Age of Cosmic Exploration - Chapter 106

The Gaussian gun felt hefty in Yao Yuan’s hand.
Although, to be fair, what he held in his hand wasn’t actual Gaussian weaponry. Those were still impossible for man at the time to make. What he had was a simplified prototype.
Actual Gaussian weaponry, or electromagnetic weaponry, destroys its target at the atomic level. Its projectiles create an electromagnetic vortex that disrupts atomic stability through the formation of bipolar magnetic fields.
The Gaussian prototypes created by Bo Li’s lab were weak imitations. Using magnetic coils in the configuration of a linear motor, they formed accelerators that could shoot out projectiles at high velocity. The accumulative magnetic pulse formed by the succession of coils and small projectile mass added up to a high velocity bullet. Theoretically speaking, with the increase in voltage and decrease in projectile mass, the bullet could even reach light-speed!
And the faster the projectile traveled, the greater the damage it could inflict. According to experiments done by Bo Li’s lab, the prototypes they had had a range of several tens of thousands meters. In other words, if its gunner had a good aim, he or she could incapacitate Earth’s hardest tank from tens of thousands meters away with just one shot.
Needless to say, before it, even man’s sturdiest armor vest was as flimsy as paper.
To conclude, even though the Gaussian weaponry created in Bo Li’s lab wasn’t at its optimum form, it could already deal immense damage to its target. That was the reason it was touted as the invention that would usher in the 4th industrial revolution!
Before they venture into the junkyard, Yao Yuan took time to predict all possible dangers that they could encounter. The biggest possibility was the threat of automated defense robots, not unlike the ones found on the Hope.
The reason for this assumption was the glowing bigger pieces floating among the sea of spaceship scraps. The fact that they still gave out a weak glow meant that they still contained energy, and it was not unlikely that this energy was strong enough to activate automated defenses. Based on the spaceship’s technological level, those defenses would either be a robot fleet or immobile turrets. Either way, it was going to be a challenge for the 12 unit party… Yao Yuan feared the gap in the technologies might be too big for them to overcome.
Take for an example the best weaponry during the first industrial revolution, the flintlock. It was the best gun one could find at the time, but if faced with a gunner wielding even the worst rifle of the third industrial revolution, it would be nothing more than a piece of junk. That was the fear Yao Yuan had.
The presence of Bo Li’s Gaussian gun was thus a calming salvo. Yao Yuan knew fights weren’t won by confidence and bravery alone. They needed actual firearms to back that up.
"This firearm uses the most durable metal among all the special metals created by the alien plant. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about it clogging or exploding. The one aspect you need to worry about though is its energy preservation system…
"I’ve used the superconductive metal to make the magnetic coils, but I still can’t find a good energy source. Several groups are working on a new battery design using the same superconductive metal, but there are still several technical issues we need to iron out. Give us another six months and I promise we can present to you the prototype 2," Bo Li concluded.
But Yao Yuan knew they didn’t have another six months to wait. They were inching closer to their destination by the day; therefore, he holstered the Gaussian gun and left.
"…Bo Li, thank you… for your recommendation of that rice cakes stall. They were indeed delicious," Yao Yuan said as he stepped out of the room.
"Of course, you dummy… they are my recommendations after all…" Bo Li uttered after a while, surprised by the random comment.

Yao Yuan’s next destination was supposed to be another science lab, but he believed the place would be deserted because it was lunch time, so he took a detour to the canteen.
Yao Yuan finished his lunch hurriedly and arrived at the other lab at around 1 PM. This was the bionic new material lab hosted by Ivan.
Yao Yuan feared he was too early because he hadn't spotted anyone on his way there. Therefore, it was to his surprise that he found Ivan busy arranging a huge stack of files on his table when he stepped into the lab.
"Captain, I didn’t expect you to be here so soon. Sorry for the mess," said a flustered Ivan as he stood up to offer Yao Yuan a cup from the nearby dispenser.
Yao Yuan smiled kindly in return. He held a secret admiration for Ivan, the Hope’s other whisperer, because not only did his brilliance save everyone on Planet Sahara, it was thanks to his chemical potion that the Hope would have access to the incredibly useful crystal reactors. This was not even mentioning the passion that he had shown when he used his life to protect the potion formula during the lab explosion. The fact that Ivan was still working while everyone else was out for a break further increased the admiration Yao Yuan had for this young man. Yao Yuan found his dedication commendable.
Yao Yuan accepted the water cup politely and smiled. "You don’t need to be so courteous, Dr. Ivan. It’s me who should be sorry for disturbing you. I heard from the patrols that you have been working late for the past month."
Ivan smiled bashfully. "My working hours are normally that long, so the added hours are nothing… Plus, Captain, you don’t need to worry about that affecting my performance. As the whisperer, many times I will subconsciously enter a working state even without the need to memorize important details. The power has wired my brain that way. Nevertheless, it is also thanks to this power that we’re been able to finish creating these 12 new spacesuits within this past month."
Ivan then walked to a door that sat at the end of his lab. He opened it to reveal 12 silver spacesuits. Based on touch alone, they appeared to be thinner than the spacesuits they currently had.
"By mimicking the cellular arrangement of the alien plant, we are able to create this new spacesuit using the latest ceramic-embedding and nano-sewing technologies. This type of spacesuit is at least half the weight of our current one. Matter of fact, why don’t you give one a try, Captain?" Ivan retrieved a spacesuit from the closet and handed it gingerly to Yao Yuan.
Because Yao Yuan had a part in the design of these spacesuits, he knew of their importance and worth. It had taken about six different scientific committees to produce these 12 spacesuits. The time, effort, and not to mention materials that were poured into just one of these spacesuits could buy a Boeing 747.
The moment the spacesuit fell into Yao Yuan’s hands, he could instantly feel the difference in weight. Their current spacesuits, even though they were already one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century, weighed at about 40 kilograms each with the added accoutrements like liquid oxygen tank, communicator, and homeostatic systems.
This new spacesuit, even with all these built-in accessories, weighed at about 20 kilograms, and that difference could do wonders for its wearer’s dexterity and agility!
Spotting Yao Yuan’s surprised face, Ivan smiled proudly. "I’m glad you noticed the change in weight, Captain. Previously, that was our biggest hindrance when we traversed planets or asteroids with gravity, because strong gravitational force would weigh us down. However, with this new spacesuit, that worry is effectively cut in half. And this is done without taking out any of the important life support systems. Furthermore, an elastic material is used to pad the suit at its joints, so its flexibility is also much better than the ones we currently have."
Yao Yuan studied the spacesuit like it was some newfound treasure, which, in a way, it was, before finally asking, "How about its defensive capability?"
Ivan answered with pride suffusing his voice. "For that, we’ve borrowed much inspiration from the alien plant’s cellular structure. We realized that their hexagonal cells are arranged like a beehive, and the distance between each one was highly calculated to provide the best durability. We used ceramic threads to create a similar pattern, and our lab experiment revealed that this pattern is so durable because it is able to effectively disperse the force at the point of impact. With the exception of a sniper rifle, whose penetration is too strong, other known bullets and projectiles are unable to harm the wearer of this spacesuit. Even the sniper rifle only managed to pierce half of the material."
"That is indeed great news! Thank you so much for your efforts."
Yao Yuan almost jumped up in joy. Caressing the spacesuit with a dazed look in his eyes, he added, "Like all new discoveries, let’s give it a name. How about aerospace combat suit prototype 1?!"