Miracle of the Wasteland
"Dip it. Hmm... dip it. Mm?"
"Well? A little different, isn't it?"
"You're right, the taste is a little different?"
I'll never understand why they insist on telling crude oil samples apart by dabbing them on their tongues, but I did learn something new.
Turns out fractional distillation of crude oil doesn't actually separate substances perfectly?
It's really just a matter of lumping together a bunch of similar-sounding stuff.
"They look almost identical, and they burn the same way, so what could they be..."
"Should we try breaking them down further?"
"Hmm. Then we'd need to build another heating vessel."
Everyone gathered in the laboratory to taste-test the samples.
"FWOOSH!"
"Fire! Fire!"
Then they set the stuff on fire.
"BOOM!"
"Gwahk!"
Something exploded.
"CRASH-clatter-tinkle!"
"Kehk!"
"Hey! Are you all right?"
"No! The reagents!"
People went flying everywhere and chaos reigned, but at least they knew exactly how expensive the reagents and lab equipment were, thank goodness.
And it was plain to see that chemical engineering is a field that advances on the collateral of human lives.
"Haha. The young lady is a bit rowdy, isn't she?"
"Lively. Good atmosphere."
"Kuhuhu— kuhuhu—"
Of course, gas masks are mandatory in the laboratory. We've made glasses out of glass as well, and everyone wears full-body protective suits head to toe.
Which is why none of the kids seem to have died yet.
Though the suits do look a bit uncomfortable.
"Ahem. Miss, are you truly all right?"
"There is nothing in this world that can bring me harm."
"Ooh..."
See that guy, the laboratory director? What's with that desperate look, like he wants me to work as some kind of laboratory slave?
"If there's anything truly dangerous, I'll handle it myself, once in a while."
"OHHH!!! Thank you!"
Apparently there are experiments so filthy dangerous that even these lunatics balk at them...
We're already running experiments where things explode and people go flying — if something scares them off after all that, shouldn't they just not do it at all?
They're all just kids. Kids. Raising them bends my spine right over. It's bending.
"Oh, by the way, make sure you ventilate properly. The smell is getting overwhelming."
"Huh? Is there a smell, my lady?"
Ah... right, they're wearing gas masks, so they can't tell.
"Everything from something bitter and acrid to rotten eggs — every smell under the sun is in here?"
What is this smell that stings my nose?
"Pit-patter."
"Huh?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Why is my clothing melting away?
Wow... well, it figures, doesn't it? This is a chemistry lab — of course there's acid floating around. So the acid is just drifting through the air?
"Ahem."
"What? A man your age, getting embarrassed over something like this?"
"Still, you could put some clothes on, my lady..."
Even so, given my colorful track record, I always keep a spare set of underwear sewn from single-thread fabric, you know?
My underwear didn't melt, did it? It's practically the same as a swimsuit, isn't it? Honestly, the kids blush so easily.
"GASP!"
"Ooooh!!"
"Whoa..."
"Tinkle-pop!"
Hm... someone got distracted, something exploded, and chaos broke out again. For the children's health, I suppose wearing clothes really is the better policy.
"Flutter."
For the first time in a while, I spread out the choker at my neck. Today's outfit: a jumpsuit.
"Good enough?"
"Gah? Your clothes — they changed all of a sudden?"
"Pry into a woman's secrets and you'll get hurt. Just go."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Most people don't know that the white band always draped around my neck is actually an endlessly self-producing fabric, so of course it would strike them as wondrous.
Hm? This isn't synthetic fiber, though... would it sell better than what I put on the market? Tough and pretty?
Ah. It's great in every way except it can't be dyed and it's just too durable. Bad for business, selling this. It needs to fade and wear out so people will buy more, after all?
"Rumble."
"Here we are, my lady."
"Oh? This feels more like a factory than a laboratory?"
Starting from something shaped like a small distillation tower, pipes strung together all sorts of vessels in every size — it had the air of a factory rather than a lab.
"We began with separation, you see. Hahaha."
"Impressive, truly."
"Separation is done, so please have a look over here."
Beside us sat two glass cups, each holding something different.
"Allow me to demonstrate."
"Mm-hm."
"Trickle-trickle-trickle."
I should check what this stuff is, since they came sprinting over so excited about it.
Whatever it was, when they held a rod against one of the liquids and let it flow down, the two didn't mix — they began forming distinct layers.
"Ugh... this smell is no joke."
"Ahaha. When I first got a whiff of it, I wanted to cut off my nose and throw it away."
So this was the source of the stench spreading all over the laboratory?
The smell is truly vile. Beyond rotten eggs, it's more like rotting fish — a genuinely revolting stench...
Ordinary people would be gagging and fleeing for their lives. Gas masks aside, anyone who can enjoy working with this stuff is not a normal human being...
"Eheheh."
"..."
Don't be discouraged just because I don't answer! I'm watching closely.
Every time you talk, you need air, don't you? Which means breathing in. So cut me some slack here.
"And now, like this!"
"Snnnrrrk"
They lifted something out from the middle with the rod — and it didn't break, just wound itself up and up in a continuous thread.
"Gahk! Kehk... this! It's that thing, isn't it!"
I inhaled way too sharply out of shock. I feel like I've become a rotting fish...
No, more importantly — where have I seen this before!
"Sssliiick"
"What do you think?"
That smug, self-satisfied face of his is a little annoying, but this deserves bragging rights!
That translucent, faintly whitish stuff being wound off the boundary layer strand by strand!
That's synthetic resin, isn't it!
"Wow! This is! Amazing!"
"Mwahaha! I knew you'd be pleased!"
"You did it! You really did it!"
Now that they've made it, quality issues can be sorted out in time. Getting started is the hard part — once you've started, it all comes down to manpower and money in the end.
And Daehan has plenty of both.
"But we still can't make the solid materials or fibers you spoke of. How are these meant to be used?"
Right — as it stands, there's not a single practical use for this!
"I don't know the details, but we'll need to mix in other substances to change its properties."
"Oh? So this isn't usable on its own! I'll have to raid the laboratory for more samples, then."
Depending on which additives go in, the uses become endlessly varied.
"Mm-hm. Depending on what you add and how much, you can make all kinds of things! This is just the beginning."
Someday, materials that could even replace steel will come out of this.
And above all — PET bottles! And spun fiber! That'll be truly extraordinary!
"This is research that will go down in history! What's your name?!"
"Naron, my lady. They say it was given as a theory-focused name, to encourage diligent study."
Hm... something about that name sounds familiar? Easy to remember, at least. I'll remember it for a lifetime.
"Experiment with everything you can get your hands on. If you want, I'll have a separate building built just for it."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"Well done! Well done!"
They've gone and made me another pile of gold!
I could charge at least half of what silk goes for for this, couldn't I?
Ah. Right, I should tell them not to make the commercial version too durable. It only gets bought again if it tears and wears out, after all?
"Also, I'd like you to research further which compounds produce results like this. And how to isolate and extract just those, too."
From what I can tell, this was made almost by accident, but if millions of Daehan citizens are going to use it, efficiency matters.
"That will take quite a lot of time, my lady."
"Even so, I want it done properly the first time around."
This is technology we'll be using for a thousand, ten thousand years? It's practically on par with steelmaking.
"Yes! Understood!"
"Mwahaha! Hack, hack. Ugh. Let's start by doing something about the ventilation."
"Yes, ma'am!"
First things first — the smell. Aigoo, it's too much.
The research is only just beginning, so I left it in their hands and returned home. It needs time, after all.
"Rumble."
"You're home!"
"Ah, welcome back~"
Is this what they call the weight of a breadwinner coming home from work? The moment I arrive, Mose is there to greet me.
"Gahk!"
"What?"
"What is that smell? Did you go rolling around in a pit of rotting fish somewhere?"
Sniff sniff. It still smells? I thought it would all air out on the way home?
"Ewag! Auntie! The smell!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
Mose's family, who live with us, all fled too.
"Goodness... please go wash up..."
Gah... telling me to go wash myself... it's been ages.
How humiliating...
Come to think of it, this place produced plenty of oil, and it seemed like a good spot for a chemical industrial complex.
So that's why I'm digging into the ground. Whatever you build a factory, first and foremost you need water.
That's how people live and machines run.
"KOO-KWAAM!"
"Wow... Miss, this is really something else?"
"What did you come here for? You've got nothing else to do?"
I'm carving out a massive reservoir with my telekinesis.
The water is far off, but we built a channel leading in from the river to the north.
It's windy here and surprisingly dry, so we made the channel out of concrete and even covered it with a lid.
People had worked hard on this for quite a long while.
"Crunch-crunch."
"Hm? What's making that noise over here?"
"It's not going to produce oil like this, is it?"
"Then we're ruined..."
It'll be fine, right? We dug this quite a distance away from the wells?
It turned out far bigger and broader than I'd expected. If the need arises, we should be able to farm here too, shouldn't we?
Vegetables always taste best when they're grown and eaten locally!
"That's enough digging for now — next we're filling it with sand, so you should step back."
"Ah... couldn't you take me with you?"
Hm? It is pretty far? Looks like at least an hour's walk? Tell them not to come and they show up anyway and make extra work for themselves — that's just their style.
"WHOOMP."
"Kyaa!"
"You'd better hold on to your skirt, then."
"Yes..."
Either way, whether we walk out and back or get dumped around, it's all the same, isn't it?
"KOO-KWA-KWA-KWA"
"Gahk..."
Apparently the sight of me pouring out the sand I'd stowed in my Subspace startled them. Well, it does come pouring out almost like an entire mountain.
Even though I'm the one doing it, watching a mountain of sand pile up in an instant is a little frightening.
"I even scooped up sand from the desert on purpose, to use here."
"No! Save me! Save me! The dust! Hack, hack!"
Ah, it's the dust. Seems they didn't bring a gas mask today.
"Aigoo..."
"Somebody help!"
Fine, fine. Go on, then.
There's a reason I'm filling the so-called reservoir with sand.
Evaporation here is enormous. The plan is to store the water underground instead.
That's why the floor and the walls are packed down solid, so the water can't seep out.
"Hah... hah... I survived."
"Honestly, such a handful..."
"KOO-KWA-KWA-KWA"
All that matters is pouring it out and leveling it afterward, so I dumped the sand with gusto.
Once it's filled like this, evaporation drops, and if we sink a well, the sand filters the water clean too — it's useful in all sorts of ways.
Pollution hasn't spread this far yet, so as drinking water goes, this is already quite good.
"Soon there'll be green meadows here too, won't there? It's going to be a lovely place to live~"
With the water supply secured, life in Baku had certainly become far more comfortable.
"THUD-thud-THUD-gurgle-gurgle"
The crude oil extraction pumps were churning away with plenty of vigor.
These ones are for research purposes only, but they're pumping out far more than I expected.
"Pressure nominal!"
"Temperature nominal!"
"Then open up more of the crude oil pipes!"
"Hisssssh"
The laboratory is back there behind the complex — at this point, you'd have to call the whole place a petrochemical industrial park, wouldn't you?
For now, the focus is on synthetic resin production.
There's nowhere near enough fuel to go around yet, and swapping out all those countless engines overnight would be a waste besides.
"My lady! You've come!"
"That I have~"
Today was the day the fiber-spinning plant officially went into operation.
"Was the preparation going well?"
"We should be capable of trial production for now."
This process requires a truly enormous amount of raw materials, so more and more plants are springing up across Qajar.
Hauling everything in from Sinsi was starting to take until dawn.
Growing together — nothing wrong with that.
"Rrrrumble, hmmm-mmm"
"The raw materials seem to be coming through now. Next, the naphtha will be re-sorted through that distillation tower."
That naphtha is fascinating stuff. It was originally "naphtha," but the kids kept calling it "napsa" over and over, so we settled on that.
Besides, the pronunciation is easier on the tongue — I liked it better that way.
"Keep experimenting steadily with the output materials, and find other uses for them too."
"Yes! We'll work hard!"
"Rrrrrumble"
After chatting for a while, something new appeared to be coming out again.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat"
"Hm? Little grains, like rice?"
"It's easiest to store in that form, so we produce it that way and then synthesize it into each end-use afterward."
"Ooh~"
Interesting. Soon these machines will be pouring out goods that bring in more money than gold mining?
Now, what price should I sell this at to earn a reputation for a brilliant deal~