"The third phase of the geothermal power plant project has been completed, pushing our total generating capacity to 14 gawatts. The fourth phase of the project is proceeding right on schedule, and we expect the capacity to reach 20 gawatts upon completion."
"...The first phase of the superconducting upgrade at the Aegis Industrial Complex is currently underway. Once finished, it is projected to boost our overall industrial production capacity by a massive 52%."
"The first point-to-point magnetic levitation transit line has been officially completed..."
The towering stacks of reports didn’t feel tedious to Jason at all. He was thoroughly enjoying the imnse sense of accomplishnt that ca with watching their civilization rapidly rebuild and evolve.
However, because there were simply too many tasks piling up, even his high efficiency couldn’t keep pace. He was constantly bogged down by miscellaneous, annoying little administrative disputes.
In the end... he had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask his forr assistant, Lily, to return to her administrative post.
The main reason he needed her back was the ongoing crisis regarding the distribution of the new superconducting materials.
Superconductors, superconductors, superconductors! The entire scientific community was practically foaming at the mouth, demanding larger quotas of the material. It truly highlighted just how epoch-making the invention was.
The Federation governnt now had a fairly complete administrative system, with dedicated staff managing each departnt. However, these young bureaucrats clearly lacked the experience needed to handle the seasoned scientists!
Because the Noah fostered a culture that deeply revered intellect and wisdom, the senior scientists naturally exuded an aura of untouchable authority. The young governnt staff simply couldn’t bring themselves to deny the forceful, compelling demands of these great minds.
The root of the problem was that the bureaucrats lacked the necessary scientific expertise to properly evaluate the research proposals. The scientists were clever; they knew their resource demands were excessive. To get around this, they deliberately wrote their proposals using extrely dense, profound academic jargon. They repackaged trivial, low-priority pet projects to sound like absolutely vital, world-saving research... and the governnt officials simply couldn’t tell the difference!
The supply bottleneck for the superconducting material had beco a widespread issue. Even after rapidly spinning up several new production lines, the supply still couldn’t et the artificially inflated demand.
"What a joke! We have a whole departnt of PhDs and they can’t even decipher a basic research proposal?" Jason was furious, though he couldn’t criticize the staff too harshly; he knew they were already working and studying as hard as they could.
Because of the bottlenecks, several anxious scientists had even bypassed the system to call Jason directly, causing him endless annoyance.
Please! he thought. If the captain has to personally micromanage every single supply requisition, I’d need 240 hours in a day, and it still wouldn’t be enough!
Jason knew perfectly well that synthesizing the superconducting material required a massive drain on their power grid and raw resources. They simply couldn’t afford to waste it on low-priority research projects right now. Once humanity secured a resource-rich planet, they could experint all they wanted. Why couldn’t they just wait?
No matter what, humanity couldn’t afford to waste their limited mineral reserves. So, Jason ruthlessly rejected every direct call he received.
However, this only put more pressure on the governnt staff, leading to administrative confusion and costly mistakes. Left with no other options, he officially brought Lily back to take charge of the resource distribution.
As one of the key researchers who had analyzed the extraterrestrial alloys, Lily was a highly qualified scientist in her own right. Now, however, it seed she was being used as a bureaucratic shield.
She didn’t complain. After listening to Jason explain the administrative nightmare, she simply nodded silently and got to work.
When it ca to professional expertise, the young governnt staff were no match for the senior scientists but Lily was. She swiftly and decisively rejected dozens of inflated proposals, providing perfectly valid, mathematically sound reasons that left no room for the scientists to argue.
No matter how densely a report was padded with jargon, Lily could easily cut through the noise and understand the core concept of the research. If a project was a waste of resources, she shut it down. She processed the backlog with lightning speed, smoothing out the entire supply chain.
Watching her work, Jason couldn’t help but sigh in relief. "That is the difference between an amateur and a professional..."
What they didn’t know was that while they were fixing the supply chain, the actual inventor of the superconducting material had just been arrested, sparking a massive public spectacle!
In one of the larger sectors of the Noah, a spacious facility had been converted into the Federation Security Departnt precinct. It was the largest law enforcent hub on the ship.
A large crowd of off-duty officers, dical personnel, and curious reporters who had caught wind of the scandal were gathered tightly around the precinct doors.
So were waiting for official clearance to enter, while others gossiped excitedly with anyone who would listen. The reporters were aggressively firing off questions, desperate for a scoop.
The official details hadn’t been released yet, but rumors were swirling that the renowned scientist, Peter, had suffered a sudden, violent ntal breakdown and committed a serious cri. To protect the privacy of both the victim and the suspect, the Security Departnt had placed the facility under total lockdown. No one on the outside knew exactly what had happened.
"But he’s a great scientist! I saw it with my own eyes!" one bystander argued.
"What kind of cri did he even commit?" another asked.
Peter had beco an overnight celebrity because the entire population was already reaping the benefits of his superconducting material. Now that the public was highly educated in basic sciences, everyone understood just how revolutionary his invention was.
However, Peter was a total recluse; people had heard his na, but very few had ever actually seen him in person. Why had he suddenly snapped and gotten arrested?
Humanity’s natural appetite for gossip was blazing out of control, leading to wild, completely unfounded theories. The cri rate on the Noah was virtually zero, and public security was absolute. It was impossible not to be intensely curious when a major incident occurred, especially one involving a newly minted genius.
"I saw him sprinting like a maniac down the main pronade, violently kicking over railings and potted plants... He was acting completely deranged. Then he ran into a salon."
"I heard him howling like a wolf in his dorm room earlier!"
"Do you think he was on drugs?! No, that’s impossible. We don’t even have access to narcotics on the ship. Wait, did he synthesize them himself?!"
"Did he dismantle a salon drone? Was he trying to reverse-engineer it?"
Suddenly, the heavy doors of the precinct hissed open. The crowd surged forward, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the infamous Peter, only to be forcefully shoved back by a pair of massive hands.
It was Marcus. He stepped out, his booming voice echoing over the crowd. "Alright, alright, that’s enough! Break it up, everyone! Disperse! There’s absolutely nothing to see here!"
Because the cri rate was so low, maintaining a separate, dedicated police force was deed a waste of precious manpower. Therefore, the military and police roles had been rged into a single entity, strictly managed by the Federation Security Departnt.
Marcus didn’t use excessive force, but his towering, muscular fra completely blocked the doorway, making it impossible for anyone to peek inside.
The crowd imdiately bombarded him with questions. "What exactly did Peter do?"
"Is there going to be a trial? I’m registered as a civilian juror!"
"Quiet down!" Marcus bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Everyone needs to clear the area right now. Peter is perfectly fine. He simply suffered from extre exhaustion and accidentally damaged so public property in a state of confusion."
"That is all. Go back to your duties."
"Tch..." Robbed of the scandalous gossip they were desperately hoping for, the crowd instantly lost interest.
Most of the bystanders drifted away to return to their daily routines. A few stubborn reporters remained, highly skeptical of the official story, and lingered near the periter.
Taking advantage of the montary distraction, a specialized dical team slipped quietly through the side doors of the precinct before Marcus slamd them shut, locking down the facility once again.
"...I’m telling the truth! I swear to God I’m telling the truth! You have to believe !"
Inside the interrogation room, Peter was crying his eyes out. All he wanted was to clear his na as quickly as possible, especially before his crush found out.
Sexual harassnt?! Are you kidding ?! What does that have to do with ?!
"Damn it, I swear I didn’t do it! It was the alien! It was a guy nad Black! You have to believe ! I’m going to kill you, Black!" Peter scread, slamming his hands on the table as he grew increasingly hysterical.
"Watch your language and sit down!" Shane, the security officer taking his statent, suddenly shouted, slamming his own hand on the desk.
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