WoWS3 Chpt 60

<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
==Weapons of War Saga: The Final March- Chapter 60 - ==
----
===Theories===
M5.1 Class Casper Destroyer, SLS Juanita Pujol Garcia
Uncharted System, Inner Sphere
17th April, 3145
"..the assumption's always been that it was a matter of a universal constant." Petra Roberts was trying to explain, "We know the Word of Blake were breaking that-their method was pure brute force, using what amounts to a bigger energy charge through the same control systems, and that worked-if you don't mind melting your jump core into scrap."
She drew on a whiteboard, "You're following?"
"Mostly." Mai Roberts had little to do on the trip. "That is a different constant, I thought you were using Kearney's observations."
"It's not really a different constant." Petra shook her head, "it's a different interpretation of Kearney and Fuchida's initial work. See, that's been the basic problem-it's not five dimensional space, it's more like thirteen, maybe more. Bridging to that next level does take a hell of a lot more power than a standard jump…but once you're there, the connection distance is a lot longer. Interconnectedness unlimited of Rosamond actually cracked this first, then tried it again right after the Jihad, but their method was, again, a brute force approach-shoving a greater amount of raw energy through the drive controller. Think of it as…think of it as trying to wash your hands with a firehose. You might get them clean, but you also might blow your hands off." Petra said.
"And your method?" Mai asked
"Not mine wholly. Kolossus helped me with it a lot, we were trying to crack Clarion's effects. Those involved massive disruptions in the 'medium' of Hyperspace, the negative energy environment that a KF Field actually protects you from, while it's also attenuating your inertia and aligning you to your arrival point…what we found, is that there's a lot of wasted energy in the process using standard components, and it's wasted because nobody thought it was being wasted." Petra explained
"Say again?"
"Nobody connected the thermal effects inside the drive to wasted energy." Petra clarified, "nobody really considered why, or how to address or exploit it. Really, it's kind of funny, in four centuries nobody was looking at the mechanics of how we travel between the stars beyond the point the technology reached by the late age of war…." Petra continued laying down equations, "....because it didn't seem relevant once interstellar travel had become efficient enough to be profitable on a larger scale." she put the marker down, and clasped her hands in front of her, "The research went into how to do the same basic thing, but with cheaper manufacturing processes. The dominance of Castings over Forgings or Extrusions in KF Drive production is relatively recent, and was developed to make ships with the same capability, less expensively. A thirty light year range is plenty of range for most corporations, and likewise, most governments. Much past that and your punitive expedition ends up arriving after the problem situation has been resolved."
"Okay…so what? What did you do that was different?"
"Try extending safe-jump distance to 45 light years reliably. It requires more energy, thus more energy storage, and it requires physical component changes, better control circuits than most regular cores, more maintenance, but if you keep it to 'common' range 30 Light year jumps, you can go several months longer between maintenance cycles-at 45, you're on the normal cycle, and if you push it your core blows up…at least, until we can come up with a better attenuator material than the Germanium/Titanium mix. I'm thinking we're going to have to invest in materials physics projects and create or find a source of post-trans-uranic elements in enough quantity to do the experiments…and that's gonna be a Large quantity. Most of your post trans-uranic elements on the table have a lifespan measured in seconds, so it's got to be stable ones, which nobody's succeeded at yet."
"Unobtainium." Mai understood, "Materials that do not exist."
"Presently don't exist." Petra argued. "The term is 'yet'. But to do the work, is going to require an extended period of peace and development, where researchers and scientists aren't being kidnapped or killed."
"The rumor of Kolossus' anti-matter stockpile…" Mai began to say.
"Part of the ongoing research." Petra nodded, "Well, to be fair, more like 'the toxic waste after-effects' of the research. The stuff is too dangerous to transport, and has proven no use at all for anything else."
“All the speculative fiction about it being useful for power generation… It is complete rubbish is it not?” Mai asked
"Well, might be, if you could contain and taper the energy release, which in turn, requires..?" Petra asked expectantly.
“A level of containment we have yet to master.”
"The containment requires unobtainium-materials we don't have access to, based on elements that don't occur naturally." Petra completed, "It's a bugger of a problem, isn't it?"
“Lab created, perhaps reinforced with magnetic fields so the flow could at least be directed.”
Petra brought up a new whiteboard and minimized the window of her current one. "Here's the strength of that magnetic field…" she brought up a diagram, "it can't be managed with existing materials. Even the fields to reinforce the containment need to be generated using manufactured elements we haven't figured out how to make yet."
“What you are saying if I understand correctly is that we need to increase the power versus density of the magnetic field generators.”
"Or invent magnetic monopoles,which would at least allow you be on the same planet as the powerplant without it sucking the iron out of your blood." Petra stated.
“That is a lot of magnetic power. Would that really be required?”
"Yeah, it is…and to create the materials in any quantity worth having? Would require a LOT." Petra stated, "Enough to…say…blow up a planet."
“The Ceres Incident.”
"Ceres incident, and maybe what happened to that world that almost killed Erinyes. We found decay products from a host of known post-trans-uranics in the debris field, but nothing intact enough to do more than say 'yup, it was there'."
“Fascinating yet terrifying.” Mai said.
"Well, if you're still interested in this stuff by Friday, I can start talking about research into dark matter."
“I am no scientist Petra. But I would love to talk more. A Warrior should always be looking to expand their mind beyond war.”
Petra lowered the whiteboards, and moved to sit across from Mai. "Do you know what a real scientist even is?" she asked, "I mean, really is….not a title, not a 'caste', but what it is to be a scientist?"
“I have met a few. Some really good ones. They had one quality. They always asked ‘why?’ or ‘how?’ or some variation thereof.”
"Exactly. The first scientific statement is one everyone begins with- 'I don't know', followed by 'Let's find out'." Petra said, "Everyone ever born, is a scientist at first, they're learning about how the world works. The difference between a scientist, and everyone else, is that they choose to keep learning, that means the bagger at your shopmart might be more of a real scientist, than a professor of physics at a prominent university."
“Regurgitation of facts, trivia, and minutiae make for good interviews and make one sound impressive but real knowledge comes from asking questions.” Mai explained
"Exactly. In my day-life on New Lazarus I attend a school, a classroom full of people, with a teacher, one of my classes is a science class. I don't flaunt what I know, because it can be proven wrong tomorrow." Petra asserted, "that's your divide, and what the Clans missed. It's not your level of education or ability to spout facts, it's being willing to be wrong in order to find the right answer."
“It also helps I was in the Privateers, not the main touman, for much of my service. There hard lessons were learned that one warrior cannot just be one thing and caste systems would quickly break down due to task overlap.”
"Well, obviously." Petra said, "gawd, I think being in the Touman might have ruined you!"
“Perhaps. We will never know for sure now. But there are those who do understand. I thank the Privateers for giving them an outlet. Because one thing I know is the touman would never let them shine the way they should.”
"Well…I don't know about you, Mai, but I think we should hit the galley and see if they've got cookies." Petra said.
"If they do not?"
"We can make them...assuming the ingredients are in stock, and I can bore you with the chemistry of crunchy treats laced in chocolate." Petra asserted.
“Deal. Since coming aboard I have heard rumor that the confectionaries on ship are extraordinary.”
"I would never admit to abusing that." Petra said impishly, "y'know, because reasons."
“I will not tell Helena, Juanita, or Amanda.”
"Juanita already knows, because she monitors every area of the ship. Helena probably knows because Juanita works for her, Mom would guess because she's good at that and already knows a lot about me…" Petra counted off, "So it's a non-secret sort of secret. I pretend to hide it, and they pretend not to know…."
“Ah. I see.”
===Terrible Decision for Survival===
Office Exarch, the Bullet
Terra, Republic of the Sphere
18th April, 3145
"The Fortress wall is now more like a paper barrier, Levin."
"I know. How is Project TORCHWOOD?"
"We've got the initial facility completed, but they're still not ready for a power-up. Are you sure you're willing to let us give it a go?"
"The fortress is failing." Jonah Levin said, "The Wolf Empire is coming, we still don't have enough of a fleet or forces to stop them. Are you sure that the facility will provide us with what we need?"
"We've corrected the mistakes in the Ceres Project, the Oxford team is certain they have cracked containment issues."
"That's theoretical work, I need to know it can be made practical, and quickly."
“Sir, I must object. Our fleet is nearly able to match them one for one. If we just hold out long enough to summon Lady Cameron we should be able to defeat Clan Wolf in conventional battle.” Admiral Labbe’ protested.
"Continue with your preparations, and you, Doctor?"
"Sir?" Admiral said confused.
"Keep working on it. If the conventional option fails, we're going to need TORCHWOOD to work..preferably without detonating another small moon."
Jonah nodded as the civilian scientist left in a hurry.
"You think TORCHWOOD will even work?"
"I don't know, Labbe', if it does, it could change a lot of things for us. Regaining technical superiority being one big one…but…"
"But?"
"We have to keep it a National Secret, which means that scientist who just walked out of here? He's got a team that's making sure he doesn't communicate anything related to the project to anyone, that includes other scientists…so he's working blind, which means we're also working blind. The chances that something can go wrong are why we're staging the actual research out past Neptune, on the surface of Larissa. If it goes 'bang' like the Ceres project did, it's not a threat to anywhere anyone is presently living."
"Sol Invictus?" the Admiral frowned.
"Well, it's not a true statement. The Solar System's been conquered twice, but, it's a good sentiment." Levin said agreeably, "Maybe this time, we will be unconquered."
Labbe’ saluted crisply and did not wait for Levin’s dismissal before leaving.
He knows the unsaid part. That if this goes wrong they also have orders to eliminate the Scientist. I hate this job but this measure must be taken.
----
===Merchant's dilemma===
Somewhere Rimward/Anti-spinward of Port Orphan, negative Z-axis 33 Light years
----
"Nobody ever believes it." Stetha Whyte noted.
In the last year, she'd found a rock five kilometers across that was over eighty percent pure Germanium.
The Snow Raven Merchants went so far as to get a loan from the Sea Foxes for the exclusive rights, which was, apparently, cheaper than what they'd have to pay to get the coordinates out of her through other means.
Or more palatable, anyway. Then, they set to trying to mine it with lasers and coredrills and conventional explosives. Their Merchant Factor at Port Orphan was proudly predicting it would 'only take forty years' to finish the job.
Five Kliks is the strike of a career, and it paid enough to get her a ship of her own, hire a crew, and recruit a Rockkajakkah atom-jack on salary with a bonus clause.
Five Kliks is big.
This one? This one is bigger. Brown Dwarf system, outer rim of it, but not TOO outer. Ten Kilometers by Four at the widest and the assay was seventy five percent from the first samples.
"Nobody ever believes it, but me." Stetha said with a smile.
"Where we go with it?"
"Kolossus." she said, "The Clanners don't stock bags, and I don't want to have another 'conversation' about how nukes are evil weapons of war."
"An' who we sells to?"
"Oh, yeah." she pursed her lips, "Eh, we'll figure it out once we get it bagged and cracked…" something caught her eye in the composition. "...huh…that looks funny…"
----
===Priceless item for sale===
Kolossus Station
Outworlds Wastes
6th May, 3145
The Assay office was run by a pleasant young woman with Nhien-Krowder tats on her scalp and neck. "Captain Whyte, we've finished the preliminary assay on your find, and Kolossus would like to purchase rights to the slag."
"The slag??"
"Yes, Ma'am. It is worth more to Kolossus than the actual Germanium. Kolossus has also directed me to offer a contract to you for the survey rights to the system you found it in, and possibly employment contract with equipment stipends, to find more of the unusual impurities you discovered."
"Won't those burn up?" Whyte asked
"You didn't manage to get those through your shipboard mass-spec, per your documentation."
"No…" Whyte said confused.
"That's because they are outside the normal sequence of naturally occurring elements. Kolossus would like you to shift to assisting in a search for super-rare naturally occurring stable trans-uranics, such as the material occlusions in your recent prospect. Also, Kolossus offers you the option of having the new element named after you."
"You're joking." Whyte replied in surprised.
"I don't joke, Madame. You may have found a source for the rarest mineral known to exist, and it is something Kolossus is very keen to obtain large supplies of, if possible. The pricing will, of course, be substantial, but you may find others who would offer more, Kolossus would like to obtain your exclusive contract with your consent."
“That’s a lot to think about.” Whyte commented.
“Kolossus does also offer certain non-traditional benefits. His 401k plan is quite an incentive.”
----
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
60