Chapter 8 Chapter Four: The Mystery of the Champagne Supernova

Eva Argent is five years older than her MOH sister, and the two have very different personalities.But the difference between them is not too big, that's natural, otherwise the entire Argent family can't be called the Argent family.The physical difference between the girls is very small; but psychologically, one is like a star and the other is like a black hole.Of course, both of them “lived” on information—that was their drive, it was their source of pleasure, it was their interest.They were born to do this.The entire Argent family relied on this information processing ability to rise within the system.Naturally, the next generation in the family—Eva and Diana—was also programmed to share this passion for problem-solving.But for Diana, she was most effective when she could personalize the information.Her approach to puzzles is creative, freewheeling, and intuitive.Eva, on the other hand, was not interested in human questions.Compared with the species of Homo sapiens, data is more attractive and purer to her.Human interaction was, in fact, politics, and politics bored her—not that she didn't like people.But she was able to do that precisely because she wasn't emotionally involved at all—no, the problems that really got her attention were the ones that were far away (literally far away) from the human world.

Most recently, she is working on her seventh Ph.D.Because of this, she spends most of her time in her own world, rather than in reality (even struggling in the real world before realizing that her body is not well adapted to the terrible gravity. She finds it meaningless).This will be her third paper on supernovae, and fifth in the larger field of astronomy, and is nearing completion.This is very interesting!The development of specialized artificial intelligence has made possible the large-scale processing of superplanetary raw data that was unimaginable just a few decades ago.This gives data artists far richer avenues than ever before to solve unknown astrophysical mysteries.

Eva is currently studying a type II supernova.Usually, only stars with more than nine times the mass of the sun can form this kind of supernova; because only when a certain critical mass is reached, supernova can form.That is: less massive stars can (naturally) also form supernovae, but the data for that kind of supernova is of a different kind.Compared to Type II supernovae, they have a very different ratio of hydrogen to helium.In a previous PhD, Eva studied a type of less massive star capable of forming Type II supernovae.Now, she's studying a different class of stars; ones that can reach the brightness of a Type II supernova, but don't form an explosive shell, and they're also much less massive; much smaller than other examples that have been observed.So far, only four cases have been observed - the first being observed in the early 2000s and dubbed the "Champagne Supernova".Apparently named after a song (naturally, the era when the song was the biggest hit, everyone was crazy about it).Since then, only three new champagne-type supernovae have been discovered, out of trillions of stars that can be observed.According to the proportional calculation of the observed quantity (the algorithm is very simple), this phenomenon has only occurred about 20 times in the entire history of the universe-this makes this "abnormally high brightness" problem extremely rare, So it's extremely interesting.Some mechanism makes these small stars mimic supernova explosions!And Eva was determined to figure out the mechanism.There is a lot of data, although not enough to come up with a theory that is 90% valid.But she already has three theories, two of which are 50% established, enough to get a Ph.D.

Eva wasn't born with it, but she earned her first doctorate before she was sixteen.Diana, on the other hand, was different: Diana's sixteenth birthday was a week away, and she had nothing to brag about except a BA in General Education.In fact, Eva knew that Diana had no long-term heart.She lacked the kind of focus required for high-level information-processing work.Given the family's illustrious background, and given that the family's role in the Ulanov regime depended on its best information work, this characteristic of Diana could prove problematic in the long run. In the long run, the family needs someone with a clearer mind to inherit.

For Eva, her younger sister's liking for this kind of reasoning and puzzle-solving is an immature and immature performance. "Who's the murderer?" was never the biggest question -- never on a cosmic level.Take this recent misadventure: one of the nineteen servants was hammered to death.There was no doubt that one of the servants did it—no one else had entered the building, and no one else had escaped from it except the servants.So the question that remains is: which of the nineteen?What is the motivation?Did this act pose any threat to Eva or Diana?Had Diana asked her for advice, she would have answered those questions immediately, within tolerance, and to the satisfaction of anyone studying the data.But Diana won't ask—because she's already fascinated by the smell of solving crimes—romantic!

Leaving aside the ridiculous romance, line up these three questions.First, who is the murderer?The nineteen people who narrowed down the scope of the murderer have already established a theory of more than 99.9999%.Even if only the population of the island is considered (however, the Argent family has just arrived on the island and has not yet come into contact with any local people, so the possibility of the murderer coming from these people is very small, but for the sake of discussion), that is, from 19 out of 10,253 people were selected, which is more than 99.998%. The degree of establishment of Eva's doctoral thesis has never reached this level!Can you ask for more?There are trillions of people in the entire solar system, and Diana wants to waste her time on these nineteen people?Then let her go.If Eva was held responsible, she would treat all nineteen as murderers—either they would all be executed, or they would undergo technical treatment and be sentenced to long-term imprisonment.

Second, why did one of the nineteen do that?The stats for this question aren't as good; but while Eva only spends a few moments in the Mind Palace when she's bored, that little bit of experience is enough for her to get her success above 85%.From a historical point of view, human murder motives can usually be classified into three categories: material interests, personal grievances, and anti-social personality.These servants are family servants, all of which have passed the strict review of the relevant institutions of the Argent family (otherwise it would be impossible to be sent to the two girls), so Eva feels that the last item is unlikely. As for the first item, the possibility Not big either, they were all servants, not citizens.They'd all grown up in orbiting shantytown spheres, on the fringes of the slums, living off a few bacteria clumps and cheap purifiers and fusion batteries.We're not talking about the kind of durable stone houses hewn out of asteroids that only the relatively well-to-do can afford (as for the super-rich, like Eva's, they live in Large multi-story space alloy buildings are not cheap at all).Well, the shanty town spheres were originally designed as temporary buildings, and their service life is only a few years at most, after which the solar radiation will gradually destroy the integrity of the plastic-steel structure.The license issued at the time of purchase stipulates that the period of use shall not exceed three years.After that, in order to avoid being sued by the Ulanov legal system, you should buy a new one.But the poorest—of course they couldn't afford it.Therefore, they can only live in those death traps, generation after generation, repairing things here and there, and the population in those spheres has long exceeded the original design capacity.Worse still is swarming—drilling holes in spheres and connecting different spheres together with a seal to form a cluster—once you do this, all licenses are immediately invalidated, and you may face up to two years in prison. Penalties (though who bothers to picket such a crime?).It's gross and horrible, and it's a perfect example of the dark side of human nature.Inside people next to people, the smell, the feel, and the excrement.There, too, data access is usually carried out in public spaces, so there is no possibility of any privacy at all.It often happens that the sphere ruptures and the entire population dies; at most, only a few individuals survive in time to put on protective clothing, or wrap up in a sealed skin and float to the adjacent sphere like a mouse to survive.But this can't stop them from multiplying, "they" are always living.In the orbit around the sun, there are billions of such spheres, emitting a dark green light in the sun!Countless poor people.

For these servants, becoming the personal attendant of the two daughters of the Argent family is already considered as flying on the branch and becoming a phoenix.The uniform of the Argents had made them richer than anyone they had ever known before.Of course, their social status is still very low and their salaries are meager.But these are too much for them.Is there any reason to ask for more?Moreover, their contracts are full-time, and they have no leisure time to spend the extra credits they earn.Therefore, although Eva cannot completely rule out the possibility of killing someone for material gain, this possibility is really very small.In view of this, the most likely motive for the murder is personal grievances.In-depth investigation and research should be able to find out the specific reasons, but why bother?So far this conclusion is enough to satisfy any professional information artist, at least those who study science.

Finally comes the third question: Does the crime pose a real threat to the two sisters?A cursory thought would suggest that someone capable of violent murder would be within easy reach of the two sisters.But the two girls are protected by professional bodyguards; and all nineteen suspects are restricted in their freedom of movement pending further investigation. Most importantly, the two girls will never be targeted.All of the Argentine servants are given massive doses of CRF, a substance that not only makes them loyal to the Argentines, but also makes them truly show self-sacrificing love for the core members of the MOH family.They're more likely to mutilate themselves than to hurt Eva or Diana, really.

In Eva's view, the reaction of the two MOHmies is also the key.If they were really worried that this would pose a real threat to the two girls, even a little bit, they would immediately take Eva and Diana back to space.But not only did they not do that, but they actively encouraged Diana to use her expertise to investigate crimes-directly at the scene.It was clear that the crime posed no immediate threat to the girls. It's not that the two girls can sit back and relax forever.Instead, danger has always been a part of Eva and Diana's lives.They are the key figures selected by the Argent family for the next generation of children.Their family is one of the five MOH families, second only to the Ulanov family in the ruling class of the solar system.Below them are thousands of companies of all sizes, of all natures, and occupying different ecological niches.Any one of them, and (of course) any one of the other four families, would have good reason to hurt the Argents.But all this has nothing to do with one servant smashing another servant to death with a hammer!Most of the servants have only a vague idea of ​​the upper echelons of power—basically, they only know that the Ulanov family won the war many years ago, bringing order and law to society. The MOH families are at the top, and below them are the corporations, and below them are countless groups of organizations, such as the police, plainclothes, traditional gene families, sects, gangs, and then down are civilians, trillions of ordinary citizens-all Circle after circle around the Ulanov family, just like the angels around the throne of God in the Middle Ages.And those below the common people are subhumans, trillions of scum.To such a man, the absence of one—whether of natural causes or a blow to the head with a hammer—is a matter of indifference.

Eva tapped into the political database—a step that was largely unavoidable.The current situation within the system seems, well, pretty smooth, though she still prefers the grim perfection of physics data.Thirty years have passed since the last attempted coup d'état, when the Palmer MOH family attempted to launch an attack to usurp the Ullano Grand Family's reign.Of course, it is always good to assume that there is a conspiracy.Other families, various companies, and lower-level organizations may be plotting something.Eva thinks that her own two MOHmies are also plotting, making plans, laying out possible strategies and the like.Not doing these things would be slow suicide.Although Ulanov law strictly forbids conspiracy, the Ulanov family would not be so foolish as to think that none of these things existed.For now, though, Eva hasn't seen any factors that could lead to unrest or bloodshed in the not-too-distant future. Of course, it is wise to take precautions.The Palmer family was wiped out; no MOH family and company would be foolish enough to launch another direct attack.Compared with the direct attack on the Argent family, the attack on the information industry union is a greater threat to the Ulanov family—for the ambitious lower-level organization, the input-output ratio is actually greater.In fact, such an attack is becoming more and more likely.Diana and Eva aren't ready to take over the reins of the family just yet.Rather than wait until the family completes the transfer of power before launching an attack, it is better to do it now. Well, the electronic rumor board iRumours is full of stuff about faster-than-light travel right now.According to those gossipers, the Ulanov family is only one step away from discovering, or rediscovering, or developing (similar words) the technology that allows faster-than-light travel.What a dream, it is of course impossible.The laws of physics simply won't allow this to happen.But just the rumors have already stirred up the entire data market.It's as if someone announced on the Dutch stock market in the seventeenth century: "Tomorrow I will master the technique of turning a stone into gold!" Just a concept has already excited the market, and the information market is more volatile than other markets.Of course, the volatility of the market does not mean that all this will really become a reality. From Eva's point of view, uh, she has six Ph.D.s in science and is about to get her seventh.So it was clear to her that faster-than-light travel was impossible, and the impossibility was downright obvious.That guy named Mike who supposedly stumbled upon breaking the light-speed barrier—well, he's gone, of course.Eva even wondered if that person ever existed.Even if he existed, he was just a "second-hand".His so-called "discovery" is equivalent to saying - I made a perpetual motion machine, or I invented a square circle.Eva didn't need to think about whether that technology really existed, but she was sure that there must be people who believed it did.There are still many idiots among human beings who are willing to believe anything. If that impossible device can be acquired by the Ulanov family, there is no doubt that it will mean endless power and wealth.The power of the Ulanov family will be consolidated to the point where it cannot be added.They're going to control the interstellar migration of humans, so killing people to get something like this is nothing, mass murder is nothing.Moreover, one would naturally infer that the Argent family, the family that provided information services to Ulanov, was closest to the "discovery".All of this, just a thought, can put them in great danger. Both Eva and Diana were well protected, though; their location was kept a secret, and they were guarded 24/7 by the best bodyguards money could buy.The entire island is densely covered with defense systems.Landing attacks have a surprisingly low success rate.Of course, a hostile MOH family or corporation - assuming they know where the two girls are - could bomb the island from outer space.But that's an act of war; getting there is no easy feat.The security of assassination is much higher, and it can be launched at any time without too many scruples. And all this is a million miles away from one servant smashing another servant to death with a hammer.Only an idiot would think that this sordid crime could be called a FTL murder. Eva cleared all these thoughts from her mind.She continued to study her anomalous supernova, increasing the theoretical validity from 52% to 55%, then took a shower, ate something, and played chess for another half an hour.Then, she and her sister played in IP for a while, and then both of them had a remote call with their two MOHmies.Of course, Diana kept talking excitedly about her so-called true murder mystery and how she was going to find out who was hiding among those nineteen servants, and their parents smiled encouragingly throughout.Eva felt her anger rising faintly.But after falling asleep in the gel bed and waking up the next day, she found that the gravity was easier to bear, and she continued her research.Murder is a trivial matter.As soon as I thought of this, Ms. Joad came.