Chapter 101: Prometheus Mark 6
{ A/N: I apologize to all Privileged Readers who read the wrong CH 104-105. I mistakenly uploaded the wrong Chapter. I apologize for the inconvenience. }
Three Days Later – Purnas Mansion, Underground Base
The reactor chamber whispered with motion. Android units glided silently across polished alloy floors. Articulated arms clicked in rhythm as drones zipped through the air, ferrying instruments, cables, and reinforced composites.
Richard stood beside Lina on the lowest tier of the energy sector—four stories below the Earth’s surface. The massive form of the Q-Flux Fusion Reactor dominated the space like a sleeping god. Smooth panels of tungsten-glass shimmered faintly, pulsing in idle cycles. The low hum of restrained power vibrated beneath their boots, as if the air itself was holding its breath.
On a steel table to their side, two scaled-down units rested—each a testament to condensed miracle. One was the size of a gallon jug. The other no bigger than a closed fist, yet shaped with unnerving symmetry.
Lina adjusted her gloves, eyes glowing faint cyan beneath her sterile hood. "Final lattice harmonics calibrated. I’ve reinforced the graphene-sheathed composite on both miniaturized cores. The one in your hand—" she nodded to the smallest model, "—is the lower bound for stable compression. Anything smaller risks quantum instability."
Richard crouched, lifting it between thumb and forefinger. The thing was featherlight. And yet it hummed with heatless inertia, a static pressure that tickled the edges of perception.
"So this would work for... power armor?" he asked, turning it slowly under the lab lights.
"Or a scout-class shuttle. I’ve preloaded its regulation matrix," Lina said. "Once linked, it self-tunes to output demands. But be warned: only I can override the failsafes. Anyone else might overload it—fatally."
She pointed at the base of the main reactor. "Redundant mechanical killswitch installed. In case of systemic failure, or... unintended cascade scenarios."
Richard stood upright, nodding once.