8artKydW

1Chapter 113: Cato's Notes 9
2A/N: So it's been some time since I last published anything, here's one and a half chapters...
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4Industry and Technology
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6Having a much better understanding of how the guilds work and where technology used to be was critical to the improvements the University makes. While ideas like interchangeable parts and mass production have been huge collaborative projects, other smaller goals were much easier to achieve, especially blast furnaces and steelmaking.
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8Looking back across the time since I arrived, it becomes clear to me that my initial impression of the state of the society was wrong. Inath appeared to me to be a society in decline, slowly losing technologies and understanding that they once had as the First and Tsar that they descended from. Where humans used to be all over the world, monsters and zombies have slowly pushed them back into this large but limited area.
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10Nothing could be further from the truth. Whatever the initial war and the later Great Migration events were, very little survives from that period. Despite First Landing being a semi-preserved city of a presumably highly magical civilization, no magical artifacts survive beyond the summoning stones and other unpowered devices. No documents or records beyond oral history survives. This is very strange since even the worst of disasters should still leave some trace of prior technology.
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12Instead, like the Elkas and Fukas, humans were driven back into an agrarian society after the war. While stories of the wonders of the First and Tsar serve as a guide post as to what is possible, and almost certainly the reason why ironworking was never lost, the whole magical and technological tradition had to be practically reinvented.
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14Zombies only recently appeared a few generations ago and have only become a major threat in the last two, leading to the retreat to Inath's current borders. Indeed, if the zombies were as weak as they were implied to be starting out, given how zombies slowly develop new abilities, it would not be surprising to find out that the initial appearance of zombies would not have been a threat to even the post-Migration society. Much less the First and Tsar.
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16In this light, my near miraculous success can be boiled down to sheer luck. Inath is not a civilization in decline, in fact it was slowly building itself back up and I simply gave it a kick with Earth knowledge and ideas having arrived at just the right time for my own admittedly limited knowledge to be useful. The Ironworkers guild already had sophisticated furnaces for blister steel, experience with molten metals and other complex technologies. They would probably have reinvented the blast furnace on their own not long in the future.
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18Even now, I still wonder at how quickly the prototypes and advances have been made. The ingenuity of the Ironworkers in particular cannot be understated, along with their excellent project management. Being able to coordinate the construction of a steel furnace using triple shifts as well as ensure the flow of materials isn't stopped is not trivial. They might even better at it than Earth society was during our industrial revolution.
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20The conditions were simply ripe for my success.
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22This is never more apparent than when my projects attempt to reach too far. Elemental fractionation of plasma by application of heat is something that is possible given magic, however the infrastructure of strong magical power sources is not present to take advantage of this. Landar's attempts to make a computer are huge and unwieldy and full of bugs. I suspect Project Flight will run into similar limitations when the time comes to make viable aircraft. While attempts to make a magnet for the generation of electricity has been successful, the applications so far are limited due to the poor efficiency of generators and heavy losses on experimental wires.
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24Standardization is probably right at the edge of what their techniques and sophistication can support. No other city or town has been able to obtain truly interchangeable parts like Minmay has. The sudden leap forward into mass production in Minmay can likewise be attributed to standardization of construction parts like nuts and bolts, allowing designs that no doubt already existed to be refined and produced in commercially viable quantities by relatively unskilled labour.
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26I cannot expect the breakneck pace of improvements to continue as we head into more complex technology.
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28I have no more low hanging fruit left to try, and while the problems we will encounter are definitely solvable, I feel that the next major breakthrough will not be something I expect.
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30Science
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32Project Flight continues. The wind tunnel was quickly completed and testing on wing structures has begun. While I do not recall the design of lift surfaces and the derivation of the flow equations is still far beyond us, I have at least demonstrated Bernoulli's principle by measuring pressure across a pinched glass tube. We are heading into a realm of engineering that I am not familiar with and many of the principles I only recall vaguely or even just by name, the rate of advancement when we do not have a theoretical underpinning is markedly slower.
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34Even so, the project is optimistic that the problems faced can be overcome. Even if the project ultimately takes too long to be of use to the zombie war, advancements made can be applied in other areas. We have teams looking into designing tubes and structures for strength while minimizing density, a materials team aiming to reproduce plastic, at least two teams working on aerodynamic design, two trying to make a light enough engine. Engines in particular are being taken in two directions, one using pure magical force to drive the wings forward, the other trying to utilize the greater energy efficiency of generating heat, starting with the design of turbine blades.
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36In other news, a different branch of the project is focused on lighter than air flight. Levitation is easy enough with a supply of magic but exceedingly inefficient. A kilogram of weight burns one power unit every five seconds just to negate the influence of gravity, with more required to keep it stable. A team is trying to build better magical containment tanks in order to store more magic, while another is trying to follow in my footsteps by making hydrogen balloons. My warnings on safety have led to investigation into refining helium from the natural gas normally bled off by the oil casking company in Inath and fractional distillation of air to make nitrogen fire suppressors.
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38All in all, both lighter than air and powered flight project appear to be progressing slowly, although only the lighter than air teams have had any successful flights. While lookout balloons are not useful at Fort Yang due to the presence of steep cliffs overlooking the entire valley, designs have been put forward for trade with Ranra for use at the eastern-most towns.
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40Kalny's cataloguing of all known plant and animal products has been completed. He might have missed a few, but this sweep of the Federation lands is reasonably complete. This was quite a surprise since I didn't think this was possible to do for a single moderately sized firm.
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42It turns out that Inath has a strangely low biodiversity. For most categories of life, whether they be plants, animals, insect or fungi, there appears to be two to three examples in each category and that's it! There is exactly one species of beetle! Three fish and four bird families! And here I was wondering why I never saw any ants. The only species for which significant variation exists are bacteria, fungi and presumably viruses.
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44It is as if someone had tried to re-create Noah's Ark, ran out of space and so decided to take a few examples of every type. How this lack occurred I have no answers for, not yet. Just another difference between Inath and Earth that no one noticed until my assumptions clashed with theirs.
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46My suggestion that their biosphere might have been created by deliberate design was met with scoffs and incredulity. Even Landar just shakes her head and smiles at my foolishness at suggesting that anyone, even the First, could create life ex-nihilo. Making variations in existing life like dwarf windeyes and Elkas from humans? Sure, the First could do that. Making an entirely new type of life or creating the life on this planet? No way.
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48This is in spite of their own creation myth outright stating that the First arrived or were brought to this planet in the same way as all the plants and animals. That was clearly metaphorical, they say.
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50The irony of my reversed position on the creation versus evolution debate is not lost on me. The micro-design argument merely makes the analogy even more ironic.
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52Society
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54I am pleased to note that I have come across the first instance of a mass market luxury good that wasn't fancy food. The University book store now has a single shelf stocking fiction!
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56Apparently the falling cost of low grade paper and printing has reduced enough that small stories have begun to circulate. Sheafs of ten to fifty pages roughly bound together, carrying all sorts of stories. Romance, drama, tragedy, comedy and even the occasional attempt at a heroic epic. In fact, one of those epic tales of an adventurer and a noble son is a serialization, with regular twenty page chapters published every week!
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58A few words and a meeting was sufficient to kickstart the formation of a publishing and editing company. While regarded as a waste of time and money by the more literal minded, I have always had a soft spot for a good story. Besides, this can only encourage literacy. That shall have to be my explanation for my support.
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60The rest of the expanding bookstore is still carrying the latest lectures and the first scientific journal on Inath.
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62In any case, the start of mass market entertainment is indicative of the changing face of the society. With greater disposable income from factory workers, it is clear that the economy is starting to pick up on this new demand too.
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64Governance and Infrastructure
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66A trade in magical power that arose many months ago has gone into full swing with the new mana wells. With the price falling every day, the peasants initially training to sell magical power beads have lost that side income. Minmay has authorized a small expenditure to encourage further training of those people in the University in order to get more alchemists, with a bond of military service for three years.
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68This is just one of the few economic shifts and problems that Minmay and his Lesser and Greater Circles are tackling. In this sense, even though they are based off the Inath Federation's Councils, the Lesser Circle works like the local council dealing with Minmay city issues and the Greater Circle is deals with regional governance. Chancellor Minmay retains the final say in all matters however, though their suggestions and input carry significant weight.
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70Income tax has been established across the board, including in villages and outlying regions. For most peasants, there is not much change as they still pay tax in grain but the shift in accounting as well as the first attempt at a census has caught many light cases of corruption or simple miscalculation.
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72Building codes, for fire safety as well as utilities have been established. All new houses come with at least better fire resistance and a sewer connection, which is still not fully implemented in the poorer districts.
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74Mapping Minmay city as well as registering house numbers have created a fully complete labeling and addressing system for every property in Minmay. This has allowed the establishment of a formal mail and parcel service that previously was an ad hoc series of messengers run as a side-business by the Recordkeepers. Bicycle mail carriers have been very common, with young teens carrying mail, boxes and newspapers all over the city and into the countryside.
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76Part of the mapping has led to a zoning system where industrial areas are segregated from the residential and commercial areas. Noise pollution has become a problem with the heavier industries and while residents are already fleeing factory areas, formalized zones should help infrastructure and utility planning as factories consume far more resources in water, magic power and special waste than residential houses. The Ironworkers have always been set apart from the city to reduce soot staining the buildings, this is more important than ever due to their increasing output of poisonous heavy metal waste.
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78The development of a rush-hour like traffic pattern however is a challenge that the Circle has to deal with now.
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80Economic pressure from the lack of currency has begun to ease as the first major shifts in trade has taken root. Barge ships arriving at the downstream port carry Inath and Illastein coin in exchange for Minmay goods and services, merchants over land similarly move currency towards Minmay from the rest of Ektal. King Ektal's first major payment for his massive order of guns has also arrived, the Chancellor demanded payment in actual coin.
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82While this has helped Minmay city, I fear that the economic shockwaves from all this monetary movement will affect the economies of the entire Federation. With Ranra starting their own ironworks and Inath moving into a strange hybrid of farming magical plants plus mana wells for magic, I suspect an explosion of industrialization will happen once Minmay manages to export standardized production. The branch University in Ektal has already met with success, though limited to the glass industry.
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84Knowing this, I have written to Queen Amarante, asking her to consult with Morey. I hope that even if Ektal refuses to issue fiat currency, the Federation as a whole might have more luck.
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86Illastein and Democracy
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88I do not have much hope for Morey's attempts to introduce democracy to the post revolution Illastein. The news and rumours that have flowed out of the chaotic post-war mess have been fragmented except for those reports that Amarante shares.
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90What they all agree on however is that Amarante's small army of administrators, auxiliary knight parties and proto-militia sent to keep order have done just that. They have also formed an 'interim' government that has turned Illastein into essentially an Inath puppet state. They are lucky Amarante is a well-liked and competent ruler, in peace time at least. A more ambitious Inath would have taken the country offered up to them on a silver platter by the Hero with cackling glee.
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92It is only Amarante's sheer reputation for storybook fairness that has Ektal and Ranra not seeing this as a prelude to Inath removing southern opposition before turning northwards to unite the Federation. Amarante has promised Illastein will have an independent government and they believe her.
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94Interesting.
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96Still, King Ektal is preoccupied worrying about this potential threat when his country is about to send over half its fighting force invading northwards into zombie infested lands. Something that Minmay is going to leverage in the coming negotiations.
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98Morey's request that the large and sparsely populated country vote representatives into its government has been met with skepticism here in Ektal. The peasants do not have the education required to make intelligent choices. Such a large country cannot be governed by popular vote when it takes a fast messenger over a month to travel from the desert frontier to the southern border with Inath. The representatives will be populists who will destroy the country.
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100All counter-arguments that are valid. Morey's speeches on his route back from Illastein have given the ISL listeners and some of the peasants inspiration to view the country with a national identity, but that is a tiny tiny fraction of the overall population of Illastein.
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102Thank whatever gods that might exist here that Amarante's 'temporary' interim government is not going to be temporary at all. I could easily believe Illastein still being governed by Inath twenty years later.
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104Similarly, the Greater Circle of elected Barons here in Minmay, while democratically elected representatives on the surface, only the very worst of the Barons have been ousted from their rule. Chancellor Minmay also retains absolute power, the Greater Circle are strictly advisory, much like the regional court before. This is as much a way for the population to air grievances in village election meetings (no rallies here!) as well as an excuse for Minmay to replace Barons that are too unpopular.
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106This whole undemocratic democracy reminds me of the transitional state to full independence of the British colonies. Rather than just throw democracy at the people and expecting anything but chaos, this state of affairs is partial recognition of the effects of the popular revolts, one successful and one not. The peasantry have a little more power as their literacy, political awareness and economic importance grows.
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108Ironworkers
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110Air fractionation has been stable for some weeks, with only scaling issues remaining. Uses for a controlled atmosphere are many, primary among which is the basic oxygen furnace. Together with a source of chromium found in the Aldir region and a much larger deposit in Ranra, stainless steel is now under serious development alongside aluminum.
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112Rather than use an eletrochemical process, for which electrical infrastructure and understanding is quite lacking, a carbothermic process was proposed. Using the latest furnace design with a preheater to achieve roughly 1000 *C under a controlled introduction of oxygen, the ore is then further heated by direct application of magic to achieve the highest temperature record for industrial production of 2600 *C, upon which the excess unreacted carbon in the coke would reduce the alumina to aluminum gas. Due to the heat and alumina vapours, this required them to suspend the melt with pure magical force and use a mostly inert atmosphere. The vapourized metal and flue gases are then separated by condensing aluminum product in a graphite condenser maintained above aluminum melting point.
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114The process is still under research. Laboratory attempts at the scale of a few grams have been occasionally successful, though the need to make furnaces and equipment that can maintain the controlled atmosphere under such temperatures is a massive challenge. Collecting and separating the molten product, which is at roughly 700 *C and still under inert atmosphere, is also a challenge, though less of one given the experience with steel.
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116There have been several new craters in the Ironworker's Blast Zone due to reactor meltdowns. Even the refractory brick cannot withstand the high temperatures and if the magical suspension of the reaction mix fails and it contacts the wall, the bricks explode due to the heat, leading to further containment failure and rapid disassembly. The highly energetic aluminum gas and coke also catches fire and explodes on exposure to atmospheric air and bits of furnace and ore end up scattered over most of the research area. And the furnace walls themselves have to be almost a meter away from the reaction as the shed heat is so high the bricks slowly melt if they are too close even if containment is successful.
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118There is also the problem of consuming argon gas for the inert atmosphere, maintenance of the physical portions of the valves under extreme conditions, and the huge magical energy consumption. A better refractory furnace lining would solve many stability problems.
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120Regardless, the rewards were deemed worth it from the properties of the laboratory produced aluminum and stainless steel samples. And the engineering problems, if solved, is expected to open up similar reduction processes for rarer metals, phosphorus for fertilizer and possibly even nitrogen fertilizer by thermal dissociation of nitrogen gas. Laboratory determinations of Ellingham curves still require a proper infrared temperature sensor, but it is estimated that a 3500 *C reactor could reduce any metal, even sodium.
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122The reason why a carbon reduction was deemed easier than electrical is due to the way magical force can contain material, no matter how hot. Even gas can be contained efficiently if the molecular speed is not too high. Furthermore, magical heating pays no attention to how hot or cold the material is, not requiring higher quality heat sources, just power. Just as a laser on Earth can be used to heat anything to incredible temperatures, so too magic. Without any of the inefficiencies of lasers or the attendant infrastructure.
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124High energy experiments have already managed to decompose hydrogen atoms into naked protons. I don't know what temperature was achieved exactly, but it's over 10 thousand degrees.
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126Magic
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128A power infrastructure has to take into account the characteristics of magical power. For that purpose, I shall detail recent findings with our experiments in high energy magic.
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130Magic Energy and Magic Density are terms coined since my last journal entry. Magic Energy is what we call a "charge" or scalar property of the mana that carries it, this magic energy is what is consumed when a magical effect is activated. Magic Energy is measured as magical power units and 1 unit is sufficient to counter the weight of one kilogram of mass against the force of gravity for 5 seconds.
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132Magic Density refers to the amount of mana within a unit volume, here our units were also in magical power units before the difference between the two was discovered. This is now referred to as magic density, where 1 unit is the ambient density at sea level in Minmay. Currently, this measurement is not widely used except in University records.
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134A common method of measurement is through pressure, the weight on a magical barrier piston that a certain magic density can support against ambient. A 2 magic density volume supports about 40 tons of weight per square meter. Obtaining magic energy from magic density difference to ambient yields about 170 magic power units from a 1 liter volume of 2 magic density. Rather like pressurized gas, the yield in magic energy scales proportional the magic density difference to ambient.
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136At current technology, a magic density containment vessel is limited by the physical materials that contain the pressure. Since the containers are often made of steel, powerful enchantments reinforced against the magical pressure can be supported, enough that the physical vessel fails first as pressure increases. With the appropriate safety margin, the best containment vessels can achieve about 50 magic density. The Borehole outputs at 1.05 magic density with just under 1 liters per second of volume, mana wells range from 1.005 to 1.02 increasing with depth and volume rates of 0.01 to 0.05 liters per second increasing with diameter. By having the bottom of the shaft actively pump magic density at the cost of magic energy, recouped at the surface, the Borehole now outputs nearly five times the power of what it did before, about 480 magic power units per minute.
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138Related to these measurements is a composite called the Power Ratio. This refers to the ratio of magical power units relative to magic density in one liter and is therefore related to the amount of magic energy each bit of mana is carrying. This ratio does not affect the operation of magical effects, which are limited to the total magic energy even in high magic density environments.
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140However, since magic energy can also be stored in high magic density storage vessels, and does not add to the pressure, a high ratio means more net energy can be stored within the same volume of the vessel. Since magic does not contribute to the weight of the containment vessel, the most weight efficient storage of magic is high magic density and high power ratio. This is of course important for the development of the flight project, which needs a weight and volume efficient power storage.
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142Power ratio when transferring magic energy between spells or effects stays exactly the same even if moving to a spell of greater or lesser volume. Theoretically, spells will have a maximum magical power units for a given volume equal to their power ratio times the volume; this was verified as power transfer from an equal power ratio source will not work once that amount is reached. This gets significantly more complicated when the source(s) and the existing spell have different ratios, the result is a mixture of magic with different ratios rather than an averaging of power ratio.
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144This theoretical limit is already known as the smallest volume that will contain the total power output of a mage, which is around 1.5 litres. (see notes below on human power ratio measurements)
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146Power ratio can be increased artificially. A different method of energy transfer than casting spells can push magic energy into a volume with a ratio above the level of its power source, but requires the source to have a higher magic density than the output. Interestingly, this is the same process by which casters 'flare' their magical signals as this generates a massive magical signature, possibly due to escaping magic energy.
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148The process incurs a penalty in magic energy of up to thirty percent. The magic energy successfully transferred to the magic density within the target volume thus adds to the final power ratio. Again theoretically, power ratio can be scaled infinitely by using the high power ratio energy as input for a second stage.
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150The problem with creating both high magic density, high power ratio storage is that this requires dedicated facilities since the processes to increase the power ratio outputs magic that has a density that is below ambient. Using that as input to a magic compression engine is thus very inefficient and requires multiple staging to get to the highest magic density levels.
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152The conditions for catalyzing conversion into the high density magical crystal seems to be a magic density above 60 and a power ratio of more than 1200. Properties of this high density artificial magic crystals are still being investigated, but they look promising as a method of energy storage as they are nearly as energetically dense as coal, without the attendant heat transfer problems coal would have.
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154Of interest to the summoner clans is that since the magic density of a human body is naturally around 1, and the past experiment had shown spellcasting expels magic from the caster of which the safe amount is also fixed at around 1.5 liters a day, the power ratio of the spell output is the definitive measure of the caster's magical power. A "common" knight has power ratios around 70, Landar achieves 150 on a good day. Ereli, the Hero's companion and currently regarded as the strongest caster alive reaches nearly 600. Barely trained humans manage 25 or so, Fukas are similar but can output almost 2 liters before fainting, Elkas have power ratios at less than 10 but can output almost 30 liters and recover that in half an hour. Elkas however gain power ratio very slowly even when trained, I suspect a different biological mechanism for their magical power recharge is responsible.
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156Landar and the university team have successfully created the first theoretical spell before a practical casting was performed. In traditional spellcrafting, spells were designed and refined with successive rounds of improvisation until the final form was experimentally optimized. However, their answer to the accelerated shield piercing blasts is both ingenious and so complicated that it is impossible for a person to cast it directly.
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158The shield is a diffuse shell set to modify all spells passing through it in the same way that magic circles or casters apply changes. By modifying the spell's boundary to be almost completely made of holes, the contained magic inside the attacking spell is rapidly leaked into the environment. Provided the shield is set far enough away from the target being protected, a disruption bolt passing through it will dissolve into the air before hitting. Initial calculations and design bore out in the magic circle version that was tested later.
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160While Minmay is glad that we finally have an answer to the shield piercing attacks Landar invented many months ago, I am more interested in the advent of theoretical spell design. Only Landar truly appreciates how far we have come in understanding magic that a design of a spell on paper could be refined and put into practice with only very minor changes later.
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162Chapter 114: To Iris, Again
163A/N: This chapter was half length but I didn't have anything else to put in since I wanted the next chapter to start at Iris.
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165Cato's new office was huge. There was even a desk for Polankal, a peasant turned secretary. Elegant wood paneling decorated the walls and floor, products of the steel tipped wood planer that could cut planks to exact dimensions. The elegant and minimalist layout of the desks, chairs and filing cabinets was part of the new fashion wave. Their steel legs and polished surfaces made for ideal office furniture, with little adornments to steal the eye's attention when it should be focused on paperwork.
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167The Minmay University had grown from the consultancy and research work it did for the companies in the city. The result was three new office buildings to house additional staff and less destructive experimental facilities.
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169Cato looked up from his stack of the latest experimental reports from the Ironworkers. Aluminum was coming along, still fraught with problems but the Minmay Ironworker company was stamping out the last few issues. It was a pleasant day of reading that was interrupted by a perfunctory knock on his door before the Chancellor himself stepped into the office.
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171"Chancellor Minmay, what can I do for you?" Cato said, rising from his seat.
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173"Hey Cato, congratulations on your recent engagement," the chancellor grinned at him. "I hear you are heading to the Iris Clan to formally announce it to her father?"
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175"Yes? It shouldn't affect my consultancy work, but I won't be working on new magic research during that time. I do need a break from that though. "
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177Minmay just nodded. "Yes, you do deserve a holiday. I was going to ask you to coordinate our schedules. I am also heading to the Iris at Barin town in a month. Given the success of our last talk, King Ektal and I are going to discuss the future of Minmay there and I would like you to be present as you did before. "
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179What he really meant was that Cato should be there as a reminder that Minmay currently held important scientific assets.
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181"We are also going to discuss logistics of the expedition north and your input to that would be welcome. "
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183Meaning Cato would be allowed to talk in that meeting.
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185Oh well, at least Cato and Landar would just have to leave and arrive first so they could get their engagement party out of the way before the political talks started.
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187"I understand. " Cato paused and asked the chancellor, "did you come here just to tell me that?"
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189They had a Minmay Post Office now, and such notices really should be in writing.
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191"You'll get an official notice later through the mail," Minmay replied. "Muller wants to meet regarding the sewer project and your office is just on the way. Come with me, there's some troubles about infrastructure I'd like your input on. "
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193Muller's report on the infrastructure project was both enlightening to the issues as well as troubling.
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195The large map of the city sprawled over the table in the businessman's office detailed the network of underground sewers, water and magical power pipes. In the more expensive districts, all three were present densely and marked to show they were of the third generation of such design.
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197"And so we have to do more work on the main Market Street, the water pipe there needs upgrading to the new design due to all the demand from the shops. They're already experiencing low pressure downstream of that road and I can't increase the water tower's pressure without bursting the pipes on Market Street. And over down by Ailecourt too, they share a tower. "
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199The Chancellor frowned as he considered the plans. Any waterworks would be slow and costly as it held up traffic on Minmay's busiest and biggest road. "Muller, this is the third time you've had to dig on that street. You can't go around digging holes in my city three times a year, and laying a whole new pipe? You're asking me to close that street for two weeks. At least!"
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201Muller almost pouted, "I'll probably need three weeks. The higher pressure pipes are bigger and need a deeper hole. Plus the magic power line is also there and will need to be worked around. "
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203"And why not use their access holes? They had the sense to leave their pipes accessible if covered. You shared a tunnel with them on Lakeshore road. "
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205The construction man shook his head, "no. The Minmay Power magic lines have too small holes, and even the old first generation water pipe is too small. I need to lay a water main, not a small branch line. "
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207Cato shuffled the pages detailing the plans of Muller's water lines under Market Street, trying to recall what the Sewerage company spinoff had done there. While not in direct competition, Muller's construction company, Sewerage and Minmay Power were sending their infrastructure across Minmay in their own schedule and in their own way. Magic power lines could be smaller and closer to the surface, did not require the sloping drainage of the sewerage nor the concrete base for sealed pressurized water pipes. Each of the three companies created tunnels according to their needs and their customers' needs and they did not necessarily know what the other companies were doing. With the rising prosperity and the associated demand for utilities, the public works was getting unmanageable.
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209"I think this needs a different paradigm," Cato interrupted them. "Public utilities need to lay their infrastructure and their services across Minmay but having three companies doing digging is a problem. Together with the roads themselves, this sort of work comes under the heading of utilities. If we're to eventually extend this service across the whole city, we're going to need a different sort of company.
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211Muller and I should bring this up to the Lesser Council about creating a different type of company charter. Public utilities are going to be very important for future development. This problem of upgrading each of the three lines and the road at different times is just one symptom. We not only need a company which is responsible public infrastructure as a whole, we also need to prevent using that access to the infrastructure for commercial manipulation. If a shop here depends on Muller's water pipes, then Muller's company can easily refuse to connect water to deny a competitor.
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213Plus we don't want to contaminate the fresh water supply with sewerage leaks. Just having a general policy of 'keep the sewers downstream' is not good enough. Requiring any infrastructure and service designated a 'public work' to file public plans with the Minmay council will help with both scheduling and planning around each other's requirements.
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215I recall there was a type of company on Earth called a public utility which was given responsibility of a type of infrastructure and had to provide a 'fair' cost regardless of who the customer was. In practice, the Lesser Circle should debate the rules and designate regions of the city to receive infrastructure services for this prospective company or companies. This sort of structure should also apply to the mana wells rather than leaving it to the current free for all drilling. "
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217Which might work for Muller too. His spin off company to handle sewerage was fine since nearly everyone did not want the city to stink. Running water was a luxury that was quickly becoming a fact of life but not quite cheap enough to be providing it to whole city, and his construction company was stuck managing a few water lines. Magic power rarely overlapped either of them as its main demand was the industrial district rather than commercial or residential areas.
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219A public works company that was some mix of government and private that handled sewerage and water while contracting construction companies to lay lines was a more sane way to organize things. And would help prevent wastefully digging holes one month for sewers, the next for water and again for magic.
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221Not that Muller or his higher level partners would lose much since they would have fingers in both pies.
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223From the Chancellor's perspective, having public plans for utilities would help commercial and district planning while further strengthening central control. Always a good thing for him. Despite Minmay's purge of criminal elements, the occasional corruption problem still cropped up as there was no mechanism to track or control who was doing what and where.
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225So it was not a surprise to Cato when the two men agreed to create a proposal for the Lesser Council to debate on.
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227"So the Magical Materials department managed to take some time out of the Ironworker's Water project to take a look at the Aura. The best they could tell was that Aura is definitely a magical material, as creating it requires the same concentration of magic into a small volume as with the others like Liquid Light. Furthermore, flexible materials like string and cloth definitely show that the phasing effect is a physical movement like acceleration magic and the way that enclosed candles stay lit when shifted shows wherever the Aura is moving things into contains air. The weird part is that the shadow effect doesn't seem to shift materials out of reality if Aura is created in too small quantity. "
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229Landar finished her summary of the findings of the Aura Light investigation that Cato had thrown to the university alchemists. The name was promptly shortened to Aura even though no one had managed to replicated the glowing version reported by Elkas in the mountains. Cato was far too busy with the Lesser Council, arranging University funding from research consultations and the development of the second generation magic circle.
230
231"So we still have no idea what Aura actually does. " Cato sighed. Despite his initial intuition that Aura shunted objects sideways into an unseen fourth dimension, the mechanics of such a thing was turning to be rather more complicated than just a fourth axis of motion.
232
233For one thing, the drop experiments seemed to indicate gravity worked differently in there. More like, there appeared to be none at all. But then the rotation or motion of the planet around ought to cause the phased objects to go shooting off into the distance once they were unlinked from the gravity of Firma. Something was holding them in place.
234
235Plus if the fourth dimension contained air as evidenced by candles staying lit and piyos staying breathing, presumably from the planet around them, then Kalny's tin food shouldn't have worked at all. A three dimensional container would not keep out air in a four dimensional space. And now news of a low, but definitely there, minimum required power to phase any physical object except light.
236
237The fourth dimension was turning out to be rather mysterious place.
238
239"You two, enough being lovebirds in the corner, lunch is ready. " The interruption to Landar's report came from Kupo, who was on cooking duty today. The merchant convoy they were attached two had stopped for a midday break since they had reached the Tine river crossing. Muller's half-completed bridge soaring over them as they camped on the riverside.
240
241Cato looked at Landar, seeing his own amusement dancing in her eyes. They shared a quiet giggle at Kupo's words before turning to the baked sandwiches. To think talking about Landar's projects was considered being romantic to other people!
242
243"We could discuss the arrangements for our engagement announcement," Landar laughed.
244
245Wait, there were arrangements? Wasn't it just Cato getting her parents' permission?
246
247"Oh, did you forget to Cato about the Iris traditions?" Kupo shot back. Cato schooled his expression quickly but it was clearly too late.
248
249Landar looked at him with wide eyes. "It's nothing that bad," she reassured him, "just a formal dinner and a..."
250
251A what? Landar's sudden pale face did not bode well.
252
253Luckily, just as Cato was about to get seriously worried, she put on a determined expression, "-and if Father tries to test your power for 'suitability', I have a shield piercing spellforming wand that will show him the error of that decision. "
254
255Cato sighed in relief, so it was just an Iris family tradition. Power obsessed as they were, this sort of test was not unexpected. Well, surely they wouldn't insist on it for out of family marriages right?
256
257
258
259Vincent and Gerd
260
261Leguna started working much harder in the days that followed, even striving for first place.
262
263By the end of the day, he understood how weak he was. While he might be someone normal people couldn’t hope to match, he knew his abilities were still insufficient to stand unperturbed in the world. If he wanted to protect himself and those he loved, he first had to grow much stronger.
264
265This sense of danger may be senseless, but Leguna felt it clearly. He always had a feeling that lots of complicated and troublesome things were just around the corner and he wanted to rely on his gifts to solve everything. But after his teacher’s scolding, he understood his mistake and started polishing his skills. He resolved himself to never use his gifts again unless it was absolutely necessary.
266
267One day passed after another as he trained with his companions. They did so mostly at a nearby gym, a place specially designed for impetus and magic users. It had special equipment and even hosted classes for rookies. The classes were only available to martial fighters. Magical knowledge was severely lacking in the empire.
268
269“My beautiful Vera, it must be fate that I got to meet you again,” Vincent exclaimed.
270
271“You again… Haven’t you been beaten up enough? You want another round?” Kurdak hissed.
272
273This idiot had set his sights on Vera. Vera’s thick autumn clothing couldn’t hide her tantalizing curves. The fool ignored Kurdak and stuck to Vera like an annoying fly. Vincent was a 14-stratum warrior, decently strong. Though Kurdak was only one stratum beneath him, his physique was far better than the man’s. At the same time, Kurdak was a mercenary with more than a decade’s experience — oceans more than Vincent.
274
275The two fighting over the woman every day and Kurdak won every time. Fortunately, the two knew their limits and didn’t seriously hurt each other. They were in the capital and a huge commotion would ensure the two had lots of trouble. They made sure to rent a space in the training center for their fights.
276
277Vincent went home to rest for a few days, but now he was back and apparently fully recovered. Even Kurdak had to be impressed by his stubbornness.
278
279“No, the tournament’s just about to begin. I won’t waste my energy,” Vincent countered.
280
281“Then why are you here?”
282
283“I’m here to check this little fellow,” Vincent smiled coldly, “You don’t know how the fights are allocated yet, given how hard you’ve been training. I’ve been matched against your friend in the third group. Just think about it. I wonder if any accidents will happen in our match. It’s really dangerous for a 9-stratum assassin like him to go into an open fight against someone five strata stronger.”
284
285“So you plan to go after him specifically?” Kurdak asked.
286
287“I never said anything like that. I’m only here to give you a heads-up,” Vincent snickered. He knew he was slightly weaker than Kurdak, so he wanted to provoke him so he’d strike him in public, which should land him in jail for a few days, even longer if he fought the constables.
288
289“I see…” was all he got out of the man.
290
291“What?”
292
293“I said ‘I see’.”
294
295“What kind of reaction is that?!” Vincent yelped frenziedly as he pointed at the kid, “Isn’t he your brother? Your best brother?”
296
297“Yes,” Kurdak nodded seriously.
298
299“Aren’t you worried I’ll target him? If I go hard on him, he might just die! Aren’t you worried at all?” Vincent looked at Kurdak like he was staring at a fool.
300
301Kurdak merely glanced at Leguna and read the latter’s expression. Leguna shook his head lightly.
302
303“I… I’m really worried!”
304
305“Worried my ass! Are you going to have him quit?!”
306
307“No, I won’t. He wants to fight, so I won’t stop him!”
308
309“Then you aren’t f*cking worried at all!”
310
311“Trust me, I am,” Kurdak frowned.
312
313“What the f*ck just happened?!” Vincent complained. Why the hell was Kurdak not concerned at all? Of course! The bastard must be trying to insult him!
314
315He could not know Kurdak was so nonchalant because he didn’t worry at all. He had trained with his little brother often and knew how strong he was.
316
317What a joke! He can beat me up even without his gifts! How the hell are you going to do anything to him? I should be more worried about you if you piss him off! Hehe… If you really defeat him, I swear to not take a shit for a month!
318
319“Alright, Vincent. Coincidentally, I’m also in the third group. As Mister Kurdak’s friend, I won’t let you hurt Leguna so easily,” another tall, handsome middle-aged man spoke as he approached. Although he wasn’t as massive as Kurdak, he was still ripped. Coupled with his air of maturity, he was really attractive.
320
321“Brother Gerd!” Kurdak smiled.
322
323Gerd was a recent acquaintance he’d recently met at the center. He was far more likeable than Vincent and got along well with the group. They had even had a drink together a couple of days earlier.
324
325“Mister Gerd,” Leguna nodded.
326
327“Don’t be afraid, little one!” Gerd laughed, “With me there, Vincent won’t try anything!”
328
329“Thank you, Mister Gerd,” Leguna smiled. He knew the extent of Gerd’s strength. The man was a 14-stratum warrior. While he could give Kurdak a good fight, he was nothing compared to Leguna. The kid wasn’t intent on revealing his abilities, though, so he naturally wouldn’t mind if Gerd stood up for him. He seemed like a decent enough person.
330
331Gerd was the center’s lead trainer. The things he learned were much different from Leguna and Kurdak. As he was only a lead trainer, the skills he taught were for subduing enemies. The three were different; they focused on killing their enemies. Gerd could never stand a chance against them in a fight, his mentality and skills were brutal enough. They weren’t fighting with death in mind in the tournament, however, so that gap was closed some.
332
333“Mister Gerd, do you really want to antagonize me? You know I have a few pretty strong friends in the third group. You’re stronger than me, but you can’t take on my friends.”
334
335Gerd smiled and patted Leguna’s shoulder.
336
337“Since I was fateful enough to make this little fellow’s acquaintance, I’m willing to oppose you. Also, do you think I can’t get in touch with a few friends as well? I’m much nicer than you, so if you have friends in the third group, then I have a couple more!”
338
339Vincent’s face changed. He knew Gerd had quite a reputation. In terms of connections, he really couldn’t compare to the man. He didn’t dare to get on his bad side. He glared at the two men before he left, not forgetting to check Vera out lustfully.
340
341“Worried?” Gerd asked.
342
343“A little,” Leguna answered, “Vincent’s really strong.”
344
345“Don’t. Nothing will happen with me around–” He turned to Kurdak. “–Ain’t that right, Kurdak?”
346
347“Of course!”
348
349“Alright. The tournament’s starting in two days. Since there’s nothing else, let’s get a drink. My treat!”