The Secret History of Mars.

Chapter 15 The Underground Crystal City

"Above? Are you saying that we are now underground on Mars?" Cui Xingmeng's sense of spatial orientation has never been good, but she didn't distinguish between the ground and the ground, which still surprised herself a bit. Just now, I walked all the way from the cultivation chamber, and it was empty and bright. If you say It is no exaggeration that this cultivation center is on the top floor of a certain skyscraper.Hearing what Elder Bao Xi said, she realized that she had never seen a window or skylight.

"Yes, this is inside the Martian shell, about one kilometer from the surface of Mars. But they will arrive at the shuttle station at the bottom of Olympus Mons in a boat, so we will go through the mantle in a while, and then go up to the surface." While operating the densely packed dials on the door that look like elevator buttons, Bao Xi explained, "The temperature on the surface of Mars is around minus 50 degrees all year round, and the hottest summer is minus 20 degrees. For us on Mars, although it is not Catastrophic, but not in the warmest and most comfortable temperature range."

"The earth core capsule is driven by magnetic levitation, and it will arrive soon, so sit down for a while." In order to keep Cui Xingmeng from feeling bored, Elder Bao Xi set the walls of the capsule to a state of high transparency, so that she can see To the scenery along the road. "Since you want to go through the mantle, you can just take a look at the underground civilization of Mars."

Hearing what Elder Bao Xi said, Cui Xingmeng shifted his attention to the outside of this small space called the Earth Core Capsule.Everything in front of her gave her an instant urge to pinch her right hand with her left hand again!This place is not so much underground, it is closer to the paradise imagined by human beings.

"Why is the Martian shell so transparent and bright? Why is there no underground atmosphere here?" Cui Xingmeng blurted out and asked.

"50.00% of the mass of the Martian shell is silicon, so the dungeons are all built with local materials." Bao Xi pointed to a tunnel-like building not far away, "These you see are mainly silicon. For example, the Moonlight Tunnel over there was built according to the original feldspar veins here, with a little carving. Because feldspar is also called Moonstone or Tianhe Stone, it got the name of the Moonlight Tunnel. The quartz and chrysanthemum here The stone veins are also very rich, and after a while out of the moonlight tunnel, there will be more five-color buildings."

While talking, the capsules of Cui Xingmeng and Elder Bao Xi had already reached the inside of the Moonlight Tunnel. At this moment, Cui Xingmeng realized that there were no lights in the tunnel or the capsule, including the cultivation chamber where he was just now, but the light was just right , not dazzling, not dim, "These ores themselves can emit light? How do you light them?"

"Lighting is nothing but the release of energy brought about by changes in the energy levels of atoms and molecules inside matter." Bao Xie said, "The gravitational field of Mars is much weaker than that of Earth, so there is no need to use as much energy as on Earth." Strong energy to stimulate energy level jumps to convert into light energy."

"Here, the geothermal energy is enough for molecular energy level transition, from thermal energy to light energy. Therefore, this is an underground city driven by geothermal energy, maintenance-free, and permanently illuminated." Elder Bao Xi's words made Cui Xingmeng understand better. What does the star core mean to this civilization? Without the heat of the star core, this bright and heavenly city in front of us will fall into endless cold and darkness.

After the capsule exited the Moonlight Tunnel, the eyes instantly opened up. As Bao Xi said, colorful buildings towered majestically on both sides, and each building exuded a charming light. If they were all built by quartz and pyroxene veins, then this is worthy of the name. "Did you excavate such a large space in the dungeon?" Cui Xingmeng asked in amazement.

"Excavation? In fact, this is a vocabulary we learned in the Mayan culture through experiments on the earth." Bao Xi tried to make Cui Xingmeng better understand the cause of the dungeon, so he compared it with examples on the earth as much as possible. "Mars is There is no need to excavate, this planet was formed 45 billion years ago by the condensed nebular material of the star core, we only need to clean and carve it. "

"You mean Mars is an empty shell?" Cui Xingmeng was a little puzzled, what did Bao Xi mean by cleaning up.

"Not entirely. At the beginning of the planet's formation, although Mars was not as dense as Earth's, it did not have such a large underground space," Bao Xi continued, "until the core of Mars began to cool, the cohesion of nebula materials The low-density material was cleaned up a little bit, and the high-density silicate was left for carving, forming the current dungeon."

"Then isn't there a risk of landslides here at any time?" Looking at such a beautiful city, Cui Xingmeng unconsciously thought of coal mine landslides.

"That's not true. Although the cooled Martian core cannot provide a strong enough gravitational magnetic field to the planet, its relatively low temperature suppresses or even eliminates volcanic activity. I can't remember when the last earthquake on Mars was. , so the current crust is very stable." Bao Xi replied affirmatively, "The Olympus volcano we will go to later is the largest volcano in the solar system, and it hasn't erupted for a long, long time."

Soon Cui Xingmeng felt that she was defying gravity: "Are we starting to rise?" She said instinctively.

"Yes, we have reached the shield ring area of ​​Olympus Volcano, and the temperature on the surface of Mars is more comfortable from here." Bao Xi responded to Cui Xingmeng with a nod. "This volcano is more than twice as high as the highest mountain on Earth, so it will take longer for the capsule to ascend. There is still a little time before the boat arrives at the shuttle station. I will take you to the surface to have a look first."

At this time, Elder Bao Xi slightly lowered the transparency of the inner wall of the capsule, and Cui Xingmeng could still see the scene outside the capsule, but it was not as clear as before.The crystal palace-like dungeon has been left behind by the capsule, and the surroundings are slowly being taken over by black dense rocks.

"These are basalts. Besides silicate, they contain high magnesium and iron elements. They are the most important raw materials for Cangxi's soil. They don't need too high a temperature to have very low viscosity and high Mobility." Bao Xi lost no time in helping Cui Xingmeng establish a knowledge system, "The largest volcano in the solar system is located on Mars, which is both a blessing and a curse for us."

"Is it both a blessing and a curse?" Cui Xingmeng repeated softly.

"This is the cradle of Martian civilization and the last safe haven for the countdown to the cooling of our star core." Bao Xi said leisurely, "For millions of years, it has not only provided energy for the technological development of Mars with its rich lava and warm and humid environment and raw materials, and it is also a holy place that Martians yearn for.”

"On the other hand, nearly eight shield volcanoes the size of Yellowstone National Park, in an active state, also quickly sucked up the heat of our star core, which was one of the early drivers of star core cooling." Bao Xie lamented Said, "We're almost there, let's get the capsule out."

As soon as the words fell, Cui Xingmeng felt that the capsule was slowly slowing down. After it came to a complete stop, Bao Xi operated the instrument panel by the door again, turned around and said to Cui Xingmeng:
"Welcome to the highest point on Mars!"

(End of this chapter)