She smiles looking around like she’s trying to see it from my eyes. “The building got bombed but it was rebuilt exactly as it was before the missile. OPs and training took the hit, but I think everyone forgot the building and remember only that Ben and Cort are Badass and that night showed it. They were in the OPs part of the building.”
I feel my eyebrows go up. “Wow. I’m glad someone did something to make that happen.”
She nods and walks to the counter picking up her laptop, then sits at the table and points to a chair beside her. “My father is the one who sent the bomb so I felt relieved and so damn happy the freaky live here and the Presidents made it out. This is the power grid on a normal day…” Seriously?
She’s talking like her dad didn’t almost blow up two Badass POTs. I don’t ask, but try to catch up with her quest for more power to sustain the new AI supported programs and bots.
“Solar over long stretches of desert land, wind in the canyons around the ABSZ and anywhere else they can get them. Honor is covered in renewable energy because of the mountain winds.” I stop because she’s nodding like she knows.
“The canyons are a new one, so that could be viable. Long stretches of land, I bet highways would help but we’d have to share with every town or county.”
Share? “Because of the wind collectors or panels?”
“Yeah, but some may want to put it to a vote.” Great. She’s not making this easy.
I nod then smile. “BSC area is huge, let’s use that. Wind collection is being done now. I see the new tech they keep adding at the air strips. We can show how much energy is generated monthly right on whatever – turbine, panel, that is in towns or cities. Oh, ooh, or on a live sign at the end. People love interactive even if it’s not interactive but just giving live readings. They feel like they contributed to their own savings.”
She nods. “We need a considerable amount of energy without wiping out water supplies, generating pockets of heat that kills foliage or water. We need it clean so contamination possibilities…”
I get it. “The nuclear I was talking to Web about. The fission or fusion. Fission is clean and safe. Zero emissions with the whole process of splitting uranium atoms. The SMRs are small modular reactors. The US military adopted commercial microreactors under the Defense Innovation Unit. The Army and Air Force launched the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program.”
She nods. “I’ve never worked with nuclear but know it was used in ballistic and other missiles the company produced for the drones.”
“What? Your company produced nuclear drone missiles?” I worked with energy. I’m not up for nuking people.
“Relax, I wasn’t part of it. I got kidnapped and sold to another country. Badass saved me and I’ve been here trying to stop the crap my father was into. His manufacturing company works for Badass now. I gave them everything my dad touched.”
That’s commendable. “Thank you. We’ll need uranium…” I stop again for her nod.
“We have a mine that produces. What I need is the how. Like how is it transported, how do we split the protons and neutrons? Brolin said he can get the uranium here but we need facilities and…”
I hold a hand up. “There are reactors in New Mexico. I bet there’s more than one in the Badass territory but the one I know of is part of the land the government owns and rents out.”
She sits back. “Where and how do you know this?”
“It’s between Elan and Rising Squared. I looked for it because I didn’t want to be in the backdraft area for the radiation fallout the government is still paying for.”
She’s surprised so I wait for her not to be. “Tell me I’m not in that area?”
“It blew across states and touched almost every place in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. I bet there are more, nuclear testing had downwinder effects touching pretty much all over the globe. The US aren’t the only ones to do it. I didn’t want to be in blast areas that tainted water. You’re looking a little queasy. We can stick to the good of nuclear energy. France uses 75% nuclear energy making it the lowest carbon power grid in the world. It’s clean energy that isn’t killing the planet.”
She perks up. “We want that. Badass has the money. We just need the facilities and someone who knows what the hell they're talking about.”
I nod. “I’m in. Someone said the governor gave horses. What state and Club?”
“Elan in New Mexico and she gave them a land lease.”
That would be way too easy. I stand. “I’m going to call them and see if I can get a map of the area. Maybe they have the land now.”
“No, I want to go. Web said I have anything I want to get this done. I’ve been working nonstop. There’s a chopper on a pad here, let’s just go to Elan with the horses, trees and rolling hills. I’ll call Cooper.”
I laugh. This will be fun.
Hud and MB meet us at the chopper with dogs and smiles. “Elan?” MB is amused.
A Bit runs to Copper with a tag or something. She smiles at MB and bends to her girl dog. “Athena, this is a radiation detector. I’m clipping it to your collar.”
No one is smiling anymore. “Why?” I ask since the men are stunned or something. “We got Prometheus and Havoc. They’ve got to train on it at some point so I’m starting that. Prometheus, Havoc, watch the card and alert if radiation is detected.”
