Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 216 Quantum Technology

When Yu Ying pushed open the office door, Zuo Cheng had already filled the whiteboard with new writing.

The words "Quantum Computing" are written in the upper left corner of the whiteboard, which is divided into three sections: superconducting quantum bits, topological quantum computing, and quantum error correction. The right half is a global map of quantum technology distribution, with IBM and Google's technology nodes marked on the left and those of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University on the right. All data comes from real-time scanning results of civilization perception.

Yu Ying glanced at the whiteboard, then at Zuo Cheng's expression, and sat down opposite him. "You didn't go back."

Zuo Cheng pushed the coffee towards her. "The core direction for the next phase is quantum computing."

Yu Ying didn't respond immediately. She stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and examined it carefully three times. Then she pointed to the IBM and Google nodes on the diagram. "They've been working on this for over a decade. 127 qubits, a quantum volume exceeding 1000. We're starting from scratch in this area."

Zuo Cheng said, "It's not about starting from scratch."

He projected the analysis data of civilization perception onto the screen. Yu Ying couldn't see the system interface, but Zuo Cheng had already organized the data into a format she could see. A complete analysis report on global quantum computing technology, listing everything from the coherence time of superconducting qubits to the Majorana zero modes of topological quantum computing, from quantum error-correcting codes to fault-tolerance thresholds, including the current best level, core bottlenecks, and expected breakthrough timelines for each technology.

Yu Ying watched silently for three minutes. Then she circled three points. The coherence time for the superconducting route is stuck at around 100 microseconds, and will at most double within five years. The existence of the Majorana zero mode for the topological route is still controversial. The only possible way to overtake the competition is through error correction.

It completely overlaps with the key points drawn by Zuo Cheng himself.

Zuo Cheng said, "We need a dual-track approach. Superconductivity will prioritize error correction, while topology will be used for long-term reserves. I need a complete quantum laboratory plan within two months."

At the core team meeting in the afternoon, Han Lu was the first to speak.

She opened her notebook, which was filled with a detailed list of the progress of various quantum computing companies. "IBM's quantum computer has already been commercially available through cloud services, and Google's paper on quantum supremacy was published in Nature three years ago. Academician Pan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' quantum team has also made a name for himself. When we suddenly announce our entry into the market, what will investors' first reaction be? What are our credentials?"

Shen Yiming adjusted his glasses. "Are you worried about the money or the person?"

"Everyone's worried." Han Lu closed her notebook. "Quantum computing is more fundamental and more expensive than anything we've done before. Five years of pure investment, and we don't even know if we'll be able to make a profit in ten years."

Zuo Cheng said, "Yes, five years of pure investment."

"Then why do it now?"

"Because if we don't do it now, we'll never have another chance." Zuo Cheng stood up and projected the global analysis report onto the conference room screen. "IBM and Google have invested over two hundred billion US dollars in total, accumulating technological barriers over more than a decade. Following the normal catch-up path, it would take us ten years to reach their current level. By then, they'll have moved forward another ten years, and we'll never catch up."

He paused for a moment.

"But we have something they don't."

"Cross-branch integration," Yu Ying continued. "The core challenge of quantum computing isn't single-qubit performance, it's error correction. To maintain stable operation with one hundred qubits, you need thousands of physical bits for error correction. This is an intersection of information theory and materials science. We have the AI ​​branch, the signal processing capabilities accumulated from communication engineering, and the materials science for space photovoltaics. IBM doesn't have these accumulated expertise, nor does Google. Their quantum computing teams and AI teams aren't even in the same building."

Shen Yiming's eyes lit up. "You mean using adaptive filtering for quantum state purification?"

Yu Ying nodded. "Theoretically feasible. The coding structure for quantum error correction and the error correction coding for communication channels are mathematically the same problem."

Chen Hao looked up. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

"In two months, the quantum lab went from zero to operation. Equipment procurement, talent recruitment, and site planning were all handled by you."

Chen Hao made a note in his notebook and said nothing more.

Fang Ze asked about the direction of chip development.

"Superconductivity first, topology for preliminary research and development." Zuo Cheng drew a line on the whiteboard. "Quantum chip design and manufacturing are completely different from traditional semiconductors. I'm giving you three months to get the process running smoothly."

As the meeting adjourned, Han Lu walked over to Zuo Cheng and lowered her voice. "I'll handle the investors. Right now, their biggest concerns are the commercialization progress of brain-computer interfaces and the next phase of commercial space launches. We can keep quantum computing a secret for now. But you need to give me an internal timeline."

"Three months."

Han Lu glanced at him, then turned and left.

That evening, Zuo Cheng activated his Civilization Sense alone. All the nodes of global quantum technology lit up one by one in the starry sky. IBM's beam was in New York State, Google's in California, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. The deeper the color, the richer the accumulation; IBM and Google were deep purple, while the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua were light blue. All the beams were climbing upwards, but at different speeds.

The slowest part is error correction. All laboratories are stuck on the same bottleneck. The error correction threshold for surface codes requires an error rate of less than 0.75% per qubit, and the best current superconducting qubit error rates are between 0.9% and 1.2%, consistently failing to cross that line.

But Zuo Cheng saw another road.

Topological quantum computing. Majorana zero modes are inherently noise-resistant due to their topological protection properties, and theoretically, their error correction overhead is two orders of magnitude lower than that of surface codes. Experimental verification is stalled by the problem of excessively weak zero-mode signals.

The signal is too weak. This is a signal processing problem.

Signal processing happens to be the area where 402 has accumulated the most expertise. From Nebula Communication Protocol to neural signal acquisition in brain-computer interfaces, from AI adaptive filtering to adaptive noise suppression, 402 holds signal processing technologies spanning six branches.

Zuo Cheng wrote down his first technical approach on the first page of his notebook: using the signal processing capabilities of AI branches to solve the problem of signal extraction from Majorana zero modes.

Outside the window is the night view of Hangzhou. On the civilization perception interface, each office building has its own pillar of light, with 402 being the tallest, but its scale in the direction of quantum computing is almost zero.

He opened the system panel. Six hundred and twenty-two points, seven branches, and a technology increase of 1.4. To activate the eighth branch in quantum technology, at least four more technological breakthroughs and one more branch activation are needed.

But he has no shortage of patience. From communications engineering to commercial spaceflight, all seven branches have come this far.

I was writing until 3 a.m. when Yu Ying sent me a message: "The first version of the error correction framework is working. The basic data is completely consistent with your analysis. You're right, signal processing and quantum error correction really are the same problem."

"Go to sleep now. We'll continue tomorrow."

"Um."

Zuo Cheng continued writing until dawn, completing a full twenty-odd pages of the quantum laboratory plan. A single line appeared on the cover.

Three months. Quantum computing went from zero to something.

He turned off the light and leaned back in his chair. On the civilization perception interface, the beam of light pointing towards quantum computing lit up for the first time. It was very faint, much weaker than the one from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

But it lit up.