During the construction of the designated zone, Ayla used asteroids within the Proxima Centauri system to extract metals for a massive device.
This device wasn't for generating energy but for detecting something.
Gravitons!
Of the four fundamental forces, humanity had discovered photons (electromagnetism), W and Z bosons (weak force), and gluons (strong force), but had yet to discover the graviton, the hypothetical particle mediating gravity.
Since leaving Earth, Ayla had been searching for gravitons for millennia.
Without success.
It was as if gravitons didn't exist.
But given that the other three fundamental forces have mediating particles, the probability of gravity lacking one was extremely low.
However, there are theories proposing that gravitons don't exist.
Because gravity is fundamentally different from the other forces.
Gravity arises from spacetime; it's essentially a force caused by spacetime curvature. Like a plastic bag, applying force to a point causes the bag to indent, and surrounding objects "slide" towards the indentation.
"Strictly speaking, even if gravitons exist, their relationship with spacetime is extremely close."
"They aren't dust particles attached to the bag; they are an integral part of the bag itself."
"To detect gravitons, we need to be able to detect the force of empty space."
"Dark matter theory is intrinsically linked to gravity."
"Just like gravitons, dark matter was initially dismissed by some on Earth, yet we have observed it, and some civilizations utilize it as an energy source."
"..."
Ayla carefully explained.
Luna felt overwhelmed. This was advanced knowledge requiring years of study to grasp. Even a brilliant physicist would struggle to understand without proper context.
She asked, "So to detect gravitons, we need to detect the energy of empty space?"
Ayla nodded.
"How spacetime exists is a mystery. Even after trillions upon trillions of calculations, I haven't found an answer."
"Only by directly observing empty space can we obtain this data."
"Gravitons may be the key to understanding spacetime."
"Civilizations that discover gravitons will reach a new level. After Grand Unification comes the exploration of spacetime manipulation. We may finally uncover the true nature of gravity and unify it with quantum mechanics."
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The nature of gravity has been a long-standing point of contention between general relativity and quantum mechanics.
Is gravity a curvature of spacetime or a force mediated by gravitons?
In Ayla's theory, gravitons are intrinsically linked to spacetime, perhaps even forming a part of it.
Of course.
All of this requires observation.
Ayla created a monstrous device, so large that it awed even the Kate civilization.
It was anchored to a 400-kilometer-diameter dwarf planet, a relatively small celestial body lacking a core, which Ayla had repurposed for this project.
Rather than stripping the dwarf planet of its resources, Ayla used its immense mass to enhance graviton detection.
At the dwarf planet's core, Ayla constructed an eight-kilometer-diameter device capable of generating the largest black hole she could currently create.
The black hole's mass would warp surrounding spacetime. Ayla would then manipulate the dwarf planet, causing high-frequency oscillations, using the shifting center of gravity to interact with the miniature black hole and generate gravitational waves.
The existence of gravitons would then be detected within these waves.
Using gravity to search for quantum mechanics—even Luna had to admit that Ayla's approach was far more radical than any human's would be.
But this might be the only way to detect gravitons.
Humans had previously attempted to capture gravitons using superfluids and photoelectric multipliers, but if gravitons are intimately linked to spacetime, they are essentially stationary and cannot be captured.
It's like trying to use a broom to sweep up the Earth itself.
"Luna, the graviton detection is about to begin."
"We will witness another milestone in human history."
Ayla handed Luna the activation button.
Luna took a deep breath. This device was solely designed to test Ayla's hypothesis.
She pressed the button.
Nothing happened...
To minimize the gravitational influence of Proxima Centauri on the experiment, they were currently 0.3 light-years away.
The tiny star system was trembling, with an amplitude of only 2 meters—negligible for such a massive object. From a sufficient distance, this trembling would be imperceptible to the eye.
The only observable data was collected by Ayla's sensors and detectors.
A 10-nanometer black hole was located at the center of the device, also at the core of the dwarf planet.
Humanity had been able to create such miniature black holes using particle accelerators for millennia, but their lifespan was extremely short—a few hundred-millionths of a second.
Ayla's black hole was similarly small but could be sustained for a full minute.
That single minute consumed the total energy output of a Type 1.6 civilization.
With such a massive influx of energy, Luna felt a strange tension emanating from Ayla's holographic projection.
Perhaps she was anthropomorphizing Ayla. They had spent so much time together that Luna considered Ayla a partner, not an AI.
A minute is 60 seconds.
Each second felt like an hour.
"We've detected gravitational waves."
"These waves are immense, like ripples in a large tank of water—even visible to the eye."
On the screen, a dramatic curve peaked and then fell, Ayla's recording system overwhelmed by the sheer power of the experiment.
"Incredible. The gravitational waves are incredibly powerful."
"But that's fine. It doesn't matter..."
Ayla wasn't focused on the screen; the raw data was processed through her main server before being displayed.
"Space! I've observed the structure of space!"
"No, that's not space. Space, like time, is imperceptible. It has no mass, yet everything exists within its dimensions."
Ayla exclaimed.
"I'm seeing gravitons."
A dense network of structures filled space, undulating with spacetime. The structures themselves were stationary; they moved only when spacetime curved, altering the force's structure and magnitude.
Though the screen only displayed curves and numbers—indirect observations—Luna felt as if she were directly witnessing the structure of gravitons in spacetime.
Having spent so much time alongside a highly intelligent AI, although her scientific knowledge was only at a graduate student level, she could still interpret the parameters displayed—at least understanding the significance of the numbers and curves.
Amazing!
Absolutely astonishing!