Chapter 359 — The Research Project
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 3
Rebecca studied Gao Song's design with boundless curiosity. At first she assumed it was merely an "improvement" on the territory's existing printing technology, but she quickly realized that this machine's working principle and efficiency far surpassed anything traditional printing could match.
The basic concept of "plate-making—transfer" remained, but this machine's mode of operation was simply too far ahead of its time. "Continuous printing"—those four words appeared in the girl's mind for the first time.
Sometimes, what a technician lacks is merely a direction.
"What needs solving now is 'plate-making'—or rather, how to convert text swiftly and conveniently onto this printing roller," Gao Yang said, pointing at the machine's core component and describing the problems he currently faced. "I have three requirements. First, speed and convenience: the process of converting text into impressions on the roller must be faster than current plate-making techniques. Second, ease of editing: it can't be like traditional engraving, where one mistake ruins the whole plate. So this requires that the process of transferring text onto the roller be reversible, or that the text be modifiable and resettable before transfer. Third—and this is connected to the second—the roller must be reusable; its impressions must be erasable. This is not only to reduce costs but also to improve the efficiency of the whole apparatus."
"Whoa..." Rebecca drew the sound out. "That sounds... pretty challenging."
"Yes, quite a challenge indeed," Gao Cen said, his expression stern as he looked at Rebecca. "Which is why I'm entrusting it to you—or rather, to your Magical Technology Research Institute—to solve this problem."
Rebecca half-understood: "The Magical Technology Research Institute..."
"The Magical Technology Research Institute exists precisely to solve these applied-technology problems, and the working methods of a large comprehensive laboratory are designed precisely to tackle such challenges," Gao Yi said with a smile and a nod. "Artisans, mechanists, rune-crafters, and mages of every kind of creative talent gather in a single laboratory under the title of 'magical technicians,' using their individual minds to generate idea after idea—discussing together, helping one another, realizing and verifying together, putting every resource to its fullest use on a single project. That is the purpose of those laboratories."
He paused, and seeing Rebecca's thoughtful expression, continued: "An individual's creativity is ultimately limited, but many people together can generate creative power far exceeding the sum of their numbers. I give you a direction, and then you take your team and let them run with it—bring every person's ideas out for discussion, don't fear mistakes, and you will discover what an incredible force a large laboratory can be."
Rebecca's eyes grew wider and wider, until at last they seemed to sparkle. She suddenly seized Gao Song's arm in delight, shaking it vigorously back and forth: "I get it, I get it! So that's how it is... That's the proper way to use a large laboratory!"
"Stop shaking, stop shaking... You're a mage, and your grip is still this strong," Gao Yun said, lightly tapping Rebecca on the head and easily breaking free. "Before you take the project to the laboratory, tell me your thoughts first—do you have any approach to solving this?"
"E..." Rebecca pressed a finger against her lower lip, thinking hard. After a moment she spoke, somewhat uncertainly: "Actually, I have a bit of an idea... I thought of a mage's shorthand magic."
Just as Gao Yang had expected, when faced with a problem that seemingly could not be solved by mechanical means, Rebecca's first thought was still magic—the most natural line of thinking for a mage. Although Rebecca's talent for spells was somewhat...微妙, the otherworlder's instinct of "solve it with magic" clearly still held true in her.