A supernova explosion can only occur in stars whose mass is more than eight times that of the Sun. The lifespan of a star is inversely proportional to its mass, the greater its mass, the shorter its life. Stars with masses exceeding eight times that of the Sun generally have lifespans of only several tens of millions of years. For some extremely massive stars, whose mass may reach dozens of times that of the Sun, their lifespans may be only a few million years.
Because the greater their mass, the more energy the core must generate to resist the star’s own gravity. In such cases, their nuclear fusion reactions are far more intense than those of ordinary stars, converting billions of tons of matter into energy every second. Under such fierce and rapid conversion of matter, no matter how large their mass, they cannot sustain themselves for very long.
A lifespan of a few million years is but a fleeting instant on the scale of the universe. At the end of their lives, these stars perish in brilliant supernova explosions, presenting the universe with a magnificent celestial firework.
This is one of the most spectacular events in the universe: the death of a star creating the conditions for the birth of life. Though these stars exist for only a short time, they are indispensable in the evolution of the cosmos. One could say that without supernovae, without these massive stars, there would be no life in the universe, at least, no human beings.
This is because every element on the periodic table heavier than iron is created during supernova explosions or during cataclysmic events such as neutron star collisions.
Back in the Earth era, every gold ring worn on human fingers, every silver bracelet, the copper wires inside electrical cables, all heavy elements came from the remnants of supernovae. Stellar fusion only produces elements up to iron; all elements heavier than iron are formed in that brief instant of a supernova explosion, and are then scattered across the universe.
Supernovae imbue these materials with tremendous kinetic energy, causing them to disperse into the universe and form magnificent nebulae. Under the right conditions, these materials may regroup; if the resulting mass is sufficient, they form second or third-generation stars. If not, they form rocky or gas planets. If a rocky planet happens to orbit a young, healthy star, and receives the appropriate temperature, then supported by its rich elemental composition, life may slowly emerge upon it…
This is how humanity was born. All the elements that make up the human body, all the elements we encounter in daily life, apart from hydrogen, the most basic element, all originate from stars. Elements up to iron come from stellar fusion; elements beyond iron come from the remains of supernova explosions.
Not just humans, but all intelligent life forms in the universe are children of the stars, true children of the stars. For it is the stars that have given us everything.
However, in Xiao Yu’s mind, the concept of a stellar weapon had already taken shape, a weapon that, like that of the Guardian Civilization, could destroy a star by triggering its explosion.
Yet at this point, Xiao Yu’s understanding of stellar weapons was still very shallow, or rather, completely without any concrete direction. Stellar weapons existed only in his conjecture. What he needed to do now was to speculate whether the Molian Civilization possessed such stellar weapons.
After a moment of deep thought, Luka Three spoke. “Currently, within our theoretical framework, the only viable stellar weapon would be one that destroys a star by triggering a supernova explosion. A supernova occurs because a star’s core suddenly loses its energy support, causing the outer layers to collapse inward and collide, which results in the explosion. Stellar weapons would function on the same principle: there is a special type of tachyon that does not react with low-density matter but is impeded by high-density matter, annihilating it upon contact. These tachyons fit perfectly with the concept of a stellar weapon.”
“Yes.” Xiao Yu nodded and said, “A star with the mass of the Sun has a core density about 150 times that of water. This density is sufficient for these tachyons to react with it. Once these tachyons are fired, they would penetrate the star’s thin outer layers and travel directly into the core. Upon encountering the high-density material of the core, they would annihilate it. By hollowing out the core in this way, we would strip the star of its energy support, causing the outer layers to collapse inward under external pressure and the star’s own gravity, thus simulating a supernova explosion. In fact, I suspect that this is the very mechanism by which the Guardian Civilization destroyed Tianyuan IV.”
“This is indeed a feasible design for a stellar weapon,” Luka Four added. “However, the obstacles we face are numerous. The construction of such a weapon would face countless challenges, not only in technology but also in fundamental scientific research. At our current rate of technological development, we would need at least 800 years before we could build such a weapon.”
“Yes.” Luka Three continued after Luka Four, “one of the greatest challenges is determining just how large a cavity we would need to create in the core of a star to cause it to explode. I estimate that it would require negative matter cannons with yields on the scale of several trillion tons. But… as of now, our standard negative matter cannons can only achieve yields of 8,000 tons. The gap between 8,000 tons and several trillion tons is simply enormous. What’s more, the negative matter tachyons required for a stellar weapon are quite different from ordinary negative matter tachyons; their production would be much more difficult.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Xiao Yu said. “We cannot build a practical stellar weapon in the short term. That’s why I asked you to assess whether the Molian Civilization might possess this technology. To be honest, I know very well that the Molian Civilization definitely doesn’t have this weapon yet. What I want you to evaluate is whether they have at least developed a theoretical framework for its construction.”
“If they do, that would be excellent. They have the theory, we have the manpower. In fifty years, we may be able to turn the theory into reality.”
“That’s my entire thought process. Now, I want your evaluation,” Xiao Yu said.
Luka Three, Luka Four, and the other three scientists all fell into silence.
“Before we evaluate,” one scientist spoke up, “I need to confirm one point: even if the Molian Civilization possesses the theoretical means to construct such a weapon, how exactly do we get them to hand this technology over to us? We are still in a state of hostility.”
“That issue will be handled by me, Luka Two, and the psychosocial scientists under Luka Two’s leadership. As scientists from the Science and Technology Division, you don’t need to concern yourselves with that,” Xiao Yu said decisively.
“Very well… First, as a civilization that understands negative matter even better than we do, the Molian Civilization likely has similar concepts. The obstacles they face would be the same as ours, namely in the advancement of specific technological details and materials science. We do possess one of their Province-Class ships. By analyzing it, we may be able to find clues that allow us to assess the true extent of their technological capabilities.”
“I’ve already prepared all the data for you to examine,” Xiao Yu said, displaying the technical data from the captured Molian Civilization Province-Class vessel.
The conference room fell into silence. Each scientist pulled out their personal computers and began performing intense calculations and simulations.
“In military technology, the Molian Civilization is at least five hundred years ahead of us… At that level, their materials science would likely have advanced to…”
“Their energy technology would likely have reached…”
Amidst this intense work, one evaluation after another was produced.
Each data point exceeded Xiao Yu’s current capabilities, but not to an outrageous degree. From this, one could see how difficult scientific progress becomes once a civilization reaches a relatively advanced level.
In terms of military technology, the Molian Civilization was at least five hundred years ahead of Xiao Yu. Yet five hundred years of development had only produced this much of a gap.
Roughly half an hour later, Luka Three stood up.
“Based on comprehensive calculations, the probability that the Molian Civilization possesses preliminary stellar weapon construction theories is approximately sixty percent.”
This result made Xiao Yu’s spirits rise. In fact, the conclusion he had previously reached himself was about the same.
“Sixty percent? That’s high enough to justify taking the risk. Then… we’ll proceed with both plans simultaneously: continue executing the concealment plan while also launching the stellar weapon project. Send a communication device to the Molian Civilization and establish contact. Whether through deception or inducement, we must get them to cooperate with us and, within the remaining fifty years, construct a combat-capable negative matter cannon!”