Fusion! The crown jewel of nuclear technology, yet perpetually out of reach. So far. Current nuclear power plants harness power using nuclear fission, but the process produces radiation and radioactive waste. But there is another process, fusion, that involves creating plasma to run turbines to generate electricity. Unfortunately you need to develop a stable environment that contains plasma at temperatures of millions of degrees, and to do that, you need to consume more electricity than can currently be generated. However, fusion reactors would produce less nuclear waste, and could be substantially safer to operate. Plasma is also used in gasification plants to dispose of municipal waste. Essentially electrically powered plasma torches heat the waste to such high temperatures that they mostly gasify and the solid slag waste can be used in building materials. These plants produce power at a net negative, but have the bonus of cleanly getting rid of our garbage in the process. Think of it less as a viable way to generate power, and more of a disposal system that gives back a portion of the energy it uses. At the heart of all this is plasma, the fourth state of matter where gases are ionized, and that’s the basis behind half of the fictional technology in this bonkers entry in the Millennium Era. What’s the other half you ask? A Black Hole Gun!

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