Chapter 1192: A Wind Chaser
Neutron sources — a kind of catalyst — provided extra neutrons to sustain the chain reaction even when Uranium-235 was below its critical mass.
Both polonium and radium, separated from natural uranium, could be compounded with beryllium to serve as neutron sources. Roland foresaw no technical difficulties: polonium released a torrent of neutrons when struck by alpha particles, and all three elements existed in nature, sparing them the effort of artificial synthesis.
He preferred polonium to radium on safety grounds alone. Polonium-210 had a short half-life, but upon decay it released very few photons, making it barely more dangerous than inert uranium. Radium, by contrast, released radon gas and gamma photons — a persistent hazard. Polonium was the cleaner candidate.
Beryllium had its own advantage: it reflected neutrons, increasing the probability of each neutron interacting with the fissile core. Polonium, beryllium, and a sufficient quantity of Uranium-235, in even the simplest gun-type assembly, could produce a lethal result.
And beryllium was common in emeralds, which were accessible throughout the Four Kingdoms. Azima would not need to search the wilderness for it.
Roland understood Neverwinter’s present technology precisely. The principle of the Resplendent Radiation was simple enough — but raising the energy utilization rate from 1% toward 90% demanded rigorous theoretical calculation and exhaustive testing. A low conversion rate meant enormous waste of precious uranium and a weapon too large to deploy practically. Lucia’s extraction ability minimized the loss of material; that was the one mercy of the situation.
Even so, building a nuclear weapon from nothing required mastery of a dozen advanced disciplines at once. The destructive power was without parallel compared to conventional explosives: even 1% energy release from uranium dwarfed anything chemistry could produce.
Roland had to succeed. This battle would decide the fate of humanity.
To hold the power of the sun in your palms, in this uncivilized age — wasn’t there something like romance in that?
He would try, however impossible it seemed.
“Keep up the good work,” Roland said, patting Lucia on the head. “Once all the cabinets are filled, we can begin the tests.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Lucia’s eyes shone.
Meanwhile, at the Aerial Knight Academy of Neverwinter.
The area west of the research institute was quiet — the other students were on break, visiting their families. Only Good remained.
“Upwind, gear down!”
“Crosswind, roll over!”
Good sat before the mock flight deck, adjusting the controls to match the wind-direction calls he drilled from memory. The wooden rod groaned like a watermill long past its prime. The training room was sultry; sweat darkened his back, dripped from his chin onto the battered deck. Eventually his grip loosened — hands too slick — and he stopped.
He had spent nearly half a year learning to fly. By now, the instructions in Princess Tilly’s Flight Manual were engraved somewhere behind his eyes rather than read from a page. He no longer panicked at the mock movements of a plane. His reflexes had become almost automatic: mind decided, body followed.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t know whether he could actually fly.
He could not picture himself at the controls of a real aircraft, fighting the wind alone. The Manual said to feel the wind force and wind direction, sense the movement of the aircraft and operate accordingly — but he had no idea what that feeling was supposed to be. The mock flight deck was indifferent to everything he did, motionless no matter how he worked the gear, as though it were laughing at him in silence.
The more he practiced, the more he doubted.
The door flew open.
“Oho, you’re really here.”
“Told you. I was right.”
Good looked up. Two figures stepped into the training room: Finkin and Hinds, his teammates.
“Not having fun during your break?” Finkin whistled. “Then again, the real fun is right here.”
“You have a sister, don’t you?” Hinds said, slinging an arm around Good’s neck. “She told me to tell you to rest. Very sweet of her.”
Good’s manner went rigid. “Did you go to my place?”
“Where else would we look?” Finkin said, brows raised. “Her name’s Rachel, right? Mind introducing me?”
“Out of the question,” Good said flatly, meeting Finkin’s eyes with a look that discouraged argument.
“I have a proper house near Redwater River,” Finkin said, indignant.
Good was quiet a moment. “It has nothing to do with you. Rachel has her own circumstances. She wouldn’t want to be with anyone.”
“Why?” Hinds asked. “She seemed sweet.”
“Drop it,” Good said. “What did you mean earlier, about the fun being here at school?”
Finkin lowered his voice and leaned in. “Do you want to fly a real plane?”
Good stared at him.
“I climbed over the wall a few days ago,” Finkin said, grinning. “There are new planes in the hangar. Covered with canvas — but they’re about the same size as Princess Tilly’s ‘Unicorn.’ In other words, those are our planes.”
“A few days ago? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want you getting too excited and blabbering,” Finkin said. “We’re on a break. The academy’s nearly empty. This is our chance for a look.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Good said. “No one’s allowed in there without permission.”
“The soldiers won’t let us through the main gate,” Finkin said, rolling his eyes. “So we go around the airport.”
“But — ”
“We’re just looking,” Hinds cut in. “You’ve noticed Princess Tilly’s been in a foul mood lately, stricter than ever. It’ll probably be two more months before we touch a real plane. Don’t you want to at least see what ours look like? Or do you prefer this wooden deck?”
“If you won’t come, we’ll go without you,” Finkin said, winking.
Good looked at the rickety wooden rod. The sense of loss that had settled in his chest all afternoon was still there, quiet and specific. After what felt like a long internal argument with himself, he bit his lip.
“Alright. Show me the way.”
Chapter 1192: A Wind Chaser
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Neutron sources, which could be classified as catalyst, provided extra neutrons that could sustain the chain reaction even when Uranium-235 was under its critical mass.
Technically, both polonium and radium separated from natural uranium could form compounds with beryllium to serve as neutron sources. Roland did not foresee any technical difficulties, for polonium could release a large number of neutrons when colliding with alpha particles. All of the three elements were existing in nature, which saved them a lot of time to create elements artificially.
Roland preferred polonium to radium purely out of safety concerns. Although polonium-210 had a short half-life, it released very few photons upon a decay, which meant it was no more dangerous than inactive uranium. However, radium, which released radon and photons upon activation, posed a potential safety hazard. As such, polonium was a better candidate to provide neutrons.
Further, beryllium could reflect neutrons and further increased the possibility for neutrons to interact with other elements. By combining polonium and beryllium, along with a sufficient amount of uranium-235, even the simplest gun model could be lethal.
In addition to that, beryllium was a common element in emeralds that were quite accessible in the Four Kingdoms, so Azima did not have to search for them in the wilderness.
Roland knew very well about Neverwinter’s current level of techonology. The principle of the Resplendent Radiation was simple, but to signicantly improve the utilization rate of energy from 1% to 90%, it required tons of
theoretical calculations and numerous tests. If the conversion rate was low, he would not be able to reduce the size of the weapons and would thus waste precious uranium resources. Fortunately, Lucia’s ability minimized the loss arising from the uranium extraction.
Nevertheless, even with a minimal loss, creating a nuclear weapon from scratch still involved various advanced technologies. Nuclear weapons’ destructive power was phenomenal compared to regular explosives. Even 1% of uranium could release unparalleled energy.
Roland had to make every effort to win this battle that would decide the fate of the mankind.
To held the power of the Sun in your palms in this uncivilized era, wasn’t it a type of romance?
He would like to give it a shot no matter how impossible it seemed.
“Very well, keep up the good work,” Roland said as he patted Lucia on the head. “Once all the cabinets are filled with lead boxes, we can start on the tests.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Lucia said fervently.
In the meantime, in the Aerial Knight Academy of Neverwinter.
The area to the west of the research institute was quite today, for all the students were on a break visiting their families, except for Good.
“Upwind, gear down!”
“Crosswind, roll over!”
Good seated himself in front of the mock flight deck, practicing according to the instructions in the Flight Manual by changing the setting of the wind directions. The wooden rod creaked like a battered, weathered watermill.
The air in the training room was sultry and balmy. His back was dampened with perspiration, and sweat dripped down his chin on the shabby deck.
Gradually, his hand became so wet that he could not keep a tight grip on the lever. Good thus stopped and heaved a deep sigh.
After learning to fly for almost half a year, Good had engraved the basic instructions in the Flight Manual written by Princess Tilly in his memories. He was no longer that lay man who got easily flustered by the movements of the plane. Now, Good had memorized all the instructions and developed quick reflexes. His body would react almost automatically to his mind.
But Good doubted if he could really fly a plane.
He could not envision the picture where he actually maneuvered a plane against the wind by himself. The Manual suggested that he should “feel the wind force and wind direction, sense the movement of the aircraft and operate the plane accordingly”. However, he did not understand what kind of feeling that was. The mock flight deck remained motionless all the same no matter how he shifted the gear, as though it were laughing at his futile attempts with an air of derision.
The more Good practiced, the more frustrated he became.
While he was feeling extremely discouraged, the door of the training room was suddenly flung open.
“Oho, you’re really here.”
“Told you. I was right, wasn’t I?”
Good looked around, and very surprisingly, saw two men step into the room, who were none other than his team members, Finkin and Hinds.
“Not having fun during your break?” Finkin whistled. “Well, that’s because fun is right here in the school.”
“Why are you still here. You have a sister, don’t you?” Hinds rejoined as he flung his arm around Good’s neck. “She asked me to tell you that you should
take a good rest. That’s… so sweet of her.”
Good’s manner tightened. He asked sternly, “Hold on, did you guys visit my place?”
“Of course, otherwise where should we go find you?” Finkin said matter-offactly, his brows raised. “Her name is Rachel, right? Do you mind introducing her to me?”
“Out of the question,” Good retorted fiercely while shooting Finkin a cold glance.
“Aren’t we good enough?” Finkin said indignantly. “I have a proper house near Redwater River!”
Good lapsed into a thoughtful silence and then shook his head. “No, it has nothing to do with you. My sister… Rachel has her own problem. I don’t think she would like to be with you.”
“Why? I think she’s sweet,” Hinds asked in confusion.
“Come. Spit it out,” Finkin urged in curiosity.
“Drop it,” Good replied gruffly. “Let’s talk about something else. What did you mean by “fun is here in the school?”
Finkin did not insist but lowered his voice and replied fugitively, “Do you want to fly a real plane?”
Astonished, Good said, “What did you say?”
“I saw it a few days ago when I climbed over the wall,” Finkin said with a triumphant smile. “There are new planes in the hangar. Although they’re covered with canvas, I could see they’re about the same size of the ‘Unicorn’ piloted by Princess Tilly. In other words, those are our planes!”
“A few days ago? Why didn’t you tell us back then?”
“Because I don’t want you to be too excited and blabber about it,” Finkin said while shrugging. “We’re on a break, so few people are in the academy. That gives us a great chance to have a peek at them!”
“Are you mental?” Good said in disbelief. “Without permission, nobody is allowed to get in there!”
“Surely those soldiers won’t let you in,” Finkin said while rolling his eyes at Good. “So we must take another route and go around the airport.”
“But…”
“We’re just taking a look,” Hinds egged on. “You should have noticed that Princess Tilly looks sulky recently and is more strict with us. So it would probably be another two months before we could actually fly them. Don’t you want to know what our planes look like, or you actually prefer this stupid wooden deck?”
“If you don’t come with us, we’ll go without you,” Finkin said as he winked at Good.
Good stared at the rickety wooden rod while savoring the sense of loss that lingered upon his heart. After what seemed to be a long internal struggle, Good bit his lip and agreed with a nod, “Alright. I’ll come. Show me the way.”