Upper Beijing.

Institute of Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In a conference room that was not very spacious, a group of people were crowded in the dark.

Most of them are the leaders of major public mathematics research institutions in China, as well as the most prestigious scholars of various schools of science and university.

As for why they're sitting here......

In fact, they themselves don't know.

"Why don't you even have an agenda for a meeting?"

Looking at the mineral water bottle standing alone on the conference table, Wang Shicheng frowned.

Just as he was about to ask a staff member, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

"Wang Shicheng? Haha, you old guy was invited too? ”

Hearing this voice, Wang Shicheng looked sideways with an unhappy expression, and saw Academician Xiang walking over with a smile on his face and sitting down in the position next to him.

"Our Institute of Mathematics at Yan University is also the top mathematical research institution in China, why can't I come?"

"Hey, look at what you said, I didn't mean that, I was just a little surprised," looked around, lowered his voice to the academician, and said softly, "I observed, it seems that not only the top leaders of major research institutions, but also the top experts in the direction of number theory in China have been invited over...... I don't know what this conference is going to discuss. ”

"Nope."

"No?" Slightly stunned, Xiang Huanan looked at him with some incomprehension.

Without looking at the academician, Wang Shicheng just raised his eyelids and glanced at the conference room, and said lightly.

"Speaking of experts in the field of number theory, there is still one person who has not come."

"You mean Academician Lu?"

"Yes," nodded his head, Wang Shicheng said calmly, "In the area of number theory, if he is called second, no one dares to call it first." Since he is a scholar in the direction of number theory, and he is so coincidentally not here, I can only guess that most of the meeting is related to him. ”

Although he didn't particularly like the young man, he still admired the man's mathematical achievements.

As he spoke, a middle-aged man in formal clothes walked to the podium at the front of the conference room.

With a soft cough from the man, the voice in the conference room fell silent.

Although he is not from academia, as the second-in-command of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the vast majority of scholars sitting here are no strangers to him.

"It seems that this meeting will not be easy."

Hearing Xiang Huanan's whisper, Wang Shicheng didn't speak, just nodded silently.

The "industry-wide conference" presided over by the second-in-command of the Ministry of Science and Technology......

Can it be simpler?

"Long story short." After coughing lightly, the man standing in front of the podium quickly got to the point with a serious expression, "What you are about to come into contact with is the top secret of the state, and the secrecy level is tentatively top secret, and if there are no other changes, the statute of limitations for secrecy is thirty years. After the meeting, it is forbidden to discuss issues related to the meeting in private, and it is forbidden to disclose or divulge any information about the meeting. ”

"Of course, the specific top-secret content has nothing to do with you and me. In order to facilitate the development of the work, I will try to pick and choose the main points here. ”

After a pause, the man nodded to the staff member next to him and motioned for him to turn on the projector.

Soon, as the projector turned on, a PPT with black characters on a white background was presented on the screen.

The moment I saw this question, there was a whisper of discussion in the conference room.

Almost all of them had surprised expressions written on their faces.

"ABC guess!?"

"What the hell is this going on, I can't understand why."

"It seems that it is intended to call on everyone to solve mathematical problems."

"It's, is this something that can be done by concentrating?"

Listening to the sound of discussion in his ear, he opened his mouth to Academician South China, and after a while, he looked at Academician Wang Shicheng who was sitting next to him, and said with a strange expression.

"Lao Wang, what do you think?"

There were also two words of bewilderment written on his face, and it took Wang Shicheng a long time before he squeezed a sentence out of his mouth.

“…… I don't know, don't ask me. ”

ABC conjecture......

Although he didn't know what the necessary connection between this thing and state secrets was, reason told him that this thing could not be solved by bringing together top domestic experts for a meeting.

"This is a math problem, I believe that at your level, I don't need to explain more, here I will only talk about the key points," looking at the conference room where there was a lot of discussion, the expression on the man's face did not change, and he continued to speak, "The Ministry of Science and Technology has set up a special scientific research fund with an annual budget of 100 million yuan. ”

"Whoever can solve this problem will be funded."

Whoever can solve it will be whom?!

The moment they heard this, everyone who was still talking a second ago gasped one after another.

Even Wang Shicheng, who has been retired for many years, couldn't help but "hiss".

100 million in scientific research funding?!

And it's 100 million ...... a year

Is this crazy?

For some professional engineering academicians, a fund of 100 million may not be nothing, and it will be the money to purchase two pieces of equipment. Especially for those scientific researchers who build rockets and plant the sun, let alone 100 million, doubling it may not be enough to spend.

However, for a poor subject as mathematics, 100 million is already an astronomical amount.

If there is really so much money, I am afraid that I will have to worry about how to spend it every year.

"What the hell is happening, and it's worth such a big price for the Ministry of Science and Technology......" Academician Xiang Huanan, who was sitting next to him, muttered in disbelief in a low tone.

"......I don't know," Academician Wang Shicheng shook his head with a solemn expression, "But I'm sure that the stakes behind this are probably not small." ”

……

In fact, including Academician Wang Shicheng, many scholars in the conference room had a correct hunch.

A report from Mars not only turned the entire 128 project into a Class A secret, but also made the entire high-level of the manned fire-landing office feel like a great enemy.

Extraterrestrial Civilizations......

Until a day ago, this sounded like a distant concept.

Now, however, this has become a problem that everyone has to face.

Just when the leaders of almost all public mathematics institutes in the country were called to the Chinese Academy of Sciences for a meeting, a ministerial-level closed-door meeting was also going on on Chang'an Avenue, which was not very far away.

“…… It is simply open to the international community, and regardless of the benefits that do not know whether they exist or not, the risks involved are too great! If everything goes well, it is fine, but if it is not handled well, it may even be possible to undo our decades of hard work and achievements, and we will have to bear the stigma of sinners of all mankind. ”

"I agree with Minister Wang that just like global climate action, this is no longer a problem facing one country, but a common problem for all mankind. Even if it is top secret, it will be kept secret for 30 years at most, and it is better to make it public to a limited extent than to take the risk on ourselves at the risk of the world's condemnation. ”

"I'm against it, at least until it's safe to do so, we should make sure all the options are in our hands!"

"Seconded! If it's useful, it's fine, but if it's useless, even if it's made public, what? Who else can you count on to help other than an argument? Those Yankees? ”

"I'm not in favor of going public, but I'm not in favor of it being the way it is now. We can disclose some of the information with reservations, and set up an international organization to discuss countermeasures while relatively controlling the channels of dialogue. This will not only help us increase our international influence, but also avoid the risk of a crisis of confidence. Otherwise, if the slightest rumor leaks out, or if other countries have evidence of our independent contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, it is likely that our relations with the international community will be in a very awkward situation. ”

"Indeed...... It's too difficult to keep it completely secret for ten or twenty years, and it is the kind that doesn't leak the slightest rumor! ”

Coming into contact with extraterrestrial civilizations is fraught with risks at any given time.

This risk comes not only from light years away, but also from our immediate neighbors.

If a country engages with extraterrestrial civilizations alone, it means that it has the power to engage in all diplomacy with extraterrestrial civilizations, including declaring war and holding peace talks, while other countries can only become passive recipients of the results of all dialogues.

The benefits are all taken by others, but they have to take risks together, and they are even kept in the dark, and no one will be happy to replace them. It would be nice to keep it a secret, but obviously it's not possible.

Looking at the arguing conference room, the Great Elder sitting at the conference table was silent for a while, then looked at Lu Zhou and asked.

"Can't you solve that ABC conjecture?"

Although this question may seem irrelevant to the agenda of the meeting, it actually asks the most crucial point.

Being able to solve this mathematical problem seems to be the premise of dialogue with that extraterrestrial civilization.

Gradually, he began to realize this, and the discussion gradually subsided, and everyone in the room fell silent, quietly waiting for his answer.

"I don't know," Lu Zhou shook his head in the face of a pair of eyes looking at him, and said in a strict tone, "This kind of thing will only be known after trying it...... And my intuition tells me that even if I can solve it, I'm afraid it will take a lot of time. ”

The old man pondered for a moment and nodded.

"Putting aside the situation of not having an answer for a moment, now assuming that you have solved this problem, who do you think would be better to go there?"

"From the point of view of sincerity, it is naturally better to solve the problem." After a pause, Lu Zhou continued, "If it's me in the end...... Instead of someone else solving this problem, I'm willing to go on a trip to Mars. ”

The Great Elder frowned.

"Can't you talk remotely?"

"It's very difficult," Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "let alone Mars, even if it's Earth, the radio signal can't be transmitted so deep underground." Unless a communication base station is built on the ground, the fiber optic cable will be laid down. However, with the current conditions of the Martian scientific research base, it is almost impossible to do this. ”

After a pause and looking at the others in the conference room, Lu Zhou continued.

"What's more, I really want to go over and see what that so-called alien looks like."

"I think it's still too risky," although moved by Lu Zhou's selfless dedication, Director Li couldn't help but say, "That's Mars tens of millions of kilometers away...... If something goes wrong with this, it's not a joke. ”

"Science itself is an adventure, when did I say I was joking?" Looking at his old friend with concern written on his face, Lu Zhou said calmly, "If everything goes well, the impact of this meeting may be greater than that of controlled fusion." ”

"Whether it is from the standpoint of the country or the human race."

"I need to go there myself!"

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