June 2029, Shuofu, capital of Liang
Mr. E, the head of Liang’s Project T, sat on the broad armchair in his office. Michael Max and Professor Braun sat to one side.
Mr. E exchanged a glance with Professor Braun and asked Michael, “Our master explorer, Michael, I hear you have a plan for applying Tesla’s superluminal wave theory.”
“Yes. Professor Braun and I have already conducted an on-site survey. We plan to erect a structure 180,000 kilometers tall on Genovesa Island, also known as Tower Island, which lies on the equator, and build the first superluminal wave power station there,” Michael replied.
“Mm. The professor has reported this to me. That is precisely why I asked you to come here. Professor, please explain our thoughts.”
“Let me state the conclusion first. We do not agree with rashly building a superluminal wave power station on Earth.” Professor Braun departed from his usual style of proving first and concluding afterward, then continued, “Our understanding of superluminal waves may still be insufficient. If we blindly build a power station on Earth, the side effects may be more than we can bear.”
“There may be risks, but how will we know it won’t work if we don’t try?”
Michael Max was about to continue arguing when Professor Braun interrupted him. The professor said:
“Of course we can try. But for the sake of prudence, we suggest that the first power station should be built on another celestial body, such as the Moon.”
Michael Max leaned forward, his eyes bright and intense, revealing both resolve and reason, as he explained the various factors he had considered.
Nikola Tesla’s superluminal wave theory had already been verified. In outer space, at any location in the solar system, constructing a continuous structure 180,000 kilometers long would allow it to absorb a complete superluminal wavelength and convert that energy into electricity, thus becoming what was known as a superluminal wave power station.
Michael believed that the electricity provided by a superluminal wave power station could effectively meet urgent demands in two areas.
The first was the geometric growth of computing power in large artificial intelligence models, for which insufficient electricity had already become a bottleneck.
The second was humanity’s development and utilization of space resources, and even migration to other planets, all of which required enormous amounts of energy.
Michael’s original plan had been: build a power station on Earth to increase computing power; build power stations on the Moon or Mars, with their electricity mainly used to develop and utilize space resources, and even establish settlements.
Building the first station on Earth had the greatest advantage of low construction cost. Once the station was completed, the cost of power transmission would also be very low.
If the power station were built in outer space, even on the Moon, the celestial body closest to Earth, transmitting the electricity back to Earth would not merely be a matter of high cost; it would be impossible in terms of engineering technology.
Mr. E raised his hand to signal Michael to stop, then spoke from an angle that Michael, limited by his identity, had not considered:
“Although Nikola Tesla’s theory has not yet been officially made public, it can hardly be called a secret anymore. Intelligence shows that several major powers are eager to begin building superluminal wave power stations on Earth. Low cost may not necessarily be a good thing for us.”
Professor Braun’s opposition to establishing an experimental power station on Earth stemmed entirely from awe and caution toward scientific laws; he had not considered political factors.
Mr. E continued, “Since 1936, we have kept Nikola Tesla’s secrets. One important reason is that the threshold for applying them is too low. We will push for international conventions, and even use threats of force if necessary, to prohibit anyone from building superluminal wave power stations on Earth, so as to ensure Liang’s existing leading position.”
Professor Braun fully understood that building a superluminal wave power station on Earth was now absolutely impossible. He turned to Michael and asked,
“If we build the power station on the Moon, the closest body to Earth, will the payload capacity of Eisbei Corporation’s reusable Hunterbird-5 rocket be enough?”
Michael shook his head and said, “Once we leave Earth, even if we build the station on the relatively nearby Moon, the engineering difficulty and cost will rise sharply. The 180,000-kilometer carbon-fiber tube itself is still manageable, but the auxiliary supports, whose mass is several orders of magnitude greater, would require too much payload capacity.”
Michael gathered his thoughts and further analyzed the objectives, costs, and engineering feasibility.
If a superluminal wave power station could not be built on Earth, then the demand for computing power would have to be set aside for now. The focus should be on how to maximize the value of utilizing space resources under the premise of controllable costs and feasible engineering technology.
Clearly, mining on the Moon and transporting the ore back to Earth was a straightforward direction. But after calculations, Michael discovered that a lunar power station was not the lowest-cost, technically feasible choice.
Professor Braun was a top astrophysicist, but when it came to engineering, especially cost-benefit analysis, he was a layman. He stared at Michael in puzzlement and asked, “On any celestial body beyond Earth, the carbon-fiber tubes and auxiliary supports would all need to be transported from Earth. Since the Moon is the closest, shouldn’t the cost be the lowest?”
Michael smiled mysteriously, then, as if suddenly going off topic, said to the professor:
“Do you still remember that charity auction? The item I won may very well help us find the auxiliary supports needed for a Martian superluminal wave power station.”
The professor was utterly confused. Astonished, he asked, “That broken Mayan clay pot? What does it have to do with auxiliary supports for a Martian superluminal wave power station?”
Michael smiled and said, “Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed. It was a paper written by your precious daughter Daphne that gave me the idea.”
Professor Braun sank into thought. He thought: Michael Max must be planning to use local materials on the Moon or Mars to manufacture the massive auxiliary supports that launch capacity could not deliver.
Humanity had explored the Moon far more often than Mars. In addition, the Moon’s surface soil was loose and favorable for sampling, whereas current sampling of Martian soil had only reached a depth of ten centimeters. It could be said that humanity knew very little about the composition beneath the Martian surface.
Professor Braun had originally assumed that, apart from Earth, Michael would naturally choose the Moon as the target for the first space power station. For the professor, that would be the best of both worlds: not only could a superluminal wave power station be built, but during its construction, Michael’s company’s equipment could also be used to complete an important experiment.
In 1936, Nikola Tesla proposed the superluminal wave hypothesis in his paper “The Dynamic Theory of Gravity,” reinterpreting gravity.
The superluminal wave hypothesis had already been verified, but the principle of gravity proposed by Nikola Tesla was truly inconceivable. Half believing and half doubting, Professor Braun had designed an experiment, and one of the best experimental sites for it was the Moon.
Professor Braun refocused on today’s topic, raised his head, and asked Michael, “If a way can be found to manufacture the supports on Mars using local materials, then Mars will become your first choice for establishing a superluminal wave power station, rather than the Moon?”
“Yes. It’s not just a matter of cost. Martian colonization has more advantages than lunar colonization. Building on, and even transforming, Mars is my goal. Of course, that will require a very long time and an astronomical amount of funding.” Michael smacked his lips, then continued, “Last time on the island, you mentioned that you hoped to complete a gravity experiment on the Moon. Could you explain it in more detail?”
“The lunar experiment I designed is much easier than building a superluminal wave power station, but it is still a massive project. It’s a rather long topic. I’ll tell you about it on the way back,” Professor Braun said calmly.
Mr. E picked up his coffee cup. Before ending the conversation, he said to Michael:
“Today’s purpose was to inform you that a superluminal wave power station cannot be built on Earth. As for Mars or the Moon, after you have formed a concrete plan, report it to us. But you must understand: this is market behavior by a private company. As long as it does not endanger Earth or Liang’s interests, we will not interfere.”
Mr. E set down his cup, spread his hands, and added, “Since it is market behavior, you will need to raise the funds yourselves. The government has no budget for this.”
Michael Max stood up and bade farewell to Mr. E, saying, “In order to raise funds, and also so that we can personally verify Tesla’s superluminal wave theory, we will soon build the first superluminal wave power station on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.”
Professor Braun, standing to the side, thought to himself: This master of creativity, Michael Max, truly lives up to his reputation. In just a few months after learning about Nikola Tesla’s theory, he has practically gone through the entire solar system and proposed so many ideas. As if realizing something, he asked,
“You mean that to build a superluminal wave power station on Enceladus, you only need to transport the carbon-fiber tubes, and won’t need to spend time and effort transporting auxiliary supports, correct?”
“Correct. There is no need to transport auxiliary supports from Earth to Enceladus.” Michael smiled knowingly. He believed the astronomer before him had already guessed his secret. As if his secret had been seen through, he added,
“Because there are more than enough natural auxiliary supports there.”
&
Chapter-closing cento:
A stretch of red dust lies beyond the passing waves, Tang, Qiji
Turn back and come here to question the River of Heaven. Tang, Li Yi
The ice wheel has remained thus through all ages, Song, Jia Xuanweng
Purple lightning and clear frost fill the armory. Ming, Wen Chun