Chapter 746 348: Convergence

But now, the campus had seemingly transformed into a feverish incubator.

Alan saw a group of young engineers in T-shirts gathered around a strange-looking quadrupedal robot, debugging code.

Not far away, several men in suits with thick German accents were fiercely debating something with university professors, waving thick technical blueprints in their hands.

The outer walls of the academic buildings were plastered with massive posters.

"The Pittsburgh Computing Power Special Zone: Engine of the Future."

"Join Us, Reshape Industrial Civilization."

Even the roadside cafes were filled with entrepreneurs on video calls, their screens displaying either business plans or complex CAD models.

The air here was filled with a scent that made the heart race.

It was the smell of money, technology, and ambition all mixed together.

Alan made his way through the bustling crowd and arrived at the entrance to a massive academic conference hall.

Two rows of grim-faced security guards in black uniforms stood at the entrance.

Alan presented the black invitation.

A guard glanced at it, immediately straightened his posture, and even gave a slight bow.

"Welcome, Dr. Hughes."

Alan was somewhat surprised.

Just as he stepped into the hall's foyer, a familiar voice called out from the side.

"Alan? Is that really you?"

Alan turned his head and saw a familiar face.

It was Davis, his old friend who had sworn he was moving to Montana to grow potatoes.

Now, he had shed the farmer's overalls he often wore on social media for a crisp suit, though his tie was a little crooked.

"Davis?" Alan walked over, finding it hard to believe. "Aren't you supposed to be digging up potatoes?"

"Potatoes have got nothing on this."

Davis lowered his voice and leaned in conspiratorially to Alan's ear.

"Do you know who they've invited? Even Pierre, who was the VP of Technology at the French power corporation for ten years, is here. And the entire faculty from MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering."

"What on earth are they planning?" Alan asked.

"Didn't you read the invitation?" Davis pointed to the closed doors of the main hall. "They're planning to make a huge play."

"What kind of play?"

A fanatical gleam flashed in Davis's eyes.

"Word is, Pennsylvania is going to restart Three Mile Island."

Alan's heart clenched.

Three Mile Island.

"That's impossible," Alan instinctively retorted. "It would never get past the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not to mention the environmental groups. They'd tear this place apart."

"Anywhere else, and it would be impossible," Davis said with a smile, clapping Alan on the shoulder. "But this is Pittsburgh, and it's run by that young man, Leo. That kid... he can make the impossible possible."

Just then, the main hall doors swung open slowly.

A huge wave of sound rushed out, almost knocking Alan over.

He stood at the entrance, looking at the scene inside the hall, utterly stunned.

Hundreds of people were seated inside the hall.

Alan saw many familiar faces.

He recognized a chief engineer who had once led nuclear island design at Westinghouse Electric and a top materials science professor from MIT.

In addition to these STEM professionals in their plaid shirts, dozens of people in sharp business suits were seated on the other side of the hall.

They were the top administrative law experts and government relations lobbyists in all of America.

'Good God,' Alan cursed inwardly. 'Have they scooped up the entire brain trust of the American nuclear industry?'

He found an empty seat and sat down.

On the stage up front, there were no university or government insignias on display.

A blonde woman walked onto the stage.

It was Evelyn Saint Cloud.

She wore a sharply tailored, dark business suit, her expression cold and detached.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I trust you have all seen the invitation and understand why we've gathered here."

"So I won't waste any more of your time."

Evelyn's voice carried clearly throughout the entire hall.

"I don't understand nuclear physics, and I have no interest in discussing the decay half-lives of radioactive isotopes with you."

"Nor am I here to talk about the political correctness of combating climate change or how to navigate environmental impact assessments."

A slight stir rippled through the audience.

Alan adjusted his glasses. He was beginning to find this woman interesting.

For the past decade, any conference on nuclear energy had invariably opened with those two topics.

"I have summoned you here because you are the most brilliant minds in this field."

Evelyn's gaze swept over the gray-haired engineers in the front row.

"But I know that many of you have lost a decade of your careers because of some environmental permit that never got stamped, because of politicians on Capitol Hill bickering for votes."

"Your blueprints are gathering dust in safes, and your talents are being squandered in endless hearings."

Alan felt his heart give a sudden, powerful thump.

"But here in Pennsylvania, the rules are different."

Evelyn lifted her chin slightly.

"We don't have drawn-out Congressional hearings, and we don't need to go begging to the bureaucrats in Washington."

"As long as you can prove to me that it is, from a technical standpoint, completely safe."

Evelyn raised a single finger.

"The State Government, which is to say, Governor William, will issue every special permit you require. Any environmental organization that attempts to obstruct you using state regulations will be swept aside by executive power."

"As for funding..."

The holographic screen behind Evelyn lit up, displaying the real-time data of a massive capital pool.

"The State Government and the Saint Claude Family will provide all the financial backing you need."

The screen switched to images of the steel mills and heavy machinery workshops of the Pittsburgh South District, roaring day and night.

"We also provide nearly limitless industrial capacity."

"The specialty steel, precision valves, and heavy forgings you require—Pennsylvania's factories will operate around the clock to produce them."

"And anything we can't manufacture ourselves, the Inland Port will bring in from every corner of the globe."

Evelyn leaned forward, placing both hands on the lectern, her gaze piercing.

"I am giving you the authority, the funding, and the manufacturing capacity."

"All I need from you now is one thing."

"I need a complete plan—administrative and technical."

"How to bring the Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor back online within 24 months."

The hall fell utterly silent.

Alan stared at the woman on the stage.

He felt as if he were witnessing an extremely ancient, yet brutally efficient, form of power in action.

Purely results-driven.

This was the ultimate environment a technocrat could ever dream of.

Here, technology trumped bureaucracy.

Here, as long as you could build the machine, any obstructing rules would be swept away like garbage by capital and power.

Alan felt his hands begin to tremble slightly.

The spirit of research within him, which he thought had died long ago under the Florida sun, suddenly reignited in this Pittsburgh hall.

He took the check from his pocket and tore it into pieces.

He didn't need it.

He just wanted that reactor.