The Universe Jumper Chapter 04 Part 01
Chapter 04 Part 1/2: Hijacking
When going out this time, Qi Fei called an autonomous military off-road vehicle to drive them. The three people argued for a long time about the sitting arrangement. Yun Fan wanted to sit in the front seat, but both Qi Fei and Jiang Liu refused to sit with each other. Jiang Liu wanted to sit in the back row with Yun Fan and let Qi Fei sit in the front row, but Qi Fei disagreed and said that he would not send a car to drive them. Eventually, a compromise was finally reached: Jiang Liu sat in the front seat, and Yun Fan and Qi Fei sat in the back seats. But after sitting down, the two leaned against their own car door, leaving a wall of distance between them.
This distance was too obvious. Being a person with keen eyes, Jiang Liu saw the oddity with just one glance. He deliberately smiled and said, "I see there is still a lot of space in the back seat. How about I sit between the two of you? It would be convenient for us to chat."
Yun Fan and Qi Fei refused at the same time. Jiang Liu smiled. He had his body turned around, and along the ride, while smiling frivolously, he tried to keep a conversation going with Yun Fan.
"Fanfan, after we go into space, let's go to a beautiful place first," Jiang Liu said. "It's not usually used for space tourism. On the back of the moon, there’s a spot where the view of the earth is very beautiful. I will accompany you to watch the earth appear. "
Qi Fei said coldly, "I still don't think it's a good idea to rush to go to outer space. If there is a dangerous enemy, then we would be sheeps climbing into the mouth of a tiger. It is better to make good observations on earth first."
"How are we going to make observations on earth?" Jiang Liu sneered, "At present, only ultra-low frequency electromagnetic waves have been detected, and the other bands are barely displayed. It is evident that excellent stealth technology is involved. The effectiveness of observing ultra-low frequencies on earth is very low. If we wait here, then we will be no different from being blind; we may not even be aware of it when they arrive right in front of us."
"We can detect it in space, but there is no need for us to put ourselves at risk. We can send an unmanned detector to detect first." Qi Fei said, "You just said that the enemy is hidden in the dark, and we are in the light. In that case, won’t we just be cannon fodder if we pounce directly at them?"
Jiang Liu smiled disdainfully and said, "Director Qi, you always overestimate the intelligence of machines. If the detector really encounters the aliens head-on, does it know what to do? Can they judge the situation? The machine will be real cannon fodder if you throw it out there."
"I’m overestimating the ability of machines? Young Master Jiang, then you are overestimating yourself." Qi Fei retorted, "The machine may not know what to do, but at least it won't do all kinds of stupid things to wag its tail in order to chase girls."
Jiang Liu didn't feel annoyed; he only smiled and said, "Since Director Qi thinks that I’m doing something stupid, then don't go with us? Let me and Fanfan go to outer space. I would be more than happy."
"When did Yun Fan promise to go with you?" Qi Fei did not give in at all.
"Alright, you two. Don't make a fuss." Yun Fan didn’t want to listen anymore, and she spoke coldly, but she was still looking out the window, "I want to go to outer space."
Jiang Liu smiled triumphantly. Qi Fei was very upset, and asked Yun Fan, "Do you know this is dangerous?"
Yun Fan replied very, very lightly, "I just don't want to have any possibility of missing them. The last time they came to the earth, they might not have landed. If they don’t land this time and just fly away like this, I won’t have the life to wait for another eight hundred years."
"When they came before, they landed?" Jiang Liu asked curiously.
"Well, at the earliest time, it would land for a long time." Yun Fan said, "The Kunlun1 mentioned in the classics is an aircraft that descended to the ground; it was as tall and large as a mountain and could pass through the sky. This was around the 18th century BC, which is the era of undeveloped early civilization. Afterwards, there were records of landings, but it became fewer and fewer. I am afraid that after civilization was enlightened, it didn’t want to be discovered again."
"Kunlun was an alien spacecraft? How did you know this?"
"When you see my mentor later, you can directly ask him." Yun Fan said.
Jiang Liu smiled, "Fanfan, even until now, I feel like the idea of aliens is beyond belief. That is to say, I only believe in it because you were the one who said it. If the same thing was said by another person, I would have sent the person flying away with a slap, right at the beginning."
"You can also slap me away too." Yun Fan replied coldly, and then she didn’t speak anymore as she stared out the window.
"Fanfan, don't be angry," Jiang Liu tried to appeal to her, "I said the wrong thing. I'm not willing to slap your cute face. Come and slap me to dispel your anger."
"Fool." Qi Fei sneered, "You don't understand anything."
"Do you understand?" Jiang Liu didn’t want to back down.
"I understand more than you." Qi Fei said.
"Enough, so noisy," Yun Fan interrupted them. "You both are the leaders of the two intelligence organizations. Others would be scared to death hearing that. Why are you two as noisy as children? Can't you be quiet for a while?"
After she finished speaking, she closed her mouth, and Qi Fei and Jiang Liu stopped talking. The three of them remained silent for a moment.
Jiang Liu was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Yun Fan would be able to see through his identity. The aspect he was most proud of was that Heaven’s Reward was not like the typical strict organization, but was looser, more secretive, and less known. All data on the chain was stored in a distributed manner; all information was exchanged anonymously; every Reward Person knows the rules and never asks for the identity of others. It was this kind of rule that allowed the Heaven’s Reward to expand rapidly without being known. Anybody who knew that this organization existed would not be any ordinary person, and it was even rarer for someone to know his identity. Jiang Liu was not surprised that Qi Fei was able to find out about this, but how did Yun Fan know? Jiang Liu realized that he underestimated this girl. He glanced at Qi Fei, sensing that Qi Fei's face was also full of confusion.
Qi Fei was indeed puzzled. He and Yun Fan have not been in contact for almost ten years. They saw each other during this time, but neither of them spoke to each other. In fact, he didn’t even know what she has been doing since she graduated from university. Although the Qin Mausoleum where she worked was so close to the military restricted zone where he worked, he didn't know anything about her life. He tried to find out about Yun Fan's current situation through looking at old acquaintances’ social networks, but it seemed like Yun Fan disappeared from the social circle of classmates and friends. He never saw her in any of the photos of various gatherings. Seeing her again this time, he found that her appearance has hardly changed from before, but her temperament seems to have changed a lot. Ten years ago, Yun Fan was gentle and beautiful, but at this time she had a bit more cold persistence in her. That is, there was a kind of cold attitude that told everyone "I know what you are talking about, but I want to do what I want to do, and no one can stop me from doing what I want to do.” This attitude was like a slender blade shimmering with silver light. This feeling was unfamiliar to Qi Fei, but he has seen it in another person. That person... Qi Fei was a little scared. Qi Fei didn't know how Yun Fan knew his identity. The research content of Qi Fei's research institute that was available to the public mainly focused on hardware and software development, and almost no one knew that they were also involved in the work of the intelligence network. Qi Fei was not surprised that Jiang Liu could find out, but how did Yun Fan know? Qi Fei discovered that after many years, he no longer knew Yun Fan.
Before getting off the vehicle, Yun Fan solemnly said to the two of them, "I don't know what will happen when going to outer space this time, but it may be very dangerous. I’m also still uncertain about what to do....I’m just prepared for any kind of sacrifice and don’t want to leave too many paths for myself to retreat into. You can choose whether to go or not. If you have rational and safety concerns, then it is best to not come with me....Regardless of whether you go or not, I will be going. Neither of you should persuade me, I want to try my best."
For an unknown reason, Jiang Liu and Qi Fei had a feeling that Yun Fan's most serious moment was her craziest moment. It was like... the feeling of calmly walking towards the cliff. They all wanted to hold her back, but they felt they couldn't hold her back.
Jiang Liu and Qi Fei followed Yun Fan into the office of Yun Fan’s mentor, Huang Langyi. Professor Huang retired in his 70s. His hair was gray and his movements were a bit slow, but his mind and consciousness were still sharp and clear during conversations. Before entering the door, Yun Fan had told them that Professor Huang was both her own mentor and her father’s mentor. He was a highly respected senior in the industry, and they were not allowed to speak disrespectfully to him.
Professor Huang obviously knew why Yun Fan came. As soon as Yun Fan and the others were seated, Professor Huang stood up and said, "Wait a moment, I’m going to the study room in the back to bring that thing over."
Yun Fan said that they were in no hurry and that they could talk first before he goes to get it. Professor Huang sat back again, lit a cigarette, and talked to Yun Fan leisurely. After a brief greeting, Professor Huang talked about what he had done after retiring, and then he asked about Yun Fan's life. Afterwards, they quickly stepped into the main topic. Feeling slightly worried, Professor Huang warned Yun Fan that one should also consider the surrounding environment for many things--- if one becomes too persistent and tries to fight against the surrounding environment, there may not be good results in the end.
"I know you’re talking about my father." Yun Fan responded bluntly, "To be honest, I did have that same thought ten years ago, but now I happen to be standing on the opposite side. I think that a stubborn person has to be stubborn until the very end. What I regret now is that I didn’t accompany my dad more firmly with his stubbornness. Instead, I also persuaded him to protect himself. Later, he always had two voices in his mind: one to persevere and the other to retreat. After these two voices fought each other for a long time, he went crazy. At the beginning, if I stood on his side and pulled through with him, then things would have been so much better. In many cases, having a person’s companionship is enough."
Professor Huang blew out a scentless smoke ring. The light smoke more or less obscured the expressions on the faces of the few people. He said in a deep voice, "You are right saying that. When he was attacked on the Internet, if I stood up and supported him with a few more words, maybe the final result would be different."
"You are different." Yun Fan said lightly, "Your identity would make it inconvenient for you. I don't mean to blame you."
Professor Huang sighed and said, "Your father... was indeed my most talented student. What a pity."
Jiang Liu suddenly interrupted and said, "If I understand correctly, was Uncle Yun attacked by others because his research was unique?"
Professor Huang nodded, but Yun Fan said nothing. "Can I dare to ask, what kind of research of Uncle Yun was so controversial back then?“
Professor Huang took a look at Yun Fan. Seeing that she had not shown any signs of objection, he stood up and took out a small bronze cauldron2 model from the bookshelf behind him, which was full of ancient books and cultural relics. The model was very delicate, unlike the imitation ornamental cauldrons commonly seen on the market. It looked almost like ancient cultural relics. The intricately carved patterns were not sloppy at all, and the traces of wear and tear through time did not look like it was done half-heartedly. If it was placed in a museum showcase, it would definitely be considered authentic. However, judging by Professor Huang's relatively relaxed posture, Jiang Liu deduced it was a fake. Professor Huang seemed to have noticed his doubts and explained that it was a 3D printed imitation. Because of the high quality requirements, the precision of scanning and printing has been adjusted to the maximal level, and every defect was reproduced according to the authentic piece.
"This is a bronze cauldron unearthed from the burial pit outside the underground palace of the Qin Mausoleum. It is determined that it was made in the middle of the Yin and Shang Dynasty, which is the same time as the Erligang culture3. It may be one of the bronze cauldrons collected after Qin's reunification." Professor Huang said, " Look carefully at the ornamentation on its side."
Jiang Liu leaned over and looked closely at the side wall of the bronze cauldron. It was a rectangular bronze cauldron with two rows of patterns on the side wall. The upper row was like a slender ribbon that was surrounded with patterns, and the bottom row was wider, with patterns that resemble birds or beasts.
"Anyone who has done Chinese archaeological research knows that there are two main patterns or variations on most bronzes: one is the cloud and thunder pattern, and the other is the Taotie4 design. For a long time, people did not understand the meaning behind these two designs. You may have seen Taotie on some cauldrons before. It was generally considered to be a normal face of a creature, and was interpreted as a tribal totem. But in fact, these two designs are the designs seen in late bronzes; they all stem from the same early designs." Professor Huang explained with a deep voice.
As he spoke, he raised the cauldron and brought it closer to Jiang Liu to show him, "What do you think these two rows of decorations look like?"
Jiang Liu looked at it carefully; the designs were intricately encircling, and the spirals were symmetrical. If he was asked what it looked like...it was really hard to explain.
Professor Huang did not wait for him. He flicked the coffee table to turn it into a screen, and said to the coffee table, "Look for the bronze pattern library". A series of clustered pictures were displayed on the coffee table. Professor Huang selected a few photos and zoomed in, letting Jiang Liu see the common pattern among them.
"This is the library of bronze design that Yun Yi---oh, Yun Fan's father made. He sorted out the bronze decorations that appeared over the span of 700 years, and organized them according to the time of production and the area of land found in. The earliest was probably older than 1700 BC, and the later artifacts covered all the way up to 1100 BC. Oh, right, you don’t study archaeology, so you may not be perceptive about the different ages. Let me explain it briefly. Chinese bronzes appeared out of nowhere during the Erlitou period. Now, the more conclusive research believes that this was probably during the third period of Erlitou, which is about 1700 BC. It was relatively advanced when it was found. At first, people expected to find the origin and development of bronzes through more excavation, but after continuing for several decades during the 21th century, there was still no clear path showing their origin. Only the complex and advanced bronzes found earlier on were seen in Erlitou. It can be said that they appeared out of nowhere. You can see the evolution of the designs in these pictures.."
While looking, Jiang Liu asked, "The early patterns seem to be simpler and clearer?"
"Yes." Professor Huang nodded, "The early pattern was very simple---it was two spirals rotating around a center. Yun Yi believes that this spiral is the spiral arm of the Milky Way."
Jiang Liu was greatly shaken, "What did you say?"
Professor Huang repeated, "Yun Yi speculated that the early designs were born from the pattern of the double spiral arms of the Milky Way. Many people in later generations said that this was a pair of dragons, however, this was not true. It was indeed a double spiral arm. The earlier the design, the more obvious it appears. Look at the earliest picture, this is one of the earliest bronze fragments unearthed in Erlitou. The spiral pattern on it forms the basis for later generations of cloud and lightning patterns. A very clear shape of a core and the two spiral arms are retained. It’s almost the same as the Milky Way. Yun Yi’s arrangement made it seem very clear. The earliest bronze decorations are related to the Liangzhu Culture. They should be depictions of the Milky Way. Later, they continued to evolve, and became cloud and lightning patterns, Taotie motifs, and even Ba’gua patterns."
"So he guessed that this was also done by aliens?" Jiang Liu asked, "He was attacked because of this?"
"Yes." Professor Huang nodded. "He guessed that the aliens had shown pictures or something of the Milky Way to the people of primitive society. This first encounter turned into the earliest type of mysterious worship. The aliens taught metallurgy and casting techniques. The primitive ancestors carved mysterious double spiral arms on the ritual bronzes symbolizing alien gods. The role of bronzes has always been mysterious. At that time, the people did not have enough food to eat and clothing to wear. After mastering metallurgy, they should have focused on making farm tools, tableware, and hunting weapons, but the Shang and Zhou ancestors used most of the metal resources to make ritual vessels, and they were large and heavy ritual vessels. This is not easy to explain. If you think that the birth of bronzeware itself was due to the influence of alien civilization, then the appearance of the ritual vessels and designs makes more sense."
Jiang Liu nodded, but then frowned, "I can understand. This really makes sense. But this is just a personal speculation. If it is an academic research, I am afraid that there is still insufficient evidence?"
Professor Huang sighed, "This was how it turned out. So after Yun Yi's paper was posted on the Internet, widespread ridicule and attacks arose. They made attacks on Yun Yi and his academic level. It even escalated into attacks on our research institutes and universities too. Yun Yi was not working on just this one research project at the time; there were also many other studies, such as the records of Kunlun, the origin of the legends surrounding the ‘Yellow River Chart’ and ‘The Inscription of River Luo’5, the textual research on the truth of Fuyi and Chang'e, etc. A lot of effort was put into the work, and they were not groundless, but the people didn’t have the patience to watch the process. After just seeing the results, they felt that it was unbelievable. Yun Yi’s temperament was too straightforward. He argued openly with others, which made matters more and more worse. Some people began to attack the university, and they expelled Yun Yi out of pressure. ...Well, this matter, up to now, has also been a thorn in my heart. It would be nice if I said a few words for him. But......"
"Enough, stop talking." Yun Fan suddenly interrupted, "It's all in the past, stop talking about it. It's getting late. We should leave as soon as we get the thing."
Professor Huang nodded and stood up. He pushed open a small door leading to the back room, and fumbled in the room for a while. When he came out, he held an octagonal black box in his hand. His cautious look gave people the feeling that he was holding an urn. Jiang Liu was startled, thinking that Professor Huang had taken out the remains of Yun Fan's father, but when he got closer, he realized that it was not an urn, but a special artifact. Professor Huang put the black box on the coffee table and wiped it lightly with a piece of microfiber cloth. The black box was black and smooth. It was hard to tell what kind of material it was. It was textureless, and had no buttons nor no switches. It was impossible to tell what it was.
"Don't worry, I have kept it well." Professor Huang said to Yun Fan.
"Thank you." Yun Fan put the black box on her knees, "This is the only thing my father left behind during his lifetime. If you didn't help me keep it, I really don't know where to put it safely."
"I understand." Professor Huang said, "Don't worry. I didn't tell anyone."
Yun Fan raised her head and looked at Professor Huang: "Thank you, really." There was a layer of mist swirling in her eyes, but even until the end, the tears did not fall.
Finally, the three stood up and said goodbye. Before going out, Yun Fan gave Professor Huang a gentle hug, "Don't be too concerned about the past. I don't blame you, and my father doesn't blame you. Take care of yourself."
There are cracks in reality, and the past is slowly revealed. It is the pursuit of matters from the past thousands of years, and the pursuit of the past from a decade ago.
In this world, the most difficult thing to determine is the truth about strangers. The life and death of a person can be decided by the Internet based on a few words and impressions. Such things will still exist in 2070.
Endless criticism can destroy a person, words of the crowd are strong enough to melt gold.
Anyone can encounter times of facing difficulties and being isolated and helpless. In desperate situations, even if there’s just one person who will “forever be there”, the destiny of a person's life will be directly affected.
Translator’s Notes
Kunlun 昆仑
Kunlun is a mountain in Chinese mythology.
Bronze cauldron 青铜鼎
These are Chinese cauldrons used for cooking, storage, and ritual offerings to the gods or to ancestors. The earliest recovered examples are pre-Shang ceramic ding at the Erlitou site but they are better known from the Bronze Age. (Wiki)
Erligang Culture 二里岗
The Erligang culture is a Bronze Age urban civilization and archaeological culture in China that existed from approximately 1510 to 1460 BC. (Wiki)
Taotie 饕餮
The Taotie is a mythological creature (others being the Qilin, Dragon, Turtle, Phoenix) commonly seen on bronze and other artifacts. (Wiki)
‘Yellow River Chart’ and ‘The Inscription of River Luo’ 河图洛书
These were two cosmological diagrams used in ancient China by both Daoists and Confucians to explain the correlation of the hexagrams of the Yi Ying 易經 (Book of Changes) with the universe and human life, and for geomancy. (China Knowledge: An Encyclopedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art).
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