Another professional discussion between the scientists and engineers began after that. Kugi answered their occasional questions, and I continued to stare at them stupidly.
It seems like they were going to use spirit silver, a mental wave amplification material, to create a mental wave measuring device. They were also gonna make a mental wave jamming device by incorporating spirit silver into a shield generator. They decided on a jamming device instead of a physical blocking device because Kugi said it was almost impossible to completely block mental waves using physical methods. She suggested that it would be more realistic to offset mental waves by『crushing』them with even more powerful mental waves.
Fortunately, the wavelengths of the spheres were mostly identical, so it shouldn't prove difficult to cancel them out after measuring the specific values.
What was I doing while everybody else was talking about technical gibberish, you ask?
"Banana." [1]
"You're makin' a really stupid-lookin' face y'know, Boss."
"Is that your attempt at a joke?"
Tina and Doc Shouko unleashed merciless tsukkomis. But it can't be helped, right? All that technical jargon is nothing but mumbo jumbo to me. What I understood from the discussion was that if you use spirit silver, which was a mental wave amplification material, you'd be able to create a device that will be able to catch psionic waves called thought or mental waves and induce some sort of reaction. That's about it.
If Dr. Shouko had some free time, I would have liked to dig more into the reason why she ended up working as a civilian contractor in this place, but she seemed to be quite busy. Kugi's head was also covered with some sort of suspicious-looking headgear in order to measure her telepathy values or something, so I was completely left out.
"Big Brother, make absolutely sure that you don't come near here, okay?"
"I know. I wouldn't want to destroy your precious P.A.M."
Wiska and Mr. Wells forbade me from approaching the machines that were processing spirit silver and the ones that were installed with it. Right now, the only area I could freely walk around inside the lab was the rest area near the entrance.
"Come to think of it, shouldn't I charge the colonel for the spirit silver?"
"Oh, we've already gotten the colonel's approval regarding that matter. She kept complaining that it was too expensive though."
"Huh? I haven't decided on the price yet though?"
"Ah, sorry Boss. We already put a price on em."
It seemed like they sold the spirit silver for 50,000 Enels per kilo. We should have brought five kilos of spirit silver, so that made it 250,000 Enels.
"...Ain't that a bit too expensive?"
"The market price for the material's high in the first place, Boss. Spirit silver sourced from the Refill system costs a lot because the amount that can be taken out of the main planet is pitifully small. The market price is about 38,000 Enels per kilo. The price gets raised to about 30% if it's sold in remote systems. 50 thousand is just right."
"30% is quite the profit, isn't it?"
Dr. Shouko giggled in amusement.
"I think it's actually a bargain. If we, or rather, Boss didn't have any spirit silver on hand, the fleet would have been stuck here fer some time. Moreover, the price would've been even higher if they bought it outside due to the transportation cost. Ain't it pretty convenient that the fleet was able to buy several kilos of spirit silver at a reasonable price without any wait time?"
"I see... You finally look a bit more reliable now, Tina."
"I wanna have a nice long talk with ya later regarding how ya usually see me, Boss... Well, just chalk it up to my past experiences from way back."
After saying so, Tina shrugged her shoulders and clammed up. Her experiences from way back huh? Come to think of it, Tina and Wiska were together all the time now, but they apparently lived apart in the past and were raised in different environments. Tina lived in a place where public order was a bit bad... She should have picked up her bargaining and negotiation skills from her time there.
"Your ships sure are manned by excellent crew members, Hiro-kun."
"They sure are. I can't really do anything apart from fighting, so I'm thankful for everyone's help. Oh, but we don't have a doctor yet by the way. How about it, Dr. Shouko? We now have a mothership with plenty of space, so I can actually prepare a medical office and laboratory for you."
"Is it really okay to invite me so casually? I might take you seriously, you know?"
"You're very welcome to join us, Dr. Shouko... After all, you're already aware of my situation to some extent."
"I'll think about it."
Dr. Shouko grinned mischievously. Dr. Shouko was actually a very competent medical doctor and also seemed to be an expert in nanotechnology, so I believe she'd be very reliable.
Unlike when we first met her, we now have the Black Lotus which had plenty of room available, so I can easily prepare a private room for her, a medical office, and even a research lab. Our situation has changed a lot compared to the days when we were just wandering around star systems with Krishna.
Because every single one of my crew members was female, it would be very helpful if there was a doctor who can manage their physical conditions and support them physically and mentally. I'm sure I'll benefit from that arrangement as well.
"I heard that! How about you hire me as well!?"
Mr. Wells, who snuck up behind me, suddenly pitched himself with great fanfare. I already noticed him earlier, but it looked like Tina and Dr. Shouko didn't because they got startled. They both had the exact same reaction, and it was honestly a bit cute.
"What do you think you can offer our team, Mr. Wells?"
"Well... maybe I can improve the armor plating of your ships? I can do that if we discover new materials."
"Our two mechanics and Mei are able to do that as well, I believe... Hence, I pray for your continued success in your chosen career, Mr. Wells."
"Can you stop speaking in that tone, please? It feels like my heart is gonna break..."
Mr. Wells started complaining about the difficulties faced by a materials engineering researcher and the black nature of his current job with a gloomy aura. I was actually worried that Mr. Wells would spell trouble down the line because he looked like the type to be tasked with a secret military mission or something like that, but it looked like that wasn't the case.
"Well, I did get this job through one of my connections. My best friend, my childhood pal, has a decent rank in the military. Of course, I'm not an incompetent researcher who just relies on my connections to bumble along, okay?"
When I voiced my doubts, he answered readily. The other researcher and the two engineers nodded in response, so his skills in materials engineering seemed to be the real deal.
"Well, that's that and this is this. We really don't have a good spot available for a materials engineer right now."
"Of course... Haah. I guess I have no choice but to produce some good results and somehow get hired as a full-time military materials engineering researcher."
Mr. Wells sighed heavily. Researchers sure have it hard as well.
"So, do you think you can produce some results?"
"Looks like it for now. At the very least, the mental wave jamming device should work as intended. In theory, that is."
"I am going to go around the ship to check if it really is working properly."
"I see. I'll come with you then. I'm free after all."
It would be better than just sitting here, in any case. Also, it looks like Kugi was coming along too.