Heavy Object

Volume 18, Prologue

The final frontier was Africa.

But before we discuss that, a question: can economic opportunity only be found in areas with explosive population growth? With air conditioning, phones, cars, food processors, health products, and all other ordinary products, the sales are much greater when selling in a major country of a billion than in a small village of a hundred. Just calculate out the numbers if the product sells to an average of 1% of potential customers.

Asia and Central and South America were once the center of attention thanks to their explosive population growth, but that has since slowed. That means all the standard household items have already been sold to every household there. You have a computer or smartphone, don’t you? Once everyone already has one, the sales drop. Even if people need to purchase an updated model every so often, they aren’t going to pay for an expensive new device each and every time a new one comes out, right?

In that sense, Africa has gained attention as an untapped vein of customers. Especially south of the Sahara. All sorts of major corporations have set up branch offices and stores there and satellite-based internet infrastructure is being built at a rapid pitch. The wireless there has gotten so much faster.

All the appliances are loaded with AI. With rice cookers, electric water boilers, and washing machines, you only have to say “Now with AI!” in the ads and people will buy a new one these days. That’s one way of increasing the sales of products people already own, so why wouldn’t the companies take advantage of it? I’m not sure what the exact definition of AI is or how the cheap AIs loaded in appliances are any different from a normal support program, but AI is king. For the time being anyway.

That’s why I don’t find it at all unusual for that to be located in central Africa. Those can only be built near the equator and building it out at sea isn’t realistic given the stability needed at the base. Central America would be tricky since the Panama District is still disputed and northern Oceania presents problems from the economic side of things. Yes, you can see this land as where all the money has gathered. It naturally found a home where the geographic, economic, and data conditions were all favorable.

But a space elevator, huh?

From what I’ve heard, space development has entirely shifted there once mass drivers were removed from the competition. That selfish girl’s Capitalist Corporations must be in upheaval yet again. Never a good sign.

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