Europa Break Engineer, Journal entry, 2038.5 (Patreon)

Nutnfancy Author's notes>> GAIT= TCC's General AI Technician assigned to human engineer, they work in teams, TCC prohibits naming them so they are referenced by unit number only ie 795 & 832, "Gatsby"= small plutonium drive developed to get GAD online and sustaining [best replacement TCC can come up with, alien version not discoverable], AL-U=Amazon Lab-Underground, GAD=Gravity Acceleration Drive. AEX9= human formulated lightweight alloy, derived from recovered non-human craft. I won't publish these all the time, just here and there and only paying Patreon gets to come into the captivating Europa Break world. Now we read a single journal entry of the lead engineer....

"Journal Entry, color cod RED, June 5 2038 Saturday, ALU #2:

Crushing setbacks today getting Gatsby 5.3 online. 795 and I are trying to get the temperatures down while enabling a smooth power transference into the GAD field initiator. During run #32 the unit essentially melted itself from the inside out. Core temperatures exceeded predicted limits by 19%, and the AEX9 transfer manifold began exhibiting crystalline deformation along the primary energy routing channels. Fortunately, GAIT 795 detected the cascade early and executed an emergency shutdown sequence before containment was lost. The cryogenic run chamber was absolutely the right move on TCC's part; without it we'd be documenting fatalities instead of equipment losses. Even with the shutdown, we lost most of the transfer assembly and nearly six months of fabrication work. Even 832 hadn't heard me cuss so magnificently before (last time when my pizza burnt in the break room).

GAIT 795 and 832 are currently running failure reconstruction models while I review the telemetry. Neither machine agrees with the other's conclusions. 795 believes the fault originated in the Gatsby output stage. 832 maintains the problem occurred during the handoff event when the GAD field attempted to enter self-sustainment. Both may be correct. What continues to trouble me is the brief power spike observed 0.8 seconds before structural failure. The spike was not commanded and does not appear in any of the recovered non-human technical fragments. We may be witnessing a behavior of the GAD that its original designers understood but never documented in a way we can interpret.

Plutonium is in critically short supply here for the rebuild. Intelligence informed us this morning that the last expected shipment was interdicted. Five lives were lost attempting to bring the material through EarthGov-controlled territory. The replacement core we planned for Gatsby 5.3 may never arrive. TCC Command is asking whether we can reduce startup power requirements by 12%. At present I see no path to accomplishing that objective. The unpleasant reality is that GAD remains non-self-starting. Every successful field ignition still depends upon a brief but enormous transfer of energy from the Gatsby reactor into the field initiator. We can sustain the phenomenon once established, but we still do not fully understand how to light the fire.

The irony is not lost on me. We possess technology capable of carrying humanity to Europa, yet we still cannot explain precisely why it works. We know the transfer field forms. We know the self-generation phase follows. We know the acceleration envelope can be maintained. But between those events exists a moment, a fraction of a second, where mathematics gives way to uncertainty. That moment destroyed Gatsby 5.3.

I asked 795 whether the risk was acceptable. The GAIT processed the question for 2.7 seconds before responding: 'The probability of failure exceeds acceptable engineering standards. The probability of extinction exceeds them by considerably more.' I find myself unable to argue with that logic. Tomorrow we begin rebuilding the reactor. I would be lying if I said I am sure of a positive outcome. I fight self doubt constantly in this sojourn and I feel I’m teetering on a cliff about to fall off. With the secrecy of Gatsby I can only interact with 2 other humans; if I wasn't so focused on the task I'd have to admit loneliness. Leadership expectations and pressure remain at an all time high. What I would give to have the original power source for GAD. The boys [795/832] keep me hopeful."