Chapter 1059 — Taking Fire
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
"Every member of the Norton family would undergo neural modification during life, so that their brains could join the Iron Man Network just as the iron men did. Even after death, their consciousness would be preserved, continuing to operate within the Iron Man Network in some form. Generation after generation, the Norton royals in this way maintained absolute control over the 'iron men,' those highly intelligent mechanical soldiers... Though Gondor is gone now, to the very day the ancient empire fell, those iron man legions never once ran out of control."
Pei Yun opened his mouth, and only after a long while did he mutter, "This practice of preserving consciousness—why does it remind me of the Undying..."
"Yes, though they are different things, they share something in common," Beiyila said. "Many of the miraculous things we do today were in fact already done by the Gondorian Empire a thousand years ago."
Pei Yun's expression turned complicated for a moment. "No wonder Kamaier and Weiluo Dai—even His Majesty himself—often say that the technological development in many fields today is not 'creation,' but merely restoration and rebuilding..."
"That is why I seldom consider any particular technology today worthy of the name 'miracle,'" Beiyila said, the corners of her mouth twitching into a somewhat stiff smile. "To me, the greatest miracle of the Cecil Empire today is not these technologies themselves, but the way you have found to bring them to all of humanity, and the thinking and the spirit you have shown in the process... That is precisely what the once-flourishing Gondorian Empire lacked."
"That must be the greatest praise you have ever been able to utter—and no small feat," Pei Yun sighed with a smile. "In any case, the intelligence you have disclosed is all very important. Though we cannot build another Iron Man Network now, we do have the Narrator neural network, and we already have the technology to connect those synthetic brains to it... What you have told us is a most important reference."
"But please do not forget that the neural network carries risks too," Beiyila reminded him gravely. "If there is anything I learned in all my years of falling in with the dark cult, the most important lesson is this: every technology carries risk; there is no perfect and eternally effective safety scheme in this world. As technology advances, risks develop and brew in step—the Iron Man Network of old did not fail, true, but in my view that was only because the Gondorian Empire perished one step ahead of it. In the end, it is normal for technology to carry risk; the greatest risk is the mindset of resting easy. If one day you truly believe there exists in this world a technology with no hidden peril and no possibility of mishap, that is when true disaster will be upon you."
As she spoke, those eyes devoid of feeling and spirit gazed unblinking into Pei Yun's eyes. She seemed to be using her present state—having lost her human body—to remind him, lending force to her persuasion: "Please pass these words of mine on to Brother Gaoyang—though he may not need my reminder, I still hope such voices of caution will always exist."
Pei Yun had likely not expected that this former leader of the Xuanming Cult would suddenly voice such sentiments. He was somewhat taken aback, but at last he nodded solemnly. "I will—and I will also record what you have said today, and tell it to those researchers who have only just entered the realm of knowledge."