Chapter 28 (Pressure Cooker II): Honeycomb Briquettes

December 2029, Rocket City, Brightland

Michael Max’s grand plan to transform Mars left Daphne both astonished and filled with longing. Creating a “spare tire” for Earth—what kind of mind could conceive such a bold and audacious scheme?

Michael told Prince Harufa that he possessed a super energy source, though he refused to divulge any theoretical details. Even with Daphne, Michael strictly adhered to his promise of secrecy, never revealing a single word.

Daphne fully understood Michael’s caution, especially since she herself had just signed a confidentiality agreement—though Michael was unaware of this. It was amusing: two lovers sharing the same secret, yet maintaining secrecy from each other.

A few days earlier, Professor Braun and his beloved daughter, Daphne Braun, had visited the office of Mr. E, head of Brightland’s T Project. Mr. E, now over seventy, moved somewhat slowly and his energy had waned, but the wisdom still shimmered beneath his white brows.

Mr. E spoke frankly: “Daphne, welcome to the T Project! The committee unanimously agrees you are the right candidate.”

Daphne was surprised; she had thought her father merely brought her to visit an old friend. She asked with some doubt, “What is the T Project about? Am I truly suitable?”

Professor Braun looked at Daphne affectionately and briefly explained. In 1936, Nikola Tesla submitted a paper to the scientific advisors of Brightland’s government, entitled “The Dynamic Principle of Gravity.”

In it, Tesla claimed that all directions of the universe are filled with a type of electromagnetic wave—its speed immense, wavelength exceedingly long, and frequency extremely high. Tesla called it the “super-light wave.”

If any object in the universe had a diameter exceeding the super-light wave’s wavelength of 170,360 kilometers, it would be struck by the wave and generate tremendous energy; otherwise, it would merely be diffracted, with nearly no effect. Thus, humans feel nothing from the super-light wave’s existence.

Tesla’s paper also introduced an entirely new theory of gravity: he believed that the motion of objects is a response to the uniformity or variation of energy density in space. Objects accelerate in regions of greater energy density, and decelerate where it is less.

In Tesla’s theory, orbital motion in a gravitational field and uniform linear motion in an inertial frame are essentially the same, since both follow lines of equal energy density.

Daphne Braun had received orthodox scientific education since childhood—the classical law of universal gravitation, general relativity, and the quantum standard model. Hearing her father speak of Tesla’s theory, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

Professor Braun seemed to sense his daughter’s thoughts. He reiterated the accepted standard for testing theoretical hypotheses:

Bold conjecture, cautious verification. Falsifiable, predictive.

Two months later, the awkward secrecy between Daphne and Michael was finally broken.

Mr. E invited Michael to his office, informing him that the T Project Committee had decided to form an assessment group.

Michael’s Mars transformation plan would become the group’s first special risk assessment, and among its members was his girlfriend, Daphne Braun.

Returning home, Michael saw Daphne and asked eagerly, with a hint of delight, “Darling, I’m so happy you can be part of the T Project. Did Tesla’s super-light wave theory shock you?”

“Yes, Tesla was truly a genius. His theory was far ahead of his time,” Daphne replied. “But the application of super-light waves genuinely worries me.”

“You’re afraid my super-light wave power station might blow up Mars, aren’t you? Ha!” Michael laughed teasingly.

Daphne lifted her eyes, speaking seriously: “I trust you and your assistants must have done internal risk assessments, but humanity only has one solar system. If Mars really exploded, it would affect Earth as well—how could we allow that?”

Michael stood, staring out the window, before turning back to say, “The risk should be controllable. Daphne, do you understand me? Do you know what I want most?”

Daphne’s heart tightened. She remembered how Martha’s letter had forced Michael to suspend his experiment on Enceladus. Could her future assessment report possibly kill the ultimate dream of this adorable and admirable man?

Daphne walked to Michael’s side, rested her head on his shoulder, and spoke gently:

“My love, I adore you and understand you deeply. You aren’t doing this for money, not even for yourself. You want to provide insurance for humanity’s future.”

“But if that insurance itself brings risk, then no matter how much I love you, I cannot agree,” Daphne declared firmly.

The air in the room seemed to freeze. Michael’s breathing grew rapid; he pushed Daphne aside, his face flushed, and shouted:

“Isn’t there risk with nuclear power plants? If humanity’s centuries of scientific progress had always been preceded by so-called risk assessments, we wouldn’t have what we do today.”

“Daphne, I love you deeply, and I admire you just as much as you admire me. Transforming Mars is my dream; no one, not even you, can stop me!” Michael stomped, causing the floor to tremble.

Michael failed to notice that Daphne, swaying, gripped a nearby chair, her body weak as she slowly slid to the floor. She felt sharp pain in her abdomen and, moaning, interrupted Michael:

“My stomach hurts—am I having a miscarriage?”

Michael was pulled back to reality, instantly tense. He carefully supported Daphne, took her outside, into the car, and to the hospital.

Lying in her hospital bed, Daphne looked haggard. Michael’s personal physician, holding the examination results, said to her:

“Rescue was timely; the fetus should be safe. But you must rest. Around the thirteenth week of pregnancy, miscarriage is most likely. Manage your emotions and focus on positive, pleasant thoughts.”

“Will there be any aftereffects or impacts on the fetus?” Michael asked anxiously.

“There shouldn’t be. We didn’t use antibiotics or sensitive drugs—only a small amount of pure biological stabilizer. The fetus is stable,” the doctor replied.

After dinner at the hospital, color returned to Daphne’s cheeks. Michael stayed by her side, following the doctor’s advice, deliberately choosing light-hearted topics:

“Do you remember the Silver Beach cruise? I could tell you loved the sea. After our baby is born, let’s take a yacht trip, just the two of us—what do you think?”

Daphne reached out, laying her hand on Michael’s arm, speaking softly:

“Darling, you really do treat me like a fragile girl in need of comfort. What truly excites and delights me are Mars and Vesta!”

Michael couldn’t help but smile and shake his head, sighing, “Ah! I suppose I’ve found the right person. Heaven brought you to me—that’s the best arrangement!”

The hospital, the bed—could there be a more fitting place to discuss Vesta?

Of course, wherever two lovers whose hearts beat as one are together, they will always discuss their shared passions.

“Michael, it’s not that I don’t support your Mars transformation plan. On the contrary, I think your creativity is extraordinary! If the risk assessment passes and Mars can truly serve as humanity’s backup, it would be a blessing for all mankind.”

Encouraged by Daphne, Michael began to enthusiastically elaborate on his Mars plan. They dreamed and discussed together, their love and imagination illuminating the entire room.

Their conversation shifted to Vesta. Daphne asked:

“Michael, Vesta should be part of a planetary metal core. The metal core is molten lava, but after it erupts and cools, why does it have so many holes—and so regular?”

Before Michael could answer, Daphne pressed further: “Do you think Vesta might have come from Mars’s core?”

“It’s very likely. Vesta is a metal core blown out of Mars. I think that’s the best explanation for this pure metal celestial body,” Michael replied.

“As for Vesta’s holes, VESSEL gave me an answer. Vesta might be an artificially manufactured honeycomb coal.” Michael explained with a smile, “I asked an artist how to cast a metal honeycomb sculpture with multiple internal holes.”

“If multiple pillars reinforce Mars’s crust, holding the internal metal lava tightly, continued heating would eventually break through the crust, erupting in concentrated bursts,” Daphne, recalling the lost-wax casting method, suddenly understood and said:

“The metal lava, wrapped around dense pillars, cools in space. After the pillars weather, multiple holes form in Vesta.”

“Artificially processing multiple pillars to create a porous metal asteroid? That doesn’t quite make sense! And where would the ‘people’ come from?” Michael mused in confusion.

Daphne replied, “Whatever the reason, if immense pillars penetrated Mars’s crust before it exploded, they would leave traces after the eruption.”

The two looked at each other and simultaneously thought:

Before Mars exploded, it was like a pressure cooker—the towering cliffs several kilometers high around Olympus Mons are the ‘molds’ left behind when the pillars shot out!

&

A poem of collected lines:

Swelling waves rise in the great celestial sea, Yuan, Zhou Boqi
How many times has gold been melted in this cauldron? Qing, Bei Qingqiao
Stone chambers, earth furnaces, sand cauldrons boiling, Tang, Hanshan
Shocked by the collapse, swirling in the pan’s vortex. Yuan, Wu Shidao