Chapter 1499: The Saturation Contingency Plan

From the very beginning, Gawain had never trusted any form of shelter—whether it was a cluster of massive refuge cities or the seemingly vast but actually cramped and fragile wasteland shields. He simply didn’t trust them.

In his view, these kinds of shelters sacrificed the very “possibility” of survival when disaster struck, trapping those under their protection in a helpless state where all they could do was wait for fate to decide their outcome.

But that didn’t mean he looked down on or harshly judged the scholars and leaders who proposed these shelter plans. He understood that within the limited frameworks they had, they had hammered out the closest thing to a perfect solution. Every shelter plan wasn’t about selfish survival—it was about finding a way to preserve civilization. Their plans might have flaws, but their intentions and actions were beyond reproach.

In fact, Gawain’s own proposal for the Homeworld Barrier wasn’t born from extraordinary foresight. It was simply because he had access to more intelligence and was a bit bolder. Both Typhon and the Silver Empire knew about the runestone relics left behind by the Sentinels, as well as their functions and related research projects—but they never considered using them. Their caution and instinctive wariness of the Sentinels’ legacy made them avoid that path, something Gawain fully understood.

If he hadn’t known more about the Voyagers, he wouldn’t have even thought to focus on those runestones.

That said, his “Homeworld Barrier” plan wasn’t flawless either. While directly utilizing the Sentinels’ runestones made erecting a planetary shield much easier, the planetary shield was only the foundation of the Homeworld Barrier. The real challenge—and the part most prone to failure—was figuring out how to imbue that energy shield with a “Unified Mind Field” effect.

After a brief moment of reflection, Rosetta Augustus was the first to calm down from the emotional surge and realized Gawain hadn’t revealed the entire plan. “Using those runestones to support the shield is probably just the first step, right? A simple energy barrier can’t truly withstand the magical tide. The key to preventing the Observer Effect from spiraling out of control lies in the Unified Mind Field. How do you plan to solve that?”

Belsethia’s gaze also fixed on Gawain. “Indeed… While mastering the Sentinel runestone system makes the planetary shield feasible, how do we ‘attach’ the Unified Mind Field to that shield? Can the existing neural network interface with those runestones?”

Did the Sentinels leave interfaces in those runestones for neural networks? Of course not.

Gawain shook his head. “The runestones only have the function of guiding and operating the Deep Blue Conduits. After all, their original goal was never truly to help this world resist the magical tide. So, on the surface, we can’t connect the Unified Mind Field with the planetary shield. But we have another option—I have a complementary plan.”

“Another option?” Heragor frowned but quickly guessed from Gawain’s tone what he meant. “You mean, from space…?”

“Yes, from space.” Gawain nodded solemnly, spreading his hands wide. The image in his mind immediately transformed into a projection within the neural network—a massive, crystal-clear hologram appeared above the round table, causing everyone to hold their breath.

It was their planet beneath them—a vibrant, beautiful world adorned with blue skies, oceans, and lush lands. Orbiting the planet were clusters of satellites, large and small, as well as the Sky Orbital Station circling overhead.

The magnificent planetary ring shone like a crown in the hologram. The vast space between the ring and the surface was dark and empty, but under Gawain’s demonstration, a luminous curtain rose from the top of the atmosphere, gradually expanding outward until it formed a spectacular Homeworld Barrier, connecting to the inner ring of the Sky Orbital Station.

“…According to my calculations, the energy converted from the Deep Blue Well will be sufficient to sustain a barrier like this,” Gawain said, rotating the hologram and highlighting details for everyone present. “If we extend the shield to near the Sky Orbital Station, we can use the station’s structure as a ‘connection point’ to link the Unified Mind Field with the Homeworld Barrier…”

Belsethia’s eyes burned with intensity as she stared at the breathtaking hologram. It was the first time she had seen her home planet from such a direct perspective, witnessing the hidden space facilities beyond mortal sight. An unprecedented, indescribable wave of emotion surged within her. Meanwhile, Rosetta Augustus couldn’t help but stand, and after a moment’s thought, suddenly asked, “But I remember you said the Sky Orbital Station is currently semi-dormant. Although you’ve started a repair project, it’s still far from fully operational… Has there been a sudden breakthrough in the repairs?”

“No,” Gawain shook his head. “The station remains dormant, and within the next year and a half, it’s unlikely we can fully reactivate its systems. That’s why this is the most difficult and astonishing part of the Homeworld Barrier plan—we have to use the dormant Sky Orbital Station as a skeleton to build a mortal-made ‘space relay station.’”

“Use the Sky Orbital Station as a skeleton to build our own space relay station?” Heragor’s tone shifted, as if sensing a familiar passion burning in the chest of this alien. The fire made even this ancient dragon’s breath quicken. “How exactly do you plan to do that?”

“It’s simple. Since much of the station is unusable, we won’t use it. Instead, we’ll ‘install’ additional projection devices on the station’s exterior,” Gawain waved his hand again, and the hologram of the station shrank to the side, replaced by new devices at the center of the projection. “The planetary shield projected through the Deep Blue Conduits is essentially a massive magical field. By its nature, this planetary defense field is very similar to the ‘magical broadcasts’ emitted by the Mana Obelisks. We’ve conducted small-scale tests in the Deep Blue Well’s underground facilities, which have confirmed this.

“In other words, once the planetary shield is activated, we can treat our planet as a gigantic mana broadcast tower, with the Deep Blue Conduits acting as the magical network connecting to it. From another perspective, if we build a sufficiently powerful array of Mana Obelisks, we can manipulate, transmit, and inject into this planet-wide magical field just like controlling a mana broadcast.

“As you know, our current neural network operates through mana network hub towers as communication nodes, running within the wireless communication environment created by these hubs. So if we treat the entire planetary shield as such an ‘environment,’ it naturally follows that the neural network can operate within it—and the Unified Mind Field based on the neural network even more so.

“This is a special mana broadcast device, essentially a giant Mana Obelisk. Its principle is straightforward, the design simple and mature, with some targeted adjustments for space transport and installation—modular structure, reinforced casing, and shielding on critical parts. Multiple such devices can operate in unison and provide redundancy—this technology is already mature.

“My plan is to install about 1,200 of these ‘broadcast devices’ on the inner side of the Sky Orbital Station’s orbital ring, forming a relay array encircling the entire planet. This array will be strong enough to influence the planetary shield, turning it into a carrier for the neural network—our ‘Homeworld Barrier.’

“This is Cecil’s plan.”

When Gawain finished, the round table fell into a brief silence. This highly creative and daring plan clearly exceeded everyone’s imagination—even the dragons, a race that had successfully ventured into space, had never conceived such a broad approach. Only Rebecca seemed less shocked; her eyes sparkled as she looked at the ancestor standing beside her, silently admiring his ancestral-level ingenuity in “hammering out wonders.”

She had even completely forgotten that many of the technical details and raw parameters in this plan were actually developed by her and her research team—Gawain had merely combined these foundational “materials” into a terrifying grand design.

After a few minutes of silence, a voice finally broke through. Belsethia stood. “I’d like to ask—in your Homeworld Barrier plan, are the nodes that ‘output’ the Unified Mind Field located in space or on the surface?”

“On the surface,” Gawain nodded. “The node group requires a vast number of conscious individuals simultaneously connected to the neural network. With our current technology, it’s impossible for so many people to live long-term on the Sky Orbital Station. Besides, only dragons, sea witches, and iron men can safely reach the station at this stage. Among them, iron men cannot generate thought currents, sea witches lack brains and nerves, and the dragon population isn’t large enough to produce non-directional thought currents… So the node group must be on the surface.”

“How do the surface nodes communicate with the space relay array?” Belsethia couldn’t help but ask. “The distance must exceed the current limits of wireless communication…”

“There are three solutions,” Gawain seemed to have anticipated this question. He conjured a new hologram showing a towering structure connecting the ocean surface to the orbital station. “This is the space elevator linking our planet to the Sky Orbital Station. It has communication capabilities, and this channel is already activated. I hold all the permissions, so it’s stable and controllable.

“First, we can use the elevator’s built-in hardware to maintain ‘sky-to-ground communication.’ This requires a compatible translation process, but technically it’s feasible. The dragons are familiar with Voyager device data interfaces, and I have the communication protocol permissions and translation rules.

“Second, the simplest and most direct method: weld communication nodes along the tower, building a communication chain from the surface all the way to the station. The iron men of Ophelia and the sea witches of the Deep Sea Kingdom can carry out this task. Iron men can operate and survive in space, and sea witches have protective technology and construction experience in space environments. Especially the latter—although their ships are currently stranded on the planet, with the right resources, having them build a communication chain along the existing space elevator isn’t difficult.

“The third method… is to deploy multiple ultra-high-power communication platforms at the edge of the atmosphere.”

Rosetta, Belsethia, and the two dragon leaders exchanged glances. The third method surprised them—though the second was already quite astonishing.

“The edge of the atmosphere is the highest point we can ‘safely reach’ with our current technology,” Gawain explained, his gaze sweeping over Heragor, who had recently received the first batch of communication platforms for Talrond. “The Gorgon-class anti-gravity platforms, equipped with powerful shields and shielding devices, can reach this altitude and maintain stable operation for extended periods. The communication-specialized models can transfer most of their energy to antenna arrays, producing signal strength comparable to land-based hub towers.”

“We just need to position the communication platform here—though, compared to the vast distances involved in interstellar communication, reaching the edge of the atmosphere is only a small step outward. But that distance is enough. Once we get past the magical turbulence layer, the interference from the home planet’s magical environment on the communication device will drop significantly, greatly reducing signal attenuation. Plus, with multiple platforms forming an array, the Gorgons stationed at the atmosphere’s edge will be fully capable of connecting with the Sky Station. Of course, there will still be considerable signal loss during this process, but as long as we can establish contact, it’s not a problem. At worst, we just launch a few more platforms up there. The Gorgons are universal platforms—Cecil’s side can dismantle and retrofit those war fortresses from the Wasteland War into communication stations.”

Gawain finally finished explaining his entire plan and left the floor open for others to consider.

“You mentioned three approaches…” After a moment of silence, Rosetta suddenly broke in, “Which one do you personally favor?”

“…I prefer all three, implemented simultaneously.” Gawain thought briefly before answering straightforwardly.

“All three?” Balogear on the other side was taken aback. “I thought you were presenting options to choose from, not to do them all.”

“The moment the home planet’s barrier activates, both the relay arrays in space and the node clusters on the surface will each have plenty of redundant backups and high stability. The biggest weak point in the entire system will be the communication channel between them. If that channel fails, our barrier will collapse on its own without even needing a magical storm to strike. So maintaining the channel’s stability is absolutely critical.

“The communication devices left by the Pathfinders are advanced, but they weren’t developed by us. If something goes wrong, they’re basically unrepairable.

“The communication nodes added outside the orbital elevator are our own design, but relying on a single line is too fragile. If that ‘single line’ breaks, the situation becomes extremely dangerous.

“The platforms floating at the atmosphere’s edge can form an array for backup, but this system operates near a critical threshold and is technically very advanced, so its stability is somewhat lower.

“Since each of the three methods has its own drawbacks and risks, we need all of them… a triple backup. At least one will hold. This approach is what I call the ‘Saturation Plan.’

“From a cost perspective, all three solutions are within our means. After all, these aren’t massive shelters; implementing an extra plan won’t drain the Alliance’s productivity… we can afford it.

“That’s all I have to say.”

(End of chapter)