Side Effects (Tower Island Power Station 1)

65 million years ago, Venus

Nikola Tesla, Abbott, and Colonel Feynman stepped out of the space elevator onto the outdoor platform of Power Station No. 1, located on Venus's equator.

"Is this Tower Island, the site I originally selected for the Superlight Wave Power Station?" Tesla asked Abbott.

"Yes, this is Tower Island, located on the Venusian equator," Abbott replied with a grave expression.

"The original Tower Island was only 50 meters above sea level and very small. Has the sea receded, or have the mountains grown taller?"

"The Superlight Wave Power Station caused the sea to recede. We are now 3000 meters above sea level, so you could say the mountains have grown taller."

Tesla could hardly believe his ears and exclaimed:

"How could this happen in just a few decades?"

In Nikola Tesla's memory, Venus was a paradise for Venusians, with a pleasant climate and relatively stable tectonic plates.

Venus is 108 million kilometers from the sun, and its orbit is in the optimal position within the solar system's habitable zone. Because Venus's axial tilt is close to zero degrees, there are almost no seasonal changes throughout the year.

Temperature variations do occur, but they are not based on time but on latitude, with the equator being hot and the poles cold.

In the regions at 60 degrees north and south latitude, the average daily minimum and maximum temperatures are 10 and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Since the land area in Venus's Northern Hemisphere is larger than in the Southern Hemisphere, the strip-shaped region near 60 degrees north latitude is the main settlement area for Venusians.

Rivenburg is located in Venus's Eastern Third District, at 59 degrees north latitude, and is the seat of the Venus Alliance's administrative body. Venusians habitually associate this city with a strong liquor, jokingly calling it "59 Degree Vodka."

The self-driving electric vehicle the group was traveling in stopped in front of the Venus Alliance administrative building. The car door opened automatically, and Colonel Feynman quickly stepped forward, professionally and politely guiding Tesla and Abbott into the building.

"Director Diston, this is Mr. Nikola Tesla. We have successfully awakened him and brought him before you," Abbott introduced him to Director Diston, head of the Alliance's General Affairs Office.

Director Diston, head of the Venus Alliance General Affairs Office, was tall with dark reddish skin, short curly hair, and deep-set eyes.

"Nikola, it's wonderful that you've awakened and can help us all. To avoid public panic, our conversation today must be kept highly confidential," Diston gestured to Dean Abbott to explain the situation on Venus to Tesla.

Dean Abbott activated the holographic projection, and a spherical Venus with detailed topographical markings appeared before Nikola Tesla.

Ninety years ago, at the age of 40, Nikola Tesla, after inventing AC power, began researching energy issues.

He firmly believed that all physical phenomena and the laws behind them could be expressed in terms of energy.

Energy determines everything; energy is everything.

Nikola Tesla proposed the Superluminal Wave Hypothesis, which posits that the universe is filled with a uniform, omnidirectional energy wave traveling at extremely high speeds, with frequencies above 10^16 Hz and wavelengths of approximately 170,360 kilometers.

Objects with a diameter larger than this wavelength, such as stars, would be illuminated by the superluminal waves, causing intense energy reactions. Objects with a diameter smaller than the wavelength would be diffracted, with no energy reaction, and would not be able to sense the presence of the superluminal waves.

Based on his superluminal wave theory, Tesla wrote a paper titled "The Dynamic Principle of Gravity."

After the paper was submitted to the Venus Alliance Academy of Sciences, most academics in physics and astronomy did not agree with it. Only Abbott, who was not yet a dean at the time, strongly advocated for it and organized several verification experiments for superluminal waves.

In the following years, Tesla shifted his focus to the research of superluminal energy applications and selected sites for the planned Superlight Wave Power Station.

With the abundant electricity provided by superluminal waves, he and his girlfriend Maria, a bioengineering expert, hoped to transform the coveted ideal of "Ultimate Immortality" into an achievable engineering solution through their efforts.

Their plan was:

To achieve bodily immortality through Gene Cloning Technology;

To achieve consciousness immortality through Brain-Computer Interface Technology.

At the age of 43, Venusian Nikola Tesla invented a non-contact high-speed brain-computer connector, which he called the "Lightning Ball." During an experiment, an accident occurred, causing him to fall into a coma for 86 years, becoming vegetative.

"Abbott, I remember everything before I fell unconscious. Tell me quickly what happened afterward!" Tesla pressed Abbott.

In the decades following Tesla's coma, Venusian technology developed rapidly, transitioning from the electrical age he pioneered to the information age.

Tesla's superluminal wave theory research group, led by Abbott, found the cyclical influence of the occlusion relationships of celestial bodies like Regulus and Jupiter on sunspot and solar flare activity by observing solar activity, thereby indirectly verifying the superluminal wave theory.

Sixty years ago, the Venus Alliance Space Administration launched two space tugs to pull a "rope" 180,000 kilometers long. They received energy from the incidence of superluminal waves, thus finding direct evidence of their existence.

A man-made structure 180,000 kilometers long could be illuminated by the full wavelength of superluminal waves, becoming an inexhaustible energy source, which is what is referred to as a Superlight Wave Power Station.

Abbott and the project team experts, concerned about the potential side effects of the Superlight Wave Power Station, did not build it directly on Venus. Instead, they constructed the first Superlight Wave Power Station in Venusian history in the distant Saturn System, connecting a 180,000-kilometer-long structure between Saturn and its largest moon, Sedna.

The Saturn Power Station provided ample energy for the Venusians' space activities. After several years of observation, no side effects from the Superlight Wave Power Station were detected.

Sedna is the largest moon in the solar system, covered by a thick ice shell. Possibly due to the influence of the power station's immense heat, only a small amount of solid ice was observed sublimating into water vapor.

Venusian scientists who had once doubted the superluminal wave theory, faced with irrefutable evidence, turned to support the construction of Superlight Wave Power Stations to bridge the gap between the growing demand for computing power and the strained electricity supply.

Abbott and others, on Tower Island on the Venusian equator as suggested in Nikola Tesla's paper, extended the original 90,000-kilometer-high space elevator used for transportation to 180,000 kilometers, completing the first Venusian Superlight Wave Power Station.

Superluminal energy, independent of the sun, is truly "inexhaustible." Consequently, along the Venusian equator, Power Stations No. 2 and No. 3 were successively built. Venus's computing power gained ample energy security, and AI Models expanded exponentially.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and the side effects of the Superlight Wave Power Station began to manifest. Due to the inability to achieve 100% thermal conversion efficiency as theoretically designed, the residual thermal energy accumulated within Venus through the rocks of Tower Island.

In just a few decades, tectonic activity on Venus has intensified, causing drastic changes in the landscape, numerous volcanic eruptions, and continuous earthquakes of magnitude 8 or higher.

Incredibly, under the intense plate collision, the Tower Island region rapidly uplifted, rising from 50 meters to its current elevation of over 3000 meters, exposing land and causing the sea to recede.

The rocks exposed above sea level released large amounts of carbon dioxide under sunlight, accumulating in Venus's atmosphere and creating a strong greenhouse effect.

Frequent volcanic eruptions also led to a sharp increase in the proportion of sulfides in the atmosphere. In many regions of Venus, people had to wear gas masks when engaging in outdoor activities.

"How could this happen? We should immediately disconnect the 180,000-kilometer-long structure and shut down the power station!" Nikola Tesla said anxiously.

"Several years ago, we shut down all the Superlight Wave Power Stations except for No. 1. Considering the rigid demand for electricity driven by computing power, if we shut down Station No. 1, many of the smart tools people are accustomed to will become paralyzed," Abbott said, wringing his hands and shaking his head, displaying his dilemma.

"Station No. 1's side effects are too severe; we can't just keep it running. Do you have a follow-up plan?" Tesla asked.

"Nikola, this isn't just about whether Station No. 1 is shut down. Things are far more serious than you imagine, which is why I came all the way to Mars to wake you up."

Abbott pointed to the dense craters on Venus's surface and continued, "Volcanic eruptions, atmospheric deterioration, and a drastic rise in temperature… Venus is likely no longer suitable for us humans to live on."

"Are you saying that even if we shut down Station No. 1 now, we can't return Venus to how it was before?" Tesla asked.

"Regrettably, we are insignificant in the face of nature. The deterioration of Venus's environment is irreversible and unstoppable. Soon, Venus will no longer be suitable for us Venusians to inhabit," Diston interjected, revealing this unacceptable secret.

He continued, "This is also why we urgently woke you up. We hope you and Dean Abbott can face this immense crisis together."

Tesla trembled, asking loudly, "What? If we shut down Station No. 1 immediately, have you calculated how much time we Venusians have left to escape Venus?"

Abbott gazed at Tesla, his deep voice tinged with sorrow, and replied:

"Counting down from now, we estimate there are 50 Venusian years left."

&

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