It was late at night, and I was sitting in the garden, right behind our bedroom. As sumr arrived, we were having surprisingly hot weather right after an awful winter. What the hell was going on? Did the climate get fucked up here too? Is this so kind of magical ozone breakage? Or was it the dead Empress's work? A magical nuclear winter?
"Uga!"
"You think so too?" I laughed, rubbing my daughter's head, who was sitting in my lap, clapping happily. Unlike her brother, who was asleep inside, nestled between Yuri, Luna, and Sasha, living like a king should, I was here, airing my thoughts out. Of course, when I woke up, the little one sat up at the sa ti, hugging , wanting to co along on a midnight adventure.
"Guga!"
"I have no idea what that ans, but I agree." I answered her, running my fingers through her blazing red hair, feeling proud of my little pumpkins. Both of them were growing faster than they should... Not that I am complaining because they were not yet a year old but could already walk. Well, wobbling around like a penguin, to be honest. They were also 'talking' a lot. Okaaaay, they were not forming sentences, but for sure, the two were perfectly capable of communicating with each other.
"Gug."
"Did you just roll your eyes at ?" I laughed, beginning to tickle her, which she tried to endure before breaking into a hearty laughter. "Cheeky little girl! Don't think your daddy will let you do whatever just because you are cute, hmph!"
"Uguga! Gu!"
"Yeah, I know you can manipulate your moms more easily. A loud cry, tears in the eyes, and bam, they already stripping to feed both of you."
"Gagu!"
"And you are proud of it?" I laughed, watching her nod with hands on her hips, but then it hit . "Wait... I understand... what you are trying to say."
"Gau."
"How... is that... possible?"
I wasn't joking. Looking into my daughter's bright eyes, she was grinning toothlessly and happily as if I had just realized sothing very basic. It was not mind reading... that's for sure. It was more like she was transmitting her raw thoughts to , trying to communicate what she ant by her babblings. Was she using magic? It was the only way I could explain what I was experiencing.
It was the first thing I told Sasha the following day, and we have been carefully trying to test it in the following days. The way the two little imps communicated with each other was making sense now. They weren't talking; they were conveying their thoughts to each other, and now they began using it on us.
It was such a subtle thought. If we had not looked for it, we could easily have missed it and never realized what was happening. I had so many questions, but I couldn't really ask them because they couldn't put it into words and explain it. The only way we could 'experint' was to always be conscious about it when caring for them, trying to figure out what was happening and hoping they would be able to rember it and replicate it when they get older.
Another interesting thing happened when rlin got involved; he wasn't experiencing the sa thing as we were. Of course, he didn't doubt our claims and began using his new asuring devices, which were being developed for the ch and tuned to interact with magical waves. After a handful of asurents, he ca to a conclusion telling us clearly.
"They, for sure, are mages. Both of them." He explained, beaming with excitent, "The asurents show that faint magical waves do co from their bodies, but they have a specific frequency, tuned in a way so only you pick it up."
"Us?" Sasha asked, looking around, holding Arthur, who was nodding, arms crossed, wearing a proud look while Leyla was in my lap, bopping her head back and forth as if she was listening to so sick tune, entertaining herself.
"Yes." rlin continued, "Whatever they do, it's almost instinctual and adjusted to you—their parents."
"This ans... us too?" Yuri asked, her voice trembling slightly, beaming from happiness when rlin nodded.
"Yes! I tested it multiple tis, and the waves coming off them are tuned to all of you. As for what... I can't really tell, but I am sure that is why only you can understand them."
"Brain waves." I blurted out, thinking, working to recall anything I had read about them in my previous life, but there wasn't much as it was outside of my field of expertise. "Brain waves are rhythmic patterns of electric activity generated by the neurons inside our head. They happen when we think. Several types of brain waves exist, and they can be categorized by their frequencies. There are Delta waves ranging around 0.5-4 Hz. These slowest brain waves are typically associated with deep sleep or unconsciousness. Theta waves, between 4-8 Hz, are usually present during light sleep, deep relaxation, and ditation and are active when it is about creative thinking and problem-solving. Alpha waves co in the 8-13 Hz range. They are prominent when the brain is relaxed but awake, such as during ditation, daydreaming, or light tasks. The next step is Beta waves at 13-30 Hz. These are the results of active, alert, and focused cognitive activity when high concentration, problem-solving, and dynamic thinking are happening. Lastly, Gamma waves are all above 30 Hz. They are the fastest brain waves and are associated with higher cognitive functions such as mory, perception, and abstract problem-solving." I explained in one go, quoting all my recalled knowledge, conveying nothing useful to anybody here but rlin.
"I see, I see... I never thought about it like that! Leon, you should have told this earlier!" He exclaid, standing up and walking back and forth in the room.
"Sorry, I am not a brain scientist, so it doesn't occur to , okay?" I shrugged, adding more while rubbing my head, "Also, these waves can exist side by side; it doesn't an that our brain can't multitask."
"Yes, yes... of course!" He murmured, his voice getting more and more excited.
"What? Will you make a translator for babies?" I asked, making him stop and look at us, blinking his eyes in surprise.
"Wha-? Oh. No, I don't think it's important. I wasn't thinking about the kids."
"Gu!" Grunted both Arthur and Leyla simultaneously, pouting, getting angry, and throwing fire at rlin with their eyes.
"But I think I got it!" He continued, gathering his stuff in a hurry, "I got to go, Leon! I think I know how to create the operation system for the ch! I totally do!"
"What the..." I sat there, watching him rush out of the room, leaving the door open.
"He really had an idea, huh?" Sasha mumbled, knowing that we wouldn't see rlin for a few days...
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Eventually, those few days beca weeks, during which rlin disappeared entirely from public view. I was in the factory, overseeing the construction as we moved on to creating the base of the torso when I was told he had finally erged and was looking for .
"Thank you, dear," I leaned in, kissing Yuri's face, who had co to deliver the news that he had reappeared.
"Brr. It still creeps out when you are this kind."
"I know~!"
"Bully."
"Don't steal Luna's catchphrase. How did he look? Worn out?" I asked, trying to keep the topic on track.
"Like Luna when she regains consciousness after an eventful night. If I didn't know that Elena was back in Greybank, I would have thought she had her way with the boy, sucking him dry. He looks like a mummy! Luna is making so food for the idiot because he hasn't eaten at all since being stuck in his place."
"Haaah... He can go overboard sotis!" I shrugged, shaking my head while watching our workers. "I will let him eat, rest a little, then we can talk. It will also let him organize his thoughts, or I will not get what he made at all."
"He was erratic for sure. So? How's things coming along?" She asked with a laugh, leaning forward on the railing, watching as the heavy tal slabs were now weightless thanks to magic, and Sasha was down there, using her flas to weld them together.
"Surprisingly good. What is being made now will be the main core of the machine where our primary CC will be installed. After it's done, we can attach the legs and move them onto the torso unit."
"Are you really going to make it a hunchback?" She asked, playing with her hair, "Wouldn't it look weird?"
"Maybe, but it has its advantages. By placing the head unit and the cockpit in the chest area, we can use the space on its back and shoulders to mount weapon platforms and shoulder pads with defensive magic on them. It will further increase its defensive efforts. It won't be a fast-moving ch with what we have, so I will make it robust and strong. Sothing that withstands damage and dishes it out in turn. These ones won't be zooming around the battlefield. We will have our regular army for that, so think of these as monster busters!"
"Mmmh... I can't wait to bust so balls with it." She grinned, making smile and slap her butt.
"Let's go before you get so wet that I can use your nectar to lube the machine parts in the factory!"
"Fufufufu... I did rub off on ya a little, didn't I?"
"No comnt."
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Ultimately, it was already way into the night when I had a chance to sit down with rlin because he fell asleep at the table the mont he filled his stomach. I can't bla him; the little genius has been working for who knows how long, maybe not even sleeping for a whole week. Well, anyway, by the ti he was up, he looked like he recharged himself to 100%.
"I got it all worked out!" he exclaid, rolling out a giant parchnt with a highly complex formation drawn on it, one that was making dizzy.
"Slow down; let look at it first!" I raised a hand, stopping him from continuing while studying it. "Is this... self-adjusting?"
"It is based on my specialty, yes! Anyway, this is the first one I made. It is not for regular use because it is designed for a mage. I had to start with this so I could then work from here and make one that is compatible with regular people."
"Wait! So if we install this, does it an that only a mage could control the ch?"
"Anyone else would have trouble using it, but it wouldn't be impossible. Only using its functions would be very limited. With this, just as you can feel what your kids an or want from you, you would be in the sa sync with the machine! You would feel it like you feel your body, giving you much greater control and precision, not to ntion the improved response tis!"
"I see. It does sound wonderful..." I mumbled, rembering how the top-of-the-line tanks were in my ti. Yet, listening to his description and watching the formation, I had the feeling that this one would make them even more precise than an AI-assisted machine.
"Then, I could do more from here and ca up with this!" He unrolled the second one with a similar formation that was not a bit smaller or less complex. "This is designed for regular people!"
"I can see that it has thirty CC requirents." I spoke at once, realizing the fact from the get-go.
"It is a must. Magicless pilots wouldn't be able to control it otherwise. But I made it modular. In essence, the formation would be preloaded with all the commands needed. As the pilot controls the machine, the commands activate and control the machine, thanks to the CC. Moreover, the outside information would be processed in real ti and displayed for the pilot as an image... I would call it the Imaginary! Ahaha! I was stuck while thinking about it, but then the idea hit from nowhere!"
"From nowhere... huh?" I thought, looking at him and smiling, watching how excited he was.
"With this formation as its control unit, the input from the outside world and the pilot would be picked up instantly and transmitted at the speed of thought, allowing the ch to move and all of its inner functions to be controlled by one master formation! By this one! I made it so that this would be the brain that sends out thought waves. It is so simple; I can't believe it took this long to co up with it!"
"Comparing the two, what would be the performance difference?" I asked, scratching my chin, flipping back and forth between the two spells.
"My estimations are that a mage operating a ch would be exponentially faster, quicker, and more reactive. Still... an experienced pilot could still match an inexperienced witch. But that needs live testing; for now, this is all but theory!"
"Not for long." I clapped, unable to wash off my grin. "We will begin building the cockpit and installing this formation into it. I will make a few design changes so the head of the ch will be interchangeable! That way, we can manufacture different ones and swap them, depending on whether the pilot is a mage or not."
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