Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 353: Cracking the Code

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Derma was once Earth's most famed electronic engineer. His programs were used in everything from satellites, to space stations, to space fighter jets. He was part of the team responsible for writing the computer system for the Noah One and Two's central mainframe. Naturally, he was a member of the Noah One.

Derma knew he was lucky. Yes, life on the cursed planet was not pretty and he almost lost his life, but he eventually survived, and not only that, his wife and 8-year-old daughter survived as well… In the original Noah One's several ten thousand members, families like his were rare, and after his whole family had survived to get on the Hope, Derma promised he would be the most devout person to give thanks back to God for blessing his family… Of course, he was deeply appreciative of the Hope's government too.

"…Earth is gone and all human society was destroyed with it. Humanity is only left with this Hope government and I wish to find a suitable job as soon as possible. Of course, I wish to be given a contract that is suitable for my standing…"

This was an email Derma wrote to the Hope's electronic science department. It had been half a month since his family left the epidemic prevention center. They had since moved into their new home, a building secluded in a peaceful residential area. It had two bedrooms and one living room. It was just big enough for a family of his size to feel comfortable.

Furthermore, the area had great amenities and his neighbors were all friendly people. The residential area also had green pottery and easy access to public transportation. It was 2 streets away from the Market Street and 4 streets away from a 3D manipulated garden. His wife and daughter were satisfied with the arrangement.

The only complaint was that they were only left with three-fourths of the government allowance. After all, no matter how powerful the H-coins were, there were too many things needed to be purchased for a new family. Furthermore, his family had not had a good wine, steak, and cigar for a very long time. These all would consume money, and in just half a month, they were only left with 1,500 H-coins in their account. This made Derma worried.

Initially, Derma thought he and the rest of the scientists would be integrated into the government like the Noah One's soldiers. After all, his work was fixed, and there was nothing else he could have done with his expertise. However, half a month later, there was still no news. He was worried and bought several papers to locate the contact information of the department he would belong in.

After Derma sent the email, his wife passed him a glass of coffee. He took a sip of it and said with pleasant surprise, "This is such a good smell. Freshly ground coffee beans?"

His wife was a 30 something beautiful European woman. She replied with a gentle smile, "Yes, it is. When I was out shopping today, I saw these new coffee beans on the market. Initially, I did not intend to buy it, but the line was so long and the stock was running out. I couldn't help myself and bought some. I was surprised that it had such a strong coffee smell; it is even better than the special blend Kona coffee that we used to get back on Earth. I really did not expect this spaceship to be able to grow such pure coffee beans, or maybe it's leftover stock taken from Earth."

Derma took another enjoyable sip of the coffee and said, "I really have a hard time believing this is the Noah Two. The outside has not changed much, but the inside has changed a lot. Furthermore, how many people are there on this ship? The papers have a daily population estimate, and today, there are already 246,000 people. They have to feed so many people, so what if they had brought the whole Earth's supplies? This spaceship has been travelling in space for at least ten years, meaning they would have finished Earth's stock a long time ago, so these things like these coffee beans must be cultivated right on this ship. After all… this spaceship is already a product from the later 4th revolution."

In the middle of their conversation about the price of the coffee beans being 170 plus H-coins for 1,000 grams, a suddenly ring came from the computer. Both of them turned to see the image of a small envelope appear on screen. It looked the real thing.

They were no longer shocked by this 3D imaging technology on the Hope. Initially, they were shocked that an image could be projected in thin air, but after a while, they got used to it.

Derma extended his finger to press the envelope and it opened to reveal a long english reply. He and his wife were reading the content.

"…Mr. Derma, we have received your email and are impressed by your fiery passion. As you have said, the Hope is humanity's last and only home, therefore we must work hard to protect it…

"…Currently, our research team has stumbled across a conundrum that requires the expertise of someone just like yourself. If possible, please come to the Hope's fourth floor Area XX for an interview at 10 AN tomorrow. We will definitely draft a contract that is to your satisfaction."

Derma shared a look with his wife and saw the joy in each other's eyes. They thought that since the Hope had left him hanging for half a month, they would not need someone like him. After all, his thoughts had been stuck in the 21st century level. He therefore did not have much hope in the email, but who would have thought that they would respond only after a few minutes, and from the way the email was worded, they had been waiting for him to write them.

In that case…. Why wouldn't the government just call him in for work directly?

In the electronic department, Da Bing, who had been acting as the leader, was also not quite satisfied with Yao Yuan and his order that stated they could not actively enlist the scientists from the Noah One, not even the technicians and interns, to work for them. They had to be given enough time to familiarize themselves with the life on the Hope and to repair their hearts that were broken on the cursed planet. Unless the scientists actively requested to join a certain task force, they were not allowed to reach out to them.

As the father of electronics on the Hope and dubbed the most brilliant scientist rivalling the Whisperers, Da Bing's standing on the Hope had a meteoric rise. He not only became the head of all electronic committees, he was also one of the few scientists who could stand his ground in front of Yao Yuan. Therefore, he naturally had access to the list of survivors from the Noah One. It had about 40 electronic talents he could not wait to get his hands on, and Derma was one of them. No, more accurately, Da Bing was most excited about Derma from the 40 people.

However, due to the difference in technological levels, Derma now was no better than a normal intern, but the real test of scientific study was intelligence and talent. They say success is 99 percent hard work and 1 percent talent, but in science, success is 70 talent and the rest hard work!

If a scientist was born a genius, he would make a name for himself at age 20 and then retire to enjoy the labour of his genius when he is 40. Derma, who was only 40, was such a genius. Give him a little more time to absorb the scientific knowledge the Hope could provide and by then, he would be unrivalled.

Therefore, when Da Bing received Derma's email, he was beyond excited, especially since he had ran into a conundrum that needed the help of many fresh perspectives.

After Da Bing sent his mail and received Derma's reply several minutes later, he returned to the hall with a satisfied smile. In it was a silver-white metallic product, and due to its immense size, it had to be set on the floor in the horizontal way. Even so, they still needed to use a ladder to get to the top of the thing.

This was the native machine Guang Zhen's group had retrieved from the planet, the central computer of the level 3 space civilization. After they returned, the computer was sent to the electronic department that was on the fourth floor. In fact, there were 10 Black Star Troopers guarding the place for 24 hours to prevent theft or damage.

Da Bing studied this large contraption and the hundred something people surrounding it and sighed. He joined the team to check up on their progress.

The central computer used the plasma energy source. Even though the Hope could already produce this type of energy, the rate of conversion was still too low. After all, the Hope still had not reached the stage of having to use plasma energy. The energy required to activate this computer would exhaust 80 percent of the Hope's energy storage, but… that was only the beginning.

The computer's internal data used quantum programming; however, due to the language difference and the randomness of quantum systems, it was hard to crack. Last but not least, there was also an artificial AI precursor living inside this central computer!

This was the biggest issue facing Da Bing. If he destroyed this AI, then the information within would be lost, but if they kept this AI… as a non-human created AI, it was like keeping a ticking time bomb; it would be a hidden threat to the Hope, and no one would be able to accept that.

So… What should he do?!

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