Episode 40: Not Enough Oil
The survey of the shipwreck concluded successfully. No skeleton sailors or wraith sailors were found, which seemed to satisfy my five little sisters. That night, they were too excited to sleep and clung to Commander (Eve), eventually getting scolded by ＜Ringo＞, a valuable experience indeed. It was endearing that Commander (Eve) got scolded along with them. (I received a tremendous apology from ＜Ringo＞ later.)
Afterward, we decided to tow the shipwreck to ＜The Tree＞. It would be useful as research material, and we also aimed to recover the iron resources from the cannons and other equipment on board.
That settled the matter of the shipwreck, but a separate issue had arisen that needed addressing.
We needed to detect any ships approaching ＜The Tree＞ as early as possible. Based on the expected level of technology, we could, at worst, annihilate them to keep the existence of ＜The Tree＞ a secret. However, our understanding of this world was almost non-existent.
Take, for example, the technological system of magic. Our knowledge of it was zero. In fact, our scientific knowledge might even be a hindrance. So far, the information we’ve gathered from the port city of Telek suggests that there’s no technology similar to long-distance communication.
However, we couldn’t definitively say that nations with technology superior to Telek didn’t possess long-distance communication magic.
“We shot down a ship approaching ＜The Tree＞. They reported the attack to their home country…” That would be the worst-case scenario. Being recognized as a hostile organization would severely limit our movements. If possible, we wanted to negotiate peacefully.
By the way, “peacefully” here doesn’t mean without military force, but rather without armed conflict. We fully intend to engage in gunboat diplomacy.
“Investigating ocean currents should be our top priority. I’m really glad the situation in Telek has stabilized…”
“Yes, Ma’am. We’ve roughly established a patrol network there. We can determine that it will be stable for several months. Let’s allocate some resources to oceanographic surveys.”
We partially recovered the resources we had poured into the Telek area and allocated them to surveying the waters around ＜The Tree＞. First, we increased the number of solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft (Swifts) and replaced the observation equipment to study the ocean currents. Ideally, we’d like to deploy buoys for detailed surveys, but we decided to avoid releasing artificial objects for now. We didn’t want even trivial information to fall into the hands of other factions.
“Satellites… are still out of the question. We can’t even build a launch site, and rocket manufacturing is resource-intensive…”
“Yes, Ma’am. There are also technical issues. We haven’t investigated the upward resistance that occurs above an altitude of 5km since then.”
“Oh yeah, we had that problem too…”
The issue of the abnormal ascent speed of the high-altitude aircraft (Plane) we launched immediately after the transfer remained unresolved. We still had some solid rocket boosters in stock, but additional manufacturing would be difficult. Besides, to safely launch a satellite, we’d need to conduct numerous launch tests. We still knew nothing about the space around this world, this planet.
For the time being, we needed to continue observations using solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft (Swifts).
“But the Swift has severe payload limitations…”
“Yes, Ma’am. That’s a difficult problem to solve due to the Swift’s design. Most of the weight is taken up by the motor, battery, and power generation equipment.”
Due to its function of staying aloft using solar power, the solar-powered reconnaissance aircraft (Swift) had limitations on the equipment it could carry. Naturally, it couldn’t carry heavy equipment, and there were also severe restrictions on the energy source for the observation equipment.
During the day, it needed to charge the battery for nighttime flight, and at night, it consumed the battery to turn the propeller. We had to carefully manage the small surplus.
“Hmm… We still need a large aircraft, huh…”
If that were the case, a large propeller plane would be desirable. Jet planes were too fuel-inefficient to be considered. However, large planes required a runway, so they couldn’t be operated from the current ＜The Tree＞.
“The design for the flying boat is almost complete, so should we allocate resources to it?”
“Yes, let’s change the resource plan a bit. Prioritize testing the flying boat. And we need to seriously secure a fuel source soon…”
Currently, there was no sign of oil resources. Although we had reserves, they would dwindle if we continued as we were. If we were to operate aircraft on top of that, consumption would increase accordingly.
“Hmm, hmm… Hydrogen has low calorific value and isn’t suitable for aircraft fuel…”
“There’s also the saying, ‘Needs must when the devil drives.'”
“True. So, what’s the actual situation?”
＜The Tree＞ currently had surplus energy. We could use this to produce hydrogen and use it as a substitute for petroleum fuel.
“Yes. The calorific value of hydrogen is approximately 13 megajoules per standard volume. For comparison, jet fuel is approximately 37 megajoules per standard volume. It’s difficult to make a simple comparison because they are gas and liquid, but it’s safe to assume that the calorific value is about one-third.”
“Does that simply mean the operational radius will also be one-third?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It’s endless if we start talking about strict details, so that understanding is fine. When using a combustion method with hydrogen fuel, the operational radius will be smaller compared to jet fuel. There’s also the problem of a low output ceiling.”
“Are there methods other than combustion?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We can use fuel cells to convert it into electricity.”
While explaining, ＜Ringo＞ displayed the data. Comprehensive data on power generation by fuel cells and motor output. However, what Commander (Eve) would focus on was the manufacturing and maintenance resources.
“The initial cost is high, and the running cost is high too…”
“To ensure the necessary performance, we use high-performance materials for all components, including electrode catalysts, separators, electrolytes, and control devices. The electrodes and other parts wear out with use, so regular replacement is also necessary.”
“High-performance materials… Rare metals and special compounds. Even if we can manufacture the compounds with a molecular array machine (Printer), this is…”
Although it was more efficient than a hydrogen gas turbine, it required resources (costs) that were difficult to gather in sufficient quantities. It was so costly that it might be better to simply invest resources in exploring for oil fields.
“Ships can be equipped with large gas turbine engines, so switching to hydrogen fuel is an option, but aircraft have various restrictions, so fuel cells are the better choice after all.”
“Ugh, hmm…”
Rare metals could be recovered from seawater, albeit inefficiently. However, even when calculating only the running costs, the current production volume wouldn’t be enough to cover it. We’d have to reduce the number of operational aircraft, which would reduce exploration efficiency.
“…No good. Let’s use oil for aircraft for the time being. Is it okay to switch the ship’s fuel to hydrogen?”
“Yes, Ma’am. If we only use oil for the flying boat, there won’t be any problems for the time being. Let’s either look for oil fields in parallel or consider other energy sources.”
We had the necessary ships for trade. From the perspective of cruising range and engine output, all the ships that had been built used diesel engines, but we would replace these with hydrogen gas turbines. We would continue developing the flying boat based on the currently designed aircraft, focusing on energy conservation. We decided to steer towards reducing the consumption of ＜The Tree＞’s oil reserves.
“If we could build large-scale facilities, it would solve a lot of problems…”
“Facility construction requires a large amount of iron, so we can’t start yet.”
“If only the ground was solid.”
“Although it’s a shallow sea, it’s all ocean around us. Just setting up the foundation is extremely difficult. What we should prioritize in the current situation is…”
“…Building a platform for an undersea mine. Since we can’t find a mine on land, we’ll put our hopes on the seabed.”
“Yes, Ma’am. At this time, it is assumed to have the highest probability of success.”