“The ore would have to be refined to pure aluminum oxide before it could be smelted,” George said. “And you can’t smelt aluminum ore in an ordinary furnace⁠—only in an electric furnace with a generator that can supply a high amperage. And we would have to have cryolite ore to serve as the solvent in the smelting process.”

“There’s a seam of cryolite in the Eastern Hills, according to the old maps,” said Lake. “We could make a larger generator by melting down everything we have. It wouldn’t be big enough to power the hyperspace transmitter but it should be big enough to smelt aluminum ore.”

George considered the idea. “I think we can do it.”

“How long until we can send the signal?” he asked.

“Given the extra metal we need, the building of the generator is a simple job. The transmitter is what will take years⁠—maybe as long as fifty.”

Fifty years.⁠ ⁠…

“Can’t anything be done to make it sooner?” he asked.