Barr had been constructing an enormous machine, hidden deep within one of the largest mountains. The location was ideal, rich with a variety of metals so abundant that he barely needed to venture beyond his excavation site. As fortune would have it, he’d even discovered a steady flow of lava beneath the rock—a natural source of heat and power.

  Over time, Barr perfected the craft of transforming massive chunks of rock into precision molds, or dies. These dies took on any shape he needed—squares, circles, or more intricate designs. He would carve a cavity into one piece of rock, fill it with finely ground metal particles, and then place another piece of rock on top. Using colossal slabs of stone that weighed several tons, he would smash the pieces together, compressing the metal until it fused perfectly into shape.

  Through this meticulous process, he created metal parts, each more refined than the last. Eventually, the rock dies were replaced with metal ones. The effort was painstaking, but after years of working with an unlimited supply of metal, heat, and pressure, Barr produced an arsenal of gears, flywheels, and components of all sizes. The result was no ordinary gearbox—this was a masterpiece of engineering, a “gearbox from hell” filled with hundreds of interlocking gears. Tiny gears spun into larger ones, each movement magnified by the staggering ratios. Imagine a thousand discs stacked atop one another, each one shifting a gear by an almost imperceptible fraction of a percent.

  The entire contraption was a colossal energy storage device, and it was ready for action.

  On the other side of this underground marvel was a colony of mindless, hostile insects—a relentless infestation that plagued the depths of the mountain. Barr’s solution was brutal and elegant. When the first explosion detonated, it triggered the machinery hidden beneath the mountain. The shockwave traveled through pipes designed to kickstart the entire system. The molten lava reservoirs below shattered deliberately, releasing a surge of heat. As the generators spun to life, magnetic fields activated, heating the surrounding rock. Moments later, water from the mesa above began to pour in, cooling the system and generating steam. The steam powered the generators further, accelerating the process until it became self-sustaining.

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  Giant stone doors, balanced and pressurized, slammed shut, sealing the system. The mountain now housed a massive engine, fueled by the Earth’s heat. The power output was beyond comprehension. Atop the mountain, two towers stood a mere hundred feet apart, with constant lightning arcing between them. The air crackled with energy, and thunderclaps echoed relentlessly. The ground between the towers was scorched and molten, carved by the searing bolts of electricity.

  Barr marveled at the spectacle. His creation was generating so much energy that it seemed limitless. But now came the hard part: distributing this power without causing catastrophic damage. The infrastructure was in place, but it had never been tested. Flipping the main breakers was bound to cause explosions, and Barr didn’t want anyone nearby when that happened.

  In addition to the power grid, Barr had developed a simple yet effective way to spool out wires. Copper and steel cables, encased in protective tubing about a foot thick, stretched through his labyrinthine tunnels, connecting distant cities. Alongside these power lines, he also ensured a fresh supply of water flowed to the communities.

  Despite these connections, he hadn’t yet electrified the cities themselves. The inhabitants had only a vague understanding of the technology at their disposal. Some were oblivious, while others possessed just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Barr chuckled to himself, eager for the moment they realized what he had accomplished. After all, not everyone on this planet was native—some had migrated here, while others were born under different skies.

  With everything in place, Barr returned to wait for Bob and Margaret. The surprises he had in store for them would make this journey unforgettable.