Chapter 54: Day Three of Training 10
Elaria traced the connections.
"So instead of looking at the enchantment as a single structure, I can break it down into small, independent functions."
"Yes. That allows us to test each part separately."
The white elf’s eyes sparkled.
"And replace only the faulty function without rebuilding the entire circuit."
"Exactly."
Vespera leaned forward slightly.
"That would explain why some ancient structures are nearly impossible to repair. Their functions are too interdependent."
Adam nodded.
"It’s sometimes called an over-coupled system. A small change has consequences everywhere."
Elaria immediately wrote down the term.
"Coupling."
Vespera conjured several runes from the Memory Crystal.
"If we separate recording, storing, reading, and projecting into different functions, we can study them independently."
"Yes." "
Adam pointed to the symbols.
"You could start by building a system that records only a single light. Then another that stores a simple variation. Then you gradually combine the functions."
Vespera remained silent.
Then she looked at Elaria.
"We’re modifying the research program tomorrow."
Elaria nodded.
"Okay."
Adam watched them.
"I feel like I’ve just created even more work."
"Useful work," Elaria replied.
"It’s not any more reassuring."
Lyriana then spoke.
"How can this logic be used for espionage?"
Adam turned to her.
"Many ways."
The other women fell silent to listen.
"An infiltration mission can be broken down into stages. Choose an identity. Enter the area." Observe the guards. Find an access point. Gather the information. Leave the area.
Lyriana nodded slowly.
"That’s standard operation preparation."
"But you can also plan for contingencies."
Adam began counting on his fingers.
"If the main entrance is under surveillance, use a secondary entrance. If the identity is compromised, abandon the character. If the target changes route, move to the next observation point. If someone is following you, implement a counter-surveillance method."
Lyriana’s violet eyes narrowed slightly.
"And every choice must include an escape route."
"Yes."
She placed two small objects on the table.
"I could create several decision trees depending on the level of suspicion."
Adam encouraged her to continue.
"Low level: slightly alter the route. Medium level: check for pursuers." High level: abandon the mission and immediately transmit the information already obtained.
"Exactly."
Lyriana remained silent for a few seconds.
"This would allow us to train less experienced agents without immediately revealing all our advanced methods to them."
Isadora added:
"And to standardize certain procedures between allied intelligence services."
Lyriana nodded.
"With caution. A known procedure can be anticipated."
Adam agreed.
"That’s also a weakness of overly predictable algorithms. If an enemy knows all your rules, they can intentionally provoke certain reactions."
Selene smiled.
"Like feigning an attack to force the opponent to lower their guard."
"Exactly."
She rested her elbow on the table.
"So, in combat, you need to have several possible responses for the same situation."
"Yes. And sometimes add an element of unpredictability." "
Shiora twirled her coin between her fingers.
"Like in a market. If all the merchants react the same way to a price increase, someone can manipulate their reactions."
Isadora looked at Shiora.
"Which some merchants are already doing."
Shiora smiled without replying.
Adam continued:
"There’s also the concept of priority. When a system receives multiple problems at the same time, it has to decide which one to deal with first."
Elena thought for a moment.
"On a battlefield, protect civilians before pursuing the enemy."
Selene added:
"Eliminate the threat capable of killing the entire group first."
Vespera said:
"Stabilize a magic circle before repairing a secondary rune."
Elaria continued:
"Shut down an unstable forge before salvaging the materials."
Isadora added:
"Send food to a starving region before funding a new administrative building."
Shiora looked slightly hurt.
"Administrative buildings are sometimes important."
Isadora looked at her.
"No more important than starving people."
Shiora held up her hands.
"I didn’t say anything."
Lyriana added:
"On a mission, deliver the most urgent information before seeking further details."
Adam looked at them one by one.
"There you go. You all already know this logic. I’m just giving it names and a structure."
Elaria shook her head slightly.
"It’s not just a name."
She showed her notes.
"By separating the steps, conditions, variables, loops, and functions, we can observe things we previously only did intuitively."
Vespera nodded.
"And transfer a method from one domain to another."
Adam smiled slightly.
"That’s one of the biggest advantages. A good principle can be used everywhere."
Isadora placed a hand under her chin.
"Give us a more complex example."
Adam thought for a moment.
His gaze fell upon the dishes still on the table.
Then upon Isadora’s files.
"Let’s take food distribution during a crisis."
Isadora sat up slightly.
"Okay."
"First, we need data. The population of each neighborhood. The available supplies. The usable roads. The means of transportation. The specific needs, such as children, the injured, or the sick."
Isadora nodded.
Adam continued:
"Next, we define the priorities. Preventing famine. Supplying the medical centers. Maintaining the knights and guards capable of protecting the city."
Elena interjected:
"Without giving the troops more than necessary at the expense of the population."
"Exactly."
"Then we calculate the quantities to send to each area."
Shiora added:
"By minimizing transport losses and preventing multiple convoys from unnecessarily using the same route."
Lyriana continued:
"And by varying the routes if we suspect sabotage."
Selene added:
"With escorts tailored to the level of risk."
Vespera said:
"Alert crystals on each convoy."
Elaria added:
"And seals to verify that the shipments haven’t been opened." "
Adam looked at the entire group.
"Together, you’ve just built a complete logistic algorithm."
A silence followed.
They all observed the objects being moved on the table.
What had initially been just an abstract explanation had now become a usable plan.
Isadora was the first to grasp the method’s true significance.
"This way of breaking down a problem could improve almost the entire administration of Valoria."
Shiora smiled.
"And almost every business."
Selene added:
"And all training."
Vespera looked at the runes still floating before her.
"And magic."
Elaria gently closed her notebook.
"And crafting."
Lyriana concluded:
"And intelligence."
Elena smiled.
"So, in your old world, you had transformed logic itself into a tool." "
Adam remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Yes. But we also made many mistakes."
The tone of his voice became more serious.
"Algorithms can help to heal, organize, predict, or protect. But they can also monitor, manipulate, discriminate, or destroy. It all depends on the goals of the person who builds them and the information they choose to use."
Isadora looked at him intently.
"A powerful tool always reflects the intentions of its owner."
"Exactly."
Shiora placed her coin on the table.
"So before using this method on a large scale, we’ll need to define some rules."
Adam smiled slightly.
"For once, you’re the one asking for rules before selling something."
"I know a dangerous idea when I see one."
Lyriana murmured,
"Especially when it’s profitable."
Shiora gave him a mock-sentenced look.
"Your confidence touches me."
Selene burst out laughing.
The atmosphere gradually relaxed.
The meal had long since stopped being hot.
Isadora’s papers had been pushed aside.
Elaria’s notes now covered several pages.
Even Vespera had taken the trouble to write down some of the terms Adam had used.
Algorithm.
Condition.
Variable.
Loop.
Function.
Priority.
Error.
Checking.
Adaptation.
Adam looked around the table.
"I only meant to explain a few simple principles."
Elena smiled.
"With you, simple principles rarely become simple."
"I’ve noticed."
Elaria looked up.
"Tomorrow, I want you to explain logical fallacies in more detail."
Vespera added:
"And systems that can correct themselves based on their results."
Selene folded her arms.
"I want the decision tree for combat."
Elena added:
"And tactical simulations."
Shiora raised her hand.
"Commercial risk assessment."
Isadora said calmly:
"Resource allocation methods."
Lyriana finished:
"And counter-surveillance."
Adam remained motionless.
He looked at each of them.
Then he slowly lowered his gaze to his cold plate.
"I’ve just created my own problem again."
Elaria replied without hesitation:
"Yes."
Vespera nodded.
"But a very instructive problem."
Shiora smiled.
"And potentially extremely profitable."
Selene raised her glass.
"To Adam, who turns every dinner into a new training program."
Elena raised hers as well.
"Or a national project."
Isadora smiled slightly.
"Sometimes both."
They all raised their glasses.
Adam watched them for a few seconds.
Then he finally did the same.
"To Valoria, then."
The glasses clinked softly.
"To Valoria."
The conversation then resumed in a more relaxed manner.
But in each of their minds, something had changed.
Until this evening, they had viewed Adam’s knowledge as a collection of ideas from another world.
Games.
Technologies.
Economic methods.
Strange comparisons to programs.
Now, they were beginning to understand what connected all these things.
Adam didn’t just possess different knowledge.
He possessed a different way of organizing reality.
He observed a problem.
Divided it.
Identified the conditions.
Measured the variables.
Predicted errors.
Then reconstructed everything in a clearer form.
For Vespera, it was a new way of understanding magic.
For Elaria, a method for designing more reliable enchantments.
For Selene and Elena, a training and strategic tool.
For Shiora, a commercial weapon.
For Isadora, a method of governance.
For Lyriana, a structure capable of strengthening intelligence and security.
And for Adam...
It was simply the way he had always learned to think.
A habit born in front of a computer.
A logic acquired in his old world.
But one that, in this world, could one day transform far more than a few runic circuits.
It could transform all of Valoria.