Whis, The Power of the Stars Part 2
「It’s strange how higher-dimensional projection armor doesn’t look any different from the outside.」
「That’s because in three-dimensional space, its appearance remains unchanged. However, from a five-dimensional perspective—which includes three spatial dimensions, time, and an additional extra dimension—it manifests as a hypercube. This invisible hypercube formation and its temporal displacement are what create the illusion of invisible thickness. A cube in three dimensions has eight vertices. But in four dimensions, a hypercube has sixteen. A single cube in three-dimensional space, when viewed in four dimensions, stretches and transforms into eight interwoven cubes.」
「A hypercube, huh… Master once told me that the number of unseen axes increases.」
Thinking about it in terms of the hypercube model, Kou finally understood what Master had meant.
「Alright. Now that we’ve established the fundamental premise for our discussion, we can move forward.」
「Thank you. Now we can finally move on to the main topic. Next, we’ll address Kinukawa’s question.」
Kou found it odd that Astraea was thanking him, but he chose to remain silent for now.
「Among the technologies that were never made accessible to us, there are many. However, they can generally be categorized into two main groups: antimatter utilization and black hole energy.」
「That is correct.」
「And what makes you believe that, Kinukawa-san?」
Kou directly voiced his curiosity.
「We fought Vritra, and before that, the Antique Silhouettes. That’s when I realized something—they weren’t using the same type of energy source as our metallic hydrogen reactors. At first, I thought it was some unknown power system, but then it occurred to me: it had to be antimatter annihilation energy. And as for black holes, you could call them degenerate reactors.」
「Your deduction is correct. The higher-tier Antique Silhouettes utilize positron reactors. Meanwhile, space vessels employ an advanced form of the Kugelblitz engine.」
「A positron reactor would certainly explain that level of output. As for the engines of space vessels… they operate on the principle that high-density energy collapses into a black hole—a phenomenon known as Kugelblitz. The name is derived from ergosphere theory, correct? It’s essentially an engine that harnesses energy from this process.」
Kinukawa nodded, recognizing the terminology and finding it all quite logical.
「No wonder these technologies can’t be repaired. In the 22nd century, they would have been akin to the Holy Grail—far beyond human reach.」
「Antimatter… I’ve heard of it, but I always thought it was just something from sci-fi.」
Kou was relieved that this wasn’t turning into another lecture, but he had the uneasy feeling they were about to step into an even more incomprehensible world.
「So positrons are antimatter? I didn’t even know that.」
「Positrons are the antiparticles of electrons.」
Astraea chimed in, seizing the opportunity to drill some fundamental knowledge into Kou.
「The history of antimatter goes way back. In 1928, Paul Dirac first proposed the theory. By 1932, positrons were confirmed to exist. In 2011, antihydrogen was successfully trapped for 0.2 seconds. Around the same time, traces of antihelium were also detected.」
「Yes, antimatter was confirmed. However, just because it was theorized and observed doesn’t mean it was ever put to practical use. Instead, research in areas like Big Bang simulations and black hole particle accelerators led to the discovery of more feasible elementary particles and technologies.」
「It’s impossible to contain antimatter, after all.」
「Indeed. On Earth at the time, it was the most expensive substance ever known. Antihydrogen was estimated to cost nearly 100 trillion dollars per gram. That said, producing even a single gram of antihydrogen was considered an impossible goal.」
「A hundred trillion dollars…?」
Kou was speechless at the sheer magnitude of the number. That alone showed just how difficult it was to produce.
「Hydrogen and helium are truly mysterious elements.」
The study of elementary particles was deeply tied to the unique properties of hydrogen and helium. But even Kinukawa couldn’t claim to fully understand all of it.
「So why wasn’t metallic hydrogen used in higher-tier Antique Silhouettes? I assume it’s simply because even metallic hydrogen was deemed too inefficient. On the other hand, mass-produced Silhouettes like the Angels, do use metallic hydrogen. Back in that era, it must have had a much higher cost-performance ratio.」
「Correct. If a method for efficient generation and storage of antimatter could be developed, it would offer unparalleled energy efficiency. For example, if you were to annihilate just one gram of antihydrogen, the energy released would be equivalent to a 40-kiloton atomic bomb. That said, a positron reactor doesn’t generate nearly that much power.」
「Wait… so does that mean a positron reactor functions by continuously generating tiny amounts of positrons as an energy source?」
「Yes. That’s why higher-tier Antique Silhouettes can operate almost indefinitely, even in space. The reactor can be incorporated into the same system as a metallic hydrogen generator. Compared to conventional fuel sources, the amount required is negligible. After all, these are spaceborne weapons. Meanwhile, mass-produced Angels that use metallic hydrogen require an atmosphere to function properly.」
Silhouettes equipped with metallic hydrogen reactors could extract hydrogen from the atmosphere and continue running. However, depending on thruster usage, refueling was still necessary.
With an antimatter reactor, even space would no longer be a limiting factor for mobility.
「So the reason this technology isn’t being made accessible… Is it because, as you mentioned, storage is the real issue?」
「That’s correct. Up until the 22nd century, humanity lacked the capability to store antimatter for long durations, nor did they possess the technology to miniaturize its production facilities. Sophia determined that it was simply beyond human control. Metallic hydrogen falls into a similar category, but it exists naturally in the outer layers of Jupiter and Saturn.」
「Even if we were simply handed the final product, we’d only end up making a mess of things. The Dignity War proved that well enough.」
「Exactly.」
The reckless actions of the former Mercenary Association Headquarters had served as a warning for the Development Engineers too.
「What’s the actual performance of the Kugelblitz Engine?」
「The theoretical limit is one-tenth the speed of light. It could theoretically reach 30,000 kilometers per second within a week. However, structural integrity would fail, and controlling such speed is virtually impossible. Even with maximum acceleration, the Astraea might barely reach 1,000 kilometers per second at best.」
「Thirty thousand kilometers per second… If you crash into something at that speed, it’s game over.」
「Exactly. While theoretical values are important, they often don’t translate well into practical use. I’m sure you, of all people, understand that well.」
「To be praised by the great Astraea… what an honor.」
Since arriving on Planet Asia, Kinukawa had found himself surrounded by sources of endless knowledge and intellectual curiosity. For him, this was nothing short of an ideal world.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
During Kinukawa’s stay, Kou received an extensive series of lectures on rocket technology.
After Kinukawa returned to the Izumo, Kou had a conversation with Astraea.
「Hey, Astraea.」
「What is it?」
「That large positron cannon listed in the technology archives when we liberated Asia’s core in R001 Fortress Area…」
Kou had generally refrained from releasing optical weaponry technologies.
「Yes, you’re referring to the positron beam cannon that was mentioned in yesterday’s discussion with Kinukawa. It generates destructive power through collision energy and annihilation reactions.」
「I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I chose not to release that technology’, given the atmosphere at the time…」
「Rest assured, Kinukawa has already figured it out. Even in your era, positron annihilation beam devices were already in practical use for measuring the annihilation lifetime of metals.」
「What?! Are you serious?」
「He likely deduced it from the fact that black hole generation technology has already been unlocked. He understands that any technology derived from antimatter applications should remain restricted. And he agrees with that decision.」
「I see.」
Knowing that Kinukawa was both aware and in agreement brought Kou a sense of relief.
He remembered seeing the positron cannon listed among the unreleased beam weapons. It had been categorized under charged particle cannons.
Kou had refrained from releasing charged particle cannons along with the positron cannon. Technically, he could still choose to unlock the technology, but in its current state, it was highly impractical.
At silhouette scale, the weapon would be far too large to be portable, yet despite its massive size, its destructive power was far inferior to that of the D-Rifle.
For ship-mounted weaponry, large-caliber railguns and lasers were still far more efficient. The technology that had been made available so far consisted of power-hungry, large-scale, underdeveloped weapons that simply weren’t worth the effort.
Charged particle cannons, in particular, suffered from atmospheric and magnetic interference, severely limiting their range. Large laser cannons were far more effective, which was why Hora-class ships had already been equipped with large-caliber shipborne lasers.
Perhaps if Asia continued to be liberated, advancements in compact charged particle cannons would eventually follow. But for now, Kou saw no reason to release the technology.
「The insight of engineers is incredible. I think I understand now why you respect Kinukawa-san so much, Astraea.」
「Indeed. Even Abel, who opposed the use of the ‘Fool’, has earned my respect. He possesses far greater discernment than I had anticipated.」
To Astraea, who valued balance, those who sought to use the ‘Fool’ were unworthy of consideration. Both Kinukawa and Abel had demonstrated the wisdom necessary to be taken seriously.
「Yeah. Having people who can voice opposing opinions is important. Actually, when I get back to Asia, I promised Abel that we’d work together to build a Panjandrum.」
Thinking back to how Abel had sincerely cautioned him, Kou couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
「Wait… when exactly did you make that promise?!」
「Crap!」
「Tell me everything—right now!」
「Wait, Astraea! Calm down!」
Astraea’s relentless interrogation had Kou screaming in distress.
AN:
Anonymous Girl A: 「A certain someone is acting exactly like a wife…」
Up until the battle against Vritra, black holes and other advanced SF technologies had barely been mentioned. But now, their presence is finally being revealed.
This chapter delves into the fundamental technologies of the Nemesis Battlefront.
Since I was working on a reference guide, I wanted to introduce some of these concepts in the main story. With the battle against Vritra touching on particle accelerators, this felt like the right moment to bring these details to light.
Honestly, Whis and higher-dimensional projection armor were only vaguely explained by Master early on. And now, over 300 chapters later, we’re finally getting a proper deep dive into them. Even I feel the delay!
The upcoming Planet Libya Arc will further explore the very foundation of the Nemesis Battlefront from a different perspective!
TN:
A little more on the Kugelblitz engine: A Kugelblitz Engine is a hypothetical propulsion system that generates thrust by using a man-made black hole—specifically, a Kugelblitz (ball lightning) black hole, created from concentrated light (high-energy radiation). In theoretical physics, a Kugelblitz refers to a black hole formed entirely from energy instead of matter. According to Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence (E = mc²), if you concentrate enough photons (light energy) in a small enough space, their energy density could become so high that it creates a black hole. This would be an artificial, microscopic black hole powered by radiation instead of traditional matter collapse. This engine would first create a Kugelblitz black hole using extremely high-energy lasers or gamma-ray beans, to later capture the Hawking radiation produced in the black hole collapse, and convert it into usable energy.
Comment (0)