Project Overworld

Exiting the control room, really narrow for the six of them, Keith approached the 'Rocket assembler' to check if it has been preserved from the intense heat. Apart from a few metal parts closest to the launching pad being all hot and glowing red, it seemed like the overall structure held on pretty during the launch.

However, if critical damage there was, Keith would not be able see it from the exterior. The robot was mostly composed of various electronic parts and other cables so it could reproduce the movements registered inside its computer by the Spacol members.

Since the rest of the build was made out of metal, really heat condusing, he could not really be sure the 'Rocket assembler' was in good condition until he tested it. First things first, he went onto its main computer and checked whether it was still running or not. Reassured, he ordered another rocket to be build immediately.

At first, nothing seemed really out of place. A rocket engine that has already been building got deposited onto the launching pad. A few minutes later, once the machine took care of the next part, the gigantic arms of the assembler seemed a bit loose and could not get a good grip onto the fuel tank that it was supposed to drop off onto the main engine.

'Yeah, I expected as much...' Keith thought. Obviously, the intense heat released by a launcher about to lift off had to damage things around it, especially since it was their first time building these robotic arms. Before he could start to think of a solution for the future, his friends finally joined him only to notice the same problem as Keith did.

Their enthusiasm got washed away instantly. They were just celebrating a few seconds ago for the successful launch and now realized it has been a bit too early.

- "What should we do?" Michael worried. This sort of problem had to be resolved before they went into space, as the whole point of making an automated rocket assembler would go to waste otherwise. If the machine required maintenance after every launch, there would be no benefit in using it other than a bit of time gain.

However, when one considered the tremendous amount of hours spent on building this entire structure, it would only mean they worked for nothing.

- "Well, I've got some leads." Keith finally replied. He was still considering which of his ideas was the best solution, but his friends would be there to discuss this matter with him. "For now, either we modify its program and make all the most critical parts move towards its back upon launch, which would also require some structure changes so these arms could actually move around, or we reinforce everything with heat-resistant metal. We could also be spending the next few weeks working on an enormous tungsten door which would close off once the rocket was bout to launch."

Everyone went silent, considering the efficiency of every possibility while calculating the time required to implement such a solution. In under a few minutes, the second proposition consisiting of reinforcing the structure was eliminated.

It essentially meant they would need to spend another couple of months working on this machine, reinforcing everything while making sure the arms had enough power given to them to move around due to the excess weight.

- "That's realistically not possible to do." Leyla concluded.

The third solution would also be really time-consuming, but the safest available to them. Hidden being its metal door, the 'Rocket assembler would be totally impervious to anything that was happening on the other side. However, the Spacol members would need to assemble a door around fifty feet tall and at least a hundred feet wide so the heat could be contained on the launching pad.

With such a large construction, it would be a real challenge to make a system able to slide the doors open and closed at will. If they did manage to do it, though, they would be good for years with such a system.

In the end, however, they opted for the first solution Keith had thought of. Moving the arms to the back of the machine was a really easy task to accomplish. According to Keith's calculation, they would be able to do it in under a week and a half. If this solution ended up not working, they would not have wasted too much time anyways and the offset of it working properly would mean they could launch towards the EOSS in no time.

After determining which solution they would try and implement, Keith went back into his office and started getting busy. From time to time, he also watched the progress of their automatically launched rocket and found himself being really satisfied in seeing it reaching the thermosphere already.

The next day, Keith was notified thanks to the radio wave transmitter of the rocket that it had successfully reached a stable orbit near the EOSS. This time, Spacol members gave free rein to their joy and celebrated this huge achievement that they managed to reach.

Even Keith could not believe that they did it. Up until now, they mostly reproduced real-life inventions to progress within Project Overworld. For the first time, they really did manage to build something people would dream to own one day or the other.

Thoughout the following week, Spacol finalized the design of their machine so it would not be damaged from each launch it attended to. It took them another couple of days for a test rocket to be assembled from scratch and launched high into the atmosphere. The robotic arms of the 'Rocket assembler' as well as several other important parts successfully moved towards the back of the machine once the launch was about to start.

The rocket also seemed to be reaching the intended orbit and Keith officially announced that they would all be establishing into space for the following months, nay years. Now that he though about it, it had been almost three years the first server of Project Overworld launched and he managed to get in there. It has been quite a while, and during this long lapse he managed to graduate from his economics diploma and get his first job.

Although the latter was not that interesting to him, he was earning a living off of it so his goals within the game could be reached in the meantime. Keith did not want to waste some of his time searching for another job, especially now that he had five employees to take care of in this virtual world.

- "Hello." Keith greeted Michael who was waiting in the spatial room. It was a Wednesday evening and most of his friends were already connected to game while gathering every bit of resources they wanted to bring with them along the incoming journey.

- "Hey!" Michael replied. "Ready for the big launch?"

- "It's kind of strange when put like that. This is certainly not the biggest rocket I've seen so far."

- "Hey, don't be like that! You're spoiling my fun dude!"

- "Haha!" Keith laughed it off. "However, this is kind of grand in a sense. No player has ever reached what we're about to do, and for over eight billion people throughout the entire world, space is still a distant dream they d.e.s.i.r.e to reach one day."

- "Yeah, I feel like we're about to revolutionize the world with our ideas, even though we're only in a game."

Xena connected into the game a few minutes later, and Keith decided to gather everyone inside the spatial room. He gave a final speech to motivate his subordinates before officially proclaiming that they would be launching in ten minutes.

Their base never felt as busy as it did on this day. Everyone was talking to each other, giving their opinion on various subjects while joking around. It was a really magnificent view to Keith. Everything he has been working on for so long was finally showing fruits.

For three years, he planned to establish into space and work towards revolutionary ideas the real-world has not even started considering. Now that he though about it, this departure kind of felt the same as when he escaped Yggdrasil. He was leaving a place he has established onto so he could be working in tranquility towards grander schemes.

However, unlike last time, he now had a proficient team of engineers at his disposal, who also happened to be his close friends.

Climbing onto the rocket, Keith installed himself tightly to his attributed seat. The c.o.c.kpit was a lot larger than other times around, even considering the proportion of people who needed to fit into it. This rocket was not equipped with any load other than the c.o.c.kpit itself, so there would be no problem in having this thing a bit more confortable for everyone.

Upon designing this part of the rocket, Keith even asked for a table to be installed in the middle of it and for the seats to be installed around it. This way, it would be a lot easier for them to talk with each other and maybe play some card games. Though, the rocket would be shaking so much that the cards would be ejected everywhere if they ever tried to put them on the table.

Five minutes later, everyone was installed within this large c.o.c.kpit and waiting for the final signal. Keith thus declared : "Let's go, the EOSS is waiting for us!" Before pushing a big red button triggering the ignition phase of their rocket.

With a roaring screech, the 'EOSS Launcher 1' started lifting off the ground.