Chapter 416 — Those Who Journey Into the Unknown
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
Of course, the so-called "mature design philosophy" was only mature relative to this era. As a new thing, the communicator still had enormous room for improvement in Gaoyang's view—how to encrypt information, how to prevent the communication network from being wiretapped or exploited by hostile parties, how to keep the network controllable, whether the network could remain stable once the number of connected communication terminals grew enormous, how to solve the problem of "numbers" running out once there were too many terminals, how "bandwidth" should be calculated for a magic-based transmission technology—or rather, what exactly was limiting its "bandwidth"... All these detailed problems would need to be solved slowly in the future.
Gaoyang said that Kamael and Rebecca had certainly not yet thought about these problems, because a great many of them would only surface once the network was large enough and the technology for attacking networks sufficiently developed. Even the Gondor Empire in its day, at the time when its Imperial Information Network was at its largest, could not compare with any single national-level network on Earth. Just as the Sleepers, who had only just completed their psychic network, could not imagine that someone might use a brain-computer backdoor to invade their "server," so too could Kamael never imagine how complex a network containing hundreds of millions of information nodes would become, or what kind of intricate design it would require.
But that was all right. These things could be dealt with slowly.
"We should put these things to use as quickly as possible," Gaoyang said, turning to Hetty. "First, set up communication stations in Cecil and the Kant region as soon as possible, at least ensuring communication for key departments at every level—administrative halls, outposts, military barracks, and the like. After that, set up civilian communication stations. Both regions have plenty of mana obelisks, so information transmission should be no problem. As long as the communication devices are in place, contact can be established immediately...
"After that, the first thing to solve is communication with the Horsman region. A secondary administrative hall is being built there, and a communication station can ensure we stay informed of the situation on that side. Horsman's home territory has enough mana obelisks, but Count Horsman died too early—he never had time to extend the mana web a bit farther... We could consider setting up relay points between the Horsman region and the Leslie region, which would incidentally let us establish contact with Leslie as well.
"Communication is of paramount importance. There needs to be a dedicated institution to manage it. Regarding this institution's role, its basic functions, and how it interfaces with other departments, I have some suggestions..."
By this time Hetty had already summoned a Hand of Evocation and snatched up a stack of white paper and a dip pen from a nearby lab bench, and was scribbling away furiously, recording the great heap of things Gaoyang rattled off. Her practiced efficiency was almost painful to watch...
Meanwhile Rebecca, still hanging on the line inside the communicator, whispered to Kamael: "See, my Frostvein Sect is at it again—it's as if he'd long since worked out this whole pile of supporting measures, just waiting for our physical prototype to come out so he could instantly hand you a complete management plan and application plan..."
Kamael did not answer. He merely floated quietly beside the communicator. Though no one could read his expression, he seemed at this moment to have fallen into thought.
On the other hand, though Rebecca had tried hard to lower her voice, in fact every bit of her quiet muttering landed squarely in Gaoyang's ears. But Gaoyang did not want to make trouble for the girl: Rebecca had once again proven her ability in the field of research, and Gaoyang was only too eager to reward her now.