"Our human civilization appears to be flourishing. We have the ability to cut through mountains, reclaim land, and regulate rainfall... Our civilization appears to be extremely powerful. However, this is only a façade. The truth is that we are extremely vulnerable." Brad took a sip of wine and spoke slowly to Alex, who sat across from him.
Brad appeared to be considering something, but he didn't seem to know what it was. Brad's eyes were teary, and his thoughts seemed to have wandered off to somewhere else.
Alex has always held his senior in high regard. Alex began an internship at the Institute of Stellar Physics, which is part of the Central Academy of Sciences of the Alliance, while still in the doctoral program, and became Brad's subordinate at the time. Brad's vast knowledge of stellar physics has always impressed Alex.
""Perhaps," Alex countered, "but human civilization has always been more powerful." I believe we will become truly stronger in the near future."
Brad sighed, and his eyes flashed with an unfathomable brilliance that seemed to be sadness and pain.
Brad got up and walked over to the high-rise restaurant's window. The night view of the bustling city is unobstructed through the window glass. The lights were so bright that the moon in the sky appeared to be obscured. The road is littered with light-breathing dragons. Even in this skyscraper hundreds of meters above the ground, it appears that the noise from the ground can be heard.
Although it was already eleven o'clock, the city had not yet fallen asleep.
"This is our civilization," says the narrator. Brad spread his arms wide, as if embracing everything in his arms. Brad's eyes seemed enthralled, and his voice took on a dreamy quality: "This is our powerful and prosperous civilization."
"Brad, you're inebriated; I'll take you home." Alex approached Brad and said in hushed tones,
With a shake of his head, Brad said: "Don't be in a rush to return, Alex. Today I have a message for you."
Alex was taken aback for a moment before resuming his seat. He noticed that Brad seemed to be having a bad day today.
"Our civilization has almost completely changed the face of the planet. We have a naive belief that we are all-powerful, but the truth is harsh. How much do we know about the earth beneath our feet? Maria is the deepest above the earth. The Nahai Trench reaches a depth of about 10,000 meters. Mount Everest, at less than 9,000 meters, is the highest mountain in the world. Our submarine dived into the Mariana Trench, which we considered a major accomplishment. A hole was drilled on it with a depth of only 11 kilometers, and it was declared that a major step had been taken... The earth's radius, on the other hand, is over 6,000 kilometers. It's only one part of the puzzle... We have no idea where ninety-nine percent of the places are."
"The epicenter of an earthquake is usually no more than 100 kilometers deep. Even the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on the planet is only the size of a sneeze in comparison to the entire planet... No, this isn't a sneeze. The earth squirms a little at most. Nonetheless, the result is frequently the death of hundreds of millions of people..."
Brad's eyes seemed to be full of mockery.
Alex is aware of what Brad said. However, when Brad said it in this tone, Alex felt a pang of discomfort in his heart. It's as if someone who believes he's superpowerful is having his vulnerability and incompetence exposed in front of others.
"Humans are always talking about how important it is to protect the environment, but why does the environment need to be protected by humans? Even if all of humanity's nuclear bombs detonate at the same time, only the earth's surface environment will be destroyed, and the impact of these nuclear bombs will not be transmitted to the ground below. Humans are only trying to protect themselves. What about the earth? What if humans try to destroy it? Are ants capable of destroying mountains?"
"Our entire civilization, all of our cities, all of our buildings, all of our population, our culture, our heritage, our technology... everything we have is just tiny bacteria attached to the earth, and if the earth has its own consciousness, if the earth wants to destroy our human civilization, all it takes is a sneeze, just a sneeze." Brad remarked.
"While our human civilization is still in its infancy, our development potential is limitless." Alex spoke in hushed tones.
Brad turned to look towards the sky and said "This is merely a planet. What is the value of the earth in comparison to the entire solar system? What is the sun worth in comparison to the Milky Way? Not to mention the galaxy clusters, the Virgo Supercluster and Visible universe..."
Brad's words are tinged with sadness as he spoke dully and stood up from his seat and said "Let's go back."
Alex drove Brad home because he was inebriated. Brad gave Alex an indescribable look as he was about to board the elevator to the second floor.
"Brad, what's the matter?" Alex inquired, his heart feeling strange.
Brad, on the other hand, smiled to himself and said, "Goodbye." Brad walked out of the elevator, opened his room door, and then closed it after saying these two words. Clearly, he had no intention of inviting Alex to come in and take a seat.
Alex looked a little perplexed. He thought today's Brad was odd, but he couldn't pinpoint what he thought was odd. Alex shook his head and went home after being stunned for a while before the elevator.
It was already twelve o'clock in the evening when we arrived. Alex finished his dishes, but he couldn't sleep in his bed. In my subconscious, I always have the feeling that something is wrong, that something big is about to happen, but I can't always grasp the clue.
Alex fell asleep in a daze around two or three o'clock, but it took him four or five hours to wake up.
Because he hasn't gotten enough sleep, Alex is still exhausted. Alex would not wake up at this hour under normal circumstances. He's not in a hurry to get to work today because it's the weekend, and Alex also slept late last night.
But the cold jolted Alex awake. It's ridiculous to say that the sun is burning like fire in July and August. The sun rises a little after five o'clock, scattering its light and heat across the tiny planet, rewarming the air that had cooled overnight and is now hot. Today, however, things appear to be a little different.
Alex walked to the window after putting on his coat. The sky was clear, there were no clouds in the sky, and there was a massive sun in the sky, but it appeared dim. The sky is not a typical blue color, but rather a mixture of dark colors in the blue, which appears to be very depressing.
Alex is a researcher at the Institute of Stellar Physics, and since the sun is the closest star to the earth, it's only natural that his research revolves around the sun, its internal structure, the composition of matter, the evolution of matter, and so on. Today's sun appears strange, but Alex didn't think to analyze it with his professional knowledge at the time.
"It appears that today is a cloudy day," Alex muttered. Then he went back to bed, drew the thin quilt up over his body, and prepared to sleep again.
However, the morning silence was broken by a sudden knock on the door. Alex couldn't do anything. He only got up, dressed, and washed his face before approaching the door. A middle-aged man in a black suit with a cold face stretched out his credentials in front of Alex after opening the door.
"I Am a level-s agent of internal security force for alliance. You may refer to me as Virat." "There are some things that require your cooperation in the investigation," the middle-aged man said coldly.
"Why is the internal security force of the Alliance looking for me?" Alex asked a little perplexed. He didn't appear to have done any other bad things aside from stealing a lollipop from a female classmate when he was a child, after all.
"Please accompany me; you'll know when you arrive." Virat maintained his cold demeanor.
"Okay." Alex pondered it for a while before agreeing. So, after a half-hour wait, Alex arrived in a large conference room. In this conference room, Alex saw many familiar faces, including colleagues and leaders, as well as some people he didn't recognize but who appeared to be very familiar. After some consideration, I realized that those people are frequently exposed to them on television.
Alex took a seat in an empty row. Everyone in the conference room seemed solemn for some reason, and no one had a smile on their faces. And when Alex walked in, everyone, including the big names who frequently appeared on television, gave him an odd look.
"May I inquire as to what transpired?" Alex inquired.
"This is the only relic Director Brad has left you." In front of Alex, Virat placed a safe. Alex discovered a blank piece of paper inside after opening it.
Alex did not rush to examine the blank sheet of paper, but instead exclaimed, "Did Brad left those for me?"
"Yes." Virat smiled and nodded "Director Brad died late last night, and his death was ruled a suicide by the preliminary investigation. We discovered this safe, as well as this piece of white paper, at the suicide scene.
It says, "I'm leaving; please give Alex this blank piece of paper." He'll be able to answer all of your questions."
When Alex couldn't figure out what was going on, an elderly gentleman who is the face of the Alliance knocked on the table and gazed majestically at him: "I hope you will be able to tell us what is going on with the sun and what has happened with it?"