Chapter 23

Professor Situ Xiao's teaching style was very flexible. After recounting a Soviet Air Force encounter with a UFO in the 1960s, he suddenly asked, "Which of you students have seen a UFO with your own eyes?"

This immediately livened up the classroom. Students raised their hands one after another, vying to speak. One said that when he was a child, he saw a glowing disc fly over the countryside at night. Another said he saw a string of bright spots flying across the sky at night, moving very fast and flashing. Yet another student said he saw a bright object rise from the edge of a forest, wobbling as it flew higher and higher. "Could this be a flying saucer taking off?" he wondered.

This student was met with ridicule from everyone else, who laughed, "You, who are so pampered, haven't even seen a sky lantern in the countryside?"

As the discussion was getting lively, a male student suddenly asked, "Teacher Situ, everyone says that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft. Are there really aliens?"

The noise in the classroom subsided slightly. The students stopped talking and looked at the teacher on the podium to see how he would answer.

Situ Xiao nodded and said loudly, "This question raised by the student is not only your doubt but also the doubt of all scientists and enthusiasts around the world. The whole world is seeking the answer, but unfortunately, the academic community has yet to reach a definitive conclusion on this issue.

"To date, there is no evidence that Earth humans have had direct and formal contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life. However, there are many reports of extraterrestrial intelligent beings visiting Earth and interacting with humans. There are more than ten thousand recorded cases both domestically and internationally.

"Of course, most of these ten thousand reports have been proven to be false. But after excluding these false cases, a few instances have a high degree of credibility. These cases not only have solid evidence and witnesses but some have even been confirmed by government or military observations, making them highly credible.

"From a logical standpoint, even if 99% of these cases are proven false, as long as one case remains unproven, it is enough to prove the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life. In my personal view, the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life is certain.

"Additionally, there is another strong piece of evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life. It has been proven that there are more than 12 billion stars in the Milky Way alone, about 10% of which are sun-like stars. To date, within a 50-light-year range, hundreds of stars similar to the Sun, such as Beta Canes Venaticorum, Alpha Canes Venaticorum, and Alpha Librae, have been discovered. The Milky Way, which is estimated to be just a medium-sized galaxy in the universe, has more than a billion galaxies discovered so far.

"From this, it can be seen that the number of star systems similar to the solar system in the universe is enormous, numbering in the billions. If life and intelligent beings were to exist only in our solar system, I think that would be illogical. Personally, I believe that life in the universe is very common, and extraterrestrial intelligent beings definitely exist.

"Of course, the student asked if 'aliens exist,' and I answered that 'extraterrestrial intelligent beings definitely exist.' There is a certain gap between these two concepts. My view is that the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent beings is certain and inevitable."

Professor Situ Xiao spoke confidently, but Xu Yan was skeptical. Last night, when chatting, Zhu Youxiang said she was from another world, and Xu Yan had believed her wholeheartedly. But after a night, he suddenly had some doubts—believing that Zhu Youxiang was a delusional patient was just as hard to reconcile as believing she was from another world or planet.

If Zhu Youxiang was from another planet, why did she look so much like a human, almost identical?

Hesitating for a moment, Xu Yan raised his hand. Professor Situ Xiao saw him and nodded, saying, "The male student in the back, please speak."

Xu Yan stood up and said, "Teacher Situ, hello. Your lecture has been very enlightening, and I have learned a lot, but there is something I would like to ask for your opinion."

"Please go ahead, student."

"Teacher, according to what you said, how can one determine if a person is an alien?"

Situ Xiao frowned slightly, confused. "What do you mean, student? I'm not quite sure I understand."

"Teacher, let me put it this way. Suppose I just met a new friend, and I don't know much about him, but he says he is an alien from another planet. How can I determine if he is telling the truth or lying?"

Many students in the audience laughed, probably thinking Xu Yan's question was too naive. Professor Situ Xiao also smiled but did not mock him. Instead, he said seriously, "This is a rather novel hypothetical question, and I haven't really considered it before."

He paused and asked Xu Yan, "Student, let's follow the usual analytical steps to determine this: Does your friend, who claims to be an alien, have any physical or facial features that differ from normal humans?"

"He looks just like a regular person, and he's not ugly—actually, he's quite beautiful."

"Oh, so your friend looks no different from a normal person. What language do you use to communicate with him?"

"Mandarin, of course, we speak Mandarin."

"Does he speak Mandarin? Did your friend learn Mandarin after coming to Earth?"

"Um, not really. According to him, they use Mandarin on his planet—oh, their planet's history is very similar to ours. Their country is called the Ming Dynasty, and they have an emperor, a court, and institutions like the Jinyiwei and Dongchang... basically, very similar to our history."

The audience chuckled again, and this time, Professor Situ Xiao also smiled. He pressed his hand down and said, "Alright, student, you can sit down. We can already draw a basic conclusion from your question.

"First, since you said your friend's physical and facial features are no different from humans, we can confirm that he is a 'human-like intelligent being.' Therefore, we can be certain that your friend must come from a world with an environment similar to or identical to Earth.

"On different planets, there are vastly different natural environments. Some planets are entirely water, some are deserts, some give rise to carbon-based life, and others give rise to silicon-based life. The probability of intelligent beings evolving in such different environments being identical, or even similar, is extremely low.

"Intelligent species that evolve on different planets can differ biologically at the 'phylum' or 'kingdom' level, and even the atomic composition might be different. The idea that 'aliens look like humans' is a naive notion, like a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Thus, the probability of intelligent beings from two different planets looking exactly the same is extremely small. Even minor differences in air composition, temperature, and sunlight can significantly affect physical characteristics. The differences between the same intelligent species at different stages of evolution can be enormous—take, for example, humans and gorillas, both primates that evolved in the same environment, but who would have thought that gorillas are not only of the same species as humans but are also our ancestors?

"Second, you said your friend speaks Mandarin, which is even harder to explain. If we consider that you are both human, this could be explained by the extremely small probability of similar environments leading to similar biological evolution. However, the fact that your friend speaks Mandarin cannot be explained by coincidence.

"Different civilizations and histories form different styles of writing and language. Mandarin is an essential part of our Chinese culture, deeply rooted in our cultural and historical heritage. The uniqueness of Mandarin is shaped by the unique geography, culture, and events of the Chinese nation, making it irreplicable.

"Two different planets forming the same language and writing system is even more inconceivable than biological similarity. It's so unlikely that even a divine miracle couldn't explain it.

"Student, to put it simply, the probability of your friend being an alien is even smaller than the probability of you buying a lottery ticket at the school gate and winning the grand prize, and then winning the grand prize every week for a year.

"Based on your description, your friend believes he is from a Ming Dynasty-like alien country. If he is joking, that's one thing. But if he truly believes this, I think... your friend should continue taking his medication, as consistency is key for the treatment to be effective."

The students in the audience burst into laughter again. Xu Yan felt a bit embarrassed, his face turning red. The girl sitting next to him glanced at him curiously.

She leaned over and whispered, "Do you really have such a friend? Does he really think he's from the Ming Dynasty?"

Xu Yan smiled awkwardly—though he had made a fool of himself, he had caught the attention of a pretty girl, which was a silver lining. He whispered back, "I've only known her for a short time, and I'm not sure. She does seem a bit eccentric."

"Hehe, that's interesting. Is that person a student at our school?"

"No, I met her outside." Xu Yan had a sudden idea and asked, "By the way, I'm from the Economics and Management Department. My name is Xu Yan, and I'm a sophomore. I think I've seen you somewhere before; you look familiar! What's your name? Can I get to know you?"

The girl next to him looked at Xu Yan with a hint of exasperation—she had clearly dealt with this kind of approach many times. She nodded slightly and wrote "Gong Xueting" on Xu Yan's notebook. She whispered, "I'm from the International Trade Department, also a sophomore."

Xu Yan was immediately excited. "Oh, you're also from the School of Economics and Management?"

The International Trade Department and the Economics and Management Department were both part of the School of Economics and Management at Shudu University, and they shared many common courses, often attending classes together. Knowing Gong Xueting's major, Xu Yan was thrilled—this meant he would have many opportunities to attend classes with her.

Gong Xueting softly said, "Yes."

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