Chapter 97: Destroying the Meteorite

Research on the electric propulsion engine happened alongside other efforts by Human Civilization to return to the surface.

In the year 288,

at the Negentropy Research Institute, Energy and Power Research Institute.

Inside a specially created test area in Lingchuan Underground City,

an operational test of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System was carried out.

The Researchers from the Energy and Power Research Institute, who had participated in the DT02 Electric Propulsion System study, all looked forward to the test results.

Led by Academician Qin Yu, the Researchers involved in specific subsystems of the DT02 were largely sure that

compared to the DT01 Electric Propulsion System, the DT02 represented a huge leap forward in every aspect.

The core Researchers who worked on the whole system also clearly knew that

the biggest breakthrough with the DT02 wasn’t just more thrust,

but that its Thrust-to-Weight Ratio crossed the most crucial threshold.

Based on calculations during its design, theoretically,

excluding the energy section of the whole Electric Propulsion System – the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor part –

the thrust the DT02 Electric Propulsion System could now produce had already surpassed the weight of a single Electric Propulsion Engine itself.

And the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor, in theory, could also provide power for more than just a single Electric Propulsion Engine.

This meant that although the DT02 Electric Propulsion System, crossing this key threshold,

still fell short of the flying vehicle people envisioned,

its use within the atmosphere now held a glimmer of engineering possibility – something theoretically possible.

Under these circumstances,

if the first operational test of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System succeeded,

it would undoubtedly be another historic step in the entire Electric Propulsion System research journey.

The entire DT02 Electric Propulsion System, after the Negentropy Research Institute overcame the technical hurdles and finalized its design,

had been constructed by Intelligent Machinery coordinated by the Strong Artificial Intelligence.

The manufacturing process itself was almost flawless.

There were no technical obstacles; what was designed was what got built.

…

The DT02 Electric Propulsion System test happened on an ordinary day in August that year.

Qin Yu was there. The core Researchers from the Energy and Power Research Institute were also there.

Qin Yu lifted his head and looked towards the Electric Propulsion Engine part of the DT02 system, now secured to the ‘test platform’.

Qin Yu was probably the person most familiar with this entire engine.

Some subsystems had research teams handle the details based on the directions he provided,

but before giving those directions, he himself had already gained a deep level of understanding.

Now, standing there, this Electric Propulsion Engine, even without the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor providing its energy,

was still a massive thing.

If stood upright, it would be a tall building. Laid flat, it looked like a man-made ‘steel hill’ lying there.

Its huge size and the complex, precise structure inside gave a strong sense of awe at Human Civilization’s industrial creativity.

This was actually the result after significant ‘downsizing’ from earlier versions.

In the DT01 Electric Propulsion System, the whole engine had been much larger.

“Begin.”

Qin Yu and the others left the test area, moving to the monitoring room – the command center for this test run.

Seeing the test area displayed on the screen, Qin Yu spoke again.

As usual, the actual test operation was handled by an Intelligent Program, with little need for human hands-on control.

After Qin Yu gave the command, the Intelligent Program simply followed the set plan.

Vast amounts of energy from the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor began flowing into the Electric Propulsion Engine and working.

The high-powered Electric Propulsion Engine started its operation.

Qin Yu watched the test run. The other core Researchers present focused intently on the test too.

The DT02’s engine section was essentially an upgraded HALL THRUSTER,

though changed so much that the person who first thought of it might not recognize it.

While it used electric propulsion,

the current DT02 system still needed a propellant to burn besides energy during operation,

though compared to old-style chemical rockets, it used much less.

Now, as the DT02 Electric Propulsion Engine started,

Plasma, carrying huge energy, shot out from the engine’s back.

The screen clearly showed

the DT02 Engine fixed to its test stand trembling, but overall, things seemed okay.

This observation was, in a way, good news for the first run,

meaning the Engine itself was being pushed by its own thrust, not sitting too still.

On the screen, monitored by the Intelligent Program,

a crucial number for this test run appeared:

The Thrust-to-Weight Ratio for a single Electric Propulsion Engine.

It started at 0.3 and quickly climbed higher as the engine powered up.

Then, in an instant,

after jumping between 0.98 and 0.99 several times…

it defied limits and jumped ABOVE 1.0!

Instantly, the core Researchers, glued to the numbers, erupted in cheers.

That was exactly what they needed!

The extra thrust from one engine wouldn’t lift the DT02’s other parts, like the Helium-3 Fusion Reactor.

But more engines…? The Helium-3 Fusion Reactor in this test wasn’t even close to full power.

There seemed room for bigger ideas.

Of course,

more importantly, the core Researchers also trusted

that the research into Electric Propulsion Technology, led by Academician Qin Yu, was far from reaching its limits.

Normally speaking,

Given the difficulty of electric propulsion technology research, even with all the Negentropy Research Institute’s researchers working together across many fields,

each step, from the initial stage when thrust wasn’t practical at all,

to the later breakthrough with the DT01 Electric Propulsion System achieving ton-level thrust,

and then to this moment, when the thrust-to-weight ratio of a single Electric Propulsion Engine broke past one,

required a long, long journey.

But now,

under the guidance of Academician Qin Yu, the whole research into electric propulsion technology practically leaped forward in three giant strides at a wild speed.

It was almost as if Academician Qin Yu was dragging the whole Human Civilization, charging forward at an incredible speed in this technology.

Academician Qin Yu’s wisdom and knowledge seemed limitless, always capable of creating miracles.

Moreover, under his leadership, the entire Negentropy Research Institute could easily pull together as one, focusing all its strength on tackling the same tough problem.

Amid the cheers from the people around him, Qin Yu also smiled and applauded.

Eventually,

the test run of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System ended after 40 minutes.

Qin Yu announced the successful experiment of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System.

Even when the experiment was completed successfully,

the core researchers around him were still flushed with excitement and happiness about it.

Qin Yu also turned his head to take another look at the Electric Propulsion Engine whose test had just ended.

Technically speaking, the current electric propulsion technology wasn’t really all that suitable for use inside the atmosphere.

Yet, right now, Human Civilization did have a genuine need for such transportation capability.

That left no choice but to set even higher demands for the technologies related to the Electric Propulsion System.

For spacecraft operating in space without entering the atmosphere,

the current DT02 Electric Propulsion System was already fully sufficient.

But for use within the atmosphere, another breakthrough might still be needed.

Perhaps people would only truly begin building an electric propulsion spacecraft suitable for the atmosphere once the DT03 Electric Propulsion System was born,

rather than just imagining it theoretically as was the case at present technological levels.

Furthermore,

just looking at the sheer size of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System itself right now made it clear.

The size the final Electric Propulsion Spaceship would take,

compared to some traditional vehicles in the transportation field,

would likely be closer in nature to large cargo ships or trains than to smart cars.

Its purpose would be transporting massive amounts of goods and people in a single trip, not small amounts for individuals over short distances.

It would be well-suited for connecting the Underground Shelter Cities all over.

…

After the successful experiment of the DT02 Electric Propulsion System,

the Institute of Energy Dynamics, led by Qin Yu, did not stop either.

They kept improving the Electric Propulsion System based on the operational test data from the DT02,

hoping to achieve an even higher thrust-to-weight ratio for a single Electric Propulsion Engine.

For this purpose, the Materials Research Institute within the Negentropy Research Institute also maintained its cooperation with the Institute.

Besides the Electric Propulsion System,

the other most important task for the Negentropy Research Institute during this period

was preparing for the things that needed doing before returning to the surface.

For this, most research teams across the whole Negentropy Research Institute were busy working in their respective fields.

…

First was the issue of restoring the surface ecosystem and the ecological chain.

For the current Human Civilization, this wasn’t actually a particularly hard problem to tackle.

The Doomsday Gene Bank alone, inside the Negentropy Research Institute, held seeds and genes of nearly all species known to Human Civilization before, along with all animal embryos and genes ever discovered.

Using technologies similar to the Human Reproduction Device, Human Civilization just needed some time

to bring back most of the plants and animals that once lived on Earth, rebuilding a complete natural ecosystem.

The problem was, even if these plants and animals could be brought back, they needed a suitable environment.

Currently, the most urgent problem for Human Civilization and the Negentropy Research Institute was probably to fix the disastrous environment on the surface first.

Given the technological level of Human Civilization now,

the simplest and most direct way to return to the surface was actually to build closed Surface Cities on the Earth’s surface, just like building the Lunar Surface Cities on the moon,

to withstand the various ongoing disasters outside.

Plus, this was much easier than building cities on the moon.

If the area covered by these Surface Cities was big enough, it would almost be like reshaping the surface environment.

However,

this clearly didn’t match what most people right now hoped for when they imagined returning to the surface.

What people really hoped for was,

more than anything, to step onto grasslands, forests, mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes under the sunlight.

They wanted Earth to become a place for Human Civilization to thrive again,

not a planet covered with connected ‘Surface Cities’ built right on the ground.

Therefore,

the focus of the Negentropy Research Institute’s efforts now

was primarily directed toward changing the surface environment itself.

To tackle this specific goal,

the Negentropy Research Institute decided to address the ongoing global rainfall first.

After Asteroid 2801 struck,

Earth’s surface had been stuck in a perpetual rainy season for five years straight, ignoring all seasons.

If Human Civilization did nothing,

this rain might continue for decades, even centuries more.

This rain was partly linked to the huge amount of seawater vaporized instantly by Asteroid 2801’s impact,

but also to the constant evaporation caused by the climate within the entire atmosphere.

Logically, with the sun blocked by massive amounts of dust and other materials, the surface should have entered a state like nuclear winter.

But actually, due to ongoing global volcanic eruptions releasing vast amounts of hot gases and materials,

coupled with dropping oxygen levels and severe greenhouse effects,

the entire surface of Earth was experiencing extreme heat, at least for this phase.

Ultimately, this led to the current situation: rain that had poured massively and practically non-stop for years showed no sign of letting up.

Facing this continuous global downpour,

relevant research teams from the corresponding institutes within the Negentropy Research Institute came together

and proposed a solution.

The basic idea was simple:

it was better to guide it away rather than block it up.

Since it insisted on raining, they might as well make it rain even harder.

After all, Human Civilization hadn’t returned to the surface yet.

They might as well find a way to make all that water vapor in the atmosphere now,

which would otherwise keep raining for hundreds of years,

come pouring down during a much shorter period.

As long as the vast majority of the water vapor causing the endless rain was used up,

and the water vapor on the surface couldn’t evaporate fast enough to replenish it,

then the current global deluge should naturally stop.

Furthermore, during this intense, short burst of even heavier rain,

the huge amount of dust and other debris still floating in the atmosphere could be heavily washed down,

temporarily helping clean out some of the atmospheric pollution.

Alongside this plan,

another Researcher mentioned something else.

This was about all the material ejected into near-Earth orbit and the space around Earth’s orbit when Asteroid 2801 collided.

This material left the surface but hadn’t escaped Earth’s gravity completely.

It would eventually fall back to the ground. In fact, ever since Asteroid 2801 hit years ago,

that’s exactly what happened: ‘shooting stars’ could frequently be seen in many places on the surface.

This posed a threat to people after their return to the surface and also needed to be fixed.

Yet, solving this problem would be much easier.

They didn’t even need to create a whole new plan just for it.

Human Civilization currently possessed something perfectly suited for the job.

On the Lunar Surface,

the High-Power Laser Weapon near the Lunar Base, originally built to weaken Asteroid 2801’s impact force,

received orders from Earth and powered up again.

This High-Power Laser Weapon, which still had some life left in it, struggled somewhat against the far-off Asteroid 2801.

But at the Earth-Moon distance, dealing with the debris floating in near-Earth space now, which could threaten the ground, was quite easy.

Moreover, if it wasn’t run at maximum power, the remaining service life of this High-Power Laser Weapon was long enough to finish clearing out threatening materials in nearby near-Earth space.

Smaller rocks and debris would probably not cause much danger to the ground anyway.

That year,

the Lunar Surface High-Power Laser Weapon became busy once more.