Chapter 484 — Taking Root
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The energies of the Magic Web pulsed, carrying information afar like a wave that arrived in the blink of an eye. With the main city of Cecil at its center and the countless magic obelisks set up in the wilderness, in cities, in villages, and at military outposts serving as relays, Gibri's voice rode the Magic Web and was transmitted in unison to every inch of land the broadcast system could now reach—in Kant, in Grun, in Tanzan, in Horsman, and in every satellite town between these four cities, hundreds of large Magic Web terminals devoted to public service lit up at the same moment.
Well before this broadcast began, the administrative halls everywhere had posted notices informing the citizens that a "program" would be aired at a specified time, and that anyone interested might go of their own accord to the nearest Magic Web terminal to watch. These strange notices had without question stirred countless people's curiosity and attention—because the Magic Web's trunk coverage had not yet been completed during the first broadcast test, those who had actually seen what a "Magic Web broadcast" was were in fact few, and most people had no notion at all of this novelty the administrative halls spoke of. But one thing they did know: whatever the administrative halls announced was bound to be useful.
And so many curious citizens had gathered early on the plazas everywhere, pointing and gesturing around those newly installed Magic Web terminals—terminals open to the public, and though the fees were a little steep, they still fell within the means of ordinary households. Yet in truth, ever since their installation, very few people had applied to use these machines: the population of this era was all but immobile, most people lived their whole lives in one place, and their circles of acquaintance were confined to a narrow range. Those who had need of contacting distant relatives were, almost without exception, nobles or wealthy merchants.
Those who had relocated here under the resettlement decree had mostly come with their whole families in tow, and had no need to apply for the use of Magic Web communications.
Even so, most of the people gathered on the plazas still had some rough idea of the concept; they knew that these odd-looking large magical devices could, in some incredible manner, make contact with distant places and transmit the sounds and images of those places back to them.
Then these machines were lit, and images and sounds from afar truly rose before everyone's eyes.
A rather pretty woman appeared on the holographic projection, and she greeted the people on the plaza as easily and casually as though she were sitting in her own parlor: "Hello, everyone in the audience. I'm Gibri—you may call me Miss Witch..."
The crowds gathered in the various places immediately broke into commotion. Some were frightened when this enormous holographic projection appeared and let out bursts of startled cries; some gaped and clicked their tongues in wonder; others at once tugged at those beside them, asking what on earth this thing was—and some even stared blankly at the pretty young woman in the projection and, as Gibri smiled and introduced herself, raised their hands in greeting as well: "Ah... hello..." "Hello, Miss Witch." "Miss Witch, my name is Sam..."
The "victory broadcast" that Duke Gao Yang Cecil had conducted on a small scale more than a month earlier had been a test in nature, and moreover the Duke's authority overawed everyone; the crowds gathered near the trial sites had scarcely dared make much disturbance. This time, by contrast, was the genuine live reaction after the first Magic Web program in human history had been formally aired.
On the plaza of Cecil's main city district, Godwin Orlando at once directed his apprentices to record this historic moment with a magic-guided device made especially for capturing images.