As a military personnel who did not know much about advanced magitek technology and had no intention of becoming a researcher, the number of times Byron had entered the Magitek Technology Research Institute could be counted on one hand. The last time he came here was because of Pea.
Pea was a mute girl. For Byron, who had been her adoptive father for a few years, this was a matter of deep regret and regret.
The poor child was once a mute slave of a great merchant. Her tongue was cut off and she could not speak, and because it had been so long, conventional Druil spells were useless. Even if Cecil led the Cecil Empire, and even if Byron went from being a country Knight to being the leader of the Empire's army, there was nothing he could do.
In the blink of an eye, a few years had passed, and the little mute girl had grown into a slender and elegant girl. It was also at this time that an unexpected turn of events appeared.
The Legacy of All Endings dug out from the Sorin region gave Byron hope of curing Pea.
The incredible advanced biochemical technology could be used to create terrible monsters, and could also be used to heal unfortunate mortals.
After obtaining Pea's consent, Byron let his adopted daughter become the first clinical test subject of the Druil laboratory under the Pitman. The initial treatment went smoothly, and the broken tongue was regenerated in less than half a day. However, there were unexpected difficulties in getting Pea to speak again.
Today, the middle-aged Knight came to the Institute of Magical Engineering once again to seek a new solution.
The stooped, white-haired Pitman walked in front, leading Byron into the depths of the Institute of Magical Engineering.
This large facility built by Rebecca Cecil had been developed and perfected over a period of time. It was now the most advanced research facility in the Empire, and there were many new departments and branches within. In addition to the conventional magical, mechanical, and mathematical research labs, there were also two research labs under the name of the Rune Research Institute, and a Druil Research Center under the Pitman.
Just as Gwen had planned, the Magitech Research Institute was no longer a simple research facility. It had become a 'greenhouse' for the cultivation of new technologies, providing all sorts of facilities, equipment, personnel, and other services to all sorts of teams with emerging technologies and potential.
After passing through a door on the third floor, Byron and Pitman entered the area of the Druil Research Center. The walls here were decorated with flower vines and leaves, while the arcanotech device at the entrance silently projected a holographic image. A badge surrounded by flower vines floated on the image.
This insignia was the Empire's standard Druil symbol.
There were many technicians in white robes with green stripes walking in the corridor. They all saluted Pitman respectfully. Although Byron had seen this scene the last time he came, he could not help but look at the old man beside him. "To be honest, I'm quite surprised to see such a shameless guy like you being respected by so many scholars."
"You talk too much." Pitman gave Byron a sideways glance. "I saw the soldiers saluting you on the way. What did I say?"
Byron pursed his lips and did not speak. He just followed Pitman through the corridor and came to a seemingly high-class laboratory.
"Put on your robe and stand on that platform." Pitman stood in front of the door at the entrance of the laboratory and pointed to a small round platform inside the door. "Wait for me after you go in."
"What is this?" Byron was startled. "Why didn't this step in the laboratory last time?"
Pitman glared. "Nonsense, this time the laboratory's biochemical isolation level is Level III. The last one was Level II. You can just think of it as the things here are more expensive than other places."
Byron nodded. Although he was usually careless, he also knew the importance of rigor and order in the research facility, so he did not say anything else.
Under Pitman's guidance, he completed the steps of dressing and disinfecting somewhat unskillfully. After that, he went through the door and entered this rather special laboratory.
After entering, the first thing that came into view was a rather spacious room. Several large experiment tables were neatly arranged on both sides of the room, and a large number of technicians in standard short robes were busy between the experiment tables. The staff's robes had the Druil emblem surrounded by vines, but in fact, Byron knew very well that according to the old rules, only a small number of them were the real "Druil". The rest were at best "apprentices" in the field of Extraordinary, and even ordinary people who did not have Extraordinary skills at all.
However, after the development of magical technology, many Druil spells were also classified into the system of runic logic, and the definition of "Druil" in the Empire was no longer so old-fashioned.
Byron's gaze swept across the room, and he suddenly noticed an eye-catching and unique figure in the room.
It was Master Kamel, who was covered in arcane brilliance and wearing a runic armor plate.
He turned his head slightly and asked Pitman, who had just entered the laboratory, "Why is Master Kamel here?"
"He's involved in this project," Pitman said casually and stepped forward. "Just follow and take a look. Don't touch anything here."
Byron shrugged and followed indifferently.
Pitman looked old, but his footsteps were fast. Soon, he came to Kamel and asked, "Is the morning test over? How's it going? "
"The neural response efficiency has exceeded 70%. It should still need a lot of adjustments," Kamel said as he pointed to the nearest experiment table. "Come and take a look. Is there any problem with the artificial neurons?"
Pitman turned and walked to the experiment table. Byron craned his neck and looked curiously in that direction.
He saw a strangely shaped object lying quietly on a slanted table. The bright light illuminated the details of the object.
It was a "ribbon" made of metal parts, less than a meter long. One end of the ribbon had a palm-sized rhombus structure made of several metal plates, and the other end had some thin, dark red ends. The main body of the ribbon showed a structure of rings, and there were also fine metal protrusions. This strange structure …
Byron could not help but think of the human spine, or something that could be attached to the spine.
He moved closer and saw that there was a faint red surging between the metal rings. He looked carefully and recognized that it was some kind of fibrous thing like flesh tissue.
The "flesh and blood" grew between the metals, maintaining their vitality in some incomprehensible way.
"What … is this thing?" Byron blinked and asked curiously. "Why does it look like the artificial nerve cord in the immersion pod?"
"This is the artificial nerve cord, but it is not used in the immersion pod." Pitman was carefully observing the nerve terminals extending from the end of the "metal spine". He replied without looking up. "It is a branch application of the artificial nerve cord … I have temporarily named it 'neural thorns'."
Byron continued to ask, "What is it for?"
"In essence, it is still a nerve connection device, used to connect the human brain and external magical equipment. But in addition to this most basic connection function …" Pitman finally looked up and pointed to the dark red fibrous structure at the end of the artificial nerve cord. "It can also be used to break the boundary between ordinary people and Extraordinary, really break the boundary."
Byron frowned slightly and looked serious. "… Can you speak the common language?"
Pitman could not help but roll his eyes. "Read occasionally. Otherwise, when Pea enters Imperial College, you won't even be able to understand her textbook."
On the other side, Kamel floated over. After greeting Byron, he said with a buzzing and trembling voice, "His Majesty once said that there is a shortcoming in the current magical technology, that is, all supernatural powers are achieved through machinery. People use rune triggers to achieve the preset magic effect in the machine. This way of achieving it has a natural limitation.
"Arcanotech devices can only be used to execute simple spells that don't require 'spiritual energy' to maintain and guide them, such as fireballs, icicles, arcane missiles, and so on. But if a spell requires the caster's spiritual energy to guide it, such as illusions, dream spells, or large-scale ritual spells, then the arcanotech devices will be powerless."
Byron smiled and nodded. "Then I understand."
Transcendents all had this common sense. Spells could be divided into two types of control methods. One was the "formation and realization type". After completing the construction of the spell model, one only needed to activate it, and the complete spell effect could be released, such as Fireball, Frost Arrow, and so on. The other type was the "spiritual guidance type". This type of spell was usually continuous. During the process of releasing it, the caster needed to continuously control it at the spiritual level. Once interrupted, the spell would immediately dissipate.
It was clear that the current magical equipment could only achieve the former, while the latter … due to the limitations of its maintenance method, it was destined to be unable to break away from the 'controller' of Extraordinary individuals.
That was clearly inconsistent with the concept of 'attributing the supernatural to mortals' in magical technology, and in fact limited the development of magical technology.
In fact, in the current technological development process, such limitations had begun to appear. The virtual interface needed to be presented after the immersion pods were connected to the human brain, and the 'programming' of certain parameters of the Mana Net broadcast system could not be controlled through simple runic triggers and required the involvement of the controller's mental power. At present, it was completely dependent on real mages to operate.
That was also one of the reasons why the production of the immersion pods could not be increased. Each immersion pod required a real mage to personally debug for a long time, and how many mages in the research lab could do such a thing?
Byron vaguely guessed the function of the so-called 'neural brambles'. "So … this thing can allow mortals to use their mental power to control those guidance spells?"
"To be more precise, it can allow mortals to 'sense' magic." The Pitman smiled, and said something that would leave any traditional Extraordinary individual dumbfounded.
Allow mortals to sense magic!
Byron's eyes widened, and it took him a few seconds to realize what the weird thing before him meant.
The boundary of magical talent was to sense magic, and the first threshold for mortals to enter the realm of Extraordinary was also to sense magic.
Only by sensing the presence of magic could one be able to control it, use it, and then achieve Extraordinary. But this special talent was only possessed by a very small number of talented individuals.
"We have been tinkering with this thing for a whole year, but we were stuck on the problem of 'artificial neurons cannot survive in small devices for a long time'. Until recently, the technology of the All End Society helped us to solve this problem," Kamel said with a buzzing voice. "We have successfully created neural brambles that can work for a long time, although it is still a long way from perfection."
The Pitman also straightened his back slightly, with a proud expression on his face. "As long as this thing succeeds, it will be the real 'everyone is Extraordinary'."
Byron could not help but feel a little excited by the atmosphere, but he soon remembered the purpose of his visit today. "… But what does this have to do with Pea?"
The Pitman looked at him. "As a crude early technology product, neural brambles are still a long way from the goal of 'everyone is Extraordinary'. But before that, it may be used to achieve something simpler than spellcasting. This thing can directly connect to the human brain, and if it is connected to a 'gadget' that can make sounds, it may be able to 'speak' for Pea."
Byron was silent for a moment, and only asked, "Is there a risk?"
"Yes, there is. Every experiment has its risks, and the main risk is brain damage," Kamel said straightforwardly. "We will set up enough safety locks, and cast a spell to protect Pea's mind and brain in advance. This can minimize the risk to the minimum."
"… I need to go back and ask Pea for his opinion."
"Of course, it is a matter of course."
(Damn!!!)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
