The party thanked the camel scientist and walked out of the lab door. Two mother stars rose from below the horizon and sprinkled the violets with warm light. They too waved their colorful petals enthusiastically, as if they were welcoming the reappearance of the two mother stars. The fresh breeze gently kissed every face. Photon looked up at the half-red and half-black sky and imagined him together with Rebecca training. He imagined that the next second Rebecca would be at the top of the podium.
They walked through a small but dense forest, got 2% of their energy by passing checkpoint 18, and then crossed another bridge. Not far ahead, a hemispherical building loomed. There was a giant lightning sign and a battery pattern on the roof.
"Look." William said, pointing to the building, "Here we are."
They hurried over and entered the hall. A map of the factory and a note fell from the ceiling. The note read,
To get to the production line, please refer to this map.
Natalie took the map and studied it. "We can go this way." She said, "There's a big elevator here that can hold Photon and Rebecca." The others agreed.
So the party went up to the top floor and reached the production line. A computer at the door greeted them when they arrived.
"Wow, now computers are robots, too!" Ranran exclaimed.
"I'm a test product for camel scientist, not a complete replacement for robots." Answered the computer, "He's been testing my functions to see if they are stable enough. If he succeeds, he will choose to replace me with traditional non-intelligent computers."
"We're here to make minitype fusion cells." William explained his purpose, "The camel scientist wants us to put an electric system in this plane. What should we do, please?"
"Mr Camel gave you a program?"
"That's right." Replied Rebecca.
The computer said, "Just copy it onto me. I'll get the other machines started."
It took William three minutes to copy the program onto the smart computer. When it was done, it sent a command. The machines on the production line began to wake up and methodically carried out the production.
"You can go inside to have a look if you want to see it." The smart computer said, "It may take about an hour to produce the battery. When this is done, I will inform you to come and take the next steps."
"OK, thank you very much." Photon said politely, showing the others around the machines.
William stopped by one of the machines and watched its movements. It picked up a semi-finished product from a conveyor belt, adjusted its placement with its smart arm, opened a small box underneath, used its arm to remove two electrodes and attached them to the battery shells. These parts were highly integrated, which saved assembly time and made it easier to repair and replace.
"This should be the assembly machine for the downstream part," He thought, "because the reaction chamber has been put in. All that remains is to further assemble some of the remaining parts."
Photon and Natalie were watching the core steps of the assembly process. They saw the machine assemble the magnetically confined reaction chamber and fasten it between two shells. A lock catch between them ensured that the battery wouldn't open easily.
Ranran and Rebecca were watching the fuelling process. The machine in front of them took the assembled battery, walked to a huge box, and inserted a tube into the box. It then connected the other end of the tube to an opening on the battery. The button was pushed to initiate nuclear fuel refueling. After a minute or so, it unplugged the tube and placed the battery which was waiting to be used on a big table.
"Well, a battery has been assembled! You can get on with installing Rebecca's electric system." Said the smart computer at the door.
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The party regrouped at the door. The computer told them, "The machines you just saw are only one part. There is another part that makes the motors and other components. In terms of assembly, you go down to the fourth floor and find Room 408, which has the production line for electric systems."
William nodded and led the others to watch the other parts being made. They were full of praise for these intelligent machines that worked with high speed and precision. The process was quicker, and they had to wait only 40 minutes to get all the remaining parts.
Then they quickly went downstairs and successfully entered Room 408. After talking to a smart computer, a robot began to assemble the electric system.
"It may take a little long, but it won't hurt, Rebecca. Please just relax." Said the robot.
Rebecca watched curiously as it opened her hood. It studied it carefully and signaled Rebecca to come a little closer.
The robot looked around. "I think this is a good position, and what about you?" It said. The plane looked where it was pointing, which was an inconsequential position. Taking it up wouldn't affect her performance. So she agreed to its offer.
The robot carefully loaded each component into Rebecca's body and connected them with wires made of conductive polymer developed by the camel scientist. It controlled its arms with precision, moving components at a snail's pace to avoid inadvertence. Its body even began to heat up, as its control system had to keep track of where the components were and make the next move. This process was very energy intensive, so it gave off a lot of heat.
Finally, the rest of the components were installed and all that was needed was to wire them up. Still, the robot turned on its magnifying glass. Fortunately it managed to find the right connection, making the electric system a very efficient use of space.
Adapting to the onboard computer was the next step. "One of my little helpers will do the work." Said the robot, and pulled a smaller robot out of a box. It quickly climbed into Rebecca's cockpit and began to adapt.
Rebecca smiled curiously and asked the little robot, "Little one, do you know how to operate it?" Although the little robot couldn't speak, it just nodded happily, meaning "Trust me!" .
"All right." Rebecca just smiled and watched it click here and press there.
After about five minutes, the little robot climbed out and jumped happily. "It worked!" Said the big robot. "Good! Rebecca was beaming with joy.
Now, Rebecca was certainly stronger. It just took Rebecca's next training session to really convince the others. "But if you want to get an early taste of what a small fusion cell is like, you can use this test kit." The smart computer said and ran a program. From the corner came a clear prompt tone.
The computer said, "The test kit has been activated. It is behind and to your left. You can go and test."
So the party ran to the machine. Ranran put in another small fusion cell in her hand, and the screen said,
Battery detected. Would you like to start testing now?
"Control it with voice." Shouted the computer. So Photon said "yes", and the screen continued,
Type of battery detected: minitype fusion cells
Please make sure that the type of battery inserted is consistent with the above result. Otherwise, if an accident occurs, the consequences shall be borne by yourself.
A few seconds later, the test began. There were many items to be measured on the screen, such as voltage, current, energy density, instantaneous power and so on. New data popped up on the left side of the screen, while the right side kept displaying,
Testing. Do not remove the battery until the test is completed. This may take a few minutes. Please wait.
When the test was completed, the data was praised by the party. "That's enough to beat chemical batteries!" Cried Rebecca, "I hope it will be ready for use in the next second!"
The computer laughed, "No hurry, no hurry. Although it has proven to be more powerful and environmentally friendly, the camel scientist has just texted me that he plans to roll it out in a few days."
"What? In a few days? Why?" Natalie asked. The others looked puzzled, too.
"If you look at the original text, you will understand."
William ran over and read,
Dear Alien Friends,
My computer just told me that you've completed the modification and testing. While the results are promising, I don't think this is a good time to publicize small fusion cells. Because by my surveys I knew that right now the public has high hopes for these batteries, but people are still using primary batteries. I think I'll need to do a few more tests before I release them, because that will better illustrate the benefits of this kind of battery. What do you think? Finally, wish Rebecca a champion!
"I agree with him. In science, you have to produce evidence." William said, "It's not enough yet to show the potential so far, so I would also recommend waiting."
"That's right." Said Photon, "Rebecca will get stronger, as the training and the race will show. Batteries will also become more powerful, as related experiments will show. I propose that we start training now, so that everybody can see the power of these batteries himself as soon as possible."