Tom nods. “I’ve performed many fusion experiments but we never found a reliable power source to maintain the reaction. Your solution is quite innovative. I’ve never heard of harnessing gravitational radiation like this.”
Austin pats Anil. “You can thank this guy.”
Tom turns. “This was your idea, young man?”
“Yes,” Anil says, “my calculations suggest gravitational energy will get us to the ignition threshold.”
“It’s worth a try,” Tom says as they enter the hallway towards the laboratory. “We were very close to solving fusion. I was hopeful for a breakthrough but then our funding dried up.”
“Really?” Beth asks. “What happened?”
“An oil company lobbied the government to shut off our funding. The experiments came to a halt, and the money went to the War.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Not at all. In fact, one executive singlehandedly stopped clean energy research in its tracks.”
Beth fumes. “If you had the finances, would you have succeeded?”
“Yes. Let me put it this way. If the government had spent one year’s worth of defense budget on science, we would not be using fossil fuels today. We could have replaced hydrocarbons long ago.”
“That’s a shame.”
They enter the lab and Austin points to the timer. “There’s only forty minutes before the event. We have to hurry!”
They rush to break open the crate. Kwame grabs a hammer and dismantles the wooden frame, exposing a lead safe inside. Fei enters a security code and unlocks the door, reaching inside to remove a zirconium sphere about a foot in diameter. Wires dangle from a black base mounted to the ball.
“Is that the Titan prototype?” Tom asks.
“Yes,” Beth replies. “It converts the energy from nuclear fusion directly into electricity.”
Tom inspects the device. “Amazing technology. So all you have to do is heat the shell to 100 million degrees?”
“That’s right.”
“Won’t that temperature melt the zirconium?”
“Yes, Tom, but that won’t stop the reaction.”
“Where will the output go?”
Fei lifts the reactor into the air. “There are copper wires coming out from the base and we will hook them up to these Tesla batteries. Anil can explain.”
Heads turn to Anil. “…that’s right. I designed an app that tracks the reactor. We can measure the current flowing through the wires.”
35:32, 35:31, 35:30…
Austin turns to the timer. “We’re running out of time! Let’s hurry and set up the gravity engine.” He opens the metal cylinder and reveals a miniature neodymium ray gun.
“Let me help you,” Tom says. “How is this laser supposed to sit in the Cyclotron? I don’t understand your configuration—”
Beth interrupts. “I’ll answer that. The accelerator will spin titanium atoms around a circular track. We want the beam to cross the titanium field and hit our reactor’s outer shell.”
Austin points. “That’s correct, but we have a problem. We don’t have any titanium—”
“It’s on the way!” Beth shouts. “Diego messaged me that he’s flying here from New Mexico.”
“What?”
“He found a supply there.”
Austin eyes the timer. “Will he be here in thirty minutes? Time’s almost out!”
“Have some faith in him,” she shouts. “Team, we have to keep working!”
Tom and Austin carry the laser to a console and Tom taps on a computer monitor. The robotic arm lifts and draws outward, revealing a hollow core within the Cyclotron. He points to steel tubing encircling the machine. “That’s the path where the particles fly.”
Austin looks closer. “I see. So the titanium runs around in circles?”
“Yes.”
He taps the metal pipe. “But how will our beam project through this steel?”
Tom gestures to a hole along the duct. “See there? That’s the injector port. We normally plug it before a test, but we can keep it open for this experiment.”
25:13, 25:12, 25:11…
Austin eyes the countdown and panics. “It’s worth a try. I’ll help you install it.”
They walk into the Cyclotron, ducking under the steel tube and entering the hollow core. Austin places the laser on a platform and finds that it’s several feet short of the injector port. “Damn, we need to raise the height.”
Tom points to a closet. “There are step cubes in there. Feel free to use them.”
“Anil, grab several. Hurry!”
“You got it!” Anil heads for the closet and finds an assortment of materials. He grabs a pile and carries them to his boss. “Here you are, Dr. Sanders.”
Austin stacks several blocks on the ground and places the laser on top. “Damn, it’s short of the hole!” He tries several configurations but none of them yield the optimal height. “We need a few more inches. Anil, get some more materials.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Anil says before zipping off. He scans a workspace looking for something sturdy and spots the timer.
17:45, 17:44, 17:43…
“Crap,” he mutters to himself. Piles of documents cover a desktop. He flips through drawers and comes up empty.
“What’s the matter?” Kwame asks him.
“I need something to prop up the laser.”
“Follow me.” Kwame races to the crate and grabs pieces of wood and packaging wire. “How about these? Will they work?”
“Maybe. Let’s bundle them together.” They assemble a few rudimentary constructs. “Help me take this to Dr. Sanders.”
They hurry into the accelerator’s core and deliver the supplies. The team builds a makeshift platform and mounts the laser on top. Austin picks up a power cord. “Anil, plug this in!”
Anil rushes out and looks for an electrical outlet. He finds one and rams in the socket. On the way back to the accelerator, he sees the timer.
13:12, 13:11, 13:10…
“Dr. Sanders, turn on the beam!”
Austin curses. “I did. The indicator says standby!”
“It needs to warm up.”
“Just great. How long will that take?”
“I don’t know.”
Beth shouts from across the laboratory. “Diego just messaged me. He’s five minutes away!”
“Crap!” Austin yells. “I don’t think we’ll make it.”
The team crawls out from the Cyclotron’s core. Anil points. “Oh no, we still have to prepare the reactor.” He quickly picks up the zirconium sphere. A rubber cord dangles from its base. “Fei, can you help me connect this to the Tesla batteries?”
“Sure.” She cuts the cord and exposes a copper line, which they attach to a battery. “We need more wire to build a circuit.”
“I brought some,” Anil says. “Let me get it.”
10:54, 10:53, 10:52…
Suddenly Anil hears a loud hissing and smells burnt metal. “The laser must be on. Where is it?” He runs back into the accelerator core and adjusts the stack until the beam shines through the injector port.
A sizzling streak fans across the laboratory.
“We’re cooking,” Beth shouts. “Stand away from the ray!”
Austin scans the timer. “We have to make contact with the zirconium. Hurry and set up the reactor!”
The team grabs the cubes and carries them across the laboratory, assembling them below the laser and warily avoiding the heat.
Beth hands out safety glasses. “Wear these and don’t look directly at the light.”
Anil and Kwame prepare a column and Austin guides them. “Add one more block and let’s see if it’s tall enough.”