Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 655 - The Progress of Civilization (Part 2)

Chapter 655: Chapter 655: The Progress of Civilization (Part 2)

Chapter 655: Chapter 655: The Progress of Civilization (Part 2)

“Acquiring this briefcase was actually very complicated.”

Shard said slowly, snapping open the locks on either side of the briefcase. He was not afraid of any self-destruct mechanism inside; if need be, he could use the “Breath of Ages” to revert back.

“I guess it must contain something extremely vital. Like… the troop deployment map on the Southern Draleon border.”

“Or, the blueprints for the Kingdom’s most advanced warship or the methods for smelting special alloy,”

Angelina guessed.

“Or, the private details of the Kingdom’s politicians or a detailed list of bribes received by civil servants,”

Lecia said offhandedly, as all three looked towards the black leather briefcase on Shard’s lap.

“In this era, there should be nothing more important, worth stealing by so many top agents, right?”

Shard thought to himself.

[Outlander, do you really think these are the most important things?]

“She” asked softly, it felt quite miraculous to hear someone talking just behind him in the somewhat cramped carriage.

“Civilization is essential, but how can civilization possibly fit inside a briefcase?”

Shard responded in his mind, then he opened the briefcase. Just as he expected, it was filled with paper materials, file folders, official documents, letters, and blueprints in a disorganized pile, and there were even two books.

This made the briefcase look less like a container for secrets and more like the luggage of a professor on a business trip.

“What’s this?”

He murmured curiously, picking up the first document, and by the light of a gas lamp outside the window, he read the title of the document:

“Preliminary Draft of the Design Principles and Diagrams for the Second Generation Simple Mechanical Integrator — Data Storage Section”

Lecia and Angelina looked curiously at Shard, as he suddenly widened his eyes and even his hands holding the document began to tremble.

“What? This is…”

He held the document, stunned for quite a while, then he hurriedly searched through the other documents in the briefcase, flipping through various diagrams and theoretical books, eventually throwing all the papers back into the briefcase, smacking his cheeks in disbelief.

“Oh, I know the Kingdom is researching this, heard it’s a classified project,”

Lecia inquired.

“Sister, are these documents more important than military deployments, ship specs, or political secrets?”

Angelina curiously asked while holding her cat.

“Yes, all important, this is the schematic design of the Difference Engine… Difference Engine is the name I coined, it should be a large-scale mechanized gear calculator.”

Shard nodded, looking out at the night scene through the window. Having mobilized so many resources, the operation that started in the spring of 1853 finally made him realize what Carsonrick was scheming.

He initially thought, regardless of the contents, this operation had already been a failure due to the numerous casualties and the many secrets exposed to MI6.

But now he understood, completely understood, that Carsonrick didn’t care about the losses of this operation, because as long as the briefcase successfully fell into the hands of the Anjou Royal Family, it would be a victory.

“This is…”

He took a deep breath:

“The progress of civilization.”

The starlight outside shone on Shard’s face, the well-traveled Outlander understood better than most; for a civilization progressing along the path of machinery and steam, what the data in his hands represented:

“This is the embryonic form of the next generation of civilization…”

He could hardly resist praising the Gray Gloves, praising that Kingdom located at the southern part of the Old Continent. This briefcase was worth any cost to acquire.

“I don’t understand, it’s just a calculator. Calculators that can quickly perform addition and subtraction have already appeared, but those are just for auxiliary calculations,”

Angelina shook her head, the cat curiously watching Shard, having never seen such an expression on him.

“No, Angelina, no, it’s not like that,”

He cautiously closed the briefcase, then pressed his arms on top of it, softly saying:

“Think, when a calculator achieves multiplication, division, and integration, further realizing more complex calculations and control commands, what could the zeros and ones, the on and off states, become?”

Being from a land where even its technological level hadn’t achieved miniaturization of steam engines, he didn’t mind using a richer imagination to envision how far this civilization on a different technological path could develop.

“What does it represent?”

Lecia asked curiously.

“It represents the beginning of the next industrial wave.”

Squinting slightly, the value of the briefcase in his hands was far beyond the 200 pounds he had paid.

A casual flip through had already made it clear to him that the prototype of this advanced computational aid machinery had indeed been designed. Although it was only the most basic operational machinery, once people realized the qualitative change brought by miniaturization and integration, the contents of this box would become an invaluable treasure.

“Imagine on the assembly line of a steam factory, the results outputted by computational machinery driving levers and gripping arms, replacing workers in repetitive pressing tasks. Imagine when a steam network spread across the world connects this machinery, transforming input steam pressure into input digits, using computational machinery to wisely distribute, and convert output digits back into thrust to control air valves; imagine…”

“Wait, Shard, could this truly be achieved?”

Lecia asked with furrowed brows, Shard nodded seriously:

“Let’s simplify it. Compared to simple mechanical computers that can only do addition and subtraction, these capable of multiplication, division, and even integration will significantly accelerate the development pace of industries like metallurgy, mechanical manufacturing, shipbuilding, weapon design, and more… Of course, provided that large steam computers can be manufactured.”

What he held in his hands were merely the principles and the prototype, and although they seemed impressive, the documents’ titles also stated these were temporary concepts and models.

“Oh, yes, very valuable!”

Fire Jumper Larus III greatly valued the education of the Cavendish Family, both Lecia and Angelina had also undergone advanced systematic education. Although they still didn’t fully grasp Shard’s initial “wild idea,” they understood the significance of large computational aid machinery.

“Really insightful, Carsonrickians truly have an eye for value.”

Shard couldn’t help but praise, but he also knew his place:

“So what should be done with this briefcase? This time, let’s not just toss it into my cellar again.”

“Of course not.”

Lecia said, then gave it some thought and asked;

“Since it was acquired from Grey Gloves, can you return it to them?”

“Certainly.”

Shard nodded, the “last words” left by Professor Higgins’s spirit had mentioned the method of passing it on tomorrow.

So Lecia took the briefcase:

“Tonight, I’ll organize people to copy all the documents in this briefcase. Afterwards, I will send someone to verify the specific source of these documents, as the loss of such documents cannot be without any trace. As for the originals in the case, Shard, you give them back to Grey Gloves.”

“Hmm? Why?”

Shard asked, puzzled.

“I’ve heard of this research, a joint project between the Kingdom and the Church of Creation. The Church of Creation is also working on similar subjects with Carsonrick, and it seems now that this collaboration isn’t entirely shared, and Draleon’s progress is a bit faster.”

Lecia curled her lips:

“Once the people I find have verified these documents, I’ll extract a key page or two, then replace them with different content. Since you named it ‘Difference Engine,’ I’ll forge a few letters in the name of Draleon’s secret mechanical expert ‘John Watson,’ convincing Carsonrick that this really is the Difference Engine… This will be interesting. This way, the box of documents will aid Carsonrick’s research and also confound them. I’m not really doing anything bad, it should be considered a good deed… beneficial for both nations.”

Shard nodded, not caring whose hands these documents ended up in:

“What about the copies? Will you keep them for your own research?”

“Of course not, how can I possibly compete with the Church and the Kingdom’s research progress? Since I found the Kingdom’s important lost documents, naturally, I should let my father know, this is my achievement.”

Although it was Shard who had found them, he did not want to get involved in such dangerous matters, so leaving it to Lecia was fine.

“I will handle it well, it’s very valuable.”

The Princess smiled, then suddenly looked at Shard in a way he was familiar with.

As expected, the Red-Haired Princess hooked Shard’s chin with her finger, then leaned in and gave him a kiss:

“Very nice.”

“Sister, could I use this merit to avoid marrying someone I don’t like?”

The Little Princess asked cautiously while holding a cat, Lecia looked at her with an expression that seemed to scare Angelina a bit.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

“Don’t worry, Angelina, as long as you keep listening to me, you won’t be used as a political tool and married off to anyone.”

Lecia turned her head slightly to look at her sister, her tone less gentle than when speaking with Shard. Shard could only see the half of her face illuminated by a gas light outside the window, and he had to admit that apart from those witches, Lecia was among the most exquisite girls he had encountered.

“Okay, Sister.”

The sixteen-year-old princess nodded and then glanced at Shard:

“Detective, you will help me too, right?”

“Yes.”

Shard smiled and nodded, compared to the dangers and troubles he faced, the troubles of the young princess were not difficult:

“Lecia, I need to pass the briefcase on tomorrow morning.”

“No problem, I’ll have someone return the briefcase to you tomorrow morning. Shard, you really brought something great this time.”

Shard shook his head, not saying much else. Still, he genuinely felt he was touching the pulse of civilization. In this world endowed with steam gears and mystical elements, Circle Sorcerers raced and battled for various goals, yet the civilization of ordinary people didn’t stagnate for this.

This era was more vital and intriguing than he had imagined.