Sword of Dawn

Page 247

The original elves who escaped from the disaster left the old continent on an ark flying over the sea. In the sea area that was about to reach the new continent (Loren continent), they encountered the high tower in the eternal night. Reckless, they strayed into the tower, but were captured by the unimaginable The power cast a curse of disintegration, the noble original elves turned into subspecies full of defects, the gray elves, dark elves, sea elves and silver elves split, and gradually parted ways, and the civilizational heritage of the original elves also split in this great split It was cut apart and fragmented in the messy memory of each subspecies, and it was difficult to reproduce it.

Many elves know this legend, and most elf scholars agree that it must be true, or at least partially true.

"Isn't this strange? Our technology may have been interrupted, but even if we start from scratch, we shouldn't have been stagnant for so long," Solderin couldn't help but said, "Could it be that our subspecies elves are really Has degeneration occurred during the mutation process, so that our minds can't understand the technology of the original elves at all? It shouldn't be."

Sonia shook her head: "No one knows what's going on... Maybe the Queen and the Supreme Academy know something, but they can't do anything about it. And things like this are not something that a ranger like you or a messenger like me can think about clearly .”

Soldering fell silent for a while, but in the silence, he slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of the city center.

"Mother, do you think human wisdom can help?"

Sonia obviously didn't understand what Soldering meant: "You mean the technology of this city? They... are indeed more advanced than other places, but humans today are obviously lagging behind the Silver Empire..."

"Perhaps, on the general level, the human nations have not yet returned to the glory of the Gondor era, but do you know that in this city of Cecil, humans use a new method called 'runic logic' to technology, to realize the magic effect of elves on man-made machinery..."

Sonia opened her eyes wide: "...Are you serious?"

Soldering looked at the lord's mansion from a distance: "I just have the feeling that this is where the hope lies."

……

Gao Wen withdrew his gaze from the window, returned to his desk, signed his name on the document, and handed it to Hetty: "I agree with the improvement plan of the repulsive train, you are right, the cost is a Big questions—we can't just emphasize the state-of-the-art."

"Thank you for your understanding," Hetty lowered her head, and then continued, "Ancestor, the rewards for Carol merchant Kodd have been delivered, including making him ready to accept the canonization order. But...you really Do you want to canonize a commoner merchant as a knight?"

Gawain looked up at the other party: "Hetty, do you still value 'birth' so much?"

"No, it's not a matter of birth." Hetty shook her head, "it's the title of 'Knight'. All along, the title of knight has been obtained by relying on martial arts such as military exploits. It is a symbol of bravery and loyalty. Although it is the last of the noble titles, it has a special sense of honor. The profession of 'merchant' has always been regarded as having nothing to do with honor..."

"Cord is not just a businessman, Hetty," Gawain said unhurriedly, looking into Hetty's eyes, "he is a pioneer."

"Pioneer?!" Hetty repeated this word in astonishment. Obviously, she never expected her ancestor to say such a special word—this word is especially meaningful when it comes from the mouth of "the pioneer among the pioneers" Extraordinary, she remembered that the last person who received such an evaluation from her ancestor was the nameless wild mage who invented the magic net...

"Taking the first step bravely in the barbaric field, taking risks with oneself, and benefiting all generations, is to open up, it is not limited to land, nor is it limited to technology," Gao Wen said, "I know that Codd is a As a businessman, he made those pioneering works for profit, but I cannot deny the value of what he did. He pushed magic technology further into the civilian field, and many aspects are even deeper than I thought and pragmatism—this is the advantage brought by his career and experience. From this aspect, he is enough to be called a pioneer, and his courage to be the first to build a new type of factory and take the initiative to try new things... is also worthy of the name chivalry."

Having said that, he paused for a moment, and continued: "More importantly - we must encourage all behaviors that are conducive to the promotion of magic technology. For now, Codd is the most suitable benchmark for this."

"I understand," Hetty lowered her head, "I will seize this promotional opportunity."

Gao Wen hummed, and asked, "How's the progress on Kamel's side?"

"The research institute has copied all the technical information brought by the elves, and handed it over to the Rune Research Institute for analysis and translation. The work has just begun. According to your order, priority will be given to the magic of the 'Pressure Relief Organ'." Able to purify parts for analysis.”

Gao Wen nodded slightly, sighing slightly in his heart.

The magic systems of elves and humans are completely different. In terms of specific spells, due to the different brain structures of the two races, humans and elves can hardly understand each other's spell models. Even a few mixed-race descendants who have inherited the characteristics of both races, It can only release a small number of "cross-race spells" at the same time. In the old technological era of "extraordinary power belongs to itself", this obstacle has plagued scholars of the two races for thousands of years, until the concept of "mathematics" was introduced into magic research In the field, technicians began to use pure calculation and reasoning to study magic, instead of relying on individual spiritual perception and spellcasting talents to construct magic, and this obstacle was finally broken through.

In the kingdom of mathematics, for the first time, two distinct magic systems have a common language. No matter what kind of image and "extraordinary intuition" a spell model will produce in the minds of the two races, it is in the logic of runes. , are unified in a framework.

The elves have technologies that surpass those of the current human nations—although the Silver Empire is declining as a whole, its technological height is still much higher than that of humans, and those large-scale lost technologies are undoubtedly a treasure trove for humans.

Gao Wen lowered his head and continued to look at the documents waiting for his approval and approval.

After the northern lords and royal families have reorganized their resources and balanced the forces of all parties, he will leave this land temporarily. Although he can still use the magic net to command the territory remotely by setting up relay towers along the way, the remote Remote control has its limitations after all, and he still has to arrange everything as best he can before leaving here.

……

Saint-Sunil City, inside the Silver Fort.

The brilliance of the magic spar lamp illuminates this historic royal castle, and the study room on the second floor of the castle is brightly lit.

Wales Moen was sitting in the large and comfortable velvet seat. He looked up and looked at the magical lamps inlaid on the opposite wall. Under the exquisite brass lamp holder, the hexagonal rune boards were neatly arranged. Like some kind of new wallpaper, it extends all the way to the ground and disappears under the floor.

Victoria Wilde sat opposite the Crown Prince. She could see that the other party was distracted, but she didn't care: "The coronation has been cancelled, Your Highness—please understand that we can't stimulate the East Territory. But don't worry, it's just a postponement, Sooner or later you will sit on the throne."

"Postpone it, I don't care." Wales withdrew his eyes from the magic mesh units, looked at the Duchess in front of him, "I heard that the heat energy ray gun has been successfully imitated?"

"It's indeed imitated," Victoria nodded. "Actually, the technology of that thing is not complicated at all. Although we don't know how the rune craftsmen in the southern border were so lucky to find such a perfect rune arrangement, its core The formation is indeed very simple, and the mages of the Wang family and the rune craftsmen quickly copied the exact same weapon, but..."

Wales said quietly: "Is it a matter of cost?"

"...cost, and production speed," Victoria nodded, "It is impossible to create those magical weapons with a few gold coins, and even if the city's low- and middle-level mages and rune craftsmen are mobilized, plus the new factory's Production capacity, we will not be able to build a ray gun that can arm an army in a short time."

The Duchess couldn't help but think of the mage Wang who successfully imitated the heat ray gun, and when the other party asked her how many weapons she needed to make, and she replied that she wanted a few thousand, the other party's attitude of about to die expression.

"It's better to buy than to make," Victoria said slowly, "This is the result of the discussion by the Royal Masters Association."

Wales Moen's fingers on the armrest of the chair suddenly turned white from exertion, but soon relaxed again.

He whispered: "It is indeed a sensible conclusion, but sensible does not necessarily mean wise."

"In this regard, I agree with you, but we haven't cracked the technical secrets of the southern border. This is the current fact." Victoria said lightly.

Wales shook his head. He knew that with the power in his hands, he could do very little, so after a moment of silence, he changed the subject: "When will you leave the capital?"

"After the cargo ship departs," Victoria said, "I will go to the Plains of the Holy Spirit to sit in charge in person to prevent changes on the front line—the Duke of Baldwin will stay here and assist you in handling state affairs."

During the period of political turmoil, at least one regent duke must remain in the city of Saint-Sunil. On the one hand, it is to calm the situation, and on the other hand, it is to... the royal family.

Wales understood the deep meaning in Victoria's words, he just said calmly: "I understand."

Victoria nodded, then stood up, but she did not leave, but quietly glanced at the middle-aged prince.

She couldn't help recalling when she was very young, when she first came to Silver Castle and came to this study room, her father and Francis II stayed where she and Wales were at the moment, and Francis II at that time The second king is also as quiet and silent as Wales at this moment.

"Your Highness," she suddenly couldn't help but say, "guard this city—this is the duty in your blood."

"I see."

Chapter 0573 Interference

Summer is drawing to a close.

The fire constellation at night began to shift towards the western sky, the heat began to recede from the whole kingdom, the wind in the morning and evening became cool and pleasant every day, and after a few abundant rains, the breath of autumn was full of It's getting closer than the day.

Mysterious and complex magic runes float in the air like stars. The crystal device used to display the structure of the runes is fixed on the base made of alloy. The surface is shining with the glow of magic power. A low humming sound echoes in the laboratory , Kamel quietly floated among those illusory magic runes, the arcane brilliance in his eyes was as bright as ever.

This is the largest analysis room of the Rune Research Institute. Today's task is to analyze the technical data brought by the elves.

Several senior rune masters from the Rune Research Institute were copying the rune structure of several key nodes, while a tall, thin male elf with brilliant blond hair stood beside Kamel. The elf's gaze Occasionally it fell on Kamel—apparently, a powerful arcane creature was of particular concern to the elven magister.

Kamel didn't pay attention to the eyes of the Elf Magister, he focused almost all his energy on the runes that had just been translated and analyzed. After carefully observing its core structure, he couldn't help saying: "Master Banner ——The core mechanism of this purification array is some kind of... tuning and resonance?"

"You are right, Master Kamel," the elven magister known as Banner nodded, "Through long-term research on Chaos magic power, we found that it is still a kind of magic power in essence, and It is not the previously considered 'extremely polluting waste energy', since it is magic, it is possible to order it by re-tuning and resonating, this is the idea of ​​'purification'."

Kamel's eyes fell between those rune phantoms, and his tone gradually became a little excited: "That is to say, you treat magic power as a kind of 'wave'-and it succeeds?! "

"'Bo'..." The elf magister was stunned for a moment, and looked at Kamel in surprise, "You also introduced this concept?!"

"...We only introduced this concept not long ago, and we still can't confirm this, it can only be used as a conjecture," Kamel said buzzingly, "We applied magic power in the process of analyzing and reconstructing the communication spell Its volatility has been confirmed both mathematically and practically, but we still lack the key evidence—observable evidence.”

"We introduced this concept 40 years ago. The great astrologer Verania put forward the hypothesis that magic power is a kind of fluctuation, and deduced the theoretical wavelength range of pure arcane magic power through several spell models of arcane magic. , her theory is the basis for the Purification Array - but unfortunately, we have not been able to obtain observable evidence either..."

Kamel turned around suddenly, looking at the elf magister in front of him with scorching eyes: "What you encountered was also interference?"

"You guys also met?!" The elven magister named Banner was not without surprise in his tone. At this moment, his attention was completely out of Kamel's arcane body—this elf from the Silver Empire had never Unexpectedly, at the far end of the continent, in a country of alien races, and in a fully declining human society, human magicians are also studying the essence of magic power, let alone that human research has gone so deep, even Also encountered the bottleneck encountered by the elves!

"Interference is everywhere, and the whole world is shrouded in a powerful magical environment, so that it is impossible to observe," Kamel was also surprised that the elves were doing the same research as humans, like a lone traveler in the desert Suddenly meeting a traveling companion with the same goal, his "heart" that had stopped beating for a long time—even the "heart" that hadn't existed for a long time seemed to be throbbing again, "What kind of experiment did you design?"

The elven magister quickly calmed down after a short shock, and he did not hide the problem: "Master Verania designed an interference experiment - we prepared a pure source of arcane energy to ensure that it has only a very small amount of 'impurity' ', and then gather the arcane energy into a beam and hit a lattice, which is made of a thin sheet of anti-magic crystal, with two narrow slits that are very close to each other. Theoretically, pure arcane energy passes through the anti-magic crystal The magic crystal flakes will then exhibit fluctuations: the magic waves passing through the two narrow slits should interfere with each other, and form interference fringes on the projection plate coated with developing dust..."

"But there is only a piece of white noise, isn't it?" Kamel followed up, "Any pattern projected on the observation interface will be covered by a stronger natural magic field, just like observing a weak beam of light under strong light." It’s as unrealistic as a twilight, in fact, the weak pure arcane energy may not even have time to reach the projection board, and it will be neutralized by the magic field in the environment..."

Banner sighed regretfully: "As you said, the experiment failed. It seems that you also..."

"We also designed a similar experiment, and the idea of ​​the experiment was proposed by Duke Cecil," Kamel said in a low voice. "We also failed to observe interference fringes, but mathematics tells me that it should exist."

The elf magister was a little surprised: "Duke Gawain Cecil also has such attainments in the field of magic?"

"The duke is very knowledgeable, and he has come into contact with extraordinary knowledge and wisdom in the state of 700 years of soul separation," Kamel said convincingly, "it's just...he can't solve the problem of the interference of the natural environment's magic power. Speaking of which, you Have you tried the forbidden magic field?"

"The highest-level anti-magic force field only suppresses the magic reaction to a certain extent, and at the same time interferes with the caster's mental power to block the process of casting the spell. The magic itself cannot be forbidden," the elf magister shook with a wry smile. Shaking his head, "We have also tried to create a 'darkroom' with expensive anti-magic crystals to block the magic power in nature, but due to technical limitations, we can't guarantee the complete isolation of the entire darkroom, and as long as there is a little leak... Interference appeared like a devil."

Kamel could imagine how much effort the elves put in to create such a "dark room".

Due to the pervasiveness of natural magic power, the magic interference observation experiment must ensure that the observer himself is in the darkroom environment, and a darkroom that can accommodate the observer, no matter how cramped the space is, is a huge "box". Secondly, to process such a huge crystal and ensure that it does not have any "leakage points"... Obviously, it exceeds the craftsmanship of elves.

Even elves can't do it, and humans probably can't do it.

"Our next goal is to seek help from the goblins of the Ogulei tribal country. The goblins are small in size and can get into a small dark room. It is possible to process a smaller dark room," Banner said with a sigh. "But it's hard to say whether we can find goblins who are willing to help, after all...they don't like being locked up very much."

……

Gawain sat behind the desk and quietly listened to Kamel's report.

"...Lord, in summary, the elves have encountered the same problem as us - the interference of magic power in the natural environment."

"It's really devilish interference..."

Gao Wen sighed softly, his thoughts fluctuated.

What is the nature of magic?

This problem began to haunt him shortly after he was unmasked. The ubiquitous natural force, the seemingly endless energy, not only brought convenience, but also made Gawain deeply suspicious. All along, he He wants to understand the nature and source of magic power, but until now, he and his scientific research team have achieved very little.

They can only confirm now that the source of magic power is inseparable from the "sun" in the sky, and its essence... "maybe" is some kind of wave.

Yes, although there are already some application examples, such as magic network communication technology, and some calculation conclusions, but for this kind of "thing" that actually exists, as long as there is no observable phenomenon, it will not be able to completely Determine its definition, at this stage, Gawain and Kamel can only say - magic, "maybe" is some kind of wave.

This is an unfortunate situation.

It is there, its nature, its possible essence, is ready to be revealed, but the most critical observation has become the biggest obstacle in front of the researcher, and the magic power of nature is everywhere-this has brought about the rapid development of magic technology development, which also brings with it great difficulties in certain research projects.

The classic experiment that Gao Wen can think of to verify the volatility is the double-slit interference experiment. He knows how the double-slit interference is realized on the earth-but in this world, this classic experiment is difficult to verify, because the natural environment The magic power covers all observational phenomena.

The magic power in nature is far stronger than the two beams of arcane flow passing through the slit during the experiment. It forms a white noise on the reflector, and the pure one-way arcane flow that should have interfered is completely erased For the same reason, the experiment of observing the magic version of "Poisson bright spot" also failed.

The idea of ​​the elves may be the best solution-to build a dark room and find a way to shield the magical interference of nature.

It's not easy, however.

On the earth, if you want to avoid the strong light in nature from affecting the observation of interference fringes, you only need to use light-shielding materials to block them, but in this world, natural substances that can block magic power are extremely rare and difficult to process. The expensive anti-magic crystal is The most suitable material that can be found, it can really block the magic power, the baffle in the double-slit interference experiment is made of it, but the anti-demon crystal is processed into a dark room... Even in the Gondor period, it is impossible Not easy to do.

"Actually, I have another plan," Kamel said, "Using a more powerful arcane source to allow the energy passing through the double slit to exceed the base value of magic power in nature, so that interference fringes may be observed outside the dark room." ——Or even if you can’t observe it, it’s good if you can observe two burn marks, at least we can verify whether the magic power is a wave. According to my calculations, the existing rainbow light cannon fully meets this condition.”

"I've also thought about this plan, but the premise of this plan is that we need to find a material that is more stable and stronger than the Obscuring Crystal." Gao Wen frowned, "Although the Obscuring Crystal can block magic power, it has to withstand it after all." Ultimate, something like a rainbow cannon...will burn out any baffles."

Camille fell silent.

Gao Wen asked after a short thought: "Is the elven astrologer who proposed the concept of magic fluctuations called Verania?"

"Yes."

"It's only been 40 years... As an elf, she should still be serving the elves court today."

"Yes, according to Banner White Feather, the astrologer Verania is still working for the Elf Royal Court, and is continuing to conduct research on the theory of magic fluctuations. At the same time, she is also one of the developers of the 'Purification Array'. "

"The elves are walking ahead of us... It would be great if we could reach a deeper cooperation with them," Gawain sighed softly, "Kamael, what do you think... using the remaining magic power connection of the magnificent wall, and then With our magic net communication terminal and a translation device, can we establish remote communication with the Silver Empire?"

"It's a challenging idea, but I can give it a go."

Gawain nodded: "Then go and try."

Chapter 0574

Kamel left, while Gao Wen sat quietly behind his desk, lost in deep thought.

He was thinking about the nature of the magic power, guessing the source of the magic power, thinking about how to shield the interference of the magic power in nature on the observation experiment, and in the midst of meditation, Amber standing beside him said: "You seem to have been studying some magic power The essence of the problem...is this problem really important?"

"Aren't you curious?" Gawain looked back at Amber, and he saw the confusion on the half-elf's face, "You have never thought about what magic power in nature is, and where it comes from. Is it?"

"...Magic power is magic power, something as natural as air, it is part of the world." Amber scratched her hair, "It is needed to cast spells, to configure potions, and even to survive some animals and plants. It... I think it is like a stone, it has existed since the birth of this world."

"But stones won't suddenly turn into a chaotic wave of magic, but magic power can, and it doesn't necessarily exist forever unless we can prove that it is really endless." Gawain shook his head lightly, "If magic power is just a What about short-lived miracles? Of course, this "short-lived" is relative to the years of the whole world, but maybe magic power is just a small phenomenon in the long cycle of this world, just like a moment of calm in the thunder waves, we mortals are here Insects born in a moment of calm and with a shorter lifespan, we are born in peace, and we think that the essence of this world is a piece of calm water, but we don't know that there will be a storm in the next second, or that the magic power is something It is a thing with limited reserves, it is consumed every moment, but before it is exhausted, mortals have no way of detecting and measuring it..."

The more Amber listened, the more surprised she became, and finally her eyes widened: "How did you come up with such lurid ideas!"

Immediately afterwards, she looked Gawain up and down with a strange expression: "No wonder you often seem mysterious... It turns out that your mind is full of such weird things every day... By the way, you are not in the body. Did you see anything in those 700 years?"

"...It has nothing to do with that," Gao Wen shook his head dumbfounded, "Forget it, one day you will..."

He wanted to say "one day you will understand this question", but then he thought about Amber's laziness and poor thinking characteristics in the field of knowledge, and finally changed his tone: "Don't think so much."

Amber thought for a moment, then narrowed her eyes: "I think you are underestimating my intelligence..."

Gawain didn't pay attention to the half-elf's small protest, he just stood up, left the study, and came to the magic laboratory near the study.

This laboratory belongs to Hetty, but since Gawain also has some knowledge in the field of magic, there are some things that belong to him here.He came to a corner of the laboratory, took out a set of devices that had been put aside for a while from the cabinet, took them to a nearby laboratory bench and assembled them together.

Its construction is simple, a visor with small holes, a baffle with narrow double slits, and a flat light screen - with the finishing capabilities of Nicholas eggs, the precision of this set is unmatched in this era .

The baffle of this device is not an anti-demon crystal, but an ordinary opaque metal plate, so it is not used to observe the interference of magic double slits, but an ordinary double slit used to observe light The interference phenomenon device has been placed here for several months, and the relevant observation results have already been recorded, but today, Gao Wen wants to look at it again.

He set up the monochromatic light source in front of the device, turned off the lights in the laboratory, and then carefully adjusted the relative positions of the baffle and the light screen.