Chapter 6 (Tower Island Power Station II): Natural Support

June 2029, Capital City of Shuo, Liang Nation

Mr. E, head of Liang Nation’s T Project, sat on the wide single sofa in his office, with Michael Max and Professor Braun seated to his side.

Exchanging a glance with Professor Braun, Mr. E addressed Michael, “Our great explorer, Michael, I’ve heard you have a plan for applying Tesla’s superwave theory.”

“Yes,” Michael replied, “I’ve already conducted a field survey with Professor Braun. We plan to erect a structure 180,000 kilometers high on Heno Vesa Island at the equator—also called Tower Island—to construct the first superwave power station.”

“Hmm, the professor has briefed me. That’s exactly why I asked you here. Professor, please share our thoughts.”

“Let me start with the conclusion: we are opposed to recklessly building a superwave power station on Earth,” Professor Braun broke from his usual style of arguing before concluding. “Our understanding of superwaves may not yet be deep enough; blindly constructing such a station on Earth could lead to consequences we cannot afford.”

“There may be risks, but how will we know if we don’t try?”

Michael Max was about to continue his argument but was interrupted by Professor Braun, who said, “Of course we can experiment, but to be cautious, we recommend that the first station be built on another celestial body, such as the Moon.”

Leaning forward, eyes shining with determination and reason, Michael explained the various factors he had considered.

Nikola Tesla’s superwave theory has already been validated. In outer space, anywhere within the solar system, if one could build a continuous structure 180,000 kilometers long, it could absorb the entire wavelength of the superwave, converting that energy into electricity—thus creating a so-called superwave power station.

Michael believed that a superwave power station could effectively solve two urgent needs: the first was the explosive, geometric increase in computational power required by advanced artificial intelligence models, for which electricity had already become a bottleneck; the second was the vast amount of energy needed for humanity to exploit space resources or even settle other planets.

Michael’s original plan was: build a power station on Earth to boost computing power; build stations on the Moon or Mars with electricity mainly used to exploit space resources or establish settlements.

Building the first station on Earth had the distinct advantage of low construction costs, and once operational, the power transmission costs would also be minimal.

If the station was built beyond Earth—even on the closest celestial body, the Moon—transmitting electricity back to Earth would not just be an issue of high cost, but something technically unfeasible at the current level of engineering.

Mr. E raised his hand to signal Michael to pause and pointed out a perspective Michael, due to his position, had not considered:

“Although Tesla’s theory has not been officially published, it’s hardly a secret anymore. Intelligence indicates that several major powers are eagerly preparing to build superwave power stations on Earth. Low cost may not be an advantage for us.”

Professor Braun’s objection to building an experimental station on Earth stemmed entirely from scientific caution and respect for natural laws, without regard to political factors.

Mr. E continued, “Since 1936, we have kept Nikola Tesla’s secret, largely because the threshold for applying it is so low. We will promote international treaties—and are prepared to use military threats if necessary—to prohibit anyone from building a superwave power station on Earth, to ensure Liang Nation’s current lead.”

Professor Braun now fully understood that building a superwave power station on Earth was out of the question. He turned to Michael and asked, “If we built the station on the Moon, which is closest to Earth, would the payload capacity of the reusable Bird Hunter 5 rocket from Acebay Corporation be sufficient?”

Michael shook his head. “If we leave Earth—even to build on the relatively close Moon—the difficulty and cost of the project would rise sharply. The 180,000-kilometer-long carbon fiber tube itself isn’t the main issue. The real challenge is the massive auxiliary supports, which would require enormous payload capacity.”

Michael gathered his thoughts and further analyzed the goals, costs, and engineering feasibility.

If no station could be built on Earth, then the urgent demand for computational power would have to wait. The focus should shift to maximizing the value of space resource utilization within controllable costs and technical feasibility.

Obviously, mining the Moon and shipping resources back to Earth was a straightforward direction. But after calculations, Michael found that a lunar power station was not the lowest-cost or most technically viable option.

Professor Braun, a top astrophysicist but a layman in engineering and cost-benefit analysis, stared at Michael in confusion. “On any celestial body beyond Earth, we’d have to ship both the carbon fiber tubes and the massive auxiliary supports from Earth. The Moon is the closest—shouldn’t that mean the lowest cost?”

Michael smiled mysteriously and, as if changing the subject, said, “Do you remember that charity auction? The item I won there might help us find the auxiliary supports needed for a Martian superwave station.”

The professor was baffled. “That broken Mayan pottery jar? What does that have to do with Martian superwave station supports?”

Michael grinned. “Some secrets can’t be revealed just yet. It was your brilliant daughter Daphne’s thesis that gave me the idea.”

Professor Braun pondered. Michael Max must be planning to manufacture the massive, otherwise unshippable auxiliary supports using local materials on the Moon or Mars.

Humans had explored the Moon much more than Mars. The Moon’s loose surface soil made sampling easy, but on Mars, soil samples had only been taken from a depth of ten centimeters—meaning humanity knew little about what lay beneath the Martian surface.

Professor Braun had originally assumed that, aside from Earth, Michael would naturally choose the Moon as the first target for a space power station. For the professor, it was a win-win: not only could a superwave station be built, but Michael’s company’s equipment could also be used to conduct an important experiment.

In 1936, Nikola Tesla published a paper, “The Dynamic Theory of Gravity,” proposing the superwave hypothesis and reinterpreting gravity.

The superwave hypothesis had been validated, but the gravitational principle Tesla proposed was truly astonishing. Skeptical yet intrigued, Professor Braun had designed an experiment, for which the Moon was an ideal site.

Returning to the day’s topic, Professor Braun raised his head and asked, “If you found a way to manufacture supports on Mars from local materials, would Mars—not the Moon—become your preferred location for the first superwave power station?”

“Yes,” Michael replied. “It’s not just a matter of cost. Mars is much more promising for colonization than the Moon. My true goal is building and even terraforming Mars, though that will take a very long time and astronomical funding.” He smacked his lips, then added, “Last time on the island, you mentioned wanting to conduct a gravity experiment on the Moon. Can you tell me more about it?”

“My lunar experiment would be much easier than building a superwave station, though still a vast undertaking. It’s a long story—I’ll tell you about it on the way home,” Professor Braun said calmly.

Mr. E lifted his coffee cup, and before concluding the meeting, addressed Michael, “Today’s message is simple: you cannot build a superwave station on Earth. As for Mars or the Moon, report back once you have a concrete plan. But remember, this is a private market initiative. As long as it doesn’t threaten the Earth or Liang Nation’s interests, we won’t interfere.”

He put down his cup and spread his hands. “Since it’s a market initiative, you’ll need to raise the funds yourselves—there’s no government budget for this.”

Michael Max rose and bid Mr. E farewell. “To raise funds, and to personally test Tesla’s superwave theory, we’ll soon build the first superwave power station on Enceladus, Saturn’s moon.”

Professor Braun thought to himself: Michael Max, this creative genius, truly lives up to his reputation. In just a few months of learning Tesla’s theory, he had already traversed the entire solar system in his proposals. With a sudden insight, he asked, “So, building a superwave station on Enceladus would require only shipping the carbon fiber tubes, with no need to transport the massive auxiliary supports from Earth, is that right?”

“Correct. No need to send supports from Earth to Enceladus,” Michael replied with a knowing smile, certain that the astronomer before him had guessed his secret. As if his secret had been uncovered, he added, “Because there are plenty of natural auxiliary supports there.”

&

Poem of Seals, Anthology of Verses:

A world of mortal dust separates us from departed waves.
Returning, I come here to question the Milky Way.
The ice-bright moon has endured for countless ages.
In the armory, pure lightning and frost abound.