Beneath the pinnacle of the tower residence lay a concealed realm.
This secretive space was known only to Eden and accessible only with his invitation.
Entry was permitted only through a single elevator, and anyone entering unauthorized would be t with deadly force.
Passing security verifications, Eden entered the elevator, descending more than a hundred levels underground.
As he arrived, he stepped into the hidden facility.
The area was bathed in red light, lined with intricate chanical webs and interwoven psychic circuits.
After passing through three iron gates, Eden finally reached his destination.
Before him stood a massive chanical screen emitting a dim green glow, scrolling through complex streams of code.
In the low lighting, a figure with nurous chanical limbs was working intently at the console, casting a nacing shadow.
Eden didn't pause, frowning slightly as he approached.
As he drew closer, he saw that the figure was Sage Moss.
In the Royal District, there were two recognized tech sages: Bio-Sage Moss and Dark chanicus Sage Kaul.
These two were the core of Urth's chanicum, though their titles were self-appointed, lacking any official recognition from the main chanicum.
Moss appeared fully absorbed, several of his chanical arms moving with a practiced rhythm as he worked. He alternated between adjusting chanisms and sipping on a chanical oil beverage, all while inputting lines of code.
Suddenly, Moss froze, seemingly in response to a disturbance on the screen.
He set down his drink, muttering, "Damn Kaul has the nerve to insult my drink recipe? He knows nothing. My modified oil is superior!"
One of Moss's chanical arms blurred as he typed a rapid sequence:
"0101010101010101010101010101010101010..."
Anyone fluent in binary would have recognized it as a string of rather harsh words.
Kaul countered almost instantly, triggering an even greater irritation in Moss.
"That jerk Kaul muted ! So what if he's the forum admin? I have my alt account..."
Switching to his secondary account, he resud his heated exchange:
"101000010101010101010101010101010101010!"
This was even worse.
Seeing this, Eden's patience wore thin.
"Moss, are you slacking off on Webby again?"
It was unbelievable how much language Moss had picked up lately. He had clearly been influenced by Kaul, who, after starting a tech forum on Webby, had set a rather unruly tone.
With Kaul at the helm, Moss and Webby contributed to a forum culture that had captivated mbers of the chanicum, who now spent an increasing amount of ti online.
Initially, they posted practical guides, such as:
Proper Techniques for Oiling and Polishing Machinery
Modification Essentials: Installing Practical chanical Arms
Kaul's Guide to Appeasing Machine Spirits
Moss's Compendium on Crop Cultivation
But over ti, the forum took on a much different flavor. Now, it was filled with posts on quirky topics like:
Explosive! Kaul's Family Recipe for Delicious Oil Beverages!
On Fire! Moss's Modified Recipe for Even Tastier Oil!
What Would You Do If You'd Starved for Three Days and Only Had Canned Beetle Beef?
How to Compress a Ton of Warp Energy?
What Would Happen If You Swallowed a Spoonful of Compressed Warp Energy?
And so on. These often sparked intense debates.
The chanicum mbers, now full-fledged internet warriors, began to engage in verbal sparring that significantly affected productivity.
To make matters worse, the topics grew increasingly heretical.
Eden had initially considered shutting down the forum. Not even Kaul's pleading could sway him.
But at Webby's request, he reconsidered. His "little one" wanted companionship, and it wouldn't do to have a disgruntled Machine Spirit.
However, Eden still imposed strict limitations on the forum.
Even with the mini-sun's protective energy, discussing excessively heretical topics could attract dangerous attention.
Who knew if Tzeentch or so Chaos chanicum demon might open a shadowy account to infiltrate?
Thus, Webby established a moderation system, removing posts that were overly heretical.
And the forum was now limited solely to the chanicum, preventing its spread to other sectors.
Eden didn't want to imagine internal affairs staff browsing strange images or videos during work hours.
Kaul and the others accepted these changes, and Kaul even hoped to one day expand the forum to the chanicum headquarters.
The forum wasn't entirely a nuisance, and Eden himself had recently opened a small alt account to surf the posts occasionally.
For translation purposes, Webby handled the language barrier.
Confronted with Eden's reprimand, Moss sheepishly admitted his fault.
Though he was increasingly like a tech-sage, as an intelligent machine, Moss still struggled with lying.
"Stop goofing off with Kaul!" Eden said, exasperated. He added,
"By the way, have you completed the third batch of clones?"
Recently, Moss had been stationed here, researching biological cloning and synthesis.
Drawing on the Grant family's centuries of biological knowledge, along with the forbidden knowledge left by Yusef, Moss was well-suited for the task.
"The experints succeeded. The clones you requested have been created!"
For Eden's orders, Moss didn't dare delay or neglect his duties.
Eden's frustration eased slightly at this news. He gave a small nod of approval.
"Well done. Efficient as always, Bio-Sage of the Royal District. Feel free to unwind occasionally."
Eden never withheld praise from diligent subordinates.
"Thank you," Moss replied, his electronic voice tinged with pleasure.
It was the third ti he had heard Eden use the exact words of praise.
Eden followed Moss to the lab's innermost section: the cultivation chamber.
In the dim red lighting, rows of tanks filled the room.
The first row of tanks each held a clone floating in nutrient solution.
Each one looked exactly like Eden.
(End of Chapter)
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