"I’m sure everyone present has gone through the video of the exploration many times. It’s true that the team escaped death by the breath of a hair, and we’ve also come across many inexplicable questions. I hope some of them have been answered in the 13 days I was asleep."
Yao Yuan had asked for a meeting at the war-room the afternoon he was discharged from the hospital. Attendees included the rest of the exploration team and representatives from the Academy, Barracks, and Workshop.
Yao Yuan continued, "First, I would like to know why there is a danger zone 300 kilometers around the warship husks. Is it caused by electromagnetic, or radio-signal interference, or some other more advanced hampering technology? And most importantly, is there a way to bypass it?"
All the scientists shifted their heads away from Yao Yuan until the leader stood up and said, "Captain, we’ve fired off 5 more sets of the pilotless airships in the past 13 days using special devices to counter both electromagnetic and radio-signal interference, but they were to no avail. All forms of electronic signals disappeared the moment they entered the danger zone… it was like the area barred the entry of all electronic signals."
"So we still can’t find a reason, huh?" Yao Yuan frowned, but he added conciliatorily, "That’s fine. After all, we’re dealing with a more advanced civilization, so I’m sure the mystery will be solved in time… Well, let’s move on to the next set of questions. How do the robot guards achieve mobility? I noticed that they didn’t have an exhaust or propellers to aid in their movement, so how do they move so easily through zero-gravity space?"
"They rely on some kind of electromagnetic force."
This time it was Bo Li who stood up. She added, "Based on the analysis on the robot samples that were brought back, the circular plate that held them up were electromagnetic products. As long as they are in a metallic environment, they can rely on the electromagnetic tension formed between the plate and the metallic surface for the purpose of movement. Furthermore, there is a mini particle accelerator inside the circular plate to help with changing of directions and speeds.
"Not only that, we’ve managed to unveil the 3 types of weapon these robots carry. The first is a set of high-voltage tentacle arms that are perfect for close-quarter combat.
"Second is a type of medium artillery that’s similar to our own modified space rifles. They are the least harmful because I believe they are designed to be used inside the warship, so they won’t pose much harm to the ship’s structure.
The last is a type of Gaussian electromagnetic weaponry. It is definitely not something that can be used inside the warship. In space, it can fire off bullets that could reach up to the speed of 2840 kilometers per second. That’s almost 1/100 of the speed of light! The ammo for these weapons is some sort of metallic spheres that are about 10 nanometers in size. Its destructive power is immense. For example, it could easily shred the Hope’s walls like they’re made of paper!"
Bo Li’s revelation sent chills down Yao Yuan’s spine. After he collected himself, he continued, "So it is as I predicted. These robots are not only used for defense, they’re used for offense as well… Is there anything else you’ve found out from the robots?"
Bo Li sat down to let another researcher take the floor. Yao Yuan recognized this person. He was the Hope’s expert on computer hardware. He was leading the effort to dissect and understand the Hope’s central mainframe.
"Captain, we managed to salvage some processing chips from the robots’ internal framework. They are slightly more powerful than our conventional CPU, albeit much more compact in size. However…" the researcher paused, scratching his chin. "The chip contains some sort of external lock that destabilizes most of its uses. This lock also acts as a form of cell... something…"
"Cellular battery," Bo Li beside him offered.
"Yes, cellular battery. It could release a contained electrical charge almost instantly if it receives the signal to do so. The charge is powerful enough to create a plasmatic explosion that could easily wipe out the chip and its surrounding structure," the researcher concluded with a sigh.
Yao Yuan was stunned. He was unsure of the chip’s significance until Chou Yue poked Ren Tao in his back, who then lazily added, "We’ve looked over this set-up’s purpose while you were asleep and we’ve narrowed it down to several possibilities. First is to prevent their technology from being stolen, and another is as a self-destructive last resort.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login