Deep Space Wandering Fleet

F{h*F5., V hapter 51: Youth, It’s Wonderful

Li Zhendong was amazed but seeing the expression on Zhang Yuan’s face, it didn’t seem like he was spouting nonsense.

Moreover, working on a project with university professors sounded a lot more credible than his own “games.”

Suddenly, Li Zhendong felt an urge to join the other party.

But he just couldn’t swallow his pride!

He went on to say, “What about your thesis? Have you thought about that? I’m planning to apply for a master’s program on the spaceship. Us undergrads like me are probably at the bottom of society by now, so sad.”

“I think my GPA should be good enough, and I could pass the entrance exam for graduate studies, but I don’t have any particularly good papers. Where would an undergrad get a good paper from… it’s so annoying! And my dad can’t be bothered to guide me!”

...

Zhang Yuan scratched his head, unsure what to say.

If his paper was successfully published in “Modern Science,” and his written exam scores were decent, it was almost certain a professor would want him.

For a journal like “Modern Science,” it was an achievement for many professors to publish even one paper in their lifetime.

“Have you decided what subject you want to study for your master’s?” Zhang Yuan asked a bit sheepishly, “I’ve already submitted a paper to ‘Modern Science.’ If it gets published, it should add a few points to my interview score.”

“What, ‘Modern Science,’ you?” Li Zhendong was stunned again, struggling to process it.

While the two chatted, the area next to them erupted with the shrill squeals of elated girls.

“The Sun!”

“Such a beautiful Sun!”

It was the Sun rising above the horizon.

Witnessing the Sun from hundreds of kilometers high, one found it incredibly bright.

The Sun’s position was pinpoint-accurate, with no halo, emitting a blinding and imperious white light.

Without the protection of radiation shielding material, the Sun’s radiation could easily cause burns and even destroy the DNA in human cells, leading to permanent damage.

That was why, in the old days, astronauts were not allowed to go into space before completing their family. However, with the successive improvements in radiation shielding materials, this rule no longer existed.

Beneath were dark clouds, bursting with lightnings, twinkling like blooming Dianthus flowers. Sometimes, lightning from different clouds in five or six places would illuminate the entire cloud layer.

These sights were unseeable from the ground.

The girls screamed excitedly, “These clouds look so small, not quite the same as what we see from planes!”

“Of course they’re not the same; airplanes only fly a few kilometers high…”

“It’s like cotton balls exploding!”

“If we really fell from this height, we’d turn into a ball of fire, just like shooting stars. We’d burn alive, not die from the impact!” A male student said wickedly, trying to frighten them, “Can you imagine the scene of being charred?”

“Ah!”

The chirping and panic-stricken screams involuntarily made Zhang Yuan laugh.

Perhaps, he thought, his feelings were the same the first time he took the Space Elevator.

In the following hours, as the height significantly increased, one could see the entire face of the Eastern Hemisphere.

The Himalayas, vast in their snow-covered desolation; the reddish-brown swirls over the Kavir Desert with a primitive mystery; the forests of the Southeast Asia Islands sparkling like emeralds…

It was thrilling, truly thrilling!

Looking down on the entire Earth, there was a sense of unrestrained pride as if the world was in the palm of one’s hand.

The vast Earth, just like in the pictures, quietly floated in the universe.

The Earth was indeed round, visibly so.

The current altitude was 600 kilometers.

According to a scientific survey, at this height, over 90% of people would develop an incomparable sense of awe towards natural science, their homeland, and the Space Elevator.

The Earth was immense, vast beyond measure!

Even humanity’s largest construction, the “Octagonal Building,” was insignificant, like an ant.

But we tiny humans, from this angle, were actually able to easily discern every contour of Earth!

This intense contrast produced another kind of visual impact. Like gods looking down from above, everyone felt an odd sense of pride, as if the whole world was beneath their feet.

Humans had actually advanced to this point, building a Tower of Babylon that reached into the boundless sky, contending against the immensely powerful forces of Nature—it was truly, truly unbelievable!

What was a trip around the world compared to space tourism?

Upon hearing the passengers’ exclamations, Zhang Yuan reflected, “To be young, how wonderful.”

Li Zhendong nodded in agreement, “Too young, too naive.”

The girls in the neighboring seats continued their chirping, wildly excited as they searched for famous structures and natural landmarks on the planet’s surface.

“That should be Donghua City…”

“Over there—is that the imperial capital?”

“Is that mountain peak Mount Everest?”

“No, it should be Nangjiabawa Peak.”

“That, that should be Taiwan…”

Regrettably, one of the Seven Wonders of the World—the Great Wall—could not be discerned by the naked eye, which everyone felt was quite a pity.

However, the Huawei P888 phone was able to capture images of the Great Wall.

There were also a few wide asphalt roads, which could be vaguely seen against the contrast of the surrounding environment, like strands of hair.

The girls discussed excitedly, snapping photos and cheering.

…

Several hours later, the tourists finally lost interest and settled down once more. There was no network here, and they couldn’t post on social media. To have the mood and nowhere to share, it was truly frustrating.@@novelbin@@

“Um… handsome guy?”

Zhang Yuan and Li Zhendong exchanged glances.

Is she talking about me?

She means me!

“… Handsome guy, aren’t you that Zhang Yuan? The one who donated! You’re actually an astronaut!” The girl seemed very excited.

Zhang Yuan touched his head, wondering if he had really become that famous.

The girl across looked at him and exclaimed excitedly, “… At that time, I was just watching the live broadcast. I really didn’t expect you to be an astronaut. Don’t you want to stay on Earth and enter the entertainment industry?”

“When did I say I wanted to get into the entertainment industry? I’ve never planned that…” Zhang Yuan coughed and replied, “I will follow the spaceship out of the Solar System.”

“I knew it! The son of a great scientist, how could you go do that kind of boring trick. Ha ha, I’m not saying being a star is bad, but the social value created definitely can’t compare to that of a scientist. Can I post on social media to clarify this fact?”

“Go ahead, it’s fine.”

The girl tapped on her phone, only to find there was no network, and she gave up.

She seemed to notice Zhang Yuan was a little embarrassed, so she asked another easy question: “Um, I have a question for you. Outside the window, what are those ring-shaped, luminous devices?”

Zhang Yuan answered, “Those are ion propulsion devices. Once we reach the geosynchronous orbit, the linear speed is about 3.1 kilometers per second. This lateral linear velocity is provided by an electric propulsion engine, which helps to reduce lateral deformation of the elevator track.”

“Oh…” The girl sort of understood.

Zhang Yuan smiled.

In fact, on the “Tenglong” Space City, there are many more ion engines, to maintain the station’s orbital altitude.

Think about it. If a person pulls a hydrogen balloon and gains an upward pull, the hydrogen balloon will experience a reaction force, which is a downward pull.

In the same way, when a cargo elevator climbs up along the cable track, it would lower the height of the Space City. Hence, it is necessary to rely on ejecting working substance to push the space station back to a geosynchronous orbit to maintain a dynamic balance.

Even though the Space Elevator is built, we still need to use working substance propulsion to maintain balance, what a tragic thing.

But this is already the best method of climbing the gravity well. Who can blame the Space Elevator for not being rigid?

The technology of mankind, actually, is far from as advanced as imagined.