Chapter 1031 — The Far Wanderer
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The ironman technology of the Gondor Empire—Gao Yang actually knew very little about it. Though he possessed the memories inherited from Gao Yang Cecil, even that Gao Yang Cecil had been nothing more than a lowliest knight-apprentice from the Gondor borderlands, his meager learning gleaned from a handful of country teachers, and such an education would plainly never have touched upon anything so rarefied as "ironman technology."
By Gao Yang's own reckoning, the technology amounted to strong artificial intelligence plus biomimetic robotics—cutting-edge science whether on Earth or in this world.
But in his limited understanding, at least one thing was certain: every ironman, from the day it rolled off the production line, belonged to the "Ironman Legion." Whether dispatched to the various legions of the interior or to some border outpost, an ironman could never break free of that "Legion." The relevant logic was written into the deepest layer of their mind-cores, and by their own devices... they could certainly never alter it.
As a former member of the Gondor royal house, Virodai/Ophelia clearly knew this as well.
So when she encountered an "ironman soldier" who claimed to have broken free of the Ironman Legion, even she could not help but be startled: "Broken free of the Ironman Legion? How did you manage that?"
Dailan shook her head. "I do not remember. My memory apparatus once malfunctioned, and much was lost in the repairs—I know only that I have indeed left the Legion; of this my mind-core holds a clear certainty."
Virodai's expression turned grave. She studied the ironman soldier—who had, for some reason, been operating in the human world for several hundred years—with a serious eye, her tone as gentle as ever: "Then you now serve the royal house of Typhon?"
"Yes," Dailan gave a slight nod. "They once took me in and repaired me. I swore to serve their family."
"Gratitude... a normal ironman would not appear to make such logical judgments. But that is not important," Virodai shook her head gently. "Would you mind if I asked you a few more questions?"
Dailan looked at Virodai for a moment, considered briefly, then nodded to her: "So long as it does not violate the oath I swore to the Augustus family, nor violate my mind-logic."
"Only a few old matters that have little enough to do with this era..." Virodai said warmly. "Do you remember where you were originally stationed, and what work you did?"
Dailan thought back briefly, then nodded. "I was one of the guards at the Viplandton Observatory, charged with protecting the safety of Sir Scott Plantain and Mr. Alphonse Hall."
"Then do you remember the outbreak of the Magic Tide? Were you still at the observatory at the time?"
"...That memory is partially damaged, but on the whole it can be reconstructed," Dailan hesitated slightly this time, but then nodded. "I am certain I worked at the observatory until the very last moment before the Magic Tide broke out, but I no longer have any impression of the specific circumstances."
Virodai thought for a moment, then asked: "And after that? What else do you remember?"
"After that there is a great blank in my memory. When my consciousness came back online, I was already in a nation reestablished by Gondor's remnants—it was still called the 'Kingdom of Typhon' then," Dailan replied. "I was recovered by their court scholars and mages. By their account, I had fallen at the edge of the Grand Wall, my body gravely damaged. They brought me to Orlandell as a research specimen, and it took them nearly thirty years to reawaken me... by then it was already Typhon Year 47."
"They spent thirty years repairing you?" Gao Yang, who had been listening quietly on the side without interrupting, finally could not help speaking up. "And by then it was already Typhon Year 47... which means you wandered for more than a decade after the Magic Tide broke out before being found by humans near the Grand Wall?"