Chapter 4 | The Assassin’s Telecommunications Network
Maha continued to speak through the large device I’d created.
“I’m so moved. After two years, our work is finally complete. This sounded like nothing more than a fantasy when you first told me about it.”
“I’m sure it did. But now all the principal sites are connected, and the telecommunications network is complete,” I said.
“This will make Natural You unbeatable. I’ll use this to give you more support than ever, dear brother.”
Building this had taken a considerable portion of time and effort. We’d faced many obstacles along the way and patiently solved them one by one.
As part of the experiment, Maha gave me a business update and read the results of an investigation I’d requested. There were zero problems with the sound quality.
If I had to look for a slight issue, there was a tiny bit of lag because of the distance of the transmission.
“Am I imagining things, or am I hearing the voice of a girl I don’t know behind you? I also get the feeling that she’s lovely and harbors special feelings for you… Hee-hee, the idea that you went and got yourself a new girlfriend while I was working myself near to death for you is so funny I might cry.”
Maha and I concluded with a personal conversation before ending the call.
That was terrifying. What really scared me was that Maha didn’t even sound angry, just completely exhausted. She hung up without even listening to my excuses. I would have to go meet her in person soon. I asked the unreasonable of her every single day. I needed to make sure I looked after her.
Nevan hounded me for answers as soon as my conversation with Maha was over.
“Did that really come from Milteu?! That’s just under four hundred kilometers from here. Are you playing a prank on us? There isn’t a girl hiding in that box, is there?”
“I would never waste my time doing something so frivolous. Her voice actually traveled here from that distance.”
Nevan was speechless. Such range would enable much more than ordering an army on a battlefield; this could be used to connect people throughout the entire country. There was no way she didn’t see the possibilities.
Information had degrees of freshness.
Take business as an example. If you knew the market prices throughout a city at all times, you would be able to rake in enormous wealth just by moving goods from one spot to the next. However, because information needed time to travel, people couldn’t do that. By the time you procured some items, the market price may have already changed, or you might wind up in competition with others who had the same idea.
However, if you possessed a telecommunications network, you would be able to send and receive information instantaneously. That meant you would be able to deliver goods prior to changes in the market price and before rival companies had a chance to act. Even a monkey would be able to turn a profit.
The advantages spread beyond the business world. In every field, from politics to military affairs and more, instant data would allow you to view the world more comprehensively than those without it.
The ability to move a few days faster than the opposition would always give you a leg up.
The people of this world were not connected. News took longer to reach those who were farther from the source. We were going to be the only ones genuinely in touch with the world, granting us unparalleled coordination.
It was an advantage beyond what anyone in this world could conceive of. This invention would change the world.
“…If used to its full potential, this would enable world domination,” said Nevan.
“If that was our goal, yes. But as I explained earlier, I have no desire to do anything like that. I developed this only as a tool to strengthen my information network,” I responded.
Outside of employing it for Natural You, I had no intention to use it as anything other than a relay device.
“Um, Lord Lugh. How are you able to communicate over that far a distance? Two kilometers was the limit for that big box… Do you have something even bigger somewhere around here?!” asked Tarte incredulously.
“Ah, I’m curious about that, too,” Dia admitted.
Tarte and Dia recovered from the shock much more quickly than Nevan. They didn’t understand the value of this invention as she did.
Tarte’s question must have been on all of their minds.
“I was using a wireless version before, but this one is wired. The signal travels through cables that connect the devices. That’s why they can transmit so much farther than the wireless version,” I explained.
Dia looked around. “I don’t see a cable anywhere.”
“That’s because it’s underground,” I answered.
That was the biggest reason this had taken two long years to complete.
“Aren’t you worried about the wires, my lord? If one got cut somewhere, the devices wouldn’t work,” Tarte pointed out.
“You’re right about that. That’s why I made cables that wouldn’t break. This is what they are made out of.”
“It’s thicker than my legs,” Tarte observed, astounded.
“The part that’s actually transmitting the signal is thin, but it’s protected by ample material. I’ll show you how sturdy this is. Try as hard as you can to cut it. You can even strengthen yourself with mana.”
“O-okay, I’ll give it a shot!”
I held out the wire with both hands, and Tarte drew her knife and slashed it. Her boosted strength made the impact powerful. Her knife was a magic blade crafted from a special alloy I’d fashioned. The blow would have cut through iron, yet the cable rebuked her attack.
Tarte’s eyes were wide with clear surprise. “No way. It didn’t break.”
“That’s how strong it is. This wire can handle Tarte’s hits. It’s also soft enough to bend so that it won’t snap. And not only that, the cables are buried at least five meters underground. They’re tough to cut, and I’ve devised a way for the devices to function even if one is severed,” I elaborated.
“What do you mean by that?” Dia pressed.
“Two different routes connect the important sites. If one is disrupted, the signal will travel along the other.”
I’d designated Milteu and Tuatha Dé as core sites, so they were connected by both an east and a west route.
Dia arched an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘important sites’ suggests that there are other less critical ones.”
“Of course. There are twenty sites in total set up with a communication device. There is already one stationed in each of the kingdom’s major cities,” I said.
“Does that mean a voice can travel from one of the devices to any of the other nineteen?” asked Dia.
“That’s right.”
Anything less and it wouldn’t have been a network.
The maximum distance the wired devices could transmit a signal was eighty kilometers, meaning no sites could be farther than that from another. Once a transmission reached one device, it could amplify the signal and send it on to the next one, enabling communication over a distance of hundreds of kilometers.
The reason I’d prepared two routes was not just in case a wire was broken, but also in anticipation of a site’s destruction.
“The scale of this is unreal. I can see why it took two whole years,” said Dia.
“That was part of it, but having to build it in secret made it take much longer than it would have otherwise. I couldn’t just hire anybody for this. I needed mages who could wield earth magic, a significant number of them. I used forty percent of Natural You’s total assets to build this telecommunications network,” I explained.
“U-um, forty percent of Natural You’s assets could buy you a small castle, right?” asked Tarte.
“More than that. The price was significantly more than you’re imagining, Tarte,” I answered.
It wasn’t easy finding mages who would agree to such dirty work and be tight-lipped about it, and the ones I did locate had charged an exorbitant sum.
I’d made the telephone lines and the equipment myself, but most of the money still went to labor costs and bribing people in power to turn a blind eye.
“Whoa, that’s an absurd amount of funds,” said Dia.
“It sure was. I’m not concerned, though. Now that the telecommunications network is complete, I can make that back in two months.”
That wasn’t wishful thinking. It was the minimum amount I expected to make in that time. By my estimations, I would actually pull in even more than that.
That was the kind of profit I could reap by dominating my competition in an information war.
“Two months? You’re being overly modest. One week should be enough. I’m surprised you decided to share this with me. House Romalung would be willing to destroy a city or two for something like this. Actually, make that an entire country,” stated Nevan.
“I know you won’t take it from me by force. You believe that my value is even higher. Don’t you want to see even greater marvels?”
“Hee-hee, you’re like a chicken that lays golden eggs… Very well, I will keep this strictly to myself. Truly, you never cease to amaze.” Nevan smiled. She then began to grumble to herself about how effectively she would use this telecommunications network.
“There’s one other thing I’m wondering about. You used a wireless connection to advise us while we were flying earlier. Could this machine take a wired transmission delivered from another site and then send that signal wirelessly to a mobile device?” Dia inquired.
“Very sharp. That’s exactly right. The reverse is possible as well. You can only transmit one hundred meters with a mobile device, but that information can be picked up by one of the wired ones and delivered to a different site,” I answered.
I was impressed that Dia had deduced that on her own. I’d created both stationary and mobile communication tools specifically for that purpose.
The large wired apparatuses could transmit to all mobile ones in the surrounding region. That meant you could receive transmissions even if you weren’t at one of the hubs, and you could also send information to one of those sites from a distance.
This was the same way cell phones worked in my old world. Communication machines were set up in every city to send data to cell phones, and the machines were connected to other devices by wires.
The convenience of that system was one of the reasons I’d set it up this way, but more importantly, this enabled me to get away with not telling my intelligence agents the exact location of the large stationary devices.
I’d given my agents mobile phones, but I concealed the existence of the base units. I’d also informed them that the phones were excavated divine treasures rather than my own inventions. All they were aware of was that using their phones at specific locations let them transmit information across the country.
It wouldn’t especially matter if any of them betrayed me, because I didn’t mind if they told anyone the phones were divine treasures, nor did I care if they were stolen.
I only chose people I could trust to be my intelligence agents, but there was nothing wrong with being careful.
“Whoa, that’s amazing,” Tarte said.
“That’s why I want you to keep these communication devices with you at all times. They’ll allow you to contact me from most cities. Also, even if I’m not at any of the sites when you contact me, I can listen to a day’s worth of transmissions afterward,” I explained.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll take care of it,” Tarte responded.
“Wow, I’ll make sure not to lose it,” added Dia.
“I will never let go of it,” promised Nevan.
The three gripped their mobile communication tools.
Teaching the girls how to use them could wait. There were different channels, and each one served a different purpose. I’d made their mobile phones to only receive transmissions from my private channels.
“All right, the experiment is complete. Let’s head back,” I declared.
“Ah, I’ll go back with my hang glider,” stated Dia.
“I will use mine, too. That way, I won’t have to carry it,” Nevan said.
“Fine with me.”
Evidently, they had taken a great liking to the hang gliders. I watched as they flew off.
My personal phone rang. The channel being used was the one for my intelligence agents in the royal capital.
I listened to the report.
Tarte looked frightened as she commented, “Um, you look like something is upsetting you, my lord.”
“Sorry, I just got some bad news. It seems my network is coming in handy already. It likely would have been too late had this news reached me in three days. The jealousy of nobles is truly disgraceful.”
Receiving information in real time was just as valuable as anticipated. I hadn’t been wrong to make this investment.
I planned to use my swift access to this new information to take those idiots in the capital unawares. My strike would come quicker than they could imagine.
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