Chapter 1080: Another Possibility
As the heart of the European Union, the victory of the Frankberg Revolution inspired the European people amid the turmoil.
The collapse of the Rothschild Empire accelerated the move of European countries “to return left.” People began to reflect on whether the choices made two years ago were correct, and whether those right-wing parties really took their country in a better direction.
Contrary to the turbulent Europe, the Asian economy on the other side of the globe was steadily rising.
Especially in the country situated in the vast western Pacific Ocean, GDP was rising as fast as the s.p.a.ce elevator.
On June 10th, the delegation of the Nippon government visited Coro City and brought the Central Power Company and the Yoto Power Company for an agreement to expand electricity imports. This would increase the total import power in the second half of the year by 31% to replace two nuclear power plants that were shut down.
At present, the mining speed of tritium-3 in Lunar City was far greater than the consumption rate. The second nuclear fusion power station was also about to be completed with a considerable surplus in electricity generation. Jiang Chen welcomed these agreements with open arms.
Not only Nippon, but the most prosperous market in Hua also loosened their grip on policies and sent many power companies to delegate. As the world’s number one electricity consumer, Hua’s electricity consumption was larger than the second place and third place combined.
Even if Hua eliminated half of the thermal power, Celestial Trade would make more than a fortune.
As of early June, the Global Grid Plan completed the most critical first step. Thanks to the efforts of many parties, the cables of Celestial Trade successfully covered 80% of Australia and Asia, and the output of electricity accounted for 88% of the total domestic electricity production.
Benefiting from the dividends brought in by cheap electricity, according to the proportion of total electricity consumption in the country, the Global Grid Plan decreased industrial cost by the highest of 1.7% and the lowest of 0.3% for partic.i.p.ating countries. The decrease of two percentage points, projected onto the trillion-dollar GDP, brought unimaginable savings!
The benefits to the environment, the investment environment, the compet.i.tiveness of export products, the promotion of electrification, and the decrease in reliance on the energy market were not quantifiable. In short, the governments that tasted these benefits have also released positive signals and sent their own companies to negotiate with Xin on increasing electricity imports.
The New York Times even claimed that Xin has become a country on the electricity pole. The Was.h.i.+ngton Post posted a satirical cartoon that ill.u.s.trated countless dog chains sticking out from the Western Pacific, leas.h.i.+ng the surrounding countries.
Regardless of how the media reported it, the countries that bought tickets to board the train are already for the electrification process, and they had no intention to jump out. The series of grids not only generated Jiang Chen a continuous stream of cash but also allowed him to create diplomatic capital.
The reason why the US dollar could rule the global market for more than half a century was any country’s industrialization process depended on oil. The dollar also happened to be linked to oil. If the domestic production of crude could not meet demand, then a foreign exchange reserve would be needed to avoid fluctuations in the US dollar.
The same was true now. Asian countries were increasing their holdings of the New Xin dollar.
When the rise and fall of the New Xin dollar could affect the cost of electricity in many countries, even if Coro was not the world’s financial center, the Xin Reserve could begin to challenge the dollar’s hegemony.
There was nothing to do with finance, just influence.
…
Five days before the Outer s.p.a.ce Security Summit, Jiang Chen sent invitations to ten major countries around the world. He implicitly mentioned in the invitation that the topics discussed would be related to an extraterrestrial civilization.
So far, the ten countries that received the invitation letter have indicated that they planned to send senior foreign ministers to attend the meeting.
For Jiang Chen, the evidence presented at the meeting was now his focus.
At present, the s.p.a.ce telescope he transported from the apocalypse was sent the synchronous...o...b..t via the s.p.a.ce elevator. Jiang Chen was unsure about the specific coordinates of that s.p.a.ce colonization s.h.i.+p, but it was enough to know their origin and destination.
Gliese 581, about 2 degrees north Libra-beta, 20.5 light-years from Earth. A week before the invitation was sent, the astronomical observation team of Celestial Trade s.p.a.ce Department conducted an observation and a.n.a.lysis of the star. They ultimately reached an astonis.h.i.+ng message… but one that was expected by Jiang Chen.
The Gliese 581g planet’s probability of life reached 90%.
“Unbelievable…” With a stack of doc.u.ments filled with astronomical data, Kelvin walked into Jiang Chen’s office and said incredulously. “Your conjecture is correct. There is indeed the possibility of life there… However, I’m certain that even if there is life there, it is absolutely impossible to breed a civilization with technology beyond the Stone Age.”
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh? Why do you think that?”
“The first is Tidal Locking. The only habitable part of the planet is around twilight zone, which determines their living s.p.a.ce.” Kelvin took a spectrum and placed it in front of Jiang Chen. “The next most important thing is that the elemental composition of this planet contains a lot of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, but it is extremely lacking in mineral elements such as iron and aluminum. Referring to the gravitational data we have observed, the most likely lives on the planet are arthropods along the twilight zone. There are no mammals!”
Jiang Chen applauded and nodded.
Although it was based on 22nd-century observation equipment, it was quite remarkable to be able to a.n.a.lyze so many valuable insights from limited information.
“Then have you considered another possibility?”
“Another possibility?” Kelvin frowned.
“All along, we all believe that the development of civilization is linear, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, from the Feudal Era to the Industrial Revolution, and finally to the future known as the Information Age.”
“Is there something wrong with that?” Kelvin didn’t think so.
“The conclusions drawn from only one reference system cannot be universally applied. We cannot negate the possibility of the existence of other civilizations because the development of human civilization is linear,” Jiang Chen said.
“You mean a group of bugs may breed a civilization? Stop kidding, they…” Kelvin shook his head and just wanted to say that they didn’t even have hands, but he suddenly stopped.
He suddenly remembered Celestial Trade’s military action on the tundra in northern Finland. Celestial Trade’s most proud Power Armor Brigade encountered a bunch of mutants hatched from larval.
Why did Jiang Chen instruct Celestial Trade s.p.a.ce Department to observe the Gliese galaxies? Why did Jiang Chen suddenly go to Finland before the X2 bacterial incident broke out? Why was Jiang Chen so certain of the danger of the nest from the beginning…
All the clues connected together in Kelvin’s mind.
He looked at Jiang Chen in shock and squeezed out a few words from his throat.
“You mean…”
“Yes,” Jiang Chen nodded and said seriously, “The X2 bacteria is not just a research accident as publicly stated. From the beginning, this is a conspiracy of an extraterrestrial civilization.”