Chapter 127 – Reactor

"You're trying to help us escape."

Selene looked at Dream with eyes of disbelief. 

"Not just help you. Pretty soon, Riddick and I are coming over there to get you guys out."

"Really?!"

Iris shouted in joy, a smile blooming on her face.

"That's right, baby."

"Wait, I don't think you understand how dangerous that is."

"Oh believe me I do. But there's a reason we're doing it now. In fact, let's bring him on right now."

The next moment, another image appeared in their vision. It was a man, reaching up into a bookshelf.

"Dad!"

"Hm? Iris? Selene?"

Riddick looked around in confusion before laying eyes on Dream.

"You told them?"

"Pretty much. Though I didn't want to spoil your news, so I brought you on."

"Hmph. I guess now's the best time."

"Riddick? What happened?"

Selene looked to Riddick curiously.

"I've advanced to class 4."

"What? Really?! Haha! Dad advanced!"

"Congratulations!"

The girls got excited and congratulated their dad. Meanwhile, Selene looked at him in thought.

"...You know how dangerous it is."

"That's why we're preparing. The Boy has let me know of his plans. I'm guessing those suits got to you?"

"Yes. It's- Where is it?"

"Currently invisible. It's still on top of your skin."

The girls looked down at their arms, noticing they weren't covered in purple anymore. 

"It'll activate on command." (Dream)

"Alright. So yes, we got the suits." (Selene)

"Good. That's only the first of many preparations we're making. The Boy has plans for everything and weapons of all kinds. I'm also gathering resources for spells, and he's going to make me a suit as well. We're making you fully aware so that when the time comes, everything hopefully runs smoothly."

"So you don't plan to fight Raoul?"

"Not if I don't have to. I may hate the man, but I understand his strength. I likely wouldn't win against him, so we're going to try and get you three out undetected. If that doesn't work, then we'll fight."

"Have you considered the other class 4's?"

"They have been considered, yes. But so has their likelihood of not interfering. We aren't attacking them, so even if they notice, they may do nothing."

"What about the enchantments around the place?"

"We have the best enchanter in the world right here."

Riddick pointed to Dream, who felt flattered at the compliment.

"...You'll let me know about all your plans?"

"We will."

"Your suits have the plan data in them. All you need to do is ask." (Dream)

"...I see."

"I know you're worried, but things are different now. And I'm not waiting any longer. Especially as things are becoming turbulent over here."

"The demons?"

"You know about them?"

"Yes. They've destroyed several settlements and have started a small invasion. Everyone is forming up armies to defend against them."

"Hmm. Well, the human Empires have also begun war preparations. We estimate two weeks before we get called upon to go to war. It's before then that I want to get you three out."

"I understand. You just need to keep in mind that should you get into a fight, it may not be one you can escape from. He wants you dead. And you're walking into his territory."

"I know. Well, I'm actually not going to be the one walking into the territory. He is."

Riddick pointed to Dream again.

"...Why do I feel like he's the one doing everything?"

"Hmph. He's just good at enchanting. He's still only a class 3 though, so I'm still needed."

"Heh, sure."

Dream smirked, to which the girls giggled. 

"Anyway, you three need to go over the plans in there. For this, nothing can go wrong."

"When will you start?"

"The latest we can." (Dream)

"Why the latest?"

"To gather as much data as possible. We need to track the habits of everyone who may be in our way. A portion of your suits are currently scouting the area and they're going to be watching everything. The longer they can watch, the safer we'll be. They'll also be able to get the layout for all the enchantments around the area, seeing if there's anything that can hinder us. In fact, if you have any intelligence about the place, any at all, talk to your suit. It will give the intelligence to me."

"...These suits of yours are weird."

"I don't make crappy products. Anyway, anything else you need to know will be given by the suit. You can put them in your inventory, but I recommend you keep them out like your bracelets. Nobody should be able to sense them when out. And if they can, then put them in your inventory. But unless you're in the presence of a class 4, that should never happen."

"Very well. So...What do we do until then?"

"Whatever you usually do. In fact, you need to be as normal as possible. Don't change anything about yourselves. Doing so can put this whole thing in jeopardy. So just relax and go about your days as normal. Those suits will keep you up to date with any news."

"..."

"Now, Old Man, you done packing?"

"Almost."

"Tell me when you are. I'm sending you your suit as well. When you're ready, I'll head down with the ship and we'll begin our operations. Until then, I've got more things to build."

"Alright. Go ahead."

"I'll see you all later."

After saying bye to the girls, Dream disappeared from their vision. The family was left alone.

"...You all trust him that much?"

Selene spoke to the girls and Riddick. They all nodded.

"At this point, it's weird, but I trust that Boy with my life. Hell, he's already saved me once. And now he's risking himself for this operation."

"And you girls. Especially Luna. You guys just don't doubt him at all, do you?"

"Nope." (Luna)

"Not really." (Iris)

"Why?"

"...Well, he just really cares. We can see it, with our vision. Even when he was weak and had nothing to hide, he was just...genuine." (Luna)

"...Iris?"

"Uhh, he's nice? I don't really know how to describe it. But I chose him once, and I won't take back that choice. I can't let all his love go to Luna, after all."

"Hmph. You little girls. I still can't believe that Boy is stealing you from me."

"Hehe, it's okay. If anything, he's bringing us to you. We can all be together soon."

The girls laughed at their dad's ugly face. Selene just looked at them for a bit.

"...I really want to see him."

"Although he can be a bit eccentric, he's not a bad kid. And for now, if just for my sake, do what he says and trust him. I know how distrusting you can be, but he needs to be the exception right now."

"...I understand. Not that I really have a choice."

"Thanks."

The two looked at each other, the love and longing in their eyes obvious. They had hope now. Hope for a future where they were all together. They could be a proper family for once.

.........

.....

After hanging up the call, Dream sent off the suit to Riddick. Though he would actually have to do some modifications when they met up, so it wasn't done for now.

But regardless, he had checked another box off the checklist. 

"Now we need a ship. And I know you have some design changes."

[I do. Check this out.]

Sophia began sending him data. It was data from Earth, and it was in relation to the fusion reactor that recently got built there.

[With our power, skills, and understanding of technology, we can definitely make a hydrogen fusion reactor. Not only that, but we can use the technology for the ship thrusters. It'll allow us to achieve very high speeds. This tech can also be used for railguns, robots, and many other things requiring power.]

"I'm good with that. Will it be big?"

[Not at all. Though size will determine the overall power output, we can make it as small as a foot in diameter.]

"Very nice. Then what do we need to construct it?"

[Superconducting fullerenes, tungsten, steel, and silver. All of which we have. Though igniting the reactor will require us to do it, that'll only be for the first ignition and then it'll be able to run by itself.]

"And we won't have problems with fuel?"

[A small amount of hydrogen can go a long way. So no. Plus, they can just pick up hydrogen from the atmosphere if a reactor ever needs refueling. It'll be fine.]

"Then since we have everything, let's begin construction."

[We'll start with the cores.]

Sophia brought over some grade 10 silver. Instead of leaving it as a solid sphere though, she disassembled it into particles and then enchanted it. The result was a sphere made up of many little micro balls. 

[This core will supply all the heat and electricity as well as act as the coolant and propellant. The great thing about enchanting is that it can drastically cut down on the amount of machinery needed to carry out the complex functions in a reactor. Which we're going to do with this core.]

After saying that, the core completed its enchantments. Then, from all over the storage area, different materials were picked up and brought over. 

These included the steel, tungsten, and graphite that she mentioned. The tungsten and steel were formed into a torus-shaped reactor about 10 feet in diameter. It looked like a big hollow donut that had its walls lined with this tungsten and steel. Then, the graphite began getting disassembled and processed with some special tools she summoned. This graphite was soon turned into carbon nanotubes and structures and they were combined with structural silver to form a superconducting material. 

These carbon structures were wrapped around the donut in strips. Many other systems were also put into place for heating, helical magnetic confinement, and fuel injection. All of the construction went smoothly and quickly with their power and knowledge and soon, Dream had a big metal donut inside of a box sitting in front of him.

[The design is based on the old tokamak design, just obviously much better structurally and functionally. Along with the hydrogen, we can fire this thing up.]

"Do it."

With the word, mana began moving from the core in the middle and the systems were booted up. Deuterium and tritium hydrogen isotopes were injected into the reactor and began following the magnetic path. Tons of electricity was also used to kickstart the ignition and turn the hydrogen into a plasma, heating everything by tens of millions of kelvin. 

After several minutes, Dream could sense plasma flowing extremely fast around the center of the donut. And after the plasma was heated up to nearly 100 million degrees kelvin, they finally started to get electrical output.

[Breakeven is 0.6...0.7...0.9...1! We've hit breakeven, bringing down electrical insertion...Plasma is maintaining. Safety factor increasing... And success! Ignition reached!]

Excitedly, Sophia watched as the reactor began producing more energy than it consumed. At first it only produced 30% more than it consumed, but that number began rising exponentially and soon, the reactor hit an infinite safety factor, otherwise known as ignition. This meant that it was capable of maintaining itself indefinitely. As long as they had the hydrogen, it would be able to infinitely produce energy.

"Fantastic. Such a huge reactor...I can only imagine if it were used to power a railgun. Hehehe..."

[Mad scientist.]

"Passionate intellectual. Anyway, let's build some more. This size is actually good for the railgun platforms. We can make smaller reactors for the ships too. How many railguns were we planning to make?"

[About 4. They'll be deployable but mobile. I was planning to build them here and then let them drop themselves in the proper positions.]

"Would they really work for such a small target? We aren't bombarding a city but shooting a person. And he'll be fast."

[For one, these railguns won't be that far away. Two, the projectile velocity I've calculated will be upwards of 15 kilometers a second. If he can really dodge that, I would love to see it.]

"Hmm. I guess. Those projectiles will have to be strong to withstand that force. And the amount of heat generated will be super high."

[And our materials and enchantments can handle it. We're messing with some extreme physics, but we have the power to, so it's fine.]

"Then I got no more concerns. Let's make them. Then we'll build the ship."

[Roger roger.]

When she said that, even more materials were brought over and started forming themselves. A few tons of steel and a few hundred pounds of silver were formed into 4 different gun platforms. 

Each platform had a space for the reactor, the loader, and the rails. The rails by themselves were already 30 feet long and 5 feet wide, and the base platforms were 8 feet tall and 15 feet wide. The overall platform was huge and Dream stared at everything with boyish excitement. Not only that, but they were also made to be semi-collapsible so they could be moved conveniently. 

The 4 railgun platforms only took several minutes to make. Soon, Dream had 4 giant guns many times bigger than he was.

[Now for the reactors.]

Sophia brought over some more materials and quickly made 4 more reactors identical to the first one. When they were made, Dream used the first reactor to ignite them since it was an easy source of energy. When they were ignited, he moved them inside the empty cavities inside the railgun platforms designed specifically for them. 

*Whirr!*

*Snap!*

When they were inserted and hooked up, electricity began to flow through the various systems of the railguns. Dream could see powerful blue arcs of electricity and plasma jumping between the rails of the guns. All the arcs were several hundred thousand degrees, but despite that, they weren't melting any metal. This is what made enchantments and high grade metals so amazing, and it was the only reason they were able to build what they were.

"Hehe. Me likey."

Dream giggled and ordered the railguns to collapse themselves. They did and became shaped like a huge tank. 

"So now we just need the propulsion. Now although the fusion reactor can produce tons of electricity by way of direct conversion, it still relies on the laws of momentum. It needs a propellant, something to push off of and expel."

[For that I've chosen Argon, the third most abundant gas in the atmosphere. Basically, the torus reactor we made will be placed in the ship and connected to another smaller reactor in the boosters to drive them. The reactor in the booster will then use magnetized target fusion as a confinement method which will in turn allow us to use argon as the propellant. Altogether energy wise, it's not the most efficient, but by way of fuel, it'll allow the greatest thrust to be generated while using smaller amounts of fuel.]

Dream received all the schematics and data as she spoke, outlining everything.

"Wasn't the magnetized target fusion method unusable?"

[It was. But I've made it usable. It's the most space-efficient method of propulsion since they will be smaller and wall free, unlike the torus.]

"Ok. Another problem though. Using that architecture, you're giving these ships rocket level thrust. I mean, these booster schemes were theorized as a way to take us to Jupiter in under a year."

[High thrust is a problem?]

"...Actually, I guess not."

When Dream thought about how powerful they were, it actually wasn't a problem. As long as he gave the necessary enchantments, they would have no problems with G-force. Plus it wasn't like they would be going full power the whole time. So with that logic, there actually wasn't a problem.

"Nevermind. Let's just build them. It'll be really cool either way."

Throwing doubts out of his mind, they both went on to build the ships and thrusters.