《Universe 2.0》Chapter 2 The abandoned warehouse & Birthday gifts
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William sat by the window, watching the sun go down. Night had fallen. The stars in the distance were blinking, as if they wanted to explore Earth. It was already seven o'clock, yet the sun had not yet fully faded. At the moment, the western sky seemed to be dyed by the special watercolor into red, yellow, blue, purple and other different colors. Several colors blended with each other, forming a beautiful picture.
He was obviously fascinated by the image, and his eyes wandered into the distance where red and yellow had melted, wondering what would lay behind it.
"Son," Mighty went upstairs and found him sitting by the window. He said, "I think you'll be able to look at your birthday gifts in the warehouse in a minute. Look, here's a map for you. The warehouse is marked with a five-pointed star."
"Really? I think I could have had my birthday 12 hours later."
"I certainly know that, but since you're so curious about birthday gifts, you can go and see them now. Of course, if you plan to spend the night there, the warehouse also has a fine bed on the second basement. You can sleep there, set out directly in the morning, and start your space travel."
"Wonderful!" He jumped up in excitement, ran downstairs at once and had dinner. He wanted to get to the warehouse next second.
"I hope you will enjoy this unique journey of your own, William." Sally said to him when he was ready to leave.
"I will!" He nodded and answered excitedly.
"Take care!" Mighty said.
"OK! I'm leaving. See you before school starts!" After saying that he ran out of the door laughing and disappeared under the night sky in the twinkling of an eye.
"I'm still a little worried about his safety," Sally said to Mighty nervously.
"No problem." He answered confidently, "I don't know why I'm so confident, but I think he'll come back unscathed."
After walking out of the door, following the map, William rode his bike parked in the basement and successfully found the abandoned warehouse. There was some almost completely unrecognizable writing on the door,
Happy birthday!
2135.7.15
"Oh. It's really an abandoned warehouse. No wonder it's not on the map." He sighed, looking at it rusted, as he took out the key and opened the creaking door.
The lights flashed on so that he could see into it. It had obviously been refurbished -- the white paint on the walls was still spotless, and the marble tables in the center of the atrium were immaculate. Several model engines made of building blocks on the table caught his eye.
"Wow, it's really exquisite!" He fiddled with it a few times and marveled.
But he did not see the tiny words carved on the models,
You'll get them for your birthday gifts.
This floor was laid out like a factory: tools were neatly stacked on shelves beside the walls. Stepping inside, William saw several large machines neatly arranged, ready to be turned on at any time. A sign beside the stairs instructed William to go downstairs to the first basement. The familiar script was his father’s, with a heart at the bottom.
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William smiled a little as he walked downstairs. As he moved, the lights in the atrium gradually dimmed until they were completely extinguished, while the lights on the first basement gradually lit up. This floor was a bit like a laboratory: the neat laboratory tables were polished and shiny, and the corners of the front rows of tables were arranged with sockets, AC and DC meters, boxes containing laboratory instruments, some lithium batteries and portable power supplies; on the back rows of tables were test tubes of various sizes, gel droppers, microscopes, tweezers, culture medias and several large jars of liquids.
"Sure enough, it is the complex of the physics and biology lab -- well, as well as the chemistry lab. Look, there's a solution of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid." He said, pointing to two bottles of liquid.
He came to the stairs again. This time, the prompt was:
The gifts for you are below. Go inside and have a look.
With increasing curiosity, William went downstairs again and came to the lowest floor, the second basement. The lights above faded, but this time the lights below did not immediately become so bright.
"Why is that? Is there something deliberately designed not to be seen at once?" He wondered.
"You guessed it," A faint voice answered him, but the echoes made it louder because of the structure of the building.
"Who!" Alarmed, he snatched a laser gun from the table like lightning and kept looking nervously around him.
There was no response.
He became more and more nervous and couldn't help backing away until he hit a wall. He gave a cry of fright and turned round, only to find that it was not terrible.
Then the light slowly went on. He spotted a racing car and an airplane parked nearby. In the bright light, he saw that the plane was wholly painted red, even the propeller in the middle of the nose. The racing car was bright black and partly blue, with a powerful heart hidden beneath a carbon-fiber body made of flowing lines.
"Hello, Master." They replied in unison, "We are birthday gifts for you from Mr Mighty. And now we wish you --" they paused, and then, in an instant, several party fireworks exploded and ribbons flew all over the air. "Happy birthday!" A lot of other voices came in.
In wonder and delight, he saw a line of small robots coming toward him, all smiling.
A robot said, "How was it, Master? Are you satisfied with what Sir has prepared for you?"
"Oh, I like it very much!" He figured it all out, including the slightly gruesome scene, and said, "Well, I'm not sure if you'd like to give me some performance data about the gifts."
"Sure!" The biggest robot said, "Mr Mighty has spent months making these two gifts. The airplane is equipped with a 32-liter H-type 16-cylinder six-turbocharged ceramic diesel engine that produces 2,560 braking horsepower at 3,600 RPM using blue-green algae diesel. The heart is actually made from 75% silicon nitride ceramics, 15% graphene and 10% cast iron, with a high enough power output and a long enough life. To better match this performance monster, Sir has enlisted a six-blade co-axial counter rotating propeller, which makes better use of the engine's driving force while counteracting the reverse torque. As a result, it can fly at a maximum cruising speed of 750 km/h and a maximum speed of 850 km/h. The body and skin of the plane are made of carbon fiber, and a few stressed parts are fitted with aluminum alloy and cast iron to enhance the strength. If you look down, you will find that it's an amphibious airplane, and it has a unique landing gear -- a retractable float in the middle of the belly with large diameter tires inside, allowing it to take off and land for short distances in rough terrain. To improve performance, especially at high speed, Sir used a flat oval wing with a slight forward sweep. Therefore, you will be able to get the best experience at any speed. The wings contain several large fuel tanks with a total capacity of 1,000 liters, giving it a range of an astonishing 2,300 kilometers. Sir could have designed it entirely as a private plane, but perhaps because of his World War II feelings -- he had a fondness for weapons from that era when he was younger -- he hollowed-out part of the engine crankshaft and fitted it with a 40mm plasma cannon! Don't laugh. It's true. It can actually shoot. There are also two 15mm plasma machine guns above the hood, and gun pods can be put under the main wings. So it turns out that this is a war hawk that could rule the sky in World War II, because it has all the advantages of high speed, high maneuverability, great firepower, long range and so on. Now sit in and try."
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William climbed effortlessly onto the wing using the plane's retractable ladder and ran his hand over the smooth lines of the oval wing. "It's hard to fly slowly with this aerodynamic layout." He said, flapping the plane's main wing.
"Oh, thank you, Master. By the way, my name is Photon the Plane. You can call me Photon for short."
"What a fitting name!" He laughed, fiddling with the throttle putter, the joystick, the rudder pedal and some other gadgets.
"I think so." He said, climbing down and flapping the propeller, "When we get to that planet, I'll try it myself."
The plane smiled confidently. William went over to the car and asked, "Do you have any stats on you?"
"Of course there is." Said another robot, "It's road legal, despite its atrocious performance!"
"Oh, really? I really doubt how the traffic control department approved the application for driving on roads." Said William, somewhat surprised.
"It finally qualified for roads anyway." The robot continued, "Thanks to the 5.6-liter H-type 8 three-turbocharged ceramic diesel engine, it can accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.95 seconds with 504 braking horsepower and reach a top speed of 300 km/h, and..."
"Wait a minute." William interrupted, for he found the figures very doubtful, "I don't believe diesel can be used on such a big race car, dear. If you say that Photon can travel at a top speed of 850 km/h with 2,560 horsepower, it is somewhat persuasive. But 504 horsepower can get 300 km/h? Are you kidding me? Or is it made of paper and so light?"
"If you don't believe it, you can start the engine right now and feel the sound. It is absolutely as good as any gasoline engine before."
"Forget it. I'll test drive when I reach the planet. You go on."
"OK. Eh-hem! I was talking about speed. Now, on the rear axle, there's a ceramic-steel composite seven-speed sequential manual gearbox connecting a carbon-fiber drive shaft. The gears are helical, which reduces shift impact and improves power transfer efficiency. You might think that the car's fuel tank is small, but it is equipped with a large 120-liter tank, allowing it to cruise for 1,300 kilometers. Look, four exhaust pipes stick out directly from behind the front fender panels, allowing you to hit the gas pedal just a little more whenever you're on the track. Unlike other racing cars, it comes with a boot, and 500 liters of space is handy when you open the sleek rear cover. Now look at the front and rear spoilers, and I'm sure they won't let you down then."
William squatted down to stroke the exhaust pipe behind the front wheel. The racing car smiled shyly, "I'll impress you, Master. I believe you will eliminate the bias against diesel engines."
"You're a girl!" William exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right," She smiled again and kissed his leg with the air grille.
"You're so cute." He laughed, "Oh, yeah. You haven't told me your name yet."
"I'm Natalie Hurricane, Master. You can simply call me Natalie." The car said.
"I see, gentlemen." He tapped Photon's eight stout exhaust pipes on the side of the hood. "I have a lot of faith in your speed." He said, "After all, that's the displacement and compression ratio of the engine. But I still doubt your ability." he said to Natalie, "Don't let me down!"
"I will live up to your expectations!" She said firmly.
"Great! Yawn... Oh, sorry, I'm a little sleepy. Is it nine thirty already?"
"Yes, Master." Photon said.
"I'm going to bed. Do you know where the bed Sir has prepared for me is?"
"That's it," Said another robot, pointing to a bed.
William was really sleepy. He kissed Photon and Natalie again, then threw himself on the bed, fully clothed, and closed his eyes. Soon there was a sweet grunting sound from the basement.
"Let's rest too. Perhaps we'll set out tomorrow, won't we?" The plane said.
"That may not be," William muttered sleepily.
"Who knows whether he's talking in his sleep." Natalie said, "I'm going to show my full strength anyway!"
"Come on!" Several robots encouraged. A confident smile flashed on Natalie's lips again.
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