Chapter 44: The Birth of a New Knowledge
Shiora smiled.
"I can prepare a commercial cover. Officially, we’ll only be developing decorative light boxes for the noble versions of the Valorian Games."
Adam looked at her.
"You just invented a cover in three seconds."
"Two seconds."
Selene rested her elbow on the table.
"For military use, we could record combat techniques. Young recruits could review the movements instead of relying solely on demonstrations."
Elena nodded.
"The knights could also use it for tactical training. Demonstrating a maneuver would be clearer than explaining it twenty times."
Elaria added:
"For crafting, it would be extraordinary. We could record a master’s movements. The temperature of a forge. The exact order of an alchemical mixture. Common mistakes." "
Vespera continued:
"For magic, we could observe the formation of circles, slow down the projection if we can modify the reading, and compare the mana flows."
Adam looked up.
"Exactly. If we can control the reading speed, enlarge the image, or isolate certain details, it will become an incredible research tool."
Elaria’s eyes shone even brighter.
"Slow down the reading... enlarge the image... isolate details..."
Shiora raised a hand.
"And for commerce, we could record product demonstrations. Show the quality of an artifact, present a workshop, promote the Valorian Games, broadcast an advertisement in several taverns."
Adam smiled faintly.
"In my old world, we called that advertising."
Shiora repeated the word slowly.
"Advertising." "
Her smile became dangerous.
"I like that word."
Isadora, however, remained more cautious.
"We’ll also have to decide who has the right to record. If just anyone can capture a scene without permission, it will create conflicts."
Lyriana nodded.
"And the risk of blackmail."
Adam nodded.
"In my old world, that was also a problem. Images and recordings could protect the truth, but they could also destroy a reputation."
A more somber silence fell.
Then Vespera conjured a small magic circle above the table.
"So we’ll have to create three safeguards. First, an origin signature to identify who recorded. Second, a content signature to verify that the recording hasn’t been altered. Third, a physical safeguard to prevent the object from being studied." "
Elaria immediately added:
"And a compartmentalized manufacturing structure."
Shiora added:
"Plus strict commercial control. Every single copy will have to be tracked."
Isadora concluded:
"And a ducal law before any distribution."
Adam looked at them one by one.
In less than a few minutes, they had transformed two plans into a technological, political, military, commercial, and legal project.
He sighed.
"I’m starting to see a pattern."
Elena smiled.
"Which one?"
"I have a proposal. You make it a controlled revolution."
Isadora replied calmly:
"That’s preferable to an uncontrolled revolution."
Adam couldn’t argue with her.
Then he added:
"There’s another possibility, too."
They all listened.
"We can break down the runes of these plans to understand their basic functions." Not just copy the object. Understand the principles. Recording, storage, playback, projection, sound, synchronization, eventual transmission."
Vespera stared at him.
Her smile deepened.
"Go on."
Adam felt he had just attracted the attention of the worst possible person for this kind of subject.
But he continued anyway.
"If we understand each function separately, we can create other derivative objects. For example, a remote communication device with image and sound. A pseudo-magical telephone."
Elaria murmured:
"Remote visual communication..."
Shiora leaned forward.
"Merchants would pay a fortune."
Isadora said more calmly:
"The leaders too."
Lyriana added:
"The spies even more so."
Selene smiled.
"And I could give instructions to the teams of adventurers without being there in person."
Adam continued:
"Another version could be installed in a room to broadcast information to many people at the same time. Like a kind of magical pseudo-television."
Vespera slowly crossed her fingers.
"That would require a stable signal transmission."
"Yes. And certainly relays. In my world, we used networks. Machines connected to each other to transmit information."
Isadora slowly folded her arms.
"The leaders of this world already have some means of sending emergency signals. Distress beacons, warning crystals, sometimes even military relays between major cities. But these systems are limited." They primarily transmit a simple signal: danger, attack, need for help, or immediate recall.
Vespera nodded gently.
"They aren’t true information networks. They’re alert lines. Fast, but lacking in content."
Adam placed a hand on his chin.
"Yet, if we take them apart and understand how they work, we might be able to learn how the signals are transmitted. Then, by combining that with the Memory Crystal and the Projection Box, we could imagine a more complex transmission. Not just an alert, but an image, a voice, perhaps even a conversation."
The room fell silent.
Vespera stared at the plans with a new intensity.
"It’s possible... difficult, but possible."
Then her red eyes narrowed slightly.
"Besides, there’s something else."
Adam turned his head toward her.
"What?"
Vespera projected an enlarged section of the map above the table.
Several unfamiliar runes glowed a deep red.
"These symbols. I don’t know them."
Elaria sat up straight.
"Neither do you?"
"No."
Vespera’s reply brought another silence.
If even she didn’t know these runes, it meant they were truly rare.
Or ancient.
Or completely new.
Adam frowned.
"Wait... Aren’t all the runes already known?"
Vespera slowly turned her eyes toward him.
"No."
Elaria then spoke, more calmly.
"Runes aren’t just letters. They’re more like words of law. Fragments of rules that allow the world to function. When a mage uses a rune, they’re not simply writing a symbol." He gives instruction to magic using a rule the world recognizes."
Adam remained silent.
This explanation changed everything.
Vespera continued:
"The known runes are those that have been discovered, studied, stabilized, and then passed down through generations. But that doesn’t mean they represent everything that exists. There are always new runes to be found. In ancient ruins, labyrinths, forgotten artifacts... or in planes like these."
Adam looked again at the unfamiliar symbols.
"So these planes don’t just provide technology. They might open a door to a still-unknown magical realm."
Vespera smiled faintly.
"Exactly. That’s why they’re even more valuable than you thought." "
Elaria murmured, her eyes shining:
"Recording, storing, projecting, transmitting... If these runes are linked to these functions, then they could create an entire new branch of magical crafting."
Shiora remained silent for a few seconds.
Then her smile returned.
"So it’s not just an invention. It’s a theoretical goldmine."
Isadora replied calmly:
"And a strategic threat if it falls into the wrong hands."
Adam observed the glowing plans.
Each time he thought he understood the value of a reward within the system, it revealed an additional layer of complexity.
"Very well," he murmured. "So we don’t just copy these plans. We study them. We conceptually dismantle them. We understand every rune, every function, every principle."
Vespera nodded slowly.
"This time, Adam, I completely agree with you."
Elaria had already opened her notebook.
"Magical Information Network..."
Adam placed a hand on his forehead.
"I think I should have saved this part for later."
Shiora chuckled softly.
"Too late."
Vespera added:
"Much too late."
Isadora studied the plans for a long time.
"This project must remain secret for now. Even more secret than the Valorian Games. The games can be released quickly. This technology cannot."
They all agreed.
Adam too.
He understood perfectly.
Games could influence culture.
But the Memory Crystal could influence truth itself.
And in a war against the Holy Empire, controlling the truth was perhaps as important as controlling an army.
Breakfast was almost over, but no one seemed to be thinking about leaving the table yet.
Everyone was sharing their ideas.
Elaria wanted to start with miniature prototypes, capable of recording only a few seconds.
Vespera wanted to test the runes’ resistance to alteration and erasure.
Shiora wanted to develop a multi-phase business strategy, with a more elegant name than "magic camera."
Selene wanted to record Adam during training to show him his mistakes.
Elena wanted to create training materials for the knights.
Lyriana wanted to test its use as evidence in investigations.
Isadora wanted to frame all of this politically before the project left the confines of the manor.
Adam, for his part, listened.
And the more he listened, the more he realized that these women weren’t just powerful individually.
Together, they formed something far more dangerous.
A force capable of taking an idea from another world and adapting it into a weapon, a tool, an industry, and a form of protection.
Finally, Isadora placed both hands on the table.
Silence returned immediately.
"Very well. Provisional decision. The Valoria Games are progressing as planned. Elaria will begin the prototypes today with Adam’s documents. Shiora will prepare the launch plan."
She then turned her eyes to the illuminated plans.
"As for the Memory Crystal and the Projection Box, they remain confidential. Elaria and Vespera will work on them together. Adam will participate in the conceptual explanations." Lyriana will check the security. Shiora will think about a commercial cover. Selene and Elena will prepare use cases for training.
They all nodded.
Adam timidly raised his hand.
Isadora looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Can I at least finish my breakfast before I become responsible for a second revolution?"
A silence fell.
Then they all began to smile.
Selene pushed her plate toward him.
"Eat. You’ll need it for training."
Adam looked at his plate.
Then at Selene.
"You say that like you’ve already planned something terrible."
"Yes."
"I would have preferred a lie."
Shiora laughed.
"Too late to hope for that in this mansion."
Adam finally took a bite.
As he ate, his gaze drifted to the plans laid out in the center of the table.
The Valoria Games.
The Memory Crystal.
The Projection Box.
The Urban Barrier.
The Training.
The Alliances.
Every day, something new appeared.
Every day, his existence in this world became a little heavier.
But also more important.
Adam looked down at his cup.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"A magic camera, a projector, board games, and an economic war against a fanatical empire..."
He shook his head slightly.
"My new life is becoming truly impossible to summarize."
Vespera replied calmly:
"Then don’t summarize it. Just keep going."
Adam looked up at her.
Then at the others.
They were all watching him with different expressions.
Amusement.
Curiosity.
Affection.
Interest.
Trust.
Anticipation.
He took a deep breath.
"Very well. Let’s move on then."
And, around the manor table, the first foundations of a new, silent revolution were laid.