Challenge #02560-G003: Human NO!
A: A Dyson sphere just millions of solar panels covering a star
B: But why do we need that much energy?
A: To make a black hole bomb
B: WAIT NO
https://youtu.be/ulCdoCfw-bY -- Anon Guest
Ever since Nikola Tesla accidentally invented radio[1], Humanity has been obsessed with transmitting energy without using some form of wire between points A and B. The instant they had the means, they switched to becoming obsessed with gathering as much energy as possible. Most species were sated with enough to deal with every obstacle, but Humanity loved having more.
Deathworlders tend to be instinctually in need of having enough to deal with every possible misfortune and at minimum two of the impossible ones at the same time. Most roll their eyes, muttering about Deathworlder contingency plans under their collective breaths. Some rare few dare to ask questions.
The star the Humans were building around had no planets, so logically there was no reason to be building there. It was far from the usual shipping lanes. Yet the Humans were installing top-of-the-line solar panelling at a safe distance from the surface of the star. What separated this stellar body from literally millions of others like it was that it was a slow-burning star with a lifetime measured in billions of eons. It was only natural that curiosity won out over caution.
"What are all of you doing here?"
"We're building a Dyson sphere," said the spokeshuman. They were supervising via a digital display. "They are just millions of solar panels surrounding a star."
Only a Human would think of such a superstructure in that manner. They were still working on the first, and largest ring of panels and specially designed dynamo fans to turn in the solar wind and extract energy from the ejected plasma. Humanity seemed determined to ring every joule out of this star or die trying. There was more than enough energy for everyone concerned, all through the Alliance, the Edge Territories, and more than millions of stars beyond that. Theoretically enough even for Humans. Therefore, Brex asked, "Why? Why do you need to do this?"
"We want to see if we can make a black hole bomb."
Brex froze for a minute and remembered these were Humans he was talking to. With trepidation and the foreknowledge that any possible answer could be bad, Brex asked, "Would that be a bomb to blow up a black hole or to create one?"
The spokeshuman appeared to consider this. "To be honest, either would be kind of cool... but no. We want to make a black hole for preference."
"Why?"
"The potential for infinite energy for everyone forever, of course. Or a really big kaboom if it goes wrong. And as a bonus, we could see if blowing up a black hole creates matter! This could answer so many questions about the universe."
Humans, of course, answered many questions about things by selectively destroying everything around them. It didn't really matter what it was, they were the kind of species who learned about the universe by dismantling select portions of it.
Brex sent a discrete alert to the Alliance to keep watch on this project and, if it was determined to be truly dangerous, stop it before anything went irreversibly bad.
[1] True Historical Facts: Tesla thought of radio as a means to transmit energy wirelessly. He didn't object when Guglielmo Marconi used the idea to transmit sound instead of energy.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Andreus]
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"Brex sent a discrete alert to the Alliance to keep watch on this project and, if it was determined to be truly dangerous, stop it before anything went irreversibly bad."
It's a human-done experiment involving black holes and explosives in the same breath. It's already bad. ROFL!!