Ball Lightning(23)

But my anxiety persisted. I could feel the invisible electric field everywhere, the surrounding space pulled taut like a rubber band, about to snap, and I found it difficult to breathe.

“Let’s go outside,” I suggested. Once out of doors, I could finally breathe a little easier. “That thing’s frightening!” I said.

She didn’t notice anything unusual about me, but said, “Frightening? No, it’s a failed system. We ignored one important point. Although we repeatedly measured the dependence curve between the volume of charged air and the volume and strength of the electric field, with promising results, the curve could be determined to within a small range indoors. It wasn’t at all applicable to outside space, where creating a large, external atmospheric field consistent with combat conditions meant a geometric increase in the amount of air to measure. Maintaining a sustained atmospheric electric field by continuously releasing charged air requires an enormous system—one that, even setting aside economic factors, would be an easy target under combat conditions. So you see now that our two experimental systems were failures. Or maybe, they were partially successful in technical areas, but have no combat value. As for the reasons they failed, I expect you have a deeper notion.”

“Oh...?what?” I fumbled for an answer, too distracted to follow what she was saying.

“You must have realized that the two systems failed due to a physical reason, one that underlying technological problems make it very difficult to solve. We’ve arrived at a conclusion: there is no hope for these two systems.”

“Hmm...?perhaps...,” I ventured half-heartedly, as I saw replayed before my eyes scenes of red-and-blue fields, brilliant lightning, plane fragments, and burning oil drums...

“So we needed to devise a completely new lightning weapon system. Surely you can guess what it is.”

...?drifting atmospheric electric fields, the face of the pilot, an exploding helicopter...

“Ball lightning!” she cried.

I was jerked back to my senses to discover that we had crossed the open space and had reached the door to the experimental base. I stopped in my tracks and looked at her.

“If you could really generate that kind of artificial lightning, its potential far, far surpasses these two systems. It strikes targets with incredibly selective precision, and can be as accurate as a page in a book, something absolutely unachievable by any other weapon. And, more importantly, it isn’t affected by air movement—”

“Did you see how lightning struck the helicopter piloted by that captain?” I interrupted her to ask.

She paused, and then shook her head. “No one saw it. The aircraft was blown to pieces, and we only found part of the scattered wreckage.”

“Then have you seen how other people have been killed by lightning?”

She shook her head a second time.

“So you’ve definitely never seen how a person is killed by ball lightning.”

She looked at me with concern. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’ve seen it,” I said, doing my best to suppress my stomach cramps. “I’ve seen ball lightning kill. It killed my parents. I watched them turn to ash in a split second, and then the two human-shaped columns of ash collapse at a gentle touch of my finger. Back then I didn’t even tell the police, and they filed my parents’ case under ‘missing persons.’ For so many years I’ve kept it hidden in my heart and haven’t told a soul. But that night two years ago on the Skyway on Mount Tai, I told it to you. I’d never have thought you would draw this kind of inspiration from it.”

She seemed flustered. “Please let me explain. I didn’t want to hurt you. I am truly sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter. When I go back I’ll report to my superiors on what I’ve learned today and your intention to cooperate, but as for myself, I have no interest in lightning weapons.”

Lin Yun and I spent the trip back to the city in silence.

*

“I never thought you’d be one to have a nervous breakdown!”

Back at the Institute, Gao Bo was highly displeased with me. He did not know about my past, and I did not want to tell him.

“But what you’ve found out is very valuable. I’ve learned through other channels that the military has indeed terminated lightning weapons research, but the stoppage was only temporary. Judging from the investment those two experimental systems received, the project remains highly regarded. They’re looking for a new research direction, and ball lightning really is an excellent idea. But that project requires an even greater investment, so neither we nor the military can ramp up easily in the short term. Still, we can proceed with theoretical preparations first. I can’t give you any money for this project right now, but I can give you time and effort, and you can come up with a few mathematical models with various theoretical perspectives and boundary conditions, so that when conditions are right, we can take all of the promising models and test them at the same time. Of course, the first thing to do is to firm up collaboration with the military.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to make weapons.”

“I never took you for a pacifist.”

“I’m not any -ist. It’s not complicated. I just don’t want to see ball lightning turn anyone else to ashes.”

“You’d rather wait for the day when someone else will turn us to ashes?”