Feasibility Study of the "Trackless Space Elevator"

"Damn it, we've been played!" After losing over twenty men to continuous unexpected casualties, Favre finally came to his senses: he might have been set up by the Alliance! This abandoned urban sector had indeed been a Church of the Torch position, yet across the entire area, there was nothing except bodies that hadn't been cleared in time, broken bricks, and shattered tiles! No wonder... No wonder those greedy blue gophers had spat out meat they had already bitten into so readily! This wasn't meat at all; it was a cold, rock-hard bone! The more Favre thought about it, the angrier he became. He halted the mine-clearing units and search teams busy among the ruins and marched south toward the edge of the abandoned sector himself. That was a relatively open area. Airdropped supplies were stacked in the middle of the clearing, and Alliance soldiers in exoskeletons were bustling about, hard at work on construction. They were clearing building rubble to the fringes of the open ground and leveling the rugged terrain, seemingly preparing to build a makeshift runway for aircraft. Beyond that, rows of uniform tents could be seen in the distance, along with survivors wrapped in blankets. It looked like these fellows intended to build a semi-permanent military base on the old site of Haibei City and stay for the long haul. Favre didn't care how long they planned to stay. He only wanted to know what was going on with the ruins dumped in his lap. Furiously storming over, he grabbed a patrolling soldier and roared, "Where is your commander! Have him come see me!" The patrolling player stopped in his tracks, glancing at the blustering, big-nosed fellow. "Who are you?" Favre narrowed his eyes slightly, suppressing his temper as he said, "I am the Millurion of the 1st Millennium of the 37th Myriad! I need to speak with your commander regarding the demarcation of our respective control zones!" Hearing him state his affiliation and purpose, the player didn't make things difficult for him, though he wasn't particularly warm either. A Millurion. They had captured plenty of Millurions in the desert. "Wait here." Tossing out those words, the player turned and walked toward the camp. Moments later, Killing Dagger came out. Favre looked him up and down before speaking. "You're the commander here?" Killing Dagger answered succinctly, "Our commander has a more important assignment. I am in charge here. You can bring any issues to me." Favre stared unblinkingly at him, eyes narrowing slightly. "What kind of tricks are you pulling?" Killing Dagger watched him impassively and replied, "Tricks? Sorry, I don't follow." "Cut the act!" Seeing the man play dumb, Favre demanded aggressively, "That ruin! There's nothing inside at all!" Noticing his deteriorating tone, Killing Dagger's expression cooled as well. "Mr. Favre, that was a position our soldiers paid for in blood to take. When you came asking for it, we could have refused, yet we handed it over without batting an eye. We didn't do that because we fear you; we did it purely because we stand in the same trench. And now you accuse us of pulling tricks and complain that we haven't given you enough help? Don't you think you're pushing your luck?" Favre froze in place, his face turning red and pale with fury, yet he could not find a single word to refute him. It was true. His own behavior had indeed been somewhat shameless. After all, the abandoned urban sector had been taken by the Alliance. He had reached out to claim it only because he thought there was an easy bargain to reap, and now that he had hit a wall, he was turning around to blame them for playing him. At the end of the day, those facilities had been built by the Torch, not the Alliance. By all reason and logic, it was perfectly normal if their allies didn't know what was in there either... Watching Favre gradually calm down, Killing Dagger adopted a softer tone and continued, "I'll share a bit more intel with you. The church's Holy Light Knights and the Flame Cave Clan that previously withdrew from Ten Peaks Mountain were garrisoned right in that sector you currently occupy. When our drones spotted them from above, they were reinforcing that concrete stronghold." "To say there's nothing there is impossible. If there truly wasn't anything, why would they go through all that trouble building so many fortifications? There must be something shady that they didn't want falling into our hands." Listening to this, Favre thought it over and found it made a fair amount of sense. Indeed. Analyzing it rationally, if it were truly just a worthless ruin, why would the Torch have built so many fortifications there? Seeing Favre getting wrapped up in his rhetoric, Killing Dagger cleared his throat to suppress a chuckle, then shamelessly added, "This kind of hidden map... cough, I mean, a hidden research facility, would never put its entrance somewhere obvious. Why don't you head back and search more carefully?" In truth, that last reminder was entirely unnecessary. Before he had even finished speaking, the Legion Millurion was already itching to go back and restart the work. "Right! I'll go back and look again." Hastily tossing out that line, Favre turned and hurried back to his territory, rounding up the resting combat engineers and laborers. "Search thoroughly, every single one of you!" "Even if you have to dig three feet into the earth, find me that Torch research facility!" Seeing their officer speaking with such absolute confidence, as if he had obtained some vital new lead, the soldiers—whose morale had plummeted after turning up nothing—rekindled their spirits and let out an inspiring shout. "Oooh!!" Watching the Wilante soldiers charge back into the depths of the ruins with renewed vigor, a faint, subtle look crossed Battlefield Atmosphere Group's face. *Damn.* *They wouldn't actually end up digging something up, would they...?* *If that happens, who knows who the real fool will be.* *** While the Wilante troops were bustling in the ruins, the Alliance players were having an equally lively discussion on the forum in another world. The hottest thread remained Brother Fang Chang's post. After withdrawing from the abandoned urban sector, Fang Chang had logged off and returned to reality, sharing the Burning Corps' discoveries in Shelter 20 on the official forum, along with his speculations regarding the whereabouts of the residents of Shelter 20 and the leadership of the Church of the Torch. "...Shelter 20 opened in Year 51 of the Wasteland Era and ceased operations in Year 72, remaining derelict ever since." "Because the Administrator's log is missing and the individuals related to the shelter have all passed away, it is difficult to deduce the reasons for its abandonment or where the residents went afterward. However, judging from the facilities left behind in the shelter and the catalog of data remaining in the database, the research conducted there was likely related to 'outer space development.'" Yaya: "Outer space development? 0.0" Fang Chang: "Correct. The residents of this shelter were not biological experts; they were primarily aerospace engineers and related specialists. During the shelter's operational period, they proposed several novel technological concepts tailored to the unique outer space environment of the Wasteland Era." "For example, one was a 'trackless elevator' designed using graviton-related technology. This type of space elevator primarily utilized technologies discovered in the late Era of Prosperity, operating on principles similar to faster-than-light engines and anti-gravity devices. It boasted not only lower power consumption, maintenance, and construction costs, but also avoided the safety hazards present in the classic space elevators built in the early Era of Prosperity. Under suitable conditions, this system could help survivors return to outer space at a much lower cost." "In addition to the trackless elevator, the survivors in that shelter also proposed another concept called 'mind projection.'" Canyon Escaped Mole: "What's that? (dumbfounded)" Fang Chang: "To put it simply, it involves converting consciousness into data and transmitting it via high-power communication equipment toward spacecraft or space stations deployed in outer space during the Human Alliance era, thereby bypassing the blockade formed by massive amounts of space debris and automated weapon platforms in orbit." "This concept was designed for the most extreme scenario: where orbital debris completely cut off any possibility of survivors returning to space via spacecraft, and the remaining resources were insufficient to rebuild a sustainable new civilization. They believed that when that time came, humanity would need to shift its thinking, changing the self-rescue model from 'inside out' to 'outside in.'" Sisi: "If the flesh cannot leave, let the spirit go first, seize control of the outer space facilities left behind from the Human Alliance era, and then utilize outer space technology and resource advantages to gradually extend back toward Earth, ultimately rescuing the survivors trapped below... Is that what it means?" Fang Chang: "Bingo." Jieyan: "My head is already spinning!!" Tail: "Giao! Does that mean... the Torch used this equipment to flee to an alien planet?! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ" Fang Chang: "Not an alien planet... Only specialized outer space equipment could receive these transmissions; broadcasting a signal to a rock is pointless. According to the information the Holy Son revealed in his dying words, they headed to a place 1.5 million kilometers away. Based on that distance, I suspect it's a space station near Lagrange points L1 or L2, though the specifics remain unclear." Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: "That's so far!!" Sesame Paste: "Um... but why would he reveal such important information to us? (confused)" Commander Spring: "Probably convinced that we have no way of ever reaching him. (side-eye)" Sisi: "Hmm... from a psychological perspective, there's another explanation. Compared to Arzu, who proposed establishing the Second Sanctuary, he was truly the only forerunner who never abandoned his physical body. On the one hand, he firmly believed that salvation could only be achieved once the Kingdom of Heaven was realized and humanity completed its ascension into higher beings; on the other hand, he did not trust existing technology to truly achieve the free transfer of consciousness between different bodies. Driven by the fear of death and future uncertainty, he did things that seemed contradictory." Fang Chang: "In standard game design, a boss revealing critical info is usually just to advance the plot. I don't think you need to overthink these trivial details... And these details aren't the main point anyway. The real takeaway is that based on his final words and the concepts mentioned in the dialogue, including '1.5 million kilometers' and 'Celestials,' I can boldly predict that Wasteland Online's next expansion—or the next phase of the main storyline—will involve outer space." Tail: "Whoa! Are we going to space?!" Brother Edge: "Wait, the wasteland on the surface isn't even over yet. Is it really appropriate to open an outer space expansion this early? (baffled)" Fang Chang: "Backwardness and advanced technology have always coexisted on this planet. The Wasteland Era in outer space and the one on Earth can end together; they might even drive each other forward. There's no real contradiction. Furthermore, the trackless elevator proposed by Shelter 20 will likely become a crucial clue leading us into outer space." "Moreover, I suspect that not only the leadership of the Church of the Torch, but also the residents who fled Shelter 117, and perhaps even the residents of Shelter 20 who disappeared over a century ago... all likely used this 'second method' to transfer their minds to some facility 1.5 million kilometers away." Canyon Escaped Mole: "So you mean... the 'Celestials' the Holy Son spoke of are those who transferred to outer space spacecraft and space stations via mind-upload technology?" Fang Chang: "Perhaps, but I'm more inclined to believe the Celestials took them in... for reasons unknown to us." Ye Shi: "So who the heck are the 'Celestials' exactly? (baffled)" Fang Chang: "There are two possibilities. One is the Human Alliance Expeditionary Fleet returning from Alpha Centauri, and the other is rebels from the planet Gaia." "If it's the former, there might still be room to resolve issues through communication." "But if it's the latter, we may have to prepare for the worst..." *** Captain's quarters, aboard the *Heart of Steel*. After reading through the thread on the official forum from beginning to end, Chu Guang leaned back in his office chair and couldn't help letting out an exclamation. "These guys are absolute damn geniuses!" He had probably said that countless times before, but that didn't stop him from feeling it every single time. To tell the truth, it was a bit embarrassing. As the game developer, he hadn't even thought this far ahead, yet his players had already brainstormed the entire framework for him. Still, expanding into outer space... That was quite a leap of imagination. Leaving aside the terrible reality of outer space that even the Academy found troublesome, the Alliance had far too much on its plate on the surface; how could they have time to mess with an outer space expansion— *Wait.* Just as Chu Guang was about to set the matter aside, a sudden realization struck him. *Even if the Alliance lacks the energy and capability to do this alone, what if it's done in the name of the Slime Mold Consortium, combining the resources of the entire Consortium...?* At that thought, Chu Guang's eyes brightened, feeling his perspective and thinking expand in an instant. Developing outer space was still too distant for the Alliance alone, but as a new agenda for the Slime Mold Consortium, it was a perfect fit! Coincidentally, the War in Heaven was nearing its end, and the Consortium needed a new common goal to keep all member states united under one roof. Developing outer space was undeniably an excellent opportunity! In the long run, raising productivity to the levels of the mid-Era of Prosperity or higher required essential prerequisites like restoring Earth-Moon shuttles and helium-3 nuclear fuel production. In the short run, the high-ranking members of the Church of the Torch had fled into outer space. In order to bring those war criminals to justice, wouldn't it be entirely justified for the Consortium to pursue them? It was beyond justified! Not only that. The "Celestials" who had been lurking in the shadows and manipulating the wasteland's affairs posed a threat that could not be ignored. If they weren't rooted out once and for all, they would exploit the short-sightedness and weakness of the wasteland survivors again and again from the shadows, allowing a threat similar to the Torch to stage another comeback on the wasteland! This would definitely have to be discussed thoroughly at the Consortium assembly. However, convening an assembly was secondary for now. The urgent task was to find out whether that "trackless space elevator" conceived by Shelter 20 was actually feasible. Without hesitation, Chu Guang immediately turned to Xiao Qi and gave his orders. "Xiao Qi, notify Yin Fang! Have him organize a team immediately and retrieve the data stored in Shelter 20!" "I need the Scientific Expedition to prioritize organizing this data with the highest urgency and provide me with a technical feasibility report on the 'trackless space elevator'!" "I need to know the material costs and time required to build such an elevator!" Seeing Chu Guang full of drive, Xiao Qi, perched on the pen holder, gave a playful salute and answered cheerfully, "Understood!"