Two months later.
Namibia, Life Sciences City.
The sky was clear and the originally sparse and cold suburbs in the suburbs of Life Sciences City suddenly became crowded with people. Countless well-known media and research teams from various countries came to the aerospace base of Life Sciences City.
The media looked excited. They set up guns and cannons here, and cameras were set up in front of a tarmac that was the size of four or five football fields, eagerly and eagerly waiting for something.
The research teams have been waiting in the reception room nearby. Some of these people are from the Central Continent District, some are from the North American District, and some are from the European District and the North Sea District. Anyone who pulls one out will find that These people turned out to be famous masters in the field of biological research.
In addition to this group of people, there are hundreds of Namibian soldiers in the space base. Some of these people stand in front of many reporters to maintain order, while others line up in a row in front of the tarmac. circle to prevent unauthorized persons from entering.
At the front of the apron, a huge podium was built. At this time, several presenters were debugging the lines on the podium, and the abnormal press conference was ready to start at any time.
The reason why this place is so grand is because today, strictly speaking, in half an hour, the Ares spacecraft returning from Mars will return to Earth with various samples from Mars.
Here, Blackwatch Company is about to hold a press conference to announce the successful completion of Project Ares.
At this time, countless personnel are already looking forward to the moment when the heroes who set foot on Mars return.
"Hello everyone, this is BBC Science and Technology News. I am reporter Bob. Our current location is the aerospace base of Namibia Life Sciences City. As you can see, today it is already a sea of people! Except for us at the BBC There are dozens of media outlets in addition, today is a special day, that is the day when the manned spacecraft Ares returns to Earth!"
"As one of the most influential companies in the world, Blackwatch has created countless myths that are talked about by people, and the most familiar one is probably the aging reversal treatment project. The emergence of this technology has been greatly delayed. They have alleviated the aging phenomenon in various countries and benefited mankind and the world... "
"Now, Blackwatch Company has completed a new feat, which is the Ares project in cooperation with four continents. This is the first time humans have set foot on Mars, and it is also the first time that the existence of Martian life has been discovered. From this day We finally realized that extraterrestrial life is so close to us, even on our neighboring stars. Now, the Ares spacecraft has brought our neighbors to our earth, although they are not like We humans have our own civilization, but this still represents a new step for us humans... "
At the same time as the BBC reporter's moving narration, other world-famous media were also live broadcasting the whole process, as if the whole world had focused their attention here, live broadcasting the scene of Ares returning to Earth, live broadcasting an important step of humankind's trajectory...
"Ares is approaching the outer atmosphere."
Suddenly, a man's voice came over the radio, "Everyone, please stand outside the apron until the Ares manned spacecraft arrives. Please maintain order and do not enter the apron. Repeat, do not enter the apron."
About five minutes later, the broadcast rang again, "Ares has entered the ionosphere and is currently 80 kilometers away from the surface. It will land in about twenty minutes. Please maintain order."
Hearing this sentence, everyone suddenly burst into commotion. Many people looked into the sky impatiently, but found nothing.
However, these did not affect everyone's excitement. After all, humans have never been in contact with alien civilizations since their birth. Now, humans have not only discovered alien life for the first time, but also brought alien life back to the earth. This may seem ordinary, but it also represents a fact...
The interstellar era is coming...
"Ares has flown into the stratosphere..."
Ten minutes later, the voice continued to announce the location of Ares at this time, "Those responsible for maintaining order, please prepare, and those responsible for setting up the positive pressure disinfection room, please prepare..."
At this time, suddenly a person holding a telescope shouted, "Look over there!"
Many reporters quickly looked up, and those carrying cameras also raised their cameras and looked into the sky. Sure enough, above their heads, a small blue dot shone brightly, just like a tiny star in the sky. of stars.
However, it is daytime after all, how could there be stars appearing
Obviously, that is the Ares that is landing.
Ten minutes, nine minutes, eight minutes...
As time passed by, the blue star became bigger and bigger. In the last five minutes, it was clearly visible. A small dot the size of a sesame seed was falling continuously, and on both sides of it, respectively There are two azure rays of light slowly shining.
"Ares has entered the troposphere and is about to land..."
The broadcast announced the last time.
As he spoke, the black spot grew larger and larger. With a low rumble, the huge spaceship had completely reached the sky above everyone. Many people even felt that the airflow around them began to change.
Three minutes, two minutes. One minute…
When the last minute came, Ares was already suspended above the tarmac. The huge and streamlined body no longer had the luster it had before. Instead, it was gray, as if it had been burned, and even Some people with good eyesight can even see the slightest scratches on the spacecraft.
Those are the wear and tear phenomena caused when the spacecraft hits cosmic dust while flying in deep space.
In the whispers of everyone, Ares was suspended in mid-air and slowly descended. Until this time, everyone could clearly feel the heat wave coming, and many people were thirsty. This was because they were so far away from the tarmac. It's hundreds of meters away, and if it's in front of you, the heat flow emitted by the spacecraft engine can probably dry a person out in an instant.
Under the gaze of everyone, the Ares stopped completely on the huge apron, and the engine began to stall completely.
Seeing this scene, countless people cheered, the sound was so loud that it even overwhelmed the sound of the spacecraft engine.
However, not everyone is like this. At this time, hundreds of people of all kinds gathered outside the gate of the space base. These people held various slogans high in their hands and shouted loudly. It was just Namibia. Soldiers blocked the gate and could not enter.
Some of the slogans in the hands of this group of people are the logo of Blackwatch Company, which is just a big cross with red spray paint, and some are a paragraph. Among them, the slogan in the hands of a "Three-Body" fan obviously reads : "Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer!"
Many people believe that bringing back microorganisms from Mars will bring a huge disaster to mankind. Some believe that alien creatures also have human rights and bringing them to Earth is disrespectful to them. Others believe that the laws of the dark forest should be followed. , directly use nuclear bombs to eliminate all living things on Mars. Otherwise, if the living creatures on Mars evolve into humans in the future, there will be several technological explosions, and then humans will be dead...
Just like what Lu Xun said: "Human beings' joys and sorrows are not the same. I just think they are noisy..." This time around the Ares project, everyone has different ideas and everyone has their own understanding.
And this group of people are those who oppose Ares's approach of bringing living creatures back to Earth. They even formed the Ares Project Opposition Alliance, flew to Namibia at their own expense, and came to the space base to demonstrate on this day. .
However, the opinions of this group of people are destined not to be known to the public. With the influence of Blackwatch Company in the world today, all well-known media will not risk the world to report these things. Only those who want to attract attention Small media occasionally report on it, but these sporadic objections are like pebbles thrown into the lake. They can only stir up a few ripples, but cannot stir up any waves.
At this time, as the spacecraft gradually stalled, the surrounding air gradually returned to its previous temperature. At the same time, the rescue team that had been prepared on the right side of the apron drove two trucks to the door of the spacecraft and immediately arrived at the door. While hundreds of people were busy, a huge negative pressure isolation room was built at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Finally, the passage between the isolation room and the hatch of the spacecraft were completely connected. At this point, everyone in the spacecraft could come out.
At this time, the reporters who were several hundred meters away could not wait to rush forward, but they were blocked by a group of soldiers outside the tarmac and could only watch helplessly.
In this way, after waiting for about half an hour, finally, at the other end of the negative pressure isolation room, the first person who had been disinfected inside and put on isolation clothes walked towards the podium step by step under the protection of soldiers. Come over.
Seeing this, countless reporters finally let out a burst of shocking cheers.
The man wearing an isolation suit was a middle-aged white man. After he came to the podium, he waved to everyone. After countless warm applause, the man spoke, and his voice was transmitted into the microphone through the isolation suit. "Thank you to the Earth Federation, thank you to Blackwatch Company..."
"I am Zhou Xiong, the captain of Ares, and I am also an employee of Blackwatch Company. What I can tell you is that we have defeated the earth, deep space, and countless difficulties. We... have returned from Mars. ! ”
"Next, I will be quarantined for three months, but before the quarantine, I can accept three questions, and I can answer them truthfully no matter what they are."
The man named Zhou Xiong showed a hint of narrow-mindedness, "Of course, it must be related to Mars. I declare in advance that I have a wife and do not accept inquiries about marriage."
"Ha ha ha ha… "
The crowd suddenly burst into chuckles, and then countless reporters raised their hands in the air, eager to ask questions.
"It's you, you'll be the first to ask the question!"
Zhou Xiong pointed to a blond man in the first row and said.
"I'm from ABC Radio in North America. What did you bring back from Mars this time?"
The other party showed an excited look and asked, "I heard there is life on Mars, right?"
"Uh, yes!"
Zhou Xiong nodded, "What we brought back are soil samples, rock samples, air samples, and water resources samples from Mars. Of course, there are also biological samples... OK, next, that beautiful lady over there."
Then, he once again selected a reporter from Zhongzhou District.
"Hello, I am Wang Bing, a reporter from Zhongzhou TV Station. Will you encounter danger on Mars?"
"Danger?"
Zhou Xiong smiled, "No, we shouldn't use the word dangerous, because we are always dealing with death."
As soon as this sentence came out, many people immediately started talking in low voices.
"The average temperature on Mars is about minus 90 degrees. The air there is thin and the oxygen content is less than 0.1%. Human beings cannot survive without wearing any tools. Every time we go out, it is a matter of life and death. It’s a test, because no one knows which sandstorm on Mars will blow us away or tear apart our protective clothing... "
Zhou Xiong smiled lightly and said, "But now we have successfully built a life cycle scientific research station on it. With the scientific research station, it is equivalent to having a foundation, and the survivability will be greatly improved."
Many people nodded secretly. Indeed, these pioneers of mankind are indeed dealing with the god of death. Not to mention Mars, even in this back and forth journey across planets, accidents may occur at any time, whether it is space meteorites. It's still a solar storm, and the chance of an accident is much higher than the chance of a car accident.
"Okay, now is not the time to talk about this, next."
Zhou Xiong finally pointed at a black woman, but before the black woman could speak, a man on the side suddenly spoke first, "Are the alien creatures you brought back dangerous? Will they lead to species invasion or even the destruction of mankind?" "
"Absolutely not!"
Zhou Xiong's expression darkened, then he shook his head and said, "We did find Martian microorganisms, but those microorganisms all live in water. There are no microorganisms in the Martian air and soil."
"As for the invasion of species, it is even more impossible, because we will isolate them very well, such as level 4 biosafety laboratories, etc., let alone lead to the demise of mankind. Aliens simply cannot do this. You are completely You can rest assured!”
After saying this, Zhou Xiong left without looking back under the protection of several bodyguards.
"Mr. Zhou Xiong!"
"Mr. Captain, please wait a moment..."
There was a commotion in the crowd, and many people wanted to catch up, but were ruthlessly stopped by soldiers with loaded guns.
In the end, this group of people had to return disappointed.
As for the various samples from Mars on the Ares spacecraft, except for one taken from the four continents, there was still one remaining, all of which were secretly transported to the Minaret Experimental Base.
The exploration of extraterrestrial life has officially begun.