Chapter 7: Arc Reactor

15 April 2000

Cerion stared at the device before him with a sense of achievement. The device in question was in the shape of a pentagon, with a white glass pane covering much of the device. His quest for creating a miniaturised arc reactor succeeded, though it was not without its hiccups. The success in completing the design and manufacturing of a miniaturised version deserved to be assigned to the wonder element Unobtanium. Without studying that element, he wouldn't have had the foggiest clue about how to start building a miniaturised arc reactor.

The element Unobtanium facilitated stable and controlled nuclear fusion in an alarming manner that frankly boggled his mind. The wondrous property of this element doesn't stop there. It produces negligent heat, hardly detectable levels of radiation and an enormous surge of energy in a controlled manner. Frankly, it was a friendly element that was dancing around with a signboard saying; use me; I'm your friend.

The element, once harvested in its raw form, was slightly volatile. But once it undergoes a refining process with slight exposure to a concentrated burst of anti-protons, it was safe as a puppy. While the raw form of Unobtanium produced an energy density to run a submarine for half a decade or so, the enriched Unobtanium could extend that to 20 years.

Even the enrichment process could be improved by increasing the energy output of the Unobtanium. Unfortunately, a higher grade of enriched Unobtanium would be dangerous for the miniaturised arc reactor. So, it would be used in the reactor that was to be built for his ship, where he could install several safety measures. But that was far away in the future, as he had some extensive work to do on the ship before he could install the reactor.

But what was bugging him right now was just how Tony Stark managed to work out a mini arc reactor in a cave with scraps from some missile components. There was also the question of how the hell Stark extracted energy from the Palladium core. Off the top of his head, he gathered Stark, who must've figured out a way to capture a significant number of electrons to create gamma waves and high energy electrons flow to the rim of the reactor. This, in turn, causes an imbalance of proton and electron, causing a massive surge in electrostatic potential.

That said, this process could not be done in a 10cm diameter device without cooling or controllers in the reactor. While Palladium was an essential component in cold fusion, it doesn't explain how Tony Stark managed to circumvent some of the heavy equipment needed to make the reactor safe and sound. That really bugged him.

But he was nothing but eager to explore alternate ways to synthesise the reactor. He made a note in his mind to explore alternate electrodes that could control the reaction within the reactor. He was sure he could come up with an answer.

"Lord Vex, shall I insert the element into the reactor core?" asked Optima.

"Yes, please." he nodded, returning from his thoughts.

Optima plucked the mini arc reactor in his hand out using a readily formed metallic holder. In a similar manner, the Unobtanium, which was under the care of a proton gun, was plucked away from its magnetic suspension casket. The element was inserted into the reactor core, and his arc reactor lit up with blue light.

"The element has been accepted by the reactor. Projected energy output not exceeding 10 G J/s." Optima said serenely.

"Nice." Cerion grinned as he leaned back in his seat, watching the reactor come to life happily.

"Shall I modify the power grid to the new reactor, sir?" asked Optima.

"Do so, and good job, Optima. I couldn't have done it without you," he said, patting his trusty drone to show his appreciation to the resident AI.

"Incorrect statement, sir. You could have done this without me, given time."

"Are you saying I am slow, Optima?" he asked, raising an amused brow at the drone.

"You are slow selectively, sir." Optima said diplomatically.

"That's a perfectly diplomatic way to insult me. I'm impressed, Optima." he said, a snort of laughter escaping his lips.

"Thank you, sir."

He took in his temporary 'lab' in his leased Pacific Island. It was not much of a lab per se, as he was holding his workshop in the broken remains of the old sanctum. The foundation was strong, but the structure had many faults, with overgrown trees and plants inside the structure. For Rao's sake, there was a Kuila growing right through the roof of the sanctum. It was going to be a lot of work to tear it all down and rebuild it, but he was going to do it in the near future.

For now, he had managed to set up a hall for his temporary lab and with the first Arc Reactor in hand, his need for a powerful energy source was solved. Of course, he had to make a few more arc reactors, but the drones wouldn't be dependent on the power of solar panels alone. Speaking of which he had to take out all those panels and start working on them to see what he could do. The present solar panels of Earth were ridiculously expensive and had low energy yield. With Vex Corp set to launch a product next year, possibly in July, he gathered electronics would be a good market to pursue.

While he planned to venture into cybersecurity, he hoped to quietly slip into manufacturing and gain access to heavy machinery and metals like Titanium, Copper, Tungsten, Aluminium, Steel, etc., in large quantities.

To that end, he had been sending out feelers subtly searching for programmers. To attract the attention of some of the best programmers, he published the first open-sourced anti-virus software on the web. From that single act, he gained a lot of friends and contacts as he got bombarded by a ton of emails. Frankly, it was as if a floodgate was opened, and he had to literally read a constant stream of messages every day. Some were congratulatory, some were job offers, some were frankly creepy, and some were intellectual conversations.

The trouble was weeding out the wheat from the chaff until he decided to build software to do just that. Now, his emails were filtered and moderated separately so that he could easily access the useful ones. In doing so, he could interact with some of the best minds in the world. The process was still ongoing, and it would take some time to clear up all the details, but the first stones had been laid. Now, it was just time to carefully build a foundation.

Interacting with some of these programmers gave him another idea. The lack of social media was just a huge inconvenience at this point, and he had some ideas to change that. Keeping that in mind, he used the first payment from SHIELD under the new contract to lease a new building in Redwood City, CA. The building was going to get furnished as soon as a tender for all the necessary pieces of equipment was going to be put out. By then, he would have to find his prospective employees, which was going to be a real pain in the ass because he would have to weed out the spies from SHIELD.

Then, a thought struck him.

'Hmm…why not use SHIELD agents to my advantage?'

A smile slowly came to his face as a plan began to form in his mind.

*******

Jane was carefully wading through a string of calculations again and again in search of something that was frankly out of her reach, but at the same time, she felt like she was at the cusp of something. When she had chosen to study astrophysics, she never expected that her attention would inevitably end in M-theory. More specifically, she was interested in space anomalies that occur in the universe, and she believed she had found a possible way to detect black holes and tears in deep space.

Jane sighed, placing her hands on either side of her head as she stared at the sea of equations and half-formed multidimensional stress sensors. She was sure that she was close to a possible theory of explaining it all, but when imagination spilt into reality on her paper, she was at a loss. With the present set of mathematical equations and recent leaps in String Theory, the study of a Graviton was nearly impossible. Most scientists even object to the concept of a Graviton, but she was sure it existed, even though all her attempts to detect it had failed.

That didn't mean she was ready to give up. She just needed to find a way to get more equipment that could generate better readings. But that was easier said than done as her own research budget was limited, and access to cutting-edge equipment was costly. Besides, even if she somehow manages to find the equipment and have the money to lease its use, she might not get access on the grounds that her research was a dead end. Graviton research was not that interesting to the scientific community at large because of the rarity or impossibility of its existence. Her own father was of the opinion that Graviton research was a dead-end, which made her eager to pursue the elusive particle.

While there were huge implications to the inexistence of Graviton, it outweighed the pros if it existed. Her research so far has made her convinced about the existence of Graviton, and she was sure this quantum of gravity, if studied closely, would unravel the secrets of an Einstein-Rosen bridge, which had innumerable applications. Gravity was, after all, a universal power prevalent in the entire universe, binding it together. She strongly believed her research could contribute significantly to string theory, which has so far contributed so much to the scientific community despite its remaining just a theory. Half of the math she used in her own research came from the subsidiary research into String theory.

"I can see smoke coming out of your ears, Jane."

A voice from her immediate back startled her, but she calmed down when she noticed it was her friend Karen Rose.

"Oh, it's you. You startled me. Can't you just knock before you come in? I nearly had a heart attack," Jane complained as she swivelled around in her chair and stared at her friend, unimpressed.

"I did knock on your door several times. You were just in your own little world." said Karen, smiling impishly.

"Sorry. I was just working." Jane sighed.

"Yeah. I can see that. You have bags under your eyes, girl. You need to get some sleep."

"What I need is more coffee," said Jane hoping to get back to her work to no avail.

"No. What you need is a good night's sleep and some fresh air. Now, come on. Get up. I am driving you to your apartment."

Jane didn't want to, but after consistent nagging from her friend, she caved in, and that's how she found herself in Karen's car.

"You have to take this slow, you know. You are just twenty-one, Jane, and already you are a research fellow. Most people don't have a diploma at your age."

"What are you saying?" asked Jane, frowning at her friend.

"I'm saying to take slow, measured steps. We can't change the world in a single day, much less a year. You are young, so enjoy life a little bit. It might even give you a fresh perspective on how you view the world."

"This coming from someone who is just two years older than me." said Jane with a deadpan look.

"That makes me two years wiser than you, and I have been taking this motivation class a few blocks from my home just to keep my edge, you know. I am just giving you the advice I received from better people who know life better than you or me," said Karen with a shrug.

Jane rolled her eyes at Karen's comment and merely stayed silent. When the car turned a corner, and her apartment drew close, she let out a relieved sigh. As the car pulled over to the street, she was out of the door and on the sidewalk by Karen's window in a flash.

"My…you have some speed on you, Jane. In a hurry to be with your cute boyfriend?" asked Karen with a wink.

"He is not my boyfriend. Wait…what do you mean cute? How did you see him?" she asked suspiciously.

"You are not that difficult to track and I know you go out with the guy on dinner."

"But that's just because we go to the same restaurant." she said indignantly.

"You tell yourself that. From what I saw, you were cosy enough with the guy. What was his name again?"

Jane didn't get to answer as a guy barged into her, pushing her away from the car. She fell down on the street and flinched as her assailant fired a gun up in the air. She tried to get up, but her right arm flared up with pain, and she fell back with a hiss.

Her assailant dragged Karen out of the car, and then the security guard of her building barged into the thief. Punches and kicks were thrown between them, and then a gunshot. She felt wet, and a woman was screaming like there was no tomorrow. Her vision blurred as she fell, but her head didn't hit the road. All she saw was a set of sparkling grey eyes and sandy blonde hair before darkness consumed her.