Deniv, a young 17-18-year-old orphan boy, was not certain of his age. This was true for most of the boys who had banded together to create the gang ‘Revenge’. As the leader of this gang, Deniv signaled a young man under his command, who then took the wooden box and handed it to him.
Deniv took the wooden box and opened it. As soon as he opened it, he saw a sack full of Ether Stones. There must be more than 100 Ether Stones in this sack.
He was still gaping with some shock and confusion when he noticed the letter that the strong and mysterious creature was talking about. 100 Ether Stones were equal to 1000 Gold Coins. Revenge gang’s combined funds were not more than a single Ether Stone and they needed that to buy daily necessities like food and other expenses of the gang members.
Deniv knew that with these Ether Stones, he could recruit more members and start producing more revenue sources and other resources. This amount was sufficient for a 100-member gang of ordinary people to live without worry for three to five years.
With several thoughts in his head, Deniv started reading the letter.
“I am nobody and you don’t need to know me. These 100 Ether Stones are for you and your gang. I want nothing other than seeing you improve and your gang becoming stronger. It is up to you how you use these 100 Ether Stones to improve your gang and yourself. If you do this, and I hear about your gang doing things that impact the city, I will send you 500 Ether Stones.”
The letter ended here. Deniv did not understand why anyone would do something like this but he understood that this money was paid to him because as the letter indicated, the one who sent the money wanted to see Revenge becoming bigger.
Deniv got up from his seat and looked at three of his most trusted members and gave out orders.
“Markio, take five Ether Stones and buy some water wells and horse-carriage carts. Then, rent them out to other people. Try to be discreet and do not forget to pay taxes after you buy these.”
“Leno, you take five Ether Stones and change these to Gold and Silver coins. Then use these to buy food for our base. Also, give one silver to each of our gang members for their daily use. Use the remaining money to upgrade our base, repair it and add other furniture.”
“Danmior… Danmior, you take five Ether Stones and change these to Gold and Silver to start recruiting members for our gang. We need at least 50 more trusted gang members. Find orphans and people who have enmity towards mages and warriors with magical power. It would be best if you find people with some technical knowledge.”
“These are my orders, be on your way immediately.”
Deniv finished his words and sat back on his wooden chair back. The three young men who had taken the orders nodded and left the house as per their leader’s instructions. Deniv was a young charismatic man who knew how to connect with other young people. Because of his ideas and understanding of human nature, he knew how to unravel people’s secrets and intentions hidden deep in their hearts, and hence he knew how to use people.
Because of these qualities, these young boys followed him without question; there were fanatics of his commanding capabilities.
—
Epsilon started writing the algorithm of the magical energy generation item he wanted to build.
‘Star Panel’
‘Knowledge 1’
‘A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module or just solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar panels used sunlight as a source of energy to generate direct current electricity. A collection of PV modules was called a PV panel, and a system of PV panels was called an array. Arrays of a photovoltaic system supply solar electricity to electrical equipment.’
‘Knowledge 2’
‘Photovoltaic modules used light energy (photons) from the Sun to generate electricity through the photovoltaic effect. Most modules used wafer-based crystalline silicon cells or thin-film cells. The structural (load carrying) member of a module could either be the top layer or the back layer. Cells must be protected from mechanical damage and moisture.’
Most modules were rigid, but semi-flexible ones based on thin-film cells were also available. The cells were usually connected electrically in series, one to another to the desired voltage, and then in parallel to increase current.
The power (in watts) of the module was the mathematical product of the voltage (in volts) and the current (in amperes) of the module. The manufacture specifications on solar panels were obtained under a standard condition, which was not the real operating condition the solar panels were exposed to. On the installation site, a PV junction box was attached to the back of the solar panel and functioned as its output interface. External connections for most photovoltaic modules used MC4 connectors to facilitate easy weatherproof connections to the rest of the system. A USB power interface could also be used.
‘Knowledge 3’
The order of module connection: Module electrical connections are made in series to achieve the desired output voltage or in parallel to provide a desired current capability (amperes) of the solar panel or the PV system. The conducting wires that take the current off the modules are sized according to the current rating and may contain silver, copper or other non-magnetic conductive transition metals. Bypass diodes may be incorporated or used externally, in case of partial module shading, to maximize the output of module sections still illuminated.
Some special solar PV modules included concentrators in which light was focused by lenses or mirrors onto smaller cells. This enabled the use of cells with a high cost per unit area (such as gallium arsenide) in a cost-effective way.
Solar panels also used metal frames that consisted of racking components, brackets, reflector shapes, and troughs to better support the panel structure.
