Chapter 1168: Cutting-Edge Technology

After listening to the technical supervisor’s explanation, Selina was silent for a few seconds before replying with a blank expression, “…A simple and effective solution.”

She then took a couple of steps forward, approaching the hemispherical crystal device housing the “main brain.” Inside the transparent sphere floated an artificial brain, resembling the organ of a giant. For most people, this sight would be somewhat mentally overwhelming. But for Selina, born among the Sleepless, it was just an ordinary research subject.

Her gaze swept over the metal electrodes and various conduits embedded in the brain’s grooves. Ropeini approached as well, explaining the details inside the device: “Biomass pipelines connect from below, continuously delivering nutrients from the division pools to the various servo brains. Three independent pump groups maintain the circulation of these fluids. Even if one or two pumps fail, the servo brains won’t shut down from lack of nutrients. Each container also has its own filtration and alarm system at the bottom. If toxic substances enter the circulation or metabolic waste exceeds limits in any pipeline, the control center is immediately alerted.”

Selina asked without turning her head, “What if the toxicity exceeds the system’s handling capacity? Or if some disaster cuts off the entire ‘tower’s’ external communications… Don’t think I’m trying to be difficult. After all, in the real world, anything can happen. In my seven centuries of experience, I’ve seen far too many unimaginable system-wide catastrophes.”

“Of course, your concerns are valid,” Ropeini smiled confidently. “We do have an ultimate safeguard. Since the servo brains are the most delicate and expensive components, the entire damage control system is designed around preserving them. If an irreparable disaster occurs inside the factory, the servo brains will immediately shatter their containers and escape through reserved evacuation channels. They fly fast, and their neural tendrils have enough muscle strength to break through stuck ventilation grates or sewer entrances. Their survival skills are quite impressive.”

As Ropeini finished, the technical supervisor added, “To ensure the factory’s mainframe maintains long-term escape capability, we schedule weekly physical training for the servo brains. They take turns leaving their wet slots to practice short- and long-distance flights, lifting and pulling weights with their tendrils. We also plan biannual fire and poison drills alongside the factory workers.”

Ropeini nodded. “All workers receive basic training about the servo brains and gradually familiarize themselves with them, ensuring they interact as colleagues. Her Majesty’s reminder is always in our minds—employee mental health is a priority at Grant Heavy Industries.”

Selina remained silent.

“Ms. Selina?” Noticing the node scholar’s unusual expression, Ropeini couldn’t help but ask, “Any other questions?”

“No, I just think… well, it all sounds reasonable,” Selina said, rubbing her forehead with a strange look. Then, almost muttering to herself, “Bertilla’s creations are getting weirder and weirder… It’s impressive how you ‘normal’ people manage to adapt to the strange things she makes.”

Hearing this low murmur, Ropeini smiled. “No matter how strange a magical artifact is, it’s just a tool. For the first generation encountering magical technology, a roaring steel monster and a giant brain floating in liquid aren’t fundamentally different. In fact, because of the eerie reputation left by traditional black wizards, the latter might even be easier for the public to imagine.”

Selina nodded slightly, not dwelling on the topic. Instead, she looked up at the servo brains immersed in their containers, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds, Ropeini’s voice came again: “Many people remain puzzled by these servo brains, mainly because they assume these artificial brains think like humans. Especially when they see their ‘living posture,’ it feels like facing an intelligent being…”

Selina turned back, giving the female governor a half-smile. “Are you one of those people?”

Ropeini’s face remained expressionless. “I’m a mage. I only trust data from research, not intuition-based prejudice.”

“Governor, even mages waver the first time they see cutting-edge technology. There’s no shame in that,” Selina said with a faint smile. “Every new technology brings worries, and indeed, hidden risks. There’s no absolutely safe technology—only rigorous safety measures and the trial-and-error costs to achieve them.

“The servo brains don’t possess human-like intelligence. Though they’re a key part of Her Majesty’s ‘Age of Intelligence’ plan, their ‘intelligence’ isn’t what ordinary people understand. Their neural structures physically cannot generate complex thought processes; they only handle heavy data computations. Of course, they have some basic thinking—like eating and cooperating with your physical training—but that’s more animal-like than human.

“Ultimately, Lady Great Druid Bertilla never designed these brains to be truly intelligent, nor gave them room to evolve through reproduction and genetic mutation. So rest assured, they’re just advanced tools… perhaps loyal ‘animal companions.’

“But as I said, no technology is absolutely safe. No one knows what problems these servo brains might cause in the future, or how their widespread use will impact society. Just as magical technology changed our way of life, these servo brains will bring similar transformations. That’s the challenge both administrators like you and technicians like me must face together.”

“Your words echo Her Majesty’s exactly,” Ropeini smiled, shaking her head. “He describes the challenges we face during development in the same way.”

“I’m a devoted reader of the Imperial Scriptures,” Selina suddenly winked. “I’ve read every volume.”

She waved her hand to steer the conversation away, then lifted her chin toward the “main brain” in standby. “I’ve got a general understanding of the system now. Shall we proceed with awakening this sleeping… friend as planned?”

“Of course,” Ropeini immediately snapped back to business, nodding seriously. She then instructed the nearby manager, “Sound the bell. Notify everyone to take their positions.”

Moments later, a sharp, urgent bell rang throughout the factory. Workers and technicians, already prepared, streamed into the workshop. Although the wet mainframe’s controls greatly improved production efficiency and reduced the number of operators needed, human assistance and supervision were still necessary. Plus, since the system was in trial operation, a certain number of operators remained on site.

In the “Wetware Control Tower” at the workshop’s core, a window slid open. Ropeini and Selina stood side by side, watching the scene below. Workers took their places, signals of readiness coming from all directions. Behind them, the technical supervisor approached the main brain’s console and pulled down the central black lever with force.

Bubbles rose inside all the containers. Runes flickered between the bases and pipelines. The sleeping main brain was instantly awakened. These loyal control units pondered briefly, then—the entire workshop sprang to life.

Through Selina’s eyes, the once-quiet streams of thought suddenly surged with activity. Continuous pulses raced along the neural cords spread throughout the workshop, like a dim network suddenly illuminated. The servo brains’ “thinking” was injected into rows of large machines, and all the heavy gears and linkages roared into motion—

“All execution units operating normally!” “Neural cord signals stable!” “Biomass pipeline monitoring normal!” “Servo brain blood sugar levels normal!”

Amid the steady stream of reports, Selina smiled faintly. Though a ghost, she took a deep breath as if alive, exhaling with a sigh: “At last… the dark knowledge of old has found its righteous light once more.”

…

North of the Rock Fortress, downstream of the Gorgon River, in the Pompeii region, a warm southern breeze swept across the vast wasteland beyond the development zone’s border. The air carried a faint scent of damp earth—a sign that summer rain was approaching.

This year’s rainfall was more abundant than usual, and the Gorgon River’s water level steadily rose. Scholars carefully studied the situation and confirmed the rain wouldn’t cause flooding. Residents in the central Holy Spirit Plain breathed easier, hoping the last stretch of summer would bring favorable weather and a bountiful harvest.

A large factory stood in the development zone on the city’s eastern side. Newly operational this year, it featured multiple magical energy obelisks and several towering mana dissipation towers. Straight, wide roads cut through the plant, extending all the way to the docks on the Gorgon River’s bank. All signs pointed to a heavy industry factory producing large-scale magical devices, with high hopes pinned on it by the local government.

At the factory’s loading area, a heavy truck was parked beside the transfer platform, waiting to haul goods out. Several workers and technicians busily operated machinery to move heavy crates, checking the contents one by one.

Among them, a tall, burly middle-aged man stood out. Besides his robust build, his face and neck bore obvious scars and subtle crystallization symptoms—marking him as a “Recovered,” a survivor of the crystal cluster disaster and a proud builder of this land’s reconstruction.

The mechanical lifter rumbled as the last large crate was carefully loaded onto the truck. After confirming the machinery had stopped and locked, the middle-aged man set down his controller and climbed into the truck with two other workers, preparing to secure the crates with locking hooks.

“The first batch of finished products… finally done,” one worker said beside him. “These are precision pieces… I hope they all get safely delivered to the imperial testing grounds.”

“By the way… why build such huge anti-gravity units?” another worker asked, puzzled. “I’ve seen dragon riders up north and those ‘Cloudbottom’ transport planes—they don’t need units this big. Each unit alone is enormous. I can’t imagine how big the anti-gravity rings made from them must be…”

The scarred, crystallized middle-aged man glanced at his two coworkers, his voice low and hoarse as he warned, “That’s not for us to worry about. Don’t speculate about the Empire’s plans.”

“Hey, Sam, you’re way too serious,” a worker said, waving a hand dismissively. “Talking about products inside the factory doesn’t break any confidentiality rules. Besides, these parts aren’t classified or anything.” Then, lowering his voice, he added, “Come on, aren’t you even a little curious? Oh right, you just got transferred here from the north… maybe you don’t really know how things work around this place yet.”

The middle-aged man called Sam ignored the chatter. He lowered his gaze, scanning the label on the wooden crate before him. Bold black-and-white letters spelled out a brief description of the cargo:

Standard Model III Anti-Gravity Unit (Welded Type)
Manufactured by: Pompei Special Manufacturing Center
Destination: Cecil City

Beneath that, a smaller line read:
Imperial Arcane Technology Department
Authorized by Minister Rebecca
Domestic Transit Approved

“All secured.”
“This side’s fixed too.”

Voices from his coworkers came from nearby, and Sam withdrew his eyes from the crate.

These massive magical units could be assembled into anti-gravity rings over ten meters in diameter. They represented the cutting edge of rune device manufacturing in modern factories. Regardless of what plans the princess—praised by His Majesty the Emperor as having a “steel mind” and renowned for her skill with mechanical engineering—had devised, these rings were undoubtedly part of some grand creation destined to astonish the world. Much like the arcane engines and colossal rune cannons of old, or the magical trains and powerful steel warships that once roamed the land.

But none of that concerned him much.

For Sam, rather than focusing on these mysterious arcane components, his attention was on the healing of this land and the thriving summer around him.

Standing atop the truck, he gazed out toward the newly grown forest north of Pompei. Just last year, that area had been a scorched wasteland—a boundary marker for the contaminated zone left by the Crystal Cluster War.

Though the Crystal Cluster forces never breached Pompei’s borders, the Cecil Legion had used heavy flamers to burn a vast stretch north of the city, creating a “purification zone” to prevent the spread of contamination. The charred earth had once been a grim sight, but as His Majesty had said, new growth always flourished more vigorously on scorched soil.

Now, that lush growth was unmistakable. Though to Sam, the forest seemed to be growing at an unnaturally rapid pace this summer, the sudden burst of greenery was undeniably beautiful. The dense foliage blanketed the last patch of burned ground, a living testament to the land’s steady recovery.

(The End of This Chapter)