Chapter 104: A Blessing for Kaul!

Kaul stared at Eden, momentarily stammering.

"You… you mean you want me to continue with the experiment?"

After the severe chaos his last experiment had caused, Kaul had assumed the governor would permanently ban him from experimenting and impose a harsh punishment.

He had already resigned himself to continuing his work in secret as long as he wasn't burned at the stake this time.

When the Machine Spirit Link Technology was perfected, he could finally show those fools in the Mechanicus what true mechanical artistry looked like.

Praise the Omnissiah, for Kaul would never yield, sacrificing himself for the greatness of technology!

But to his shock, the governor was allowing him to proceed with his experiment?

"That's right. You must continue with your work immediately."

Eden's words left Kaul thoroughly perplexed.

"Why?"

"There's no time for explanations. Right now, we need people with your talent!"

Eden warmly clasped Kaul's hand.

"You keep working on that Machine Spirit Link… let's see this thing completed as soon as possible."

Kaul had truly surprised him.

From what he described, the Machine Spirit Link was essentially an enhanced version of the network—an interconnected system combined with AI, all in one.

And since it involved machine spirits, it even had some metaphysical defenses against Chaos corruption.

Of course, as long as he wasn't foolish enough to power it with raw Warp energy, the chances of it blowing up were slim.

Since the Machine Spirit Link was so advanced, why waste time on a vulnerable network? Supporting Kaul's research was clearly the better path.

"Governor, are you deceiving me? Previously, you outright opposed my Machine Spirit Link research, calling it heretical junk…"

Eden frowned. "Did I really say that?"

Kaul, still a bit indignant, insisted,

"I remember clearly. June 14th, four years ago, at 7:34 a.m., after a minor experiment mishap, you arrived and said those exact words, even banning the Salii family from all experiments…"

Eden thought for a moment, vaguely recalling the incident.

Back then, Kaul had blown up an entire workshop. Though it hadn't triggered a Chaos event, the explosion was far more powerful than this recent one.

This guy…

If the Salii family weren't so tightly bound to the Grant family, providing numerous invaluable technological services, he'd likely have faced execution a hundred times over.

But talent in technology was rare.

Even the Emperor Himself had to endure the reckless antics of those under his command.

Take Magnus, for example. The primarch had shattered the Webway passageway that the Emperor had painstakingly worked to repair, allowing daemons to invade reality.

The Emperor had nearly ascended from sheer anger.

Eden forced a smile, fixing his gaze on Kaul.

"You must be mistaken, right?"

Even Kaul, as stubborn as he was, quickly caught on.

With a stoic expression, he said,

"Hmph, you're right. I must be mistaken!"

Eden didn't mind. He waved his hand dismissively.

"In any case, your family's Machine Spirit Link Technology is highly valuable.

I promise, on behalf of the Grant family, that the Royal District will unconditionally support your experiment.

Once the Machine Spirit Link is perfected, it will be deployed throughout the district."

Kaul finally believed Eden's words.

The technology his family had painstakingly researched for nearly a millennium was finally acknowledged!

"My lord governor, have you come to understand the greatness of the Machine Spirit Link Technology?

Allow me to explain, 010101010111000001010101010…"

Excited, he began spewing binary code.

"Understood, fully understood!"

Eden nodded and shifted his seat a bit farther away to avoid getting splattered by any mixture of blood and other unknown fluids that Kaul's wounds might spew out in his enthusiasm.

Once Kaul calmed down, Eden inquired about the challenges in his experiment, seeing if he could help resolve any issues.

The most troublesome problem was energy. The main Machine Spirit unit required vast and stable psychic energy as its power source.

This was something Eden could handle.

He planned to let Kaul harness the psychic energy of the mini-sun as the power source for the Machine Spirit core.

This energy source would not only be stable but also controllable.

If anything went wrong with the Machine Spirit core, he could immediately cut off the energy, forcing a shutdown or even destroying it outright. With the sun's psychic energy enveloping it, the Machine Spirit core's resistance to corruption would be further strengthened.

Eden looked at Kaul.

"If you had a stable psychic energy source and full support from the Royal District, how long would it take you to create a functional Machine Spirit core?"

The pressing issue was whether Kaul could finish it quickly enough.

After all, his family had spent nearly a thousand years on this research, and Kaul had only recently developed a prototype.

Who knew how many years it might take to go from prototype to practical application?

Eden couldn't afford to wait that long.

Faced with Eden's inquiry, Kaul hesitated.

"I… I'm not sure. It depends on whether I get the right inspiration…"

Eden was dumbfounded—did he really lack confidence?

He offered a sincere suggestion.

"If all else fails, maybe seek a bit more… inspiration from the Changer of Ways, Tzeentch?"

"Huh?"

Kaul looked horrified. As the child of a tech-priest, he knew of Tzeentch.

But he didn't even dare mention the name of such a forbidden entity.

After all, Tzeentch was one of the Mechanicus' most despised and feared foes.

To tech-priests, nothing was more abhorrent than having someone tamper with their creations, inserting bugs and backdoors.

Why Eden dared to say it… perhaps he was unique, with substantial backing.

Seeing Kaul's nervous expression, Eden reassured him.

"Just kidding. Take it easy and focus on your research."

Though, it wasn't entirely a joke.

If Tzeentch's influence was minor, Eden might still be able to cleanse and pull Kaul back from any corruption.

Besides, Tzeentch was a true master of technology, genuinely providing the knowledge one might need.

Though, of course, with some "extras" included.

For instance, Kaul's device for extracting Warp energy could well have been inspired by Tzeentch—and it worked quite effectively.

In fact, it had even helped Eden strengthen the mini-sun's influence on reality.

Thank you, Tzeentch, for your technical support!

Kaul wiped the oily sweat from his visor.

"Such jokes should be kept to a minimum. The great Omnissiah would punish such disrespect.

I, Salii Kaul, will never have any association with that one. Such things are for the traitors of the Dark Mechanicum!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you."

Eden replied casually.

Then he gave Kaul an ultimatum.

"The Royal District will meet any of your needs, but this support isn't unconditional.

You must show progress within six months, or your experiments will be banned again!"

A little pressure was necessary; otherwise, who knew how long Kaul might keep tinkering or if he'd come up with some other dangerous idea.

As for whether Kaul could produce a functional Machine Spirit core, Eden wasn't too worried.

Because he planned to bestow a blessing upon Kaul, enhancing his capabilities.

This blessing would be well worth it.

In the future, advanced power armor and even starships would require Kaul's technical expertise.

That evening, back at his tower residence, Eden spent one million points of hope energy to bless Kaul.

He activated his psychic core, locating the essence of Kaul's soul, and infused it with the energy from the mini-sun.

Inside the Mechanicus workshop.

Creak, creak—

The sound of grinding metal echoed.

Kaul was flipping through a thick technical manual, a mechanical arm scratching his head as he pondered the Machine Spirit Link.

Suddenly, a refreshing, invigorating scent of machine oil filled the air.

The Mechanicus bell tolled, accompanied by a complex and beautiful binary hymn. In a vision, Kaul saw the great Omnissiah.

Praise the Omnissiah!

(End of Chapter)

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