Earth Era

"We have reason to believe that the source of disease-causing radiation exists only outside the galaxy, and the interior of the galaxy will not be affected. And, outside the area covered by the radiation source, the genetic mutation will stop."

"One thing I think needs attention. We know that the disease progresses very quickly if we continue to be in the area covered by the radiation source. The crew of the Nimbus spacecraft only had a few dozen days from the beginning of the disease to the death. But Jebi The spacecraft has also been in space for more than 70 days, so why are the crew of the Nimbus spacecraft dead, while the crew of the Jebi spacecraft are only in the early stages of their illness?"

"This may be due to the different routes of the two spacecraft. Further, it seems to imply that the disease-causing radiation is regionally uneven. That is, where the radiation is stronger and the disease progresses faster, In another place the radiation is weaker and the disease progresses more slowly."

Listening to the discussions of his colleagues, Wang Hao was silent for a moment and said, "This seems to be beyond the scope of pure medicine. We need the assistance of experts from other disciplines."

The team member in charge of the coordination immediately said: "I will contact the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Central Academy of Sciences, and they will send experts to participate in our work."

Wang Hao nodded: "As soon as possible."

The discussion was over, and the colleagues dispersed. Wang Hao called the minister worriedly.

"Wang Hao, is there any progress recently?"

"We think that it is very likely that some kind of radiation that exists only in interstellar space outside the galaxy caused the disease. Which kind of radiation is still uncertain, I have asked the Institute of High Energy Physics to send experts to assist us in our work.”

"You did a good job." Wu Wei nodded lightly: "You must find out all the details of this incident as soon as possible."

"One more thing." Wang Hao said hesitantly: "Although there is no evidence, based on the experience of handling the incidents of the Nimbus spacecraft and the Feiyan spacecraft, we believe that the interstellar space outside the galaxy has certain dangers. If possible, I hope you can report this matter to the Fuhrer, and the Fuhrer will issue an injunction, prohibiting any spacecraft from leaving the Phoenix Galaxy before the incident is investigated, and temporarily prohibiting the spacecraft from other galaxies from leaving the galaxy where they are located.”

Facing Wang Hao's request, Wu Wei fell into silence. After a long time, he said: "It is very irresponsible to issue a ban before the matter has not been investigated clearly. If the final investigation results show that the radiation source comes from other places and has nothing to do with interstellar space, then the loss caused by this will be my responsibility. I can't bear it with you."

Wang Hao said anxiously: "But Minister, compared with life, a little economic loss is completely bearable."

Wu Wei said categorically: "Don't say any more. The head of state has already ordered that we will set sail and return to the solar system next year. I will not allow any factors to hinder the progress of this matter. If you want the head of state to issue a ban, you must show concrete evidence. ."

Wang Hao requested: "Perhaps you can report the relevant information to the head of state, and the head of state will make a decision."

This time Wu Wei didn't answer, but cut off the communication directly.

Wang Hao stood there in a loss, and after a long time, he sighed and shook his head.

"It seems that the minister only wants me to do my job well, and doesn't want me to get involved in matters beyond my responsibilities."

There is nothing wrong with this request, but Wang Hao always feels a little heavy in his heart.

The physicists arrived faster than Wang Hao expected. On the third day, a gray-haired old man led three young students who looked like students to the research room where Wang Hao was, and listened to Wang Hao's introduction.

"There is no such radiation in our physics model." The old man frowned deeply: "If such radiation really exists, our theoretical system may have to be rewritten. Wang Hao, I know you A brave and competent medical scientist, but I suggest you look for the reasons in the rest, rather than wasting your energy on these illusory things."

The old man's words were not polite. Facing such a highly respected scientific senior, Wang Hao couldn't refute it. So I had to smile bitterly and say: "I have heard a sentence that says that when all the other possibilities are ruled out, the last possibility, no matter how incredible it is, will be the truth. Based on the information we already have, it will be the truth. , we really don't know how to explain what we're encountering, other than the presence of some very penetrating radiation in interstellar space that we don't know about."

The old man spread his hands: "Even if this radiation does exist, it cannot be detected. All our existing radiation detection equipment can only detect known radiation."

Wang Hao said: "Perhaps you can use the information provided by us to calculate the relevant data of this radiation, and then design the corresponding detection equipment."

A student who followed the old man shook his head and said, "The essence of radiation is the phenomenon of subatomic particles propagating in space and reacting with matter. New radiation means new particles, and you should know what this means. ."

The revised Standard Model has already covered all the known particles of human beings. If suddenly there is a new particle that is not covered by the Standard Model, it means that the Standard Model still has some omissions. That would almost shake the foundations of the whole of physics. While progress in physics begins with the discovery of errors in previous theories, this should happen in large, well-equipped laboratories staffed by leading physicists, not in a disease-focused The main responsibilities of the research base.

It would be the most dramatic event in the history of human science if a discovery that could affect an entire edifice of physics began in a disease research center. This also means that its probability is extremely low, so low that it is almost negligible.

Although not an expert in physics, Wang Hao also knows this. However, when all the clues pointed to this, Wang Hao could only make some attempts. Even if it's just this one attempt as a rule of thumb.

Facing Wang Hao's insistence, the old man finally agreed. So after the old man made some calculations, he instructed Wang Hao and others to build a small unmanned scientific research spacecraft and launched it into outer space.

In this spaceship, in addition to some experimental equipment, there are dozens of mice, as well as two pigs and a monkey.

It would be extremely irresponsible to rashly send humans to participate in experiments until things are clear, but animals are not subject to this restriction.

"Our calculations show that this particle has very exotic properties. If it existed, it would invalidate many of our current physical theories. Well... by its nature, it bombards the nuclei of matter, causing dissociation. The appearance of quarks... In simple terms, it will cause the properties of objects to change. There is some mercury in the scientific research spacecraft. If there is such radiation, part of the mercury will be converted into gold. Of course, the amount of gold It may be extremely small. After the scientific research spacecraft returns, you can carry out some related tests."

A student said: "Actually, there is no need to be so troublesome. We can directly test the Nimbus spacecraft and the Jebi spacecraft, as long as we check whether there is any material transformation in the two spacecraft."

Wang Hao whispered: "The detection of these two spacecraft may not yield accurate results. Because it may have been contaminated with impurities."

The old man patted Wang Hao on the shoulder and said, "I'm still very busy, so I'll go first. If there is anything else, you can contact me again."

Although Wang Hao is not proficient in the world, he can also see that the old man is just polite. He obviously didn't think that Wang Hao would find him in the future. From this, it seems that the old man is quite certain that there is no such unknown particle.

The attitude of the old man made Wang Hao doubt himself a little~www.NovelMTL.com~, but he was relieved: "It's nothing more than an elimination method."

The old man left in a hurry with the three students, and the blue Danube spacecraft carried more than a thousand passengers and came to the research center the next day.

In order to cope with the numerous inspection tasks, Wang Hao had already prepared in advance. Hundreds of medical workers have been mobilized here to start screening passengers under a unified organization. In just five days, all inspection tasks have ended.

The results of the inspection were far beyond Wang Hao's expectations. The data showed that none of the more than 1,000 passengers had that strange genetic mutation. Some of them were unhealthy, but those conditions were all well-documented and unrelated to any genetic mutation.

"The Blue Danube's course differs from the other two, but if that radiation does exist, there's no reason for it to exist only in one place and not in the other. Unless I speculate It was wrong from the start. It wasn't radiation that caused the disease, it was something else."

This idea seems to have been verified after the return of the unmanned scientific research spacecraft. Very precise spectroscopic analysis showed that none of the mercury was converted to gold. The animals who participated in the experiment did not have any genetic mutations in their bodies, except that they were a little lethargic because of the weightless environment.

The investigation is now deadlocked again. Recalling Minister Wu Wei's ruthless rejection of him, Wang Hao couldn't help sighing in his heart: "Maybe the Minister is right."

"It's just... what is the cause of this disease?"

It was late at night, but Wang Hao was still tossing and turning on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

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