To Crush the Moon

Appendix A-2 Resupply

One could not produce deutrelium in a fax machine. The machine could only assemble the atoms which existed in its own buffers—a stable subset of the periodic table. But in the strange ways of the sprawling collapsiter network that was the Nescog, one could transmit any isotope, stable or non-, from an Elemental stockpile to any point with a functioning network gate.

Not antimatter, of course (or “aye-ma’am” as the sailors called it). Not collapsium or neutronium, nor any material or object which incorporated durable spacetime defects into its structure. But anything else, yes. So with a few hours’ light lag, deuterium and trelium (respectively, heavy hydrogen and light helium—also known as “fusion lotion” or “doot toot” or “treat”) could be ordered direct from the gas mines of Jupiter and Saturn, and charged to Bruno’s account. Hoses and pipelines could not, alas, be sealed against the fax’s print plate, but a good old-fashioned barrel could roll right through.