In the year 2037, Yan Xia looked through the glass at the scene behind the spaceship. Fissures appeared on the surface of a planet, and molten lava spread along the cracks, engulfing the oceans and land. The water evaporated due to the high temperatures, creating a massive fog that enveloped the planetary surface.
Soon, a beam of light erupted from the planet's interior, and the entire planet began to shatter silently, like a fragile glass ball. Yan Xia felt a heavy heart, tears welling up in his eyes. Because that was his home, and the home of all humanity—Earth.
Just an hour ago, the place where humanity thrived was directly hit by an intense gamma-ray burst caused by a supernova explosion. Under the immense energy shock, Earth's atmosphere was instantly destroyed, and countless lives perished in agony. The gamma-ray burst disrupted the magnetic fields of all the planets in the solar system, including the Sun, causing chaos throughout the solar system. Earth's orbit was torn apart by the immense gravitational forces, leaving it shattered.
Today is April 27th. It is a grand fireworks display, seemingly announcing the day of humanity's demise. Yan Xia struggled to catch his breath in the cramped cabin. He was not an elite high-level human or a scientific doctor, just a corporate slave in an AI company of the new era.
Their AI company had collaborated with a renowned rocket company on designing a giant liquid-fueled rocket with a payload capacity of over 420 tons, nearing the physical limit. He had just completed the final round of AI debugging for the rocket. As the core engineer, he needed to ensure the stability of the computer software.
And at this moment, doomsday arrived, without any warning. Because humanity's observation methods still couldn't surpass the speed of light. And a gamma-ray burst is just a beam of light!
When the gamma-ray burst struck Earth, all electronic devices malfunctioned, inadvertently igniting the rocket and propelling Yan Xia out of Earth, saving him from certain death.
"Does that mean I'm the only surviving human?" gasped Yan Xia, sitting in the cramped cabin. The acceleration from the rocket had caused some physical issues for him.
The entire cabin suddenly lit up, indicating that it had safely passed through the gamma-ray burst. "I hope the electronic instruments are still functional," he muttered.
When the gamma-ray burst arrived, Yan Xia urgently cut off the power supply, hoping to preserve some of the electronics. He pressed a red start button, and everything lit up, including the core display screen, bringing him some relief.
He looked at the trajectory display on the screen, and the destination was Mars. This spacecraft was originally designed for manned missions to Mars.
"Hey, Ella," Yan Xia called out in the silent cabin.
A response came from the AI, "How may I assist you?"
The fact that the AI was still functioning uplifted Yan Xia. Ella, being the most advanced artificial intelligence of their time, possessed immense computational and informational capabilities, akin to an encyclopedia.
"Calculate the probability of survival for humans on Earth," Yan Xia requested, still holding onto a glimmer of hope that he wasn't alone.
"Unfortunately, based on calculations, the probability of life surviving on Earth, apart from yourself, is 0.0000000000272%. This is not a simple gamma-ray burst; it is a cosmic ray, with individual particle energies possibly exceeding 10,000 EeV."
"And even if any life were to survive now, you do not have the means to rescue them."
The coldness in the AI's voice made Yan Xia even more distressed. "What about the space stations? There must be astronauts on the Earth's near-orbit space stations."
"Ella is sending signals..."
"No response!"
"No satellites were detected around the shattered Earth."
"The predicted electronic malfunctions caused by the gamma-ray burst led to the satellites and space stations near Earth crashing to the ground."
There was no hope left. He was truly the only survivor.
Yan Xia sat in silence for a long time, recalling his friends and family on Earth, his gaze gradually becoming empty.
Over an hour later, he moistened his dry lips and weakly said, "Ella, analyze the possibility of a habitable Mars."
Now he had nowhere else to go. Mars, the ideal colonization planet for humanity, might become his second home.
However, Ella's response shattered his thoughts with a ruthless reply.
"According to data analysis, the Moon will collide with Earth in 28 years, causing further fragmentation of Earth and accelerating its descent toward the Sun."
"When the fragments of Earth fall onto the Sun's surface, it will trigger a super solar storm."
"This solar storm will engulf the entire solar system's heliosphere, and the magnetic storms caused by solar flares will once again disrupt electronic devices."
"In the face of the super solar storm, the surface temperature of Mars will rise to over 500 degrees Celsius within a short period. The chaotic magnetic field and gravitational system may pull Mars toward the Sun, repeating Earth's fate."
"The solar system will undergo an unprecedented reshuffling."
Ella integrated the most advanced and comprehensive knowledge of humanity, and its analysis was even referenced in military fields. Yan Xia had to consider a new plan.
If staying within the solar system was no longer an option, then the only choice was to consider outside the solar system. And so...
Produce a route to Proxima Centauri.
Proxima Centauri b, known as Earth's twin brother, might be a habitable planet.
"A course to Proxima Centauri has been generated."
"The current spacecraft speed is 20.3 km/s, and the journey is 4.22 light-years. It is estimated to take 62,365 years to reach Proxima Centauri."
Over sixty thousand years? Yan Xia was taken aback. Proxima Centauri was already the closest star system to their solar system, yet it would require such an extensive duration.
Originally, the spacecraft's speed was supposed to be 13 km/s, but the shockwave from Earth's fragmentation had elevated it to a different level. However, in the grand scheme of the universe, it was still too slow.
By then, he feared that not even his ashes would remain.
"Can you plan an optimal route to shorten the time?"
One person's mind couldn't handle such calculations, so it was best to ask AI.
"Two gravitational assists can be performed near Jupiter and Neptune, increasing the speed to 35.4 km/s. The estimated travel time would then be reduced to 35,764 years."
Humanity has only developed from the Neolithic Age to the present for about ten万 years. Yan Xia felt that surviving seemed futile; he could only wait for death.
At that moment, Ella continued, "Considering that humans do not have such long lifespans, I suggest utilizing metal to modify the spacecraft once it reaches the asteroid belt."
Yan Xia asked, "Do you have any plans?"
"Ella is generating a plan. Plan generation complete..."