Silence settled over the conference room for a moment.
Several engineering heads frowned as they studied the data; they had to admit that the risks pointed out by Dr. Hanson were real.
Building warships outright was undoubtedly satisfying, but if doing so stalled other vital initiatives or caused resource shortages, it could ultimately compromise overall security and the pace of development.
Osiris listened in silence throughout, the steady faint light of his optical lenses resting on the data charts Dr. Hanson was presenting. He did not immediately declare his position, seemingly weighing options in rapid calculation.
"Your recommendation is to build a resource harvesting vessel?" he asked a moment later.
"Yes," Dr. Hanson nodded. "Furthermore, considering that mineral crystals serve as the baseline raw material for virtually all our industrial sectors, I propose this vessel be specialized and optimized specifically for high-efficiency crystal extraction and preliminary processing.
Our current surface mining is constrained by planetary distribution and transport costs. If we can harvest and perform initial processing directly from the nearby asteroid belt, it will immensely relieve the pressure on raw materials and establish a far sturdier resource foundation for subsequent expansion."
This proposal gave several attendees food for thought.
Harvesting mineral crystals directly from asteroid belts was not unprecedented in the Koprulu Sector, but it was typically inefficient. Transport and preliminary processing steps were usually performed back on planetary surfaces, incurring substantial costs.
Osiris's fingers tapped lightly twice on the table—a habitual gesture when engaging in deep analysis.
A few seconds later, he raised his head.
"The proposal has merit," he delivered his assessment. "Resource supply is the foundation of any long-term plan. Pursuing speed in the superstructure while the foundation remains insecure presents unacceptable risk."
He shifted his tone: "However, generic asteroid mining barges lack efficiency. We require a specialized design optimized for the physical properties of mineral crystals."
---
Following the meeting, Osiris devoted significant time to re-analyzing samples and data on the mineral crystals, particularly prior research records regarding their "stable-state energy-matter condensate" characteristics. His focus shifted from macro-level applications to how their unique physical properties could be leveraged more efficiently during harvesting and transport phases.
A few days later, Osiris reconvened the core technical and engineering leads, alongside Dr. Hanson. This time, the central holographic projection presented not a warship, but a vessel blueprint of a unique, almost rugged configuration.
It was considerably larger than standard battlecruisers, yet its structure appeared extraordinarily "hollow."
The midsection of the hull featured an extraordinarily massive, open-armed cargo bay, its interior walls lined with intricate energy conduits and mechanical locking mechanisms.
The bow was fitted not with weapon turrets, but with several retractable, multi-angle massive laser cutting arrays whose power specs far surpassed ordinary mining lasers.
Along the sides and stern of the hull were schematics for multiple modular preliminary processing units and compression compartments.
"This is a newly designed concept schematic for a dedicated crystal harvesting and processing barge, developed under the resource-priority principle," Osiris began his breakdown. His tone remained as steady as ever, yet Dr. Hanson could sense a subtle shift characteristic of a mind engaged in technical breakthroughs.
"Traditional mining methods incur high rates of crystal damage and energy dissipation. The core innovation of this blueprint lies in two aspects." He enlarged the bow laser array. "First, utilizing multi-spectrum composite lasers. During cutting, the laser establishes a specific resonance with the internal energy field of the crystal, causing it to yield more readily upon separation and reducing quality degradation and energy loss caused by internal microstructural fractures."
Next, he switched to detailed views of the cargo bay and processing units: "Second, and most crucially, lies an innovation in the preliminary processing phase—crystal volume compression technology."
"Compression?" an engineering lead asked in confusion. "Mineral crystals possess stable structures; conventional physical compression easily triggers lattice collapse, resulting in energy dissipation or even explosion hazards."
"It is not conventional mechanical compression," Osiris brought up a series of complex energy field waveforms and matter-state simulations. "Based on our understanding of its semi-energy state, we can apply a specifically patterned guiding field to temporarily and controllably alter the density expression of its condensed state.
Without disrupting its internal energy-matter equilibrium, the physical volume occupied by an equivalent mass of mineral crystal can be drastically reduced."
The simulation animation began its demonstration: under the envelope of a specialized forcefield, a raw crystal block shrank like soft material squeezed by an invisible hand, its volume gradually diminishing to one-tenth or less of its original size into a high-density crystal block, while its energy readings remained constant.
A collective low gasp echoed through the room. This contradicted their basic understanding of standard matter behavior.
"Is this... theoretically feasible?" another technical director asked in disbelief.
"I have completed proof-of-concept and small-scale experiments," Osiris answered directly. "Experimental data indicates the compression process is fully reversible and carries no negative impact on the crystal's ultimate utilization efficiency. Conversely, the reduced volume facilitates storage and transport, significantly cutting logistics costs. The compressed high-density crystal blocks also feature elevated physical structural strength, making them better suited for subsequent refining processes."
He pointed to the compression compartments on the barge schematic: "Multiple compression units will be integrated onboard the barge. Once harvested, the raw ore will undergo basic sorting and cleansing inside the main bay before being fed into the compression chambers.
A single barge of this design will return an effective ore payload per run exceeding ten times that of conventional transport methods, with far better quality assurance."
---
Dr. Hanson stared at the simulation data and design schematics, deeply shaken.
She had merely proposed building a more capable mining ship; she had not anticipated Osiris developing a disruptive auxiliary technology and redesigning the entire system around it.
Once put into practical application, this compression technology could impact resource harvesting and transport paradigms across the entire Koprulu Sector, not just Haven.
Once again, she felt the profound depth and leaps of the technology held by Osiris and the force behind him.
"The barge's overall architecture is optimized exclusively for resource harvesting and preliminary processing; its armor is minimal, equipped only with baseline self-defense weaponry," Osiris concluded. "However, its output will serve as the bedrock for constructing all subsequent warships and expanding all facilities.
Building it also serves as a comprehensive test of our shipyard's current capabilities. Are there any objections to this new direction?"
No one raised an objection. Dr. Hanson's pragmatic considerations were validated, while Osiris's technical solution resolved efficiency bottlenecks and delivered an unexpected breakthrough. Establishing the priority to build this dedicated mining barge became a unanimous consensus.
With the schematics finalized, resource allocation and construction directives were issued immediately.
For the first time, the primary focus of the orbital shipyard shifted from combat warships toward this giant, seemingly clumsy barge that carried the vital lifeline of resources.
The industrialization process of the Haven Node had chosen a steady path—securing its foundation before striving for ambitious expansion.
And Dr. Hanson, having offered the key proposal, witnessed how Osiris could rapidly transform a basic operational need into technical breakthroughs and an entirely new design.
She grew increasingly convinced that while the path she had chosen was laden with unknowns and immense pressure, its potential possibilities were equally vast.