Today, the Moon and Mars have become places where humanity can truly set foot. The major spacefaring nations have established bases upon them, either independently or through strategic partnerships.
On the Moon, two primary outposts exist: Guanghan Palace, led by China, and the Artemis Lunar Base, led by the United States. [1] The two share a relationship of "coopetition"—simultaneously collaborative and competitive—and serve as the only two collaborative hubs for international scientific research.
While Yue Yuan’s ultimate destination was Callisto, his first stop was the Moon. Waiting for him at Guanghan Palace was a dual-doctorate holder in biology and genetic engineering.
This was a recruitment slot granted to the Callisto Base by the upper brass; as Base Commander, Yue Yuan wasn't about to pass up the chance to hand-pick his top talent.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound at the door forced Yue Yuan to open his eyes, ending his moment of meditation.
"Enter," he said succinctly, already knowing who was on the other side.
A tall man, roughly 1.83 meters, stepped into the room. He wore a crisp white shirt and looked to be in his early thirties, though a receding hairline—trending toward a "Mediterranean" bald spot—made him appear several years older.
The man walked up to Yue Yuan, who was now sitting upright on the sofa, and handed him a prepared file. "Commander, here is the data you requested."
Yue Yuan took the file but didn't look at it immediately. Instead, he looked up at the man. "Peter, you’re late. Were you just off investigating that girl?"
It was a statement phrased as a question. Before the man could respond, Yue Yuan continued, "She’s just an ordinary tourist on a cruise. There's no need to be so tense."
"Duty requires..."
The man, Zhu Peter, started to speak, but Yue Yuan cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Alright, alright, I get it. I suppose my choosing to take a cruise ship added to your workload. Fine... go get some rest. We dock tomorrow at noon. Just make sure to check in with the Orbital Mass Accelerator staff first—I don't want us missing our flight window because of a scheduling backup."
"Yes, sir!" The man saluted, turned, and exited the room, gently closing the door behind him.
Zhu Peter served as Yue Yuan’s deputy and assistant. He was young and relatively handsome, but his obsession with his hair loss meant he rarely went without a hat except on formal occasions. Rumor had it his greatest wish was to see his "Mediterranean" scalp flourish with thick hair again, which explained his habitual interest in medical and genetic news.
Yue Yuan understood why Peter was being so cautious with Xu Yanqi; Yue Yuan’s current status was... unique.
It wasn't just his rank. While being a Base Commander warranted protection, the level of scrutiny Peter applied was bordering on extreme. The true reason for such paranoia lay in what had happened to Yue Yuan on Callisto.
Yue Yuan remembered that moment with terrifying clarity.
Seven people had inhaled that diffusing red gas. Aside from Yue Yuan, the other six included payload specialists and geneticists. All were members of the Callisto Base, though two were currently being held in the capital to assist in the research... on themselves. This was also how Yue Yuan had managed to "poach" a geneticist slot from Guanghan Palace.
The origin of that red gas was the real secret.
It all started with the Callisto Base itself. The base was built inside a deep canyon—a choice that defied common sense, as bases were typically built on flat terrain like Guanghan Palace or the Yinghuo Base on Mars.
The reason for the canyon site was a secret buried deep beneath the rock: a damaged alien spacecraft.
To explain the unconventional location, China had officially claimed it was a mission to test engineering limits and prepare humanity for expansion into even harsher interstellar environments. When the news hit, netizens praised it as a "Light of Humanity."
Because the nation’s reputation as the Infrastructure Juggernaut was so well-established, few conspiracy theorists gained any traction. It also helped that China was the only nation with a base on Callisto; had this been on the Moon, the secret would have been impossible to keep.
Though the ship was damaged, it was clear that its creators possessed technology far beyond human comprehension. It had taken five years just to find a way inside.
The red gas had surged out of an unidentified compartment—or rather, a cabinet-like container that they hadn't been able to open or move suddenly triggered for unknown reasons.
Normally, explorers wouldn't inhale anything because they’d be in EVA suits. However, that specific section of the ship had already been explored and pressurized, linked directly to the Callisto Base's life support systems before Yue Yuan took command. Consequently, when the seven of them passed through that day, they weren't wearing suits. They took the full brunt of the discharge.
Fortunately, the gas wasn't toxic, or they would have been dead instantly. Instead, they experienced nothing more than brief dizziness.
Extensive medical checks followed. Nothing seemed wrong until they looked at the deep genetic level. There, they found that the genes responsible for aging had been effectively suppressed, while anti-aging factors like telomerase and other functional genes had become abnormally active.
After exhaustive testing, the expert panel concluded that the seven individuals might now have a lifespan four to six times that of a normal human. They had, quite literally, "borrowed another five centuries from Heaven."
Furthermore, their P53 tumor-suppressor genes had increased from a single pair to five pairs—roughly a quarter of what an elephant possesses. Tests also showed that the LIF6 gene on Chromosome 20 had been activated.
With twenty pairs of P53 genes, elephants are incredibly resistant to cancer. For a human, having a quarter of that capacity—given our smaller body mass—meant they were essentially immune to the disease. Beyond that, their rate of calcium loss in microgravity had slowed significantly.
The research team was ecstatic. A lifespan of three to five hundred years, combined with cancer immunity, meant these people were essentially guaranteed to live out their full, extended lives.
Exhilaration turned to obsession.
Faced with a discovery of this magnitude, Yue Yuan immediately locked down all information, forcing every witness to sign draconian non-disclosure agreements. He then sent a report to the capital via quantum-encrypted communication.
When the signal crossed 700 million kilometers of space to Earth, the reaction was seismic.
Humanity could build bases on nearby planets, but travel time remained the ultimate bottleneck. Even with mature fission rockets, a trip to Uranus, Neptune, or the Kuiper Belt was an immense undertaking. Space travel isn't just distance divided by speed; it involves orbital mechanics and long periods of acceleration and deceleration.
Humanity would never be satisfied with just the solar system. An extended lifespan was the key to deep-space exploration. Combined with existing hibernation technology, the "Sea of Stars" was finally within reach.
The bad news? No more of the substance was found. The diffusing gas was likely the final dose of an unknown agent that had finally leaked away.
Under these circumstances, Yue Yuan had begun his journey back to Earth.
After being promoted in rank, he was now being sent back to Callisto to continue leading the exploration of the alien ship. As for the other six, five remained on Earth as research subjects, and one remained on Callisto.
They were being studied for their "longevity genes," though not exactly as lab rats. After all, the project was being led by one of the very geneticists who had inhaled the gas.
TN: (YAP WARNING)
[1] In Chinese mythology, Guanghan Palace (广寒宫, Guǎnghán Gōng, literally "Vast Cold Palace") is the palace on the Moon where the Moon Goddess, Chang'e, resides.
Myth: Long ago, the Earth had ten suns that scorched the land, destroying crops and causing suffering. A legendary archer named Hou Yi saved humanity by shooting down nine of the suns, leaving only one
As a reward for his heroism, the Queen Mother of the West gave him an elixir of immortality. However, the elixir was only enough for one person. Because Hou Yi loved his wife, Chang'e, he didn't want to leave her behind, so he gave her the elixir to keep safe.
One day, while Hou Yi was out hunting, an apprentice tried to steal the potion. To keep it from him, Chang'e drank it herself. She immediately became light and floated up into the sky. Because she wanted to stay as close to her husband as possible, she chose to land on the Moon, where she has lived ever since.
During the mid autumn festival, mooncakes are eaten to essentially "visit" Chang'e and keep her company.
Artemis obviously is NASA's nomenclature representing the greek huntress goddess that represents the moon.
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