"The universe is messing with me," Orion said. "We've been trying to find room temperature superconductors for a century. Spending billions on research. And the answer is just... common materials arranged the right way?"
"Complex problems sometimes have simple solutions," Rene said. "The difficulty was knowing the correct arrangement."
"Fair point."
Orion saved the design. Tomorrow he'd go to Helix and meet with the research staff. Get them started on actually manufacturing samples.
But first, he needed to finish the overall reactor design.
"Rene, you've been working on magnetic control and fluid mechanics for the plasma containment, right?"
"Affirmative. I have optimized magnetic field configurations, plasma flow dynamics, and magnet placement within the reactor chamber. The optimizations allow for significant miniaturization compared to conventional designs."
"How much smaller?"
"Current ITER design occupies approximately 180,000 cubic meters. With optimized magnetic control and the new superconductor capabilities, the reactor can be reduced to 8,000 cubic meters while maintaining equivalent or superior performance."
Orion did the math. That was more than twenty times smaller.
"That's insane. ITER is the size of a stadium. You're saying we can fit the same thing in a large warehouse?"
"Correct. The stronger magnetic fields allow tighter plasma confinement. Optimized magnet placement reduces wasted space. Improved control systems minimize safety margins. The result is a compact, efficient design."
"And we can scale it down further, right? If we reduce the power output?"
"Affirmative. The modular design allows for scalability. A reactor producing 100 megawatts could fit in a standard shipping container. A 10-megawatt unit could be the size of a large vehicle. A 1-megawatt personal unit could be approximately the size of a cooking pot."
Orion's eyes widened. "A pot? You're saying someone could have a fusion reactor in their kitchen?"
"Theoretically, yes. The physics scales down proportionally. A pot-sized reactor would produce approximately 1 megawatt continuous power—sufficient for 500-1000 homes. Fuel requirement would be minimal—less than 1 gram of deuterium per year."
"That's insane."
"The technology enables distributed power generation. Every neighborhood could have its own reactor. Remote locations wouldn't need power grids. Developing regions could leapfrog traditional infrastructure entirely."
Orion sat back. A pot-sized fusion reactor. Clean, unlimited energy for 1000 homes from a device you could carry with two hands.
That would change civilization overnight.
"Perfect." Orion checked the time. 11:47 PM. He'd been working for hours.
His enhanced body didn't feel tired, but his mind was ready for rest. The breathing technique kept his cells energized, but sleep still helped process information.
"Rene, I'm going to sleep. While I'm out, I want you to keep optimizing everything. The complete reactor design—make it modular so we can build it in sections. Optimize the manufacturing process so it's as simple as possible. Push the thermoelectric material efficiency higher. See if you can improve the superconductor magnetic strength beyond 100 Tesla. Refine the magnetic control systems. Perfect the fluid mechanics. Optimize magnet placement even further."
"Understood. Any other parameters?"
"Yeah. Work on laser ignition for starting the fusion reaction. Optimize energy transfer from the thermoelectric material to the power grid. And design solid-state batteries for energy storage—we'll need somewhere to put the electricity when the reactor generates more than we can use immediately."
"Acknowledged. I will utilize full Nexcore processing capacity for comprehensive optimization. Estimated completion time for all tasks: eight hours."
"Perfect. That'll be done by morning." Orion stood up. Stretched. "One more thing. Make sure the final design is actually buildable. I don't want theoretical perfection. I want something we can manufacture with real equipment in a reasonable timeframe."
"Understood. Prioritizing practical manufacturability."
Orion went through his evening routine. Shower. Breathing technique—thirty minutes of focused cultivation. His body expelled more dark impurities. He could feel himself getting slightly stronger with each session.
He checked his phone. Message from Nyla.
Nyla: still stuck in this lab. group project from hell
Nyla: miss you
Orion smiled. Typed back.
Orion: miss you too. how much longer?
Nyla: maybe two more days? we're close to finishing
Nyla: when i get back we need to talk
Orion: yeah. we do
Nyla: good talk or scary talk?
Orion: good talk. promise
Nyla: okay. sleep well <3
He set his phone down. Got into bed.
The breathing technique had changed his sleep needs. He only needed about four hours now instead of eight. His body recovered faster. Used energy more efficiently.
But those four hours were deep. Restorative.
Orion closed his eyes. Let his mind drift.
Tomorrow would be interesting. Meeting the Helix research staff. Explaining the new direction. Getting them started on revolutionary technology.
Three years to build a fusion reactor.
He was going to blow that deadline out of the water.
NEXT MORNING - 6:30 AM
Orion woke naturally. No alarm needed. His body just knew when it was rested.
He sat up. Went through the breathing technique. Felt the exotic energy circulating through his cells. Strengthening him bit by bit.
After a quick shower, he put on the earbuds.
"Rene, status report."
"All optimization tasks complete," Rene said. "Comprehensive reactor blueprint finished. Would you like the summary?"
"Yeah. Give me the highlights."
"Thermoelectric material: Efficiency improved to 90.3% through enhanced crystal lattice alignment and optimized rare earth doping ratios."
"Ninety percent," Orion whispered. "That's incredible."
"Superconductor: Magnetic field strength increased to 170 Tesla through additional topological interface layers and improved Cooper pair stability mechanisms."
"One hundred and seventy Tesla. That's almost six times better than current technology."
"Correct. The increased field strength allows for even tighter plasma compression, resulting in 340% higher fusion reaction rates compared to previous design."
"What else?"
"Magnetic control systems: Optimized to 99.7% efficiency using AI-predicted plasma dynamics and adaptive field modulation. Fluid mechanics: Plasma flow patterns optimized to minimize turbulence and maximize fusion interactions. Magnet placement: Reconfigured for optimal field geometry and structural integrity."
"Laser ignition system?"
"Designed using precision laser arrays with femtosecond pulse timing. Ignition reliability: 99.9%. Energy requirement for ignition: 2.3 megajoules—85% less than conventional designs."
"Energy transfer?"
"Direct solid-state conversion from thermoelectric blanket to power grid. Voltage regulation handled by intelligent distribution systems. Power output stability: ±0.1% variance under all operating conditions."
"The solid-state batteries?"
"New design utilizing lithium-graphene composite anodes and solid polymer electrolytes. Energy density: 2,400 Wh/kg—approximately five times higher than current lithium-ion technology. Charge/discharge cycles: over 100,000 with minimal degradation. Safety: Non-flammable, stable across wide temperature range."
Orion sat down at his desk. "Send me the full blueprint."
Information flooded his screen. The complete fusion reactor design appeared.
It was beautiful.
Modular construction. The reactor consisted of six main sections that could be built separately and assembled on-site. Each section used standard manufacturing techniques—nothing exotic or impossible.
The core was compact. Just eight meters in diameter. The magnetic containment system wrapped around it in perfect geometry. The thermoelectric blanket surrounded everything, converting heat directly to electricity at 90% efficiency.
Superconducting magnets generated 170 Tesla fields—strong enough to compress the deuterium plasma to incredible densities. The laser ignition system would heat the plasma to 100 million degrees in microseconds. Fusion reactions would begin immediately.
Power output: 3,000 megawatts continuous. Enough to power two major cities.
Fuel requirement: 50 grams of deuterium per day.
"Wait," Orion said. "Fifty grams per day. That means one kilogram lasts twenty days?"
"Affirmative. One kilogram of deuterium provides sufficient fuel for twenty days of continuous 3,000-megawatt operation."
Orion did the math. Twenty days of powering two cities from one kilogram of fuel. Deuterium was everywhere—in seawater, easy to extract. Effectively unlimited.
"And for the smaller reactors?"
"The pot-sized 1-megawatt unit requires approximately 17 milligrams per day. One kilogram would last 160 years of continuous operation."
One hundred and sixty years from a single kilogram.
"That's not energy. That's magic."
Waste products: Helium and trace neutron activation. The helium was valuable—could be sold for industrial use. The neutron activation was minimal—the advanced shielding materials absorbed most of it.
The solid-state batteries would store excess energy. Forty large battery units could hold 96,000 megawatt-hours. Enough to run the cities for two days if the reactor went offline.
Construction time estimate: Six months with dedicated manufacturing.
Cost estimate: 8 billion credits for complete reactor plus battery storage.
Orion had 31 billion in the bank. More than enough.
"This is perfect," he said. "Rene, this is exactly what we need."
"Thank you. The design prioritizes practical manufacturability while maintaining cutting-edge performance. All components can be produced using equipment available at Helix Research Facility or through standard industrial contractors."
"How confident are you that this will work?"
"ORION simulations show 99.97% probability of successful operation when built to specifications. The physics is sound. The engineering is practical. The materials are proven through simulation."
Orion leaned back. Stared at the blueprint.
Six months to build. Another month or two for testing and optimization.
He could have a working fusion reactor in eight months. Maybe less if everything went smoothly.
Two years ahead of the three-year deadline.
"Alright," Orion said. "Time to make this real. First step: meet with the Helix research team. Get them started on manufacturing the superconductor and thermoelectric materials. Once we can produce those at scale, we can start building the actual reactor."
"Shall I schedule the meeting?"
"Yeah. Today if possible. The sooner we start, the better."
"Meeting scheduled for 2 PM at Helix Research Facility. All research staff have been notified."
Orion checked the time. 7:15 AM. That gave him almost seven hours to prepare.
He pulled up the presentation files Rene had created. Technical specifications. Material compositions. Manufacturing processes. Performance projections.
Everything a research team would need to understand what they were building.
This was going to change the world.
And it was starting today.