The Path of Steam - Part V
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2024 10:31 pm
12nd Ash, 124
In the weeks following the activation of the remains, Stefan had repeated the experiment, which he had difficulty thinking of on those terms. It was still referred to thus to outsiders, which was everyone but Eitan. How Eitan referred to the situation to others, Stefan did not know. He was allowed to continue his work, and that was what mattered. His family mattered, his daughter and sons, his wife, and Zaichaer mattered. Of course they did, but his energy, thought, and as much time as possible were taken up by the little room deep below the Windworks and its contents.
Delia knew some but did not press him on the matter, Luca knew some and while there were moments when she seemed interested it was from an engineering prospective, which bothered him significantly less than sympathy would have and was the opposite of the chastisement he had worried might greet him. He included her in parts of the situations that could be easily explained without mention of the things that should not be spoken of. She was smart enough, far too smart, not to realize that there were parts missing in what she was told him that same intelligence meant she knew that prying too far would get her cut off. Why this project of Stefan's also felt like an open wound in him was obviously making her wild with curiosity but when it did not abate the First Minister allowed himself to be grateful that his brother-in-law was keeping some secrets from his wife.
The results of this extended experimentation had been, as much as Stefan hated the term, there was no other word for it, miraculous. There was a consciousness within the remains, one that had at least some semblance of Brenner's memories. The mind that remained seemed to be made entirely of metal, some sort of living metal that Stefan was afraid to ask anyone outside of Zaichaer about. Seeking answers elsewhere would lead to questions and Stefan could stand none. There would be no questions, not until he had all the answers he needed.
First had come the stabilization of the power system so that Brenner's new body could remain constantly powered. The longer this new version of his brother was 'awake' the more he seemed able to recall himself. Physically, it was like rehabilitation after an injury and also like a toddler learning to walk. Stefan had experience with both these things and sometimes it was difficult to remember that he couldn't help his children or Eitan's by adjusting a set of mechanisms when they fell down.
Slowly they gave Brenner more space, first, removing the restraints so he could try to move about the tiny room in which his rebirth had taken place, then, after Eitan had extended the wards on Stefan's larger laboratory, they moved him there. While he was slowly learning how to use his new body, which seemed to cause him both frustration and elation, he was also beginning to learn, again, how to communicate. Maybe all of Brenner was still in there, and only had to re-learn how to access himself through the new pathways of thought, but Stefan did not think this could be true. He was optimistic, but even he knew that a significant amount of memory and thought, personality, lay within the physical meat of the human brain. In reality, all of it did, at least, that was his belief, but something had happened to Brenner before he had died. What that was, this new, mechanical version did not seem to have any knowledge of but his ability to communicate remained frustratingly simplistic. At least through the medium of the telegraph. Some days it was impossible to get words out of him at all, anything that was tried coming out as gibberish when it was actual letters at all. Other days it was as if the mechanism was being bypassed and the communication flowed directly as thought. There were words then, even conversation. Stefan was able to explain some of what was happening, what had happened. When, on the next good communication day, Brenner had asked follow-up questions it proved that he had the ability to retain new information and the logic the process it.
Stefan had cried over this, alone, afterward, but hadn't told anyone, even Eitan. All information concerning the project was presented as intellectual, logical experimental data. Even when his family could see that it was going through frantic stages of emotion, he never let it be connected to his work. Not out loud. Brenner never showed any form of emotion except, very occasionally versions anger and this only at what he considered to be threats to or enemies of the State.
Once Stefan had the full armored suit attached to Brenner, so that none of his mechanical innards were showing, a few more people, Order members, were allowed to come in and work with him. Stefan could not be there all the time and the new Brenner did not require sleep, so he could work at all times.
Brenner's ability to recall himself as a person came in fits and starts, some days it was as though he were entirely a machine, others he was nearly human in his behavior, even occasionally bring up jokes and jests from their youths or teasing Stefan. On these second type of days, the most common thing that was expressed was a desire to do something to work in service of Zaichaer. This was a sentiment that no one involved could argue with but it took some time for Stefan to come up with an option. After discussing it with Eitan and setting up fail safes that would allow instant disconnection, he had offered to connect Brenner to the network of dragonshards that allowed for the running of the Sky Islands. The whole multi-island complex was really set up as one giant airship. They had to be able to work together and quickly adjust to prevent concussions and allow for mechanized flight. They rarely moved from their space above the high city, but they were capable.
When connected, Brenner had gone silent, for hours, but there had appeared to be no danger to the Islands, so they had left him to examine the network. When he had emerged he'd had many questions, which he had thrown out, rapid fire at Stefan, faster than he could answer before returning to his nearly dormant state.
Over the next day the engineers that maintained the Islands in the sky had sent in dozens of reports of tiny adjustments being made without anyone seeming to have made them. The result was a significant upswing in power efficiency. Stefan had explained this as an experiment he was running to streamline the Islands, which had been excepted, it had invented the network that ran them, after all. A few days later, similar reports had began to pour in from the Windworks. Somehow, Brenner had jumped from one network to another and began fixing any tiny malfunctions or inefficiencies he had found in the airship factory.
Stefan had pulled him out of the network to ask questions about this, but Brenner would never do any harm to Zaichaer, or the Windworks, they were a part of him, figuratively in life and now, in this second life, more literally. Brenner became the mind behind, or, inside of the Sky Islands, which were seen as the new heart of Zaichaer.
The engineers who ran the Islands eventually reported that they felt redundant and requested reassignment. They were needed elsewhere, so this relieved yet another burden from the State. A few were kept on, in case of emergency, but most were released to important projects in the rebuilding effort. Stefan kept Brenner informed of these developments, thanking and praising him for doing the job of literally dozens of men.
They discussed additional possibilities. The communications network was one, if Brenner was able to act as a real time, nearly instant transfer and information system, the messages coming through that network could be relayed to where they were needed most almost as quickly as they arrived without the need for people to listen to each message, interpret it and figure out who needed to see it.
The Order, particularly the magical and mundane branches that worked on invention and innovation were as fascinated and excited about the possibilities as Stefan was. Though he did not understand it, with Brenner's permission, the magical side took some small samples of his inner skeleton. This was what allowed Stefan to realize that the bones, or rather, the metal that made up the bones, could regrow. Human bones could, of course, given enough time and proper medical care, but it was this unexpected discovery that had laid to rest Stefan's final doubts about whether this Brenner was actually alive or not.
For Stefan personally, it was like having his little brother back, except he didn't fight with this one, and this one always seemed to say what it was thinking so he wasn't left guessing. They were working together as well, with this new, mechanical brain, Brenner could easily understand all of Stefan's work and, together, they could expand and perfect it. It felt like it had when they had been boys together, like the future was theirs and that there was nothing they could not accomplish with each other and Zaichaer, for Zaichaer.
In the weeks following the activation of the remains, Stefan had repeated the experiment, which he had difficulty thinking of on those terms. It was still referred to thus to outsiders, which was everyone but Eitan. How Eitan referred to the situation to others, Stefan did not know. He was allowed to continue his work, and that was what mattered. His family mattered, his daughter and sons, his wife, and Zaichaer mattered. Of course they did, but his energy, thought, and as much time as possible were taken up by the little room deep below the Windworks and its contents.
Delia knew some but did not press him on the matter, Luca knew some and while there were moments when she seemed interested it was from an engineering prospective, which bothered him significantly less than sympathy would have and was the opposite of the chastisement he had worried might greet him. He included her in parts of the situations that could be easily explained without mention of the things that should not be spoken of. She was smart enough, far too smart, not to realize that there were parts missing in what she was told him that same intelligence meant she knew that prying too far would get her cut off. Why this project of Stefan's also felt like an open wound in him was obviously making her wild with curiosity but when it did not abate the First Minister allowed himself to be grateful that his brother-in-law was keeping some secrets from his wife.
The results of this extended experimentation had been, as much as Stefan hated the term, there was no other word for it, miraculous. There was a consciousness within the remains, one that had at least some semblance of Brenner's memories. The mind that remained seemed to be made entirely of metal, some sort of living metal that Stefan was afraid to ask anyone outside of Zaichaer about. Seeking answers elsewhere would lead to questions and Stefan could stand none. There would be no questions, not until he had all the answers he needed.
First had come the stabilization of the power system so that Brenner's new body could remain constantly powered. The longer this new version of his brother was 'awake' the more he seemed able to recall himself. Physically, it was like rehabilitation after an injury and also like a toddler learning to walk. Stefan had experience with both these things and sometimes it was difficult to remember that he couldn't help his children or Eitan's by adjusting a set of mechanisms when they fell down.
Slowly they gave Brenner more space, first, removing the restraints so he could try to move about the tiny room in which his rebirth had taken place, then, after Eitan had extended the wards on Stefan's larger laboratory, they moved him there. While he was slowly learning how to use his new body, which seemed to cause him both frustration and elation, he was also beginning to learn, again, how to communicate. Maybe all of Brenner was still in there, and only had to re-learn how to access himself through the new pathways of thought, but Stefan did not think this could be true. He was optimistic, but even he knew that a significant amount of memory and thought, personality, lay within the physical meat of the human brain. In reality, all of it did, at least, that was his belief, but something had happened to Brenner before he had died. What that was, this new, mechanical version did not seem to have any knowledge of but his ability to communicate remained frustratingly simplistic. At least through the medium of the telegraph. Some days it was impossible to get words out of him at all, anything that was tried coming out as gibberish when it was actual letters at all. Other days it was as if the mechanism was being bypassed and the communication flowed directly as thought. There were words then, even conversation. Stefan was able to explain some of what was happening, what had happened. When, on the next good communication day, Brenner had asked follow-up questions it proved that he had the ability to retain new information and the logic the process it.
Stefan had cried over this, alone, afterward, but hadn't told anyone, even Eitan. All information concerning the project was presented as intellectual, logical experimental data. Even when his family could see that it was going through frantic stages of emotion, he never let it be connected to his work. Not out loud. Brenner never showed any form of emotion except, very occasionally versions anger and this only at what he considered to be threats to or enemies of the State.
Once Stefan had the full armored suit attached to Brenner, so that none of his mechanical innards were showing, a few more people, Order members, were allowed to come in and work with him. Stefan could not be there all the time and the new Brenner did not require sleep, so he could work at all times.
Brenner's ability to recall himself as a person came in fits and starts, some days it was as though he were entirely a machine, others he was nearly human in his behavior, even occasionally bring up jokes and jests from their youths or teasing Stefan. On these second type of days, the most common thing that was expressed was a desire to do something to work in service of Zaichaer. This was a sentiment that no one involved could argue with but it took some time for Stefan to come up with an option. After discussing it with Eitan and setting up fail safes that would allow instant disconnection, he had offered to connect Brenner to the network of dragonshards that allowed for the running of the Sky Islands. The whole multi-island complex was really set up as one giant airship. They had to be able to work together and quickly adjust to prevent concussions and allow for mechanized flight. They rarely moved from their space above the high city, but they were capable.
When connected, Brenner had gone silent, for hours, but there had appeared to be no danger to the Islands, so they had left him to examine the network. When he had emerged he'd had many questions, which he had thrown out, rapid fire at Stefan, faster than he could answer before returning to his nearly dormant state.
Over the next day the engineers that maintained the Islands in the sky had sent in dozens of reports of tiny adjustments being made without anyone seeming to have made them. The result was a significant upswing in power efficiency. Stefan had explained this as an experiment he was running to streamline the Islands, which had been excepted, it had invented the network that ran them, after all. A few days later, similar reports had began to pour in from the Windworks. Somehow, Brenner had jumped from one network to another and began fixing any tiny malfunctions or inefficiencies he had found in the airship factory.
Stefan had pulled him out of the network to ask questions about this, but Brenner would never do any harm to Zaichaer, or the Windworks, they were a part of him, figuratively in life and now, in this second life, more literally. Brenner became the mind behind, or, inside of the Sky Islands, which were seen as the new heart of Zaichaer.
The engineers who ran the Islands eventually reported that they felt redundant and requested reassignment. They were needed elsewhere, so this relieved yet another burden from the State. A few were kept on, in case of emergency, but most were released to important projects in the rebuilding effort. Stefan kept Brenner informed of these developments, thanking and praising him for doing the job of literally dozens of men.
They discussed additional possibilities. The communications network was one, if Brenner was able to act as a real time, nearly instant transfer and information system, the messages coming through that network could be relayed to where they were needed most almost as quickly as they arrived without the need for people to listen to each message, interpret it and figure out who needed to see it.
The Order, particularly the magical and mundane branches that worked on invention and innovation were as fascinated and excited about the possibilities as Stefan was. Though he did not understand it, with Brenner's permission, the magical side took some small samples of his inner skeleton. This was what allowed Stefan to realize that the bones, or rather, the metal that made up the bones, could regrow. Human bones could, of course, given enough time and proper medical care, but it was this unexpected discovery that had laid to rest Stefan's final doubts about whether this Brenner was actually alive or not.
For Stefan personally, it was like having his little brother back, except he didn't fight with this one, and this one always seemed to say what it was thinking so he wasn't left guessing. They were working together as well, with this new, mechanical brain, Brenner could easily understand all of Stefan's work and, together, they could expand and perfect it. It felt like it had when they had been boys together, like the future was theirs and that there was nothing they could not accomplish with each other and Zaichaer, for Zaichaer.