Starship Legacy: A Novel by Not Elon Musk

In partnership with

13.

Sarah's greenhouse was a mess of diagrams and soil samples when Luke stopped by later that day. She had commandeered one of the lab's holographic displays, using it to project a three-dimensional model of the lava tube based on Ben's preliminary scans. Small markers dotted the projection, each tagged with notes about potential growing areas and environmental controls.

"I think we could fit at least three primary growing chambers," she said without preamble, noticing Luke in the doorway. "Maybe more, depending on the actual dimensions. The natural insulation alone would cut our energy requirements by thirty percent."

Luke stepped closer to the display, noting the careful attention to structural support points. "You've been busy."

"Couldn't help myself." Sarah manipulated the display, highlighting a particular section. "Look at this area here. The ceiling height is almost perfect for vertical farming arrays. We could triple our current production capacity."

She looked different today, Luke noticed. There was a focus to her movements that went beyond her usual enthusiasm. The solar flare had hit her projects hard, but this new possibility seemed to have erased that setback from her mind.

"Ben's got the rover almost ready," he told her. "He added the soil sampling attachment you wanted."

"Already?" Sarah's eyebrows shot up. "I just mentioned that yesterday."

"You know Ben. Give him a project and sleep becomes optional."

They shared a knowing look. Ben's tendency to get lost in his work was legendary on the base, matched only by Sarah's own single-minded focus when she was pursuing a new idea.

"Mark's been helping me with thermal mapping," Sarah continued, pulling up another overlay. "We think the temperature stays pretty stable down there, even during dust storms. And the radiation shielding..." She trailed off, shaking her head in amazement. "Luke, we could grow things we haven't even attempted before. Plants that are too sensitive for the surface facilities."

Luke watched her gesture at the display, pointing out potential water collection points and optimal growing zones. Her excitement was infectious, but he could also see the pragmatic calculations behind it. Sarah hadn't survived five years on Mars by letting enthusiasm override good sense.

"What about lighting?" he asked. "We'd need significant power for underground growth lamps."

"Already factored in." She pulled up another diagram. "If we can set up solar arrays on the surface above the tube, we could run direct power lines down. More efficient than our current setup, actually, since we wouldn't need to account for dust storm interruptions as much."

A beep from Luke's comm unit interrupted them. It was Ben. "Rover's ready for initial testing. You might want to see this."

"Go," Sarah said before Luke could speak. "I need to run some more calculations anyway. Just..." she hesitated. "Keep me posted?"

"You'll be the first to know," Luke promised, already heading for the door. The workshop was on the other side of the base, and knowing Ben, he'd probably added a few more modifications while they'd been talking.

Learn AI in 5 Minutes a Day

AI Tool Report is one of the fastest-growing and most respected newsletters in the world, with over 550,000 readers from companies like OpenAI, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, and more.

Our research team spends hundreds of hours a week summarizing the latest news, and finding you the best opportunities to save time and earn more using AI.

Sign up with 1-Click