"What happened, is it worth the Ministry of Science and Technology spending such a huge price..." Frowning, Academician Xiang Huanan sitting next to him muttered in an unbelievable tone.
Listening to the voices of discussion in his ears, he opened his mouth to the South China Academician. After a while, he looked at Academician Wang Shicheng sitting next to him and said with a strange expression.
"Whether it is considered from the perspective of a country or a human being."
Most of them are the leaders of major public mathematics research institutions in the country, as well as the most prestigious scholars of various major and minor schools.
Hearing Xiang Huanan's whisper, Wang Shicheng did not speak, but nodded silently.
After pausing for a moment and looking at the other people in the conference room, Lu Zhou continued.
"I agree, just like global climate action, this is no longer a problem faced by our country, but a problem faced by all mankind. Even if it is top secret, it can only be kept secret for 30 years at most. Rather than risking the public opinion of the world, We take the risk on ourselves rather than engage in limited disclosure."
"...I don't know, don't ask me."
"... We might as well just disclose it directly to the international community, regardless of the benefits that we don't know exist. The risks here are really too great! If everything goes well, it will be fine, but if it is not handled well, it may even cost us dozens of Years of hard work and achievements have been in vain, and you have to bear the reputation of being a sinner of all mankind."
A day ago, this would have sounded like a far-fetched concept.
For some professional engineering academicians, 100 million yuan may not be a big deal, it is just the money to buy two pieces of equipment. Especially for those scientific researchers who build rockets and plant the sun, even doubling the amount, let alone 100 million, may not be enough.
Just when the leaders of almost all public mathematics institutes across the country were called to the Chinese Academy of Sciences for a meeting, a ministerial-level closed-door meeting was also going on on Chang'an Avenue, not far away.
"I object, at least before confirming safety, we should make sure all options are in our hands!"
"Indeed... it is really difficult to keep it completely secret for ten or twenty years without leaking the slightest bit of news!"
"No?" Xiang Huanan was stunned for a moment and looked at him with some confusion.
"It seems that he plans to call on everyone to solve mathematical problems."
Although he didn't particularly like that young man, he still admired that man's mathematical achievements.
"This is a math question. I believe that based on your level, I shouldn't need to explain more. I'll just talk about the key points here." Looking at the conference room where there was a lot of discussion, the expression on the man's face did not change at all, and he continued to speak, "The Ministry of Science and Technology has established a special scientific research fund with an annual budget of 100 million yuan."
"without."
"I don't know," Lu Zhou shook his head in front of the pairs of eyes looking at him and said strictly, "You can only know this kind of thing after trying it... And my intuition tells me that even if it can be solved, I'm afraid It also takes a lot of time.”
"Besides, I really want to go over and see what that so-called alien looks like."
100 million in scientific research funding? !
If we really had that much money, I would have to worry about how to spend it every year.
Although he didn't know what the necessary connection between this thing and state secrets was, his reason told him that this thing couldn't be solved by convening the top experts in the country for a meeting.
"Old Wang, what do you think?"
When I saw this line of questions, whispers immediately spread in the conference room.
Go to Beijing.
If a country independently contacts extraterrestrial civilizations, it means that it has all the power to engage in diplomacy with extraterrestrial civilizations, including declaration of war and peace talks, while other countries can only become passive recipients of the results of all dialogues.
Whoever can solve it gets it? !
However, now, this has become a problem that everyone has to face.
No matter at any time, contact with extraterrestrial civilization is a matter full of risks.
"Of course, the specific top-secret content has nothing to do with you or me. In order to facilitate the work, I will try to pick out the key points here."
He frowned.
"I think it's still too risky." Although he was moved by Lu Zhou's spirit of selfless dedication, Director Li couldn't help but said, "That's Mars tens of millions of kilometers away... If something goes wrong in any part of this , it’s no joke.”
Soon, as the projector was turned on, a PPT with black text on a white background appeared on the screen.
As for why they are sitting here...
"I have to go there myself!"
While he was talking, a middle-aged man in formal attire walked to the podium in front of the conference room.
"Wang Shicheng? Haha, you old guy was also invited?"
The word "confused" was also written on his face, and it took Wang Shicheng a long time to squeeze out a sentence from his mouth.
And it’s still 100 million every year…
"Can't we talk remotely?"
In fact, the premonitions of many scholars present in the conference room, including Academician Wang Shicheng, were correct.
A report from Mars not only turned the entire 128 project into a Class A secret, but also made the top management of the entire Manned Landing Office feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.
An "industry-wide meeting" hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology...
"Our Institute of Mathematics at YSU is also one of the top mathematics research institutions in China. Why can't I come?"
Can this get any simpler
Looking at the mineral water bottle standing alone on the conference table, Wang Shicheng frowned.
"Science itself is an adventure. When did I say that I was joking?" Looking at his old friend with concern on his face, Lu Zhou said calmly, "If everything goes well, this meeting will bring us The impact may be greater than that of controlled fusion."
"You mean Academician Lu?"
"This is nonsense. Is this something that can be accomplished by concentrating all our strength?"
"I don't agree with disclosure, but I don't agree with it now. We can fully disclose some information with reservations, and establish an international organization to jointly discuss countermeasures while relatively controlling the dialogue channels. This will not only help us Improving our international influence can also avoid the risk of a crisis of trust. Otherwise, once a little bit of news leaks out, or other countries get hold of evidence that we are alone in contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, our relationship with the international community is likely to fall into a very serious situation. An embarrassing situation.”
This risk not only comes from distant light-years away, but also from our close neighbors on Earth.
"ABC guess!?"
"It seems that this meeting is not simple."
"Yes," Wang Shicheng said calmly, nodding his head, "In the field of number theory, if he is ranked second, no one would dare to be ranked first. Since we are calling together scholars in the field of number theory, and he is not here by coincidence, I can only I guess this meeting is probably related to him."
Institute of Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Hearing this voice, Wang Shicheng looked sideways with an unhappy expression and saw Academician Xiang walking over with a smile on his face and sitting down next to him.
Looking at the endless debate in the conference room, the people sitting at the conference table were silent for a while, then looked at Lu Zhou and asked.
"Ignoring the lack of an answer for the moment, assuming you have solved this problem, who do you think would be better?"
Gradually, he began to realize this, and the sound of discussion gradually subsided, and everyone in the conference room fell silent, quietly waiting for his answer.
“Whoever can solve this problem will get this funding.”
A group of people were crowded in a small conference room.
"To make a long story short." After a slight cough, the man standing in front of the podium quickly got to the point with a serious expression, "What you are about to come into contact with is the country's top secret. The confidentiality level is tentatively classified as top secret. If there are no other changes, The statute of limitations for confidentiality is thirty years. After the meeting, it is prohibited to discuss meeting-related issues in private, and it is prohibited to disclose or leak any information related to the meeting."
Even Wang Shicheng, who had retired for many years, couldn't help but hissed.
Although he is not from academia, as the second-in-command of the Ministry of Science and Technology, most of the scholars sitting here are familiar with him.
Extraterrestrial civilization…
The old man thought for a while and nodded.
Being able to solve this mathematical problem seems to be the prerequisite for dialogue with that extraterrestrial civilization.
Without looking at the academician, Wang Shicheng just raised his eyelids and glanced at the conference room and said lightly.
However, for a poor subject like mathematics, 100 million is already an astronomical number.
"It's very difficult," Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Let alone Mars, even the earth, radio signals cannot be transmitted so deep underground. Unless a communication base station is built on the ground and optical cables are laid down. However, with Mars scientific research With the current conditions of the base, it is almost impossible to do this.”
Although this question may seem unrelated to the meeting agenda, it actually gets to the most critical point.
All the benefits are taken by others, but you have to bear the risks along with it, and you are even kept in the dark. No one would be happy if it were you. It would be nice if it could be kept secret forever, but obviously that's not possible.
"Hey, look at what you said. I didn't mean it like that. I was just a little surprised." He looked around, lowered his voice to the academician, and said softly, "I looked around, and it seems that it's not just people from major research institutions. The top leaders and the top experts in number theory in the country have all been invited... I don’t know what the conference is going to discuss.”
Almost everyone's faces were filled with unexpected expressions.
"Why isn't there even an agenda for the meeting?"
"When it comes to experts in the field of number theory, there is still one person missing."
"What exactly is this plan for? I can't understand why."
In fact, they don't even know it.
After a pause, the man nodded to the staff member next to him and motioned for him to turn on the projector.
Just when he was about to ask a staff member, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.
"I don't know..." Academician Wang Shicheng shook his head solemnly, "But I'm sure there is a big connection behind it."
…
Is this crazy
With the man's slight cough, the voices in the conference room gradually became quiet.
"Second! If it works, that's fine. If it doesn't, what does it matter if it's made public? Besides quarreling, who else can you expect to help? Those Americans?"
When they heard this sentence, everyone who was still talking a second ago took a breath in unison.
"From a sincerity point of view, it is naturally better for the person who solves the problem to go there." After a pause, Lu Zhou continued, "If it is me... and not someone else who solves this problem in the end, I am willing to go to Mars. ."
"Can't you solve that ABC conjecture?"
ABC guess…