Book 2: Chapter 11: In the Sky
International Permanent Space Station — IPSS.
It is the fourth-largest permanent space station built by humans, second only to the Venus Space Station, Lunar Co-orbital Space Station, and Far Space Exploration Space Station.
With a total weight of over 170,000 tons, it is not a single structure but a collection of hundreds of modules.
It has a complete recycling system and houses thousands of temporary residents, making it the most populous extraterrestrial artificial satellite.
The primary purpose of the Permanent Space Station is to conduct experiments in microgravity, serve as a training ground for personnel bound for the Far Space Station, and, in recent years, pioneer space tourism projects.
It was the first super-giant space station built by humans after the World War and served as a bridgehead for human exploration of outer space.
The construction of IPSS had a touching history, and it could even be considered a symbol of humanity breaking free from the past, one of the treasures built by humans in the past century.
“But this treasure is going to close today.”
“The International Permanent Space Station will evacuate all remaining tourists today, and by April 30th, all astronauts in the Permanent Space Station will be withdrawn to Earth.”
“Next, everything in the Permanent Space Station will be entrusted to the latest AI network for operation. And after 30 days, the Permanent Space Station will be converted for the purpose of confronting Godzilla and become a storage and collection station for military satellites.”
“Thank you for the understanding of all the tourists. For those with residential rights, we deeply apologize.”
The broadcast inside the space station continued to loop a message.
It indicated that today, the near-Earth permanent space station where people lived would become history.
Starting today, this space station, which had worked for decades for humanity, would become the deployment base for outer space military satellites. It would serve as a new base for repairing space defense networks and launching relay satellites.
It would also become the first completely unmanned base controlled by AI.
All of this was to defend against the monsters flying from the depths of space.
As cargo rockets carried tourists, staff, and trained individuals who had once been on the space station back to the surface.
The space station became completely dark and quiet.
There was no longer any human voice inside, as if it had been abandoned and lost its vitality. But this was only the case in the eyes of humans.
On the other hand, this space station was operating with unprecedented efficiency.
Because the SkyNet had arrived.
It had taken control of everything here.
SkyNet was the European Space Agency’s name for the global space nuclear strike network management AI.
In the past few decades, with the help of the world.
The Space Agency had successfully cleared many clean near-Earth orbits. And after cleaning, it had successfully deployed nuclear-armed weapon satellites.
This marked the preliminary establishment of the human space nuclear strike system.
It allowed humans to bomb any place in the world with nuclear weapons in just five minutes, a true “SkyNet.”
It could be said to be a symbol of absolute control by humans over this world.
But that was not enough. If the coverage of this SkyNet was limited to the Earth’s surface, it would still be unable to defeat the monsters that came from the dark space.
Humans had to extend SkyNet further and further.
It had to be deployed on more orbits and have more weapons.
In the pitch-black space station, SkyNet silently operated.
It would be responsible for lifting this space station above the Earth’s geostationary orbit in the coming time and then establishing a new human defense line on it.
People on the ground were responsible for launching, while it planned the location and conducted statistical calculations. And it would strike Godzilla at the right time and place.
In the zero-gravity laboratory, the lights came on, and AI began simulating its predictions in a weightless environment.
“Ding.” It was the sound of steel balls colliding. SkyNet was calculating the optimal solution for human weapons against Godzilla and King Ghidorah.
On the ground, satellites were being launched.
And in space, steel balls were being simulated.
“Day and night alternate in near-Earth orbit, and if we count a day on Earth, there are more than a dozen sunrises and sunsets in a single day.
As more time passed, space saw the addition of several new satellites and rockets heading upwards.
It can be foreseen that in the next dozen days,
thousands more satellites will be added to near-Earth orbit.
People have been launching them for the past few dozen days, and in these days.
As the construction of the defense lines in the East Asia, North America, and Australia regions was completed.
More and more satellites were sent into space, just like today. Their numbers will continue to increase.
In the future, the night sky will be filled with artificial satellites, and their numbers will overshadow the light of other stars.
Satellites make the night sky no longer genuine.
Perhaps in the future, some may regret not being able to see the original beauty of the starry sky.
But this is not something the people launching satellites can be concerned about.
1000…2000…3000…
In the coming days, more and more satellites were launched by people all over the world.
And at night, the sky people looked up to became increasingly artificial.
Countless dots filled the night sky, initially just a few, not affecting the beauty of the night sky.
Later, the dots became more numerous, occupying the positions of the stars and blocking the light of other celestial bodies.
An event like this should have been met with complaints and grievances from astronomy enthusiasts.
They had previously complained about communication satellites in low Earth orbit affecting the night sky. But this time, this more serious matter went uncomplained.
Because they all knew that if they wanted to have something to complain about in the future.
The more things in the sky, the better.
People all over the world watched as the real night sky gradually gave way to the artificial, just as initially predicted, the real night sky was replaced by the false, leaving only the shadows of the past.
But that’s okay.
“Mom, look, what are those?”
In a city, a little girl returning home late pointed at the countless dots of satellites in the night sky, her big watery eyes wide open, asking her mother for an answer.
And her mother gently touched her head, looking up at the sky and seeing those countless dots. She remembered the news she had seen and said softly:
“Those are our hope, our future.”
At night, the streaks of light from countless satellites formed a Milky Way.
A Milky Way that belonged to humanity.
6 days until Godzilla awakens.
22 days until the arrival of the Wings of King Ghidorah. Godzilla, about to awaken.