Chapter 1171 — Preparations Before the Rain
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 5
"Which is why we need an 'operations center,'" Malin Leslie said with a nod. "This operations center could perceive the condition of every system across the entire fortress at the first instant and control each part with high efficiency. Considering the scale of the sky-fortress's overall systems, the complexity of this operations center would exceed the limits of all our current control technologies—even if we managed to build it, I'm afraid there wouldn't be many people in this world who could actually operate it..."
"Which is exactly why I say servo-brains and wetware mainframes are wonderful things, even if the Zuyan people always think they don't look good enough," Rebecca laughed. "Nothing is better suited to commanding such an enormous, complex system than a neural network. I quite agree with something Mr. Egg once said—the most beautiful creation life has produced is the machine, and the most beautiful machine is life itself. Wetware mainframes and neural networks can break down the boundary between machine and organism. So long as the neural cabling can cover the entire system, the control problem of the sky-fortress ceases to be a problem. Next we just need to consider how to modify and upgrade the system Ghelan Heavy Industries has already validated and fit it into our blueprint..."
"When you get right down to it, this approach is also modeled on the elves' Radiant Dome," Malin Leslie remarked with a somewhat complicated expression. "I hear the control technology of their 'sanctuary' is essentially some kind of neural-network-like thing as well..."
"That's different," Rebecca shook her head at once. "A wetware mainframe doesn't consume population—at most it costs some sugar. The silver elves' Radiant Dome costs empresses."
Malin Leslie's expression turned strange for an instant: "That's a rather..."
"I'm not making it up," Rebecca said, rapping the table with great seriousness. "I talked with Empress Belantia last time. She said that once you sit on the Throne of Dominion, you become part of the machine—you have to control the system with total concentration, and the selection of operators is extraordinarily strict. First, you must be a member of the Morning Star imperial house, or you won't pass biometric authentication; second, you need something like a synchronization rate... If the synchronization rate won't rise, the Radiant Dome's efficiency drops accordingly. How is that essentially any different from the mages of the old era who relied on innate talent to cast spells, or those magic items that demanded spellcasting ability?"
At this, Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest and delivered her judgment with a completely serious face: "So in my view, the elves' Radiant Dome is fundamentally flawed—even if the elves repair it, that thing will sooner or later become a shackle. If the Silver Empire wants to develop, sooner or later it will have to find a way to cast off this 'antique legacy' that's riddled with problems. How does that saying of the Zuyan people go? Something about breaking and then standing up... Anyway, I think the Silver Empire needs that process of 'breaking' right now."
"Uh... you're right, but that wasn't what I meant... Never mind, you're right." Malin Leslie coughed awkwardly twice, raised a hand to wipe at the sweat on his brow that wasn't there. This princess before him had always had a curious way of speaking. People like himself, with somewhat traditional ways of thinking, invariably felt extra pressure when they inadvertently drifted onto certain "higher-level topics" with her. He even suspected that at least half his hair had been lost in conversations with Her Highness.
Rebecca seemed not to notice that she had once again inflicted fresh pressure on her reliable subordinate. Her attention was caught by Malin's gesture, and her gaze followed his hand upward. She was immediately a little surprised: "Oh, Malin, your hair's thinning again?"