The evening of December 17th.
Professor Frank Wilczek was at the Shanghai International Airport.
Tomorrow was the start of the big conference. In order to not miss this grand event, he decided to arrive here one day earlier.
He ran into countless colleagues at the airport.
So of them were his friends, so of them were not. Others were friends whom he hadn’t talked to in many years.
The physics community was big, so big that even a Nobel Prize-winning scholar could go unrecognized.
If soone wasn’t in the sa research area as one another, even if they exchanged business cards, it was rare for them to et a second ti.
After all, not everyone was like Witten, who treated CERN as his second ho. Most people would go to CERN once or twice for academic reasons, and so people might never get the chance to go.
Speak of the devil.
Wilczek was looking around, trying to find soone holding up a sign with his na on it. He happened to bump into an acquaintance.
“Witten? What a coincidence, you’re here as well?” Frank Wilczek said with a kind smile on his face.
“Well, statistically, it’s quite likely for us to et here since there are only a few flights from North Arica to here.” Witten looked around and said, “Jesus... There are so many people here.”
Wilczek said, “Yeah... I rember there weren’t this many the last ti I was here. Jesus, are they all here for the conference?”
“There’s just a lot of people living here... Regardless, where is your hotel?”
“It’s next to the International Convention and Exhibition Center, 200 ters away from the main entrance.”
Witten’s eyes lit up as he spoke.
“What a coincidence, I’m guessing we’re at the sa hotel. Let’s take a taxi together.”
...
On the other hand, all the way on the distant moon, a prism-shaped lander was slowly dropped from the Moon Palace. It slowly fell onto the silver-white lunar soil, creating a cloud of dust.
After Yan Xinju unlocked the life support system, he took a deep breath from his spacesuit oxygen supply and took a step outside the cabin.
A year ago, he was still researching physics with Academician Lu. He never imagined himself setting foot on the moon.
He was probably the first physicist to receive formal astronaut training and set foot on the moon.
A silver-white lunar rover drove toward him from a distance.
An astronaut wearing a spacesuit with the Lunar Orbit Committee logo stepped off the rover. He heard a voice from the communication channel.
“Welco to Earth, my friend! I would give you a hug, but I’m afraid it will knock you in the air... Put this on first.”
Yan Xinju looked at the staff mber handing him a cable.
“What is this?”
“Safety rope; the gravity here is very low. For safety purposes, we wear these when we’re out of the cabin... You should have been briefed.”
“But I have not arranged any outdoor work.”
“Oh, I see.” The man smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go, I’ll show you what we have done on the moon. You’ll be surprised!”
Yan Xinju smiled and didn’t respond.
In fact, going all the way to the Moon Palace from the Jinling launch site was surprising enough.
He couldn’t imagine what could surprise him even more.
...
December 17th.
This was an ordinary day for the rest of the world, but a special day for the city of Shanghai.
Over 90% of the world’s top physicists were gathered here, as well as industry leaders from related fields.
Not everyone was eligible to participate in the seminar, but most people were able to get admission to the convention center.
December 18th.
The day of the conference.
The conference room was crowded with people.
After the chairman of the organizing committee gave an opening speech, Lu Zhou, the chairman of the ILHCRC and the Chief Consultant of the Lunar Orbit Committee, walked steadily on stage and grabbed the microphone.
There was no need for anyone to maintain order.
Everyone in the audience beca quiet.
The second his hand touched the microphone, the venue beca dead silent.
In fact, the participants in the conference hall No.1 weren’t the only ones who were silent.
People standing in the convention center, watching the big screen, and those sitting at ho watching the ILHCRC broadcast, they all remained silent.
Everyone was waiting for him to speak.
They were waiting for him to announce the physics of the future!
“Welco to China, Shanghai. I’d like to thank all of you who have co to attend this event organized by ILHCRC.”
Lu Zhou looked at the venue, spent two seconds forming his sentence, and spoke.
“Ever since the beginning of the 21st century, the gap between experintal physics and theoretical physics has increased exponentially. Our theoretical level has gone far beyond our experintal capabilities.
“I’ve always believed in the scientific experint thod. A theory that is not backed by an experint is like a mirage, only observable in the distance, never to be physically touched.
“But this is a turning point.
“Thanks to our advancents in aerospace technology, our spacecraft orbiting the moon is able to send construction equipnt to the lunar surface.
“The low gravity and low atmosphere environnt allow us to build a larger and more sophisticated collider.
“Since the project was established, the Lunar Hadron Collider has been receiving more and more attention. We have high hopes for this project, and we hope it can test our standard model and discover a new world of physics...
“At last, this day has finally arrived.”
The atmosphere in the venue was at a peak as Lu Zhou spoke in a louder and louder voice.
“On this special day, on behalf of the Lunar Orbit Committee and the ILHCRC, I’d like to announce that—
“The Lunar Hadron Collider—
“Is officially—
“Complete!”
The second he finished speaking, applause began filling the entire venue like a thunderstorm.
The thunderous sounds were like tsunami waves.
The old physicist Academician Lu was sitting in the crowd with a look of excitent on his face. He began to use all of his strength to clap; his hands gradually turning red.
In his eyes, this was more than just the completion of a collider.
What he just witnessed, was the rise of the Chinese physics community.
From today onward, the ILHCRC would take over CERN as the new center of physics. Physicists of the world would have to cooperate with China.
A new building of physics was slowly being built.
Natural science was a selfless field; all of mankind benefited equally from its advancents. However, as a Chinese scholar, why wouldn’t he want to see his own people flourish in the field?
He had been waiting for this day for a long ti...
Bathed in the thunderous applause, Lu Zhou smirked and raised his hand.
After the crowd cald down, he took a deep breath and spoke.
“The first trial of the collider will begin in five minutes.
“Let us witness this glorious mont together!”
The big screen began to display an image from 360,000 kiloters away.
Located at the corner of a moon crater was a silver-white building.
That was the lunar research base.
It was also where the collider was...
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