Black technology: starting with space jump machine

Pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star.

It is not uncommon in space. As early as 2022, humans have discovered more than 600 pulsars in space observations.

This type of extreme celestial body can periodically emit pulse signals. Most of them are about 10 kilometers in diameter and rotate extremely fast.

And not all neutron stars are pulsars. When the star is smaller and more massive, its rotation period is shorter and the pulse signal is stronger. It takes almost twenty-four hours for Blue Star to rotate once. The rotation period of a pulsar is as small as a few tenths of a second! To achieve such an autobiographical speed, not even a white dwarf can do it.

Therefore, only rapidly rotating neutron stars can play the role of pulsars.

But if that's all, pulsars are nothing more than that.

Compared with the magnetars that Lu Yu encountered in the Alliance of Conscious Life Forms, pulsars are more like extreme celestial bodies that can be seen everywhere in the universe, and Lu Yu cannot take a second look at them.

But the pulsar displayed on the 7th is actually broadcasting information to the entire universe in the universal language.

As for the content, it's even stranger.

ice? Ice cubes?

Is it a solid formed by condensation of water?

This thing can't be said to be found everywhere in the universe, it can be said to be everywhere.

It is also easier to make ice cubes. A large number of hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms react and combine with each other to form water molecules, and then processed at low temperature to obtain ice.

Not to mention the civilizations that have already used pulsars to broadcast, don’t they even have such technology?

Lu Yu looked at the holographic projection in front of him, and then at No. 7. He felt that there must be something wrong.

"Ice! That's right, it's ice!"

No. 7's mouth stiffened: "Translated according to the universal language of the universe, it is ice cubes, the condensation of water!"

It's not that Lu Yu is suspicious, it's just too unbelievable.

After thinking about it, he also forwarded this message to Base Zero.

"……ice?"

"For civilizations that have been able to use pulsar broadcasts, we believe that their definition of [ice] is very likely to be different from the ice that we humans define."

"But... it is also very likely that it is a lure broadcast, using the low level of civilization to induce the surrounding civilizations that receive the broadcast to come..."

According to normal logic, planet-level civilization cannot send out electromagnetic wave information to the universe, because these electromagnetic signals will still be severely attenuated in the space environment.

Taking Blue Star as an example, humans began to use electromagnetic wave-based communication technology in the 20th century, and by around the middle of the 20th century, electromagnetic signals were integrated into civilized life.

As of the 21st century, it has been used for hundreds of years.

Electromagnetic waves can propagate at the speed of light in a vacuum environment. With the Blue Star as the core, if there are civilizations within nearly a hundred light years around, they have already received electromagnetic signals.

But in fact, the electromagnetic waves emitted by humans will attenuate to blind sound as far as the Oort Nebula, and no more information can be read.

Unless humans can really discover the mirror gain reflection effect of solar energy and launch Type II civilization energy levels.

Otherwise, if you observe Blue Star from Proxima Centauri, you will only see silence there, without any trace of civilization.

Planetary civilizations are like silent bacteria to the universe, and it is extremely difficult to make a sound of their own.

The civilization in front of us has begun to make its own voice, and even uses an extreme celestial body.

At the beginning, the Qing tribe of the sixth-level civilization could only absorb one star as the energy source for gravitational wave broadcasting. This civilization has been able to transform a neutron star to serve as a broadcast station. Based on this, it is very likely that it has mastered space. A technological river-level civilization.

But now, the message being broadcast wants other civilizations to teach them how to make ice cubes.

This is where things get interesting.

Lu Yu, who just thought he had gained nothing, suddenly became interested.

It's not that he has become bolder, it's just that the Silver Star has proven with practice that the advanced civilizations that have mastered space technology seem to have no way to deal with it. They can only pull the Silver Star into the black hole and try to die together.

Going to take a look at this strange broadcast was a worthwhile experience and I encountered this galaxy that looked like the Milky Way.

"Have you locked its coordinates? Let's go over and take a look."

Lu Yu's idea was quickly implemented, and the space jump controlled by No. 7 accurately arrived at a position ten astronomical distances from the pulsar.

A pulsar with a diameter of only ten kilometers is not even comparable to some asteroids in terms of size, but it has a strong presence in the universe!

The high-temperature blue-white flame makes this pulsar appear extremely bright.

What's even more terrifying is its electromagnetic pulse signal and magnetic field, which make it like a lighthouse in the universe, extremely eye-catching.

Within one light-year of this pulsar, it is a veritable forbidden zone for life. It is surrounded by nebulae at the end of the star. High temperature, high pressure and strong magnetic field cut off the basis for the birth of all carbon-based organisms.

Ten astronomical distances are approximately 1.5 billion kilometers.

At such a distance, observing pulsars is like observing dust particles hundreds of meters away with the naked eye.

There are no traces of civilized activities in the surrounding area. Like many star fields in the universe, it is silent and desolate.

Neutron stars are the densest stars except for black holes. When stars evolve to the end, they may become one of the few endpoints after the supernova explosion caused by gravitational collapse. Stars that do not have the mass to form black holes collapse at the end of their lives to form a star between white dwarfs and black holes. Its density is many times greater than the density of any material on Earth.

The huge pressure generated during the explosion and collapse causes a huge change in its material structure. In this case, not only the outer shell of the atom is crushed, but also the nucleus.

The protons and neutrons in the nucleus are squeezed out, and the protons and electrons are squeezed together to form neutrons. Finally, all the neutrons are squeezed together to form a neutron star. Obviously, the density of a neutron star cannot be compared with that of a white dwarf composed of atomic nuclei. On a neutron star, there are as much as one billion tons of matter per cubic centimeter.

It is right to be quiet and desolate around such an extreme environment.

"Hello, civilization that received the message."

"Please guide us to make ice cubes, okay?"

This message was still played repeatedly. As we were close to the signal source, the frequency we received became more and more frequent.

"The civilization that sent the broadcast led us here. It was neither a trap nor did we see any purpose... Isn't it a space prank?"

"The local civilization is so rude!"

This was the first time Lu Yu encountered such a space joke. If he wanted to adjust the battery pulse of the pulsar to the level of carrying information, it would definitely take a lot of time and material resources.

As mentioned before, the special feature of pulsars lies in their rapid spin, and the electromagnetic pulses emitted are also related to their rotation.

One is to adjust the rotation, and the other is to work in a gravitational field that can only allow neutrons to exist.

It is much more difficult to transform this extreme celestial body into a radio station than to wander with the Blue Star.

All this effort, just for a space prank?

"Let's get closer."

Following Lu Yu's instructions, the Silver Star quickly passed through the high-temperature space environment and approached the pulsar.

Just like on the magnetar, the extreme environment here did not affect the Silver Star in the slightest.

Lu Yu began to approach without any cover, and did not attract the attention of the civilization that arranged all this.

It was not until the Silver Star approached the pulsar by nearly 100 kilometers that new changes occurred.

"Hello, civilization approaching us."

"Are you here to help us make ice?"

This is the signal transmitted from the pulsar. Although it is extremely weak compared to the powerful electromagnetic pulse, it does carry different information.

"Are these signals from some areas on the surface of the neutron star?"

"Our current instruments are too affected under such extreme conditions, and we can only collect some vague information..."

The holographic projection of the feedback from No. 7 appeared in the virtual reality. There are already a large number of experts at Base Zero waiting for this first-hand information.

"A civilization has built a base similar to an observation station there, and the signal is coming from the observation station?"

"If so, this civilization can already build an observation station on the neutron star, so why does it need to ask for help from a passing civilization to make [ice]?"

"From the current data and observation results, there is no trace of any technological creation there."

"Maybe space technology was used? After all, normal matter cannot maintain its original structure on a neutron star, so space technology can only be used to isolate the extreme environment, and at the same time isolate our prying eyes."

The experts' opinions were mixed, and it was really difficult to grasp the situation in front of them directly for a while.

"Yes, we, the Horn Clan, are here to help you make [ice]!"

"Please come out and communicate with us."

Lu Yu is already very skilled in pretending to be a Horn Clan.

Now that we have too little information, we can use the communication method.

Once the other party shows hostility, we can try the propulsion function that Lu Yu spent 3,000 points to reinstall.

If you dare to touch porcelain, I will let you taste the taste of a space mud truck!

"Great!"

"Thank you, Horn Clan Civilization."

"We are right below your spacecraft."

The answer came back quickly, and the other party also sincerely revealed his position.

And No. 7 hurriedly overloaded various observation instruments, and was willing to scrap them to capture the other party's traces.

Then the observation results made all the experts silent.

The energy radiation of a neutron star is a million times that of the sun. According to the world's electricity consumption, if the total energy it radiates in one second is converted into electrical energy, it will be enough for Blue Star to use for hundreds of millions of years.

There is a layer of plasma outside the neutron star. If it extends a little further down, the atomic nucleus will completely dissociate and disappear, and the neutron star matter will become a continuous neutron fluid mixed with a small amount of electrons and protons.

The reason why the No. 0 experts were silent was that in the place directly below the Silver Star, which should have been a life restricted area, there were layers of regular fluctuations, as if they were greeting them.

Neutron star life?

Lu Yu suddenly thought of the previous planetary life form. Didn't expect that this pulsar was also a similar life form?

No....not right.

Lu Yu looked at the holographic projection below, and combined it with a large amount of observation data.

When the magnetic field of the neutron star is moving below, there is no change. Rather than the entire neutron star being a living being, it is more like the neutrons on this part of its surface have life characteristics.

But this is outrageous!

How can neutrons form life characteristics?

Although humans have such conjectures as Boltzmann brains, they are just conjectures and the cases in front of us are real!

You should know that the previous planetary life forms at least had the foundation for forming thinking circuits from the magnetic field, and then formed consciousness after tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years of adjustment.

Neutrons are composed of two down quarks and one up quark.

Free neutrons, that is, the constituent materials on neutron stars, can only exist stably for 15 minutes, and then they will decay into protons and electrons, and soon new neutrons will be born to replace the decayed neutrons. Only neutrons in the nucleus will become very stable.

In such a short time, let alone how to build a consciousness network nerve, they may decay and die at the moment of cognition.

But in fact, neutron life forms are still miraculously born.

In the communication with Lu Yu, these neutron life forms told him directly about their intelligence.

I can't remember when this group of neutrons gathered together began to have the ability to think.

Even though they are clustered life forms, their structure determines that the lifespan of their components is not long.

There is only fifteen minutes, and each part must attract more neutrons to gather before decaying to become the carrier of the thinking circuit.

Their way of existence as a life form can only continue through continuous iteration and replacement of the previously decayed neutrons. Once they hesitate for a moment, the thinking circuit that their group has worked hard to maintain will collapse.

For them, fifteen minutes is the length of a lifetime. In the communication with Lu Yu, the neutron life forms below have already gone through two rounds.

But these neutron life forms have an extremely strange dream. They want to create [ice] on the surface of the neutron star.

Summer insects cannot talk about ice.

Neither can neutron life forms.

A civilization that may have passed by by chance told the neutron life of countless generations ago that there is a material form like ice in the universe, and since then it has become the lifelong pursuit of neutron life.

Generation after generation.

Group after group.

Perhaps they can't even pass on civilization and technology, but the dream of pursuing the state of "ice cubes" has been passed down.

Perhaps it sounds incredible, these extremely short-lived lives, which may be iterated in an instant, actually want to make ice on a neutron star?

For this reason, they even transformed the neutron star to send a broadcast for help to the entire universe. You must know that their life form is so fragile that transforming the neutron star may even exterminate themselves.

This ice is not the condensation of water defined by humans.

These neutron lives desire to freeze the extremely dense matter on the neutron star.

Because for their extremely short life, the frozen neutron star matter may be an ultimate beauty.