V
With all eyes watching, the ship, carrying the elderly Oliver, gradually made its way toward the Stargate.
During the construction of the Stargate, Oliver mentioned to the media on more than one occasion his desire to travel through the Stargate to visit the City of Antontas. However, due to the Kaos Star System's unique situation, Stargate construction had been slower than expected. As Oliver aged, many began to feel that he might not live to see the Stargate completed. Yet, Oliver demonstrated extraordinary willpower and lived to see the establishment of the Stargate.
Before the Stargate was activated, however, the elderly Oliver's mind had begun to fade. He oscillated between moments of awareness and slumber, and would get confused when awake, often talking to himself and mumbling barely intelligible words like "Sesom," "three-body problem," "telescope," and so on.
Before his departure through the Stargate, Oliver underwent an extensive medical check-up. The lead physician, Dr. Lu, told Oliver's granddaughter, Elly, that Oliver was generally stable, but that he needed constant supervision and care. If Oliver could make it to the City of Antontas, the Antonios Medical Center, under the Antonios Consortium, could perform a comprehensive health examination.
"Frankly," Dr. Lu said to Elly, "given the extent of injuries Oliver has endured, it's a miracle he's lived this long. I didn't put much stock in willpower before, but I do now. Maybe his aspiration to visit Antontas has been keeping him alive."
A special place was set up on the bridge for Oliver's life-support wheelchair. From atop the bridge, there was a clear view of the dazzling vortex at the Stargate's center.
"Grandpa," Elly held Oliver's hand, "We are heading to the City of Antontas now."
The old man, however, was still sound asleep.
Mr. Kaos eventually finished his "lecture" on Lagrange Points for Oliver that day.
"Now you know, Lagrange Points are particular solutions for the restricted three-body problem. The three-body problem, as implied, involves determining the trajectories of three bodies influenced by each other's gravity. The restricted three-body problem refers to when the third body's mass is so tiny compared to the other two that it can be disregarded, meaning the Lagrange Points are specific positions between two massive celestial bodies. So, Oliver, If you were searching for the Lagrange Points in the Kaos Star System, what would you do?"
Mr. Kaos stopped, looking Oliver in the eye.
After pondering for a moment, Oliver suddenly realized the obvious answer he had previously overlooked. The Kaos Star System had no major planets: its only significant mass was the White Dwarf at the center.
"Could... Could it be that the Kaos Star System doesn't have any Lagrange Points?" Oliver said, voicing his thoughts but almost immediately correcting himself, "No, we had a Stargate before... therefore, Lagrange Points must exist!"
"Yes, there are Lagrange Points in the Kaos Star System, but they are very, very special," Mr. Kaos elaborated. "The Kaos Star System has essentially established some sort of equilibrium created by the central planet and surrounding Oort Nebula. The Oort Nebula of the Solar System lies a great distance from the sun, nearly two light-years away. Yet, the Oort Cloud of the Kaos Star System is almost within reach. Moreover, in our Solar System, there's the Kuiper Belt, aligned with the ecliptic plane, located at the interface between the major planetary zone and the Oort Nebula, roughly 4.5 billion kilometers from the sun. However, the Kaos Star System is quite different. Its unique formation brings the Oort Cloud much closer to the central star, with its innermost edge approaching 5 billion kilometers. The Kuiper Belt is spread between the central star and the Oort Nebula. Therefore, technically, our existence is within the Kuiper Belt of the Kaos Star System. Since the Oort Nebula of the Kaos Star System is extremely close to the central star, it has become a major source of gravity. In an ideal model, the gravity from the Oort Cloud and the central star would combine to create a spherical plane of balance. Therefore, the points of gravitational equilibrium are likely spread throughout this entire spherical surface."
Even though it was hard for Oliver to understand, he was shocked. "Wait! So there are countless Lagrange Points in the Kaos Star System?"
Mr. Kaos shook his head, "Like I said, that only happens in an ideal model. In fact, this kind of ideal model is extremely unstable. If the Oort Cloud acts as a single entity, forming a gravitational equilibrium system with the central star, the system itself would not be stable. The system is in fact unstable. Remember, I told you that the Oort Cloud has been constantly breaking apart. Therefore, there must be another explanation: The Oort Cloud is not evenly distributed. Based on my calculations, beyond the Oort Cloud, there's probably an unknown Great Attractor that's responsible for the Kaos Star System Oort Cloud breaking apart over the tens of millions of years following the formation of the star system."
"Great Attractor? What's that?"
The old man spread his hands. "We don't know. It could be another White Dwarf or a primordial black hole. Currently, there's no spacecraft in the star system capable of flying out of the Oort Cloud, and we do not know how thick the Oort Cloud is. We can't pinpoint the Great Attractor through optical means; instead, we must extrapolate from the paths and disturbances of asteroid showers. Therefore, finding stable Lagrange Points in the Kaos Star System is extremely challenging."
"But... if that's the case," Oliver said, spotting a loophole in Mr. Kaos' words, "how did the early Explorers locate the Lagrange Points if they are so difficult to find?"
Mr. Kaos shook his head. "Much of this information has been lost to time. However, it's clear that the first batch of Explorers invested a massive amount of resources and time to find them. The effort to locate the Lagrange Points took over a century — even more than it took to build the Stargate. But now, such a feat is impossible for the people of this star system."
"If the Explorers back then managed to do it, why can't we?" asked Oliver.
"Because those Explorers had faith in stars, unlike nowadays. They believed they could build a Stargate. It was the dawn of an era. But now, our star system is dying, and the civilization of the Kaos Star System has entered its final days."
A bone-chilling sensation rose from the depths of Oliver's heart. As he gazed out the window into the void, he shivered. For the first time in his life, Oliver experienced true fear in the face of darkness.
