Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the science of altering and manipulating matter at a molecular level, specifically by nanites. The tiny aspect of what nanotechnology is capable of, is rumored to be what made eastern Cantha the Katsuragi Protectorate, and forms the basis of much of Katsuragi technology, in weapons, civilian livelihood, and eventually, in space.

A Tiny Measure
While the rest of the world was in the trenches of the GVAW, the Katsuragi was free to devote itself to science. Even when the Protectorate briefly joined the Allies, there was no threat of war ever reaching its seas. So it follows, that the University of Saphery wasn’t dedicated to researching theories that could result in weapons of war, something that the University of Hoeth was pioneering in. Instead, the University of Saphery was more concerned about the manipulation of atoms and molecules in the field of nanotechnology which resulted in stabilizing and creating a molecular nanomill, a structure composed of a tall, positively charged spire, with a spindle of three positively charged ions nearby. This rotated the spindle due to the repulsion between like charges, which in turn produced a tiny but free amount of heat.

Of course, the High Elves didn't share this breakthrough in nanotechnology with the international science community, since they were all busy fighting with each other, and because this technology would also be useful for future plans of the Protectorate, something that Crown Prince Tatsu used to revolutionize the Protecorate military in secrecy.

With the ability to create energy on a molecular level, the Katsuragi could create smaller and smaller machines. There’s little practical application for a tiny machine, so the University of Saphery created nanites that only formed molecules, hoping to eventually turn them into crucibles of rare elements. However, inspiration came from the servant robots and androids that brought them instant noodles when they were hungry while researching. If they created a machine that could create heat from nothing, couldn’t they create a machine that could forge materials from nothing?

Molecular Servants
Despite Western misconceptions of nanites being tiny robots, the nanites Protectorate use are actually complex molecules, mostly carbon. Its moving parts are propelled by proton-electron pairs repelling each other. It is vaguely shaped like a sphere, with a wheel made of jutting carbon atoms along the vertical hemisphere allowing it to move. Its three arms are constructed to remove and replace subatomic particles, each arm specializing in protons, neutrons, or electrons. Nanites get the best results when supplied with omni-gel, an amalgamation of all known and stable elements suspended in gel. The nanites can retrieve atoms from the surrounding environment, but this is painfully slow. A simple task that can take only minutes with omni-gel, can require months without omni-gel.

The molecule itself does not move unless it is "excited", with electrons in certain "joints" to move it to where it is required. To wire up every nanite is insane, complex, and time-consuming; instead, the Protecorate uses "queen" nanites which control the "drone" nanites as they work on a surface. The Queen is gigantic by nanite standards, about half the size of a flea and visible to the naked eye. It needs to be extremely large since the queen nanites are responsible for providing power to the drone nanites.

Each carbon atom that needs to be moved is shot with a nanometre-long plasma-cutter beam powered by a queen nanite. This process can happen millions of times in one second, so queens quickly run out of surplus energy despite the forest of nanomills on its back, and have to spend a minute or so recharging. Other queens take up the task in the meantime.

All the queens are linked by a constant plasma-cutter beam to a very powerful computer in a Nanocore, which does tens of thousands of equations at once. These computers aren’t complex as they only do simple calculations, but with so many calculations done each second the computing power required is quite demanding. To that end, the Katsuragi will only buy the most advanced integrated circuits from the Lumeris Syndicate, and only if they lack enough of their own microchips for some reason in their own industry, since Katsuragi technology is far more advanced than the Syndicates. This is true as well for the field of computer technology.

The Syndicate enjoys its situation; not only is paid good money for it, but they’ve muscled into Katsuragi to be the only non-Protectorate corporation to be allowed to work with Katsuragi, something even AseliaTech was unable to manage. Their attempt to secretly build a Sprawl on Sado Island due to the close proximity of the Katsuragi mainland was however, thwarted by Yuriko Omega. Though the Syndicate is not giving up.

The Shinobi network had of course, managed to discover the plan. A Shinobi returning to Ulthuan after discovering the plans with his group had passed by Yuriko Omega herself and relayed the information to her before informing the Shogunate a few minutes later. Just outside the Sea of Ulthuan, Yuriko Omega was waiting, lonely. The Imperial vessels on patrol in the Sea of Ulthuan was reassigned to provide support for Yuriko Omega in case something bad happened, but they stayed quite a distance from her.

When the ships from Roanapur Sprawl carrying the necessary ingredients to construct a Sprawl steamed towards the Sea of Ulthuan all disguised as cargo ships, Yuriko Omega set to work. Had the Syndicate not used the ruse of civilian cargo ships without escort vessels, they might have fared better. The Imperial vessels at the back all watched in discomfort as Yuriko Omega singlehandedly levitated each ship into the air one after another when she was done with one, twisting and pulling the massive vessels apart without so much as a brain freeze. This soured the relationship between the Protectorate and the Syndicate, something that was supported by the Katsuragi society.

Military Applications
It was not long before the Imperial military saw the value of nanotechnology where military applications were concerned. As an industrial and construction technology, nanites were far superior to more primitive methods, capable of assembling a building from omni-gel within mere hours. There were some hurdles; early prototypes proved problematic, with the construction nanites often creating many errors that deviated from the blueprints. Eventually, these problems were sorted out, and today most Protectorate field bases are constructed using militarised nanocores, which essentially are large crates of nanites, omni-gel, and a powerful computer. These nanocores work automatically to create anything from a perch, to an entire structure.

Nanites are considered expendable; if all of them aren't used up during construction, the queen nanites disassemble the excess nanites, to prevent wild molecules from getting into the unfurling process. This lesson was learned by the University of Saphery staff, when Sanshiro Pond was frozen on a warm afternoon due to free nanite that acted as a seed crystal and caused the strengthening of the bonds between the water molecules, causing the water to freeze at a much higher temperatures. Usually, all the nanites are used up before construction is complete; it's not uncommon to have a half-formed light fixture or a malfunctioning computer requiring repair or replacement by human technicians.

In the Protectorate military, there exist also units that have nanite generators on them for unfurling weapons or mecha, and the computer capability to have nanites literally leapfrog off each other to reach lengths beyond their normal operational range. While nanotechnology is used to construct something out of nothing, nothing prevents nanotechnology from doing the reverse and literally deconstructing something to nothing, as seen after the Cold War.

Nanotechnology is also employed in the treatment of injuries, allowing wounded soldiers to quickly get back on their feet. Nanites are employed to break down and extract the useful minerals in ore; so-called "nanolathes" are used by the military to rapidly manufacture ammunition and spare parts on the battlefield when obtaining them from regular supply lines would be slower or impractical, and most Imperial military equipment and vehicles use nanomaterials in their construction.

Civilian Applications
Ever since the creation of the first practical nanite, nanotechnology has revolutionized many aspects of Protectorate life outside of the military. Its myriad applications are far too many to list, but some uses include manufacturing and construction, ore refining, medicine, and the creation of materials with unique or superior properties.

Materials Science
One of the most useful applications of nanotechnology has been in the development of new materials. One of the better-known materials would be nano-steel, a material that has the advantage of being much lighter than regular steel while still having comparable strength. Nano-steel is ubiquitous as a structural material, seeing use in buildings, railways, vehicles, aircraft, and ships.

Besides nano-steel, there are many other nanomaterials, from nano-ceramics that possess extremely high tolerance to heat, to ultra-lightweight nano-polymers, to the more exotic materials, such as experimental meta-materials with negative refractive indexes and other unique properties. Currently, much Protectorate nanomaterials research is focused on nanotubes and the various applications surrounding them; in particular, Asur scientists are quite interested in the properties of carbon nanotubes.

Construction and Manufacturing
Most of the Protectorate buildings constructed in the past ten years, from the hastily assembled structures seen in Katsuragi field bases to Ulthuan towering skyscrapers, have employed nanites in some part of their construction. Today, nanites are employed extensively in the construction industry, used in tandem with more traditional methods of construction. Nanites are also often used to sculpt interiors in addition to providing decorative finishes for building exteriors.

Nanotechnology is also employed in the fabrication of objects. Many Japanese homes today are equipped with machines known as "nanolathes". Best described as "3-dimensional printers", nanolathes can be used to rapidly fabricate small objects from virtually any material that they are fed with. Though traditional methods are still used for mass production, their ability to be used with computers (specifically "3-D modeling programs") means that they can produce almost anything that the user specifies; this makes nanolathes extremely useful for producing custom, low-volume objects, or prototyping designs. Small nanolathes are quite compact, with the smallest designs capable of fitting onto a desk; larger nanolathes, such as those used by the military, can be the size of a small room and have the ability to produce bigger objects like motorcycles.

Medicine
Nanotechnology has also revolutionized the field of medicine in Ulthuan. The most overt use would be in the use of medical nanites to seek out and repair any damage inflicted to the body, or even hunt down and destroy cancerous cells or harmful microbes. However, this technology is still fairly cutting edge and so far, outside of the military only a few high-end Ulthuan hospitals have access to such medical nanites.

More widespread would be the use of nanocompounds in drugs; for example, many Protectorate drugs contain nanoparticles that allow for delivery of the drug to specific cells, limiting side effects and maximizing effectiveness. Nanotechnology is also used as a medical diagnostic tool; nanites inside a body can provide information that other methods of diagnosis could not.