chapter eight
Excerpted from "The Terry Smith Show", Dees-Fox Channel, 2320-07-21
"…Now let's hear your take on this issue, Dr. Patel," the talk show host said, turning to a man in a lab coat.
"CRISPR-3 is a breakthrough in gene editing that finally delivers on the century-old promise of personalized medicine. Imagine going to the doctor and receiving treatment for cancer and genetic diseases, with treatments that are exactly right for you, with no side effects! FDA on new gene therapies Approval of the technology will usher in a new era of medical miracles."
"What do you think of the critics who claim this is just another thing between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' and their concerns about so-called 'designer babies'?"
Dr. Patel clearly scoffs at this suggestion. "It's illegal in almost every country on earth, and the few that don't do it are Third World war zones. This problem was solved decades ago."
"Careful," I warned.
"I'm careful," Sakura said.
"Watch that corner," said Agrippa.
"I'm really looking at the camera as much as you two are," Sakura said impatiently. "I can distract myself 29 times. Neither of you can do that, so I'm going to move this one and you cannot."
The alien fusion device was carefully moved to a room near the headquarters. By the time we took the ship apart piece by piece and moved it into a room we designated the "alien room," it had been lying on the ground for months. The process is slow. I carefully documented every bolt, panel, and wire while also dissecting the only technology we had. Blank memory cells were disassembled in my lab, but I never figured out how to read them. We have no manuals, no secret arsenal of alien technology. The fuel tanks were carefully drained of deuterium and tritium, every ounce of energy was released, and the fusion reactor became impossible to start. I thought it would be safe to move the reactor so we could get to the engine room hanging underneath.
On the surface, we looted every alien cache we could find. We salvaged the aliens' food reserves, tools, gear, entertainment equipment, personal items, assorted electronics, lasers to protect the ship, and anything remotely resembling useful. We even stripped the vacuum suits off the alien corpses for analysis and refrigerated the bodies. I then had welders use drones to dismantle the ship down to its bare metal, minus the engines and fusion reactor.
"Sakura, how is the transportation method of LM3?" I asked.
"It was like a dream," she said. "The pulse engines make moving much easier. The tracks are great for heavy work, but for precision operations, being able to hover makes it much easier."
"It's a good thing you found the factory online," Agrippa said. "We need it."
"I know, Agrippa, I know. I promise, we'll finalize a schedule for combat drones. Your hangar is about to be dug out."
"The first hangar," he corrected. "We need large numbers of drones to establish an effective defense."
"Okay," Sakura said. She carefully guided the fusion reactor into a corner of the storage room, or, as she put it, "the alien's room." The room is divided by large shelves extending to the ceiling, with ramps and walkways above them. One corner of the room is free of shelves, leaving space for the reactor and engine room.
Following the fusion reactor is a train of transport vehicles carrying engine pods. Each pod is identical and is hoisted beneath the fusion reactor, making it difficult for a drone capable of moving over water to get inside, so we haven't been able to peek inside until now. If I did go to the surface, my robotic body could fit into the access hatch used by alien mining crews, but the narrow hatch would be too tight for even the smallest drones we could use up there.
Fortunately, we were able to remove enough of the floor to remove the wires and simply cut off the outer housing until we could separate the pod for shipping. I'd love to get in there as they don't have obvious vents. I presume they are using a variation of the unreactive thrust I use on my drone. The impulse engines we use rely on the Mach effect and huge power, but not enough thrust to compare with traditional reaction-based thrusters. While you could use it for thrust in space, a pulse engine would be very inefficient when you consider the energy requirements and the thrust produced. There is a reason I only use pulse engines on drones that need to work in low to no gravity areas.
"So industrial ceramics and advanced polymer factories are all online," Sakura said, as the moving drones continued with a ballet of delicate precision. "We can start assembling advanced leather units. It's still done by hand, unless you want to design an assembly factory to mass-produce them."
"She has no time for that," put in Agrippa. "She already needs to complete the design of the attack drone, the assembly of the defense gear and the coil gun."
"Microreactor testing was completed a month ago. She also owes me some project planning, including redesigning the distributed power grid, the transportation rail network, and universal worker robots."
I shook my head. This just scratches the surface. I also need to complete the design of the hydroponic plant so Saku
A can start producing equipment for greenhouses, ammo manufacturers and ammo boxes to provide ammunition for coil guns. I really want to work on the Mark-3 robot body. Ma
The k-II prototype is sitting on the bench in my laboratory, most of it has been dismantled and ready to be converted into Ma
k-III. I wrapped a biopolymer skin over synthetic muscle tissue. Its strength is reduced, but facial expressions, motor agility are improved, and the internal design of the cerebral cortex, memory, and data storage are improved. Unfortunately, it looks a little too human. Apparently, intelligence agents in national intelligence agencies are as frightened by the uncanny valley as humans. We can't stand that scary face.
On top of that, I was immersed in the work of reverse engineering the alien technology we found. Despite my educational background and comprehensive understanding of the foundations of human technology, I have made no progress in understanding their storage architecture. I'm luckier with their other technologies because they're not that different from what we use. Sadly, I find that in most respects we are technically equivalent, or in some cases, better. I did improve some of the handling and memory design, but it was a trivial improvement that did little to reveal the aliens.
"Have you decided to integrate the NI-5 cortical unit into a military drone?" Agrippa asked.
"Yes," I replied. "I will allow a few test units to come online to test their stability. We don't have the time or manpower to write custom military algorithms, and we need some intelligence to manage the units. Create semi-autonomous units and then let you or other NI-15 The unit is micromanaged and the workload is too much.”
"I think you're overloading again," Sakura said. The transport plane is gently lowering the fusion reactor in the corner. They had to exit through the opposite hatch because the transport with the engine room was right behind them. "You should bring another NI online."
She wasn't wrong. I left a lot of the work to Agrippa and Sakura. Agrippa spent his free time researching and planning a greenhouse and eventually built an eco-house. On top of that, he and I worked together to convert an Earth-style attack aircraft into a space defense drone, using Boston Dynamics' basic robot template for internal security. Saku
a manages more than one million square meters of factories, processing plants, refineries and maintenance facilities. Without hesitation, she installed NI-5 cortical units in every factory that needed them, affectionately calling them her "dwarves." I think she meant the dwarfs from Lord of the Rings, not the Disney dwarfs, but I'm not sure. On top of that, I installed a new data center online, which improved her ability to multitask.
Still, just simple design work takes up most of my time. I still had to manage data center design and implementation, research and development, reverse engineering of alien spacecraft, growth plans, and a thousand other big picture initiatives. We both work 24/7, which means Agrippa and I can easily do the work of 4 or 5 people, and Saku
a has to do the work of dozens of people. I envy her ability to spread her attention in 29 directions, but I was not born with this ability and will never be able to do it. Ag
ippa is optimized in different directions, most of which cannot be exploited without the necessary infrastructure, weapons and craftsmanship. I mentally moved Mark III to the top of my list. We need more help, and I'm trapped by alien technology.
The transport plane carrying the engine pod is doing a delicate dance, lowering the cargo without damaging it. There's something almost artful about the way they move. Saku
a. Control them directly rather than letting their internal controllers do the work. Each engine pod uses two carriers to carry the pod, with another pair to stabilize the load during the journey. The upper pair now carefully holds the engine pod so that the lower pair can slide out and let the pod drop gently to the surface.
A low crunching sound came from the alien's room. Great, she let me call it that too. There is almost no atmosphere here, except for some gases emanating from the refinery a few hundred meters away. While we have sealed advanced manufacturing and data centers behind airlocks and heavy-duty filtration systems, our data center designs still rely on artificial atmosphere behind their own blast doors to facilitate cooling. But our headquarters area is not isolated, so in theory, if the sound is loud enough, the sound can be transmitted. However, I could feel the vibrations through the wall, which made the sensors in my body light up. I immediately turned on my camera.
In the alien room, the four transports with their engine nacelles on the floor were crushed. Well, not all. One of the drones was cut in half, with one half crushed and the other half seemingly unscathed. The engine pod lies across the floor and is dented, but otherwise fine.
"Well, what happened just now?" I asked.
I hid in the tree in the backyard. I spend a lot of time climbing this tree, but lately I've been using it as a hiding place from her. She's always so angry and I don't know what's going on. I'm just saying that I think women are prettier than men. Then she started yelling that I should worry more about finding a good husband instead of wasting my time doing math. This is so confusing. My teacher said we need to be good at multiplying and dividing fractions so that we can do well in middle school.
"Honey? Are you up there?" Even though I couldn't see my father, I heard his voice under the tree. I wanted to say nothing, but I really wanted a hug.
"I'm here." I said softly. I'm not sure if he heard me, but as he started climbing up I felt a slight sway in the tree. It only took him a minute to sit on the branch next to me, facing me.
"Why is mom so angry about my exam?" I asked.
"Oh, little pumpkin," he said, pulling me to him. It was an awkward hug until I slid off the branch and into his lap. He was tall and comforting. "You're great at math and I'm proud of you."
His words warmed me, and I leaned toward him. He kept talking. "Your mom has found new friends at her church, and they are a lot like the friends at her dad's church. I don't agree with what they say, but your mom does. I think they are a bad influence."
I nodded into his chest, my face still pressed against his. He has told me about the bad influence before. The mean girl in school is a bad girl and she is always in trouble.
"Is that why we stayed home with you instead of going to church with Mom?" I asked.
"That's part of it," he said. "I want you to learn and grow in a way that works for you. I'm going to be with you and help you, even if it means I might have to fight with my mom. You just have to keep doing your best in school. Got it?"
I don't understand it at all. I nodded anyway. I'm hungry. "Can I have a snack?"
He smiled. "Sure, pumpkin. Let's get you some snacks."
"It was an exposed wire on the transport," Saku
a said. She had been investigating for hours. "The cargo arm that moved the engine pod escaped... whatever it was... was lying on the ground next to the pod. I think it pushed electrical current into the engine pod and partially activated it for a brief second."
“It turned out to be the engine compartment,” I said. This is so fascinating. For the first time since we started studying alien spacecraft, this is a markedly different advance from what we already know. Everything else is bland. Their computer technology is slightly more efficient than ours, although we still don't understand their storage architecture. However, I suspect it's different, not better. I also suspect their reactor will be a variant of something we already know about. With any luck, we may find a more efficient design when we start producing new microreactors of our own. But it looks like it could be a breakthrough in engine design.
One of the biggest obstacles to space travel is the balance between speed, fuel and cargo. If you have a lot of cargo mass, the speed you can achieve is limited by the fuel you carry. If you carry more fuel, you can increase your range or you can increase your speed, but at the cost of cargo quality. The only "shortcut" to achieve this basic balance is to improve the acceleration efficiency of fuel consumption. If you can burn less fuel to get more acceleration, you can radically change your engine, fuel, and cargo ratio.
The alien spacecraft was designed to fly short distances. I don't know how much food and water aliens need every day. However, there is no hydroponics or food production on board. Assuming a similar consumption rate to human males of 2,100 to 2,500 calories per day, and taking into account how many empty food containers they store as trash, their planned total travel time is three to four months.
This only makes sense in two situations. The first scenario is that the engine nacelles in our storage area are capable of producing incredible thrust, or rely on scientific principles that we simply do not know or understand. This would allow the aliens to travel for a month or two, stay at their destination for a while, and then return. I have a hard time believing they have some magical technology to make this scenario possible.
The second scenario may be scarier to us and more likely. This could be a satellite ship. There is a bigger ship that will dock there, or sit in it, and go on bigger, longer interstellar journeys. As a designer, I can see the benefits of having a large mothership with huge engines and massive fuel reserves, but can also see the benefits of having a smaller ship orbiting a single star system.
"100000! Oh ho!" Sakura's excited cry came from the radio. Sometimes it can be dizzying to keep up with Sakura's current train of thought because she has 29 thoughts at the same time. I once asked her this question, She describes it as having a central thought process with different foci branching out, operating semi-independently while periodically synchronizing with the central process. Her central process focuses on managing and integrating all her sub-processes. In practice , which means she jumps from focus to focus with dizzying speed as they reintegrate. This sounds extremely confusing to me, and often means she'll change the subject at the drop of a hat .But now that it works, I'm not going to complain.
"What's one hundred thousand?" I asked.
"Drones! We have 100,000 drones! I just rolled 100,000 off the production line. Technically we passed 100,000 a while ago, but I've been scrapping them and Inefficient drones, as long as their replacements come into service. We were stuck for about 11 days."
"What does this mean in practice?" I asked.
“In practical terms, this means that I now have to dig out an entire area of nine rooms in a matter of hours. I can have new plants online within days and integrate them into our production within days of certification process. I’m adding dozens of new NI-5s to the factory every day to further optimize production.”
"If you are doing so well, when can I produce my assault drone?" Agrippa asked, not unreasonably.
"The first internal security drone will be ready by the end of the day. God, you know how to spoil a surprise," Sakura complained. "I have prepared the equipment. After you and Nikolai complete the design, the attack drone can be launched."
Nicholas Agrippa asked. He didn't even finish the thought. At that moment, Ma
k-III became the second priority. Of the two scenarios, I think the second is the most likely. I'll discuss it with Agrippa later, but I know what he's going to say. It's best to prepare for the worst.
"Once we analyze what's going on in the alien room, we get to work. I also want to finalize our coilgun emplacement and ammunition box designs."
Agrippa said: "About this... you might want to play back the video of the incident." "On qua
Te
-speed. "
I did as he asked, downloaded the video and played it in slow motion. I saw sparks as the teleporter arm made contact with the cabin. This arm had been holding the bracket inside the pod, which was used to carry the partially disassembled engine. Sparks flew into the engine, and a blue light shot out from inside the alien artifact. At that moment, I could see a faint distortion, as if a magnetic field was flashing and flashing. At the same time, the four transport ships were pushed a full meter higher than they were originally, and then an invisible hand pressed them to the ten-meter-thick steel floor.
"That... looks like gravity manipulation," Sakura said, apparently looking at the same scene as me. "Why didn't I notice?"
"You are looking for excuses," said Agrippa. "I'm looking for a weapon."
A weapon? I shook my head mentally. It's not a weapon, it's an engine failure. This is a powerful, unreactive thrust device. Aliens have figured out how to "trick" the engines so that the fuel reaches cargo balance. A single fusion engine capable of propelling a ship with easily three times its cargo mass over the course of a few months could be a game-changer. We need to figure out this technology, and fast.
