Chapter 32

Translated by SkyTL Edited by SkyTL

Chapter 32: Generator Module

“Wow, so this is a generator. I’ve never seen one before.”

“Charlotte, don’t go near it yet.”

I look up at the white wall, stopping Charlotte who is trying to approach it in a careless way.

The power generation module is a cube with sides about ten meters long, four of which are arranged in a row. The smooth white surface is common to all standard containers.

From the outside, it is difficult to distinguish them from ordinary containers, but behind the airtight doors in the middle, there must be one fusion reactor per module.

This sophisticated power generation module has been the de facto standard for spacecraft for several hundred years.

It is almost the smallest practical lightweight hydrogen fusion reactor, has a proven track record for safety and reliability, and has enough energy to power a small town.

It is arguably one of mankind’s greatest inventions.

It is common for an space-going vessel to have two of these standard generators on a small ship, four on an eos, and more than ten on a large ship.

The concept is that having a large number of relatively small generators instead of a small number of large generators will increase reliability and flexibility while decreasing power generation efficiency.

The system is also intended to be used as the first step in setting up a colony on a destination planet, where a single spare generator will be set up.

Every mission in space is based on this power generation module.

First, I measured the radiation in the air with a meter attached to my spacesuit, just to be sure.

A quick measurement showed that the noise was less than the error level. At least it seems that there is no radioactive material swirling around everywhere.

However, I’m not sure if I should go. The same goes for Charlotte, who is flinching as I catch her by the collar.

So…

“Riza, please take care of it.”

“Yes, sir. I need you to stay put until I know it’s safe.”

“Okay. Be careful, Riza.”

Riza and two small rovers enter one of the modules.

I really don’t want Riza to do anything too dangerous because of her [injury] the other day, but still, Riza is the only one of us who can do such a dangerous job. I would at least thank her later, but I had no choice to leave it up to her.

While I was doing this, Charlotte, who had been hurrying around for quite a while, slumped down as if she had given up.

“This is so boring…”

“We can at least go in easily if it’s safe, and we’ll bring it back in pieces later anyway, then you can look at the details.”

“Mmm…”

Charlotte was a bit wary at the moment, but soon lost interest in the generator module and stood up to look around.

The on-board equipment in this area was completely out of commission, and the only sources of light were a large rover and two small rovers near us, and a small spotlight attached to our outer suit. It’s not completely dark, but it’s still dim.

There are many other modules around the ship.

This area appears to have been very heavily impacted during the accident. The area where Doctor Walker’s body was found was already bad, but this area is even worse.

The floor and ceiling were wavy as if twisted, and even torn in some places.

More than half of the equipment was damaged, so it was quite fortunate that all four power generation modules were reasonably intact.

“Hey, hey, what’s that?”

“Hey, it’s dangerous if you don’t stay still.”

“It’s okay. I’m free until Riza comes back.”

She’s as restless as ever.

… But I don’t mind a bit. I’m bored too.

Charlotte deftly leaps across the strained, hole-strewn ground. Her target seems to be a plant or some kind of module.

“Look, look, there it is. Doesn’t that look kind of safe?”

“It’s not safe.”

Somehow I manage to catch up with her and stand next to Charlotte. A small rover followed me, and I used a spotlight to illuminate the module in front of me.

The module was about one size larger than the generator module, and there was no obvious damage to the white wall that we could see.

What kind of module is it?

“Hey, what’s that?Hey, hey, what?”

“First of all, Charlotte, don’t walk around carelessly. I’ll use the second principle to stop you next time.”

“…Yes.”

Charlotte’s response makes one doubt that she is truly remorseful.

The area is very badly damaged and the subsoil is not good.

And although it is basically a vacuum, the possibility of corrosive gases escaping from somewhere cannot be dismissed. And there is no guarantee that the outboard suit will survive contact with such substances. Although the hull material is strong and chemically stable, it is not perfect armor.

In such a situation, it is not desirable for a living person to lead the way. That’s why we have Riza and the rovers.

“Do you feel sorry for yourself?”

“Uh, yes… I do.”

I reminded her again, and she looked a little melancholy.

Well, okay.

I sighed and started working on the terminal.

“I’ll check it out.”

The whole area is a sort of production center with a variety of plants.

The large module in front of me is one of those powered by the power generation module that Riza went to study.

In fact, we know from the beacon that the only modules that are likely to be safe are the power generation module and some material tanks, and that plant is unlikely.

Not wanting to disappoint Charlotte, I decided to check the beacon against the ship’s map.

“Hmm, that’s the food plant, isn’t it?”

“What, food?A hit?”

“But it doesn’t look good.”

Charlottesqueals when she hears the word “food,” but she’s careful not to get her hopes up too high.

Looking at the gills, the contents appear to have been badly damaged. The yeast and other organisms that had been grown in them must have been wiped out.

Even if we can get new yeast, it’s useless if the incubator itself was destroyed.

“Oh, you can’t use it?Can’t I look inside?”

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

“I see… Too bad…”

As expected, Charlotte didn’t argue further.

A food plant is not just a yeast culture that comes out of the ground. The yeast is then processed in various ways, so more than half of the process is a chemical plant.

In that case, the chemicals that were used might have been sprayed inside, and to be honest, you never know what you might find when you open that door.

So we don’t want to look inside.

“Well, Eos doesn’t have any major problems with the food plant, so it’s not too bad.”

It’s still working perfectly every day, and we have a spare plant that works fine. To be honest, the food plant is a little disappointing.

But at my words, Charlotte turns her head and looks up at me.

“That’s true about Eos. For example, we could go with Lyle on Eos…”

“Yeah?”

“… But Thomas and the others might want to stay, right?Wouldn’t it be better if they got a nice meal, too?”

“Oh…”

With the extra generator, it would be possible to let the Simulants live in Astoria for the rest of their lives without having to take them all with us.

If Thomas wanted to stay, he could be allowed to do so.

After all, even if Astoria itself only has a maximum of two hundred years to live, it would be better if they could spend the rest of their lives in some comfort.

I hadn’t even thought of that. If they wanted to live a good life, they could come to Eos, and although I felt bad about taking the generators away from Astoria and letting her die, I was satisfied with the status quo at best.

But Charlotte didn’t see it that way.

“You’re very kind, Charlotte.”

“Yeah, what?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

At first glance, or rather at in reality, Charlotte is a bit of a hothead, but she tries hard in her own way. Her strange steps to cajole me are not from idleness, but from a strong sense of duty.

And whether it’s because of the three principles or her own qualities, I don’t know, but she’s more affable than any other robot in Astoria.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that she will ever fulfill the original purpose for which she was created, but at least Ira who created her didn’t do a bad job.

So I respect Charlotte’s wishes and change my mind a bit.

“Hmm, yes. Maybe we can use it to get some parts for repairs, and I’ll have Riza check it all out later.”

“Really?I love Lyle!”

“If only you weren’t so coy…”

I chuckled as I manipulated the device to add another thing to Riza’s….

“What?”

— I noticed something strange.

“… I’ve lost contact with Riza…?”

The connection to Riza’s mainframe in Eos had been interrupted.

This is well outside Ira’s control area, where power and communications have been completely shut down.

However, there is a repeater with a built-in battery that we left behind on the way, so it is possible to contact Riza from here via the repeater and Astoria’s communications network.

…That should be possible.

But now there is only an error message displayed in the headset.

The unpleasant feeling in my heart was followed by a small vibration that seemed to come from under my feet, forcing me to acknowledge its reality.

Because of the vacuum, there was no sound. The only thing I could feel was the vibration of the earth.

“Hey, Lyle?What is this…”

“… [It’s a blackout.”

I groaned.

Like when we went to check out the cryo-sleep system in Astoria.

—Well, how was the last blackout?

Yeah. That time Lacey was there, and we found out she didn’t have her oxygen mask with her…. But this time we’re wearing protective suits from the beginning and we’re in a vacuum from the beginning, so decompression won’t be a problem…?

That’s the vibrations, because the axis of rotation of the Astoria shifts when the power goes out.

… How long did it take to come back up last time?

And then when it came back up, it was trying to compensate for the shifting of the shaft…

… and just as I was thinking about that, there was a quiet thud.

Immediately after that, the ground beneath our feet, already unstable, turned with a terrible force.

“What?”

“Charlotte!”

Charlotte’s wide-eyed stare at me was slowly sinking into a slant, and I reflexively extended my hand toward her.

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