Chapter 234 - 234: 230: Metallurgy
Vibranium armor is virtually indestructible, as the metal can absorb kinetic energy, negating any form of physical aggression. But while T'Challa's traditional suit could only absorb energy from attacks, Shuri developed a way to control the release of this energy, redistributing and storing it within the suit.
Energy itself cannot be created or destroyed. Vibranium also cannot circumvent the law of conservation of energy: it simply absorbs potential energy and holds it within itself, preventing it from dissipating. Knowing this, the princess of Wakanda was able to develop the perfect shield and sword. The suit accumulates a kinetic charge from any attack that reaches T'Challa, and when the energy reaches its maximum, it can be released in a stunning radial blast.
"Developing vibranium nanobots will not be easy," Ms. Lang voiced her thoughts.
"It's possible, we just need to reduce the volume of metal dust by two, no, three times," Hiro explained his thoughts. "If we resend the vibranium particles to VIB-EX, we can give them the shape we need. Vibranium does not lose its properties even at microscopic sizes."
"But then you won't be able to control the required number of particles needed to make nanobots at such insignificant quantities," Riri objected. "Then we'll have to develop a device that will do it for us..."
"Great, then try to do it!"
"I'll do it!"
The Toymaker and Ironheart got into an argument again, "there's going to be trouble…"
"And I have to put up with this twenty-four seven," Lana sighed sadly. "You should pay me extra for such suffering."
"Is it really that bad? Okay, I'll spend this day here with you, work on my project, and look after the children at the same time."
"I've been meaning to ask, why do you need such a scary costume?" She pointed to the page where my alter ego, Jack of Shadows, was depicted. Her question caught Toyman's attention, and he immediately voiced his thoughts, "Scary? Doesn't it look cool?! This is the best superhero costume I've ever seen!"
"A superhero? Hiro, you're wrong," I said in a dark tone. "I don't want to be a superhero, I strive to become a supervillain, he-he-HA," a creepy laugh rang out in the room, which I rehearsed specifically for the image of Jack. Hm, apparently it turned out even too well... They literally froze in horror.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? It's just a joke," I tried to calm the frightened audience.
"Phew, I even believed it for a second," Hiro said, exhaling a mouthful of lungs, while wiping the accumulated sweat from his forehead. In the end, I never told them why I needed such a scary costume. After the shock they'd experienced, they simply forgot to ask, and I didn't bother reminding them. For me, Jack of Shadows is the dark side of my personality. Everything Alex Reath can't do, my dark alter ego can.
The Intellectual is also my alter ego, but it stands on the side of light and brings safety, peace, and hope to the world. Two different personalities, like yin and yang, live inside me... I'm exaggerating, of course, because in the end I only have one personality. It just sounds more interesting, with a certain air of mystery.
I spent the rest of the day in Nidavellir, working on my smartwatch project. For some time now, I've been developing a device that will protect me from intrusive paparazzi. The more popular I become, the more annoying they become. And I have absolutely no desire to pose for their cameras, and the smartwatch should help me maintain my incognito.
What can I do? I'm a rather private person. The watch's primary function will be to completely isolate the wearer from camera lenses, absolutely any kind, without exception. Even old cameras that use film won't be able to capture my figure.
The watch will emit invisible waves of light with a radius of five meters, creating a kind of blind spot on the screen. And this light will hide me not only from cameras but also from the lenses of binoculars. This is crucial, as it will allow me to conceal myself from a potential assassin with a rifle and scope. Therefore, I spared no effort in developing this device, and although I had limited time, I have almost completed the assembly.
Over the time, I have not only increased the numerical value of my intelligence, but also its content. All this time, I have been constantly poring over tons of waste paper on mechanical engineering and robotics, taking training courses and master classes, which has made me an expert in this field. If the gap in knowledge and practical capabilities in this field between me and Iron Man was once equal to the distance between the Moon and Earth, now it has shrunk to the distance from sea level to Mount Everest.
Yes, such an insignificant distance separates me from the genius Tony Stark. It seems like very little, but in reality, everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance. It's this steep climb to Mount Everest that turns Tony, Bruce, and Lex into those geniuses, capable of bending the laws of physics with their inventions to suit the plot. Everyone remembers how Stark invented a time-travel compass literally overnight. Is that even possible? Here it is! And as everyone knows, conquering Everest isn't the easiest task, although it's far from impossible.
My Intelligence has already nearly surpassed 100, so it won't be long before I conquer that peak and join the ranks of geniuses like Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, and Victor von Doom. Besides, mechanical engineering wasn't the only thing I was studying during this period.
Molecular biology, in particular, the structural and functional units of heredity—or, more simply, genes. I've already undergone gene mutations more than once, so I decided to study the subject thoroughly. But if I had previously only touched on this topic in passing, I have recently begun to seriously cram it. By the way, perhaps,no one else in this world has such hardcore training, and here's why. I have seven parallel streams of consciousness, completely independent and non-communicating.
And I took full advantage of this advantage. I listened to seven educational audiobooks at once. And thanks to the separate consciousnesses, one didn't distract from the other. But this didn't seem enough, so I sped up the playback of the recordings three times. Thanks to my increased intelligence, I could quickly distinguish, analyze, and memorize the most diverse streams of information. It was precisely with this insane method that I was able to master robotics so quickly and now stand proudly next to the brilliant engineers of Nidavellir. As I already mentioned, I have almost managed to complete the "smartwatch" project.
Until now, I had been unable to perfect the final detail—the connecting link, so to speak... And today, thanks to Miss Lang's light touch, the missing piece has found its place. Although the comics rarely emphasized the girl's mental abilities, pushing her character into the background and presenting her more as Superman's girlfriend, Lana was not inferior in genius to the same Lex Luthor, who, due to his shortsightedness and hatred for the son of Krypton, fired such a valuable employee.
It's worth mentioning that today, Lana and I managed to overcome that very wall of mistrust she erected the day we met. And while I can't say she trusts me now and is ready to share all her secrets, we can confidently say we've found common ground.
We have Hiro and Riri to thank for this, whom Lang and I had to separate every time they couldn't share the first brilliant idea. And it brought us closer... Yes, babysitting is always easier when there are two of you.
Well, the first prototype of the "Smartwatch" is finally complete, although it still needs diagnostics and a couple of minor tweaks. At the end of the day, I handed Lana the tank of liquid adamantium, which I successfully stole from Ra's al Ghul's vault, and instructed her to study the metal's properties. Adamantium is an artificial iron-based alloy that is virtually indestructible. It can survive several nuclear explosions without any damage. The problem is that only a handful of people know the full formula for creating this metal, and the main problem with its mass production is the astronomical budget. I know from the comics that adamantium is created by mixing certain chemical resins. These resins are mixed and heated to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and then the resulting liquid is poured into molds and then worked with.
After eight minutes, the mixture cools and becomes solid. However, the exact composition of these resins is a closely guarded secret by the United States government. I told Lang all this so she would have something to think about and wouldn't start working blind. You might think, why would I need adamantium when I have vibranium?
The thing is, vibranium is a ready-made ore, while adamantium is an artificial alloy. This means that if you know the formula, you can produce it in unlimited quantities—if, of course, you have the money. And if we can make production cheaper, we could construct entire buildings that can withstand any earthquake, flood, or even a collision with a Kryptonian.
I wouldn't want Superman flying through my office window after being sent flying by Doomsday. So, studying adamantium is never a bad idea.
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Thanks for reading folks.