Tachyons of Imaginary Particles and Superbradyons of Positive Real Particles Part 1
A heated debate was unfolding aboard Ulysses.
「Can’t we mass-produce the D-Rifle?」
「That would be expensive. And you’re not exactly the type to worry about costs, so it would be problematic if you took charge of mass production.」
Kelly’s dissatisfaction was met with a calming response from Hyoue.
「Sure, cost is important, but most of the cost of the D-Rifle comes from its ammunition, we could reduce cost by limiting its ammunition to the basic one, right? The AK2’s 90mm cannon won’t cut it against Mythology Weapons based on Antique Silhouettes.」
「You’re absolutely right. The laser cannons we can manufacture with our technology won’t be effective either.」
Kinukawa grimaced bitterly. He had also chosen to adopt the D-Rifle, fully aware of its high cost.
「We can’t count on resupply in the field. And charged particle cannon technology is still beyond our reach.」
Kurt, too, had adopted the D-Rifle without hesitation. In other words, these three prioritized absolute performance over cost-effectiveness.
「Yunlan, what about your magnetized thermal cannon?」
「It won’t be as effective as the D-Rifle. We’d be better off scaling up a railgun. That cannon was designed as a substitute for railguns, which are inherently high-cost.」
The discussion continued, centering on the trade-off between performance and cost in their armaments.
Kelly and Yunlan were the ones who considered cost and procurement risks the most from the design stage when developing their weapons.
Originally, this was Jack’s area of expertise, but they couldn’t afford to spend all their time mourning the dead. His successor, Robin, was more of a balanced type, weighing both performance and cost.
BAS Corporation was not relied upon in situations like this. They had a lot of creativity, but their weapons were more of a one-off, great for specific scenarios, but ineffective for general use, a good example of this was the now-defunct plasma railgun.
「Our technology has focused more on defensive systems than offensive weapons until now. The Anti-Fortress Rifle isn’t a viable solution either.」
「Indeed, that weapon is far too dangerous. Only a handful of units can even equip it.」
Kurt, one of the small number of people who had actually used the weapon, pointed this out. He agreed with the opinion that weapons too risky to fall into enemy hands should be sealed away.
「No choice, then. We should mass-produce the LD Rifle with single-layer ammunition.」
The formation of magnetohydrodynamic explosive ammunition—MAHEM—required precise control from both the gun and the ammunition itself. Particularly, the D-Rifle, which utilized the dual-layered rounds favored by Unit 5 and Hrafnagud, was extremely costly.
Thus, they decided to mass-produce the LD Rifle, which would be restricted to single-layer ammunition.
「That model can be mounted on fighter aircraft as well.」
「And the ammunition can be manufactured in the Astraea.」
The LD Rifle was a prototype developed by Kinukawa, who had taken notice of the simplified single-layer ammunition provided by Nyanta. The cost of its ammunition could be reduced to roughly two-thirds of the original, and more importantly, the lack of a penetrator significantly reduced recoil.
The penetration power of the single-layer ammunition was inferior to the dual-layer type, but it was still a true armor-piercing high-explosive shell utilizing liquid metal. Additionally, it allowed for continuous fire, which provided multiple advantages.
「Next up—we need to figure out how to disguise the Astraea as the Eirene.」
Kelly was systematically identifying various issues and formulating solutions.
If they were to commence operations in space, there was a high risk that the Stones would detect their movements. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the Argo Force would remain inactive in Astraea’s absence.
「Eh, just slap a giant Panjandrum onto it. They’ll misinterpret it on their own.」
Hyoue stifled a yawn and made the suggestion with complete indifference.
「Huh?」
「Well, that settles this issue, then.」
「It’s probably the best approach. Maybe a fuel tank designed to resemble a Panjandrum would work too.」
「As long as it looks the part, that should do. Let Kou figure out what to put inside it.」
「Agreed.」
With an unexpectedly simple remark, one of their pressing concerns was resolved.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Ulysses’ joint schedule and the Planet Libya Expedition Plan were steadily progressing.
Elite units were being selected, with a notable feature of the current plan being the heavy presence of Nereids, including the Lanius Squad.
「Planet Libya exists within the orbital cycle of the red dwarf Nemesis, along with the planets Asia and Europa. The three form a triangular configuration, each orbiting within Nemesis’s gravitational field.」
「Sounds kind of like Earth.」
「Earth also follows an orbital cycle around the Sun—or rather, in Kou’s terms, a revolutionary cycle. One full revolution takes a year, moving in an elliptical orbit.」
Inside Astraea’s command center, a celestial map was projected, displaying the red dwarf Nemesis at its core with three planets orbiting it. The diagram highlighted their semi-major axes, orbital periods, and the locations of their Lagrange points.
「Each of the three planets serves as a sort of counterweight, ensuring they do not collide with one another.」
「Looking at it like this, this whole star system seems almost too convenient—like it’s fake.」
「The solar system isn’t much different. The Nemesis System is an extremely anthropic star system, it was designed with the needs of humanity in mind.」
This wasn’t Kou’s first time observing a model of the system. However, actually traveling between planets was an entirely different matter.
「The three planets follow elliptical orbits similar to Earth’s. If we travel at a velocity exceeding the third cosmic speed during their closest approach, we can reach our destination in less than a month.」
「That’s faster than I expected.」
「In the past, battles were fought even in space, warships and Silhouettes are to be used in space.」
「Now that you mention it, there’s some kind of treaty banning combat in space, right?」
「Yes. To put it simply, death in space is extremely dangerous. If a person drifts beyond the gravitational field of the red dwarf Nemesis, their soul would be lost, doomed to eternal wandering with no reincarnation or resting place. This discovery led to a mutual agreement among all factions in the late stages of the Interplanetary War, officially banning space warfare.」
「So the existence of souls has been proven, huh?」
Kou had no real interest in such ‘proof’. He had once been saved by something akin to a soul, so to him, their existence was simply a given.
「There is a considerable number of space warships left from the Interplanetary War era on the three planets, right? Did battles only stop toward the end of the war?」
「There were still battles earlier on. Initially, combat was regulated by an informal gentleman’s agreement. However, once the dangers of being cast outside reincarnation were scientifically proven, Okeanos enforced a formal ban on inter-human warfare in space.」
「If a battle does break out in space, it sounds like it would be problematic.」
「In space, velocities of 50 to 100 kilometers per second are common. When Silhouettes engage in combat in zero gravity, the pilot requires the full support of the Fennel OS.」
「I can’t even imagine that. At those speeds, is reaching the speed of light possible?」
「For railguns or spacecraft? No, it’s impossible. The speed of light is the ultimate limit in a vacuum. If you’re looking for a means of interstellar travel, researching quantum teleportation would be far more practical than trying to reach light speed.」
「So breaking the speed of light is impossible? Wasn’t that the case under special relativity?」
「You are referring to Tachyons. Tachyons are theoretical imaginary particles that cannot move below light speed. Since they possess negative mass and energy, a separate set of physical laws would be required to govern them. Meanwhile, another concept—superbradyons—has been proposed in particle physics as a class of particles with real, positive mass and energy, but they were never observed during your era, Kou.」
「This is getting complicated.」
「The speed of light is approximately 300,000 kilometers per second. Even using higher-dimensional projection armor materials, structural integrity would not hold at that velocity. Even if superbradyons did exist, their practical application would be extremely difficult.」
「I can’t even imagine it. Light is fast.」
「On the contrary, when it comes to communication and transportation, you should consider the speed of light to be slow. That’s why quantum mechanics became necessary in the field of information technology.」
「That’s just magic. I don’t understand it at all.」
When it came to quantum mechanics, Kou was completely lost. He had no clue how any of it worked.
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