The Sphere (Part 2)
Asaac Singh, the head of R&D continued. “Our first thoughts are that this could be the first of many spheres. If we get it right, we can easily become the largest and richest corporation in the galaxy. Forget terraforming planets. One sphere would comfortably have enough surface area for half the galaxy’s present population. We could …”
“But the cost!” the head of Finance interrupted almost shouting.
“Ah, we’ll speak about finances later. Though I think we can finance the project. Nevertheless, that is not my area of expertise. I am here to discuss the technical side. But gentlemen and lady, we can rent entire continents. Forget private islands. Think big! How much is that worth?”
“Okay. So if we do this, where?” shouted one of the directors.
Asaac Singh looked up; he was not sure who asked it. “Let me finish,” he replied, “there will be time for questions later.” He continued with his presentation. “We start with a small red dwarf. They’re stable, small enough that we can build a sphere without, hopefully, getting into too much financial difficulty and red dwarfs have the advantage of being long lived. If we choose the right one, then we could select a star that is young enough and is not near to any possible supernova or gamma-ray events that we could create a world that will last hundreds of Gigayears, longer than the present age of the universe. We have even considered a star that is in the process of being ejected from our galaxy.”
“Why?” came a shout from the back.
“To avoid the collision with the Andromeda galaxy that will happen in around two Gigayears from now.”
There were gasps from around the table.
“Think big. Think long term. Let me start again. Our design is … well think of it as a solid molecule that surrounds the whole star. Research has recently provided us with a crystal that all models and experiments suggest is strong enough. With a large enough manufacturing base we will be able to build the sphere, a Dyson sphere. On the surface of the sphere gravity can be created through normal gravatic generators.”
Asaac Singh looked up from his notes and continued. “We’ll have a second sphere within the main sphere, a transparent one, inside the other. This has several advantages. We can polarise sections of it to shade the ground underneath, simulating Earth standard day and night, or any other period if so desired. It will also be able to filter out harmful radiation, as there will be no Van-Allen belts. It can be programmed to darken if there are solar flares. We can fabricate it into simple lenses giving some areas extra heat, making them tropical for your beach holiday and other areas polar for your skiing. Also if the gravity should fail, then the atmosphere won’t escape, causing hurricanes and mega-deaths. It’ll be contained.”
There was a pause as the assembled directors took in what had just been said.
“The two sections will be joined by spokes. We’re not sure of the optimal number. It’ll depend on the thickness but we think around ten thousand. We can design the landmasses so that the spokes are in the centre of continents. The spokes will also be used as entrances and exits to the system so that visitors can enter and leave though we may want to restrict access to one or two main entrances. The spokes can also be used to gain access to the area between the sphere and the sun. Any questions so far?”
There was silence.
“Good. Now we can have some fun. Design your own continent there will eventually be millions to choose from. We’ve already decided that we’re going to replicate old Earth. We’ve been speaking to our genetic engineers, so we’re also going to have a Pangaea with dinosaurs. You might want to create your favourite world from fiction. One idea is to have a continent of mythical creatures like unicorns. The genetic engineers say that fire-breathing dragons are a no, though.”
Asaac Singh paused for his audience to take in what he had said so far and then continued. “As far as human societies go we are going to have some low tech societies in one area of the sphere. Other societies will be high tech. Technically, it’s all possible. The major problem is financial. We need a financial plan but as I said earlier that is not my area of expertise. I believe one of our accountants is due to speak after me. Nevertheless, we think that all of this is possible. There are no insurmountable technical problems. Any further questions?”
“What about collisions with other bodies?”
“From outside, there will be laser cannons, rail guns. Crude but effective. From inside, cannot happen. We’re going to clear the system. We did think of leaving an asteroid inside, orbiting within the sphere, to simulate eclipses but the orbit wasn’t stable for long enough periods. Too much risk just for an ahhhh-factor. Next question?”
“How are we going to build it?”
“We are going to employ the latest von-Neumann technology not just to build it but once everything is established …”
“But the cost!” the head of Finance interrupted almost shouting.
“Ah, we’ll speak about finances later. Though I think we can finance the project. Nevertheless, that is not my area of expertise. I am here to discuss the technical side. But gentlemen and lady, we can rent entire continents. Forget private islands. Think big! How much is that worth?”
“Okay. So if we do this, where?” shouted one of the directors.
Asaac Singh looked up; he was not sure who asked it. “Let me finish,” he replied, “there will be time for questions later.” He continued with his presentation. “We start with a small red dwarf. They’re stable, small enough that we can build a sphere without, hopefully, getting into too much financial difficulty and red dwarfs have the advantage of being long lived. If we choose the right one, then we could select a star that is young enough and is not near to any possible supernova or gamma-ray events that we could create a world that will last hundreds of Gigayears, longer than the present age of the universe. We have even considered a star that is in the process of being ejected from our galaxy.”
“Why?” came a shout from the back.
“To avoid the collision with the Andromeda galaxy that will happen in around two Gigayears from now.”
There were gasps from around the table.
“Think big. Think long term. Let me start again. Our design is … well think of it as a solid molecule that surrounds the whole star. Research has recently provided us with a crystal that all models and experiments suggest is strong enough. With a large enough manufacturing base we will be able to build the sphere, a Dyson sphere. On the surface of the sphere gravity can be created through normal gravatic generators.”
Asaac Singh looked up from his notes and continued. “We’ll have a second sphere within the main sphere, a transparent one, inside the other. This has several advantages. We can polarise sections of it to shade the ground underneath, simulating Earth standard day and night, or any other period if so desired. It will also be able to filter out harmful radiation, as there will be no Van-Allen belts. It can be programmed to darken if there are solar flares. We can fabricate it into simple lenses giving some areas extra heat, making them tropical for your beach holiday and other areas polar for your skiing. Also if the gravity should fail, then the atmosphere won’t escape, causing hurricanes and mega-deaths. It’ll be contained.”
There was a pause as the assembled directors took in what had just been said.
“The two sections will be joined by spokes. We’re not sure of the optimal number. It’ll depend on the thickness but we think around ten thousand. We can design the landmasses so that the spokes are in the centre of continents. The spokes will also be used as entrances and exits to the system so that visitors can enter and leave though we may want to restrict access to one or two main entrances. The spokes can also be used to gain access to the area between the sphere and the sun. Any questions so far?”
There was silence.
“Good. Now we can have some fun. Design your own continent there will eventually be millions to choose from. We’ve already decided that we’re going to replicate old Earth. We’ve been speaking to our genetic engineers, so we’re also going to have a Pangaea with dinosaurs. You might want to create your favourite world from fiction. One idea is to have a continent of mythical creatures like unicorns. The genetic engineers say that fire-breathing dragons are a no, though.”
Asaac Singh paused for his audience to take in what he had said so far and then continued. “As far as human societies go we are going to have some low tech societies in one area of the sphere. Other societies will be high tech. Technically, it’s all possible. The major problem is financial. We need a financial plan but as I said earlier that is not my area of expertise. I believe one of our accountants is due to speak after me. Nevertheless, we think that all of this is possible. There are no insurmountable technical problems. Any further questions?”
“What about collisions with other bodies?”
“From outside, there will be laser cannons, rail guns. Crude but effective. From inside, cannot happen. We’re going to clear the system. We did think of leaving an asteroid inside, orbiting within the sphere, to simulate eclipses but the orbit wasn’t stable for long enough periods. Too much risk just for an ahhhh-factor. Next question?”
“How are we going to build it?”
“We are going to employ the latest von-Neumann technology not just to build it but once everything is established …”
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