-sized stargates, and can only use large ones. For longer distances, it might have to rely on a superluminal catapult launch from a stellar astronomical project. Can this thing really be considered a decent ship?"

"Its primary purpose isn't as a spaceship, but rather as a fully automated command center for celestial engineering projects in multiple star systems within an entire area. Naturally, there's no need to consider too many indicators in this regard," Elena replied.

"And once it reaches the designated area, it will expand into a space station. The size you see now is just the stowed spaceship. Once it expands into space station form, the colony ship will grow to a size comparable to a dwarf planet with a diameter of 1400 kilometers."

"With this body type, mobility isn't a big concern, so it's fine to go slower."

"But you said this thing will serve as a command center for celestial engineering projects in the star system. Do we need something like that?"

"It wasn't necessary before, but if we want to increase the number of our solar system astronomical projects by hundreds of orders of magnitude, it will be necessary."

"We only need to deploy one such automated, unmanned, composite colony ship within a single star system. It can undertake celestial engineering construction for the local star system and all surrounding star systems within a radius of 1000 light years. We don't need to send a large number of spacecraft from the star system closest to the construction site to deploy von Neumann self-replicating machines in each star system."

"Furthermore, compared to a von Neumann self-replicator, this type of integrated colony ship can use its own ultra-high-power tractor beam to pulverize an entire massive rocky planet in one go, or rapidly drain all the resources of an entire gas giant in a matter of weeks. Although this process will incur much higher resource collection and conversion losses than a von Neumann-class ship, it can disassemble celestial bodies more quickly to create the basic framework for stellar celestial engineering. Subsequently, through the collection and disassembly of stars, a colony ship will begin to use the resources of the local star to replicate itself exponentially, and then travel to all surrounding star systems with a radius of 1000 light years, repeating the above process."

"Compared to using a von Neumann self-replicator to slowly dismantle rocky planets and gas giants, using a high-powered tractor beam to pulverize entire planets at once, or directly harvesting entire gas giants, would be much more efficient. Even if the losses incurred during this process are much greater than those of a von Neumann self-replicator, it is completely acceptable."

"This automated colony ship is essentially a universal manufacturing factory. Thanks to the properties of a microscopic von Neumann self-replicator, it can actually produce anything Skystar civilization needs, including Titans like the Salem."

"Whether it's a colony ship of the same model, another type of spacecraft, a space station, or an artificial stargate, it's all possible."

"So this thing... is just a souped-up mobile version of the Skyfort?"

"You can understand it that way, but its main use is still in celestial engineering construction work in the star system."

"And...it's not just us. The glass eels are also designing and building things with this function."

"It is said that their designs are quite characteristic of their own civilization." Elena projected a picture from outside the orbital dock of the Xiangque Galaxy's Repulsive Energy Grid Ring in front of Aze. It was a sphere full of biological features, with a round and smooth surface and a diameter of 450 kilometers at the widest point. Two ring-like rings that crossed each other in an X shape were nested on the equator of the sphere. A giant interstellar colony ship was rotating around the Tangyuan Star below along with the Repulsive Energy Grid Ring.

"It looks like a... miniature version of a planetary ring astronomical project?"

"It is said that this type of colony ship was designed by one of their artists, and its inspiration actually came from the artificial star rings of some planets in both our territories."

"artist?"

"I heard it's because of an astrophysicist. That artist was quite famous among the glass eels long before our two civilizations made contact. The most common type of work he created was geometric sculptures made from asteroids of varying sizes, masses, and compositions."

"Shortly before our civilizations came into contact, this artist deliberately spent several years traveling to another star system on a sub-lightspeed colony ship, simply to seek more inspiration for his work."

"Then, after coming into contact with us, during the time we were dealing with the Black Mist, this artist reportedly observed all the planetary celestial projects, both those of the Glass Eels and within our borders. After that, he produced a number of celestial artworks with rings as the theme—celestial geometric art that depicts circles and spheres through various methods."

On Earth, in the office of the director of NASA, Eli was having a video call with the person on the other side of his computer with an angry look on his face.

"Does he even know what he's doing?"

"The current political situation is very bad, and he is still adding fuel to the fire?" Eli angrily questioned the White House press secretary on the screen. He was also sent by the establishment politicians as a contact and a mouthpiece to convey the ideas of those establishment politicians. Eli hated this guy very much. The reason why this guy was able to climb to this position was entirely by flattering those politicians above. Although his technical staff often ridiculed him as a puppet and lackey appointed by the establishment politicians above for votes, Eli knew very well that he often had no choice. The person in front of him who was having a video call with him was the real lackey of those unscrupulous politicians above.

But just this morning, I turned on the TV with a good mood and enthusiasm for the whole day, but the news on TV completely ruined my good mood for the whole day.

President Gore claimed personal credit for the discovery of the asteroid.

There was a huge and eye-catching headline below the TV news, which made Eli so angry that he almost vomited blood.

"I can't control what the president says." During the video call, the spokesperson for the Wu Palace, who was privately ridiculed by Eli as the real lackey and puppet of the establishment politicians, replied unhappily.

"Don't give me that nonsense. He was just reading from a script, okay? If you don't understand, how could I not understand?"

"He likes to improvise sometimes, you know."

"Do you know that what he says out of his big mouth could destroy all the goodwill and trust we have worked so hard to build with the Soviet Union and other countries?"

“Do you know what other member states will think?”

"All I know is that if we lose to our rivals in next year's election, none of this will matter."

"Is that so? You guys did all this to me just for this trivial matter?" Eli slammed the table angrily.

"You should know that Prague's policies will become a nightmare for the entire space agency and even the entire United States, so put away your personal opinions. I don't give a damn what you think." After saying that, the White House press spokesperson hung up the phone, leaving Eli angry in the office.

"Fuck!!! These bastards!" Eli, who was furious at these greedy politicians who would do anything for votes, slammed the keyboard hard in anger.

"Dave, I want to go to Mars with my children." In Helios' office, Kelly found Dave who had been missing for two days and suddenly said to him.

"I know it sounds crazy, but he has health issues after all. But listen to me, I took him to see several professional doctors in the aerospace field at the space agency. He was born and developed under Martian gravity. His cardiopulmonary problems may be greatly improved on Mars. His heart doesn't have to bear as much strain in 1/3 gravity, and the higher oxygen content in the Martian base will help make up for his blood oxygen level."

"A three-month space trip would be challenging, but what seven-year-old wouldn't want to experience a few weeks of weightlessness?"

"The rest of my team and I will teach him in our spare time. It won't affect the operation of the spacecraft and the base. Besides, my dad can help take care of him." Kelly asked Dave in a very tactful tone, but for some reason, Dave had his back to her from the beginning.

"I hope you understand."

"Of course I understand. Mars welcomes him."

"Thank you." Kelly didn't notice the painful expression on Dave's face as he had his back to her and was looking out the window. Due to various social reasons, his parents and family fell apart during his childhood and youth. During the two days of his disappearance, he had to face up to his bad experiences in the past. He actually envied people like Kelly who had a much happier life as a child or a parent than him. Facing the negative emotions brought about by his bad experiences in the past two days made him feel heartbroken, and also made him realize one thing, if the structure of human society does not usher in progress and change one day in the future, then the tragedy that happened to him will only be repeated in one family after another, and in one person like him after another.

…………

"Indeed, for humanity, endless expansion will never fundamentally resolve contradictions. This approach is essentially treating the symptoms, not the root cause. It simply postpones the contradictions and leaves future generations to solve problems that should have been solved today."

"What do you mean by trusting the wisdom of future generations? Humph, leaving problems for future generations to solve is simply irresponsible. Even if we reach the stage of interstellar civilization, if the development model and operating mechanisms remain the same as on Earth, the self-destruction of civilization will still be inevitable. It will simply be a replay of the countless tragedies that have occurred in human history and humanity's own vile nature on a cosmic scale."

Thousands of miles away from the Helios office building, on the other side of the earth, on the other side of the ocean, a hooded purple-haired girl stared at Dave standing by the window across the ocean and talked to herself.

“Only when human society abandons all the inertia and vicious cycles that have plagued its development to date can civilization continue in the universe for a long time.”

"Otherwise, no matter how large and advanced a civilization is, it will ultimately be nothing more than a flash in the pan."

“If the flower and flame of civilization want to truly bloom in the universe for a long time, it must abandon the vicious cycle of development. Otherwise, utopia will always be just an empty fantasy.”

Chapter 181: The Leningrad Conference (6000 words)

In Leningrad, the Soviet Union, a multinational conference was being held. One after another, black luxury cars flying national flags of various countries stopped in front of the gate of the venue. Representatives from various countries walked into the gate of the venue under the witness of reporters with cameras and long guns surrounding the venue.

In the monitoring room of the conference venue, a woman with completely white hair and reading glasses was observing the representatives from various countries who had just arrived through the cameras installed throughout the venue. At this moment, the woman narrowed her eyes and saw a familiar figure in the crowd - her most proud and outstanding student, Aleida.

"Margo, are you watching?" A voice came from the headphones on Margo's head.

"Yes, I'm watching." Margo didn't react for a moment. After a few seconds, he pressed the call button on the microphone next to him and answered the woman in the headset. Margo didn't know the origin and background of this mysterious and newly appointed director of the Soviet Space Agency.

At the meeting, the newly appointed director of the Soviet Space Agency, Irina Morozova, with a wrinkled face, took the chair and announced the official start of the meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. As chair of this meeting, I declare open the special meeting of the Asteroid Project Mars Oversight Committee."

After taking their seats in an orderly manner, representatives from various countries participating in the negotiations and reporters in the venue all brought and turned on their simultaneous interpreters.

"On behalf of the Soviet Space Agency, I convened in July 2003 to confirm that all members are present and a quorum has been achieved. The meeting now begins."

…………

"Given the increased frequency of missions and fuel refining before Happy Valley's asteroid mining efforts, we are confident we can launch an asteroid capture mission within eight weeks. While the schedule and timeline are tight, we believe it is feasible."

As soon as a technical expert from NASA finished speaking, the representative of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in the meeting hall raised his hand.

"Assuming the mission is successful and the asteroid successfully enters Mars orbit, then we must develop a new device, right?"

"Yes, in fact, Helios foresees that we need to design, manufacture and maintain at least 200 new low-gravity manned and unmanned rovers to facilitate subsequent operations inside and outside asteroids." As a representative of Helios, Aleida answered questions raised by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

"We also need to design, build, and maintain at least two new orbital platforms as mining bases, as well as 45 new Martian surface landers to transport personnel and cargo to and from Happy Valley after the infrastructure is expanded. We also need 24 giant cargo ships equipped with variable specific impulse magnetic plasma engines driven by deuterium-helium triple nuclear fusion reactors to transport the mined and refined ores back to Earth..."

"Sorry, let me interrupt." A negotiator from a European country interrupted Aleida's report.

"But this massive scale of research and development, expansion, and construction is unprecedented in the world. I just counted the requirements column in the meeting document. You said we need to build at least six new types of spacecraft and over 400 vehicles, right?"

"Sorry, that's not accurate. This is just the first page of vehicle requirements." As soon as Aleida said this, the negotiators in the conference hall looked at the piles of requirement columns on the back of the folders containing the meeting reports that were hundreds of pages thick in their hands and started talking about it.

"What's the total?"

"We anticipate needing 11 new types of giant cargo and crew spacecraft, at least 2500 new vehicles."

Representatives from various countries in the conference hall were shocked by this number. They were well aware of the enormous manufacturing and maintenance costs represented by this huge number.

"This is just a conservative estimate. I guess more than 4000 vehicles are needed." Watching the live broadcast of the venue in the monitoring room, Margo's voice came from the communication headset worn on the left ear of Irina, the director of the Soviet Space Agency.

"This will be an extremely huge expense." Irina muttered softly at the meeting.

"There's also investment in a massive expansion of Happy Valley's infrastructure, staffing, training, and management. She hasn't even mentioned the associated industrial facilities for receiving and processing the ore. These facilities would need to be built in low Earth orbit to receive the high-value minerals shipped back to Earth."

"Ms. Rosales, what is the estimated total investment for this project?"

"If Helios is to build the infrastructure necessary for asteroid mining, of course, this is after the successful capture of the asteroid... the total investment we'll need will be at least... $20000 trillion."

"What, so high?" Such a voice was heard in the conference hall. For many representatives of the countries present, pouring so much money into an asteroid was completely unimaginable. Even many negotiators from developed European countries had an annual GDP of only this much. The negotiators present all looked embarrassed and looked unbelievable at such a huge cost.

"But the value of asteroids is at least over 20 trillion US dollars, and the return is more than 10 times the investment. This is just a conservative estimate, so this will be a very safe long-term investment." Seeing that the representatives in the conference hall were all looking embarrassed, Aleida added at the right time.

.........

At the Happy Valley base on Mars, the newly appointed base executive officer, Palmer, was flipping through the project documents of the asteroid mining plan, his expression becoming increasingly grim.

"Is this... serious?"

"It's quite ambitious indeed," said Commander Danielle Pooler, who was standing behind him, staring at a project document as thick as a brick.

He nodded helplessly.

"More than 25 flight missions in the first month alone? That means I'll be stuck in the cockpit almost every day."

"Looking at the captured asteroid, how much fuel do we estimate we need to refine and prepare?" Daniel turned the document to the page with the estimated fuel demand. Seeing the string of numbers on the list, Palmer's already ugly face suddenly became even uglier.

"Oh my god, so many?"

"Look at the quantity and time it took to manufacture the equipment. Isn't this too rushed?"

"Honestly, Boss, we've never been involved in an operation with such a tight schedule. I don't think we can do it."

"I was sent here to prove that this base is worthy of the years of blood, sweat, and heartache we put into launching the Mars operation. Many outstanding people have sacrificed here, including some of my closest friends and colleagues. Now we must prove that their sacrifice was not in vain."

"So if this plan is approved and we need to capture that asteroid, I will definitely do my best to make it happen. If I don't succeed, I will die."