24: Chapter 24 Heading to the Plateau to Establish a Secret Base
The silence on the encrypted channel seemed capable of sucking away every minute sound in the underground studio. The dual pressure transmitted by Sun Qiming—the initial setback in the topological quantum experiments and the cutoff of key high-temperature superconducting materials—weighed heavily on Lin Shen's heart like two cold, massive boulders.
Especially the latter. A raw material blockade was not a technical challenge, but blatant strategic containment. It precisely targeted the most vulnerable link in Dragon Country's strategic directions, including compact fusion and next-generation power and transportation. Without high-performance, engineerable high-temperature superconducting materials, many frontier concepts would truly remain nothing more than "armchair strategy."
Lin Shen sat before his workstation. The screen displayed side-by-side the disappointing low-temperature resistance curve of the bismuth sulfide-niobium nitride heterojunction and a top-secret assessment report on the global supply chain distribution and substitution possibilities for the restricted special rare earth oxides. Two paths—one a frontier of theoretical physics under verification, the other an engineering cornerstone supporting a future energy revolution—had encountered setbacks simultaneously.
However, the fire in his heart that had never been extinguished since his awakening was not doused by this cold water. Instead, it burned even more reservedly and intensely under the pressure. The dim branch on the technology tree pointing toward [Room-Temperature Superconducting Material Exploration] acted like the only gap in a desperate situation that hadn't been sealed off, leaking a tiny sliver of light and attracting his entire mental focus.
He knew that the theoretical exploration application he submitted, codenamed "Deep Blue," seemed nearly insane to anyone else. Room-temperature superconductivity? That was the Holy Grail of condensed matter physics, a field where countless geniuses had met their downfall, a dream that even the most optimistic theorists only dared to discuss cautiously under extreme conditions, such as millions of atmospheres of pressure. In a time when an energy crisis was imminent and materials were being bottlenecked, committing precious resources to such "sci-fi" deduction required immense courage and... foresight.
The approval came faster than expected.
Only four hours after the application was submitted, the "firefly" channel received a directive jointly signed by the highest levels. The content was concise and powerful:
"Project 'Deep Blue' is authorized to commence. Authorization Level: Top Secret 'Firmament'."
"Objective: To conduct the boldest theoretical exploration and computational screening of the possibilities for room-temperature superconductivity and related disruptive superconducting mechanisms, without preset paths or adherence to existing frameworks. Failure is permitted, but total openness and breakthrough in thinking are required."
"Resources: Effective immediately, three percent of the continuous exclusive computing nodes of 'tianhe-3' (Codenamed: heart of deep blue) are opened for you. You are granted highest browsing and mining permissions for all relevant sub-libraries in the 'Starry Sea' knowledge base, including theoretical physics, computational materials science, high-pressure physics, and exotic quantum states. A 'Deep Blue' virtual theory group is to be established, with members secretly nominated by you nationwide. After vetting, they will join remotely, with all communication conducted via independent encrypted links and physical isolation."
"Timeframe: Phase one, three months. A report of sufficient theoretical depth and innovativeness must be submitted, identifying at least one direction worth in-depth investigation that differs from traditional understanding."
"Additional Requirements: This work will proceed in parallel with other projects you are responsible for (Jiuzhang Special Project, Xuance Group, Chasing Light photonics, fusion assessment), without mutual interference or information leakage. Your primary work location will be changed."
The final point caught Lin Shen slightly by surprise. Changing his work location? Leaving this underground fortress he had grown accustomed to?
The attachment to the directive provided the answer: To ensure absolute secrecy for Project 'Deep Blue' and that thinking remained undisturbed, and to counter unconventional risks targeting relevant researchers due to the material blockade, the command decided to activate a top-secret frontier theoretical research base codenamed 'Firmament' somewhere on the western plateau. Lin Shen was to transfer to this base immediately to lead Project 'Deep Blue' in a highly secure and isolated environment while remotely coordinating other projects.
The 'Firmament' base... Lin Shen had heard fragments about this name. It was said to be located in a permafrost zone at an altitude of over four thousand meters, using natural geological barriers and extreme environments for physical isolation. It was one of the sites in the country for the most sensitive and frontier theoretical explorations and certain special experiments. Going there meant being completely cut off from ordinary life for a period of time.
He did not hesitate. He quickly organized the core data, progress reports, and next-step plans for all current projects, sending them via the 'firefly' channel to Sun Qiming (responsible for daily coordination of 'Xuance' and 'Chasing Light') and Shen Hong (responsible for fusion material alternatives and interfacing with Professor Wu Qingquan's team), and designated a temporary technical decision-making process for his absence.
Next, he began drafting the initial candidates for the 'Deep Blue' virtual theory group. This required a combination of top-tier theoretical physics foundations, boundless imagination, and an extremely open mind for new ideas, along with absolute political reliability. Several names quickly flashed through his mind: besides the already deeply involved Topologist (whose mathematical physics tools might be useful), he thought of several theoretical physicists and computational materials scientists whose startling papers he had read in the 'Starry Sea' database but who did not seem to be at the center of mainstream academia. He added their names and brief justifications to the nomination list.
By the time he finished all this, it had been less than two hours since he received the directive. A team of taciturn but extremely efficient special service personnel entered the studio and began assisting him with the final cleanup and transfer preparations. All storage media from electronic devices were removed for physical encrypted packaging. Paper notes were collected into specialized explosion-proof and fireproof document boxes.
There were no goodbyes, no extra explanations. Lin Shen took one last look at this underground space where he had fought for countless days and nights, then turned to follow the special service personnel into an emergency passage leading deeper underground that had never been opened before.
After several hours of transport in a sealed vehicle, a low-altitude flight (the aircraft type was unrecognizable), and a final bumpy off-road drive on rugged plateau mountain roads, Lin Shen took a slight breath as he stepped out of the car into the piercing cold wind.
It was likely the darkest moment before dawn. On the Deep Blue canopy, the star-river hung low, so brilliant it seemed unreal, as if one could reach out and pluck a star. Beneath his feet was hard permafrost; in the distance were continuous black ridges silhouetted into jagged outlines by starlight, silent and majestic. The air was thin and crisp, every breath bringing a cold sting, yet it was also exceptionally pure.
Before him was the entrance to a low, massive concrete building that almost merged with the mountain. There were no markings, only a few low-power red indicator lights flickering in the darkness, signaling its presence. The heavy alloy door at the entrance slid open slowly, spilling out warm, soft light from within.
Stepping inside the 'Firmament' base provided a sharp contrast to the desolation and loneliness outside. It was as warm as spring, with good air circulation and a lighting system mimicking natural light color temperatures. The walls were a soft creamy white, making extensive use of eye-friendly indirect lighting. The corridors were spacious and quiet, with rooms on either side bearing encrypted electronic doorplates. The overall feel was not that of a military fortress, but more like an extremely quiet and focused top-tier research institute.
He was taken to a suite numbered '001'. It combined living, office, and small meeting functions, fully equipped with the latest models. The connection speed to 'tianhe-3' and the 'Starry Sea' database was even faster and more stable than at the previous underground base. A massive screen occupied nearly an entire wall, capable of switching to a real-time outdoor view of the plateau (though it would mostly be ice, snow, and rocks).
“Comrade Lin Shen, welcome to 'Firmament'.” A refined middle-aged man in casual clothes was waiting in the suite's living room; he introduced himself as Mr. Yang, the head of administration and security for the base. “Everything here serves you and Project 'Deep Blue'. Your team nominations are being vetted with urgency, and we expect the first batch of confirmation feedback within twenty-four hours. The 'heart of deep blue' computing node is ready and can be accessed at any time. Additionally, the base has comprehensive physical laboratories and small-scale material preparation platforms. While their scale cannot compare to large external facilities, they can perform key proof-of-concept experiments if you generate microscopic concepts during theoretical deduction that require immediate verification.”
The high efficiency and thorough preparation made Lin Shen feel once again the level of importance the nation placed on this matter.
After seeing off Director Yang, Lin Shen stood alone before the massive screen and switched it to the outdoor view. At this moment, a very faint streak of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, tinting the peaks of the distant snow mountains with a pale golden-red. The stars were gradually fading, but their vastness and depth were already imprinted in his heart.
The silence of the plateau was a presence with weight. It filtered out all the secular noise, forcing one's senses and thoughts toward the most essential and profound directions.
This was one of the places closest to the sky and one of the places furthest from the clamor of reality. Perhaps it was indeed the best place to contemplate those seemingly "impossible" questions.
Lin Shen did not rest. He sat at the brand-new workstation and, after triple verification of fingerprints, irises, and brainwaves, logged into the 'heart of deep blue' node.
Vast computing power unfolded in his consciousness like a boundless ocean. It felt completely different from the previous time-shared usage; this was an exclusive, surging "ocean" at his disposal.
He first pulled up all papers, reports, and even unpublished preprints and laboratory notes from the 'Starry Sea' knowledge base regarding superconducting physics, especially non-traditional directions such as unconventional superconducting mechanisms, high-pressure superconductivity, interface superconductivity, and topological superconductivity. The information flow was immense, but with the aid of 'heart of deep blue' for intelligent screening, he could quickly locate the most controversial, frontier, or mainstream-ignored "fringe" ideas.
He didn't start complex calculations immediately. Instead, like a shell-picker diving in an ocean of information, he first conducted extensive, unbiased reading and reflection. From the BCS electron-phonon coupling to the unsolved mysteries of copper oxide high-temperature superconductivity; from the multi-band physics of iron-based superconductors to the startling phenomena of hydride high-pressure superconductivity; from scattered experiments in interface-induced superconductivity to theoretical conjectures on topological superconductivity...
He needed to rebuild his cognitive framework for "superconductivity," breaking the classical images established by undergraduate textbooks. If room-temperature superconductivity existed, it likely followed physical laws entirely different from all currently known superconductors.
Time passed in silent reading and reflection. The plateau sunlight filtered through the simulated outdoor screen, casting clear, cold patches of light in the room, which gradually lengthened and disappeared as the sun dipped westward. The constant lighting inside the base automatically adjusted its brightness.
When Lin Shen looked up from a pile of radical theoretical ideas about how "polar metals" and "exotic phonon modes" might enhance superconductivity, he realized nearly ten hours had passed. He didn't feel tired at all; instead, he felt a sense of fulfillment as his hunger for knowledge was initially satiated.
The first batch of membership confirmations for the 'Deep Blue' virtual theory group also returned. Topologist joined without suspense; he would provide powerful mathematical tool support. Three others were also selected: a young professor from a southern university who was controversial and marginalized for proposing a disruptive "quantum critical fluctuation enhanced superconductivity" model; a senior researcher from the National Computational Materials Science Center specializing in "high-throughput first-principles calculations combined with machine learning to predict new materials"; and one who was surprisingly a scientist from the National Astronomical Observatory focusing on compact astrophysics (neutron stars, quark stars). His reasoning was: "The interior of neutron stars may contain superfluid or superconducting phenomena under extreme conditions that we cannot replicate in Earth laboratories; their theoretical models might inspire new ideas."
This combination could be called a "heterodox" dream team. Not a single one was an authority in the traditional field of superconductivity, but each touched upon the edges of matter's behavior in extreme or exotic states from their own unique perspectives.
Lin Shen created an encrypted virtual workspace, sent the initial data packets and the core objectives and requirements of Project 'Deep Blue' to the members, and arranged the first non-real-time asynchronous discussion topic: "Casting aside the constraints of all known superconducting materials and mechanisms, what do you believe are the most fundamental physical conditions that matter must satisfy to achieve zero resistance at 'high temperatures' (even room temperature)? Or, what 'unconventional' interaction channels that might stabilize electron pairing exist that might be overlooked by the existing theoretical framework?"
The moment the question was posed, Lin Shen felt as if the dim branch on the technology tree pointing toward [Room-Temperature Superconducting Material Exploration] trembled very slightly.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in other directions, the topological quantum experiments, the fusion material alternatives, and the photon integration breakthroughs were still pushing forward through the mire of reality, difficultly but determinedly, according to the plans he left and the efforts of his team members.
The plateau wind howled outside 'Firmament', swirling millennia-old ice and snow.
But within this fortress of absolute silence and relative isolation, a conceptual charge against one of the most profound bastions of physics had already sounded its silent horn.
The key might be hidden in the most unlikely keyhole. And now, they were going to find, or even forge, that key that had never existed.