Rorschach discovered that the Magic Guild’s efficiency was truly impressive. Once it was confird that the system worked, a wired telegraph network began to be constructed across the Kingdom at an astonishing speed.
Within a month, the telegraph lines connecting Valuvana to the surrounding major regions were all completed. However, the system was entirely dependent on the Magic Guild. Apart from the Royal Capital, which had a power plant, all other regions relied on Thunder Magic for electricity. The telegraph offices and switching stations were all housed in the Guild’s branch offices.
So of the telegraph office staff were drawn from the personnel operating the Teleportation Array System. These veterans trained new operators to handle the tasks of receiving, sending, and forwarding ssages.
Similar to the Communication System, if a telegraph ssage needed to cross a node, it had to be switched from one line to another.
During the initial trial run, the telegraph switching was riddled with errors. The combination of immature technology and inexperienced personnel proved to be a double-debuff, leading to disaster just as the network began to expand.
"They couldn’t solve the problem, so they ca crying to us again!" Snow said, sowhat frustrated. In his view, it wasn’t a real problem at all. They just needed to hire more people and let things smooth out over an adjustnt period.
Rorschach thought Master Snow was being too simplistic. "People have limited stamina. The Teleportation Array System deals with physical objects; an operator just needs to forward a letter based on the address on the envelope. With the telegraph, soone has to manually record the ssage and then retransmit it. It’s easy to make mistakes at either of those two stages."
"Then what about redundancy? Just send it again..." This was a classic brute-force approach: if once doesn’t work, do it twice.
In the end, Rorschach found his inspiration inside the research building.
One day, Simon was using the chanical Analytical Engine to process and calculate data. After an Apprentice pushed down a lever, the machine spat out a strip of punched paper tape. Simon recorded the interdiate results, then fed that section of tape as input into a second machine to perform the next calculation.
’That’s it!’
To improve the accuracy of switching, a semi-automatic telegraph exchange system was introduced. At a relay station, incoming ssages waiting to be forwarded were converted into holes punched on paper tape. Operators no longer needed to manually record and retransmit ssages. They simply had to tear off the corresponding section of tape and feed it into a relay machine to complete the transfer. The advent of punched paper tape vastly improved both accuracy and efficiency.
In short, the telegraph system now functioned more like an appendage to the Magic Guild’s internal Communication Array System. With this new thod available, all communications not intended for Mages and Apprentices were shunted to the telegraph.
rchants who urgently needed to transmit comrcial ssages soon discovered a change in billing. The old system, which charged by distance and weight, was replaced by one that charged by distance and word count. The starting rate was one Silver Coin per word. Previously, the goal was to cram as many words as possible onto the lightest sheet of paper. Now, it was best to condense one’s entire aning into just a few words.
When the lines reached the autonomous coastal regions, Rorschach received a ssage from Mr. Pierre: "Bayern, telegraph?"
Rorschach interpreted this as an inquiry about introducing the telegraph to the Bayern Kingdom. However, he wasn’t sure if Mr. Pierre was asking about setting up a network within Bayern, or if he wanted to run a line connecting the two Kingdoms.
"Whether this is possible is not for you or to decide. It is a matter of great importance that would likely require the Magic Guild to take the lead. If it’s rely a matter of laying lines within Bayern, obtaining the approval of the Bayern Royal Family would guarantee success, and you might not even have to rely on the Magic Guild." The Empire had an advantage over the Holy Kingdom: they could ask the Dwarves for help instead of relying solely on the Magic Guild. With their talent for crafting arrays and their tradition of "electromagnetic shamanism," the Dwarves were perfectly suited for telegraph construction.
After finishing the letter, Rorschach walked out of the research building. The sun was vicious, but he still pulled up his hood. Despite the scorching sumr heat, Rorschach felt perfectly cool. His current Mage Robe was unassuming in appearance; on the outside, it was a peculiar shade of light purple, with its complex patterns hidden on the inside.
It wasn’t that Rorschach was wearing it inside out. Rather, the lining had been sewn with enchanted golden thread to form a Magic Circuit, which was permanently imbued with the [Elental Resistance] and [Touch of Frost] Magic. The forr was always active, resisting the sumr heatwaves of Valuvana, while the latter could be activated by the Mage channeling Magic Power into it for an instant cooling effect. To Rorschach, the weather felt as pleasant as a spring day.
Thanks to the telegraph business, the Magic Guild Building was once again bustling with activity. The rchants waiting by the entrance saw soone dressed so heavily in the middle of a hot sumr and concluded there were only three possibilities: an infidel from the Kingdom of Sand, a lunatic, or a Mage. In any case, it was soone they couldn’t afford to provoke, so the crowd blocking the doorway instinctively parted to let him pass.
"I’m sending a letter."
"Of course. The telegraph office is to your right."
"No, I’m sending it via the Teleportation Array."
Rorschach flashed his insignia. The receptionist’s expression imdiately brightened, while the others still waiting in line in the main hall to send a telegraph looked on with envious eyes.
Rorschach paid no mind to word count, filling several pages for Mr. Pierre at length. Sending this by telegraph would have cost a fortune.
The letter also included a reminder for Pierre Nixingen to pay attention to the upcoming election of the regional representative for the Third Level Estate Assembly. "You or your nephew could run for office. Don’t worry about being an outsider. At worst, you can ’spread so warmth’ to each village and smooth things over with the reputable and influential locals. If the Nixingen family doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, sponsoring a promising candidate would also be a fine choice. You absolutely must not underestimate this assembly..."
Rorschach recalled the village chief elections from his past life. Going door-to-door with gifts of rice, flour, and cooking oil was usually enough. If that wasn’t sufficient, you could throw in a carton of cigarettes. Although Mr. Pierre was a rchant, the Third Level Estate Assembly hadn’t convened in centuries. Rorschach couldn’t resist reminding him that public opinion also has a price.
When he ca out after sending his letter, the crowds both inside and outside the Guild Building had not thinned. Despite being drenched in sweat from the sun, all these people had important ssages to send by telegraph to so corner of the Kingdom.
The carriages of those waiting to send telegraphs were parked along the roadside, making the once-wide street rather congested.
’The telegraph office needs to be spun off into its own independent bureau as soon as possible...’ Rorschach doubted that there were truly so many urgent ssages to send. It was highly likely that a portion of the long line was simply due to the people of Valois’ tendency to jump on the bandwagon and try out novelties.
"If you have been wronged, co and appeal! For justice, we fear no power!"
A strange carriage appeared at one end of the street. It was a modified cargo cart; the canopy over the flatbed had been removed, and a lawyer stood atop it. His thick, curly wool wig looked like a stifling oven, but he shouted tirelessly, "bombarding" passersby with his repeated slogan through a tin gaphone.
Two of his companions also stood on the flatbed. One waved a flag emblazoned with a golden scale surrounded by fleur-de-lis, but the central pillar of the scale was replaced by a fasces—the symbol of the King’s highest court.
’No, the "King’s" part can be dropped now,’ Rorschach thought. A third companion was scattering leaflets, and Rorschach used [Mage’s Hand] to pluck one from the air. The first sentence read, "The King has erroneously issued a royal decree to dissolve the highest court, but the fair justice of the Holy Kingdom will not be denied by the will of any single man!"
The Chief Justices who should have been fired by Charles XVI had actually organized a Wandering Court in Valuvana’s satellite towns. Lawyers in the Royal Capital were spontaneously encouraging the populace to bring their lawsuits to this Wandering Court.
’This is a complete break with Charles XVI!’ Rorschach thought as he looked at the leaflet, surprised that so among the Robed Nobility had such a strong backbone this ti.
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