Chapter 200 Signal Analysis Group
Three days later, Beijing.
Lin Mo sat in a small conference room at the Science and Technology Security Bureau, opposite Fang Lin. Two documents lay on the table—a signal analysis report compiled by Li Xiao, and a report written by Lin Mo himself titled "Report on Abnormal Signals from the Direction of Centaurus."
Fang Lin had been reading for twenty minutes.
She read very slowly, turning back to re-read every page. Lin Mo didn't rush her, just waited quietly.
Sunlight from outside filtered through the blinds, casting stripes across the table. The clock in the conference room ticked away, each sound clearly audible.
Finally, Fang Lin closed the last document, took off her glasses, and rubbed her brow.
"Lin Mo," she began, her voice a bit raspy, "do you know what this means?"
Lin Mo nodded. "I know."
Fang Lin looked at him with a complex gaze:
"Are you sure? This isn't just an ordinary scientific discovery. This is—this is the biggest event in human history."
Lin Mo was silent for two seconds, then said:
"Director Fang, I've been receiving this signal since the night of the successful ignition. For these three months, I've thought about this question every day."
Fang Lin was stunned for a moment. "Three months? You've known for three months?"
Lin Mo nodded.
"Then why are you only reporting it now?"
Lin Mo looked at her, his gaze calm:
"Because I had to confirm it. The first time the signal was received, it could have been a system error. Later, Li Xiao independently discovered the pattern and used cross-verification from FAST and satellite data to confirm the precise period of the signal—23 hours and 17 minutes, with an error of less than one hundred-thousandth of a second. At this level of precision, I could be certain that it wasn't an illusion, a coincidence, or any known natural phenomenon."
Fang Lin was silent for a while, then nodded:
"You did the right thing. Something like this cannot be handled rashly."
She stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to Lin Mo:
"Lin Mo, do you know what I'm most worried about right now?"
"What?"
Fang Lin turned around, her gaze sharp:
"If this news gets out—even just a little bit—what do you think will happen?"
Lin Mo didn't speak.
Fang Lin continued, "Global sensation, a media explosion, and the attention of every nation will be drawn here. And then? Then comes the scramble—who responds first? Who makes contact first? Who gets the alien technology first? Humanity hasn't even left Earth yet, and they'll already start fighting among themselves."
Lin Mo nodded. "I understand."
"It's good that you understand." Fang Lin walked back to the table and sat down. "From this moment on, this matter is classified as Top Secret. Aside from you, me, Li Xiao, and the experts about to join us, no one must know."
Lin Mo was silent for a moment, then asked:
"What about those above?"
Fang Lin looked at him and said slowly:
"I will be the one to report to the higher-ups."
Three days later, Lin Mo received another call from Fang Lin.
"Come over," Fang Lin said. "The higher-ups have given their approval."
That afternoon, Lin Mo flew to Beijing.
This time, the meeting location wasn't the small conference room of the Science and Technology Security Bureau, but a large compound without a street number. The car passed through three security checkpoints and stopped in front of a small grey building.
Fang Lin was waiting for him at the entrance.
"Let's go," she said. "Everyone is here."
Lin Mo followed her into the building, walked through a long corridor, and pushed open a heavy wooden door.
Five people were already seated in the conference room.
Lin Mo took a quick glance—three elders and two middle-aged men. He recognized one of the elders: Academician Chen Yuanshan from the Purple Mountain Observatory, a titan in domestic radio astronomy who was still full of vigor in his eighties. Of the other two elders, one wore thick glasses and had dense mathematical formulas spread out before him; the other had an elegant air, appearing to be in communications.
As for the two middle-aged men, one was in military uniform with four stars on his two bars; the other was in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with an open laptop by his side.
Fang Lin led Lin Mo to his seat and then spoke:
"Everyone is here. Let me make the introductions."
She pointed to Academician Chen Yuanshan. "Academician Chen Yuanshan, Purple Mountain Observatory, radio astronomy expert."
Academician Chen Yuanshan nodded to Lin Mo, his gaze scrutinizing.
Fang Lin then pointed to the elder with thick glasses. "Professor Zhang Yuanli, Institute of Mathematics, expert in number theory and information theory."
Zhang Yuanli adjusted his glasses and gave a slight nod.
"Researcher Wang Mingyuan, communications and information systems expert, who participated in the design of the manned spaceflight communications system."
The elegant elder smiled but didn't speak.
"Senior Colonel Zhou Zhiguo, Information Department of the General Staff, responsible for information security."
The middle-aged man in uniform nodded, his expression solemn.
"And finally," Fang Lin pointed to the young man with gold-rimmed glasses, "Dr. Li Wei, astrophysicist, the youngest doctoral supervisor at your Purple Mountain Observatory."
Li Wei stood up and extended his hand toward Lin Mo. "Academician Lin, I've heard much about you."
Lin Mo shook his hand. "Dr. Li, you're too kind."
Once the introductions were finished, Fang Lin's smile vanished, and her expression turned serious:
"Everyone, I've invited you here today because of a very important matter. From this moment on, this matter is classified as a national top secret. Without approval, no one is allowed to disclose a single word to the outside world."
The conference room fell silent.
Fang Lin looked at Lin Mo. "Academician Lin, please introduce the situation."
Lin Mo stood up and turned on the projector.
The first image appeared on the screen—a spectrum analysis curve with a peak at 0.0429 Hz.
"This is a radio signal from the direction of Centaurus," Lin Mo said. "Frequency 23.7 GHz, pulse interval 1.273 seconds. It was first discovered three months ago."
Low murmurs of discussion broke out in the room.
Academician Chen Yuanshan frowned. "From the direction of Centaurus? That's 4.37 light-years away from Earth. A radio signal from that distance should be extremely weak; it would be very difficult for our equipment to capture."
Lin Mo nodded. "Academician Chen is right. However, the intensity of this signal is more than double the background noise, and it is consistently stable. We've verified it with FAST data; it definitely exists."
He switched to the next slide—time-series analysis, with each day's signals overlaid on one another.
"This is the signal data from the past two months. As you can see, every pulse has an interval of exactly 23 hours and 17 minutes, without a single error."
Zhang Yuanli's eyes lit up. "23 hours and 17 minutes? That period is very peculiar."
"Correct," Lin Mo said. "It's not the natural period of any celestial body. Earth's rotation is 23 hours and 56 minutes, the Sun's rotation is 25 days, and the Moon's orbit is 27.3 days—none of them match this number."
He switched to the third slide—error analysis.
"Even more critical is the precision. The error in this period is less than one hundred-thousandth of a second. In other words, the signal source transmits once every 23 hours and 17 minutes, and over two consecutive months, the cumulative error is less than one-thousandth of a second."
Wang Mingyuan sucked in a breath. "This level of precision... even man-made systems would find it hard to achieve."
Lin Mo looked at him. "Researcher Wang is right. This is not a precision that natural phenomena can achieve."
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
Academician Chen Yuanshan spoke slowly, "Academician Lin, are you saying—this is a signal from an alien civilization?"
Lin Mo looked at him and nodded solemnly:
"Yes. I believe there is a very high probability that it is."
A heated discussion erupted in the conference room.
Academician Chen Yuanshan frowned. "More data is needed. We can't entirely rule out the possibility of natural phenomena based solely on period and precision. For instance, some new type of pulsar—"
"Academician Chen," Zhang Yuanli interrupted, "no matter how stable a pulsar's period is, it gradually slows down due to energy loss. But this signal's period hasn't changed at all over two consecutive months. A pulsar can't do that."
"Then could it be some unknown celestial body—"
"An unknown celestial body?" Wang Mingyuan took over. "Why would it specifically use prime number sequences? Academician Lin, did you decode prime numbers?"
Lin Mo nodded. "Yes. The signal contains prime number sequences, the Fibonacci sequence, and the first hundred digits of Pi. These are mathematical languages, universal tools used by intelligent civilizations to prove their existence."
Li Wei had been silent, but he suddenly spoke up now:
"Academician Lin, I'd like to ask a question."
Lin Mo looked at him. "Please, go ahead."
Li Wei stared at the data on the screen and said slowly:
"How long has this signal been transmitting?"
Lin Mo was silent for two seconds. "I don't know. But the fact that we can receive it means it's been transmitting continuously. It could have been transmitting for decades, centuries, or even thousands of years."
Li Wei nodded and asked again:
"Then why did we only receive it now?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment. "It could be that previous equipment wasn't sensitive enough, or that no one paid attention to this frequency band before, or—it could be that the signal source only recently pointed toward us."
Li Wei didn't ask anything else.
But everyone understood the subtext of his question:
If the signal source only recently pointed toward us—what did that mean?
It meant they knew where we were.
The discussion continued for three hours.
Finally, Fang Lin tapped on the table:
"Everyone, the higher-ups have approved the formation of the 'Deep Space Signal Research Group,' led by Academician Lin Mo. The members are those of you present. There is only one mission: to analyze the source and meaning of this signal."
She looked at each person:
"From now on, this group is a top national secret. All data, all analysis, and all conclusions are restricted to the group members. Outwardly, you each have your own jobs; go about your business as usual. Inwardly, there will be a weekly video conference and a monthly intensive seminar. Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Fang Lin looked at Lin Mo. "Academician Lin, do you have anything else to say?"
Lin Mo stood up and looked at the six people present:
"You are all top experts in your respective fields. It is an honor to have you here."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone:
"What we are facing may be the most significant discovery in human history. But it is also the greatest unknown. I don't know what is in the signal, I don't know who sent it, I don't know if they are benevolent or malevolent, and I don't know what will happen after we respond."
"But I know one thing—we must first understand what they are trying to say."
"That is our mission."
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Academician Chen Yuanshan was the first to stand and extend his hand:
"Academician Lin, I've spent sixty years in astronomy and thought I'd seen everything. I didn't expect to encounter this in my old age."
Lin Mo shook his hand. "Academician Chen, I'll be seeking your guidance often in the future."
Zhang Yuanli also stood up. "I've spent a lifetime on number theory; finally, there's a place to put it to use."
Wang Mingyuan smiled. "A communications expert... this time, I'll be communicating with aliens."
Senior Colonel Zhou Zhiguo was the last to speak, his voice deep:
"Academician Lin, I am responsible for security. I guarantee that all data, communications, and documents will be airtight."
Li Wei stood to the side without speaking, but his eyes were shining.
Fang Lin looked at the group and suddenly smiled:
"Good. Then it's settled."
That evening, Lin Mo returned to his hotel.
His phone rang; it was a video call request from Li Xiao.
"Senior Brother, is the meeting over?" Li Xiao's face appeared on the screen, with her dormitory in the background.
Lin Mo nodded. "It's over."
"How did it go?"
"A research group was formed, seven people," Lin Mo said. "Astronomy, mathematics, communications, security—we have it all."
Li Xiao's eyes lit up. "What about me? Am I in?"
Lin Mo looked at her and was silent for two seconds:
"You're in. But not in an official capacity."
Li Xiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Understood. I'm your 'off-the-books personnel.'"
The corners of Lin Mo's mouth curled up slightly:
"Correct. Keep monitoring, keep analyzing. If there are any new discoveries, tell me immediately."
Li Xiao gave a sloppy salute. "As you wish, Chief Designer Lin!"
After hanging up the video call, Lin Mo stood by the window, looking at the night view of Beijing.
A myriad of lights, bustling traffic.
No one knew that on this ordinary night, seven people had formed a team that would change the course of human history.
Outside the window, low in the southeastern sky, that dim star was still there.
Silently, regularly, over and over again, it was transmitting its signal.
Lin Mo watched for a long time, then turned and opened his laptop.
A new day had come, and there was much to be done.