Chapter 519 — Intelligence
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
"Searching for something..." Gao Yang murmured. "Perhaps I could ask Tyr... no, that salted fish probably could not think of anything. They only care about their giant squid..."
After a moment's pondering, Gao Yang tapped the table. "Let us return to the matter of the artificial nerve cord."
"The artificial nerve cord does indeed carry the risks you mentioned, and it requires neurosurgery—the risk is extremely high. At least when I left, that technology still showed no hope of a breakthrough," Pi Yun nodded. "But if one wishes to achieve interaction between the human brain and a rune array without the aid of Sleeper arcane arts, then a nerve cord or similar neural modification is an unavoidable medium. I do not know exactly where you obtained this portion of the technology, but you surely have noticed its function: between the human brain and machinery, there must exist a biochemical interface. Of course, if one possesses a special spiritual gift, or is skilled in Sleeper arcane arts, that is another matter..."
"You are right, a biochemical interface must exist, but it need not necessarily be implantable," Gao Yang interrupted. "Do you remember Patti's crown?"
Pi Yun was startled, the wrinkles on his face deepening. "You mean..."
"The Sleepers have made further progress in this field. Patti's crown is in essence a non-implantable brain-nerve interface; it can establish a stable connection between the human brain and a rune array without drilling holes in the nerves or wiring them up."
"But the core of that crown cannot be simplified, and it uses many materials that cannot be obtained by ordinary means..."
"Our technicians indeed could not find an approach, but someone has made some progress," Gao Yang said, straightening up. He casually pulled a document from the desk and pushed it toward Pi Yun. "Take a look. You should be able to understand it."
Pi Yun took the materials in puzzlement. He noticed that the text and drawings on the paper must have been written not long ago, for they still gave off a faint scent of ink, and once he saw the specific content, his gaze could not be pulled away.
These were precisely the second batch of materials on brainwave connection technology that Daniel had just sent to Gao Yang through the psychic network.
Pi Yun raised his head in astonishment. "This is..."
"A non-implantable nerve cord, using a clever complementary contact structure to improve fault tolerance, and adding a layer of runes with filtering and protective functions, which can effectively reduce the user's neural stress and lessen hallucinations and phantom pain—most importantly, because it is non-implantable, it can be quickly disconnected when a problem arises in the connection. There may be some aftereffects, but at least there is no fear of brain death."
"It seems not yet finished..."
"Correct. Some key points cannot be finalized for lack of practical testing," Gao Yang nodded. "The person who designed it temporarily... has no conditions for experimentation."
Daniel had just settled in the imperial capital of Typhon. To avoid arousing suspicion, he had to keep a very low profile. Until his private laboratory was completed and he himself had gained the trust of the Typhon Royal Mages' Association, his experimental conditions were very limited.
"The person who designed it..." Pi Yun detected a deeper meaning in Gao Yang's words, and he realized that his understanding of this pioneer who had returned from the dead was still far too little.
Behind this lord, there existed unseen people or forces serving him.
"We have experimental conditions here—laboratory, personnel, materials, everything," the old druid raised his head, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out. "And now there is even an expert with experience in both the technology of the End of All Things and the Sleepers—and all it takes is double the bonus."
"If you can turn these blueprints into reality, I can give you triple."