Lawrence had no idea he had already become a proud reserve member, but that did not stop him from experiencing firsthand the awe the Cloudtop Research Institute inspired in ordinary people.
With all its high-tech equipment and technologies hundreds of years ahead of Earth, it was like stepping into a science-fiction world. Just reading the list made Lawrence's heart race and his eyes redden.
The "Prometheus" project had been nothing more than an idea of Lawrence's. He had originally believed Earth's technology would need at least several centuries to make it possible. Yet right before his eyes, the theoretical obstacles were being solved one after another. More than 80 percent of the technical details involved were things Lawrence had never even seen before.
Given the astonishing abilities the Ghost Captain had always displayed, Lawrence could take that in stride. But something else made it impossible for him to stay calm.
This Research Institute... actually had only sixteen scientists!
Sixteen scientists, plus reportedly three part-time new-product testers-that was every living person in the institute. All the rest were countless robot assistants.
That number was far below anything Lawrence, or anyone else, could have imagined.
Even the small laboratory he had founded had more than thirty people, not counting assistants who handled odd jobs. Yet the Cloudtop Research Institute, supposedly overflowing with technology beyond contemporary science and countless research breakthroughs, had only sixteen people in total?!
Who would believe that? Surely scientific research could not be fully automated too?
In the Virtual World, Elder Yu and the others all appeared as Miniature Robots, keeping their identities concealed.
But through their discussions on the "Prometheus" project over this period, Lawrence could vaguely sense that these people were probably much like him.
They were thoroughly familiar with Earth's research environment and possessed the maturity