Sword of Dawn

Page 230

All were familiar faces.

They are elites personally selected by Kamel and others, apprentices and assistants cultivated for a long time, and they can participate in this extremely high-secret project. The loyalty of these people must have been confirmed. Looking into the eyes of these people, Gao Wen asked Said: "Who is the first to test?"

He himself can't be a tester - his own mental structure is too special, it has already surpassed the category of "human", and he has advanced authority in the spiritual network, so it is meaningless for him to test it by himself. Therefore, the first person to sit on a chair and immerse in the spiritual network can only be other people on the scene.

"I come."

Pittman stood up naturally with his trademark, old-fashioned smile.

And judging from the reactions of other people at the scene, this is obviously the result of their negotiation.

"You?" Gao Wen glanced at the little old man, "What's the reason?"

"I built the core components of this set, and no one knows it better than me," Pittman said unhurriedly, "and other reasons... you should be able to think of it."

Gawain nodded slightly, understanding what Pittman meant.

The other party was more or less an Eternal Sleeper. Although he has lost the power of an Eternal Sleeper, at least he still has knowledge.

Once something goes wrong in the process of network intrusion, he has the knowledge, at least he can detect the danger in advance, at least he knows how to run.

"Then get ready," Gawain exhaled, "I'll make 'there' get ready too."

……

In the city of dreams, in the palace area in the center of the city, Daniel in a black robe walked quietly inside a magnificent palace.

In this dream world where everyone wears a mask, he is no longer a hunched, old and ugly late mage, but a tall, strong, unrestrained and dignified middle-aged man.

He was wearing a classic and gorgeous black robe, with a serious face and steady steps. A thick magic tome floated beside him, and a respectful voice came from the book: "The second batch of address indexes have all been imported. ...The new database test was successfully completed...The reason for the sudden interruption of block 63 has been found out. It was a nightmare instructor who accidentally fell into a trap while exploring the ancient ruins and died on the spot. He was performing the operation of transferring blocks ..."

Daniel's footsteps paused slightly: "...while exploring the ancient ruins while performing major operations in the mind network?"

"That nightmare instructor has always been skilled..."

"Such dangerous behaviors are prohibited in the future, and all operations involving network commands must be carried out in a stable environment," Daniel said solemnly, "In addition, all major operations involving database changes and network reorganization must have more than two Operators to complete together to prevent similar 'sudden death' leading to network failure."

"Yes."

Daniel, who had been promoted to Nightmare Bishop, nodded slightly, and continued to walk forward unhurriedly while listening to the reports of the lower-level believers.

In order to go to the imperial capital and to complete the task of "entering Typhon's research department" assigned by the master, he rarely has the opportunity to enter the spiritual network during this period of time. Suspected by the upper class or affecting his position in the religious order, now he has finally settled down, has a stable residence in Aldernan, and has built his own secret laboratory. With a relatively safe and stable environment, he Only then did he finally have the opportunity to return to the spiritual network and continue to deal with the affairs of the church—and complete the orders of the master.

Along the way, other high-ranking believers passed by the corridor, most of them would stop beside Daniel and send a brief greeting:

"Peace to your soul, Bishop."

"May you always have sweet dreams, Bishop."

"Salute to you, Master Daniel."

Daniel responded to these greetings depending on his mood.

Church members with lower status will respect him as a bishop, while bishops of the same level call each other bishops, and some call them masters—inside the Order of the Eternal Sleepers, this means an enviable revered status, and Daniel also He used to be one of the believers who yearned for these positions, obsessed with dark magic, and worked hard to climb up.

But now that these positions are in his hands, he doesn't care much about them.

He is a rising star of the Order of the Eternal Sleepers, a "pioneer" who has proposed many pioneering concepts in the field of spiritual networks, a talented scholar who has been valued by the Supreme Bishops, and even paid attention to by the Pope. But these identities are nothing compared to the "messenger of the wanderer outside the territory".

He maintained his haughty posture as he walked through the corridors of the hall, and his haughty posture did not arouse the suspicion of any other believers—because he has always been like this, and he is also qualified to be like this.

At a certain moment, Daniel's footsteps suddenly stopped.

He stood there for a while, then tilted his head slightly, and said to the magic guide book that kept making noises, "Just report here first, I want to go there in person."

"Yes, Bishop."

The magic book slowly disappeared into the air, while Daniel calmly came to a crystal at the end of the corridor and put his hand on it.

In the next second, his figure shifted from the corridor to a vast room.

This is not so much a "room", but rather a strange space. Although it has a white floor and a light golden roof, there are no walls around the room, but a thick layer of fog that does not disperse, and a large amount of light blue or light blue. Purple crystal prisms obliquely grew out of the lingering thick fog, forming a well-structured and orderly array of crystals around the room, and a large number of Eternal Sleepers wearing pale gold or white robes stood in front of those crystals. Busy around, monitoring the huge data flow of the entire spiritual network.

This doorless and windowless space is a very special place in the world of the spiritual network. It requires a special transmission code and identification code to enter. It is also a place that Daniel is quite proud of——

Here is his "cyber security and data center" for the Sleepers.

Built at the behest of the owner.

Most of the believers in the space did not leave their posts because of Daniel's arrival, they just turned around and saluted respectfully before returning to work. Only a few people came to Daniel, and one of them bowed his head: "Bishop."

Daniel raised his hand: "Just keep doing your own thing. I'll check the safety record of the latest period myself. Don't bother me."

"Yes."

After the idlers retreated, Daniel strolled to one of the crystal prisms growing out of the mist, and put his hand on the top of the crystal prism. The latter immediately lit up and projected a large number of complicated tables and runes.

Here, no one will question any operations of "Bishop Daniel". Here are his most loyal subordinates of the Sleeper, but even these most loyal subordinates are not qualified to contact the cause of wanderers outside the territory.

Daniel quietly browsed through the data, monitoring all the safe channels, and among the jumping runes and symbols, a footnote that only he could notice suddenly jumped out.

The entire system does not respond to this unregistered message.

The expression on Daniel's face remained unchanged, but a strange voice came from behind him: "Oh ho, that's really good...they really made all this out..."

Daniel turned around and saw a wrinkled, stooped, messy-haired and bearded stranger in a brown robe standing behind him. The stranger looked around with a playful expression, and he just Standing here majestically, however, the followers of the Eternal Sleepers coming and going in the space seemed to have not seen this "intruder" and were still busy with their own affairs.

Data camouflage in this area has been activated.

Daniel left the crystal console and came in front of Pittman—but in the eyes of the other eternal sleepers, he was still standing there, browsing the massive recorded information, and there was nothing unusual about him.

This is another subordinate of the lord?

This is another emissary of the wanderer from outside the territory?

Pittman and Daniel looked at each other, and similar thoughts flashed in their hearts.

Then the two old foxes laughed.

Pittman's wrinkles stretched: "For safety, give me a password."

Daniel nodded slightly: "A hymn of loyalty."

"A hymn to loyalty."

The two hands were tightly clasped together, and the two voices said in unison: "For a great cause."

Chapter 0540 Technology Extends Forward

In the mind connection technology laboratory, the old druid Pittman was still lying quietly in the silver chair.

The runes on the bottom of the seat are flickering on and off regularly, a layer of faint light blue shimmer floats on the artificial nerve cord connecting the base and the nerve contact array, and a certain low humming sound comes from inside the device , that was the sound made by the resonance and tremor between the rune substrates, and the old druid sitting in the device closed his eyes tightly, as if he had fallen into the deepest dreamland.

"He has already connected to the network," Gao Wen said, "he is now communicating with the responders in the network."

"The connection is stable, and the frequency orientation is normal," Kamel said while floating next to an operating console not far from the cockpit, while monitoring the flickering runes on the operating console, "There is no sign of exposure for the time being."

"Vital signs are stable, nerve pressure is normal." "Emergency fuse is normal." "Brain activity is being continuously monitored."

A flurry of reports came from all over the lab, and in these reports everyone around the link breathed a sigh of relief.

Amber couldn't help muttering: "Huh—I thought the old man would die on it."

Even though this guy had no respect for Pittman's quarrels on weekdays, Gawain could tell that Amber still cared a little about Pittman, who was like a half adoptive father.

Gao Wen looked at Jenny who was quietly standing not far away: "The rune system of the Eternal Sleeper can also be optimized and reorganized by rune logic, right?"

"Yes... yes," Jenny quickly replied, "Although we encountered some difficulties when re-determining the interference value at first, we finally found that the rune system of the Eternal Sleeper still follows the laws of rune logic. And inverter array technology can also be used on this connection device..."

"The Eternal Sleepers...their dark magic is similar to that of the druids, and it is also transformed from the magic." Gawain sighed thoughtfully, "Gods... your veils are getting thinner and thinner. It's..."

"The test time is over, ready to transmit the reminder message... The reminder message has been sent, and the brain wave feedback from the experiment subject is received... Disconnect the nerve cord connection."

The technician in charge of controlling the connection device suddenly made a sound, interrupting Gao Wen's soliloquy. Then, with a gradually lowering resonance sound, the rune brilliance at the bottom of the silver-white seat gradually dimmed.

Pittman lay quietly on the seat for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes, and then he sucked in big mouthfuls of air as if he suddenly remembered how to breathe, and the sound of a dilapidated bellows came out from that old body, which was enough After more than ten seconds, he stabilized and took a long breath: "Huh... It feels so good to be back in the body..."

"The first time you leave the spiritual network, you will have a relatively serious dizziness and a sense of weightlessness," Gawain nodded as an assistant stepped forward to help the old Druid out of the seat, and then showed a serious expression. Appearance, "But before that, for the sake of rigor and safety, we must first confirm one thing..."

Kamel left the monitoring platform and floated to the connection device.

Gawain looked into the eyes of the old druid: "Prove that you are still Pittman, not some eternal sleeper who infiltrated through the network."

"Lucky ointment, two silver coins per bottle, out-of-print amulets, buy two get one free, half price for the first three times of divination, free help with naming!"

Half of the people at the scene covered their faces and turned their heads away, and Kamel's brightness suddenly dimmed by [-]%. Only Gao Wen stepped forward to hold Pittman's hand with a smile: "Welcome back to Cecil. Any other discomfort?"

After all, Pittman is an extraordinary person. He stood beside the cockpit for a while, recovered after taking a few breaths, then frowned and thought for a while: "Generally, there are no sequelae, but...can you change the connection code in the future? This The password is still too embarrassing for an old man like me..."

"A connection code designed for you by a 730-year-old old man, why don't you be embarrassed if you are less than 87 years old." The two elderly people were speechless, "And you also have the concept of 'embarrassment'?"

Pittman: "..."

Gao Wen: "..."

"Tell me about the situation after the connection." Gao Wen felt that the atmosphere on the scene was becoming more and more weird, and quickly brought the topic back on track with a dry cough. "What floor did you sneak into? What did you see during the connection? Did you see anything?" Intercepted or scanned by a security system?"

The technology-related personnel present immediately gathered together, and everyone looked at Pittman standing in the middle with curious and probing eyes, and Pittman spoke slowly after sorting out his thoughts: "I sneaked into the What I arrived at should be the level called the 'level of consciousness', where the city of dreams is located, and the area where all surface consciousnesses meet. Most of the stages of the connection process have no vision, and can only produce intermittent hallucinations... I should have completely bypassed the security mechanism, or in other words, the security mechanism completely ignored my connection..."

Pittman quietly talked about what he saw and heard during the whole connection process, and everyone around him listened carefully, even Amber, who was the most restless, opened his curious eyes wide at this time, I heard the last word without saying a word.

"...In summary, I think our first phase of the real machine test is completely successful, the connection device is stable and reliable, and the 'secure channel' is also reliable," Pittman said at last, "Next, we should consider making multiple connections gone."

Gawain nodded slightly, and looked at Rebecca: "Is it possible for this connection device to be mass-produced?"

"It's difficult for the time being," Rebecca thought for a while, showing a embarrassed look, "some key components can only be processed in the laboratory, such as the organic medium ring of the artificial nerve cord - the main reason is that the processing process is too complicated , In the middle, you need to frequently use magic devices to make adjustments, and you also need to have a certain amount of druid knowledge, the level of workers in the factory may not be enough, and it will take a long time to train workers with sufficient skills."

In most cases, the main factor restricting the mass production process of Cecil's new things is not the machine precision, because of the foundational role of Nicholas egg in the initial stage, Cecil's industrial machines have solved most of the precision problems from the very beginning ——Worker skills are a long-term bottleneck.

After all, human beings are not machines. It takes time to cultivate and accumulate a large number of skilled workers.

"Take your time, it's not realistic to directly promote this kind of device to the whole people..." Gao Wen sighed and accepted the reality, "At this stage, we will first carry out laboratory manufacturing and assemble a device that can be used by a project team. The specific quantity you It depends on the actual situation.”

"For use by a project team..." Kamel heard something from Gawain's words, "Could it be that you plan to carry out an experimental project in the spiritual network of the Eternal Sleeper?"

"Don't you think it's great?" Gao Wen raised his eyebrows, "Of course such a good technology should be used in research, wouldn't it be a waste to use it for daydreaming?"

Kamel was slightly taken aback, then bent down, with a smile in his tone: "...I fully agree."

"Then, we should give this connecting device a name," Gawain nodded, pointing to the silver-white seat or cockpit on the platform, "Do you have any comments?"

Pittman, Jenny and the others exchanged glances - except for Kamel, whose eyes were not easy to understand - and then looked at Gawain in unison.

"We think it should be named by you," Jenny said with a smile, respectfully and seriously, "Although it is the result of our creation, all related technologies are collected by you through various means. Most of the project The inspiration comes from you too, and it’s only fitting that you name it.”

Although Gao Wen wanted to say that the glory of technology should be attributed to the inventor of the technology, but after thinking about it carefully, it seems that most of the technology in this connection device is the product of the Eternal Sleeper cultists, so he didn't make too many excuses , but looked at the silver-white seat, and fell into a short thought.

A little bad taste unconsciously surfaced in my heart.

Anyway, the painting style of this thing is not normal.

"Immersed neural cockpit," Gao Wen said a name that he thinks best fits the painting style of this object, "let's call it immersed neural cockpit—abbreviated as immersion cabin, how about it?"

"Immersed neural cockpit..." Kamel repeated this impromptu combination of phrases. Although it felt rather weird to read, these short words properly described all the characteristics of the connection device. He Can't help nodding, "It's a good name."

Gawain and Amber left the Institute of Magic Technology, and Pittman, who was about to go back to rest, left with them.

The streets of Cecil City are still very lively and full of vitality.

"It's a beautiful city," Pittman suddenly sighed for no reason while walking on the street, "It's really, really beautiful."

"The City of Dreams?" Gawain stopped in his tracks and glanced at the little old man. "Be careful, people who come into contact with it for the first time can easily get lost in it."

"I won't," Pittman blinked and laughed, "That city is indeed beautiful, even perfect, but it's because it's so perfect that I'm not attracted to it—it's perfect Makes me a little scared."

Gawain shook his head, and continued to walk forward: "A world that is too perfect, people can't help but think of the legendary kingdom of heaven that people will only arrive after they die. Entering such a city alive is really unsettling."

Pittman suddenly became curious: "Do you have experience, is there really a perfect heaven after death?"

"...I'm just making an analogy."

They passed "Amethyst Avenue" on the edge of the Mage District, where a crowd was gathering in front of a newly opened store.

Gao Wen looked up and saw the sign of "Government Affairs Department Supervision Project" hanging on the door of the store, and in the next window, there were neatly placed large arms that reflected the sunlight and exuded a metallic texture. A ring or gauntlet-like device.

Gao Wen murmured softly: "Has the first magic terminal retail store open to civilians started its trial operation..."

As one of Cecil's earliest magic technology products, the magic terminal is not a sophisticated thing, and as a compatible platform that can replace the core module, this device has a high civilian use from the very beginning. Potential - it can be equipped with lethal spells to act as a weapon, and it can also be equipped with auxiliary rune inserts to become a convenient tool. For Gao Wen, who has always been thinking about pushing the extraordinary power to the whole people, this thing is very important. Civilization is inevitable.

As early as last year, Rebecca and others successfully manufactured engineering terminals with welding, cutting, and pulling functions based on the soldiers' magic terminals, and distributed them to magic technicians and engineers for use. After collecting data and improving for a period of time, the easier-to-use, safer, and cheaper civilian version of the magic guide terminal finally appeared in front of ordinary people.

The power of these magical terminals is lower, but they can still be used to release the most basic tricks and several protective spells with reduced power. Ordinary people can use them as tools, and they can also use them in the wild. Self-defense is really a very convenient thing.

But Gao Wen observed in front of the store for a while, and found that although there were many people gathered, there were very few citizens who actually spent money to buy magic terminals.

"It's normal. For most people, magic is still a 'transcendent' thing. Even if they are surrounded by magical powers, most people probably never thought that they would 'cast spells' themselves," Pittman said. Said on the side, "And to be honest, although dozens of silver coins are not much, it is still a lot of money for many people. Ordinary people who are used to thrift will not rashly spend so much money just because of novelty and fun. to buy a strange thing."