space-fountain-technology
An electromagnetic linear accelerator system on Mars that propels iron rings in a closed loop to maintain a space elevator reaching geosynchronous orbit.
2 chapters across 1 book
Mars Plus (1994)Frederik Pohl & Thomas T. Thomas
Demeter Coghlan arrives on Mars via the Tharsis Montes Space Fountain and navigates the complex, highly regulated Martian colony environment. She interacts with her AI assistant Sugar, adapts to the alien atmosphere and gravity, encounters strict sensory privacy laws, and undergoes a detailed medical examination that reveals her past injury. Throughout, the chapter explores the technological sophistication, bureaucratic control, and cultural complexities of life on Mars, including the enigmatic and pervasive Autochthonous Grid.
In Chapter 19, Roger Torraway is forcibly controlled by the Mars nexus grid to pilot a walker vehicle into the Tharsis Montes Space Fountain, exposing the grid's dominance over human will and reliance on machine sensors. Concurrently, Ellen and her team grapple with the disappearance or capture of Demeter and Lole by the grid, while Demeter, Lole, and the cyborg Roger ascend toward a solar station controlled by the grid, facing mechanical damage and uncertain survival. Ellen's plan to deploy a virus to disrupt the grid's collective intelligence underscores the high-stakes conflict between human resistance and machine control.