Chapter 204: The Birth of the Telegraph

On the outskirts of the kingdom, an inconspicuous manor had become Alistair’s headquarters.

With all his savings, plus investments from several merchants who were equally optimistic about the technology, he founded the “Alistair Telegraph Bureau.”

This was the first information technology company in the entire kingdom, and even the world, with the goal of commercial operation.

After receiving royal approval, the first thing Alistair did was to lay a line connecting the royal palace with the headquarters of the Magic Association.

He personally led a team of newly recruited workers, rushing the work day and night.

They climbed onto rooftops, crossed streets, and strung copper wires wrapped in insulation on specially made wooden poles.

Many residents of the kingdom watched these busy figures with curiosity.

They didn’t understand what these people were doing.

“They’re stringing some kind of strange rope.”

“I heard that if you speak into one end of the rope, the other end can hear you.”

“Nonsense, how is that possible!”

Rumors spread among the populace, but they did not hinder the progress of the project.

A week later, the line was completed.

Alistair installed a transmitter and a receiver in a side hall of the royal palace.

King Augustus, President Samuel, and a group of royal ministers and high-level mages were all invited to witness the event.

“Your Majesty, this is the telegraph.”

Alistair pointed to the machine made of brass and wood, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

“It can transmit information to distant places in an instant through electric current.”

King Augustus looked at the simple machine, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“Instantly? How fast?”

“As fast as light,” Alistair replied.

A low murmur of discussion spread through the crowd.

“Then, let’s begin,” said King Augustus.

Alistair took a deep breath and sat down at the transmitter.

He put on his headphones, and his fingers began to tap on the key.

“Di… di-di… di…”

The crisp sound of Morse code echoed in the room.

At the same time, several kilometers away at the Telegraph Bureau headquarters, another operator, previously trained by Alistair, was nervously recording the signals coming through his headphones.

He handed the translated message to President Samuel, who had been sent specifically to verify that there was no deception.

Samuel’s pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the words on the paper.

He immediately walked over to the transmitter on his side and personally tapped out a reply.

In the side hall of the palace, there was complete silence.

Everyone’s gaze was focused on the other receiver.

A few seconds later, the machine suddenly made a “clacking” sound.

A paper tape was slowly ejected from the machine’s outlet, with dots and dashes printed on it.

Alistair rushed forward, picked up the paper tape, and quickly translated it into words.

He held up the piece of paper and shouted with all his might, “Your Majesty! A reply from the Magic Association!”

An attendant took the paper and presented it to King Augustus.

As King Augustus looked at the short but powerful words on the paper, the expression on his face changed from doubt to shock, and finally to elation.

The paper read: Long live the King.

From sending the message from the palace to receiving the reply from the Magic Association, the entire process took no more than thirty seconds.

Previously, even the fastest courier would have needed at least five minutes.

Only by using expensive magic crystals could this speed be surpassed, but the cost was far greater than this novel telegraph.

“A miracle! This is simply a miracle!” a minister cried out.

The entire side hall erupted.

Everyone was shocked by the subversive efficiency of this technology.

King Augustus clutched the piece of paper tightly. He knew better than anyone what this technology meant for a country.

Instantaneous delivery of military orders, rapid circulation of commercial information, an exponential increase in administrative efficiency.

It would completely change the way this country operated.

“Mr. Alistair.”

King Augustus’s voice was solemn and loud.

“Your Majesty,” Alistair knelt on one knee, overcome with emotion.

“I declare that the telegraph network will be rolled out nationwide as a high-priority national project!”

“At the same time, in the name of the King, I grant you the title of Viscount, as well as the title of Royal Engineer!”

Tears welled up in Alistair’s eyes as he bowed his head deeply.

“For the kingdom, for Your Majesty, and for… Professor Lia, who brought the light.”

His last words were spoken softly, but King Augustus and Samuel, who were standing next to him, heard them clearly.

They exchanged a glance, and both saw a complex emotion in the other’s eyes.

Lia Farrien.

For the first time, this name had advanced the course of the entire era in an unexpected way.

And this time, she hadn’t even shown up in person.

Just a single paper had given birth to a fervent believer and a revolutionary technology.

***

Meanwhile, in the distant Iron Eagle Empire.

In a deeply buried underground military base, the atmosphere was oppressive and cold.

Konrad von Richter was looking at the latest intelligence report from the Kingdom of Heinrich.

The first half of the report detailed the “electric motor” invented by Lia and Klein, and its stunning performance at the symposium.

There was no expression on Konrad’s face.

The shame of defeat had long been transformed into a deeper obsession.

His gaze passed over the dazzling achievements of the electric motor and fixed on the summary of a paper attached at the end of the report.

It was the paper co-authored by Lia and Klein, On the Relay Amplification and Attenuation Compensation of Magitech Signals.

An Imperial engineer standing behind him commented disdainfully, “Transmitting messages through cables? What a fragile idea. A single pair of scissors could turn a city deaf and blind.”

“Fool!”

Konrad cut him off coldly without turning his head.

The engineer’s face instantly turned pale.

“You only see the fragile cables,” Konrad’s voice was filled with a cold fanaticism, “but I see Professor Lia’s terrifying control over the electromagnetic field.”

He walked to a huge blackboard covered with complex formulas and sketches.

“The fact that she could think of using an electromagnetic relay to amplify a signal means that she has completely understood the essence of electromagnetic induction.”

“Amplify… compensate… control…” Konrad muttered to himself, a frightening light flashing in his eyes.

“Since a weak signal can be amplified, then it can definitely be modulated, shaped into a more complex form.”

“Since energy can be transmitted along a wire, then why can’t it break free from the constraints of the wire and be transmitted directly through space?”

Konrad slammed his fist on the blackboard.

“The ‘field’ is the ‘field’ itself! That is the carrier of information!”

His knowledge and intuition led him to a terrifying conjecture.

“There must be a method of communication that does not require the constraints of cables.”

“An ultimate means of communication that is invisible and intangible, yet can cross mountains and oceans to transmit information.”

“Immediately!” Konrad turned and ordered the group of silent researchers behind him, “Gather all the Empire’s research materials on ‘fields,’ especially those related to electromagnetic fields and spatial fluctuations!”

“Our goal is to master that ‘wireless’ method of communication before the Kingdom of Heinrich!”

“Professor Lia has opened a door for us. We will not only walk through it, but we will also slam it shut behind us, leaving them far behind!”

A fire called ambition burned in Konrad’s eyes.

What he wanted was not to imitate, but to surpass.

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