Average people might not have a concrete concept of what the number "1500 meters" truly represents.
Let's use a few examples.
The height of Stark Tower is 347 meters.
And right now, Luca needed to build a humanoid mechanical skeleton that was a staggering 1500 meters tall and capable of transforming.
Keep in mind, this wasn't a static structure made of reinforced concrete, nor was it as simple as clearing a plot of land and piling up a human-shaped metal frame on the ground.
The issues involved—material strength, structural mechanics, transformation torque, core drive systems, and so on—were staggering. Any single one of these problems would be enough to make the entire scientific community of an industrial superpower scratch their heads and grind away at research for a decade.
Based on Luca's understanding of his cheat system, to pass the check, the "transformation capability" meant the mechanical skeleton's arms and legs needed at least some ability to fold and articulate.
This was basically equivalent to building a machine capable of lifting an entire "Tower" moving it, and putting it down again, all while ensuring no catastrophic structural failure or snapped joints occurred during the process.
Just designing the blueprints for this was enough to make Luca—even with Hakimi's massive computing power assisting him—tear his hair out.
He found it hard to imagine how, in the original Macross setting, humans in the year 2000 managed to complete such a god-tier engineering project.
"In my memory, didn't the SDF-1's internal anti-gravity engines tear right through the hull and fly off into space on their own during its first launch?"
"With material strength like that, how the hell did they manage damage-free transformation?"
Helpless, Luca could only choose to fight magic with magic.
According to his design, the entire transformation skeleton would be built from high-strength E-Carbon. Embedded within the frame were over a hundred Solar Furnaces, distributed throughout the skeleton to drive the transformation.
Relying on the Solar Furnaces to enhance the E-Carbon's inherent strength, he would also use the unscientific property of GN Particles to reduce the frame's weight, forcibly pushing the massive body through its structural transformation.
Since in the original Gundam 00 world, just four Solar Furnaces could drive a spaceship like the Ptolemaios (nearly 300 meters long) at high speeds...
Then if Luca multiplied that number by ten—even if they were knock-off "Hell Pseudo-Furnaces"—making a "slightly larger" skeletal frame move a little bit shouldn't be a problem, right?
Yeah, at least theoretically, there should be a probability of success...
Of course, from theory to blueprints to actual construction, there was a long road ahead.
Right now, in this restricted military zone, the number of Haro engineering machines of various models had unknowingly increased to tens of thousands.
Even so, the overall progress of the transformation skeleton was only just over halfway done.
Luca looked at the massive magic circle in the valley, nearly three kilometers in diameter, and couldn't help shaking his head again.
"Thinking back to Age of Ultron, that guy Ultron used a small amount of Vibranium and only a few days to lift the entire city center of Sokovia's capital (6.4 km in diameter) into the sky..."
"The gap between me and Tony really is huge..."
However, Luca chose to expend so much energy preparing for the synthesis of the [SDF-1 Macross] not just to get a spaceship.
The main draw was the fortress's inherent systems: the thermonuclear reaction engine matrix, the large-scale anti-gravity system, and the super-dimension space fold system. Any one of these alone was incredibly tempting.
And then there was the main cannon—the Super Dimension Energy Cannon. Capable of firing a terrifying beam over 190,000 kilometers long and 3.2 kilometers wide. It could pierce straight through the Earth with power to spare.
Given these rewards, if Luca truly had no ability to synthesize it, he would let it go. But since there was a chance, even if he had to scrap everything he owned, he had to try.
Besides, over the past year, aside from constantly supplying the Dimension War, Luca didn't have any critical research projects. He naturally didn't mind spending extra effort on such a high-potential project.
Even putting aside the synthesis, just pushing through these preparations allowed him to further integrate and master the various technologies in his hands.
"If I recall correctly, the first Macross was originally a product of combining human technology with a Zentradi gunship. Once synthesized, maybe there's still room for further upgrades."
"If I really get a super battleship out of this, I'm driving it straight into Hell as my flagship and blasting those demon scum to bits!"
Just as Luca was lost in his fantasy...
A black-haired girl, looking about eight or nine years old and wearing an ill-fitting black robe, appeared silently in front of him like a ghost. She looked like she hadn't woken up fully and was holding a large stack of documents.
"Lord Luca, this is the work you need to process today."
The girl's sudden voice instantly interrupted Luca's fantasy of big ships and giant cannons.
Looking at the source of the voice, a trace of helplessness appeared on Luca's face.
"Nemu... didn't we agree to leave the work until the evening to handle slowly? And this huge pile... surely that's not all work content..."
The little girl Luca called Nemu didn't change her expression at all. She replied methodically:
"My Lord, you still need to attend the banquet for the New American diplomatic delegation tonight. Furthermore, these are not just the documents you need to sign and review for today. They include the ones you pushed off yesterday, the remaining ones from the day before yesterday, the ones from three days ago..."
"Stop, stop, stop..."
Seeing that the girl wanted to continue, Luca hurriedly interrupted. He rubbed his temples with a headache and muttered softly:
"Letting you be my secretary... I really found a treasure..."
That's right. The little girl in front of him, no more than seven or eight years old, was Luca's current secretary, Nemu!
And Nemu herself wasn't an ordinary human, but an artificial human Luca had accidentally synthesized...
[Nemu Hachigō] (Nemu Number 8).
Yes, Number 8.
Although Luca named her "Nemu," she wasn't exactly the same person as Nemu Kurotsuchi (Nemu Number 7) created by Mayuri Kurotsuchi in the original Bleach. She was a new individual cultivated by Mayuri using the same technology after Number 7's death.
However, since Luca synthesized a younger, smaller version of [Nemu Number 8], while she possessed excellent talent and decent combat ability, she didn't have much knowledge or scientific research capability yet.
Luca simply kept her by his side to raise her as a mascot-like secretary, naming her "Nemu."
"Alright, don't puff up your cheeks. I'll finish reading these files right now."
"Aside from these? You didn't come to find me just for work, did you?"