Season 3 chapter 102
The Capitalist Punch
Kniya's unhinged brain processed Shuntesh's analogy about dogs giving birth to babies, looked at the glowing reactor, and instantly jumped to the absolute worst possible conclusion.
A highly obnoxious, devious smirk spread across Kniya's face.
"Oh, I get it," Kniya declared loudly. "So you are saying that you guys are gays, and this nuclear reactor is your newborn son?"
WHACK!
Filoska didn't even hesitate. She spun around and delivered a flawless, full-force punch directly into Kniya's face.
"OOF!" Kniya grunted, stumbling backward and clutching his cheek.
"Kniya, I seriously think you should shut your fucking mouth!" Filoska roared, her aristocratic patience completely shattering. "Whenever you open it, you always speak absolute crap! It is literally always like that with you! We are having a historic moment!"
Malesh sighed heavily, completely agreeing with the Vice President as he looked at his battered best friend.
"Yeah, I don't know why you have to ask this kind of question, Kniya," Malesh criticized smoothly, his deadpan mask entirely judgmental. "Why are you always so comfortable making these unhinged conclusions? Whatever the fuck that was, it was completely unnecessary."
The Radioactive Revelation
The Northern East wing of the laboratory was buzzing with the absolute high of their success. The fourth prototype continued to hum flawlessly, casting a steady, brilliant blue light across the concrete floor.
Kniya, leaning casually against a heavy iron workbench, finally tore his eyes away from the reactor and looked directly at Shuntesh. His chaotic energy was fully dialed in, completely amazed by the sheer scale of the achievement.
"Okay, Shuntesh, I have to admit, you actually pulled off a miracle here," Kniya praised loudly, crossing his arms. "This machine is a literal masterpiece of capitalism! But there is one massive, highly confusing variable in my head right now. And that is... how the fuck did you manage to pull this Fisluation sand out of those highly radioactive ores?"
Shuntesh wiped the grease off his hands with a rag, giving his boss his full attention.
"When me, Malesh, and Filoska first explored that cavern... it was a complete nightmare," Kniya explained, gesturing wildly. "The ambient radiation was spiking so massively it would have liquefied human internal organs within a week. We couldn't send human laborers, and Malesh explicitly calculated that using heavy-iron clockwork excavators would introduce extreme kinetic heat and friction that would detonate the entire island! So... how did you even manage to extract this Fisluation sand out of it without blowing up the entire continent?"
Shuntesh smiled, the absolute pride of a brilliant scientist shining through the soot on his face.
"Sir, actually, that was also a massive part of my independent research," Shuntesh explained smoothly, walking over to his chalkboard. "Fisluation reserves are like a shooting star in this world—they are incredibly rare. I developed a theoretical extraction technology years ago, but I never had access to the raw materials to actually test it. But at your island, there were more than enough reserves for me to finally deploy the prototype."
"So what is the actual process?" Salesh asked, stepping forward with deep, analytical interest. "Because we tried to run the numbers on traditional mining, and it was statistically impossible."
"It is a highly specialized Liquid Processing Technology that I invented," Shuntesh detailed, drawing a quick, brilliant diagram on the board. "We don't use heavy iron drills or kinetic force at all. I engineered a specialized chemical liquid compound. In an easier way, I can explain it like this: the compound washes over the rock and chemically separates the raw sand from the radioactive ore. The Fisluation sand flows easily out with the water, while the highly radioactive rock simply stays completely locked in its original position. By using this liquid method, we completely bypass all kinetic friction, avoiding any premature detonation entirely."
Filoska stared at the chalkboard diagram, her aristocratic composure completely giving way to pure, unfiltered amazement.
"You have absolutely no idea how much of a literal genius you are, Shuntesh," Filoska praised warmly, shaking her head. "Years ago, right after we initially discovered that island, we actually attempted a covert extraction ourselves. We sent in heavy, traditional clockwork machinery to drill it out. It was a complete disaster. We only managed to extract a pathetic 20 to 30 grams of raw sand. The kinetic heat and the radiation completely destroyed millions of credits worth of our heavy machinery in the process. The operational cost was so astronomically high that it was impossible to ever commercialize it. We completely abandoned all operations after that."
Kniya's jaw practically hit the floor. He slowly turned his head and looked at Malesh with profound, absolute vindication.
"Yeah, Malesh! Exactly!" Kniya cheered wildly, aggressively pointing a finger at his best friend. "And that is exactly why it was a highly smart decision of me stopping the operation back then! It was absolutely great that I didn't rush to extract this thing with more machines! I entirely rejected the idea and ordered a total operational shutdown because I knew—I absolutely knew—that sometime in the future, a genius guy like Shuntesh would develop a magic liquid to extract it cleanly! I literally predicted the future!"
Malesh smoothly adjusted his tailored cuffs, glaring at Kniya with pure, unfiltered exhaustion.
"You did absolutely not predict the future, Kniya," Malesh deadpanned coldly. "You literally ran out of the cavern screaming because you wanted to keep your skin attached to your muscles. You completely abandoned the island because you were terrified of becoming a suicide bomber. Do not rewrite history to stroke your own massive ego."
"Whatever! The point is, we survived and now we have the liquid tech!" Kniya deflected loudly, aggressively popping a piece of mint gum into his mouth to hide his embarrassment.
The Intellectual Property
Malesh stepped forward, his cold, calculating business persona completely taking over. He looked at Shuntesh, his dark eyes locking onto the researcher with absolute, unyielding seriousness.
"Well, Shuntesh, I have a very serious question for you," Malesh stated flatly.
Before Malesh could even finish his sentence, Kniya aggressively shoved his way to the front, instantly hijacking the conversation to apply his signature, unhinged corporate pressure.
"And that question is!" Kniya shouted, getting right in Shuntesh's face. "We currently own the intellectual property rights to this commercial reactor! We can legally sell it to whoever we want! But still, we want to ask you directly, because you were the guy who actually developed this and you know the destructive capabilities of this technology better than anyone!"
Kniya aggressively pointed his finger at the glowing machine, fully embracing the cinematic tension.
"We want to ask you... whether we are allowed to sell this reactor technology to the Federal Government or not!" Kniya demanded rapidly, pulling out a solid gold pocket watch. "And you have exactly ten seconds to answer! Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!"
"Kniya, shut the fuck up!" Malesh roared, his deadpan mask completely shattering as he violently snatched the gold pocket watch right out of Kniya's hand. "Can you please stop for a single second?!"
Kniya threw his hands up in defensive outrage. "What?! I am applying corporate pressure! It builds character!"
"You are applying absolute idiocy!" Malesh scolded ruthlessly, shoving the watch back into Kniya's chest. "That is way too soon to demand an answer for a geopolitical decision of this magnitude! You do not countdown a monopoly!"
Malesh turned back to Shuntesh, aggressively smoothing his ruined charcoal suit jacket to regain his composure.
"Shuntesh, please completely ignore him," Malesh sighed softly, his voice returning to its calm, flat baseline. "You have a massive amount of time. Just take your time and think deeply about it. We are absolutely not forcing anything upon you. If you want to sell this technology to the state, that is great. If you do not want to, because you fear how the military might weaponize it, that is also great. We are just asking for your own personal answer when you are ready."
The Patriot's Permission
The heavy industrial air of the Northern East wing was thick with the absolute, intoxicating high of historical triumph. The fourth prototype continued to hum flawlessly, bathing the room in a brilliant, limitless blue light.
Shuntesh wiped the grease from his face, looking directly at Kniya and Malesh. His previous anxiety faded, replaced by a deep, grounded sense of loyalty.
"Sir, there is one thing that I want to tell you," Shuntesh began, his voice steady and sincere. "You guys are honestly too generous. I have to say this right off the bat. You invested so much capital in me. You literally let me fulfill my lifelong dreams. And now... you are even asking me for the permission to actually sell this thing to the government? Well, sir, I have to say this: you actually don't need my permission at all."
Kniya crossed his arms, listening intently as his arrogant aura dialed back into genuine respect.
"But if you are asking for my suggestion, then I absolutely don't have a problem with this at all," Shuntesh continued, gesturing to the glowing reactor. "I am totally okay with this. It would be a really great achievement for our country that we have achieved this kind of technology. We will be able to produce a humongous amount of energy with incredibly low fuel. And if we improve this reactor even more, we would be able to scale it up to power the entire nation."
Shuntesh stood up a little straighter, looking at the executives with absolute clarity.
"I am a really patriotic guy," Shuntesh declared confidently. "And I am totally okay with it because I want my country to grow."
Kniya and Malesh exchanged a highly surprised, impressed look. They hadn't anticipated such a mature, selfless response after everything the state had put him through.
"Well, we didn't expect you to do that, but yeah, it's really great to see that," Kniya nodded, visibly pleased.
"Sir, you provided me with this massive opportunity," Shuntesh added respectfully, dropping the overly submissive tone and speaking like a true lead engineer. "You can do whatever you want with this model. I owe this success to you."
"Yeah, I think so. We got the permission, Malesh," Kniya grinned, his absolute capitalist drive instantly returning.
"Now, guys, we can formally sell this thing," Filoska announced, a sharp, highly predatory corporate gleam flashing in her aristocratic eyes.