Chapter 52: Confirm the Resource Map
Currently, Commander (Eve) and ＜Ringo＞ were confirming the resource situation around Iron Town.
“Here is the resource map of the Iron Town vicinity.”
“Hmm… Is there quite a bit, I wonder?”
Displayed was a map showing reactions presumed to be iron ore. It seemed to be distributed over a wide area, centered on Iron Town.
“Yes, Ma’am. We have investigated in considerable detail, and we have come to understand the situation around this area, mainly within the Afrasia United Kingdom.”
Confirming that she was listening, ＜Ringo＞ overlaid a geological map and continued her explanation.
“It seems that this entire area is covered in lava rock. The thickness is estimated to be several tens of meters.”
“Hee… Lava, huh.”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is believed that the entire Afrasia United Kingdom is located on a massive lava flow. Lava rock does not contain nitrogen, so it is not suitable for plant growth.”
If the entire country was covered in lava rock, it made sense that agriculture had not developed. In the first place, even if you planted something, it wouldn’t grow.
“However, the lava itself can be regarded as a promising ore deposit. In fact, it is presumed that the lode in Iron Town was formed when a fault was exposed due to topographical changes, and the iron lode emerged above ground.”
Certainly, Iron Town was located at the foot of a small hill, and a tunnel opened halfway up the hill. It could be said that they were able to discover an iron lode that happened to be exposed above ground.
“So, that means if we dig, various things might come out?”
“Yes, Ma’am. The possibility is very high. However, the surface layer of several tens of meters is covered with lava rock with a low metal content, so we won’t know the details unless we dig quite deep.”
“Test drilling, huh… Well, it can’t be helped.”
“The iron ore obtained from Iron Town had a low content, but it is likely that we have only been able to mine the surface layer so far. Depending on the location, we may be able to mine ore of considerably good quality.”
When lava cools, heavy metals accumulate at the bottom, and relatively light metals accumulate at the top. Metal deposits are formed in basin-like terrains where accumulated lava cools slowly.
“Well, that area needs to be investigated. I’m counting on the Albatross.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will continue the investigation, expanding the measurement range.”
However, she pondered whether it was a lava-derived ore deposit. If so, metal deposits such as platinum, titanium, chromium, copper, nickel, and vanadium might also be discovered. It would be welcome to have more usable metal resources. Rare metals directly contribute to the high performance of each product.
“But with this, it finally feels like we have a prospect for metal resources…”
“Yes, Ma’am. For the time being. The reserves are still unknown, but at least we can expect to secure iron resources for the time being by developing Iron Town.”
They had been continuing to import low-grade iron ore from hand-dug mines, and somehow managed to expand the insufficient facilities. They built a large dock, improved the power reactor, and produced various defense and survey machines.
“The construction of the port is also in sight. We will proceed with the fortress construction while ensuring safety. Once safety is secured, it will be possible to produce large machine tools.”
“The one we confirmed the other day, right? If we can mass-produce them, development will progress rapidly.”
“Yes, Ma’am. The demonstration experiment of the microwave power supply is also progressing smoothly. The design of the dedicated high-altitude platform has also been completed, so we can expand our range of action at once.”
“Hmm, good! …However, we still haven’t reached the target amount of iron.”
“We have high hopes for Iron Town. Paving will be completed soon. After that, we will enter the railway construction, so the amount of mining and transportation will be dramatically improved.”
The remodeling of Telek Port City and Iron Town (literally remodeling) is also progressing as planned. Once the paving is completed, the next step is the horse-drawn railway. They also considered running railway cars, but it was estimated that the fuel would be insufficient for internal combustion engines such as diesel, and the copper used for electric wires would be insufficient for electric motors.
For the time being, copper is also included as an impurity in the mined iron ore, but the amount is not enough. It will soon be necessary to seriously search for copper lodes as well.
“The renewal of the energy reactor is also in sight… Either we find a lode on the ground, or we develop a seabed deposit… The atomic conversion reactor is short of energy in the first place.”
“The practical operation of the atomic conversion reactor requires more than 5,000 times the current energy. Probably, we will need a superior reactor such as a degeneracy reactor, so we do not have enough construction materials at present.”
“Hmm… For the time being, nuclear fusion, I guess… There is no problem with the stable supply of deuterium, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We have a prospect for stable collection from seawater. After that, it is a matter of construction materials, but if the supply of iron ore proceeds as expected, we will be in time for the construction of the port.”
By starting the operation of the Destroyer 1st (Alpha) class and the flying boat SR-1 (Albatross), the consumption of stockpiled oil is increasing at an accelerated rate.
At the current pace, it is possible to operate for about a year, but conversely, the bottom will be visible after a year. It is necessary to take measures as soon as possible.
Therefore, ＜Ringo＞ is planning to establish a base of operations on the continent and construct large-scale facilities.
“Methane hydrate is also an excellent resource, but we don’t have a recovery method right now.”
“Yes, Ma’am. As a result of the trial calculation, we have determined that the construction of a nuclear fusion reactor using deuterium can be put into practical operation in the shortest period of time. By constructing a microwave power supply system and carrying out large-scale mining operations, we can use the action capacity with maximum efficiency.”
With battery power, long-term action is difficult. Even if we prepare charging facilities, we need to run power lines to the facilities. Therefore, the judgment is that it is better to concentrate investment in resources and operate the microwave power supply system. If we can acquire a certain amount of resources, we can also invest in marine development.
“If we can mine natural gas or methane hydrate, we can start full-scale space development. We are also developing rocket engines with methane as fuel.”
“That’s right. At worst, I was thinking of betting everything on satellite exploration, but I’m glad that we have a prospect of finding ore deposits on the continent…”
We were exploring various means, including a plan to build a launch platform in a rush and concentrate investment in satellite development.
However, since there is no information about the surrounding space of this planet, it was a very risky plan.
However, if resources were not found, it would be necessary to explore further afield, and it was thought that even the Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift) would not have a sufficient range of action. It was a fluke that we found a lode around Iron Town for the time being.
“Oh, that’s right. Ichigo, I’m thinking of having you take over as Commander once the base fortress on the Northern Continent is completed.”
“Eh, oh, yes!”
Suddenly spoken to, Ichigo trembled.
“For the time being, it will be a remote response. Once the dedicated high-altitude platform is up, the communication lag should be greatly reduced.”
“O-Okay! I’ll do my best…!”
Among the five sisters, the second daughter, Ichigo, has the highest independence. With the construction of the fortress as an opportunity, I thought about an arrangement to further develop her abilities. Akane would be a good Vice Commander (Backup). Utsugi and Erika are still worried, and Olive has allocated too much ability value to production activities.
“In about half a year, the Brain Units of Akane and Ichigo will be able to be applied (feedback) to the Backbone. If we can mass-produce standalone Humanoid Machines (Androids), the hurdle for expanding bases will be lowered.”
“That’s right. It’s okay to have ＜Ringo＞ look at everything, but there are difficulties in diversity, and it’s too vulnerable to communication path obstacles.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
However, while one Humanoid Machine (Android) is equipped with only one unit of Brain Unit, the number of constituent units of ＜Ringo＞ is 380,000. It’s a violent number. With this much ability, you can fabricate as much diversity as you want, but well, even so.
Furthermore, the communication failures she was concerned about were not easily resolved. Currently, they were building a communication network using Swift, but in the event of an emergency, communication could easily be lost. Therefore, they wanted to prepare reasonably capable AIs at large-scale bases, so they could operate independently.
“Come to think of it, if we’re adding bases, we’ll need concrete and stuff, huh…”
For the time being, they planned to use quarried stone to cover the shortfall. However, considering versatility, they still wanted to use concrete. This too would require mine exploration.
“Yes, Ma’am. We will proceed in order.”