Prologue
What you are referring to is the so-called 'time paradox.' Professor Zhou chuckled dismissively, stating, 'American scientist Mike proposed that even if many technical challenges are overcome, the creation of a time machine would still open a Pandora's box filled with logical paradoxes. If we assume there is only a single universe, as time progresses forward, any attempt to enter the past or travel to the future would lead to logical chaos.
These paradoxes place the theory of time travel in a dilemma. If this is the case, even if one were to return to the past, one might not be able to do as one wishes. However, having finally gained the freedom to traverse time, one loses the freedom to act, helplessly watching history slip by without the ability to change anything. Is this not a tremendous loss? Professor Zhou's voice rose in intensity as he spoke.
"Come and take a look." Professor Zhou pressed the remote control in his hand
"It must be a wolf," Lieutenant Lin, who was driving, continued to gaze ahead, concentrating intently on the steering wheel. He then hurriedly added, "Look at the way it runs."
At first, Zhang Yang thought it was just a dog, but upon seeing this persistent creature following the car for quite some time in the rearview mirror, he found it somewhat strange
In an instant, a dazzling light burst forth. By the time Professor Zhou realized what was happening, he could only watch helplessly as several years of his hard work turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished into the ground.
After listening to Professor Zhou from the Military Academy, Zhang Yang's mind suddenly buzzed as if it had been completely emptied, leaving an empty void with nothing inside. Although his body remained upright, he felt soft and as if he were about to collapse.
Two soldiers dressed in identical white lab coats carried in a wolf that had been anesthetized and was unconscious. A small silver button had been sewn onto the wolf's ear.
"Hehe, are you scared? How about I give it a shot!" Lieutenant Lin chuckled and pressed down hard on the accelerator
"Crazy, too crazy." Zhang Yang shrugged and said, "May I ask Professor Zhou, what did you bring me here for through our director? You can't possibly want me to be your test subject, right? I absolutely refuse to do that"
Distinguishing between a running wolf and a dog is not a problem at all for Lieutenant Lin. On the vast grasslands of his hometown in Inner Mongolia, he has been familiar with these two animals, which share the same distant ancestor, since childhood. A dog, no matter how fast it runs, cannot help but leap and bound, while the creature before him glides almost with its belly touching the ground and the grass.
Three
From ancient times to the present, time travel has always been a dream for humanity. We wish to return to the past to preserve a love or to prevent a tragedy; we look forward to entering the future, transcending the limitations of life. Professor Zhou's eyes radiated with fervent light, "Our time machine is based on Einstein's theory of general relativity. Our research has revealed that gravity is the curvature of time and space, and a powerful gravitational field can bend light and slow the passage of time"
With a loud bang, the large sphere began to rotate slowly, countless optical fiber conduits started to contract, and four beams of light rose from the corners, shooting straight up to the ceiling
Decades ago, a certain Western science fiction writer predicted that humanity would set foot on Mars and the Moon, and has this not already become a living reality? For several decades, dozens of our country's scientists have been secretly researching time and space travel since more than a decade ago, and today we finally have a preliminary result: we have created this time and space shuttle— we named it 'Flowing Years.' Professor Zhou pointed at the transparent, spherical object made of an unknown material before him, smiling.
One
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In fact, it is truly unnecessary; in such a remote mountain where not even a bird would defecate, this level of vigilance is nothing but a futile effort—who are you guarding against when no one is coming
Professor Zhou approached. He raised his head absentmindedly and said in a trembling voice: "Time machine? Flowing years? You are not telling me a science fiction story, are you?"
Ah, it is that wolf!" Zhang Yang immediately recognized it as the wolf that had been following them.
Slow down! Professor Zhou pressed another button on the remote control in his hand
"I don't understand," Zhang Yang shook his head
Zhang Yang took the engraving knife, standing outside the large sphere. He inserted the knife into the sphere, gazing at the relevant symbols projected on one side of the wall. With a flourish of his hand, he swiftly completed the engraving. Next, he switched to an extremely small, slender welding gun, carefully reaching inside to weld numerous densely packed white pulse signal lines.
"Lieutenant Lin, why does this dog always follow the car?"
The last piece was finally welded together. Zhang Yang let out a long sigh of relief, stretched his back, and was just about to turn around when the large sphere beside him suddenly began to spin violently and rapidly. Brilliant laser beams crisscrossed and shone like fireworks, and a powerful suction force emanated from within the sphere, pulling him into it.
No, the experimental subjects are animals, not humans, so you can rest assured. Please come, as I have taken a liking to your inner painting technique. This time machine is left with the final step, which is to engrave the last time and space positioning coordinate symbols on the inner wall and weld several laser pulse signals together. To complete such a precise task by probing from the outside of the machine into the inner wall, it can only be accomplished with your exquisite inner painting skills. Professor Zhou took a slender diamond engraving knife from the workbench beside him.
After getting off the vehicle, Zhang Yang curiously surveyed the scene before him. Suddenly, in a patch of low grass, he spotted the wolf again. The wolf lay there leisurely, staring with a pair of eerie, pale blue eyes, watching Zhang Yang and Lieutenant Lin without a care in the world.
What exactly do you want to do? Travel back in time and change history? If that were the case, wouldn't everything we have today turn to dust?" Zhang Yang shook his head; he simply did not believe that time travel was possible. Although time travelers in novels had been written to the point of exhaustion, this was reality, not a fictional story! Time travel? Dream on, you bunch of scientific madmen! He secretly scoffed.
Oh. Zhang Yang moved his stiff body slightly, as if he were listening to a celestial scripture
"Well said!" Professor Zhou suddenly clapped his hands, startling Zhang Yang.
The first paradox is that if a time traveler goes back to the past and kills his infant self, he would both exist and not exist, as he would be unable to grow up and return to complete the murder. The second paradox is more subtle; the time traveler runs ahead in time, carves his name into a tree, and upon returning to the present, cuts down that tree, causing it to disappear from the future. We encounter a contradiction again, as at some point in the future, the tree both exists and does not exist. Professor Zhou fell into deep contemplation.
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"Please, our young and outstanding master of inner painting in arts and crafts, you will complete a work of unparalleled excellence, and you will personally experience a great scientific breakthrough!" Professor Zhou patted Zhang Yang's shoulder
These are four laser beam rings, which create a massive gravitational field. The intensity at the center of the field is sufficient to distort spacetime. Therefore, if a particle is placed in the center of the ring, it will be pulled by the gravitational field. As one approaches the gravitational field, both clocks and biological clocks will slow down. If a person enters this 'time tunnel', they may appear at some point in the past Professor Zhou became excited
Oh, I see, you startled me. Well, I will give it a try. Zhang Yang took the carving knife and approached the large sphere
After countless iterations, we have discovered that some laws of quantum mechanics can resolve these contradictions—in the subatomic world, quantum uncertainty prevails: an electron colliding with a proton can either deflect to the left or to the right, with no discernible pattern in between. From our perspective, this uncertainty gives rise to the 'multiplicity' of the universe; each time an electron deflects to the right, it creates a new universe alongside one where an electron deflects to the left. Professor Zhou spoke with fervor about this profound 'scientific theory'.
Hehe, I originally wanted to use a little white mouse, but I found that this wolf is very peculiar, constantly wandering around this area, so I decided to use it as the experimental subject. You see, on its ear is our invention, the laser solar-powered far-infrared detector; as long as it is still on Earth, we will be able to monitor it. Professor Zhou made a gesture to send it in, and two soldiers placed the wolf into the entrance of the large spherical device. You see, on its ear is our invention, the laser solar-powered far-infrared detector; as long as it is still on Earth, we will be able to monitor it. Professor Zhou made a gesture to send it in, and two soldiers placed the wolf into the entrance of the large spherical device
Not long after entering the desolate mountainous area, the wolf appeared. With its long tail, gray fur, and fierce gaze, it resembled the descriptions found in zoology textbooks. At the entrance of the vast and uninhabited Wanshan Mountains, it was unclear from where it had suddenly emerged, silently following the military off-road vehicle that was slowly moving forward amidst the bumps.
In this day and age, wild wolves are rarely seen; occasionally, a ferocious wolf is mistaken for a guard dog by people. Zhang Yang turned back with a hint of mockery, staring intently at the wolf that was still chasing the car, saying, "You must be starving; can you go any faster? At this rate, it seems like it will keep following us."
In other words, the world is not singular, but consists of many parallel worlds. You may return to the past, but it is not your own world; rather, it is a world similar to your history. If you intervene in history, the future will lead to another world that is different from the one you came from. You can act freely, unbound by the constraints of the original historical narrative. Professor Zhou let out a hearty and triumphant laugh, "Now do you understand?" You can act freely, unbound by the constraints of the original historical narrative. Professor Zhou let out a hearty and triumphant laugh, "Now do you understand?"
In Zhang Yang's heart, there was a sudden tremor.
"Then what is the point of your research on time travel? It is purely a waste of national financial resources and taxpayers' money!" Zhang Yang muttered softly.
Having stripped completely, taken a shower, and changed into a set of white clothes, Zhang Yang was sent into the basement of the small building, into a fully enclosed underground chamber with multiple layers of security, covering several hundred square meters. It appears that this underground chamber is the key to this military stronghold, while the small building above ground is merely a facade.
Faintly, a hysterical curse echoed in my ears: "You bastard surnamed Zhou, may you not die a good death, you will go to hell!"
Arrogant, truly damn arrogant! It’s still that wolf! He tried his best to drive away the surge of irritation rising within him, following Lieutenant Lin with a restless mind as they entered the courtyard.
The off-road vehicle bumped along the military road that had been hastily cleared through the marshy mountain path. Just as dusk began to settle, it entered a valley. In the distance, the dark ridges of the green mountains faded into the faint night, while a solitary blue building was enclosed by a fence topped with barbed wire, with several armed guards stationed at the entrance.
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