The Universe Jumper Chapter 01 Part 01
Chapter 01 Part 1/2: The Signal
As soon as Jiang Liu got off the plane, he was shocked by the harsh northern wind. Going from the tropical island of the Pacific Ocean to the northern city of Xi'an, he was still not physically prepared.
He tried to get off the plane lightly without waking Uncle Bo, but this plan failed. When the hatch was opened, the violent northern wind immediately woke up Uncle Bo. Uncle Bo shivered in the cold as he rubbed his eyes bewilderingly. His sleepy body was uncomfortable, and while still in the state of confusion, he realized that the airport they landed in was not right. When he saw Jiang Liu escaping, he immediately burst with anger and jumped off. He sprung and chased after Jiang Liu, and, when Jiang Liu saw him, Jiang Liu started running like crazy with his suitcase carried over the top of his head.
Uncle Bo shouted, "You brat, if you don’t go home, your father will beat me severely, and I will find you to settle the account!"
Jiang Liu yelled, "Uncle Bo, it was great playing with you. After all, we’re old friends1!"
Uncle Bo shouted back, "Who’s your old friend? Whoever is your friend will have bad luck for eight lifetimes!"
Jiang Liu yelled, “Next time, I’ll definitely buy some medicine for your butt, Uncle Bo!"
Just like this, the pair of older and younger men ran randomly around the airport with one person chasing behind the other. Because of his younger age, Jiang Liu managed to outrun Uncle Bo even while carrying a suitcase on top of his head, and he dashed into the crowd. He could imagine how furious his father would be, but what could be done? If he didn’t let Uncle Bo bear the fury, he would have to bear it. From his mother's words yesterday, he could tell that his father probably already knew about what he has been doing in recent years. After all, whether it was on the internet or in the surveillance cameras, what he did always left behind a trace. His father wouldn’t actually do anything to Uncle Bo, but to himself... Jiang Liu panicked when he thought about it. Before he got off the plane, he turned off the communication button so that no one could find him for at least a few days.
The airport’s self-driving taxi drove him through an abandoned farmland to the Qin Mausoleum2 outside of Xi'an. Along the way, Jiang Liu gazed at the wilderness through the window of the car and was amazed by the sight here. It was like a lonely illusion left out of passing time and it could be seen that this place has remained almost unchanged for a long time. It was divided into grid-like farmland, and there were low-rise huts built of red bricks, and tall and skinny trees scattered everywhere. The farmland was now overgrown with weeds, and has been barren for a long time. He wondered if the people here were driven away by the war, or if they were captured by the surrounding mechanized fortress.
The taxi dropped Jiang Liu off at the gate of a deserted courtyard. The gate of the courtyard was Chinese styled, and there was an abandoned entrance at the gate where visitors swipe their card. Stepping into the courtyard, an elegant museum building could be seen standing in the wilderness. One corner of the building has been destroyed by the war, but the main building remains clean and dignified. A few characters can be seen from a distance: Qin Mausoleum Museum.
A young girl came out of the museum and walked towards where Jiang Liu was standing.
It was Yun Fan. She was how he remembered her to be; her appearance was still neat and bright. She had two small dimples near the corners of her mouth when she smiled slightly, and the smile was like a ray of the sky’s light that was revealed after the clouds had dispersed. Yun Fan wore a white vintage dress with a flowing cloud texture on the off shoulder neckline, which fell just under her collarbone. The waistline of the dress hugged her body and accentuated her slim waist.
"Thank you Dr. Jiang for coming." Yun Fan took the initiative to speak.
"It's my honor to visit a beauty." Jiang Liu said.
"You brought the data?" Yun Fan pretended not to hear that comment, "Come to my office."
"Why is it so empty here? Are you the only one here?" Jiang Liu asked.
"Yes. According to wartime management protocols, this park is closed."
"Beaut, being alone in the wilderness is too dangerous. Fortunately, I’m here and I will protect you." Jiang Liu slowly moved closer to her.
Yun Fan took a step back and turned around with ease, "Before you came, there was no danger."
She walked forward and motioned for him to follow. Jiang Liu looked at her slender figure from behind, and it took him a while before he followed with a hastened pace. He found that every time he took a step, the image displayed on the ground changed. Sand roads, stone roads and locations names appeared. Jiang Liu found this to be a very novel sight, and he even deliberately jumped and stepped right and left to see what would appear.
"It's the ancient city of Xian’yang." Yun Fan said, "Originally, there was a holographic panoramic display, but there are no more visitors, so most of it was turned off, and only the ground display is still on. If you’re interested, I can turn on the entire display for you later."
Going further in, they entered the formal exhibition hall. The ground of the hall was entirely glass, and below the glass was the simulation of the restored underground palace of the Qin Mausoleum. Jiang Liu lowered his head down to look at the mountains and rivers below his feet. The twists and turns of the river outlined the constellations. There were not many buildings, and it was more like an observatory situated in the middle of the stars and mountains. Yun Fan clapped her hands, and the lights in the model lit up. As the white spots of light illuminated along the direction of the river, it was like the Milky Way had descended upon earth. It was quite astonishing to think that such a majestic grandeur could be created two thousand years ago.
"This is just a replication scaled 100 times down," Yun Fan seemed to be able to guess what he was thinking. "The real Qin Mausoleum Underground Palace is 168 meters long and 141 meters wide, and it’s 78 times the size of the Forbidden City, which makes it much larger than this model. Furthermore, no one actually knows what the underground palace looks like. This model of ours is the most probable reimagination of the place after synthesizing multiple sources."
"Such a project like this was built 2000 years ago..." Jiang Liu sighed as he commented.
"So it’s impossible that Qin Shi Huang built it himself." Yun Fan said.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Liu was taken aback for a moment.
Yun Fan walked straight towards the side of the model, and suddenly, in front of her, the ground opened on both sides, exposing a square gap. Jiang Liu was surprised by this. He followed after her and found that this was an entrance to a tunnel. He went down a small stepway, and there was a small elevator. He followed Yun fan into the elevator, and the elevator went down quietly. After a short while, the elevator stopped; Jiang Liu estimated that they went down three or four floors. The door opened, and behind the door was an elegant study room that was not big. One wall was covered entirely by a bookshelf, and near the window was an antique desk. A decorous painting of red cherry blossoms hung behind the desk.
Jiang Liu looked up and down the room, "Your office is very elegant, but why is it built underground in such secrecy?"
"Guess." Yun Fan smiled slightly.
"To guard against bad guys? Or to guard treasure?" Jiang Liu raised his eyebrows.
"Both are correct." Yun Fan said, "Do you want to drink anything? Green tea or Pu'er?"
"Anything is fine. I usually only drink whiskey and bourbon."
Yun Fan nodded. "I've seen those before, but our temple here is too small to give offerings to a grand bodhisattva like you. Let's hurry up and talk about business. After the talk, you can fly back to your bar."
"No rush, no rush," Jiang Liu smiled, "When I’m beside you, I already feel drunk."
Yun Fan's face was calm. She boiled water to make green tea, washed the tea pet3 and cups with the first two batches of tea, and then she presented Jiang Liu with the third batch of tea, which was pleasant and faintly fragrant. "Let's talk. You were so anxious to send me a message last night, what did you find?"
"It's the question you asked my mentor last time. I had it on my mind the entire time." Jiang Liu took a sip of the tea, and he was slightly scalded by it. He took in a sharp breath and then said, "I took your words so seriously, aren't you touched?"
"What did you find?" Yun Fan continued to ask.
Jiang Liu sorted his thoughts out and thought about where he should start.
He still remembered the scene when he first saw Yun Fan four months ago. It was an international academic conference in Hawaii. His mentor was a famous professor at the University of Hawaii and he was also the organizer of this conference. After Jiang Liu graduated from the Harvard Department of Astronomy, he took a gap year, and then chose to go to the University of Hawaii for a Ph.D because of his mentor’s level of achievement and reputation. In his academic heyday, the research he worked on was the most cutting-edge subject areas, and he was one of the world's most renowned experts in the research field.
Yun Fan probably found out about Jiang Liu's mentor from the Internet, and she had been waiting at the venue early. After the professor finished speaking, Yun Fan was the first to come forward. Jiang Liu noticed her at a glance; it was like noticing a glowing unicorn in the jungle. On that day, Yun Fan wore her hair up in a high ponytail and she had a black high-necked dress on. Yun Fan was the first to approach, but she was not the first to ask questions. Some other students, young students, and technology journalists also gathered around the Professor to ask questions.
Finally, it was Yun Fan's turn. She asked: Hello, Professor Johnson. I noticed that the luminosity of several pulsars closer to the Earth in the Milky Way galaxy has undergone observable and regular changes in recent years. I suspect that this is due to interference caused by civilized creatures.
The professor hesitated a little and said: Hello, my research field focuses on various high-energy ray bursts, such as rapid radio bursts and Gamma bursts. Ordinary pulsar data is not my specialization.
Yun Fan insisted: But you have also mentioned the possibility of extraterrestrial civilization intervention in high-energy ray bursts, haven't you?
The professor wanted to explain something, but was stopped by others, so he said to Jiang Liu: Remember this lady's question, and you can talk to me afterwards.
Thus, Jiang Liu was presented with the opportunity to formally invite Yun Fan to dinner. However, this meal was the most boring meal Jiang Liu ever had with a girl. For the entire time, Yun Fan earnestly asked him about astronomical observation methods, and then from rapid radio bursts, to occultation surveys, to microwave background radiation and dark matter research. He was surprised at how many fields she knew. Although many questions sounded amateur---there were many unprofessional teachings on the Internet or in popular science books---but since she could ask these kinds of questions, it showed that she has worked hard to do research. Jiang Liu tried to lead the topic to her personal matters several times, but she didn't even budge. Not only did she lightly circumvent his teasing, but she also satirized his unreasonable harassment either blatantly or implicitly.
This was the first time Jiang Liu had encountered a girl who was indifferent to his words.
"You said last time that you used LAHEO's raw data, didn't you?" Jiang Liu walked out of his memories and he looked at Yun Fan in front of him. He suddenly had the ambition of figuring out what she was thinking.
"Yes. I only used its built-in software to do the most basic filtering and flattening. I haven't done any secondary calculations yet." Yun Fan said, "So, it's considered to be the raw data."
"I'm very curious, you told me that you majored in archaeology, so how are you capable of using data and software used in the astrology profession?" Jiang Liu asked.
"Dr. Jiang, there is an action in the world called ‘learning’. I wonder if you have ever heard of it?"
"Then why do you want to study astronomy?" Jiang Liu continued to ask.
Yun Fan smiled slightly, "I think a doctor in astronomy shouldn't ask others why they want to study astronomy? Why did you study astronomy?"
Jiang Liu knew that he couldn't get any answers from her like this, so he decided to put it off for now and he started showing Yun Fan the data. The Large Area High Energy Observatory (LAHEO) was the last astronomical satellite issued by the European Space Agency before the war to observe high-energy celestial bodies in the universe. It was designed by a group of top astrophysicists and aerospace engineers before the war began in Europe. The accuracy was raised to a new level that was never reached before. The possibility of errors in LAHEO's data was extremely low.
After Yun Fan asked her question last time, he started observing the pulsars in the Milky Way. Sure enough, as Yun Fan said, there were five pulsars whose luminosity has changed, and each of which changed by more than 10%. There were concavities and convexities visible through the spectroscope, and they had the same changing pattern. It was difficult to explain it as an error or an accident. If only one pulsar changed, then it might be an error; however, treating a series of five pulsars that had similar luminosity changes occurring sequentially as an error or accident was too far-fetched.
Last time, Yun Fan proposed that it was a beacon used for navigation by alien spacecraft. But according to Jiang Liu’s calculations, if it was just a beacon, it would not require such a large energy change. His guess was this: it was indeed a change caused by an alien spacecraft, and the spacecraft not only used the beacon for navigation, but more importantly, for recharging. Such a large change in luminosity could only be caused by charging energy. However, thinking of this possibility made Jiang Liu feel terrified. The pulsar's radiant energy can be up to 1 million times that of the sun, so if 1 second of radiant energy was completely converted into electrical energy, it would be enough for the earth to last for billions of years. If a spacecraft can be charged so that it results in a 10% change in the pulsar’s radiation energy, it would have extracted 100,000 times the amount of energy in the sun. Even if the energy absorption efficiency is only 1/10000, it would still be absorbing 10 times of the solar radiation energy intensity, which is significantly higher than the energy level of any spacecraft from earth. It can be inferred that the level of technology behind the alien spacecraft is much higher.
What Jiang Liu found to be even more spine-chilling was when he tried to deduce the spacecraft trajectory by calculating the trajectories of the luminosity change in these pulsars. He discovered that the first observed pulsar was 430 light-years away from the earth; the second was 280 light-years away; the third was 220 light-years away, the fourth was 140 light-years away, and the fifth was at 89 light-years away, and all these observations were made in the past few months. This meant that the speed of the alien spacecraft travelling towards earth was very close to the speed of light. Such speed also surpassed Earth’s spacecraft by several folds.
If this was the case, then prospects will be grim if earth has to fight against an alien civilization like that. Jiang Liu was somewhat afraid to continue down this line of thought and think further. He was very skeptical when he mobilized the data from the satellite network at home. He changed the observation area and focus band, and he specifically looked for pulsar data that was 50 light years away from the earth. He also made private detectors near Jupiter and Saturn turn around to monitor for UFOs entering the solar system.
"I have superimposed data from several satellite networks, space stations and multi-band telescopes, and I can basically confirm the results." Jiang Liu projected the results on the wall with a bracelet, and he drew out the key results from the dense data and graphs for Yun Fan to view, "Look here. This is a pulsar that is 25 light-years away. Looking at its arc trajectory, it is on the same arc as the previous stars with observed changes in luminosity. It may be an elliptical arc. Two and a half months ago, this star observed the same luminosity changes as the previous ones. After that, about two months ago, the Saturn Orbiter observed a flying object entering the solar system. The flying object has been slowing down from the very beginning. It passed by Uranus and Neptune, and then, after that, the speed was already reduced by a lot. It crossed the orbit of Saturn half a month ago and is now slowly approaching the earth. The furthest my satellite can go is up to Saturn, so I only give information starting from Saturn. The other data I used in my calculations are from international satellite data. ---I don’t mean anything else; I just want to explain why I only came to you after four months. It's a data problem, not that I didn't care."
Yun Fan listened carefully,and she bit her lip lightly as if she had some questions in mind, but she was not surprised. "How long will it take to reach the earth?"
"Hard to say. The spacecraft is constantly decelerating, so it’s not easy to make accurate calculations, but I think in more than half a month, somewhere in that ballpark."
Yun Fan nodded. The expression on her face was very complicated. Jiang Liu couldn't judge her emotions at this time.
"Can you see the exact location of the spaceship?" Yun Fan asked.
"That's more difficult to do," Jiang Liu said. "Right now, in the multiple band data, only the ultra-low frequency radio waves can detect the entry of spacecraft. The other bands are almost empty, and the optical band has no response. This is why it managed to escape detection by multiple nation’s monitoring systems along Jupiter and Saturn. However, the positioning of ultra-low frequency radio waves is relatively vague, so it’s difficult to be precise. If I hadn't calculated the continuous data personally, it would have been hard for me to believe that a spacecraft actually entered the solar system. ——Look here, the trajectory of the flying object observed in the ultra-low frequency radio band is delineated inside this red circle.”
"Where did you see this data? Can you give me an observation permission?" Yun Fan asked.
"It's from my family’s satellite network." Jiang Liu said, "To be honest, there are not many in the world whose observation accuracy can surpass our satellite network. I can set up an account for you, I will arrange it now."
"Okay, thank you," Yun Fan said, "Thank you for your data; it’s very helpful. I won't take up your time anymore today. We should communicate about the account set up over the Internet when the time comes. If there is anything I don't understand, I will ask you remotely."
"No, don't." Jiang Liu pretended to be aggrieved, "I helped you make such an important observation, yet you wouldn't even invite me to a meal? You’re so heartless. My family’s plane has already flown away, so I can't go anywhere tonight. You won't be so cruel that you would let me sleep on the road outside the park, right?
"It's not that I don't want to keep you, but I really don't have any extra food here. Our place is close to the restricted military area, so ordinary takeouts can't be delivered. I do have food every day, but it is my former caretaker, Aunt Mei, who uses a drone to send me three meals a day. There is only enough for one person to eat, and the food is really plain, so I don’t think it will suit Young Master Jiang’s palette."
"I eat very little, and I’m used to plain food. It’s perfect, just perfect." Jiang Liu nodded.
"Aiyo," Yun Fan said with a smile, "As far as I know, the second young master of the Jiang family would not even look at a restaurant that is not a Michelin star restaurant, is that not true?"
"Oh," Jiang Liu smiled, "Did I hear that correctly? You had even investigated me before?"
"Are you the only one allowed to surf the Internet, and I’m not allowed?" Yun Fan smiled meaningfully, "Second Young Master Jiang, you should go back. You should ask a private plane to pick you up. It should be a matter of minutes. You helped me today, so thank you very much. When I finish my work at hand, I will come visit and thank you personally."
"It's okay even if you have nothing to eat here. We can go out to eat." Jiang Liu said.
"We can't go out," Yun Fan said, "You can't call a car here. If I ever want to go out, I would always ask Aunt Mei to pick me up. However, she happened to go to her daughter's house recently, so she’s in Yun’nan."
"That’s alright," Jiang Liu said with a smile, "I’ll take care of that. If I can call a ride, you have to go out to dinner with me. Deal?"
Yun Fan laughed from being angered by him, "I have never seen someone like you. What I want to express is: I don't want to eat with you. So, I have been making excuses. Do you want me to make it so clear?"
Jiang Liu didn't fret. He just smiled and said, "If you’re not denying it, then I will assume that you have agreed. When the car arrives later, you will have to go out for dinner with me."
Sure enough, after a while, an old dilapidated car was parked at the entrance of the park. The model was very old and it was driven by an actual driver. It was probably the last series of human-controlled cars produced in the 2050s. Yun Fan has not been in a car with a driver for a long time. Where did he even find this, she thought to herself, slightly angered.
But regardless, since the car had arrived here magically, Yun Fan was embarrassed to refuse again. So she tidied herself up a bit, changed her outfit, and got into the car with Jiang Liu. Yun Fan hasn't been out of this park for a long time. For a while, she felt like she was part of the park---lonely, unrestrained and free, and like a self-sufficient tree, she took care of herself. Having clear sunshine and a blue sky every morning was enough to soothe her life. She didn’t need other people, and she didn't need to return to human civilization. If she didn’t need outside support, she wouldn't have gone out to participate in various activities from time to time. However, as the signal in her hands became stronger and stronger, even her need for going out to socialize and build connections was weakened. As time went by, her repulsion towards this complicated world grew more and more stronger.
Author's Notes
The characters and relationships in this novel is open to discussion, critique and imagination; I wish that for the time being, there will not be too many discussions involving the arrangements of its adaptation. Film adaption is a long process, and discussing it too early on might not result in good outcomes. Readers can comment and share, but do not reupload it or send it to smaller chat groups or Weibo super topics. I don't anticipate that this [story] will become very popular. From the beginning to the end, writing is always for those that understand. Follow [your] own judgement.
Translator’s Notes
Old friends/ 忘年知己 (wang nian zhi ji)
There are many translations for the term “zhi ji” out there, such as “bosom friends”, “confidants”, or even “soulmate”, but none of these are as beautiful or meaningful as the original phrase. “Zhi ji” refers to a person that is able to understand you. There is ambiguity as to whether this relationship is platonic or romantic.
Since Jiang Liu is saying this to Uncle Bo with a non-serious tone, I chose to use the phrase “old friends”, which seems fitting for the situation.
Qin Mausoleum 秦凌
This refers to the Qin Shi Huang (“The First Emperor”) Mausoleum. It is famous for it’s terracotta warriors.
Tea pet
Tea pets are clay figurines that are placed on the tea table and accompany the tea drinker(s). The tea pets are “fed” by pouring the warm water that was used to rinse tea leaves or just tea over top of it.
Usually, when tea is made, the first few batches of the brewed tea will be discarded as it may be filled with impurities or is too bitter (Yun Fan discards it by washing the tea cups and feeding the tea pet), and then a new batch is made and served.
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