Solomon's Private File #323
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 30 in this story, in the Summer of 2056.
Solomon's Private File #323 "Space Test Building"
START Page
I shifted to the office of the new administrator of the German
Aerospace Center. I said, "There's been a change here." He said, "There
has. No, he wasn't replaced for his actions, but because of something
else that showed in his meeting with you. It was decided that this
position should have in it a person who knows at least a little
something about science." I said, "I wondered about that. So the
foolish unusual, is replaced with something yet unknown." He said, "I
hope to make the unknown, known to you. This test building. Before we
can select a site, we need to know what utilities it will need." I
said, "And before that, we need to know what is actually to be tested,
and what environments are required for that. Should we start with a
vacuum?" He said, "Yes. To simulate space conditions, that would be a
requirement. But for a chamber of the size needed, it's not possible
for us to achieve that." I said, "And if you could, it would take a
very long time to pump out the air. And letting in air again at any
useful speed, would cause a LOT of problems." He said, "Who needs a
snow storm without skis?"
I said, "Alright, you've proved you know something about science."
Grins I said, "The chamber would have to withstand a lot of stress,
including changes in temperature." He said, "Modern engineering isn't
capable of solving these problems. You knew this before you made the
offer." I said, "Yes, and I received a lot of noise about it from my
people. And it's started again." Chuckles. I said, "What if it were in
a solid basalt mountain?" He said, "Solid as if you made it yourself
without fractures? In strength, that could work." I said, "And I can
inset a door frame in ways that are impossible for others. Pumping air
out, will seal them." He said, "True. What would they be made of?" I
said, "A cobalt based refractory alloy. Less dimensional changes due to
temperature." He said, "VERY difficult to machine, but that's not a
problem for you." Grins.
I said, "Then there is atmosphere control. So far we've used known
materials and science, but with different methods. We'll have to go
beyond that with the gasses. It will happen, and there will be
controls, but you won't be able to determine how. Yes, my own tech. You
wouldn't refuse that, would you?" He grinned and said, "Absolutely
not!" I said, "There are still issues. It must be kept clean. So it
needs a long clean road leading to the big door. It needs anchorages
for the test beds and equipment. Fitting standards need to be
established. You won't want to keep electronics in there, so
instruments will need to have connections to the outside. One more big
issue. It needs to have a fire suppressant system. Accidents WILL
happen. Some fool might set the atmosphere to pure oxygen." He said,
"That would be in the settings?" I said, "If we're going to use my tech
for atmosphere control, why impose unnecessary limits?" He said, "I'm
not complaining!"
I said, "So, for electricity, it will be needed for the door motors,
and any motorized things inside the chamber, and for test equipment,
including cameras. You can construct anything else you want, outside of
it." He said, "Will there be any windows?" I said, "That would be a
problem. Cutting holes of any reasonable size will weaken the chamber.
I could have made it out of a mountain of crystalized aluminum oxide,
but it could fracture much more easily than basalt. And being sapphire,
people will be at it with hammers and chisels. And the inside surface
will become etched over time." He said, "Could you make it out of a
force field?" I said, "Sure. Not going to." Grins. I said, "But I'll be
using them to stabilize the structure. No, you won't detect them. The
door is too massive to use a hinge at the top or side. It will open at
the top, and move from a hinge at the base, and form part of the road
when all the way down. But there will be a small door in that, to be
used for people." He said, "Oh! Good!"
I said, "So, what do the inside dimensions need to be?" He said,
"300m by 50m." I said, "You didn't tell me you wanted a mountain INSIDE
it!" He laughed. I said, "It's going to need good ground under it. And
you're going to need to control the static electricity, even without
counting what you're testing. So, where do you want it?" He spread a
map on the desk, and said, "We were thinking here." I said, "You're
going to have to build some access roads. Possibly a power substation,
too." He said, "Planned for." I said, "Construction approvals?" He
said, "Already granted." I gave him some specifications for the
utilities. He said, "Most already there, meet most of your
requirements. I said, "If you want modifications to what I build, I
would have do that by replacing the whole thing." He said, "Would that
take a long time?" I said, "As long as it takes to settle on it. Want
it there now?" He said, "Wow!" I said, "Not yet." Grins.
He said, "Can we go there now?" I said, "Sure. Better stand, first."
We did, and I ported us there. I said, "You know other governments are
going to complain about access. You're not making it easy here." He
said, "We don't have much access to open water for safety in launches.
Here on the Baltic, is the best we can do, and the North Sea isn't
far." I said, "This site is not the best kind of ground. May I remove
it?" He said, "Please do what you think you should do." I said, "This
could be interesting." He looked uneasy. I grinned. He said, "Er,
within reason." I said, "That's no fun! The door hydraulics will need
to be maintained." He said, "Assumed. Too massive for electric motors
to move it directly. We will need very big compressors." The soil
vanished. I said, "I'm bracing the side walls with force fields. where
shall I place what I removed? There are things of archaeological
interest in it." He said, "Oh! At the end of that road?" A big tall
section of dirt appeared there, with braced walls around it. There were
steps on one side. Then a gigantic block of black basalt appeared where
the hole had been. I said, "It goes all the way down to the shaped
bedrock." He said, "Directly on it?" I said, "No. There is a sheet of
soft metal layers between the original rock, and the new one, to act as
a cushion to reduce transmitted vibrations." He said, "Which metals?" I
said, "Better I don't tell you. Who knows about the possible future
values of the different metals I used? I don't need to encourage future
greedy people." He said, "Frustrating, but I have to agree." I said,
"Which do you think I used?" He said, "It would have to be something
that wouldn't work harden. Copper?" I said, "Possible." I said, "Don't
even think about the other one." He gulped, and said, "Yes. We
shouldn't." He was thinking pure platinum, which was correct.
I said, "Here on the side are connections for things on the inside,
and the controls. The crystals next to them will explain them to those
who touch them, in their own language. You might want to put a building
here. Now the door." We went to the big opening, and the door appeared,
flat on the ground, flush with the concrete road. There were gigantic
hydraulic pistons on each side. I said, "This pit cover can be moved
into place so people don't fall into it when the door is up and closed.
It has a pump for drainage." He said, "I like to think I would have
thought of that." We smiled. We went inside. He said, "Massively think
walls!" I said, "I can, so I did." He touched a wall, and said,
"Smooth." I said, "Melted, actually. This surface has environmental
controls, similar to the panels on the outside. Frequencies of light
can be adjusted for taste." He said, "But I don't see a source for it?"
I said, "Our tech, that's used in the light cubes." He said, "Oh!" I
said, "No heat, so it won't interfere with infrared sensors." He said,
"That's a good idea!" I grinned, and he was embarrassed. I said, "Air
pressure and composition can be exactly controlled, and temperature and
humidity, too. And so can the rate of those things changing. Air will
be made and destroyed, and not ported in or out." He said, "But how, in
a sealed building?" I said, "From and to energy. No, I can't explain
that, even to my own people." He said, "Wow!" I said, "Included."
Chuckles.
He said, "These er, things in the floor are for equipment tie-downs?"
I said, "Yes. Couldn't use this without them." He said, "No
ventilation." I said, "Not as you know it, but all under full control.
Want to purify the air, tell it with a thought, with your hand on the
control crystal. This is something like how my martial arts gyms work."
He said, "Oh! Thank you." We went outside. I said, "I'll put the door
operating things here for now." A granite slab appeared, and with a
small building that housed a big motor and compressor. There were big
metal pipes around the big door opening, and a hose from them, to the
door hydraulic cylinders, and to the pump house. I said, "The door will
only operate with the deadman switch. It's NOT automatic." He said, "I
understand." I gave it to him, attached to a long cable. He took it
outside, and started it. The door rose up faster than he expected.
Silicone rubber gaskets were uncovered and extruded around the edges of
the door. He said, "Oh! Great idea to protect them when the door is
open!" I said, "Had to, when it becomes part of the road." Then it was
closed. He used the control to make the pit cover move into place. I
said, "The pit cover has a ramp that reaches the door opening. This
personnel door is big enough for a small vehicle. It works like a big
bank vault door. Manually. Takes two men." We turned the wheel, and
then pulled on the handles, and the door swung open. I said, "Never
pull too hard, and then you need to stop it. Great mass has great
inertia." He said, grunting with effort, "So I see." I said, "Not
motorized, so it can be used when there is no power."
We closed it. At the pump house, he said, "The electricity comes from
this little box?" I said, "It does, for now. I'll remove it when your
service is ready to be connected. It also powers the automatic pump in
the pit. The main door has a lock setting. It's in the control panels.
That way, the power can be disconnected without the door falling." He
said, "Oh. Something else I wish I had thought of. "I said, "I think
you would have, given the usual planning and construction time. My
electric box can't be moved, or examined. If disconnected, it will stop
operating, even when connected again, to anything. You might want to
tell people that. Here's the keys to the door." He said, "I think I
should keep them."
He said, "There are people over there. I would have expected them to
be here by now, but they act as if they're not aware of anything here."
I said, "That's because they aren't. Better we were undisturbed in
this. I can stop the restriction at any time." He said, "They won't
come here even after we leave?" I said, "Yes. Here are the
specifications you need about this." I gave him some crystals and
memory cards. He read one, and said, "Wow! Your remote video system is
fantastic!" I said, "You should see what you're doing." He said,
"Absolutely! Will you be doing this for other countries?" I said, "I
think they might not want to do something like what caused this to
happen." He said, "Er, that could be true. That test caused a lot of
comment and thinking." I said, "And in that wrong order, too." He
laughed, and said, "So I noticed!"
I said, "Ready to port back to your office?" He said, "Please." I
said, "When you're ready for me to remove the restrictions so you can
convert to your systems, and actually use it, let me know. Until then,
you might not want to advertise it." He said, "Yes. Thank you very
much!" We hugged.
Mom said, "Your first construction on Earth not on a religious site."
George said in my mind, "Show her!" I said to Mom, "When I'm in a
different dimension, I can only be monitored by S Kids, and that not
all the time. I'm being asked to show you something I made in the
Imperial Circus dimension. I can take you there, if you want. Time
differential of 12 to 1, so you won't lose much time here." She ported
clothes on, and we were there on the new planet, in the middle of the
city. I said, "For when they have enough students of different species
to need a big combined school." She was staring around in awe and
wonder. She said, "This is wonderful!" We walked around. I said,
"Central tower?" She nodded, and we ported there. She said, "Amazing!
And the art is incredible, but it doesn't overpower." I said, "When you
design it as a whole, it works better for that. Want to go to the
school and sports tower?" We did that, and she had more comments of
appreciation.
I said, "When I brought the students back to this dimension, I made
them a temporary house on a built up seamount. Kind of grand. They
liked it so much, I expanded it to make their school. Here, it's much
the same, but a lot bigger. One more thing. Dad likes it." She nodded,
and with tears, hugged me with love. I said, "You're the only person
other than me from our dimension who's seen this in person." More hugs
and kisses with love. I said, "We shouldn't make this public on Earth."
She said, "I see some of the reasons. I have to agree. But this planet,
it's so like Earth!" I said, "It's a copy of the one this dimension's
humanity originated on." She said, "You made this?" I said, "Yes. The
entire system, actually. One didn't exist where I wanted it. So I fixed
that. Simple." She said, "Including the sun?" I said, "Sure. A little
tricky, but simpler than I expected. Better make it where you want it.
They don't move easily." She said, "Too much for a wow." I said, "Fine.
Overused." Poke.
She said, "We all watched you make the test center. Amazing
engineering. That door!" I said, "Wait till they use it under their own
power." I played the "Gates at Kiev". She grinned, and said, "That
works! Can they use it to test rocket motors with the door open?" I
said, "Yes, that's why it's made of refractory metal, with retracting
gaskets. Thought of giving them a big bag of giant marshmallows for
roasting." More grins. We ported home. It was a good outing.
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Grant
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