Chapter 898 — A Thread Across Time

"...We have found some valuable documents in the great library of Saint Sunil, which may help us interpret certain historical truths from the most chaotic period of the Ansul Second Dynasty..."

At first, the old scholar, a professional administrator of documents, reported only such relatively "normal" matters. But soon he came to the latter half of the report, concerning technological recovery, and the details he reported made Gao Yang's expression turn strange:

"...The week before last, a working group came into contact with the locals while organizing the local case files in the Pompeii region, and made an unexpected discovery in a certain village. The villagers brought out their heirloom 'protection scroll' and shared with us the construction technique of a Class II artificial intelligence logic core. Dean Jenny judges that this technique is related to the Gondor iron men and may help us solve the problem of automatic coordination among factory machinery...

"...The operation led by Sir Vip Grant to investigate the book collections of noble families in various regions has also made progress. A down-and-out baron in the Western Region discovered in his own cellar the blueprints for a key structural component of a photonic-pressure wafer etching machine tool—this baron's ancestor may have been one of the exceedingly rare Gondor refugee scholars from the Second Expansion period, and his descendants coincidentally preserved the precious technique. But because only part of the blueprints survived and the family line of transmission was broken, the purpose of these blueprints was forgotten. Master Kamael believes that the photonic-pressure wafer etching technique of the Gondor era can no longer be used in modern times, but a portion of the runes and mechanical structures on the blueprints still have reference value...

"...A wandering swordsman from the Eastern Region shared with us the key technique of a light-wave suppressor—he possesses an energy conduit that is completely nonfunctional but whose internal structure is still of reference value. For hundreds of years, he and his family have been using this energy conduit to crack walnuts, entirely unaware that it was a legacy of the Gondor era. Master Kamael believes this conduit may help us solve the heat-dissipation problem of the rainbow-light generator.

"In addition, the wandering swordsman who made the contribution has already been rewarded. In view of the hidden dangers of illegally possessing weapons and the increasingly tightened registration system for extraordinaries, this swordsman is currently receiving education and training from the local security forces. He is willing to become a local sheriff—similar cases of 'incorporation' have been growing more numerous in the Eastern Region recently. As social order gradually stabilizes and the new system is continually implemented, those formerly hard-to-control 'wild' extraordinaries are now being incorporated in batches."

Godwin Orlando reported the key points meticulously. Even though his original specialty was clerical work, even though he was advanced in years, he still recounted these technical matters without a single omission—until Gao Song's expression grew so obviously strange that he could not help stopping. "Your Majesty, is something the matter?"

"Uh... no, nothing's wrong," Gao Yang said, unable to keep from rubbing the space between his brows. He felt that this manner of unfolding—"the villagers of such-and-such region shared such-and-such technique with you"—gave one an indescribable sense of incongruity. Yet the existence of the Gondor Empire's legacy, together with the fact that modern technology and culture had suffered a complete rupture, made such situations seem only natural. He had no way to explain the absurdity of it to anyone else, and so could only stifle the whole bellyful of his lamentations in his bronchial tubes. "The progress... is good. Very good."

Then he looked up at Godwin—partly to deflect his own embarrassment, and partly out of genuine feeling. "For clerical people like you to have to organize technical matters as well—it must be hard on you."

"Please don't say that—I am not the only one organizing all this," Godwin said quickly. "'Cultural Knowledge Preservation' is the grandest, greatest, most exhilarating work I have seen in my life. Countless people are striving to protect those precious intellectual legacies, to keep them from sinking utterly and being lost in the dust of history. Many departments are involved in this work, in both the cultural and the technical fields; each part is specifically controlled by professionals in the corresponding field, and I have only had the good fortune to become one of the project's directors because I am good at consolidating materials and because of a few years of insignificant seniority... I feel only honor and thankfulness, not the slightest complaint."

Gao Yang looked into the old gentleman's eyes, and slowly a smile appeared on his face. He nodded. "Then that is good."

Then he lowered his head again and looked at the last part of the report.

A few seconds later, his brow suddenly knitted, then slowly smoothed again, and a somewhat thoughtful expression came over his face.

"Ancestor?" Hetty noticed the change in Gao Song's expression and could not help asking. "Is something the matter?"

"...Bishop Sevin of Frostgate City has discovered an ancient book among the church's collection..." Gao Xi said slowly. "It is highly suspected to be *The Travels of Mojin*, the lost volume of the Verder family of the Northern Region."

"*The Travels of Mojin*?" Hetty was briefly taken aback, then quickly caught on. "You mean the grand duke of the Verder family from six hundred years ago, the one who was so fond of travel and exploration? The one who forged the 'Cold Calamity' talisman?"

"The same," Gao Yan said with a nod, placing the report in his hand on the desk. "He left behind a travelogue, but it was lost many years ago. Now it has been found, hidden in the cathedral of Mingyuan City. But that is not the key—the key is... this travelogue may also be connected to Amber."

Hetty was startled at once. "Amber? How could a travelogue left by a Northern duke six hundred years ago have anything to do with her?"

Gao Yang did not answer Hedy's question immediately. Instead, he first looked at Godwin: "Has that travelogue been sent over?"

"Yes. After emergency on-site restoration, it was sent to the Imperial Capital at the first opportunity," Godwin Orlando replied at once. "It has already been copied and archived. Do you need the original?"

Gao Yan nodded. "Bring it here. As soon as possible."

Then he looked at Hedy again. "What is Amber doing right now?"

"She should be over at Office Twenty-Five. Today she is chairing a meeting..."

"Have her come to me directly after the meeting ends," Gao Che said. "Tell her... I have something to show her."

"Yes, Ancestor."