Chapter 2: I’ve Got the Power!

“What is the next technology?” I asked.

Agent continued her update, “The second item released which will provide enormous help to you is compact efficient power generation. For the past nine centuries, power production on the planet was purposely limited to hinder any remaining rogue elements. Where before only solar and wind turbine power were allowed, now there is a much better solution.”

An image appeared on the wall screen. It was of a complicated looking rectangular box with a sphere on one end and a long cylinder wrapped in coils protruding from the other end. A generic human figure appeared next to the box providing a reference scale and I saw that the object was about the size of a railroad locomotive.

“This is a compact fusion power generator,” Agent said.

“The device produces electrical energy directly by harnessing the charged particles produced by an aneutronic fusion reaction of isotopically pure hydrogen and boron. It produces relatively low levels of neutrons or other harmful byproducts although the levels of hard X-rays and gamma radiation are higher than fusion reactors of other types. In addition to the main conductive power generation loops which harness the charged particles created by the fusion reaction, this device also captures the high numbers of photons produced during the fusion reaction by utilizing secondary photovoltaic plates surrounding the main flux channel. This allows the device to achieve maximum efficiencies for its size.”

“Where does it get the fuel ... the boron and pure hydrogen?” I asked, trying to absorb all this quickly.

A new device appeared on the screen next to the locomotive sized reactor. This one was a bit smaller but still fairly large.

“A second device is used to provide the fuel. This device is a large-scale conversion device and is used to remove and accumulate the natural boron present in most water sources. The device will also separate hydrogen from the water and convert it to an isotopically pure form. The device does consume a great deal of electrical energy to produce the fusion fuel products, however, and in the case of the reactor and conversion device shown in the image, the energy usage is around fifty megawatts continuously. This amount is slightly higher than half the ninety-six megawatts of continuous electrical energy the fusion reactor produces.

“That loss of efficiency is more than compensated for by the ease of obtaining the fusion fuel which is simply just a good supply of fresh or salt water. A side benefit is that the unused water passing through the conversion device is utilized to remove the waste heat lost by the operating reactor.”

I processed that for a moment.

“So, the reactor has a net output of forty-six megawatts ... continuously?”

“Yes, John,” Agent answered.

“And this reactor and device are portable?” I asked, imagining the huge aircraft or ship I’d need to carry such a reactor.

“Yes, the power generation devices are portable. However, due to the high levels of X-rays and gamma radiation, you would not be allowed nearby without heavy shielding and such shielding mass would hamper your ability to travel quickly. In addition, the moving reactor would not be covert as the neutrino flux emitted could be easily detected from anywhere on the planet or in space above if it were moving, and thus this source of power is better suited to a fixed location.

“Over the past few centuries, I have constructed numerous such power generation facilities. The first was near the Tennessee base, but located deep underground to shelter the base above from the gamma and X-ray radiation hazards. I utilized the Yellow River water system for fuel supplies and cooling.

“Soon after, I constructed more power generators at various work and mitigation sites around the region. These power generation facilities now provide the bulk of the power needed by my operations in the area. To date, the various A.I. presences on your world have constructed almost four thousand such power generation facilities.”

Interestingly, Agent had become the new TVA of this era. I pictured large power lines running across the landscape from these new plants to its various projects.

“In addition to the various ‘known’ power generation facilities I have constructed around the region; I have also constructed two ‘unknown’ hidden facilities. The energy produced by these will be devoted to your needs as their output is not monitored by the overall data network and the clandestine energy usage will not be missed. To allow for these hidden facilities to remain undetected, each was constructed at a deeper level directly below one of the known fusion reactors I had already constructed. Thus, the neutrino flux emitted from the hidden facility is masked by that produced by the ‘known’ facility above it.

“The first of the hidden generation facilities was constructed near the remains of the former Sequoyah Nuclear power station almost two centuries ago. The damage and mitigation efforts there were extensive and justified the construction of a ‘known’ power generator near that site. The heavy construction happening in the area also covered the hidden facilities construction later.”

The wall screen now showed an overhead view of the former nuclear power plant. The time elapsed image showed Agent’s various units at work over the decades, digging into the plant and removing its toxic and hazardous soil and waste. Eventually, a green forested area was all that remained along the river in that area. The view then shifted into an angled three-dimensional rendering and extending under the area I could see a deep shaft and a new subterranean cavern being constructed. There, the work units created an enormous chamber and placed in it the fusion generator. Various small tunnels were shown dug up to the river at various places.

“The second hidden generation facility was constructed in a similar manner under the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant cleanup site in Alabama just under a century ago. Both hidden power production facilities are controlled by an independent semi-intelligent processor and do not require my oversight to operate.

“They are capable of rebuilding and repairing themselves as parts fail due to embrittlement and other attrition and thus should continue to operate indefinitely. In addition, the physical data connections to both controlling intelligences were severed shortly after they were constructed and since that time, they have each operated completely independently and cut off from all outside contact.”

I was confused. Agent had constructed me my own fusion power plant ... two of them. But it had cut ties to them and not communicated with them since they were first built! That made no sense. I wondered where the power lines from those power plants went and how I’d be able to fill my ESU’s from them in secret.

“Agent, how will I get the power? Where are the power lines? Are they buried or something?

“The solution to that dilemma is provided by the third item of new technology which I will now explain,” the machine answered.

The image of the hidden power station in eastern Tennessee was removed and replaced with an image that showed one of the big energy storage unit (ESU) modules that had existed back in the field base in Tennessee. Next to that, the image of one of the smaller portable ESU’s Agent had used to provide power to the aircraft and other equipment appeared,

“You should be familiar with the energy storage units or ESUs which were utilized in the past. Those units used entangled particles to form a dark matter bridge to a pocket bubble in subspace. The tunnels remain stable and targeted on both the ESU module and the subspace pocket by using entangled particles that exist at each end of the tunnel. The subspace bubble is used to store an enormous amount of electricity. Thus, to simplify, those ESUs functioned similarly to what you know of as a ‘rechargeable battery’.

“With the new technology, those ESUs have now been augmented by a new device that utilizes binary pairs of entangled particles to allow for twin dark matter tunnels to target the same pocket bubble in subspace. This new device, which is used in pairs, is referred to as a dual entangled tunneling device,” she said.

A third device appeared alongside the images of the big base ESU and the smaller beer-keg sized portable ESU. It was much smaller than the main base ESU but slightly bigger than the portable ESU. The new unit, or ‘dual entangled tunneling device’ resembled a water heater, about the same diameter as the beer keg sized portable ESU but twice as tall.

Agent continued, “Simply put, the subspace pocket bubble can now be filled with electrical energy by using one dual entangled tunneling device which is directly coupled to a power generation source. Simultaneously, another dual entangled tunneling device targeted upon the same subspace pocket bubble as the first can then be used to draw electrical energy out from the same bubble for consumption. The dual entangled tunneling devices do not have to be physically near each other,” the machine said.

I paused to think about that. Dual entangled tunneling devices. I think I understood what Agent was trying to explain.

“So, if I understand what you are describing. You hook one of these new devices to a power source like the new fusion reactor and it charges the subspace storage pocket up with electrical energy. Then you can use a second device located somewhere else to access that power and draw it out to run your machinery ... or aircraft ... or whatever?” I asked.

“Yes, John. That is basically correct. But consider that the second dual entangled tunneling device—’”

I interrupted, “Let’s just call them DETs for ‘dual entangled tunneler’ Agent, to keep this simple.”

The machine continued, “As I was explaining, the second ‘DET’ may even reside in nearby space. However, there are efficiency losses in the energy transfer between the two locations as they move further apart in space-time. Light speed induced spatial frame dragging effects cause the loss in the energy transfer by imposing unwanted reverberations in the entangled particles. The reverberations bleed off energy as it is transferred. Since the vibrations grow stronger with distance, the losses become too high to be useful as the receiving DET moves too far away.

“To give examples, increasing the distance between the sending DET and the receiving DET to distances similar to being on the other side of the Earth would result in slightly less than half of the energy able to be drawn out as was put in. At lunar distances, the transfer loss would become too severe to be useful,” the machine explained.

Whoosh. Most of that went over my head but my ape brain caught enough to get the gist. The further away I was, the less energy I’d have access to.

“But you basically are saying that I won’t have to worry about power on my travels?” I summarized.

“That is correct, John. I had connected each hidden fusion power generator to a DET transmitter device located in the same deep caverns as the power generators before I severed communication with those generators. Those DETs continue to transmit the electrical energy from those facilities to a subspace pocket bubble. You will be able to access that energy by taking along the paired receiver DET with you while you travel.

“With the two power generation facilities, each with its own DET transmitter device, you will have redundant power with levels near the continental United States of over forty megawatts continuous each or eighty megawatts total. As you travel to say ... just southwest of India (yep, I was busted), the distance losses will reduce the available energy down to twenty-one megawatts each or just over forty-one total megawatts which you can draw on.”

Wow, even with the distance losses, forty megawatts of steady power was still a LOT of power.

“I can understand the redundancy, but why did you stop at two DETs Agent?”

“Creating the dual entangled binary particles requires a great amount of effort and involves random chance. Thousands of attempts must be made before random chance produces pairs of entangled particles targeted on the same subspace pocket. They must be produced near simultaneously at nearly the exact energy and vibration levels. These conditions take time to prepare. In the two centuries in which this new technology has been available, I have managed to create fourteen such dual entangled binary pairs.

“I am only able to divert two such binary pairs groups towards your use as any more would have triggered an investigation into my lack of efficiency regarding particle production. Furthermore, the energy produced by the two hidden fusion generation facilities could not be utilized towards the further production of binary entangled particle pairs as that energy was being used at this location to expand the facilities here and to construct equipment needed for your journey. The main equipment item being the means for you to complete your travels safely and in secret,” the machine explained.

I considered that. Agent had used the power from the two hidden fusion plants to construct this base and my equipment, and it had been doing so for many decades. I wondered what it had built. I next learned I was about to find out.

“Would you like to see what I have constructed here, John?” the machine asked.

I wondered at its phrasing. Was it teasing me? Or was it serious in that I might have other desires right now?

“Of course, Agent, let’s go see.”

The lights in the small room brightened and the viewscreen switched off.

Agent instructed me to bring the goggles as I got up to head to the exit door. Beyond was a short corridor terminating at a long tunnel. Agent instructed me to turn right when I reached the tunnel and follow it to its end. At the junction, I paused and inspected the tunnel. It was constructed like many of the other underground structures built by Agent with a glass smooth surface of fused earth and rock.

The tunnel was large at about two meters wide by two meters tall and its floor was flat for about a meter and a half before rounding up to form curving walls and an arched roof. There were numerous conduits and cables attached to the far side wall of the tunnel and one of the conduits emitted a dim light every five meters or so providing just enough light to see the floor. I was shocked to see the lights went on ahead to what looked like infinity. I put on the goggles to use the light amplification to help see clearly.

Proceeding down the tunnel I noticed a stiff breeze of air pushing me along. I reasoned that this was one of the air shafts supplying air to the facility ahead. The large size of the tunnel must mean that the facility was big. After following the dimly lit tunnel for a few hundred meters I finally asked Agent how far away the facility was.

“Slightly under two kilometers, John.” she answered via the goggles’ headband.

Huh, that’s a bit of a walk. I started jogging in my cushioned socks. I quickly ate up the distance and the activity felt great. After five minutes I passed a series of thick frames which I guessed were blast doors of some type. Another few minutes of jogging brought me to another series of doors.

“Agent, what are these doors for?”

“The medical crèche you resided in was located remotely from the main facility for protection in the event of an explosion or other hazard occurring during construction activities. The doors would have sealed the tunnel off from the main facility instantly if an event had occurred.”

Interesting. I continued jogging and a few minutes later noticed the tunnel beginning to ascend slightly. A minute later it ended at a large chamber. This chamber was huge! The floor had to be almost forty meters across and the curved ceiling over twenty high. It extended hundreds of meters and I was unclear where it ended. It was filled with equipment and mobile units busy moving around on some business or other. It was not very well lit though with only a few lights scattered about.

“Agent, why is it so dark?”

“I have little need for lighting to perform most manufacturing and construction tasks, John. My devices and mobile units use multiple sensors and have infrared illumination if needed. The local network prevents any collisions between units as they are all tracked continually,” Agent said.