Pleiades Fusion Process

Let us be clear at the outset. While we discuss The Pleiades Fusion Process, which is an aneutronic fusion process, we do not, here, discuss the discovery of aneutronic fusion per se. That theoretical groundwork was laid in the late twentieth century by many brilliant physicists and chemists. Standing on the shoulders of these giants, the individual known to history only as "Father", managed to make this theoretical process real and useful. It is this achievement, the practical application of aneutronic fusion, specifically a modified Lithium-6 cycle, in a compact and portable system, that humanity celebrates as the seminal technology of the era. The name, The Pleiades Fusion Process, was coined in the early 2050's, and represents the branding efforts of The Pleiades Corporation as well as increasing efforts at the time to separate the systems being sold from the original development of the technology.

Utility

There is no question that The Pleiades Fusion Process is the most useful and important technology of the twenty-first century. By the end of the century all of humanity and civilization is literally powered and transported by fusion power, and it is inconceivable that civilization could continue without fusion power.

Manufacturing

The Pleiades Corporation maintains the only manufacturing facility in existence that produces fusion power systems. This facility, located in a solar orbit near the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L₂. This massive facility, powered naturally by massive fusion power systems, produces no less than one hundred primary power systems of one gigawatt capacity annually, as well as over a thousand transportation systems, each producing anything from one hundred megawatts to ten gigawatts output and often capable of I_sp in the range of 75,000 or more.

Inventor(s)

There is almost nothing known about the individual known to history only as "Father". That he was father to the Seven Sisters who formed the Pleiades Corporation, and that he invented The Pleiades Fusion Process are both indisputable. Everything else is mere speculation.

Access & Availability

The Pleiades Corporation maintains absolute control over the secrets of practical fusion power, even after The Grievings and Restoration, although the new owners are much more likely to lose control of that knowledge than the original Sisters were. Despite this hegemonic control, The Corporation has always made fusion power systems available at surprisingly economical price levels, low enough that the systems are truly ubiquitous and both electrical systems and fusion rockets exist in vast numbers.

Complexity

There is little in the twenty-first and early twenty-second century involving more complex physics than fusion power systems. What might surprise many, however, is the relative simplicity of the systems themselves. The original physics, to be certain, required great genius to discover. The actual devices, while still incredibly complex, are vastly simpler than even the most common graphenite microchip.

Discovery

Very little is known about the discovery of practical aneutronic fusion. "Father" failed to survive the first public demonstration of the system, and the terrible events of The Grievings erased what few records existed from that time. The development certainly involved a series of efforts, some successful and others unsuccessful. The process certainly took no longer than twenty years in total, and did not produce enough dramatic failures to have caused significant harm or draw official notice. There simply is not much else known, except that "Father" was highly impressed by the pioneering work of Dr. Robert Bussard, and sought to continue that original work.