Turning the expensive into cheap, the rare into popular, and the unreliable into stable and controllable. That was the biggest reason why magic technology could change the way the whole world worked in this era.
The elves had the Stellaris Temple. For the past thousands of years, the sky fortress that never fell had been the Silver Empire's greatest guarantee. Although the temple itself was old and its deterrence was limited to the south of the continent, as long as the fortress was floating in the sky, most of the countries on the Roland Continent could only look up to it in awe. This had nothing to do with whether the elves were "neutral" or not, but an inevitable result of their overwhelming power.
In the current international situation, Gwen and his entire ruling team did not intend to let Cecil become a hegemonic empire. But even so, he still hoped to make a breakthrough in the empire's air power. The sky fortress in the elves' hands was a very attractive and practical target. Even if not from the perspective of military deterrence, this flying fortress that could operate for a long time in the sky, had strong defensive power, and could provide reliable protection for expeditionary units was also very important to Gwen's long-term plan.
Counterattack the wasteland.
There was only one Stellaris Temple, and due to the problem of power and maintenance, it could not be too far away from the Silver Empire. It was unrealistic to expect it to be the main force in the counterattack on the wasteland. But the threat of the wasteland was there, and the hidden forces in it were growing day by day. The people living around the wasteland had to find other ways to ensure their own safety. Using the unique advantages of magic technology to try to create a mass-produced version of the sky fortress to accumulate strength for the counterattack on the wasteland in the future. This was Gwen's plan — one of many.
But it was not easy to realize such a bold project. Even with the Origins laboratory's cheat-like acceleration and simulation test system, as well as the substantial technical support provided by the elves, as well as the convenient magical assistance and relatively mature anti-gravity technology, it was not that easy to build the human's own 'Constellation Temple'. It was not as simple as just an extra-large 'dragon knight'.
Rebecca's attention returned to the sketch in front of her. Her eyes moved slowly between the anti-gravity devices and the power ridges that were arranged in a regular pattern. As she pondered, she muttered, "The biggest problems we have so far are two. One is the magic shock and resonance damage caused by a large number of anti-gravity rings operating in the same system at the same time. The last time we used the dragoon's anti-gravity ring test machine, it directly burned all the test devices and almost blew up the entire platform. Now we have a solution to this problem, which is to add an isolation layer and an energy release device between the power ridges and the energy-consuming units. Whether it works or not depends on the next test.
"The second problem is how to effectively integrate such a huge system so that the various parts of the system can work together. The scale of the thing we have designed is too large and the structure is too complicated. The number of magic devices operating in the same magic system is astonishing. There are at least a dozen anti-gravity rings, and these things are interconnected. If there is a problem with the synergy, it will probably stop working. The aerospace fortress is something that needs to fly in the sky. It is different from ships and vehicles. If the system stops working, it will fall down. "
"That's why we need an 'operation center'." Marlin Leslie nodded. "This operation center can immediately sense the status of all the systems in the fortress and control each part with high efficiency. Considering the scale of the entire fortress, the complexity of this operation center will surpass the limits of our current control technology. Even if we manage to build it, I'm afraid there won't be many people in the world who can really operate it …"
"That is why I said that the servo brain and the wetware mainframe are good things, although the ancestor always felt that their image was not good enough." Rebecca smiled. "Nothing is more suitable than a neural network to command such a huge and complex system. I agree with Mr. Egg's words — the most beautiful creation created by life is machinery, and the most beautiful machinery is life itself. The wetware mainframe and the neural network can break the boundary between machinery and living things. As long as the nerve cord can cover the entire system, the control of the aerospace fortress will not be a problem. Next, we need to consider how to upgrade the system of Gelan Heavy Industries and put it into our blueprint. "
"In the end, this idea is also based on the elves' Stellaris Temple." Marlin Leslie sighed with a complicated expression. "I heard that the control technology of their 'temple' is also something like a neural network."
"That is not the same." Rebecca immediately shook her head. "The wetware mainframe does not take up a lot of people. At most, it will take a little sugar. The Stellaris Temple of the Silver Elves takes up the queen."
Marlin Leslie's expression suddenly became a little strange. "What you said is a little …"
"I'm not talking nonsense." Rebecca knocked on the table seriously. "I talked to Queen Bersetia last time. She said that once you sit on the throne, you become a part of the machine, and you have to focus on controlling the system. The selection of the operator is also very strict. First, you have to be a member of the Morning Star royal family, or you can't pass the biometric certification. Secondly, you have to have a synchronization rate or something. If the synchronization rate can't go up, the efficiency of the Stellar Temple will drop. What's the difference between this and the old days where the mages relied on their talent to cast spells and those magic tools that required casting ability?"
At this point, Rebecca crossed her arms and made a judgment with a serious face. "So in my opinion, the elves' Stellaris Temple is flawed from the root. Even if the elves fix it, it will be a constraint sooner or later. If the Silver Empire wants to develop, it will have to find a way to get rid of this problematic 'antique heritage' sooner or later. What was the saying of the ancestors? Anyway, I think that the Silver Empire needs this process of 'breaking' now. "" That's right. "
"Err … you are right, but that is not what I meant … Forget it, you are right." Marlin Leslie awkwardly coughed twice and raised his hand to touch the non-existent sweat on his head. The princess in front of him had always had a strange way of speaking. Someone like him, who was more or less traditional, couldn't help but feel extra pressure when he accidentally talked to her about some "high class topics". He even suspected that at least half of his hair had been lost while chatting with this princess.
Rebecca did not seem to realize that she had created new pressure on this reliable subordinate in front of her. Her attention was attracted by Marin's movement. She looked up and was a little surprised. "Hey, Marin, you lost hair again?"
"This … Thank you for your concern." Marin's expression was a little embarrassed. He touched the tip of his nose and said, "It's okay. After all … I am middle-aged. You should understand …"
"Ah, then I suggest you ask Pitman for help. He seems to be working on some hair growth alchemy ointment recently. Although I don't know who would ask him for that ointment every now and then, you can give it a try. His ointment may not be effective sometimes, but I have not heard of any serious side effects …"
"Thank you, I will think about it." Marin's face was almost overflowing with embarrassment. He began to think hard about what to say to divert the princess's attention and let the topic pass quickly. Fortunately, before he spoke, Rebecca had already changed the topic. As usual, her attention was always jumping from one thing to another. While Marin kept touching the tip of his nose, she had already stood up from behind the wide desk and came to a floor-to-ceiling window not far away.
Rebecca looked out of the window.
It was the deepest part of the entire facility and a highly confidential area. In the entire administrative district, only the window of her office could directly see the site. In the huge enclosed space, high-power magic crystal lamps illuminated the wide assembly platform and the crisscrossed steel support structure. The cold light outlined the cold shadows under the searchlights. Between the huge platform and the support structure, there were unfinished anti-gravity rings, giant power ridges being welded, movable magic obelisks, busy construction vehicles, and countless workers and technicians busy between the giant components.
"The burned components have been replaced … Before we install the batch of parts sent from Pompeii, we should do more preparation work in the second test field," Rebecca said softly. "Marin, go and prepare a simulation framework. We will verify the power ridge modification plan again. Also, contact the computing center and borrow their wet-ware server. The new power ridge and neural network control system can be tested together. "
"What about the budget …" Marin could not help but say. Although he did not need to worry about this, the conversation he heard outside the door made him a little worried.
"I'll just apply for it. It's just an unplanned test." Rebecca waved her hand. "And even if it does burn, it's better to burn the simulation framework and the wetware than to burn the active power ridge on the berth. Auntie will understand."
Marin looked at the princess in front of him and bowed his head after a moment. "Yes, Minister. I will arrange it now."
…
Cecil City, in the office of the Great Governor in the government hall, Heti, who looked a little tired, put down a report in her hand. She rubbed her sore eyebrows and could not help but sigh softly.
At this moment, the office door was pushed open, and Gwen's voice came from the door. "I saw you sighing as soon as I came in, Heti. What kind of problem did you encounter again? Did Bai Dewen's village transformation and training of freelance mercenaries get stuck again? Or did the construction and planning department give you a problem again? "
"It would be better if it is this kind of problem. It is just a matter of transferring manpower and adjusting the work of the corresponding departments." Heti rubbed her eyebrows again and sighed with a headache. "It is our dear Miss Rebecca, she —"
Gwen did not wait for Heti to finish. He waved his hand and said casually, "I see, the budget."
Heti looked up at her ancestor helplessly. "A month ago, Project 115 had a meltdown. Although there were no casualties, the key materials and test site were seriously damaged. Half a month ago, there was a second meltdown in the same place. This time, not only all the test equipment was destroyed, but even the test site was almost blown up. Fortunately, the safety measures were tight and effective, and the disaster did not spread further. Now Rebecca has submitted the third budget application … the amount is even a few percent more than the last time. "
Heidi could not help but shake her head. Her beautiful face was now covered with a layer of hesitation. "I can understand the importance of Project No. 115, but it's too difficult to stay calm when signing the contract."
Every time she saw the budget list from the magical energy technology department, her hand could not help but tremble. Sometimes, Heti really wanted to hand these things directly to the first-level finance officer under her, but most of the budgets submitted by Rebecca were related to secret projects, and the final review had to go through her, the grand consul. Heti could not help but be pessimistic about the future, and felt that her trembling hand would shake for many years to come …
Seeing Heidi, who had always been mature and calm in front of outsiders, showing such a helpless look without any scruples in front of him, Gawain could not help but want to laugh. However, he controlled his expression, shook his head slightly, and said, "It seems that this is indeed a very expensive project …"
"This project is started by you." Heti looked at her ancestor. "Have you forgotten?"
"Of course not, and we should all know the importance of Project 115." Gwen coughed twice, and his expression became serious. "Over at the wasteland … I'm afraid we don't have much time left."
Seeing the change in Gwen's expression, Heti could not help but straighten her back and look serious. "Did the outpost at the South Gate Fortress find anything?"
"Not yet, but news came from the Silver Empire. Their sentry tower detected several irregular energy bursts in the depths of the wasteland … It does not look like a natural phenomenon."
"Energy bursts …" Heti repeated the word softly. "That means those guys hiding in the depths of the wasteland are no longer hiding their tracks …"
"They know that outsiders like us can't do anything to them, and the only force in the depths of the wasteland that can threaten them can't leave the core area." Gwen nodded. "They were just keeping a low profile to prevent the outside countries from becoming vigilant and speeding up their development. But now they are not so low profile … This means that their confidence is swelling."
"If that's the case … can Project 115 really catch up?" Heidi sounded worried. "It's not very reassuring to pin our hopes on something that we don't know when it will succeed or can even be built to guard against the threat in the wasteland that we don't know when it will erupt."
"So, Project 115 is just one of our plans," Gawain said in a deep voice. "Now, we need to accumulate as much strength as we can before the wall collapses. It's even better if we have enough strength to fight our way into the wasteland before the wall collapses. We need to settle everything before the cultists cause trouble. This morning, I've approved the joint proposal of General Maryland and General Philip. We'll start building several 'forward railways' that will lead to the Magnificent Wall before this autumn to set up our mobile ground fortresses. I've heard that Typhon has a similar plan. They're seizing the time to rebuild several major supernatural legions and increase the number of troops along the Magnificent Wall. As for the Kingdom of Kaolin and the tribal kingdom of Augulay, even the members of the Alliance that are not directly bordering the Magnificent Wall are also taking action.
"It turns out that the warning we issued within the Alliance is effective. The countries are finally no longer underestimating the threat in the wasteland as they did a few years ago. This is a good thing."
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