Chapter 837 Telephone
"Any news from Castel? What did the lord say? Is the White Disaster about to completely dissipate?"
Alexei carefully held the receiver with both hands and spoke urgently into the black box in front of him.
This is something Castel has just developed; the lord calls it a telephone.
It was said that electricity was being used, but Alexei was not very trusting of electricity. Although both the wires and the telephone had been protected with a metal mesh, he still felt a sense of fear.
The idea that evil spirits reside in electricity is an ancient rumor. Although the lord has repeatedly assured us, it will take time to accept it.
On the contrary, the words of the Imperial Truth technical priests who came to install the equipment reassured him more.
"A sacred filter capacitor is installed inside; it will block the distorted high-order harmonics of evil beings!"
That's a very satisfying statement.
Unfortunately, Alexei had also received a complete advanced education, and he spent some time reading through the relevant papers before realizing that it was nothing more than a deceptive tactic.
Perhaps this is the curse of knowledge: once you possess knowledge, it becomes difficult to obtain that cheap sense of security.
Fortunately, after reading the paper, Alexei gained a basic understanding of the development of electricity and knew that the telephone was indeed relatively safe, which reassured him a lot.
The long detour from trust to trust is exactly what Hughes hoped to achieve. He wanted people to retain the most basic ability to question, rather than elevating technology to a pedestal and worshipping it, as the Mechanical Sanctuary did.
Despite his understanding, Alexei couldn't help but swallow hard at the thought of his voice being transformed into an evil electric current.
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat helpless: "Lord Alexei, you are the governor of the North, so why are you asking Castel about the White Disaster?"
Alexei chuckled upon hearing this: "Gwen, I am the governor of the North, but the White Disaster doesn't obey my orders. On the contrary, the lord has a deeper influence over the White Disaster."
This is not only his idea, but also the consensus of many people in the North.
Hughes did not reveal the secret of the White Disaster for various reasons. After all, little Gwen was still inside, and if everyone knew about it, it would probably attract a lot of prying eyes.
In fact, there are quite a few now. It is said that the old woman guarding this place gets into a fight with the investigators every few days.
Since Grandma got the Dragon Breath Cannon, her combat power has increased dramatically. Before, the Fire Moths were always being chased and beaten by the Holy See, but now the tables have turned. Grandma is now chasing after the Investigator with the Dragon Breath Cannon.
That was incredibly enjoyable; she used to dream about such exciting scenarios.
Although it wasn't made public, the people of the North weren't fools. From all the signs, it was easy to draw a conclusion—Hughes was at least capable of controlling the White Catastrophe from continuing to spread.
At first, no one believed this. After all, the Silent Sanctuary had spent so long and even lost all the land of the White Raven Duchy without solving the White Calamity. How could Hughes, a lord from the south, possibly do it?
But as time went on, people had to accept the reality: Hughes could indeed control the White Disaster to some extent.
As for the reason, even Alexei didn't know it.
“I don’t know either.” Gwen sighed. “The lord only sent me here to monitor the White Disaster, but didn’t give me any specific tasks. Perhaps the White Disaster is indeed coming to an end soon.”
The white calamity is indeed fading away, but not very quickly.
As for what's in the White Disaster, Gwen gradually frowned.
She remembered the little girl who fell from the sky when she was surrounded by bones.
No one had ever seen her, no one knew who she was, and Gwen asked many people, but she couldn't find her whereabouts.
Later, Hughes told her that it was another "Gwen".
Thinking about this, Gwen still found it somewhat unbelievable—"Gwen" is not a noble surname, so why would anyone want to take it from her?
Hughes called her Little Gwen and became Big Gwen himself. Big Gwen didn't object, after all, it was another Gwen who saved her life.
"Live on." That's what she said then, her eyes filled with resolute will and blessing.
Gwen wanted to see those eyes again.
"I can't say much about the White Disaster. In short, I'll be in the Northern Territory for a while. The lord has assigned me some tasks."
"Understood. You can contact me if anything happens," Alexei said in a deep voice.
He had a vague feeling that the White Calamity might not bother the North for much longer.
The clear voice on the phone gradually turned into a jumble of static. Alexei didn't dare to delay and quickly hung up the phone. Then he performed a blessing ritual used for exorcising demons—he connected the ground wire to the telephone.
There is indeed some polluting noise in the world's electricity, so even relatively safe equipment like telephones have to take extra precautions.
The telephone cabinets even require a technical priest to perform regular consecrations and check for any accumulated contamination.
Even with all this trouble, it was worth it. Gwen was in another city in the North, at least tens of kilometers away from Alexei's Scourge Prison.
A journey of tens of kilometers, taking a train back and forth to relay messages, takes a long time, but with a telephone, you can communicate with each other as soon as you pick it up, as if the person on the other end is right in front of you.
"What amazing technology!" Alexei exclaimed.
The dedicated telephone cables are laid underground, with special relay nodes where operators are stationed to connect the lines.
This is the most dangerous job. Operators need to wear thick protective suits. The moment the current is turned on, the high walls of reality may be breached, and the polluted seawater in the sea of ignorance may flow back into reality.
Such things rarely happen in Castel. The Sea of Unknowables near Castel is strangely quiet and docile, but this is the North, where the shadows beneath that world reveal their savage nature.
"Lord Alexei, this is the latest product list from Castel. Please take a look."
Alexei nodded and took a list from his assistant.
This is, after all, the North, and most of Castel's news is delayed, especially new things that have been successfully developed, which often arrive in his hands much later.
Take this telephone for example. In Castel, it has undergone multiple rounds of testing and is gradually being deployed. Bloodharbor has also completed the network in important locations, and the Banshee is specifically responsible for its maintenance. But here in the North, it is just a single line that has been laid.
However, Alexei didn't care too much about these things. The development of the North was still in its early stages, and the industrial system was still under construction. There was not much need for these cutting-edge technologies—after all, it was a peaceful place, and there was no more war.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the North will remain peaceful for a long time.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
