At 7:30 AM on May 15, preparations for the prototype spaceship’s test flight were finalized on Hourai Island.
The ten-meter-class prototype spaceship Icarus 2 sat quietly at the launch site behind the laboratory, awaiting the moment of its ascent. Its name was plucked from Greek mythology, though it was best not to point out that the namesake crashed after flying too close to the sun. As far as Jin was concerned, he had simply taken it from a song featured on a five-minute program for a certain public broadcaster.
"We will now begin the launch test via the transporter," Laojun’s voice announced.
For this initial phase, the ship would not take off from the surface. Instead, they would test sending it directly to satellite orbit using the transporter. This was a preliminary step toward eventually establishing a space base that would serve as the primary hub for departures and arrivals.
"Five... four... three... 2..."
The countdown rang out, mostly for the atmosphere.
"One... zero!"
The transporter activated, and the Icarus 2 vanished instantly. Almost simultaneously, footage from the Watcher was projected onto the magi-screen.
"Successful. The margin of error is within plus or minus one meter."
Considering the distance of the transport, the precision was staggering. Of course, the fact that the Watcher was serving as a marker played a significant role in that accuracy.
"Oh, excellent."
Jin leaned in, captivated by the images on the magi-screen.
"We will now proceed to test the object defense barriers."
Jin had proposed several ideas, but they hadn't been able to reach a definitive conclusion through theory alone.
"Initiating movement."
On the screen, the Icarus 2 began to move.
"Since the force generator is active, the crew will not experience the pressure of acceleration," Laojun explained as the ship continued to gain speed, gradually shrinking in the distance.
"Switching the video feed."
The view changed to that of a Watcher positioned in the ship's path. The Icarus 2 grew larger and larger until, past a certain point, it began to recede again.
"Conical barrier in use. We will now begin the test for the inertia erasure barrier."
"Hmm? What was that one again?"
"Yes, My Lord. It is a prototype barrier based on Anne's suggestion. It casts a field around the hull that erases inertia; any matter that enters the field loses its threat even upon collision. The ship then uses a solid-avoidance barrier to shuttle the object to the rear. Once inertia is restored at that point, the object's relative speed returns to what it was before the encounter, meaning it is left behind in an instant."
Erasing inertia was an application of the gravity control magic used by the demon race. While it was called "gravity" control, it actually manipulated mass as well—in fact, mass manipulation was its primary effect. If it only increased local gravity, it would cause a downburst, a violent downdraft of air.
Technically, inertia could not be reduced to absolute zero, but getting it close enough to zero rendered space dust and small debris harmless, making it perfectly practical.
"I see. So it should be effective?"
"Yes, My Lord. We will now intentionally head toward an area with a high density of meteorites."
As Laojun spoke, the Icarus 2 adjusted its heading on the screen. Though the origin was unknown, there was a specific region where small rock fragments were clustered. Even then, "dense" was a relative term; it was a spherical area roughly 300 kilometers in diameter where fist-sized rocks drifted an average of one kilometer apart.
"From an astronomical perspective, I suppose one could call this 'dense,'" Laojun remarked.
The Icarus 2 surged into the area at a high speed of 100,000 kilometers per hour. The Watcher tracked it with a telephoto lens, providing clear images. Since space was a vacuum, the image quality remained sharp despite the distance.
In about ten minutes, the Icarus 2 reached the perimeter.
"Entering the zone."
With Laojun’s declaration, the Icarus 2 plunged into the meteorite field. Nothing happened.
"Success."
"Indeed."
The exchange was brief, but it was thick with the satisfaction of success.
After clearing the field in eight minutes, the Icarus 2 performed a U-turn and plunged back in—this time at 300,000 kilometers per hour. Even at that speed, there were no issues; not a single fragment touched the hull.
They repeated the tests at 600,000 and then 1,000,000 kilometers per hour. Every run was flawless.
"My Lord, it is a complete success."
"Yeah! We did it!"
The synergy between the inertia erasure barrier and the solid-avoidance barrier was exceptional. With this, one of the major concerns regarding space travel had been put to rest.
"We can always just destroy any massive objects in our way," Jin noted.
"Actually, My Lord..." Laojun hesitated slightly before continuing. "Regarding that, I realized something while observing the meteorite field. If we destroy a large object, the resulting fragments might become even more dangerous."
"Eh?...Ah, you're right!"
Jin understood Laojun's point immediately. Destroying a massive meteorite would simply turn it into a cloud of small and micro-meteorites.
"So the inertia erasure barrier is the superior solution."
"Correct. Furthermore, for very large objects, it would be best to detect them early via radar or optics and simply use the transporter to warp them away."
"That sounds like the best plan."
With the navigation defenses verified, Laojun moved on to the final test of the day.
"Lastly, we have the spacesuit test."
This test involved having an automata or golem wear the prototype spacesuit to evaluate its functionality.
"Since a full-scale test is preferable, I have asked Pensee and Viola, the most petite members of the reorganized Secret Mobile Unit (SP), to wear them for the experiment."
Though the ship was reasonably large at ten meters in diameter, the interior was packed with precision equipment, leaving little spare room. Being able to board the craft by folding their bodies into cramped positions was a feat only golems could manage.
"Pensee, Viola, step outside."
At Laojun's command, the two opened the hatch and stepped out into the vacuum. Immediately, the suit Pensee was wearing ballooned outward due to the pressure difference.
"...I see. So that is what happens with soft materials."
Because she was a golem, she could still force herself to move, but a human like Jin would likely have been pinned motionless. The inflated, balloon-like suit looked incredibly difficult to maneuver in.
"Pensee's suit was constructed primarily from Ground Spider resin (GSP)."
While the material was supple and strong, it wasn't ideal for this environment. Meanwhile, the suit Viola wore utilized Ancient Dragon hide in critical areas—specifically the joints.
"As expected, Ancient Dragon materials are superior. As long as mana is supplied, the suit reflects the wearer's intent."
Laojun explained that the mana flow was being modulated so the joints would change shape in response to the wearer's movements.
"Can't we apply that to powered suits?"
"Yes, My Lord. I previously applied this concept to Reiko’s skin, and I have been researching it ever since."
While Laojun could research existing technologies independently, he required Jin’s permission for entirely new developments. Since this was an application of a technology Jin had already used, Laojun had been able to refine it freely.
"Instead of a single material, I utilized a composite."
The outer layer was Ancient Dragon hide, the middle was soft magi-resin, and the inner lining was cloth woven from Ground Spider silk. He had adjusted the soft magi-resin layer to ensure the suit reshaped itself according to the wearer's will.
"It sounds simple when you put it like that, but I imagine it was a lot of work."
Calibrating a suit to move exactly as intended was painstaking. Moving too much or not enough would make it incredibly uncomfortable.
"No, My Lord. I do not possess those sorts of emotions."
He had simply performed hundreds or thousands of silent trials for Jin's sake. Jin understood the effort implicitly and offered his thanks once more.
"Thank you, Laojun."
"I am honored, My Lord."
The composite material proved to be quite effective. Viola performed various maneuvers outside the ship without issue. Finding no further problems, the spacesuit test concluded.
"That is all for today’s testing. You may return."
With such excellent results, both Laojun and Jin were deeply satisfied.