Project Double-N

Project Double-N (Miss Ning (Fengese: 寧小姐, : Níng Xiǎojiě) as the local callsign; Wrecking Ball by TTO intelligence agencies) was the codename for a series of four simultaneous cosmic weapons tests carried out by Fengjiang at 3:00 pm on 27 12 1955. The tests were carried out at Dhan Tso, Yunjiang on the Bautan Plateau.

The devices were  and  bombs, designs for which were made at the Visionary Pyre of the Farthest West in the Viceroyalty of Phwa-Kwok-Tsau (now dissolved), later assembled on site for the test series. The yields of the four devices tested ranged between 20 to 49. With the tests, Fengjiang became the third country to ever develop cosmic weapons, behind Barenia and Arsytia. This was the first of several thousand cosmic weapons tests of the country, which continue to be carried out to this day. The next test series was carried out almost immediately after: Operation High Noon around 1 of 1956.

Background
The concept of the cosmic weapon emerged in Fengese theological-scientific discourse (through its state religion of Infernalism) around the early decades of the 19th century, a logical extrapolation from the various breakthroughs in cosmosophy ( in oriental parlance) which occurred during the period. Among these, the most significant of which was the by the Fengese cosmosophist and inquisitor Sakaguczi Jomogihara in 1911 (termed "stratic shattering" by the Fengese) and concurrent (though later) oriental experimentation on the concept by  scientists  and. While Jomogihara's findings determined cosmic weapons to be theoretically feasible, the concept remained a topic of both scientific and political contention, given Jomogihara's materialist leanings - the drafting of the Jomogihara Missive by Sakaguczi and fellow Materialists, which warned of the development of an "extraordinary weapon with the potential to fragment the Microcosm" and urged the acceleration of cosmosophical research on threat of universal obliteration, would draw battle lines which defined Fengese politics in the coming decades. For his findings, Jomogihara would be controversially appointed Potentate of cosmosophy and join the Eternal Phare, delivering advice on scientific matters in his expertise to the Scion. His appointment to the position of Archmagus in 1931, beyond its drastic political implications for Fengjiang and Infernalism entire, would see the official initiation of the Fengese cosmic weapons program.

Production of the necessary   and  was the primary bottleneck of the program and indeed, empirical research on the cosmosophical theories proposed at the time. The technical difficulties of the endeavor notwithstanding, procurement of the resources (both financial and material) necessary for research was hampered by bureaucratic red tape originating from political opposition to Jomogihara and the materialist movement he was practically the face of at that point. Among the constituent Five Great Houses which then formed the country, only two (the Daiszu Commonwealth where Jomogihara was born and the Viceroyalty of Phwa-Kwok-Tsau) actively supported the program - the "West Group" which headed the program was predominantly comprised by researchers from the two aforementioned constituencies and their Sanctuaries. Ironically, the outbreak of the Great Serrataran War in 1936 and Fengjiang's later participation in 1944 would contribute substantially to the program's progress, as wartime measures forced a centralization of the country under the Eternal Phare - headed by Jomogihara and Aluyama, a sympathetic Scion.

The atomization of Bakphwalaw by a Barenian atomic bomb in 28 8 1945 served as a crucial breakthrough for the program, being a proof of concept for the theories still thought outlandish by some corners of the Fengese scientific community. Dismissing (and by some accounts, celebrating) the horrors unleashed by the subsequent atomic bombing of Fengjiang, cosmosophists compiled practical data on the consequences of cosmic bombardment and made efforts to reverse-engineer them for the country's own weapons program. Searches for fissile materials now encompassed the entirety of Fengjiang and allied Infernalist countries (as much as was feasible given the ongoing conflict). To the great Materialists, the atomization of Bakphwalaw was no better than a divine inspiration from the Mother Phoenix. Whereas the radios and criers spoke of unimaginable tragedy in the obliteration of seventy thousand souls, the Erudite celebrated the martyrdom of those seventy thousand for their contribution (even if unknowing until the end) to the Infernalist understanding of reality. As Jomogihara stated: "As Erudites, we ought not be blinded by the fog of ignorance and hysteria which blinds lesser humans. For our duty, as it has always been since Her Descension, is to the grand font of Erudition, not the petty worries of peasants." It was at this point that Project Double-N, the formal project for the development of a functional cosmic bomb, was commenced.

Development of cosmic reactors necessary for producing the amounts of fissile material necessary for the program met various difficulties. While the first artificial cosmic reactor in Fengjiang (and worldwide), the Jomogihara Pile, was constructed much earlier in 1941 to demonstrate the feasibility of reactors and self-sustaining cosmic chain reactions, Project Double-N required a reactor a thousand times as powerful to produce enough plutonium for cosmic bombs. The construction of such a reactor in Yutseng was severely delayed when the false threat of an atomic bombing of the city forced hasty evacuations. After the war, the onset of political intrigue and conspiracies over the restitution of the prewar status quo of decentralization and Great House predominancy sank the project into quagmire. Being the primary sponsors of the project since the beginning, the Daiszu and Phwa-Kwok-Tsau sought to obscure research data from their competitors, over fears that those competitors may "steal" data to make progress on their own cosmic weapons programs. The project itself and its members would even become targets: Zhengdongese mathematician Ji Lingxiao when she refused to provide research data for the independent Zhengdongese program, while Sakaguczi would be subject to several assassination attempts himself.

Despite all these threats, an effective atomic reactor would be constructed under heavy guard and secrecy among the labyrinthine temple complex of the Gee Visionary of the Farthest West, the seat of the Sanctuary of the Farwest. Known as the NN Pile to those few privy to its existence, it would become the cornerstone of Project Double-N, producing the vast majority of the plutonium needed for the construction of the first Fengese cosmic bomb.

Location
Safety and security required an isolated and remote mountainous area. Initially proposed, locations in the Transerican Mountains were rejected due to them being in the Generalship of Zhengdong, a Great House previously opposed to the materialist cause embodied by the cosmosophical field; locations in the deserts of Daiszu were rejected as well owing to concerns over nativist insurgencies then-still active in the region (see the 1950 Kantarrian uprisings). Secret surveys carried out directly by the various Orders of the Eternal Sanctuary in guise would eventually hit upon the Dhan Tso basin located within the Yunjiang highlands, a part of the Bautan Plateau. Local conditions fulfilled the arid, low-wind conditions preferred by researchers, while also meeting security requirements - Yunjiang particularly fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Sanctuary of the Most Eternal, outside any Great Houses' and thus freed from tampering.

The site finally chosen in 1951, construction of a base camp with accommodations and facilities for separately testing bomb components would begin. The construction was carried out under extreme secrecy: all labor was locally sourced, making extensive use of indentured laborers largely conscripted from local populations, particularly the "barbarian" Dhapapul people which then-still inhabited the region. At the end of the approximate three years taken to construct the technical infrastructure, as well as fake towns in the vicinity of in experiments regarding the aftereffects of cosmic bombardment. These fake towns had been used as residential buildings for conscripted laborers, and though unconfirmed (given secrecy on the exact details of the test), it is widely accepted that the towns had been inhabited at the time of the test.

The Dhan Tso test site would be the sole testing ground for cosmic explosives in Fengjiang for decades to come, seeing extensive expansions which saw it become the largest such testing ground globally.

Testing
The decision to perform a substantial cosmic bombardment test was made after a concurrent test by Arsytia in early 1955 inflamed fears regarding, prompting high-level decision-makers in Project Double-N to plan an "escalatory and cosmic response". Purportedly, from this was birthed the idea of a simultaneous four-bomb test, demonstrating the cosmic capabilities of the nation and its capacity to construct and further develop a significant arsenal of cosmic weapons. Two of the bombs would be traditional and theoretically (and near-empirically, from the Barenian atomic bombings) proven devices utilizing high explosives to induce  (NN-1 and NN-2), while two others were experimental  devices which made use of liquid -based  to fuel supercriticality (NN-3 and NN-4). In 6 of 1955, classified flights from assembly plants in Phwa-Kwok-Tsau delivered the components of the four cosmic bombs - termed NN devices in code - to Dhan Tso.

The observation bunker was constructed some 30 kilometers away from ground zero, with members of the West Group and annexed Sanctuarial research offices for theoretical cosmosophy and mathematics led by Fucen Ilimbi - then Accord-Keeper of the Tsykha Accord (a sympathetic Great House) - calculating the expected yield of the cosmic devices. Exact determination of the yield and aftermath of the cosmic explosions (if any) were challenging, given the first-time nature of the tests, alongside the experimental and yet unproven nature of the boosted fission devices. The West Group produced predictions of a total yield around ~40 kilotons of, with the largest boosted fission device (NN-4) yielding 20 to 24 kt. Other attending researchers were less optimistic, predicting lesser total yields of around 20-30 kt using various theoretical models. Many doubted the chances of the boosted fission devices succeeding, leading the devices to be spaced far enough apart so that if some detonated and some were s, the cores and fuel for the failed devices could be recovered.

Detonation
Scientists wanted high visibility, low humidity, negligible winds at lower altitudes and easterly winds at high altitudes - the last was seen as desirable as any would be blown into Zhengdongese territory. It is estimated that around 4,000 people were present for the successive cosmic tests, a majority of which were indentured laborers which likely were in the vicinity of the predicted explosions. Some hundreds of Infernalist clergy from around Fengjiang and other sympathetic nations accompanied the core group of cosmosophical researchers. The VIP list included: Aluyama, Sakaguczi Jomogihara, Kwok Yat-leng, Fucen Ilimbi, Kai Wenliao, Ou Kuanchen, U Mhu Pjae, and Alcicek Paganis. While all VIPs were briefed on the cosmic nature of the tests, only those in Project Double-N knew the specific details of the test (how many bombs were tested, bomb designs and yields, etc.), likely over fears of international humiliation if the tests performed less ideal than touted.

At 3:00 pm FJT (± 30 seconds), the four devices were detonated. NN-1 produced a yield of 26.8 kilotons, NN-2 a yield of 19.6 kt (the lowest), NN-3 a yield of 38.8 kt, and NN-4 a yield of 49.3 kt (the highest) - totaling at a combined yield of 134.5 ktTNT. At the time of the detonation, the surrounding mountains of the basin were illuminated "brighter than the highest noon" for one or two seconds, producing an intense glare and heat which was reported to "fill the [observation] bunker with a kiln's heat for some moments". Several observers were stated to have chanted in "fanatic celebration" at the first, then succeeding three flashes of cosmic light, which was said to "travel every color on the spectrum of light". The plumes produced by the explosions were variously described to resemble mushrooms, cauliflowers, and on some accounts from aerial observers, a water lily. The shockwave produced could be felt over 200 km away, producing seismic effects further still that would be detected by monitors in Arystia.

The reaction of Aluyama, sequestered from the rest of the VIPs and observers due to her position as Scion, is unreliably recorded. Those present attested that the five leaders of Great Houses present had left the VIP observation bunker amidst celebrations, presumably to attend audience with the Scion present somewhere unknown, though likely in proximity within the testing grounds. The Scionic procession is recorded to have made its leave soon after the detonations, an unattributed description of Aluyama's reaction stating that "she didn't need to stay for any longer, for in her infinite wisdom, she had envisioned this moment at its first description all those decades ago: that it manifests in reality today is nothing more than a proof of concept." Jomogihara left similarly soon, his later memoirs describing that he had already forgotten his initial reaction: "to me, it is not the echoes of knowledge, but its revelation that is most important."