Chapter 1133 — The Adventurer Heading North
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 5
"All this time I have only used the servo-brains as auxiliary organs to stabilize my own personality tendencies, and now and then I use them to work through some research problem, but I have rarely used them directly to control the great tree — not because there is any problem of safety or technique in doing so, but simply because my own capacity for control was sufficient and there was no need," Beylantiya nodded and said with great seriousness. "Only recently did I begin using the servo-brains to help me control extra 'avatars,' and the results have been excellent. And the question you raised just now gave me a further inspiration... Extra computing power can control not only extra avatars, but also the great tree as it grows ever vaster."
Gao Yang's interest had been stirred; he nodded. "Go on."
"I have just conceived a plan. If, as the Thorin Great Tree grows, an auxiliary brain is set into its neural lattice at regular intervals, and around each of these brains a series of auxiliary neural nodes and independent biomass circulation conduits are installed, then perhaps the scale of the great tree can be greatly increased without placing excessive strain on my own thought-circulation and biomass transport," Beylantiya continued. "At the same time, these brains can be buried deep underground, which would keep the enemy from pinpointing my neural nodes and greatly enhance safety..."
As Gao Yang listened, his eyes grew wide. He pictured Beylantiya's astonishing plan in his mind, and the image alone was striking enough; and when he heard that she meant to bury those auxiliary brains deep underground, he nodded at once in approval — safety was, after all, a secondary matter. The main thing was that it would be kinder to the mental health of the ordinary folk who lived and moved on the surface...
Beylantiya caught the approval in Gao Yang's eyes. She smiled and fell silent. "Is there anything you would add to my plan?"
"No one knows your own body better than you do, so the technical side is yours to govern," Gao Yan nodded. "Only there is one thing I must make clear — I do not intend the Thorin Great Tree to expand blindly and without aim. There is a detailed 'growth plan'..."
As he spoke, he could not help adding a warning: "And I must remind you of one thing: this grand plan has an excellent starting point, but we must not forget the lesson of the All-Things-Final-Death Society of old. After all, your intentions were good then too, and in the end you sank into the dark side of technology — so this time you must be vigilant at every moment against the risks of the growth process. The instant you find the great tree might slip out of control, you must halt it at once. And whatever stage your plan has reached, you must report the progress to me at all times — not through any other department, but directly to me in person."
Seeing the unusual gravity in Gao Yang's expression and hearing the solemnity in his tone, Beylantiya grew grave as well. As one who had lived through and taken part in the Calamity of the God-Spawns, the memories of how the All-Things-Final-Death Society had gradually sunk into dark madness all surfaced in her mind now — in all her minds. She bowed her head deeply, her voice heavy. "Yes. I will never again make the mistakes of those years, Brother Gao Yang."
......
On the distant northern coast, at the Empire's largest present-day seaport, the new city of "Northport" had by now become the busiest hub of goods and materials in the Northern Region.