Chapter 913 — When Autumn Turns Cold

Isolated "regional magic nets" and magic-energy obelisks did not amount to a true "net"; they were merely small-scale power stations and local communication posts. Only by linking them all together would the "Imperial Magic Net" of Gawain's vision become a genuine "net": orders from the Supreme Government Hall and reports from every region could race across the land through it, the energy supply of all Cecil would be secured, every city and the wilderness between cities would be protected. Where the magic net reached, there would be energy, information, security, and productive power—and all of it was the precondition for this nation's further growth.

And this ambitious plan had begun back when Cecil was still a duchy; Gawain had been laying this net for nearly three years—three years, and that in a world where magic was convenient and the foundational technologies already existed.

And to make this vast net run, one of the most crucial facilities was the "main hub" apparatus in the Empire's important cities.

These were immense arrays of magic-energy crystal, installed upon specially built towers (or upon a certain tree), with very wide coverage—yet wide coverage was only one of their functions. Their greater role was to coordinate and balance all the secondary hubs connected to them, and through those secondary hubs to control the still lower basic nodes. Now the final step of Gawain's "join the whole Empire's magic nets" plan was to wait for all these main hubs to come online.

—At present the Empire's major cities relied on a chain of relay towers to maintain single-line contact; that degree of "connection" was plainly insufficient, falling utterly short of Gawain's demands in carrying capacity, risk resistance, and actual efficiency.

"Once the whole Empire's magic net is joined, the first phase of this project will be truly complete," he said slowly after a long silence. "Next will be continuing to add basic nodes and secondary hubs everywhere..."

"Still more?" Rebecca could not help exclaiming in surprise. "I feel the coverage is already very wide..."

"Not enough, far from enough," Gawain shook his head, his eyes never leaving those points and lines. "Not even half."

His words startled Rebecca, yet he was entirely serious—the scale of the magic-net nodes built across the Empire might seem an inconceivably vast thing to the people of this age, but Gawain knew that in a mere three years he had built only a "foundational project." Those seemingly vast node-covered areas in fact included only the major cities and large towns; the villages a level below, and the more remote settlements, could not be covered at all.

Yet in the eyes of many in this age, even this degree of magic net already far exceeded imagination—for every town to be able to use magical power anytime and anywhere, to possess strategic-grade wards and instant communication, modern lighting, and entertainment and working conditions based on magical technology—that was quite enough. As for extending the magic net to villages a level below, or even to remote hills and wilds... they simply could not see the necessity.

This made Gawain think of a quip he had often heard in his previous life: bringing the internet to the villages.

Bringing the internet to the villages... that was a great undertaking.

Gawain let out a breath and said slowly, "Keep extending the coverage—to every village, to every place where people live. That is our next goal. It may take several more three-year spans, but it is necessary."

Rebecca blinked. She had real talent in the technical field, and she was no fool elsewhere either, but she still could not think as far beyond the present age as Gawain did—yet that did not stop her from breaking into a brilliant smile and nodding vigorously. "You must be right! Then let's do it that way."

Gao Yang looked at this simpleton, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

This child... he would barely qualify as a viscount, let alone inherit the imperial throne... Never mind, better to make it a posthumous title.

Camille, however, seemed to understand Gao Song's thinking. His eyes, brimming with arcane radiance, swept across the entire holographic projection map, and then he gave a slight nod: "Popularize it as widely as possible, extend its coverage as far as possible... For the future of this nation, for every person in this land, it is of tremendous significance."

As he spoke, this mage from a thousand years ago suddenly gave a self-mocking laugh, shaking his head: "If the Gondor Empire of those days had not relied so heavily on the Deep Blue Well, if we had then possessed the means to distribute and blanket the entire realm in magical power at will... all our foundations would never have been destroyed merely because one energy well exploded. Even facing the magical tide, the civilization humanity ultimately preserved would surely have amounted to more than what it did seven hundred years ago."

Gao Yun gave a slight nod, and for a time the room fell silent.

Only half a minute later did he break the silence: "Once matters here are finished, go find Virodai and come meet me at the government hall."

...

Before noon, Camille and Virodai arrived together at Gao Song's office in the government hall.

The moment they stepped through the door, they discovered that Hetty and Amber were present as well.

"Have a seat," Gao Yang said, nodding to the two ancient Defiers and gesturing toward the seats near the desk. "I called you all here because I have received some news concerning Typhon—and now I suspect it may have some connection to the gods."