Page 17 - Psychoceramics and the Test of Fire

Black Pinhole Nanofurnace

reactors, once the hope of mankind, have stumbled and stalled: no
net production of energy has yet resulted from some very costly
experiments. It is too late in history to hope for salvation from that
quarter. The conventional alternative sources of electric power—
wind, water, solar, geothermal—are not up to the demand, and
cannot be scaled up without vast investment in the very materials and
processes they are designed to supplant. Something else is needed—
and fast. That means gambling on untried solutions. Entrenched
petrochemical and coal interests sap the political will to try anything
new: even conservation is afforded a lukewarm reception—in this
country, at least.”
Aitkens nodded; I hoped my lullaby would soon send him off to
those magical castles in Dreamland.
“The world has an insatiable appetite for energy,” I continued, still
the calm, sober commercial representative, “largely translatable as
demand for electricity. If powerful, low-cost, local sources of that
power could be produced and spread around the globe in great
number, the need to burn carbon-based fuels will drop dramatically.
Should that happen before we arrive at the tipping point of
irreversible damage to the ecosystem, then the only technological
problem remaining will be cleaning up the environment. Political and
economic elites will oppose the new generators at first, but the
populace, once aware of the situation, will clamor for basic change.
An unfortunate period of sociocultural adjustment will ensue, but
nothing compared to the chaos resulting from an ecospasm. Your
discovery has the potential to become that generator, and those who
produce such a commodity will be quite handsomely rewarded. In
short, the bet is well worth taking. One could lose more money
investing in a disaster movie.”
“But I shall not fail.” Lalo Aitkens now was trying to charm me, a
very good sign. “All that I need to complete a working model of my
device is available off the shelf. Those shelves are in some very
expensive shops,” he concluded sourly.
“I’m sure that my backers appreciate that financial reality, Dr.
Aitkens.”

15