Atomic Shells

The best brains in science come together at the Second Scientific Convention. Experts from all around the world have come together to combine their knowledge in order to save humanity from the impending threat posed by solar radiation waves. The surviving world aspires to build a radiation barrier to safeguard the species through its specialized fields.

He chose "Second Scientific Convention Today" back on the homepage, which displayed pictures and results.

Today, continents are working together to build radiation barriers. Teams around the world are building nuclear power plants and shields, led by Jonathan Aston in the Canadia Shielded Area, as a result of the enormous amount of energy needed.

Martin Wilkerson put down his book. He was now acquainted with Jonathan Aston, who attempted to escape Erath in spite of the shields. Otherwise, why not consider long-distance space flight? Would he not stay if the shields were effective? Martin Wilkerson answered Aston's question with interest. Ample fuel was needed. What abundant resource may Erath provide?

He searched for the "most abundant object on Erath" on the internet. Instant results were shown.

As is often the case with internet searches, the first page was irrelevant. The second provided no information on abundance, just a periodic table.

However, the most abundant metal in Erath, Korium, was featured on the third page. Martin Wilkerson, who was unfamiliar with it, clicked "What is Korium?"

The prospector looking for gold found Korium, named for the notorious Corey Amos, on Maris. This avaricious man discovered an unidentified ore instead, but he made no money mining it. Amos set up an explosion that divided Maris in two in an attempt to enrage Erath's "greedy humans." Three billion people were suddenly killed when one fragment hit Erath. Another two and a half billion people died from asphyxia and malnutrition as a result of the subsequent impacts. Herbert Montague's shields have saved almost one billion. A monument to Amos's avarice, korium is abundant on Erath, particularly in the vicinity of the crater, and is used in building instead of steel. Extreme heat causes it to become unstable and may explode. Although it hasn't been confirmed, some people believe that a Korium blast on Maris increased the number of deaths in Erath.

There it was: Extreme temperatures cause it to become unstable and easily explode. Massive acceleration could result from controlled melting and detonation. But it was insufficient across long distances. There must have been another route.

Nevertheless, Martin Wilkerson sent Aston an email outlining his hypothesis about Korium before turning back to his own predicament. His memory hadn't been jogged by this.

Soon after, Jonathan Aston received the email and was shocked to see a reply. He had thought that nobody had the answers. In response, he said he would like to meet the Martin Wilkerson who had gotten in touch with him.

After reading the response, Martin Wilkerson began to doubt Aston's knowledge. Korium was more suited for quick sprints than the long-distance exploration Aston desired. Knowing that Aston's whereabouts would not be a problem, he replied to the email with a time and location.

According to Jonathan Aston, the meeting was ideal for him. He packed little, expecting to have to carry a few shields across, a small inconvenience.

The underground metro system in Canadia hummed perfectly. Trains flew quickly between shields, perfect for people who couldn't wait to travel on the surface through dangerous dust clouds. The first train to Alpha Shield IV, the fourth shield constructed in the first phase, was boarded by Jonathan Aston.

He arrived on time and stepped out into the shield's filtered, metal air. He longed for the forgotten blue expanse of Erath's past as he looked up at the reddish Korium sky. The claustrophobia of the shield was exacerbated by crowded streets. Even if it meant wearing a filter, he was itching to get outside.

At the café, Martin Wilkerson waited for Aston to show up. An idea that had been bothering him—antimatter, positrons—was space travel. He couldn't research them from the café, so he didn't understand how they related to long-distance travel. He looked up as Jonathan Aston walked in, eager to get the meeting over with and continue this thread.

Jonathan Aston noticed the tall, thin man in the corner booth, but there was a steely gleam in his eyes that suggested something more. Martin Wilkerson was more complex than first appeared.

Jonathan Aston walked over and took a seat. Martin Wilkerson, eager to wrap everything quickly, jumped right into the conversation.

"I gave you an idea, but you've come to the conclusion that it won't work the more you think about it, don't you?"

"Unfortunately," Jonathan Aston acknowledged. "The idea is sound; I might use it for quick boosts, like getting out of Erath, but it's not practical for long-distance travel."

I reached the same conclusion and continued to reflect. I keep thinking about positivrons. It's persistent, but I'm not sure how antimatter could assist.

That's fascinating. I want you to do more research on it. I'll get some Korium and investigate its possibilities in the interim.

"You only wanted to talk about that?"

"It will work. Hi Martin Wilkerson, nice to meet you. Keep in contact by email; I'll let you know if there are any test results.

"I'm grateful. I will explore the prospects of positronics.

They got up and went their separate ways, each determined to work hard until a breakthrough appeared.

When Martin Wilkerson got home, he started looking up "positrons" in an attempt to learn more about their function in space travel. There was little information available on the internet, but enough to speculate.

It was unclear what came next. As he considered antimatter, a solution occurred to him; its source was unknown, but its coming was appreciated. Positrons came from an other universe where matter was the exception, and they were antimatter. Access to this anti-universe would allow them to enter and exit whenever they choose, significantly cutting down on trip time. All he had to do now was figure out how to get in and out.

Jonathan Aston experimented with stimuli and heated small, readily accessible Korium samples to their melting point in order to evaluate them. Although he was aware that he was courting danger, he needed to assess its viability.

He discovered that when Korium came into contact with materials that contained silicone, it exploded, but he was unable to regulate the blast. He wanted a substance that would hold it in place without warping. Diamond was the toughest material he was familiar with, so he started there.

However, there weren't enough sizes of diamond accessible. He would need to forge it himself, which would need a way to subject carbon to intense heat and pressure. Korium was helpful here once more.

Korium doubled a chamber's pressure as it melted and squeezed. To withstand that force, Jonathan Aston only required a chamber.

In order to break through the anti-universe he believed to exist, Martin Wilkerson worked tirelessly on a positron machine. His goal was to use the potential energy of antimatter to propel items there and then use matter to bring them back.

It was easy to enter the positronic universe. The difficulty was in going back to a selected location. He worked for weeks without much rest, determined to create a machine that would revolutionize space flight.

Katherine Branson became anxious. Martin Wilkerson pushed himself to the limit, without eating or sleeping. He viewed himself as a scientific revolutionist, and she feared for his life. He pushed to finish; she advised a pause. The winner was Katherine Branson.

Without allowing him to carry work or do any calculations, she insisted that he go on holiday with her to another shield. He almost broke.

After perfecting his pressure chamber, Jonathan Aston was able to create diamonds, although little ones at first. He encountered difficulties when scaling up with more carbon; the carbon-to-Korium ratio required accuracy, which was attained by trial and error. He then set about creating a thick diamond chamber with silicone and Korium inlets.

Early testing were unsuccessful because the material hatches allowed the explosives to escape. He required a technique of sealed ingress. He came up with a solution after several failures: electronic hatches that were thick and screw-sealed. It worked well and efficiently. The explosive Korium blast had been subdued by him. Now he had to harness it halfway there.