Chapter One: Every Satellite Forgot It

THEIR VALUES MAY NOT ALIGN WITH HUMANITY'S INTERESTS.] Three red points appeared: one over the Atlantic, one in the western Pacific, one behind the moon. “What do I get?” The ship opened. Instead of a cockpit, Zhou saw a ten-square-meter silver chamber. A dark-gold cube floated at its center, encircled by hundreds of hair-thin tracks of light. [RESTRICTED FABRICATION BAY. RECONFIGURES TERRESTRIAL MATTER INTO AUTHORIZED PRODUCTS. CURRENT ACCESS: MATERIALS ONE, ENERGY ONE, MEDICAL ZERO. WEAPONS LOCKED.] Zhou tossed in a burned drone motor. “Same dimensions. Twice the efficiency.” [FEASIBLE. ADD 3.1 GRAMS BORON AND TWELVE GRAMS COPPER.] He supplied both. The tracks contracted. Three seconds later, a silver motor landed in the tray.