With the construction plan for the new enterprise ncc-1701-a elevated to the highest priority, and the decision to integrate the latest technology, the "Level Eight Warp Engine" research and development project, previously guided by Osiris and involving numerous top Federation scholars, naturally received unprecedented resource allocation and attention.
After intense discussion and rigorous risk assessment, the Federation Council and the Starship Design Bureau made a bold decision: to integrate the Level Eight Warp Engine prototype, which had not yet been fully field-tested, as the main propulsion system for the new enterprise for integrated testing.
This starship, bearing a legendary name and future aspirations, was destined from its inception to be a technological pioneer in the Federation' exploration of new frontiers.
This decision brought highly positive evaluation results within Osiris' logical core.
While the construction of theoretical models and miniaturized tests in ground laboratories were important, only full-power, long-duration operation in a real deep-space environment, especially on a meticulously crafted platform like the new enterprise, could expose all potential problems and collect the most valuable practical data.
This was far beyond what a laboratory environment could offer.
Therefore, he invested tremendous enthusiasm and energy into this.
While serving as a technical consultant for the new enterprise, he continuously dedicated a significant portion of his computational threads to the final refinement of the warp engine.
He worked closely with Engineer Scott and the project team's theoretical physicists and energy dynamics experts, optimizing the excitation efficiency of the field generation coils and refining the dynamic feedback algorithms for maintaining the stability of the spacetime bubble at high warp factors, almost day and night.
However, one of the biggest obstacles to achieving Level Eight Warp remained the physical limits of the core material—the dilithium crystal.
Existing natural or early synthetic dilithium crystals, when simulating Level Eight Warp energy loads, still exhibited phase transitions and instability in their crystal lattice structure, which bottlenecked the engine's power ceiling and long-term operational reliability.
The key to solving the problem was Osiris' earlier proposed "lattice weaving" theory.
After receiving full cooperation from the Federation' material science department and mobilizing relevant knowledge from his own database regarding material manipulation under extreme conditions, Osiris led a crucial synthesis experiment.
In a specially designed container capable of generating complex multi-dimensional energy fields, they were no longer satisfied with naturally formed crystal structures, but instead attempted to guide specific atoms and molecules to arrange and bond according to pre-calculated, optimized topological models.
This process was not achieved overnight.
After several instances of crystal structure defects or complete disintegration due to subtle perturbations in the energy field, the team gradually mastered the balance point between energy field precision and atomic-level manipulation.
Finally, at the end of a synthesis cycle that lasted for tens of hours, the energy field smoothly dissipated, and a composite crystal, about the size of a palm, exhibiting a deep and uniform blue-purple color with internal energy halos seemingly flowing on their own, floated in the center of the container.
On-site scan data immediately caused a stir.
This artificial crystal's energy flux tolerance was 45% higher than the best natural dilithium crystal, its structural stability increased severalfold, and its decay curve under sustained high-energy loads became extremely flat.
"Success," Osiris' synthetic voice carried a discernible tone of satisfaction, as one of his mechanical tentacles carefully retrieved the slightly warm crystal and placed it under the analyzer. "The lattice weaving theory has been validated. This composite crystal structure, as expected, can self-reinforce within the energy flow rather than passively absorbing impact. I will name it 'steady-state crystal'."
Engineer Scott practically pounced on the analyzer, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the data flickering on it: "Mr. Osiris, this thing is beautiful! Look at this energy throughput curve!
And these structural integrity readings... My goodness, if we use it in our new engine, let alone Warp Level Eight, I even think Level Nine isn't an unreachable dream anymore!"
"The significant increase in stability is key," Osiris added, his optical lens following the scanning beam. "This not only enhances the maximum speed and distance of a single voyage but also significantly reduces engine wear during high-warp travel, extending overhaul intervals.
For starships requiring long-term deep-space exploration, its value is immeasurable."
This breakthrough was quickly reported to the Federation' high command.
Any lingering doubts about using an experimental engine on the new enterprise largely subsided after the advent of the steady-state crystal.
The Level Eight Warp Engine project thus entered the fast lane, with prototype manufacturing and testing fully underway.
The successful synthesis of the steady-state crystal was significant not only for providing Federation starships with a superior warp engine core.
For Osiris, this breakthrough held deeper strategic value—it laid a solid and crucial foundation for him to replicate and even improve warp engine technology in the Warhammer Universe in the future.
While continuously participating in various Federation technical exchanges, Osiris' logical core was always conducting cross-universe comparisons and planning.
He clearly realized that while warp engines were good, their reliance on dilithium crystals was a potentially huge limitation.
dilithium crystals were a specialty of this universe, and their formation conditions might be inextricably linked to this universe's unique physical rules or interstellar environment.
The Warhammer Universe was vast and strange, and whether such crystals existed there, or whether there were natural substitutes with perfectly matching properties, was an unknown, and the probability was not optimistic.
Pinning the hope of technological realization on finding a specific mineral in an unfamiliar universe was, in Osiris' view, inefficient and fraught with risk.
Instead of gambling on slim luck, it was better to take the initiative into his own hands.
The emergence of the steady-state crystal perfectly solved this core problem.
The greatest advantage of this composite crystal lay in its "artificially synthesizable" characteristic.
Its manufacture depended on specific energy field manipulation and atomic-level weaving technology, rather than some irreplicable natural geological process.
As long as the principles, energy requirements, and process details were mastered, and the corresponding level in material science and energy manipulation technology was achieved, it could theoretically be attempted to replicate in any civilization with basic industrial capabilities.
Even if the initial version synthesized in the Warhammer Universe could not temporarily reach the perfect standards achieved in the Federation in terms of energy flux or stability, as long as its basic function could support the formation and maintenance of a warp field, it would be enough to break the barrier of faster-than-light travel.
This in itself was a revolutionary breakthrough from zero to one.
What's more, the performance of the currently synthesized steady-state crystal was not merely "acceptable" but "excellent."
Its performance even surpassed natural dilithium crystals, which was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.
This meant that once he successfully established a production line in the Warhammer Universe, what he would obtain would not be a second-best substitute, but a potentially superior core component.
This would not only allow him to replicate Federation-style warp engines but might even provide a higher performance starting point for his future development of more distinctive propulsion systems that merge Warhammer technology with Federation principles.
Therefore, while assisting the Federation in perfecting the Level Eight Warp Engine prototype, Osiris invested extra effort, thoroughly analyzing and documenting every subtle aspect of the steady-state crystal's synthesis.
From the purity requirements of basic raw materials to the precise parameter settings of the energy field generator, and then to various abnormal situations that might arise during the weaving process and their corresponding solutions.
He was not merely acquiring a formula, but building a complete knowledge base for a production system adaptable to different industrial foundations.
This small blue crystal, in his eyes, its value far exceeded any single faster-than-light engine blueprint, because it ensured the "feasibility" of this technology crossing dimensional barriers.