Power Transmission
Overview
Alien ships are powered by enormously powerful "conversion reactors" (The workings of which are not understood at this time). Initial understanding of the existence of wireless power transmission was gleaned from the "autopsy" of the alien cyberdisks, remote drones that operated with no on-board power source. The drones in the arsenal of the Elma Resistance cell are powered by the reactors aboard Draco's ship.
The reactors themselves create a sort of quantum disturbance. This disturbance is unique to each reactor. With the proper detection equipment, it can be isolated and "tuned in." If the key properties of the quantum disturbance is duplicated, quantum electron flow directly from the reactor to the remote "beacon" can take place. This essentially allows instantaneous teleportation of electrons from point A to point B. There is also no efficiency loss in the process. Every watt of power transmitted arrives at the source.
Quantum Disturbance Characteristics
Some early observed experiments showed the possibility for electrons to apparently move instantaneously across spatial distances without traversing the space in between. In human laboratory experiments, this was a proof of concept experiment only; the resultant effect really had no practical application as of yet. The nature of the quantum disturbance created by the mechanism within the alien reactors establishes a powerful, stable node.
This node does not act as a "transmitter" in any conventional sense, and its properties are not detected by any kind of "scanner." Rather, the node is more like a hole in the universe into which energy can "fall." If a sympathetic disturbance is activated elsewhere, energy that falls in one side will be transmitted to the other. Because of the nature of the reactor, it does not give off any "signature" that can be detected at range or tapped into on the sly; completely unlike stealing somebody's wi-fi.
Because of some of these traits, it is speculated that the inner workings of the alien reactor or the "fuel rods" that power it have something to do with hypermasses, or it somehow simulates conditions one would expect to find within a black hole.
Power Beacon
A reactor's quantum disturbance signature is discovered by beaming electrons at the node at multiple spectra in several patterns, frequencies and amplitudes. The signature is discovered when one of the beam patterns is not picked up by the sensing device, essentially finding the key that has fallen into the space-time lock. With the reactor's signature in hand, a beacon can be created that precisely simulates an anode of the signature that attracts the electrons that travel into the reactor field. From here, these electrons can be harnessed and channeled as viable electrical power.
Multiple beacons can exist simultaneously with the same signature, all deriving power from the same reactor. The only limiting factor is that the more power drawn in this method, the more rapidly the fuel rods of the reactor in question will lose efficiency and require "scrubbing."
The effective range of the beacons is not infinite. It appears that gravitational fields limit the transmission range. On Earth, this range appears to be approximately 300-400 kilometers based on current technology. It may be possible to further enhance the beacon to expand transmission range.
Application
Any device that requires power could be operated by the output of a beacon keyed to a reactor. The beacons themselves cannot be made infinitely small; they require a certain minimum space to exist. Larger beacons can channel greater electron throughput, but there is a practical maximum; too great a beacon will simply burn out the parent reactor too frequently, and since the long-term power that can be produced by even a small reactor is immense, an excessively strong beacon would simply overload and essentially produce a powerful explosion. Small devices that require power can feed from a small portable beacon and be themselves supplied through conventional wiring or short-range wireless transmission.
An all-electric vehicle could theoretically be powered by a beacon. An installation or facility could be powered by one or more of them, as well. This technology allows for fossil fuel independence and vehicles with great endurance. Such vehicles would also not have to devote space or weight to carry their own fuel. Unfortunately, you can't just hook a beacon up to a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine; they derive their motive output through mechanical power conversion (the combustion of fuel moves pistons connected to a crankshaft, etc., etc.).
With the completion of this research project comes the ability to detect reactor nodes and create anodes, allowing for remote power transmission from any reactor X-Com forces control and have access to.
