CH 22

After listening to Meng Zhuo's words, Zhao Huasheng fell silent for a moment, then said: "Assuming this K2 civilization really exists, do you think we can really defeat them?"

"That depends on you." Meng Zhuo said it bluntly.

Zhao Huasheng fell silent again, then shook his head with a bitter smile: "Let's assume two conditions. One, this K2 civilization really exists, and they really set up an inverted fusion layer as a Dyson sphere around the sun. Two, Li Qi's really found a way to defeat this K2 civilization and then hinted at the method to me."

"No, it doesn't have to be defeat; co-existing peacefully is also possible." Meng Zhuo added.

"No, co-existence is not possible," said Zhao Huasheng. "It's quite obvious that our human civilization needs the sun, and that's our bottom line. I don't think a K2 civilization, which has chosen the sun as its energy source after so much deliberation, would make any concessions in this regard. To put it simply, there are so many stars in this universe, yet they chose to use the sun as their energy source. That means the sun is irreplaceable and unique to them. So if this K2 civilization exists, we could not coexist peacefully. Either we defeat them and bring the sun back to its normal radiation level, or they defeat us and our civilization collapses, and they get the energy from the sun." 

Meng Zhuo said, "Perhaps there is such a possibility. The solar energy needed by the Earth is limited, perhaps Li Qi's idea is to open a crack on the Dyson sphere that wraps the whole sun, preserving all the sunlight that shines on the Earth, and blocking the sunlight that shines in other directions. After all, the sun is a sphere and radiates a huge amount of energy in all directions, and the Earth receives none of the solar energy. Or, perhaps Li Qi's idea is to let the K2 civilization make concessions and provide human beings with survival guarantees through their technological means. After all, at the level of K2 civilization, it may not be difficult to guarantee the survival of a K0.7 civilization."

Zhao Huasheng shook his head and said, "This may also be ruled out. They are not doing it now because the Earth's civilization has been greatly affected and many people have died. This means that, whether it's opening a rift on the Dyson sphere or relying on their technological power to protect the survival ofhumans, it means paying and losing benefits for them, so they won't do it. And if Li Qichang's method is really like this, it also means resistance. It is obvious that only when we show enough bottom cards and qualifications for negotiation, will the K2 civilization make concessions to protect our survival. And there is no difference between "forcing them to make concessions" and "defeating them.""

Meng Zhuo fell silent and stopped speaking. "Let's discuss further, the possibility of 'forcing' or 'defeating' a K2 level civilization with the power of our human civilization," Zhao Huasheng said lightly. "Unfortunately, I think this possibility does not exist."

"In the past, many films and television works about human civilization responding to the invasion of extraterrestrial civilizations have been filmed by artists and directors in our human society. In these films and television works, there are some that rely on certain sound waves to repel enemies, some that rely on computer viruses to defeat enemies, and some that rely on schemes to defeat enemies. In short, in the process of repelling these extraterrestrial civilizations, all of us humans use tricks. It seems that even ordinary people know that it is impossible to repel enemies by relying on real strength, so let's discuss the possibility of repelling a K2 level civilization by relying on tricks."

Unfortunately, this possibility still does not exist. Zhao Huasheng still shook his head indifferently, and his words were as cold as ice. "If you think it's possible, then please help me think of a way to let the primitive humans with stone tools repel the modern armed forces with firearms."

"Your words are too absolute," said Meng Zhuo, expressing his opposition.

"It may be too absolute for two civilizations with limited differences, but it is not absolute for us. Even primitive humans with stone tools can kill a modern human, but we, a K0.7 civilization, absolutely cannot defeat a K2 civilization. Perhaps there is really some way, such as the dark forest theory, using such acts as exposing coordinates as a threat to make K2 civilizations retreat, but with our technological level, I don't think we can find this way.

"The difference in technological level is reflected in all aspects, which is the most cruel and ruthless oppression, just like we clearly know that if a rabbit can press a button to kill the human who wants to eat him, but from the rabbit's perspective, can it know this thing?"

"So my conclusion is that maybe there is a way, but we can't find it."

"No, that's not right," Meng Zhuo said with a shake of his head."Normally, it is indeed so, but don't forget Li Qi. Maybe Li Qi has already found this way and then hinted it to you."

"So...what is Li Qi's talent and virtue? Even if he is extraordinary, he is still within the scope of a normal human being. Where did he find the means to repel a K2 civilization? Of course, it is possible that Li Qi has already come in contact with this K2 civilization, so he would have this clever method. However, please note that this is only a possibility. If we assume this to be true, then we need to modify the premise to: a certain K2 civilization had been in contact with Li Qi for a long time, and then Li Qi discovered the means to repel this K2 civilization, and then this K2 civilization set up a Dyson Sphere around the sun to draw energy from it... but Occam's razor implies that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily, which means that the more premises in a hypothesis, the lower its credibility.

Meng Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. After a while, Meng Zhuo rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm just an ignorant person; I can't argue with all of you scientists."

At this moment, a voice came from Meng Zhuo's pocket. Meng Zhuo took out a device that looked like a cellphone and said, "Our conversation has been recorded, and the content is being sent to the Crisis Management Center for analysis by scientists. Now, you and your companions can speak."

"Zhao Huasheng, hello, I am Wang Tang. We have met in Li Qi's office before," said the machine.

Zhao Huasheng said, "Hello."

"We heard your discussion with Meng Zhuo. It cannot be denied that what you said makes sense. It is almost impossible for us humans with K0.7 level technology to repel a K2 civilization, and the probability is indeed very low. However, you can't just assume it doesn't exist because of the low probability. Do you have absolute confidence that Li Qi will not find a way to take advantage of this?"

Zhao Huasheng shook his head and said, "I just said the probability is very low."

"But this is the only hope for the survival of human civilization at this moment. Even if the probability is low, we must keep pursuing it."

"Do you mean to put a lot of resources, manpower, and material into this?" Zhao Huasheng had a slightly ironic smile.

"Yes." Wang Tang's words were very definite.

"You’ve all gone down the wrong path," Zhao Huasheng said directly, "you’ve been blinded by appearances."

"So, what’s your opinion?" Wang Tang asked.

"Let's go back to the two original assumptions. One, that a K2 civilization actually exists and has set up a Dyson Sphere, and two, that Li Qi possesses a way to defeat this K2 civilization. However, I have argued that the possibility of us humans finding a way to repel this K2 civilization is extremely slim. So why do you still insist that these two assumptions are correct?"

"Since these two assumptions are mutually contradictory, the likelihood of them both being true is very low. So why don't we change the initial conditions to imagine that the K2 civilization does not exist and Li Qi does not have a way to repel them?"

"Mm?" There was a sound of confusion from the device, followed by some murmuring, as if Wang Tang was discussing something with someone.

After a while, Wang Tang's voice came through: "But... these phenomena all hint at the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization...."

Zhao Huasheng said softly, "So you all have been misled by the illusion. If K2 level civilization really exists, then there is only a very slim chance that Li Qi has the means to repel them. If Li Qi really has the ability to solve the problem, then the probability of K2 level civilization existing is very small. These two conditions cannot coexist. So, are you willing to believe in Li Qi or willing to believe that there is a K2 level civilization?"

"Of course we are willing to believe in Li Qi," Wang Tang said weakly, "but besides the so-called extraterrestrial civilization, how do we explain the phenomenon of the Dyson sphere-like object above the sun at this moment?"

Zhao Huasheng was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "This still requires us to continue to explore and pursue. My suggestion is not to put too much energy on the so-called extraterrestrial civilization. We should still return to the path of physical mechanism, data collection, and psychological analysis of Li Qi... If we can avoid some detours, human civilization will have a little more hope..."