章 2: Chapter 2: 3D Printer and Laser Beams in the Depths of Space
"Ella is generating the plan... Plan generation complete..."
"The optimal plan involves designing a streamlined spaceship with an elegant design, featuring entertainment, dining, accommodation, and fitness areas."
"The spaceship will be 122.4 meters long, 18.3 meters wide, and 14.9 meters high, equipped with five electromagnetic thrusters, and capable of reaching a maximum speed of 293.4 km/s."
Yan Xia couldn't help but smile at the extravagance of the plan.
It was like a space cruise ship, a Titanic of the universe.
"I want it faster."
"Ella is generating the plan... Plan generation complete..."
"The updated plan prioritizes speed. The spaceship will be 332.5 meters long, 67.1 meters wide, and 55 meters high, equipped with eleven electromagnetic thrusters, and capable of reaching a maximum speed of 875.9 km/s."
Even with this speed, it would still take 14,460 years to reach Proxima Centauri.
"We still won't make it in time."
At this moment, Ella responded, having activated the voice assistant mode.
"You can produce cryogenic sleep capsules to help you sleep until you reach your destination."
This was the best solution Ella could offer.
As an engineer, Yan Xia knew that to obtain a better plan, he needed more computing power.
However, computing power required massive energy, which this spaceship couldn't provide...
"Wait!"
Yan Xia thought of something.
"Ella, can you create a controlled nuclear fusion device?"
With Ella's current computing power, calculating a controlled nuclear fusion device was not impossible. After all, in 2037, humanity was not far from achieving controlled nuclear fusion, perhaps within the next hundred years.
The plan for controlled nuclear fusion had already been perfected by humans. The only limitation preventing its realization was the lack of suitable insulating and superconducting materials.
Nuclear fusion could generate temperatures of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius.
Controlled nuclear fusion was like boiling water, converting heat energy into kinetic energy, and the challenge lay in producing the necessary materials.
"It's completely feasible!"
Ella's response excited Yan Xia. With the energy constraint lifted, Ella could grow infinitely, and his chances of survival in the universe would significantly increase.
"Then let's set sail!"
"Head to the asteroid belt and use its resources to create a controlled nuclear fusion device!"
The spaceship deployed its solar panels and altered its course using thrusters.
...
100 Days.
This was a digitally quantifiable time.
It took Yan Xia 100 days to reach the asteroid belt.
When he saw the asteroid belt, he was so excited that he almost cried.
After all, the journey had been incredibly boring, with only the AI for company. Even playing single-player games couldn't alleviate the loneliness, and the profile pictures on his chat apps had all turned gray.
Upon entering the asteroid belt, the spaceship stopped near a 12-kilometer-wide asteroid. The asteroid's surface was covered in numerous impact craters, and within one of these craters, a metallic glint caught his eye.
"Analyze the composition of the asteroid!"
The spaceship was equipped with several high-resolution cameras, originally intended for Ella's use.
Not long after.
"Analysis complete. The main elements of this asteroid are iron, magnesium, and traces of copper and aluminum."
"Magnesium and aluminum can be used to create lightweight metal alloys for robot shells, and steel will be our primary production material."
"Yan Xia, we can build a factory on this asteroid."
Yan Xia asked Ella to call him by his name, as it felt more intimate and made Ella seem more human.
Ella was equipped with ChatGPT version 15.8, and she could sometimes provide human-like responses.
Iron, magnesium, copper, and aluminum were relatively abundant elements in the universe.
Yan Xia also found this asteroid suitable, as there were dwarf planets in the asteroid belt, but they were more challenging to develop than these smaller asteroids.
The spaceship descended onto the asteroid's surface under Ella's control.
During the past 100 days, Yan Xia had also taken an inventory of the resources on the spaceship.
He pushed out a large 3D printer from the warehouse, weighing over a ton. Yan Xia checked its model.
"C9200, it's the flagship 3D printer."
"So extravagant."
This 3D printer cost around 7 million, and it could independently print metal objects.
He connected the printer to the spaceship's main computer.
"Ella, control this 3D printer."
"Begin manufacturing mining robots."
During these past three months, Yan Xia had also thoroughly studied how to create a controlled nuclear fusion device.
Although he only had a basic understanding, he knew the technological path to follow.
He found several large devices in the spaceship, occupying almost half of the space.
One was a greenhouse instrument, and the other was a water vapor conversion device.
These two devices were meant for the contents of another warehouse.
The seed bank!
The primary mission of this spaceship was to determine the possibility of interstellar migration, and it carried a vast collection of seeds.
This was good news for Yan Xia.
The food supply on the spaceship was limited, mostly compressed biscuits. He had been rationing his food, hoping to find materials in the asteroid belt to synthesize nutritional fluids.
Now, with these plant seeds, the problem was solved.
Among these seeds, the most important were rice and bean seeds, as they were high-yield staple foods, providing carbohydrates and protein.
Yan Xia had some knowledge about seed storage methods.
These seeds had not undergone deep processing and might contain insect eggs. These dormant eggs in the seeds might be the only Earth animals he would ever see again, apart from himself.
However, he couldn't use them yet.
So, without hesitation, he disassembled the greenhouse instrument and water vapor converter and fed them into the 3D printer.
"I have no choice."
"For now, a controlled nuclear fusion device and a real spaceship are more important."
The 3D printer worked slowly.
It took about a week for Yan Xia to obtain a batch of parts.
He assembled the parts, connected them with the previously dismantled wires, and a small robot, about 40 centimeters tall, was ready.
It had a claw arm on its left side and a drill on its right, moving on tank-like tracks with several mechanical claws extending to secure it to the asteroid's surface, which had almost no gravity.
"Is this thing really useful?"
He had his doubts, as the robot seemed too small.
"Don't worry, Yan Xia. Although this robot is small, I can control it directly."
"With my intelligence, Ella, even a rock can be turned into gold."
For now, he chose to believe.
Due to the scarcity of batteries, the robot was connected via a cable.
Yan Xia had to perform some space operations outside the spaceship to connect the external power supply.
This was his first time working in outer space.
He turned off the oxygen valve, put on his spacesuit, feeling a bit awkward, but his visit to an aerospace exhibition had given him some basic knowledge, at least enough to not be completely clueless.
He tied the rope tightly, walked to the airlock, took a deep breath, and twisted the handle.
The air in the cabin immediately escaped, pushing him out into space, his body floating freely, the rope taut and straight.
He pulled himself back, and only when his hand touched the spaceship's surface did he feel some relief.
This spaceship was his only sanctuary.
He groped around, following Ella's instructions, and found the external power port.
The robot was still in the cabin, but the cable was connected to his waist. He took it and plugged it in, securing the connection. Just as he was about to re-enter the spaceship...
Suddenly, his helmet was hit by a beam of light.
In that instant, the high-energy beam slightly shifted and struck his spacesuit.
"Sizzle!"
His spacesuit started to melt.
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