Honeycomb Briquette (Pressure Cooker 2)

December 2029, Rocket City, Liang Nation

Daphne was both shocked and yearning at Michael's grand plan to terraform Mars, to create a "backup" for Earth. What kind of mind could conceive such a bold and crazy plan?

Michael told Prince Harufa that he had discovered a super energy source. He remained tight-lipped about the specific theories and details. Even with Daphne, Michael strictly adhered to his promise of secrecy, not revealing a single word.

Daphne completely understood Michael's actions. Moreover, she had just signed a non-disclosure agreement herself, though Michael was unaware of it. It was amusing that a couple could share the same secret while keeping it from each other.

A few days prior, Professor Braun and his beloved daughter, Daphne Braun, had visited the office of Mr. E, the head of Liang Nation's Plan T. Mr. E was over seventy years old, his movements slightly sluggish, and his energy not what it used to be, but his eyes beneath his white eyebrows still sparkled with intelligence.

Mr. E got straight to the point: "Daphne, welcome to Plan T! The committee members unanimously agree you are the right person for the job."

Daphne was surprised. She had thought her father was merely taking her to visit an old friend. She asked with a hint of confusion:

"What is Plan T about? Am I really suitable?"

Professor Braun looked at Daphne with affection and briefly explained the situation.

In 1936, Nikola Tesla submitted a paper to the scientific advisor of the Liang Nation government, titled "Dynamic Principle of Gravity."

In the paper, Tesla claimed that the universe was filled with electromagnetic waves in all directions, traveling at extreme speeds, with extremely long wavelengths and very high frequencies. Tesla called them "superluminal waves."

Any object in the universe with a diameter exceeding 170,360 kilometers, the wavelength of the superluminal waves, would be illuminated by them, generating immense energy. Otherwise, it would diffract, producing almost no reaction. This was also why the human body was completely unaware of the existence of superluminal waves.

Nikola Tesla also proposed a completely new theory of gravity in his paper. He believed that the motion of objects was a reaction to the uniformity of energy density in space. Objects accelerated when moving into regions of higher energy density and decelerated when moving into regions of lower energy density.

In Tesla's theory of gravity, the orbiting motion in a gravitational field and uniform linear motion in an inertial frame were the same form of motion because their trajectories were both lines of equal energy density.

Daphne Braun had received a traditional scientific education since childhood, including the classic law of universal gravitation, general relativity, and the quantum standard model.

When she heard Tesla's theoretical viewpoints from her father's mouth, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

Professor Braun seemed to read his daughter's mind and reiterated the generally accepted standards for testing theoretical hypotheses:

Bold hypothesis, careful verification. Falsifiable and predictive.

Two months later, the awkwardness of Daphne and Michael keeping secrets from each other was finally broken.

Mr. E invited Michael to his office and informed him that the Plan T committee had decided to form an assessment group.

Michael's plan to terraform Mars would be the group's first specialized risk assessment. The team members would include his girlfriend, Daphne Braun.

Returning home, Michael saw Daphne and eagerly, with a hint of surprise, asked, "My dear, I'm so happy you can personally participate in Plan T. Tesla's Superluminal Wave Theory, did it astound you?"

"Yes, Tesla was indeed a genius. His theories were far beyond his time," Daphne continued. "However, the application of superluminal waves truly worries me."

"Are you afraid my Superlight Wave Power Station will blow up Mars? Haha!" Michael teased with a laugh.

Daphne looked up and said seriously, "I believe you and your assistants must have conducted internal risk assessments, but humanity only has one Solar System. If Mars were to truly explode, it would definitely affect Earth. How could that be allowed?"

Michael stood up, staring out the window. He turned his head and said, "The risk should be controllable, Daphne. Do you understand me? Do you know what I want most?"

Daphne's heart tightened instantly. She remembered Martha's letter not long ago that had forced Michael to suspend his experiment on Enceladus. Could her future assessment report potentially kill this lovely and respectable man's ultimate dream?

Daphne walked over to Michael, rested her head on his shoulder, and said gently:

"My dear, I love you and I understand you very much. You're not doing this for money, or even for yourself. You're creating insurance for humanity's future."

"But if this insurance itself carries risks, then no matter how much I love you, I cannot agree," Daphne stated firmly.

The air in the room seemed to freeze. Michael's breathing quickened. He pushed Daphne away, his face flushed, and shouted:

"Are nuclear power plants risk-free? If humanity's scientific and technological progress over hundreds of years had to undergo so-called risk assessments beforehand, how could we have achieved what we have today?"

"Daphne, I love you very much, and I admire you just as much as you admire me. Terraforming Mars is my dream, and no one, including you, can stop me!" Michael stomped his foot, making the floor tremble.

Michael didn't notice Daphne shakily reaching for a nearby chair, her body going limp, and slowly sliding to the floor. She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and moaned, interrupting Michael:

"My stomach hurts. Am I going to miscarry?"

Michael was pulled back to reality. He immediately became anxious, carefully helped Daphne up, and they left, got in the car, and went to the hospital.

On the hospital bed, Daphne looked haggard. Michael's private doctor, holding the test results, said to Daphne:

"We acted in time, and the fetus should be saved. But you need to rest. At this stage of pregnancy, around a dozen weeks, miscarriage is most likely. You need to manage your emotions and think about relaxing and happy things."

"Will there be any after-effects or impact on the fetus?" Michael asked anxiously.

"Probably not. We didn't use antibiotics or sensitive medications, only a small amount of pure biological stabilizers. The fetus is currently normal," the doctor replied.

After dinner at the hospital, color finally returned to Daphne's face. Michael stayed by her side, and as the doctor instructed, he intentionally brought up topics that might make her feel relaxed:

"Remember the Silver Beach cruise? I could tell you really liked the sea. When our baby is born, how about we go on a yacht trip?"

Daphne reached out and placed her hand on Michael's arm, saying softly:

"My dear, you really treat me like a little girl who needs comforting. What truly interests and makes me happy are Mars and Lingshen Star!"

Michael couldn't help but shake his head with a laugh, sighing in admiration, "Sigh! It seems I've found the right person. Bringing you into my life was the best arrangement!"

A hospital, a sickbed, isn't it the most suitable place to discuss Lingshen Star?

Of course, for a couple with a deep connection, they will always discuss topics of mutual interest no matter where they are.

"Michael, it's not that I don't support your Mars terraforming plan. On the contrary, I think you're incredibly creative! If the risk assessment passes and Mars truly becomes a backup, it will be a blessing for all of humanity."

Encouraged by Daphne, Michael began to talk enthusiastically about his Mars terraforming plan again. The two envisioned and discussed, their love and imagination illuminating the entire hospital room.

Their conversation then turned back to Lingshen Star. Daphne asked:

"Michael, Lingshen Star should be part of a planet's metallic core. The metallic core is liquid lava. After it erupts and cools, why would it have multiple holes? And so regularly?"

Without waiting for Michael to answer, Daphne pressed on, "Do you think it's possible that Lingshen Star came from Mars' core?"

"It's highly possible. Lingshen Star is the metallic core that erupted from Mars. I think that's the best explanation for this purely metallic celestial body right now," Michael said.

"Regarding the holes in Lingshen Star, VESSEL gave me an answer. Lingshen Star is likely a piece of artificial honeycomb briquette," Michael explained with a chuckle. "I asked an artist how to cast a metal honeycomb sculpture with multiple internal holes."

"Reinforce the Martian crust with multiple pillars, tightly compressing the internal molten metal. The lava continues to heat up, eventually breaking through the crust and erupting in a concentrated burst," Daphne thought of the lost-wax casting process and immediately understood, saying:

"The molten metal, wrapped around dense pillars, cooled in space. After the pillars weathered away, it formed the multiple holes in Lingshen Star."

"Artificial pillars were used to create a metal asteroid with holes? That doesn't make sense! Besides, where would these 'people' come from?" Michael muttered to himself, puzzled.

Daphne said, "Whatever the reason, if huge pillars had penetrated deep into the Martian crust before the Mars explosion, they would definitely have left traces on Mars after the explosion."

As they looked at each other, they simultaneously thought:

Before the Mars explosion, it was like a pressure cooker. The thousands of meters high cliffs around Olympus Mons were the 'molds' left behind after the pillars flew out!

&

Poem compiled from chapter breaks:

The vast Taiye Lake swells with new waves, Yuan, Zhou Boqi How many times has gold been melted into this pot? Qing, Bei Qingqiao In a stone chamber, a stove and sand cauldron boil, Tang, Hanshan To my shock, I see it break apart like a swirling vortex. Yuan, Wu Daodao