Chapter 1303 - Song of Electricity (Part 3)

In the bridge, only the weather radar screen was lit—to conserve radar operating time, all radars except the weather radar had been shut down, including the navigation radar that had served the Council well on multiple occasions. The Council had established a comprehensive human surveillance network around Bopu, replacing the former radar watch.

Meng De's life secretary—a tall, thin young woman—was working at the chart table with dividers and rulers, practicing chart navigation.

"It's really quite boring here," Meng De said with a bored smile. "Stuck on this ship year-round—I'm finally experiencing the sailor's life the old-timers talked about. Come, sit down."

He called for his life secretary to brew oolong tea and brought out premium cigars for his guest. The two men smoked and drank tea while chatting about everything under the sun. When the conversation turned to the Holy Ship's current state, Meng De's attitude grew rather pessimistic.

"This ship—I reckon they'll eventually have to salvage it for parts... Last time, the Chemical Department wanted to remove the pressure-rated pipes and valves. I pushed back: easy to take out, hard to put back. These pipes and valves aren't like air conditioners and ceiling lamps that can just be removed. Once they're gone, the ship is basically scrap—and they still ended up taking quite a few pumps!" He puffed out smoke rings angrily as he spoke. "Not sailing for years, never entering dry dock, no proper maintenance materials... I estimate the hull's bottom is already covered in barnacles, and a lot of equipment will gradually rot away."

"It'd be such a waste to just let such a big ship rot and be stripped for parts."

"Yes. The Planning Commission talked to me recently about having me lead a marine training class right here on this ship, training seed personnel in modern seamanship for future modern vessels. I'd enjoy that—knowledge should be passed on, after all. The problem is, even if I train them, what's the point? This ship can't go out, and without practical operation, it's just like learning dragon-slaying arts."

"With Southeast Asian oil, couldn't it run again?" Liu Tangmu, like everyone else, was keenly interested in Southeast Asian oil.

"The Machinery Industry would have to step up too—I'm quite skeptical whether they can provide spare parts for the main engines and auxiliaries and all that equipment..." Meng De rarely had someone to talk with at length, and was in high spirits.

"Is the refrigeration system on board still running?"

"The refrigerated cargo holds have been shut down—we can't afford the electricity. The smaller crew refrigerator is still in use."

"That's a pity." Liu Tangmu knew that because the generator set also had to supply power to shore, shipboard power consumption had to be minimized. The power-hungry cold storage was no longer used—there was gas-powered refrigeration on shore anyway that didn't need electricity.

"It's fine not to use it—at least the ship doesn't constantly reek of seafood anymore," Meng De said.

The two men chatted about this and that until Liu Tangmu felt he shouldn't stay any longer and took his leave. He hurried to the auxiliary engine room for a quick look at operating conditions—in truth, his knowledge of gas bags and generators was no different from that of the naturalized workers, so he couldn't really tell what was happening. It was purely a formality of "checking" whether regulations were being followed and expressing transmigrator attention, to ensure the gasifier and generator workers aboard didn't slack off.

Liu Tangmu's main focus was the transformer station on the ship. This 10KV station had been separately installed before the transmigration, intended to serve as a floating power station in the startup phase after D-Day, supplying power from the ship to the coastal base. Now this transformer station was a treasure of Lingao Power—not only did it transform power from the ship's generators, but the 213KW locomobile generator set at Bopu Harbor Station also fed power into the grid through this transformer station.

Lingao Power also had a work crew stationed on the ship, working three shifts to maintain the gas bag, generator, and transformer station. Liu Tangmu checked their compliance with safety regulations and their ledgers to ensure no violations slipped through the cracks. Lingao Power was quite ruthless about safety rule violations, which were categorized into five levels based on potential consequences. Level three or above meant being sent directly to labor reform for a period of time. No matter how well regulations were drafted, they had to be strictly enforced—of course, the recipients' comprehension ability was also an issue. Some people just couldn't understand or listen. Only the prospect of being sent to work under Fu Youdi could make things click for them.

After completing his inspection, Liu Tangmu disembarked from the Fengcheng and inspected the Bopu Power Station. At this point, the day's patrol was essentially complete. Just as he was about to wrap up and head back to Bairren for lunch, a text message appeared on his Little Smart handset: "Power Work Conference at Planning Commission conference room at 13:00 this afternoon. Please attend on time!"

Liu Tangmu was shocked—not because the 13:00 meeting might make him late for lunch, but because a month ago Chang Kaishen had assigned him to write a power transmission and distribution development outline, and to this point he had written nothing beyond a few sentences of outline. He hadn't expected they'd be going to the Planning Commission for a meeting so soon!

As a key "backbone" of Lingao Power, he would certainly be called on to speak at the meeting. Liu Tangmu immediately rushed toward the launch at double-quick time. The electricians behind him, bewildered, followed at a run and managed to keep up.

"Quick! Back to the Bairren station!" Liu Tangmu shouted urgently. "Full speed ahead!"

At 13:00, in the Planning Commission's large conference room, a meeting was convened under Planning Commission auspices on "Matters Concerning Autonomous R&D and Production of Generators by Mechanical, Metallurgical, Chemical, Power, and Technology Departments"—in short, the 1633 Power Development Work Conference.

The conference room was arranged with a U-shaped table plus observer seating: on one side, primary participants sat around the U-shaped table for discussion; on the other side, several rows of benches served as observer seating. The observers were transmigrators who were either related to power or had expertise and interest in the topic. Observer-seat personnel could follow the proceedings, and if they wished to speak, they could raise their hands. This was one of a series of efficiency-improvement measures adopted as the transmigrators gradually got on track.

Each time such a technical conference was held, notices were posted in advance in the various cafeterias, residential areas, and on the forum. Anyone interested could attend. Even overseas personnel could receive these notices by radio and could write brief opinions to send back for discussion at the meeting.

Now the conference room was packed with dozens of transmigrators. All power-related transmigrators had come, along with many from mechanical, chemical, and materials fields involved in power equipment manufacturing. Naturally, Minister Chang Kaishen, commissioned by the Planning Commission to chair the meeting, was also present.

The transmigrators clustered in groups, heads together in conversation. Power was an interesting topic. As industrial enterprises went, although steamification was currently being promoted, many transmigrators from the mechanical sector felt that machine tools driven by electric motors ran more stably than shaft-driven ones.

The equipment brought on the ship had almost all been electrically driven. Now, limited by power supply capacity, only some equipment could use electric motors; many others had been converted to drive-shaft operation. This was quite uncomfortable for many transmigrators from technical backgrounds. Meanwhile, chemical and metallurgical industries also required large amounts of electricity for electrolysis. Without sufficient power, they couldn't produce enough caustic soda by electrolyzing sodium chloride solution, nor could they refine many urgently needed non-ferrous metals on a large scale—especially electrolytic copper, which the power industry itself required.

The transmigrators from the Power sector were especially spirited. Ever since the Power sector had gone from a key department that concerned everyone to a marginalized department that no one cared about, those who remained in the Power sector had approached the Executive Committee, Planning Commission, even the Organization Department to express their intention to throw in the towel. Though the electrical revolution was inevitable, for those in the Power sector who aspired to create a great enterprise, every second of this frustrating situation—even more frustrating than before the transmigration—was one too many.

This conference was like a shot of adrenaline for them. According to Chang Kaishen's disclosure, the Executive Committee had made power development the top priority. The Executive Committee had issued several R&D directives to the Power sector, and the Planning Commission had approved the previously planned motor factory, transformer factory, and cable factory projects. Directives had also been issued to the mechanical, metallurgical, materials, and technology departments to coordinate and develop the Empire's power industry as quickly as possible.

Faraday's ambitions, which had suffered a setback, were rekindled. He had grown up in a state-owned metallurgical plant where both parents worked. But because of his parents' regard for power industry iron rice bowls and their fear of the wave of layoffs in those years, he had smoothly entered a certain power school, then been assigned upon graduation to a transformer station in the suburbs of a certain city. After several years of station duty, he joined the transmigration and was then assigned to the Power sector—doing the same work as Liu Tangmu. However, being properly trained in the power field, his knowledge was more comprehensive than that of Liu Tangmu, who was in power transmission and distribution, so his work was also more varied.

"During this period, Comrade Faraday toiled without complaint, completing and solving numerous technical difficulties under practical conditions. As these difficulties were resolved, that dream buried in his family's bloodline burned ever brighter. By 1630, when the Power sector had fallen silent as cold ashes, he had already begun researching motor manufacturing. And the administrative approvals from the Executive Committee and Planning Commission arrived at the Power Department's office at just the right time. It was then that Faraday bravely shouldered the heavy burden of motor research—it was he who rekindled the power industry that might well have been extinguished!

"Throughout the research process, his deep friendship with Chang Kaishen—later a logistics titan—brought him many conveniences in obtaining raw materials. And the Empire's future East Asian ultra-high-voltage transmission system, Himalayan Super Power Station, and Yangtze River cascade hydroelectric stations would also receive tremendous support from the Chang Kaishen Transportation Group. His benevolence and kindness will forever illuminate the Empire." (History of the Power Industry—Biographies Volume: Life of Faraday)

(End of Chapter)