Natural Supports

June 2029, Shuofu, the capital of Bright Nation

Mr. E, head of Bright Nation's Plan T, sat on a spacious armchair in his office. Michael Max and Professor Braun sat beside him.

Mr. E and Professor Braun exchanged a glance, then Mr. E asked Michael, "Our master explorer, Michael, I hear you have a plan for applying Tesla's Superlight Wave Theory."

"Yes. I've already visited the site with Professor Braun. We plan to erect an 180,000-kilometer-tall structure on Henovesa Island, which lies on the equator and is also known as Tower Island, and build the first Superlight Wave Power Station," Michael replied.

"Mm. The professor briefed me. That's exactly why I asked you here. Professor, tell him what we've been thinking."

"To cut to the chase, we don't agree with recklessly building a Superlight Wave Power Station on Earth." Professor Braun abandoned his usual style of presenting the evidence before drawing a conclusion, then continued, "We may not understand superluminal waves deeply enough yet. Building a power station blindly on Earth could have side effects we can't afford."

"There may be risks, but how can we know it won't work unless we try?"

Michael Max was about to continue arguing when Professor Braun cut him off.

"Of course we can try. But to be on the safe side, we recommend building the first power station on another celestial body, such as the Moon."

Michael Max leaned forward, his eyes bright with resolve and reason, and explained all the factors he had considered.

Nikola Tesla's Superlight Wave Theory had been verified. Anywhere in space, including any location in the Solar System, a continuous structure 180,000 kilometers long could absorb a complete wavelength of superluminal waves and convert its energy into electricity, becoming what was known as a Superlight Wave Power Station.

Michael believed the electricity supplied by a Superlight Wave Power Station could effectively meet two urgent needs.

First, the Computing Power required by Artificial Intelligence Large Models was growing exponentially, and insufficient electricity had become a bottleneck.

Second, developing and utilizing space resources, and even settling other planets, would require vast amounts of energy.

Michael's original plan was to build a power station on Earth to increase Computing Power, and another on the Moon or Mars, mainly to supply electricity for developing and utilizing space resources and even establishing settlements.

The greatest advantage of building the first station on Earth was the low construction cost. Once completed, the cost of transmitting its electricity would also be very low.

Building a power station in outer space—even on the Moon, the celestial body closest to Earth—wasn't merely a matter of high transmission costs. It was technologically impossible.

Mr. E raised a hand to stop Michael, then brought up an angle that Michael's position had kept him from considering.

"Although Nikola Tesla's theory hasn't been officially made public, it's hardly a secret anymore. Intelligence reports indicate that several major powers are eager to build Superlight Wave Power Stations on Earth. Low costs might not be a good thing for us."

Professor Braun had opposed building an experimental power station on Earth solely out of reverence for scientific principles and a sense of caution. He hadn't considered the political implications.

Mr. E continued, "Since 1936, one important reason we've kept Nikola Tesla's secret is that the barrier to applying it is so low. We'll push for international agreements and even use the threat of force to ban anyone from building a Superlight Wave Power Station on Earth, ensuring Bright Nation maintains its current lead."

Professor Braun fully understood that building a Superlight Wave Power Station on Earth was now out of the question. He turned to Michael and asked:

"If we build one on the Moon, the celestial body closest to Earth, would Acebe Company's reusable Hunter-5 Rocket have enough lift capacity?"

Michael shook his head. "Once we leave Earth, even building on the relatively nearby Moon would make the project far more difficult and expensive. The 180,000-kilometer Carbon Fiber Tubes themselves are manageable, but the auxiliary supports, which weigh several orders of magnitude more, would demand too much lift capacity."

Michael gathered his thoughts and analyzed the goals, costs, and engineering feasibility further.

Since they couldn't build a Superlight Wave Power Station on Earth, they would have to set aside the demand for Computing Power for now and focus on maximizing the value of space resource utilization while keeping costs under control and ensuring the engineering was feasible.

Mining on the Moon and shipping the resources back to Earth was an obvious option, but after running the numbers, Michael found that a lunar power station wasn't the most economical and technologically feasible choice.

Professor Braun was a top astrophysicist, but he knew little about engineering, especially cost-benefit analysis. Staring at Michael in confusion, he asked, "On any celestial body outside Earth, we'd have to transport the Carbon Fiber Tubes and auxiliary supports from Earth. The Moon is the closest, so shouldn't it be the cheapest?"

Michael gave a mysterious smile, then abruptly changed the subject. "Do you remember that charity auction? The item I won might help us find the auxiliary supports needed for a Martian Superlight Wave Power Station."

The professor was utterly baffled. He asked in surprise, "That battered Mayan Pottery Jar? What does it have to do with the auxiliary supports for a Martian Superlight Wave Power Station?"

Michael smiled. "I can't reveal that just yet. A paper by your precious daughter, Daphne, gave me the idea."

Professor Braun pondered this. Michael Max must be planning to make the massive auxiliary supports from local materials on the Moon or Mars, since their weight made them impossible to transport from Earth.

Humans had explored the Moon far more often than Mars. The lunar surface was also covered in loose soil, making it easy to collect samples. Meanwhile, the deepest samples of Mars soil reached only ten centimeters. Humanity knew almost nothing about what lay beneath the Martian surface.

Professor Braun had assumed that, other than Earth, Michael would naturally choose the Moon as the site of the first space power station. To the professor, that would be the best of both worlds: they could build a Superlight Wave Power Station and, during construction, use Michael's company's equipment to conduct an important experiment.

In 1936, Nikola Tesla proposed the Superluminal Wave Hypothesis in his paper Dynamic Principle of Gravity, offering a new explanation of gravity.

The Superluminal Wave Hypothesis had been verified, but Nikola Tesla's explanation of gravity was truly astonishing. Amid his doubts, Professor Braun had designed an experiment, and the Moon was one of the best places to conduct it.

Returning to today's topic, Professor Braun looked up and asked Michael, "If you can find a way to make the supports from local materials on Mars, will Mars become your first choice for building a Superlight Wave Power Station instead of the Moon?"

"Yes. It's not just about the cost. Mars is better suited for human settlement than the Moon. Developing and even terraforming Mars is my goal, though of course it'll take a long time and astronomical sums of money." Michael smacked his lips, then continued, "Last time we were on the island, you mentioned wanting to conduct a gravity experiment on the Moon. Could you tell me more about it?"

"The lunar experiment I designed is much easier than building a Superlight Wave Power Station, but it's still a massive undertaking. It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way back," Professor Braun said calmly.

Mr. E lifted his coffee cup. Before ending the conversation, he said to Michael:

"I called you here today to tell you that you can't build a Superlight Wave Power Station on Earth. As for Mars or the Moon, report back to us once you've worked out a concrete plan. But understand this: it's a private company's business venture. As long as it doesn't threaten Earth's or Bright Nation's interests, we won't interfere."

Mr. E set down his cup and spread his hands. "Since it's a business venture, you'll have to raise the funds yourselves. The government has no budget for this."

Michael Max stood up to say goodbye to Mr. E. "To raise the funds—and to verify Tesla's Superlight Wave Theory ourselves—we'll soon build the first Superlight Wave Power Station on Saturn's moon Enceladus."

Professor Braun, standing nearby, thought, Michael Max really lives up to his reputation as a master of ideas. He's known about Nikola Tesla's theory for only a few months, yet he's already surveyed nearly the entire Solar System and come up with so many ideas. Seeming to realize something, he asked, "You mean that to build a Superlight Wave Power Station on Enceladus, you'd only need to transport the Carbon Fiber Tubes, without the time-consuming and labor-intensive task of transporting auxiliary supports, right?"

"Right. We wouldn't need to transport auxiliary supports from Earth to Enceladus." Michael smiled knowingly. He was sure the astronomer before him had guessed his secret, and, as though it had been seen through, he added:

"Because there are plenty of natural supports there."

A poem assembled from lines marking the end of the chapter:

A stretch of mortal dust divides us from the vanished current. — Qi Ji, Tang Dynasty I turn back here to ask the River of Heaven. — Li Yi, Tang Dynasty The icy moon has shone thus through all the ages. — Jia Xuanweng, Song Dynasty The armory overflows with purple lightning and clear frost. — Wen Chun, Ming Dynasty