Bard looked at Andesha, who was standing in front of him. The image of the little girl who ran clumsily towards him in the courtyard was slowly fading away, leaving only a few broken silhouettes in his fading memory.
Standing in front of him was a mature soldier of the Empire. She was calm, courageous, and had a tenacious will and unwavering faith. She also had her own path of life.
"You will return to Typhon safely. This will be a good start for both countries," Bard pondered and said slowly, "His Majesty … I mean His Majesty Gwen Cecil, he will pave the way for you and guide public opinion. Oldenheim will also make corresponding arrangements. Part of the truth behind the war will be made public, and you will return as a meritorious subject, not as a defeated commander …"
"I know," Andesha said calmly, "This is good for both countries, and I can better display my value. But no matter what, in order for me to return safely, Oldenheim will have to pay something …"
"This is not something you should worry about." Bard shook his head. "His Majesty Rosetta knows what price he should pay for a wolf general. All you need to do is to cooperate with Oldenheim's decision."
"Of course, I will," Andesha said calmly, but she could not help but look at her father and said hesitantly, "Then you … will you return to …"
Bard seemed to have expected that Roland would bring this up sooner or later. His answer was very clear. "I no longer belong to Tiphon. It's not appropriate for me to appear in Aldenan anymore, be it for business or personal reasons. Wolf General Bard Wendell's life is over, and my appearance will only affect the situation in Oldenheim. So there's only one researcher here, Bard. Andesha, you should understand what I mean. "
"… Yes, I understand." The young wolf general could only sigh softly. She then raised her head and looked in the direction of the Thorin Tree. She saw a few flying machines coming from afar, making a low buzzing sound as they flew towards a crack in the canopy. This piqued her curiosity. "There seems to be a lot of strange flying machines around recently?"
Bard's expression was a little strange. "Madam Bertilla is testing how to make her brain achieve more functions, and how to make them work together when they are far away from the mother body. The further details are classified, I can't tell you."
"… What are you talking about?" Andesha was speechless.
"… Well, it's a little hard to understand. Then don't ask about it. It's good for your body and mind." Bard thought about the strange experiments that were being carried out in the laboratory inside the Thorin Tree, and his expression became even more strange. Considering that even he, a former cleric of the Order of the End, could not understand Bertilla's beauty, he decisively changed the topic. "We have been in the courtyard for a long time. You have just recovered, so you should control your time outside."
Andesha was a little helpless. "I've been in the house for a long time. The feeling of having nothing to do is more tiring than fighting on the battlefield."
"Nothing to do?" Bard looked at his daughter and suddenly thought of something. "Ah, then I have some suggestions. Do you remember the exercises we didn't finish last time? We can start with the simple equations … "
Andesha: "…?!"
… …
A gentle breeze blew through the canopy of the Thorin Tree. The large and lush leaves swayed and rubbed against each other, producing a continuous sound like waves. Deep within the layers of swaying branches and leaves, thick and sturdy wooden structures formed an exceptionally dense and sturdy framework that did not shake or deform. Between these wooden structures, the layers of wood were mixed with metal partitions that were absorbed from the depths of the ground. The partitions were connected to each other, and eventually, they 'grew' into a large structure of rooms. The rooms were connected by stairs or passageways, and plants that emitted a soft and bright light illuminated these spaces. This was Bertilla's personal 'human' domain, and it was her biochemical laboratory where she carried out her sophisticated research.
Compared to the crude prototype of a hall at the beginning, this laboratory in the depths of the canopy had now expanded by several times. The internal functions and tasks it could undertake had also been further enhanced and increased. Considering that there would be human assistants coming to help, Bertilla had also made a lot of human-like modifications to the interior space. Now, this' upper laboratory 'was one of the three major biochemical laboratories in the Thorin region, alongside the' underground biochemical center 'in the underground palace of roots and the' Druil Research Institute 'in Solin Fortress.
In fact, due to the unique 'natural' environment and convenient conditions of the Thorin region, this area was now undertaking more and more biochemical research tasks. The empire had increased the investment in this area every quarter. More and more Druil came here with their projects, and it was as if this place had become the biotechnological center of the Cecil Empire.
This was a scene that Bertilla had never imagined when she crawled out of the underground palace that had turned into ruins and faced this unrecognizable land in a completely different state.
In an oval hall deep in the upper laboratory, the half-human, half-plant Bertilla moved quietly in the room with the support of many roots as she checked the nerve nodes on the nearby walls. The wall at the end of the hall was inlaid with a large magical crystal. The crystal shone and projected a holographic projection from the outside world. The projection showed that the aircraft was landing smoothly in the hangar of the giant tree.
A hunchbacked, white-haired old man in a black jacket stood in front of the projection and watched the aircraft docked steadily. He saw the upper hatch open, and a huge brain separated from the nutrients. He watched it use its nerve tentacles to wipe off the liquid droplets hanging on its body, and then flew toward a certain passage in the hangar.
"… These 'brains' are getting more and more amazing." The little old man turned and looked at Bertilla. "Are you also controlling these subtle operations?"
"I can control it directly, but it's inefficient." Bertilla passed by not far away and said without looking back. "Such a simple thing can be preset with logic and let the 'brain' decide what to do. After all, they are highly efficient thinking organs. Giving them simple independent intelligence is much easier than writing logic in the mental core of the Ironman. "
Pitman blinked. "Ah, I almost forgot. You were also a Gondor."
"As the chief Druil of the empire, you came all the way here just to study how my 'synthetic brain' flies around?" Bertilla finally stopped and looked at Pitman in confusion. On the wall behind her, more than a dozen culture sacs were floating rhythmically with dark red light flowing like a heart.
"Observing your 'synthetic brain' is indeed the main purpose of my visit. In the word invented by His Majesty, this is' inspection '," Pitman said with a smile as he walked toward Bertilla. "His Majesty is very satisfied with the performance of the psionic choir and the wetware server. At the same time, he has a strong interest in your' synthetic brain '. So he asked me to take a look at these things … Are you busy now?"
"Can't you see?" Bertilla wanted to roll her eyes, but her nervous system had forgotten how to make such a human expression. She had to spread out her hands. She then turned around and pointed her arm at the culture sacs fixed on the wall. "The second generation of synthetic brain is in the critical stage of development. I have to ensure that each of them is healthy and healthy until all of them mature."
As Bertilla's voice trailed off, the culture sacs made a slight friction sound at the same time. Then the tough and thick outer skin slid off one by one under the pull of the muscles, revealing the transparent inner shell that looked like some kind of giant egg. The dormant 'brains' were immersed in the translucent nutrient fluid in the shell. Large and small nerve fibers and nutrient conduits were connected to these things. There was a glimmer between some of the conduits.
Pitman looked at this scene and his eyelids twitched. "Sure enough, it was a wise move for me to quit halfway …"
"Don't you think they are more or less cute?" Bertilla could not help but glance at Pitman. She knew that the 'Chief Druil of the Empire' was actually a member of the All Things End, and was even her subordinate. But these old relationships had long gone with time, and people who lived to this day chose to get along with each other normally. "I have adjusted their size and shape as much as possible, and everyone who comes in contact with them should know that these 'brains' are very gentle and harmless. They even like to eat candy and bush berries …"
Pitman could not help but facepalm. "… It is strange enough that these 'synthetic brains' can look for food everywhere by themselves. Who cares about their diet?"
Bertilla did not seem to hear Pitman's muttering. She just checked the state of the immature 'brains' and recorded every nerve fluctuation at the moment in detail. These complex neuro-engineered products at the end of development were still unable to carry out complete thinking activities. They were sleeping like babies, and only some hazy and chaotic 'thoughts' would occasionally emerge, producing a signal impulse of less than half a second in the interconnected nerve nodes. No one could hear their 'sleep talk', only Bertilla could hear these low and trivial 'voices', and these 'voices' played an important role in determining the status of the synthetic brains.
"Actually, there is something I have been curious about." Pitman did not care about Bertilla's attitude. He just casually said as he observed the synthetic brains. "I have seen the structural diagram of the wetware servers. You seem to insist on making the cockpit cover transparent. Why not add an opaque cover? You know, many soldiers are shocked when they first come into contact with that thing, and your 'synthetic brain' should not need to use ordinary vision to observe the surrounding environment. "
Bertilla finished checking the condition of all the synthetic brains. She controlled the protective layer of each culture sac to close and said seriously, "Every brain should have the right to bathe in the sun …"
"No, a normal brain will not bathe in the sun at all!" Pitman almost pulled his beard off. He stared at her and said, "You just can't control your urge to photosynthesize!"
"Photosynthesize …" Bertilla suddenly froze as if she had just woken up from a dream. She stood still for a few seconds before breaking the silence. "Ah, I see … No wonder I have always felt that there is a cognitive error at the bottom of my nervous system that I can't eliminate … So this is it …"
She shook her head and said in a self-deprecating tone, "I understand. I will follow the advice of the other technicians and add a layer of shielding to the subsequent synthetic brain containers. Sorry, it seems that I have unconsciously caused some trouble. "
"… We all understand. Take your time. You will fully adapt one day," Pitman sighed and pulled back the topic. "Let's go back to the field of technology. His Majesty has been paying attention to these 'synthetic brains' that you have created. Now we have a big question … Can these brains only be 'produced' by the Solin giant tree? "
Bertilla quickly reacted. "You mean, can they be reproduced through technical means to achieve mass production and increase production?"
"The synthetic brain is a good thing, but at this stage it is still a laboratory product. Although your laboratory is very large and can even mass produce synthetic brains like a factory, you are the only one of the Solin giant tree." Pitman shook his head. "You have studied for so long, you should have understood the concept of the 'magical engineering industry'. In the face of a real industrial system and its potential, things that cannot be mass produced are naturally flawed."
"… Of course I understand. So I have also thought about this during this period." Bertilla pondered for a moment and nodded gently. "In theory, the production process of the synthetic brain can indeed be carried out without the Solin giant tree."
"Really?" Pitman's eyes widened in surprise. "You can make this thing in a factory?"
"Not a 'factory' in the conventional sense, but a biological replication center and … a feedlot," Bertilla said in thought. "I know it sounds a bit strange, but you may already know the source of the genetic samples of the synthetic brain — the Nightmare Skull in the Dark Forest, the Soulswallower in the Ancestral Peak, and other monsters or beasts. In essence, these 'synthetic brains' are actually magical creatures that were artificially bred. You should know how humans tamed wolves into dogs, and how they bred griffins from a branch of predatory owls. From a certain perspective, the process I used to create these brains is similar.
"Of course, this is a general statement. There is still a big difference between the actual technology and the difficulty of implementation.
"Back to the question of mass production, I think there is a possibility that we can rely on artificial biological factories to cultivate these 'brains' without the Solin giant tree. As far as I know, you and your Druil team have restored the manufacturing or construction method of the Einher Fusion Chamber and the Intersecting Biomass Splitting Tank from the technical data left behind by the Apocalypse Society, and have used modern technology to make them harmless. These two things are the key to cultivating the 'synthetic brain'. The only problem now is how to convert the knowledge I 'understand' into something that normal humans or Druil the elven can learn and control … Without a breakthrough, even if I give you the original 'brain' matrix, you will not be able to guide and cultivate a complete 'synthetic brain'. "
As Bertilla spoke, she gently knocked on her forehead. Although she looked no different from a real person, there was a sound of knocking wood in the process. "The change in my life form has led to a change in my cognitive world and the way I think. While I still have my human heart, I can no longer think like a human. There are many things that I know how to do, and I can even do it instinctively, but it is difficult to explain to you. Just like this' room 'in front of you. I can make it grow with just a thought, but I may need half a year to communicate with the druids who are acting as my assistants and let them understand how to do this kind of plant manipulation. "
"That will take time, I understand." Pitman nodded. "But putting that aside, mass production of synthetic brains is achievable, and it can be done in an acceptable time frame, right?"
Bertilla thought about it seriously before nodding. "I'm sure of that."
"Then we can proceed with this project." Pitman exhaled. "This way, the 'wet-ware host' will have a chance to officially step onto the stage, and not just a special equipment for a small scale application."
(Double the period, I beg for monthly votes!)
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