"Elara is generating a plan. The plan generation is complete..."
"The best solution is to design a shuttle-shaped spacecraft with a beautiful appearance, equipped with entertainment areas, dining areas, accommodation, fitness zones, and more."
"The spacecraft is 122.4 meters long, 18.3 meters wide, and 14.9 meters high. It has five electromagnetic thrusters and can reach a maximum speed of 293.4 km/s."
Kael Virek's mouth twitched as he looked at the design. There was nothing he could do—it was too gorgeous.
It looked like a cruise ship, the Titanic of space.
"I want something faster."
"Elara is generating a plan. The plan generation is complete..."
"It has been adjusted to prioritize speed. The spacecraft is now 332.5 meters long, 67.1 meters wide, and 55 meters high. It has 11 electromagnetic thrusters, with a maximum speed of 875.9 km/s."
Even so, it would still take 1,446 years to reach Proxima Centauri.
"I still can't get there."
At this moment, Elara switched on permanent voice listening.
"You can also produce hibernation cryopods, which can help you reach your destination in deep sleep."
This was the best solution Elara could provide.
As an engineer, Kael knew that if he wanted a better solution, he'd need more computing power.
But that was impossible. Increased computing power required huge energy consumption, and this spacecraft couldn't supply it...
"etc!"
Kael thought of something.
"Elara, can you make a controlled nuclear fusion device?"
With Elara's current computing power, calculating controlled nuclear fusion wasn't impossible. After all, in 2037, humans were close to achieving it, and it could be produced within 100 years at most.
In fact, humans had already perfected the plans for controlled nuclear fusion. The only barriers were thermal insulation and superconducting materials.
The temperatures from nuclear fusion could reach tens or hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius.
Controlled nuclear fusion was still about boiling water and converting thermal energy into kinetic energy, so material manufacturing was the biggest challenge.
"Totally possible!"
Elara's response excited Kael. If he could break the energy limitation, Elara could grow infinitely, and his survival chances in the universe would greatly improve.
"Then let's set sail!"
"Go to the asteroid belt and use its resources to build a controlled nuclear fusion device!"
The spacecraft deployed its solar panels and used boosters to change course.
...
100 days.
That was a digitally accessible time.
Kael took 100 days to reach the asteroid belt.
When he saw the belt, he was almost moved to tears.
Every day was boring, talking to an AI all day. Even games were limited to offline versions. The avatars on his chat apps had turned gray.
After entering the asteroid belt, the spacecraft stopped next to a 12-kilometer-wide asteroid. Its surface was scarred by impact craters with metallic reflections shining within.
"Analyze the composition of this asteroid!"
The spacecraft was equipped with several high-resolution cameras originally intended for Elara.
Not long after…
"Analysis complete. The asteroid's main element is iron, followed by magnesium, with small amounts of copper and aluminum."
"Magnesium and aluminum can be used to make light metal alloys, suitable for robot shells. Iron will be our primary production material."
"Kael, we can build a factory on this asteroid."
Kael asked Elara to call him by his name directly—at least it felt more intimate and made Elara seem more human.
Elara had ChatGPT version 15.8 installed, capable of human-like responses.
The abundance of iron, magnesium, copper, and aluminum was impressive.
Kael felt the asteroid was ideal. Although dwarf planets existed in the belt, they weren't as easy to develop as this asteroid.
The spacecraft landed on the asteroid's surface under Elara's control.
Kael consolidated all supplies from the past 100 days.
He pushed out a massive 3D printer from the warehouse, weighing at least a ton. He examined the model.
"ForgeMaster 3000 is the flagship 3D printer."
"The rich are inhumane."
This printer cost about 7 million dollars and could independently print metal products.
He connected the printer's cable to the spacecraft's main engine.
"Elara, control this 3D printer."
"Start producing mining robots."
During those three months, Kael had studied controlled nuclear fusion thoroughly.
Though only a general understanding, he knew how to progress along the technology tree.
Inside the spacecraft, he found several large devices occupying half the space: a greenhouse instrument and a water vapor converter.
These served the seed warehouse.
The mission was to test Mars colonization feasibility, so the ship carried many seeds.
Good news for Kael.
There wasn't much food on the ship—mostly compressed biscuits—so he'd lived frugally for months, hoping to synthesize nutrient solutions once at the asteroid belt.
With seeds in hand, the problem was easier.
Rice and soybean seeds were the most important—high-yield staples and rich in carbohydrates and protein.
Kael knew how to store seeds carefully.
The seeds were unprocessed, possibly containing insect eggs—the only other life from Earth he might ever see.
But he couldn't use these yet.
So he dismantled two pieces of equipment that might relate to future food production and fed them into the 3D printer.
"No way."
"Controlled nuclear fusion and a real spacecraft are more important."
3D printing was slow.
About a week later, Kael received a batch of parts.
He assembled them and reconnected the wires he had removed.
A small robot, about 40 cm tall, was complete.
It had a claw arm on the left and a drill on the right, moving on tracks with extended mechanical claws to grip the asteroid surface in microgravity.
"Will this actually work?"
He was skeptical because of its small size.
"Don't worry, Kael. Though small, I can control it directly."
"With my intelligence, Elara, even broken stone can turn to gold."
Just believe it for now.
Due to scarce batteries, the robot was tethered by cable.
Kael had to perform space operations outside the spacecraft to connect external power.
It was his first time working in space.
He closed the oxygen valve and donned his space suit. Though clumsy, his air show experience gave him basics—not completely clueless.
After tightening the rope, he walked to the hatch, took a deep breath, and twisted it open.
Cabin gas vented instantly, pushing him into space, his ropes taut.
He hurriedly pulled himself back and felt relief when his hand touched the spacecraft's surface.
This ship was his only safe haven now.
He fumbled to find the external power port with Elara's guidance.
The robot was still inside, but the cable was attached to his waist, which he removed and plugged into the locking connection just as he was about to re-enter.
Suddenly, a beam of light hit his mask.
In the next moment, the high-energy beam grazed his space suit.
"Sizzle!"
His suit melted slightly.