Experimental Progress, Part Four

Compared to the radiation from space, the radiation Rowan was dealing with in the lab was child's play. Data estimates suggest that he would have to thicken his stratum corneum to over three meters to withstand such radiation.

With a three-meter-long keratinous outer shell, his body would have to be at least 20 meters long, otherwise it would be impossible for him to support the armor, and its weight would be estimated to exceed 100 tons.

Given the technological level of the Rat-folk, even 100 years from now, it's unlikely they'll be able to send him to the moon.

Therefore, the initial strategy of simply holding out is no longer feasible.

The paper that Rowan saw discussed a hypothesis about how planetary magnetic fields protect against space radiation. The author inferred that since life can survive normally on planets, the planets themselves possess a large protective force to defend against or deflect the harmful effects of space radiation.

The paper concludes by mentioning that he hopes to study this position in order to replicate a small Magnetic Field Device that could be installed on rockets or personal protective equipment to combat space radiation.

Through the Swarm Network, Rowan quickly discovered that the paper's authors were actually in a private laboratory of another Starry Sky Enterprise.

Thus, without knowing why, this Rat-folk was suddenly entrusted with an important task. He was not only promoted to head of a new laboratory, but also given money and manpower as needed, with only one requirement: to complete the Magnetic Field Device in his mind as soon as possible.

Rowan's gene pool currently contains a large number of genes, and many organisms have some unique understanding of magnetic fields, but Mature Form. Even his antigravity elytra are a way of applying magnetic fields. Therefore, Rowan needs a complete theory to integrate them.

From a feasibility standpoint, developing a magnetic field organ is far more feasible than directly resisting space radiation.

Time passed, and several years went by in the blink of an eye. The Rat-folk's space program developed rapidly, their rocket propulsion systems were constantly improved, and they were getting closer and closer to the moon.

Two years ago, they actually sent a four-clawed beast into space, but unfortunately, their rockets hadn't yet developed a return mechanism. After contributing a wealth of data, this four-clawed beast remained forever in planetary orbit.

Last year, a Rat-folk was sent to near-Earth orbit and returned successfully. Although the Rat-folk developed numerous symptoms upon return, he at least survived.

Rowan was somewhat troubled. He had carefully studied the Rat-folk's equipment for traveling to outer space, but much of it was not yet of any practical value to draw upon.

For example, the Rat-folk's protective suits are multi-layered, with one layer being a vacuum layer to cope with the extreme temperatures in space. However, Rowan had no idea how to grow a vacuum layer inside his body.

However, there is some good news: the radiation protection technology on the Rat-folk protective suits comes from a private laboratory under Starry Sky Enterprise.

The Rat-folk Karen did not disappoint him, successfully developing a small magnetic field protection device. With the continuous assistance of a large amount of manpower and resources, the related technology was rapidly improved and breakthroughs were made. In the end, it was even simplified into a metal particle fiber material.

The outermost layer of the Rat-folk's spacesuit is made of this material. It can form a closed loop and generate an induced current, which in turn generates a reverse electromagnetic field to block radiation penetration.

Rowan certainly couldn't simply coat himself with this material; he needed to cultivate a related organ or ability based on relevant theories and his talent.

After a period of research and improvement, he is close to success.

First, he utilized the genes of an electric fish, which possesses specialized muscle tissue that forms an Electric Discharge Organ. It also contains numerous energy-storing cells, resembling miniature stacked batteries.

When the nerve part that acts as the discharge hub releases a signal, the Electric Discharge Organ begins to discharge, and the current is connected in series through the storage cells to generate a very high voltage.

These special structures can provide power for small Magnetic Field Device.

For the material used to construct the Magnetic Field Device, Rowan chose the genes of a Metal Snail. These snails live at depths of about 3,000 meters on the seabed and only inhabit areas near underwater geysers and Volcano Crater.

Rowan discovered these Metal Snail during a stroll in the deep sea. Although they didn't taste very good, Rowan still harvested their genes.

These Metal Snail have metal scales covering their ventral foot and metal shells, giving them a very futuristic look. Moreover, their shells are naturally magnetic.

Using this property, Rowan incorporated metal particles into the shell, arranged and combined them to assemble a biological version of a magnetic field generator, and used Electric Discharge Organ to provide energy to successfully set up a small magnetic field on the surface of his body.

This small magnetic field not only successfully resisted radiation penetration, but also gave Rowan an unexpected surprise. Because the magnetic field locked him in place, it was difficult for the heat inside his body to dissipate, which was equivalent to maintaining a constant temperature around him.

The problem of the extremely low temperatures in outer space that had troubled Rowan for so long was solved without any warning. Rowan didn't know the specific reason for this result and could only attribute it to an anomaly that occurred during evolution.

However, this device has one drawback: it requires a sufficient amount of minerals to generate. To make it widespread among the Swarm, relevant ingredients must be added to the Insect Empress's diet.

Perhaps we could improve the Creep by incorporating the genes of the Metal Snail. Since it already has the ability to decompose rocks and minerals, these genes might be a perfect match, giving the Creep the ability to extract minerals.

With the problems of oxygen deprivation, low temperature, and space radiation resolved one by one, Rowan's journey to space has taken a giant leap forward. All that remains is to solve the energy acquisition problem, after which he will evolve into a space creature, and the Swarm will follow closely behind.

Another year passed, Rat-folk's rocket Propulsion Engine research hit a bottleneck, forcing them to revert to their old methods: increasing the number of thrusters, from the initial 1+4 to 1+6 and then to 1+8, continuously improving their flight altitude and bringing them closer and closer to the moon.

That year, Rowan also read many research papers. At the same time, he discovered a new use for Swarm Network. He could extract a segment of memory from Rat-folk intelligence and clone it. It felt like having a book crammed into his head; he needed to select what was useful from it. Although it still took a lot of time, it was much faster than reading it on his own.

The downside is that this kind of extraction can only capture the entirety of memories within a certain timeframe. It's somewhat better for those who are engrossed in research. However, for some Rat-folk with rich emotional experiences, the scenes are simply appalling.

Rowan went to great lengths to completely erase that cloned memory, and secretly warned himself to do such things less often in the future.

However, after a year of study, he has developed some ideas on how to extract energy in space.

I've mastered the techniques for naming chapters.