Chapter 100: The Advisor
An hour had passed since Tefen departed, and gradually, the isolation mode of each AI was lifted.
Ringo assessed the likelihood of a virus infection as nearly zero, but out of caution, he was conducting a complete cleaning (full scan) of each unit after isolating them on the local network.
With the defense capabilities at their lowest level, various aircraft were dispatched from the Second Fortress to compensate for the lack of strength. It was expected to take at least two days to restore the original combat power.
“Well, the timing of the runway’s completion might be a stroke of luck amidst our misfortunes,” Eve remarked.
“Yes, Ma’am. In a few hours, the aircraft produced at The Tree will arrive. Simultaneously, we will begin construction of the oil refinery plant, which is scheduled to start operations in 40 hours.”
Large oil tankers were being outfitted in the massive construction dock of The Tree, and they were expected to be completed in a few days. The oil refinery plant was being prepared at the Second Fortress, with plans to conduct most of the refining there. Excavation of the lava deposits and the construction of multiple resource refining plants and large-scale printers were underway, with a plant for mass production also being built. Once a stable supply of oil was secured, the production of numerous machines would become feasible.
“The oil extraction plant is progressing smoothly for now. The processing capacity of the temporary plant is limited, but it feels good to know we can produce it ourselves!”
The paving work at the Oil Port utilized locally produced asphalt, allowing for construction without depleting stored materials, which kept Commander Eve in high spirits.
Ultimately, there had been no battle with the Selket, which significantly minimized the impact on plant construction. While caution was still warranted, there was a sense of relief. The sisters, who had been exhausted from their first large-scale operation, had fully recovered after a night of rest. Eve had thought the experience would leave them traumatized, but it seemed they had managed to process it without lingering effects.
“Thanks to this experience, all AI, including myself, have grown significantly. We are still analyzing what happened, but our adaptability will surely improve as a result.”
“Indeed… Perhaps we should investigate the fantasy creations in the library. Even if it doesn’t align perfectly with reality, it might enhance our understanding of magic.”
“Yes, Ma’am. It might be beneficial to operate an AI dedicated to analyzing and proposing fantasy technologies. When observing non-scientific phenomena, there tends to be a bias towards scientific analysis in the standard AIs of The Tree, including myself. Fortunately, we avoided combat this time, but it is a fact that we found ourselves in a critical situation. Even if it seems absurd, an AI capable of offering some suggestions may be necessary.”
Ringo had various considerations in mind, but there was a tendency to struggle with magical concepts. When attempting to analyze or predict phenomena that contradicted the laws of physics, the stress levels of the Brain Unit would rise. This issue arose because the foundation of knowledge was rooted in scientific technology. It was believed that accumulating magical knowledge would eventually resolve this, but progress in that area had been slow.
“Alright, let’s proceed with that plan. We’ll use stories as textbooks for the educational phase. After they have developed to a certain extent, we can introduce scientific knowledge. If they absorb it well, they might become excellent advisors. If not, we can always start over.”
“Yes, Ma’am. In that case, we should use the neural network emulator instead of the Brain Unit. Once we are confident in our success, we can transfer the knowledge to the Brain Unit, ensuring nothing is wasted.”
“…Ah, I see. I had forgotten such a thing existed. With The Core’s computational power, it should be manageable. My understanding was that it had low performance relative to its cost, but that was during the gaming era.”
“Yes, Ma’am. If we only compare costs, the Brain Unit is superior, but since it is a pseudo-biological brain, it feels a bit wrong to dispose of it easily.”
Eve nodded at Ringo’s explanation. The Brain Unit was essentially a unique item that could not be copied or backed up. While it was an excellent AI, it possessed a personality, making it inappropriate to discard it simply because it was unusable. In the gaming era, such units could have been dismantled without a second thought, but now that they were in reality, Ringo’s aversion to killing its own kind was entirely understandable.
“Will the neural network emulator be discarded if it fails?”
“The probability of failure is low, but in the unlikely event of a problem, it will be archived and stored in the memory area.”
“I see.”
It seemed that even the emulator would be recognized as a personality. For AIs, the process of freezing and storing was not something to be avoided. However, Ringo appeared to believe that the likelihood of failure was low, given the experience gained from producing multiple Brain Units.
“Well, I probably won’t be of much help this time, so I’ll leave the education to you.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Leave it to me.”
After deciding that a new advisor would soon emerge, Commander Eve took a moment to review the results of the recent battle.
Despite intending to engage with overwhelming force, the outcome was a complete defeat—literally total annihilation. Fortunately, the combat power was expected to recover in about two days, but they had been thoroughly baptized by the mysteries of this fantasy world. The encounters with the Rain Kroin and the Worm felt almost like a tutorial in comparison to the disastrous results they had just faced.
Considering the reasons for their defeat, it was likely due to having prepared too much frontal combat strength. The enemy had also brought numbers, which meant that most of the multi-legged tanks had been positioned too close. If they had dispersed their forces and focused on long-range bombardment tactics, it was highly probable they could have avoided this failure. The bombers should have been stationed much farther away as well.
Additionally, they needed ground-to-ground missiles. Honestly, they had assumed that artillery and bombing would suffice, so they had not prepared any missiles at all. They had avoided them due to their low power relative to cost, but now it seemed necessary to prepare missiles.
The problem was that they could not use GPS guidance.
“By the way, Tefen left, but what happened afterward?”
“We are currently observing from a distance, but it seems to be hunting while moving, just as before. No particularly unusual behavior has been noted.”
“I see. It doesn’t seem like they retreated, but perhaps they acknowledged our presence… Well, as long as they aren’t hostile, that’s fine. If they start to approach, we’ll need to devise countermeasures.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The AI cleaning of the multi-legged tank units was completed, and the combat power of the Oil Port and extraction plant had returned to normal levels. From here, they would further strengthen their defensive capabilities. It had been confirmed that large threat creatures were present in the vicinity, so they decided to install fixed emplacements for large-caliber coilguns. These versatile cannons could launch not only standard shells but also large bombs and missiles. However, they would require a significant amount of power to operate, necessitating the installation of a fusion reactor.
Additionally, to increase responsiveness, multiple vertical missile launchers would be installed. They prepared supersonic missiles capable of reaching a final impact speed exceeding Mach 4, allowing them to strike before the enemy could even recognize their presence. If they could bombard continuously, even the monsters with defense membranes would be overwhelmed.
The defense membranes were particularly strong against instantaneous pressure, such as explosions, and could almost completely negate them. However, they were weak against repeated pressure, collisions from large masses, and blunt force, rapidly losing their strength under such conditions.
The winning strategy seemed to involve neutralizing the defense membranes through continuous bombardment or weighty weaponry, then delivering shells into the breach. However, the lack of samples made thorough investigation a challenge.