14 Dec 2007
Final Destination, Chapter 10: August 16, 3094
I had a deep and meaningful talk with Al this morning.
“Have you been able to extract any more messages from the data core?”
“No.”
“Do you think you are likely to?”
“No.”
And that was that.
My own research has been more promising. All of my time as of late has been spent working with the zero-point-energy plant located on the top floor of the research facility. I’m still amazed that this base had its own power supply, and I’m even more amazed that it could produce more power than the entire generating capacity of Tau Ceti. These people clearly kept their best technology for themselves.
It’s hard to imagine why they needed such a powerful energy source. My only guess is that it somehow ties in to their transporter experiments. The scientists in this research station wanted to create a wormhole that could be used to travel entire light-years in the blink of an eye, and that would take more power than I care to think about. If the starship that I used to get here could do that, the entire trip wouldn’t have taken more than a week.
The hard shell of the base must have protected the plant as it is surprisingly free of damage. I didn’t have any replacement parts with me but I was able to get it turned on by rerouting some of its wiring through undamaged backup units.
As soon as it was activated a list of log messages appeared on the plant’s control screen:
The #4 Zero-Point-Energy Plant has been powered down and is currently on standby mode. Standard lighting is available and wall panels are functional, but that is all. No other devices can be powered up until this plant is reactivated.
A system diagnostic has revealed that a few relays in the plant have failed. Full power should still be available but there may be difficulties igniting the reactor. These difficulties should not be fatal, however, as it should be possible to alter the reactor’s startup sequence to avoid them.
Posted by AI unit Charlie on January 1, 3094
The #4 Zero-Point-Energy Plant has been restarted and is now fully functional. All power should be available to all the systems on this laboratory. Diagnostic equipment indicates that some parts of the plant have failed, but these were not critical systems and should not interfere with the operation of the plant.
Posted by AI unit Charlie on August 12, 3094
I guess Charlie is still working after all these years. I’ve found the giant room that houses him (he’s enormous – the largest artilect I’ve ever seen) but I needed to get the power restored to the base before I could experiment with him.
It looks like the power plant was upgraded during their attempt to find a way to leave the planet. I found these messages in the plant’s maintenance log:
The power plant is being taken offline today, right on schedule. For now the base is continuing to function via a system of batteries, and they should last until we get the power plant put back together (although they may need some generator assistance, which shouldn’t be hard to get). I’m still a little unsure of the whole procedure, though: I understand the need for more power, but despite what Charlie says I really don’t believe you can get -that- much more power out of this machine no matter how much you overhaul it. Zero-point-energy is a fine thing, but you can only do so much and the level of power they’re requiring is orders of magnitude above anything we’ve been able to get before.
We’re having to beef up the superconducting cables between the plant and the wormhole transporter on the lower level: the old wires couldn’t even come close to carrying that many terawatts of power. (The rest of the base should be fine, since its electrical load will remain unchanged.) It takes an insane amount of energy to create a wormhole.
I have been encouraged at the results Dr. Braxton’s team has obtained so far. She’s truly done wonders: her theories, combined with Dr. Durant’s tinkering, has already resulted in the creation of a wormhole transporter that can move things over a hundred miles – something no one had ever been able to do before. Flora’s even been able to keep Charlie in good order, despite the fact that he is being used in ways far outside his design parameters. We’ve been blessed, no doubt about it.
Will we be able to get off this planet before the shockwave hits us six months from now? I don’t know; I just don’t know. It’s too hard to tell from this point: we’re entering new areas of research and we can’t predict what we will find. We’re certainly doing our very best to save the lives of all those still alive on this planet – which, at last count, was just over 4,500 people.
We’re praying, we’re working hard, and we will see. I’m not overly concerned about myself, for I’m ready to die. My concern is for those around me: there are so many people who are just not ready.
Posted by Gregory Sardis on September 20, 2814
The power plant has been put back together! It only took two weeks to overhaul it, just as Charlie predicted, and it is now generating precisely the amount of power he forecasted. I guess the geeks in the computer science division know what they’re doing after all! I’m impressed.
Now it’s up to Dr. Braxton and her team: can they get the wormhole transporter to work, or will this planet become our tomb? Astronomy has already located a nearby habitable planet: a star two light-years away has a planet that would suit our needs. Whether they can create a wormhole that will allow us to step through a doorway and appear right onto the surface of that planet, though, is anyone’s guess. We’re keeping the issue in our prayers.
Posted by Gregory Sardis on October 5, 2814
I’ve never even heard of a computer before that could design entirely new technologies. Charlie must be one amazing machine.
I’m going to turn my attention to him next.