Victim said:
What difference does it make? Does the UN not execute people? The war criminals at Nuremberg were often killed. But that - while international - wasn't UN. And he was worried about a secret prison, not just dying. Hmm. There have been some scandals recently, and you always hear about things like Cuba or China being on the human rights commitees. ... It's probably best if I don't even worry about this guy.
Probably best not to use names. Megan turns to Optic and asks, "Can you pass me the data you took?"
(Yes, he can't be executed by the UN.)
Optic by now has uploaded the data to the plane's computer, and sent to the Trust AI.
The device that Barrington ordered is a tower of sorts, built in pieces that presumably would be stacked. Towards the top is a spherical portion, and the bottom seems to contain a cone facing the ground. It is made up of a very thick, high-tech alloy, and contains a multipoint shield generator, which should cloak the entire thing in an energy field. It seems that between the layers of metal shells is a massive cooling system combined with some heat absorption devices.
The design itself clearly implies that there are a number of internal components that would be added later from other sources. There are numerous power conduits that imply further devices. It is, however, clear that the Foundry is making some kind of drilling apparatus for the bottom part, with a large, hollow portion behind the drill clearly designed to contain some unknown third-party devices.
The simulations that Optic finds tell more, since they seem to account for the presence of other components, and hint at the purpose of the tower. Between Optic, Jacobson, Shooting Star, and the Trust AI, you can figure out that the energy that bombards the tower's hull represents nuclear detonations of various sizes at various distances. They seem to account for a two-layer absorption skin that the Foundry does not make, consisting of an outer one that absorbs kinetic energy (something about nano-turbines) and another that absorbs radiation, and both seem to transfer energy directly to some core power system (which is also black-boxed as it were, since it will be coming from another source). It appears that the energy field only lasts a short time after the nuclear blasts, but long enough for the absorption to activate.
At the top is an integrates collector dish of some sort that may connect to a satellite. The power details seem to indicate that it can draw in power as well as data.
An additional set of simulations seem to indicate the ability of the drill to cut very deeply into the ground, and then separate the drill tip, activating some device behind the drill.
The simulations seem to indicate that the device can take numerous proximal nuclear strikes and remain intract, even absorbing an enormous amount of the energy. The device's purpose beyond its defensive abilities, satellite linkup, and drilling, however, is largely unknown.
