Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Comet Cowboy

Captain Dimitri Chandler (male/2973.04.21/93.106/Mars/Space Academy 3005, known to his buddies as Tim)—is understandably annoyed.It took six hours for the message from Earth to reach the space tug Goliath beyond the orbit of Neptune.If this message is ten minutes late, he can say openly: "Sorry, I can't leave right now—the solar membrane was just opened." This excuse would be perfectly valid.Wrapping the icy core of a comet with a reflective film that is only a few molecules thick but several kilometers long is not the kind of work that is done halfway and stopped when you say it.

Then again, although staying in this place where Hyuga sailed and was neglected was harmed by others, he had better follow this ridiculous request, collect ice cubes from the rings of Saturn, and then gently push To Venus and Mercury, from the 28th century - already three centuries ago.Those "solar system conservationists" have been trying to create "before/after collection" imagery to support their charges of sabotage of aerial objects; Captain Chandler still can't see the world differently.Still, the public, sensitive to the ecological havoc wrought in previous centuries, thinks differently.As for the "Leave Saturn" referendum, it was passed by the overwhelming majority.As a result, Captain Chandler is no longer a cow thief in the rings of Saturn, but a cowboy chasing comets.

Therefore, he is not too far away from Alpha Centauri (the star closest to the sun), driving away the scattered ice escape from the Kuiper belt.There is certainly enough ice here to create kilometers-deep oceans on Venus and Mercury, but it will probably take centuries before the infernal heat on the surface of these two planets can be reduced to become habitable.Solar system conservationists are of course still opposed to such a move, but not as aggressively as they used to be. In 2304, the tsunami caused by an asteroid hitting the Pacific Ocean caused millions of casualties.Ironically, the damage would not have been as severe had it hit land.This incident also reminds future generations that human beings put too many eggs in a fragile basket.

Chandler told himself that the delivery would take fifty years to get there anyway, so a week or so late wouldn't matter much.But in this way, all calculations about rotation, center of mass and thrust vector have to be redone, and have to be sent back to Mars for confirmation.The route of this special delivery may be very close to the Earth's orbit, and it is always good to calculate carefully before pushing these billions of tons of ice. Like so many times before, Captain Chandler's eyes wandered to the old photograph above his desk.The photo shows a three-masted steamship; the steamship looks tiny compared to the icebergs suspended above the ship.is not that right?How small is the Goliath at this moment!

How incredible, he often thought, that it took only one generation to progress from the first Discovery to the eponymous spacecraft on its way to Jupiter!What would those ancient Antarctic explorers think if they looked out from the bridge of the Goliath? They must be dazzled.Because the piece of ice floating next to the Goliath extends infinitely up and down, so big that there is no end in sight.And it looks weird, not like the frozen north and south ice oceans, with pure blue and white.In fact, the ice doesn't just look dirty, it's really dirty.Because only 90% of it is water ice, the rest is like a witch's compound of carbon and sulfur, and most of it is only stable when it is close to absolute zero.Melting the ice could have unpleasant effects.As an astrochemist famously said, "Comets have bad breath." "Boss calling everyone," Chandler announced, "we've had a slight change in our plans. We've been asked to put our operations on hold until we investigate objects detected by the Space Guard radar. .”

After the chaotic whining on the intercom died down, someone asked, "Any details?" "Little knowledge. But I think it's another plan the Millennium Council forgot to scrap." This time there were more complaints, a genuine distaste for all the activities celebrating the end of the last millennium.When January 1, 3001 passed without incident, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and human beings can return to normal life and work and rest. "Anyway, it might be the same as last time, just a false alarm. We'll get back to work as soon as possible, over."

Chandler thought sullenly that this was the third time in his career that he'd been chasing like this.Despite centuries of exploration, the solar system is full of wonders.And, presumably the Space Guard had good reason to ask for it.He just hoped it wasn't some imaginative idiot who witnessed the fabled golden asteroid again.Chandler had never believed that such a thing existed, and if it did, it would be a mineralogical curiosity at best, and its real value would be far less than the ice he pushed to the sun, which Finally, it will bring life to the barren land. However, there is also a possibility that he will take it seriously.Human beings have released many mechanical detectors in space within a radius of 100 light years, and the "Tycho Tablet" has also fully reminded human beings that there are older civilizations carrying out similar activities.It is quite possible that other alien artifacts are sitting somewhere in the solar system, or are passing through the solar system.Captain Chandler suspected that the Space Guard might have a similar idea, otherwise they wouldn't have sent a first-class space tugboat to pursue the unidentified image on the radar.

Five hours later, the searching Goliath detected an echo from extremely far away.Even disregarding the distance factor, the thing seemed disappointingly small.However, as the radar signal gradually became clearer and stronger, it showed that the thing had the characteristics of a metal object, and it might be several meters long.It's heading out of the solar system.Chandler was almost certain that it was one of the tens of thousands of trash that humans threw into the stars during the last millennium.Maybe in the future, those rubbish will become the only evidence that human beings once existed.

Then, when the object was close enough to be observed with the naked eye, Chandler suddenly realized with a little awe: it must be some very patient scientist who is still checking the records of the early space age; unfortunately, the computer gave him the answer late Step back and miss the millennium celebrations from a few years ago! Chandler sent a message to Earth, with a little pride and a little seriousness in his voice. "This is the Goliath, and we're picking up a 1,000-year-old astronaut on board, and I can guess who he is."