Earth Era

There is an obvious fact that presents itself to Zhao Hua-Sheng and all humanity on earth, the most fundamental law of conservation of energy. This law states that energy cannot simply disappear without cause, so if some kind of barrier material appeared in the photosphere of the sun, then...where did the blocked energy go?

Perhaps this barrier material formed a heat sink, yet the radiation power of the entire sun is terrifying, what kind of heat sink could withstand such a huge energy impact?

The word "Dyson Sphere" came to Zhao Zhao Huasheng's mind.

Dyson Sphere is a virtual sphere in the conjecture of human civilization that fully utilizes solar energy. This virtual sphere can be composed of many mirrors that completely enclose a whole star and absorb all the energy it radiates.

The Kardashev scale divides civilizations that may exist in the universe into three levels: K1, K2, and K3. K1 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire planet, K2 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire star, and K3 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire galaxy. According to the Kardashev scale, the Dyson Sphere is the most iconic product of a K2 level civilization. Clearly, the creation of a Dyson Sphere enables the use of the energy of an entire star. If the hypothesized heat layer is actually present in the photosphere of the Sun, is it a kind of Dyson Sphere?

It should be noted that, according to the classification criteria of the Kardashev scale, the current human civilization on Earth is only a K0.7 level civilization, and it is still far away from a Dyson Sphere. If a civilization really came to the sun and created a Dyson Sphere around it to absorb all its energy... then no matter what, with the power of human civilization's K0.7 level, it is impossible to resist a K2 level civilization.

If this is really the case,

Zhao Hua Sheng thought to himself, "The physical world has certain commonalities and even the much more advanced K2 civilization is unlikely to violate certain fundamental physical laws. Just like today when the theory of relativity has developed greatly, the law of universal gravitation is still in use. If it really is a Dyson Sphere, then there must be a subsequent energy collection device, but we haven't observed the presence of such a device yet."

"The Rainy Day Mercury detector has changed its trajectory and is now heading full speed towards the other side of the sun. We will get accurate news from the far side of the sun in about five days... Let's wait until then." Zhao Huasheng sighed and put down the documents in his hands, stood up and walked to the window.

A round, bright red sun hung in the western sky, it was already evening. The air conditioner in the room was not on, so Zhao Huasheng, who had just returned to his senses from the documents, immediately felt a chill. People on the streets were all hurrying, and even the flashing neon lights seemed to have a melancholy meaning.

Meng zhuo was still nowhere to be seen, and Zhao Huasheng didn't bother to find him. He took a piece of bread and hastily swallowed it, then sat in front of the computer again.

This time, Zhao Huasheng did not look up some information, but came to several famous forums.

After casually browsing some posts complaining about the unusually cold weather recently, Zhao Huasheng refreshed the page, and a headline jumped into Zhao Huasheng's eyes.

The recent unusually low temperatures are not due to climate but are caused by a decrease in solar radiation! Zhao Hua Sheng frowned as he opened the post.

The post did not have any concrete observational data, but the poster claimed to be an astronomy enthusiast and had just happened to have a set of solar observation equipment. After carefully observing and calculating, he came to this conclusion. At the end of the post, the poster wrote in a very dramatic tone: "The government must already know these things, but they are hiding it. We have reason to suspect that the government is doing something secretly. As to what these actions are, whether they are building underground shelters or carrying out population screening plans, we don't know. In short, the government can no longer be trusted. All we can do is save ourselves! From now on, try to store more food, water and fuel. The end of the earth is coming!"

Below the replies, there were some expressing doubt and some making fun of it. Basically, no one believed these words. But Zhao Huasheng's worries became more and more serious.

This event can't be hidden for long. It's simple—observing the fluctuation of solar radiation intensity isn't something that requires sophisticated equipment or theory. Any experienced amateur astronomer who spends some time observing the sun can come to the same conclusion. The government can monopolize all communication channels, but they can't monopolize knowledge.

Zhao Huasheng returned to a professional astronomy forum. The discussions there validated his idea. Here, "the intensity of solar radiation has decreased" had become a generally accepted fact, but the people here obviously hadn't been given much information, and they were only discussing the mechanisms and physical principles behind the event.

They still viewed the event as a normal solar activity process and hadn't yet suspected anything else.

"But... if the radiation levels keep declining, they will eventually realize it. Then, the news will spread throughout society, with people with astronomical knowledge as the source, everyone will know about it. This process is unstoppable and irreversible. By that time... who knows how much chaos will erupt and how many people will die."

"I hope the Response Center has prepared for the riots... I hope the large-scale shelters near the equator can be completed before the riots become uncontrollable." Zhao Huasheng sighed deeply and shut down the computer.

It was already 8 or 9 o'clock. For a summer night, it was still early. But Zhao Huasheng had no interest in doing anything else. Zhao Huasheng simply washed up, and lay in bed.

Zhao Huasheng has a habit of lying in bed and thinking before going to sleep at night, integrating the information received during the day, and digging deeper into the occasional flashes of inspiration during the day. Now, Zhao HuaSheng hopes that he can make the most efficient use of his brain in this day, and draw some conclusions from the information he received during the day.

Unfortunately, Zhao HuaSheng's painstaking thinking did not yield any results, and this thinking seriously affected Zhao HuaSheng's sleep. Whenever Zhao Huasheng closed his eyes, a scene would appear in his mind. In this scene, heavy snow was falling from the sky, and the cold wind was blowing continuously. People with tired faces put on all the clothes they could find, but still could not resist the cold invasion. As they walked, someone suddenly fell down and died. The survivors fought for even a little bit of food or fuel. Life was so humble and worthless in this scene.

This was Hell, the most cruel hell mankind could imagine. Civilization perished, order collapsed, and people degenerated into pure beasts with no morality, no laws, and no conscience, capable of doing anything to survive... That was the end of all civilization. No, not just human civilization, but the end of all life on Earth.

A sense of mission and responsibility forced Zhao Huasheng to stay alert, forcing him to desperately turn his brain and strive to think of a way to change all this. So until early morning, Zhao Huasheng still didn't sleep.

The sun completed its cycle again, emerging from the horizon and spreading its already weak light and heat to the earth. The morning breeze blew into Zhao Huasheng's open window, making him wrap himself in his blanket once more..

Never before had Zhao Hua realized how important the sun and warmth were. For the past four billion years, the Earth has been bathed in the steady light and heat from the sun, so much so that all life on Earth has taken it for granted and assumed it to be a given. It was not until it began to show signs of fading that the Earth, including humans, could truly appreciate its preciousness.

Sunlight means life. Without sunlight, there is no life.

Zhao Huasheng threw off his blanket, exposing his chest to the cold of the morning air. Zhao Huasheng's hair was disheveled, his beard was unkempt, and his face was pale and withered, but his eyes were bright. A power emanating from deep within was supporting Zhao Huasheng's body. Zhao Huasheng got out of bed, washed his face carelessly, not even bothering to comb his hair or brush his teeth.

"Meng zhuo, are you there?" Zhao Huasheng called out into the empty room.

"I am here." Meng zhuo emerged from the balcony, expressionless and still impeccably dressed.

Zhao Huasheng was used to Meng zhuo's sudden appearances by now. No matter when he called for Meng zhuo, the latter would appear in perfect order, with no emotion on his face.

"Start the car. Take me to the institute. I need to find something." Zhao Huasheng said.