Chapter 124: Chapter 124: The Launch Event – Part 5 (Fusion Reactor Debut)

The AI spoke. “Your mission results: All objectives completed. Zero casualties. Mission time: 23 minutes. Combat efficiency rating: 89%. Would you like to play again?”

“I would play this all day,” Maria said. “This is perfect. This is actually perfect.”

AURORA CONVENTION CENTER – AUDIENCE REACTION

The audience had been silent during the entire combat sequence. Now they erupted.

Standing ovation. Whistling. Cheering. People were on their feet.

Marcus Webb was shouting into his camera. “Did you see that? That was full-sensory VR! They weren’t just playing a game—they were living it! This is revolutionary! This is going to change everything!”

On stage, the gamers were waking up. Staff removed their headsets carefully.

They looked dazed. Disoriented. Like people waking from vivid dreams.

“Whoa,” Tyler said, blinking. “I’m back. We’re… we’re back in the real world.”

“How long were we in there?” Aisha asked.

Cassia checked the time. “Forty-seven minutes.”

“It felt like hours,” Dmitri said. “That was incredible. When can I buy one of these?”

The audience laughed. Same question everyone was thinking.

“Soon,” Cassia promised. “But there’s something I need to tell you. Something important.”

The mood shifted slightly. People leaned forward.

“As you’ve seen, the Starr VR is functional. Perfect, even. The technology works. But there’s a limitation. A serious limitation.”

She pulled up statistics on the screen. “Those five gamers, experiencing that VR world for forty-seven minutes, consumed 0.002% of our entire data center’s processing capacity. Our data center is one of the most powerful computational facilities on Earth. And hosting just five users took 0.002% of its power.”

People were doing the math.

“That means,” Dr. Sully from TSMC said slowly, “you could host maybe 250,000 people simultaneously? At full capacity?”

“Correct,” Cassia said. “And that’s being generous. Earth has over 7 billion people. We can’t host everyone. Not even close. Not with current hardware.”

Disappointed groans from the audience.

“The Moon and Mars sections will open immediately,” Cassia continued. “Education and research are priorities. Students and scientists will have access. But the Earth section—the recreation, the games, the full experience— will have limited access.”

“For how long?” someone shouted.

“Until we achieve breakthroughs in quantum computing or optical computing. Processing power needs to increase by several orders of magnitude. Our CEO, Orion Starr, and his team are working on it. But it will take time.”

“What about private solutions?” a woman asked. “Could someone run it locally?”

“Yes. If you own a powerful enough server—specifically, a 1-nanometer AI GPU server cluster—you could run a personal VR instance. But those systems cost millions of credits. Very few people have access.”

“There’s also network speed issues,” Rene added. “The VR requires massive data transfer rates. We’re planning to launch space-based communication satellites to handle the bandwidth. That infrastructure is in development.”

“And power consumption,” Cassia said. “Running the VR at scale requires enormous energy for our data centers. However—” She paused. “This won’t be a problem much longer.”

The screen changed. Showed the Starr Labs facility. Massive construction in progress.

“Our scientists at Starr Advanced Research Division have achieved a breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion. We’re currently manufacturing the world’s first functional fusion reactor. Completion is estimated in four months or less. The reactor will output 5,000 megawatts from just 1 kilowatt input.”

Stunned silence.

“Unlimited clean energy,” Cassia said simply. “Once fusion power is operational, energy constraints disappear. We can run the VR world. We can build quantum computers. We can power everything humanity needs.”

People were staring at the screen. The fusion reactor schematics. The timeline. The projected output.

“This is real?” someone asked. “Actual fusion? Not just theoretical?”

“Completely real,” Cassia confirmed. “For those curious about the technical details, you can visit the Starr Labs website. We’ve published our breakthrough papers. The science is solid.”

Immediately, people pulled out their devices. Loading the Starr Labs website.

The first thing they saw:

ROOM TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR – ACHIEVED

Specifications below. 300 Tesla magnetic field strength. Zero electrical resistance at 20°C. No cooling required.

People scrolled down.

90% EFFICIENT THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL

Direct heat-to-electricity conversion. No turbines needed.

ADVANCED LASER IGNITION SYSTEM

PLASMA CONFINEMENT ALGORITHMS

MAGNETIC FIELD OPTIMIZATION

One breakthrough after another. Technologies that should take decades. All achieved. All documented.

“Oh my god,” someone whispered. “They actually did it. They solved fusion.”

“With these technologies,” an engineer in the back said, “you could power a city from a reactor the size of a house.”

“You could power the world,” someone else added.

Comments started flying:

“Starr Technologies owns the future.”

“This isn’t just a tech company. This is civilization advancement.”

“They could dictate terms to the entire Federation with this much power.”

Cassia let them process it for a moment. Then: “One more announcement before we wrap up tonight.”

The screen changed again. Showed René the robot. The viral videos of smooth, natural movement. Helping the elderly woman. Finding the lost child.

“Many of you saw these videos last week. This is our CEO’s personal robot, running custom software. That software is what makes this robot move naturally. And as of yesterday—” Cassia smiled. “Starr Technologies has acquired Atlas Robotics.”

Gasps.

“We didn’t just license their technology. We bought the company. Entirely. And we’re going to produce advanced robots with synthetic skin and fluid movement beyond anything currently available. Household robots. Security robots. Medical robots. Robots for every application.”

She gestured to the screen showing all the night’s revelations. ”

Advanced AI.

Starr Simulator

Brain-computer interfaces.

Full-dive VR.

Fusion reactors.

Robotics.

All from one company. All in the span of weeks.”

“This is too much,” a journalist said, half-laughing. “You’re announcing too many world-changing technologies at once. This is insane.”

Cassia smiled. “Welcome to Starr Technologies. We move fast.”

The audience erupted one final time. Applause that didn’t stop.

FEDERATION MILITARY COMMAND CENTER – SAME TIME

General Patricia Vance watched the broadcast with her senior staff. The room was silent except for the audio from the stream.

When the VR combat demonstration finished, she leaned back in her chair.

“Thoughts?” she asked.

Her intelligence officer spoke first. “That VR technology has obvious military applications. Training simulations. Strategic planning. Remote operation of drones and autonomous systems. If soldiers can experience perfect sensory feedback through VR, we could train them for any scenario without risk.”

“The interrogation applications,” another officer added. “You could simulate any environment. Make a suspect believe they’re anywhere. Extract information without physical coercion.”

“The brain-computer interfaces,” the tech specialist said. “Thought-speed command and control. A pilot could control an aircraft with their mind. Response times would be instantaneous.”

General Vance nodded slowly. “And the fusion reactors mean unlimited power for military installations. Aircraft carriers that never need refueling. Bases that are energy-independent.”

“The robots,” the security chief said. “Combat robots with that level of mobility and control. They’d be more effective than human soldiers in many scenarios.”

“Get me a meeting with Starr Technologies,” General Vance said. “Priority one. We need to discuss cooperation on these technologies. Offer them military contracts. Whatever it takes.”

“And if they decline?” someone asked.

“Then we classify these technologies as matters of national security and mandate cooperation. The Federation can’t let this much strategic advantage sit in private hands without oversight.”

Her aide was already typing. “I’ll send the meeting request immediately.”

AURORA CONVENTION CENTER – 10:30 PM

Cassia was wrapping up. “Thank you all for coming tonight. Downloads for the updated Aether OS with full VR support will be available immediately. The Starr AR BCIs and VR headsets will go on sale next week. Pricing information is on our website.”

She paused. “One last thing. People have been asking about our CEO. When will he make a public appearance? When can they meet the ’Handsome God?’”

Laughter from the audience.

“The truth is, Orion prefers working to public speaking. He’s more comfortable in a lab than on a stage. But he wanted me to convey something to all of you.”

She looked directly at the cameras. “He says: ’The future is being built right now. Not next year. Not next decade. Right now. And it’s not being built by governments or traditional corporations. It’s being built by people who refuse to accept limitations. Who see what’s possible and make it real. Every breakthrough we’ve shown you tonight—the Simulator, the BCI, the VR, the fusion reactor—these exist because we chose to build them. And we’re just getting started. The next year will make tonight look ordinary. Watch what comes next.’”

The audience stood. Final ovation. Cameras flashing.

Cassia smiled and walked off stage.

Behind the curtain, Orion was waiting.

“How’d I do?” she asked.

“Perfect,” he said. “They’re convinced. They’re excited. And they have no idea what’s coming next.”

“The replicator?”

“Among other things. But we let them process tonight’s announcements first. In a month, when the fusion reactor goes online and the replicator starts mass production, we’ll show them the next level.”

Cassia hugged her son. “You’re changing the world.”

“We’re changing the world,” Orion corrected. “Together.”

Outside, the crowd was filing out. But they weren’t leaving quietly. Everyone was talking. Debating. Already planning how to use the new technologies.

The Technology Boom had begun.

And Starr Technologies was driving it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep