Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 590: Section 406: Mechanical Mind (Part 6)

Chapter 590: Section 406: Mechanical Mind (Part 6)

Just as always, Malin woke up promptly at 0700 hours in the morning. Malin had to admit, after having a good night’s sleep, that the bed was indeed better than any he had slept in over the years; its material was unknown, soft yet never sagging, and paired with absolutely refreshing air conditioning, it was a sensation he hadn’t felt in many years.

In Carterburg, the weather was either cold or on its way to cooling down.

And most importantly, last night Malin had played a game from a Polish company before going to sleep—the so-called "dream fulfillment" was probably exactly what this was about.

Breakfast consisted of peanut butter with slices of bread, and the local core AI even inquired about Malin’s allergy history. Of course, Malin didn’t have any allergies, so he happily ate breakfast and began to change his clothes.

Dressed in a Jane-style coat selected by Dorothy for him, Malin put on his shoes and walked out of the room.

"Jason, how did things go last night?"

"We’ve advanced to the control room, and almost all members were captured while in deep sleep. We also caught number 87 and number 29, among which number 29 is a bit strange, Mr. Malin."

"What do you mean?" Malin found it somewhat strange as well.

"Number 29 is familiar to me, but last night I realized she no longer recognized me, and her thinking was flawed—she appeared much younger than when I saw her before."

"...Her thinking was swapped?" Malin asked after thinking for a moment.

"It’s not that her thinking was swapped, it felt to me... she must have been replaced, the person I knew before had died. Her knowledge was injected into this current brain. Implanting knowledge is a very normal procedure, so I am currently intruding into number 87’s memories."

"I remember number 87 is mechanical, so don’t mind his life or death. If he dies, just find someone to activate his consciousness and then..." Malin walked on, stretching out his hand, and Fio jumped onto his forearm and wrapped around his wrist.

"Mr. Malin, where do you plan to go?"

"I’m going to see those children, could you prepare their data and charts? I want to get a concrete understanding of these children," Malin said.

"Of course, I can provide everything you need as quickly as possible, and then please accept Dorothy’s services. She is more familiar with the situation here than I am."

After he finished speaking, Jason directed his attention elsewhere, and Dorothy appeared before Malin: "Mr. Malin, please head up the corridor on your left. The Incubation Center is on the third floor. In the most recent incubation, number 29 hatched close to 400 children, and during the second incubation seven years ago, a total of 319 children were hatched. They will all be sent to Carterburg after they come out of the vats."

"Carterburg? Why?" Malin asked.

Dorothy quickly finished explaining why number 29 said as much, and then continued, "Sir Malin, these children are the result of the Casters synthesizing their own genes with the collected genes. They typically only live for five to ten years."

"I know, so I want to know what you all think about collecting my genetic material," Malin asked while walking up the steps.

The World Tree sentinels stepped aside for Malin, these tree people had followed Mana’s orders in last night’s battle, completely overwhelming the Casters’ security system.

"The Casters wish to collect your hair."

"A fine choice."

Malin nodded at the response—it was indeed the simplest to collect hair, particularly in one’s sleep, harvesting follicle-bearing strands; given the technology of the Casters, it was indeed a good method.

By the time they harvested Malin’s genes, it was certain that these guys would definitely use Malin’s genes to cultivate their new bodies. Unfortunately, they encountered a being like Malin who was unyielding.

"By the way, why send these children to Carterburg?"

"They want to know if these half-bloods could become apprentices and awaken Spiritual Energy." Dorothy’s answer silenced Malin—it seemed that these guys indeed wanted to become the deities of the new world, and Spiritual Energy was the fastest path to the throne.

"What’s the status of the first batch of children?" Malin asked further.

"The first batch of children were distributed across various locations to assess the situation on the ground, ultimately determining Carterburg as the safest area. Sadly, the second batch has now reached the age limit, and they have not managed to awaken their Spiritual Energy." Dorothy also handed Malin a list, filled with the names of the second batch of children.

Malin briefly scanned the list and noticed it even recorded which Church the children entered: "How do you know the whereabouts of these children?"

"We implanted chips in their brains, which inadvertently share all the intelligence with us."

"If your former masters had been more forthcoming, maybe all this wouldn’t have happened before. By the way, do you know what’s wrong with number 29?"

"There’s no issue with number 29. Number 101 didn’t grant me the permissions to investigate all members. I am the monitoring system, and Jason is the main control system. If he’s unaware as well, perhaps it would be a good idea to ask number 101."

"I understand. Tell Jason, maybe it’s a good idea to consider a change of person—and don’t forget to open the door, Dorothy." Malin said with a smile, looking at the door before him.

"As you wish, Your Excellency." As Dorothy responded, the door opened, and Malin saw the large room in front of him, with layer upon layer of cultivation tanks neatly stacked. Approaching one of the tanks, Malin found a young boy inside, about three or four years old.

"The child seems too young, Dorothy."

"This child will serve as a younger brother to another older child, in the adjacent tank." Malin nodded at Dorothy’s explanation—it seemed the Casters had indeed done well; with such set up, there would hardly be any suspicion.

Especially when Malin saw that older brother—a body of about eleven years old, very thin. If not for his awareness of the situation, he might think that the older brother had scrimped and saved food to safely bring his little brother all the way to Carterburg.

Such a child, regardless of talent, would be seen as a prime apprentice in the eyes of the Church.

Because he didn’t give up.

This thought led Malin to recall a past situation—years ago, the Goddess of Harvest Church had also encountered such a pair of brothers from the North, refugees who got separated from their parents on the journey: "Are their memories implanted, Dorothy?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. All children’s memories are implanted after they complete incubation. Typically, numbers 21 and 19 handle the task. They’re currently in sleep, would you like them to be awakened?"

"No need... I want to know, without implanted memories, would these children have memories of their own?"

"No, Your Excellency. All children’s brains are blank slates; they have no memories, no past, like a piece of white paper. If you do not implant memories, they could not survive. They are incapable of developing their own memories; they are merely tools crafted by the Casters."

Malin nodded: "I understand."

Yes, I understand. Some people have personally severed their own chances of survival.