Hosein Kouros-Mehr - Extinction 6

“Okay, we have to be sure that the electricity we create goes out into the world.”

“Yes, I’m certain it will.”

“Please hurry. We don’t have much time left.” She spins on her heels and walks away. Seeing her team hard at work, she heads for the control room.

I need a break.

She climbs a staircase and enters an office where she finds Pete Nelson. “Nice to see you,” she says to him.

He gestures. “Likewise. How’s your project coming along?”

Beth sits on a chair and kicks her feet up. “We’re in the home stretch. Less than two hours before the gravity wave.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept in two days.”

Pete’s eyebrows rise. “How do you do it?”

“What choice do we have? This is our last hope for clean energy.” She rubs her eyes. “By the way, I appreciate your help. Thanks for letting us use your facility.”

“My pleasure. I really want you to succeed. You know my first experiment here was thirty years ago?”

“Is that right? How many projects have you run?”

He whistles. “Over the last few decades, we probably ran thousands of studies. We designed reactors with different elements, sizes, and shapes.”

“What was your best outcome?”

He ponders. “The longest fusion reaction in this building lasted one microsecond.”

“How many kilowatts did it produce?”

“Enough to power 100,000 homes for a year.”

“Wow! And that was created in just one-millionth of a second?”

“That’s correct.”

“Incredible. Imagine the juice we could generate from a sixty-minute program.”

“That would drive the planet!”

They grow silent and stare at the cross forming in the laboratory as the neodymium laser intersects the developing particle accelerator. Workers rush to anchor the units together.

Beth smiles. “It’s so symbolic.”

Pete turns to her. “What is?”

She clasps her hands behind her head. “The cross over there. It’s like Man’s salvation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fusion is the only hope for the planet’s resurrection. Otherwise we are headed for certain extinction.”

Pete cocks his head. “You’re right. Did you know the polar ice caps will be gone by the end of the century?”

“Yes. We’ve taken Earth past its tipping point. Who knows what happens from here.”

“I hope your experiment works.” He chuckles. “Who would have thought that gravitational waves could help society?”

Beth extends a hand. “Well, if you think about it, throughout history the applications of theoretical physics were never immediately obvious. It took decades to grasp the implications of our basic science discoveries.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take Maxwell’s equations published in 1865. They defined the physical properties of light as an electromagnetic wave. At the time, it was just a bunch of numbers on paper, but decades later those findings laid the foundations for radio, television, and modern communications.”

“Interesting.”

“When we discover a core principle of the universe, it tends to open many other doors we can’t possibly imagine.”

“You’re right.” Pete nods. “What a journey it’s been.”

Beth’s eyes widen in excitement. “Then there’s the theory of relativity. Einstein’s equations described the nature of time, mass, and energy. They were published in 1905 without fanfare. Decades later, those breakthroughs would lay the groundwork for the atomic age and nuclear power.”

“I’m well familiar with that one.” He looks at the cross in the laboratory. “So I guess gravitational waves fall into your bucket. No one imagined they could be used for something like this.”

“Exactly. I still remember the 2016 press conference where scientists proclaimed the existence of gravity waves. Outside the physics community, no one really cared about that announcement. Yet here we are decades later sitting on the cusp of a revolution.”

Pete bobs in agreement. “Let’s hope it’s the dawn of a new age. I just wish we had more funding for these studies. Our facility ran out of money last year.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. It seems to be a recurring theme.”

“It’s upsetting that our government no longer funds scientific research. When the nation’s coffers feed the War, it signals the end of technological innovation.”

She closes her eyes. “It’s a shame. There are still people today who deny climate change.”

Pete laments. “Yes, I know. I wish I could go back fifty years and frighten everyone to take pollution seriously. If only they knew that a mass extinction was decades away.”

“They did know. People in the 20 thcentury knew that global temperatures were rising, but they did nothing. They understood they were handing a loaded gun to the next generation.”

“You think so?”

“Yes! They fracked their lands and quarried tar sands with greed in their eyes, denying climate change to make a buck.”

“That’s shameful.”

“Oil tycoons and heads of state were complicit in the most diabolical denial of all time, taking the planet to its sixth extinction.”

“But why?”

“Blame it on the ego and its selfish quest for survival. Don’t get me started on this.” She stands and stretches. “Sorry, I have to get back to work. The X10 is nearly assembled.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Stay here and be ready to ignite the laser when I give you the signal.”

“You got it.”

She walks down the staircase and spots the timer.

68:12, 68:11, 68:10…

Her pace quickens and she runs towards her staff.

An hour left to go.

Austin and his workers unload the last crate from the fourth truck and lay it on the ground in tandem with the other three pieces. They hurry to bolt the units together, forming a linear array that runs perpendicular to the neodymium gun.

Beth approaches Austin. “What’s the status?”

“We’re nearly done. I just need to boot it up and run system checks.”

“Can you show me how the laser intersects the titanium field?”

“Sure.” He leads her along the X10. “The titanium atoms will fly down this chute. We carved a hollow opening along the track.” He points to a T-shaped device mounted to the accelerator. “That’s where we installed the gravity engine. Take a look.”

She stares at the T-shaped anchor and touches its metallic glass. “It’s sleek. Anil did a great job with this.” She kneels and peers through its hole, staring down the barrel of the neodymium gun. “The alignment looks perfect. Great job.”

Austin points to the red mark on the reactor. “The beam should fly through the titanium and hit that spot.”

“Then we’ll get to our magic number of 100 million degrees.”

“Let’s hope,” Austin whispers.

Beth appears roused. “There’s no time to waste. Why don’t you boot up your X10? I’ll get the laser warmed up.”

“Sounds good.”

She turns to the office. “Pete, turn on the machine!”

The warehouse lights flicker on and off as the device powers on. A vibrating hum flows through the ground and echoes off the walls. Beth feels the thumping as she walks.

58:24, 58:23, 58:22…

She rushes to Anil. “Have you linked the reactor to the grid like we discussed?”

Sweat drips from Anil’s forehead as he picks up a thick bundle of wires. “Almost. We finished the transformer and fastened an ultra-high-voltage cable to it. We just have to drag it outside and attach its other end.”

“Is the other line anchored to the old plant?”

“Yes.” He points to the hole in the wall. “The engineers are outside waiting for my end.”