The energy generated by nuclear fusion was truly staggering! Even during old Earth’s history, it was estimated that the fusion energy from 100 tons of helium-3 was equivalent to the total energy consumed by the entire world in a single year.
Jason did a quick calculation and had to admit it was true. Nuclear fusion was incredibly difficult to achieve, but undeniably powerful.
Such immense energy outputs naturally came with immense industrial demands. The entire manufacturing system would need to incorporate vast amounts of superconducting materials and other advanced alloys; otherwise, it simply couldn’t handle that level of power generation.
Naturally, only energy on this scale could truly support advanced weaponry like high-powered lasers and ion cannons. In comparison, traditional nuclear fission and thermal power generation were practically garbage.
If they truly mastered nuclear fusion, the interstellar weapons they had salvaged from the Martian wreckage could finally be put to actual use!
However... we still need to keep the ordinary fission reactors and thermal power plants online as a backup, Jason thought to himself. In that short span of time, he had gradually recovered from his initial shock and was already considering safety protocols. Deep down, he had fully accepted the plan.
Professor Hao Yu was excitedly explaining on stage. He seemed oblivious to the despair in everyone’s eyes, growing increasingly fanatical. "The four reactors will operate in shifts. After each nuclear detonation, there will be seven minutes of power generation followed by nearly twenty minutes of cooling time..."
"In an emergency, multiple units can operate simultaneously to provide us with a massive power surge! Of course, we can also halt them all at once. We’ve designed a few smaller nuclear reactors as well... but those require burning our precious helium-3 reserves. And we simply don’t have a lot of helium-3."
Upon hearing this, Jason suddenly stood up and asked, "Professor, whether it’s a hydrogen bomb or a deuterium bomb... they still require a standard helium-3 warhead to act as the initial igniter, correct? In the long run, where will we source these ignition materials?"
At this point, he no longer cared about the absurd scale of the project; he only cared about its feasibility. If it was possible, it was worth it.
"That’s an excellent question," Professor Hao Yu said with a bright smile. "First, we can harvest helium-3 from some of Nyx’s smaller satellites. While it isn’t an abundant source, it should still yield tens of thousands of tons."
"Secondly, once the fusion reactor is complete, we can travel to an Earth-like exoplanet 0.6 light-years away. That planet is situated relatively close to a binary star system, and lacks both an atmosphere and a magnetic field."
"Based on its specific environmental conditions, we are certain it harbors massive deposits of helium-3! And by massive, I mean hundreds of millions, possibly even billions of tons!"
"Let’s do the math: how long could 100 million tons of helium-3 sustain us?"
"But how do we get there? 0.6 light-years is incredibly far," another high-ranking Federation official couldn’t help but interject.
Professor Hao Yu shook his head and replied immediately, "As you can see from the blueprints, building this reactor means we are simultaneously building a massive spacecraft for ourselves. This ship will be large enough to completely enclose the Noah base!"
"These nuclear reactors are essentially the engine rooms of the spacecraft. We only use 10% of the energy for electricity generation; the rest... is entirely dedicated to propulsion!"
"With the thrust capabilities of nuclear fusion, we can reach that exoplanet within ten years! According to our calculations, our remaining helium-3 is more than sufficient to act as an ignition source for the journey! For us, mastering nuclear fusion and reaching the stars are one and the same goal!"
These words caused another uproar in the room. Humanity hadn’t even fully achieved nuclear fusion yet, and now they were already plotting a course for the stars.
But upon closer inspection, the logic was sound. They would eventually have to leave Nyx anyway. Taking advantage of this period to build a massive colony ship didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. They could tackle both monumental tasks simultaneously!
I just want to stay on Nyx and live a quiet, carefree life... Jason thought to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Of course, he had known about the plan beforehand and had studied the proposals for a long time. Yet, every time he faced the reality of it, he felt a strange mix of madness and impulsive drive.
Why does our generation have to go through all this trouble? This wasn’t just his thought; many others shared the exact same sentiment.
However, they quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
Why? To cross the Great Filter. To reach the stars.
It was the ultimate evolutionary imperative. Thinking you could back down now was, of course, completely impossible.
Jason chuckled at his own internal monologue and then asked, "Professor, I have another question. Since we’re going to build a spacecraft, is this massive project going to be constructed entirely in space?"
"Yes! Otherwise, a vessel of this size would never be able to overcome the planet’s gravity to launch."
Professor Hao Yu nodded. "Think about it. A fusion reactor with a diameter of 15 kilometers is massive, and we need four of them. Factor in all the auxiliary systems and the Noah base itself, and the spacecraft’s total length will exceed 40 kilometers. With a hull mass reaching 50 billion tons, it would be physically impossible for it to land on or take off from a planet."
"Unless you all want the project to be exponentially larger and more expensive to account for planetary gravity. If you really want that, we could try to draft up some designs..."
Jason rubbed his temples. Space engineering... that added a staggering amount of complexity to an already colossal project.
Around the room, others let out groans and sighs of despair.
They could hardly imagine how other interstellar civilizations had overcome so many hurdles. If they weren’t the highly driven first generation of the Federation, they would have been utterly terrified by the sheer scale of the undertaking.
Professor Hao Yu finished his explanation, and for a long moment, a heavy silence fell over the room.
It wasn’t that they were cowardly or wanted to back out. Rather, they were experiencing the strange, liberating feeling of having absolutely nothing left to lose. They were in for a penny, in for a pound.
"Should we first build an aerial city using massive airships, and then use that as a staging ground for the space construction?"
"Or should we bring the Noah down to the surface first?"
People started throwing out wild ideas, seemingly eager to make the project even more complicated.
"Professor, if we manage to fully reverse-engineer the technology left behind by the Nyx civilization, and make further breakthroughs in extraterrestrial manufacturing, could we reduce the overall workload?" one of the council members asked.
"It’s entirely possible. Our applied engineering technology is still quite primitive compared to them... it urgently needs an upgrade."
Professor Hao Yu nodded grimly. "But make no mistake—whether it takes decades, centuries, or even millennia to build this vessel, I want to see it started in my lifetime. This must become the enduring will of our civilization. It cannot waver!"
Looking around at the crowd, some hesitant, others fiercely fanatical. Jason immediately stood up and declared in a booming voice, "Yes! This is the will of the Federation. We will not change course, nor will we waver!"
"No matter the cost, we will see this through!"
"That concludes the briefing. Are there any further objections or comments? I’ll give you ten minutes to consider."
"Agreed!"
"I second that!"
Despite their earlier groans and complaints, the executives and scientists unanimously raised their hands in agreement. There was not a single voice of opposition.
Even those who harbored doubts remained silent. Unless they could magically conjure a better solution, this was their only path forward. The top scientific minds agreed it was feasible, so they were going to do it... even if the workload was astronomically large.
Yes, just a little bit big.
Having accepted this monumental ordeal, the Federation executives actually felt a strange, thrilling sense of purpose. They decided to throw caution to the wind and fight this mega-project to the bitter end. The atmosphere in the conference room quickly livened up.
"Well then..." Jason stepped up to the podium and tapped the microphone, quieting the noisy crowd. "Let’s give this project a proper name!"
"Deep Space!" a loud voice rang out from the floor. "The Deep Space project, which will finally lead us to the stars!"