“Telegram” Experiment

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

What a dangerous time to live in, Paul thought as he sailed back to Alden Town.

Orcs, rebels... things he used to think were far from his reality were now feeling suddenly close, as he encountered more and more people and events.

The highest building in Alden Town—the lord's castle—came into view, followed by the full panorama of the town. Perhaps it should no longer be called a town; with the constant influx of population, including local Alden workers, permanent merchants, recruited talent from the south, and refugees resettled here, the population of Alden Town had now surpassed ten thousand.

The original island located in Lake Wes could no longer accommodate such a large population, so the southern shore was undergoing extensive construction. Simple residential buildings were being erected in rows. The Alden Island wasn't exactly in the center of Lake Wes but was closer to the southern shore, connected to the land by a newly built multi-arch bridge.

On the outskirts of the southern residential area, several new factories were still under construction. With the end of the Northwest Bay War and the restoration of trade routes, the Ministry of State had timely increased the output of various goods.

A small city of decent size was gradually taking shape. As Paul looked at the newly built houses, his mind calmed down. This was his home in this world. No matter how stormy the outside world was, this would always be his safe harbor.

Only Schroder accompanied him back to Alden Town this time. After discussions, the army left the Second Infantry Battalion in Manda. The other units would return to Alden on navy warships, along with the militia conscripted during the war, who would be disbanded and sent home. The auxiliary soldiers recruited locally would also be disbanded.

The Alden military would ultimately retain a force of around 5,000, including six infantry battalions, an independent artillery company, an independent transport company, and over 1,000 naval personnel.

The old steward, Ford, led the officials of the Ministry of State to greet him at the dock. After some pleasantries, Betty excitedly approached him.

"Paul! Paul!" She was the only one in the entire territory who addressed the lord so casually.

"You seem so excited—there must be good news?"

"Yes, yes! Let me tell you…"

Eileen's expression was like a child who had scored full marks, eagerly awaiting praise. "Our first flag signal line is complete!"

"Oh! That's wonderful!"

This was indeed a pleasant surprise. Since the second outbreak of the Northwest Bay War, he hadn't paid much attention to the construction of the Chappe Telegraph, having entrusted it entirely to Eileen and old Ford. Paul was the kind of person who had a burst of enthusiasm for about three minutes. He could manage overall planning and outline designs, but once it came to the specifics of each step and the detailed implementation of the project, his interest would quickly wane.

According to the plan, the first communication line was Frand Harbor - Alden Town - Buteya.

Paul eagerly asked, "Does it work? Have you used it to send any messages?"

Eileen lifted the sides of her skirt, gracefully curtsied, and said with a smile, "We've successfully tested it internally, but we've been waiting for you, Lord Earl, to come back for the public demonstration."

Paul rubbed his hands together, grinning. "You know me well, you know me well."

...

Two days later, a large crowd gathered in the small square outside the lord's castle in Alden Town. The townspeople had been informed that the lord would publicly demonstrate a long-distance communication method, using different signals to represent different letters and relaying them over a series of tall towers to distant locations.

At the same time, near a newly built tower by the town hall in Frand Harbor, a crowd had also gathered. Among them were Mayor Theodore, advisor Peter, Navy Commander Austin, as well as merchants like Todd and Gedwyn, and factory owners. They were all eagerly awaiting the first long-distance signal communication experiment in the Northwest Bay.

The signal tower in Alden Town was the tower on the lord's castle. As the hub of the planned communication network, it was essential to have the base station as close to himself as possible to minimize the time required to receive emergency messages.

In front of the eagerly awaiting crowd, Paul walked out of the castle gates and stood on the steps, loudly announcing, "You all must know what we're about to do. To test this new method of communication, I've thought long and hard and decided—"

"I'll let those present suggest what message we should send."

As soon as Paul finished speaking, the square erupted into a loud commotion. The first message in the long-distance communication experiment might go down in history, after all.

Everyone began to rack their brains, trying to come up with the most impressive message they could, and the square was abuzz with discussions.

A servant brought out a table, placing a quill, ink, and paper on it. Paul continued to shout, "The process is as follows: We will first send the message to Frand Harbor, and then Frand Harbor will send it back to us exactly as it was. The person who suggested the message will verify whether the returned message matches the original. So, who wants to provide the first message? If you've thought of one, come forward and write it down."

To Paul's surprise, the crowd fell silent.

After the initial excitement wore off, people realized the significance of the experiment. What if they said something wrong and angered the lord?

Hansel, standing nearby, bowed to Paul and suggested, "In this situation, Lord Earl, you are the highest authority here. If you don't write the message yourself, it should be written by someone you appoint."

Paul said, "Alright, Hansel, I'll pick someone."

He scanned the crowd several times until he spotted a familiar face. Pointing forward, he loudly called out, "Morrison! You do it!"

The vice principal of the monastery, who had been watching from the crowd, froze, pointing at his own nose. "Me?"

Paul confirmed, "Yes! You!"

The crowd quickly pushed Morrison to the table. It was clear that the vice principal was a bit nervous.

What should he write? This message had to be meaningful. Writing something random would not be fitting for someone of his status. Morrison scratched his head in thought.

Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he picked up the pen and wrote a sentence.

The paper was soon sent up to the tower at the lord's residence. The crowd held their breath, watching as the tall signal arm on the tower was operated by the signalman, moving into various positions.

Finally, the signal arm stopped moving. Now, all they could do was wait for Frand Harbor to relay the message back—assuming it reached its destination successfully.

The square was once again abuzz with chatter as people began to speculate on what Morrison had written and whether the message would be successfully relayed.

From the moment the signal arm stopped moving, less than 20 minutes had passed when suddenly, a servant ran out of the castle gates, waving a piece of paper and shouting excitedly, "It's back! It's back!"

The square erupted in cheers, but quickly fell silent as everyone waited to hear the servant read the message aloud:

"If successful, you will soon bask in the light of glory!"

Morrison exclaimed, "Not a single word was wrong!"

With a roar, the square erupted into celebration. After all, it would take nearly a full day to travel back and forth between Alden Town and Frand Harbor, even on horseback.

(End of the Chapter)

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