The likelihood of the black tower in the city becoming the final battleground had just skyrocketed, becoming the most probable of all outcos. Jenkins recalled his perilous venture to the top floor, the statues of three kings he had seen there, and a fresh wave of speculation washed over him.
"Besides that black tower, what else do you know about the Reverser of Fate's ritual? I rember reading in a letter last year about soone called 'Mr. B, the Reverser of Fate'."
He pressed on.
"That title is likely an alias for a chanically augnted individual controlled by the machine; it needs its own eyes and ears on the surface. As for the Reverser of Fate, the ritual's success paradoxically hinges on fate. While its purpose is to subvert destiny, it must first align with it. All of its actions you've discovered so far—everything pushing the world toward its end—are almost certainly part of the ritual."
"Would disrupting those actions damage the ritual?"
"Yes, but the impact would be minimal."
"So, in other words, the Reverser of Fate's ritual is essentially unstoppable."
"You could put it that way. However, if you found a way to kill the one conducting it, the ritual would naturally be stopped."
This was as good as no advice at all. If Jenkins had a way to find the Difference Engine and the confidence to defeat it, he wouldn't be in this predicant.
Still, this second trip underground had been incredibly fruitful, even without unearthing a critical clue. Learning more about the Reverser of Fate was vital for his future plans.
The A4 Type Arithtic Auxiliary External Machine promised to continue its calculations and predictions for the near future, but it required Jenkins to supply more intelligence about the enemy on the surface.
A corner of Jenkins's mind remained wary; feeding information to such a powerful computational entity could have unforeseen, disastrous consequences. Yet, after probing its intentions several tis, he had co to trust its loyalty. With Mason Pisco's involvent as an added assurance, Jenkins ultimately divulged everything he knew—the tainted tobacco, the great fire, the tallic black tower, the spatially anomalous zones, and more.
Having dealt with that for the ti being, Jenkins gestured for Alexia to step forward for her turn to speak.
Alexia had long since prepared her questions. They were concise and focused primarily on the machine's operating principles and chanical structure.
While Jenkins understood the basic design and principles of a difference engine, he was lost when it ca to the intricate details. He had never formally studied the subject, after all, and he knew absolutely nothing about the sort of arcane technology that blended the physical with the taphysical.
He had hoped that listening to their exchange might catalyze the formation of the power that was still stirring within him, waiting to erge. But after a short while, he realized that while he could follow the conversation, it offered him no personal insight or benefit.
Alexia's focus was on algorithms. While the topic was certainly enlightening, it wasn't entirely foreign to Jenkins. His interest soon waned. Though he continued to listen and commit the details to mory, he understood it wouldn't aid his own developnt.
Alexia's discussion with the machine lasted a full two hours, with Jenkins and the coachman waiting patiently. The mont Alexia uttered a final "thank you," Jenkins knew their talk had concluded.
He drew his fingers away from Chocolate's chin and walked over to Alexia.
"Well?"
He was sure his tone was brimming with curiosity.
"Having this chance to speak with an intelligent machine, a subject I've studied for so many years... for a very long ti... has been invaluable. Compared to poring over docunts and deciphering ancient tablets on my own, what I've learned today is worth... a great deal of past effort."
She was deliberately downplaying any words related to ti, though Jenkins hardly noticed.
"The design philosophy behind these machines, and their algorithms... it's all truly fascinating."
Alexia said with a smile, then rose onto her toes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I actually know a thing or two about algorithms myself," Jenkins offered. "If you're interested, I could even give you a simple introduction to binary."
Jenkins had a basic grasp of the simple ones and zeros of machine language. He was by no ans an expert, but he believed that even a small spark of inspiration could be of great help to the brilliant woman before him.
"How curious," she mused. "You seem to know a little about everything."
"Not at all. I only know what I need to know. So, what did you get out of today? Do you need to go back and contemplate it all, or would more discussion help?"
"I'll probably need to lock myself in my room and think for a while when I get back," she said. "But I do have sothing I can show you now."
As she spoke, Alexia extended her right hand, and a sky-blue cube materialized above her palm.
"I've realized the mysteries of mathematics are far more profound than I imagined," she explained. "When applied to machinery, shifting numbers can give rise to an intelligence that astounds humanity. Perhaps my own perspective on numbers has been too simplistic. It reminded of that toy you once had for your cat."
"What toy?"
Jenkins couldn't recall ever getting Chocolate a toy.
"The one you called a Rubik's Cube."
"Oh, that..."
Back when Jenkins had first mastered the combined use of his Creation Pencil and Psychography, Rubik's Cubes were the things he created most often. Last autumn, before Alexia left Nolan for Ruen, she had visited his ho many tis to discuss mathematics. She had seen one of the cubes, and Jenkins had lied, claiming it was a toy for Chocolate.
While Chocolate was incredibly fascinated by the Godhead tal Block, it had absolutely no interest in the puzzles.
"Your cube is also a ga of numbers, one involving clever spatial transformations and chanical structures. Perhaps I should make a change... just a small one."
Jenkins watched the blue cube hovering above Alexia's palm as it slowly rotated. As he looked on, the face of the cube closest to her began to spin on its own axis.
A few seconds later, the cube had transford completely into a Rubik's Cube.
The object hovering above her hand was a manifestation of the very essence of her power; any change in its form represented a fundantal shift in that power. Though Alexia claid her gains today were modest, the transformation from a simple cube to a complex puzzle suggested her progress was far more significant than a re increase in spirit.
Of course, she hadn't discovered the path to her next breakthrough based on this single conversation. Alexia still needed ti to process, to accumulate more knowledge, to find other sources of inspiration. The road ahead remained unseen.
As for the A4 Type Arithtic Auxiliary External Machine, it would remain here in the underground. Jenkins promised that he would grant it freedom when all was said and done, though that would not be until the Nineteenth Epoch at the earliest.
The machine did not object. It agreed to continue its calculations from here, divining the subterranean machine's next moves for Jenkins. In its own words, the underground might lack freedom, but it was safe. It had no desire to erge onto the surface and beco embroiled in the increasingly grim end of the epoch.
But Jenkins couldn't possibly go to the Church for a Cursed Item every ti he needed a Sin Coin to co down here for new intelligence. The coachman was no help on that front; he had no authority to lower his minimum fare.
The A4 Type Arithtic Auxiliary External Machine was equally powerless to help. If it could simply open a path to the surface, that would an the seal placed by Mason Pisco and Jenkins was utterly useless.
"Alright, how about this," Jenkins said, though with so hesitation. "I'll visit you once a week. I think... I can probably afford that."
"If I were transporting that ordinary human woman instead of you, the price could be cheaper," the coachman interjected. "The lowest I can go is one Sin Coin of any kind. After all, there are forces here that prohibit spatial travel."
"Why am I more expensive?"
Jenkins asked, puzzled.
"Because you are 'heavier'."
The coachman replied, and understanding dawned on Jenkins instantly.
"Alexia, I'll have to trouble you to make the trip once a week for , then."
"Of course."
The petite woman nodded.
"In that case," the coachman added, "could you perhaps summon sowhere other than that basent next ti?"
Jenkins glanced at the driver and gave a nod.
"I can do that."
They spent the entire morning in the subterranean realm. By the ti he and Alexia returned to the basent above, it was already ti for lunch. It was clear from Briny's expression that she was dying of curiosity about what the two of them had been up to, but since Jenkins offered no explanation, she didn't ask.
Instead, she complained at the lunch table that Hathaway had been frequently disappearing during the day lately, leaving her without a companion for her shopping trips.
Jenkins, of course, knew exactly what Hathaway was up to. She had thrown herself into the cause of the Believers of Lies and seed to have overco her reservations about helping those "villains." It seed his speech in the small theater hall that night had truly made an impact.
He couldn't tell Briny that, however, so he simply reassured her that Hathaway was certainly not up to anything nefarious. After lunch, Julia and Alexia went to join Dolores, leaving Jenkins to comfort Briny in his own unique way—a thod they both thoroughly enjoyed.
His original plan for the afternoon had been to visit the church and get an update on the tobacco incident from the previous night. But by the ti he left the house, the sun was already getting low. He decided it would be better to ti his visit to coincide with dinner at the church. No one would be ho tonight, anyway. Julia was returning to Dolores, and Hathaway had decided to take Briny out for a private dinner to make up for her recent neglect. That left Jenkins to fend for himself.
He figured he could first stop by the bar that served as the entrance to the black market. He needed to check for a notice from Mr. Hood about the gathering tomorrow, Saturday night. Killing so ti there would allow him to arrive at the church right on schedule for the evening al.
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