Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Your Excellency, the King of Rome!" the chef suddenly shouted, "Oh no! The stock is full! The warehouse can't hold any more. Should we throw the bread into the sea?"

"Why are you still standing there? Come and eat! Everyone come and eat! And Chibajo next door, send the bread in, and everyone who can move should eat!"

five minutes later.

[Shangluo! The Muse Palace has an urgent discussion and has bad news for you. Forget it, let Victoria tell you.]

"what news?"

"In short -" Victoria took a deep breath, "The Pompeii family's creation of these giant automata violates the fundamental ethics of Vulcan's core technology. Although in theory, this machine only extracts environmental energy, but... the way it extracts energy is not through physical contact."

"What do you mean?"

"That means that even if it looks frozen, it will still draw background energy from the environment. If it is left running, it may not just freeze the surroundings - if the temperature continues to drop, unpredictable, astronomical 'events' may occur inside it, because it may create a 'zero point' that does not normally exist in the physical universe."

“Will such a thing happen?!”

"Because absolute zero does not exist in the universe, but it is possible here. A small automaton cannot cool itself down to absolute zero, because the air alone can suppress its cooling. But such a large automaton can really run itself to absolute zero locally, and even break through the floor of physics, reach the unknowable realm, and reach that unpredictable 'zero point'."

"So what's going to happen?"

"No one knows, because the Muses cannot study areas that do not exist in theory. They cannot observe or experiment. The Muses believe that we should not gamble on what will happen. The Muses never like to gamble. After all, this thing may reach a higher level by draining the energy of the earth - and in order to severely damage human civilization, it is not necessary to drain the energy of the earth. Just lowering the temperature by about 5 degrees will change the world."

"Is this scientific?!"

"Perpetual motion itself is unscientific! It's magic!"

"I say, how can you build something like this and still have it fail?"

"That's why they're doomed when too many of these things are made! They're all used to fight each other. It's like drilling holes in reality. The more holes you drill, the more holes there are. To fill them, you have to drill more holes."

"Oh my God! Is there anything they can do?"

"We are still thinking of a solution. The Muse Palace is trying to start a small-scale, controlled experiment to verify the consequences. The Ming side can carry out the experiment simultaneously. The experiment may take some time, and by then there should be a more appropriate solution. Before a solution is found, the Muse Palace hopes that we eat quickly, the more the better."

"I'm eating it already!" Shangluo held three in his hand, all of which were taken from the production line by the chef himself.

There was a fire on the ground in front of them. Those who didn't get to eat the warm pita bread were using the fire to reheat it. The pita bread was burning in the fire, and the pita bread was also grilled on top. As the Vulcan core slowed down, the surroundings began to become colder and colder, and it was time to light a fire to cool down.

"It's unbelievable that I could do such a thing."

Fu Yuanshan closed his eyes and threw the bread into the fire: "What a waste of food! What a waste of food! It's simply a waste of God's gifts. This will cost you merit!"

"Senior Fu, think positively. This thing is not actually grown from the soil. It is synthesized from carbon dioxide in the air."

"I know, but I won't eat something dead if I see it alive. Seeing that it looks edible, I can't bear to see it being wasted. May you be blessed with infinite happiness." He had no choice but to continue eating with big mouthfuls to ease his guilt.

But no matter how delicious it is, pita bread is nothing more than unleavened bread. One is heavenly, but too much can leave you feeling bloated.

"Is there anything else?" he asked the chef next to him.

“And lots of drinks.”

"No, no. I'm asking if there's anything I can do to help me eat a few more pancakes, or some other condiments."

Shangluo was surprised and asked, "Can you eat it if you change the taste?"

"The one for snacks is another stomach."

"I think the way to eat pita bread is actually a perpetual motion machine. Wait, I'll make a list. It seems that only a perpetual motion machine can beat a perpetual motion machine."

Sweet and salty garlic sauce, paired with sweet, salty and sour pickled cucumbers, and sweet, salty and fragrant chopped grilled meat. The chef grilled the meat himself, cut the pita bread in half in the middle, and then stuffed the sauce, vegetables and meat into the bread.

"Very good, I feel excited." Fu Yuanshan ate the cake silently, "I can have 10 more."

[It turns out that he can eat so much! He has already eaten 30 of them. Is this the appetite of a celestial being? And even after eating so much, his stomach didn’t even swell up.]

"Maybe those who practice the Way of Blessing have reactors in their stomachs. Oh, right." He asked the chef, "It seems that there are pita breads here. Do you have this kind of wraps?"

"Yes, of course. Wait a moment."

There was no production line for the rolls, but the chef had someone bring flour. He used the original strength of "Baking Assistant III" to mix the dough, bake the rolls, and roll another one on the spot.

"This is just right. I can eat a few more."

After eating three more, Shangluo was finally full.

"I say, it's not a solution for us to eat alone." Shangluo looked at the plan handed over by Apollonia, "Hey, chef, where are you going to send these ships?"

"As you command. But according to our previous calculations, 12 ships should be able to provide food for 1000 million people in Zhendan. Should we go to Zhendan?"

"You can go, that's good." Shangluo replied, "Free bread is always useful. However, I think the court should be more interested in your perpetual motion machine. Select one of the 12 ships in good condition and send it to the Jiangnan Shipyard. We will dismantle it and study it. If the main engine is usable, I am wondering if it can be used as a generator."

It is good to have unlimited bread. But not everyone likes bread. And if a large amount of free staple food is imported, it may also affect the already stable food industry in Kinai. If the Vulcan cores on these ships can be dismantled, then this perpetual motion machine should be able to provide energy for Kinai.

"But before that, let's all have a taste of free bread. Distribute the 12 ships among you, and try to sail as many ships as possible - and then."

"After that?" the chef asked, "Will Aurora no longer need these?"

"Leave one for research. The technology of converting carbon dioxide into starch is quite good. We also have it. After research, these bread ships may be used to perform their original purpose. The Romans believed that whoever provided bread and circuses would rule, right? These are the tools used by the Pompey family to rule. Then, we can send these bread ships to the places that need to be ruled the most."

Chapter 1239 The Principle of Vulcan Core

"Your will is our command, your order is our destiny. If you want to dismantle these ships, we will fully cooperate. But before that, would you like to visit the ship? In this way, we can let you see the operation of the Vulcan megastructure up close."

"Now that you mention it, it just occurred to me that even though I've been using it for so long, I don't think I've ever seen it in operation."

Victoria was stunned for a moment: "Don't talk about you, I haven't seen it either."

"Why haven't you even seen it?"

"Because this is the first time I've seen one this big. Other Vulcan cores are usually the size of a watch or alarm clock, and the largest is no bigger than a palm. You've seen a specific one, too. My father gave me an alarm clock. When it's running, both its usage and shape are very similar to an alarm clock movement. Because it looks so ordinary, I've never taken it apart to take a look. Now that this big one has suddenly appeared, I actually want to take a look. Besides, I know the principle."

"What is the principle?"

“You’ll see once you go in and take a look. Although the scale is different, the principle is actually very simple – as simple as lighting a match.”

"Is this the kind of machine whose fundamental principles could be stumbled upon by anyone at almost any point in human history?"

There is such an assumption: the discovery process of the hyperspace engine is as simple as the above process, as simple as the windmill, so simple that all intelligent life except humans have discovered it, and only humans have "accidentally" failed to discover it. When aliens put all their energy into improving the "windmill", only humans on Earth have climbed to the peak of the universe's technology. Once humans obtain the "windmill", they will sweep the entire universe like a mad dog out of a cage.

"Yes, that's it." Victoria nodded. "It's so simple that you will understand its principle as soon as you see it."

"Then take me to see it! I can't wait for the mad dog to be out of the cage!"

Inside the engine room, a whole row of "larger-than-giant discs" were rotating. The golden discs were stacked one on top of another, arranged along the propulsion shaft of the ship. This cavity alone took up most of the interior space of the ship. The proportions were not like a real machine, but rather like the counterweights in an inertial toy car - the kind of tin toy car that would run a long way with just a push.

This set of huge discs gave Shangluo the feeling of a counterweight. It couldn't be simpler.

The disc rotated silently, without making any noise, only the chilling air was released from it. Around the disc, brass pipes were densely spread like spider webs, used to maintain a constant temperature in the space. In fact, most of the discs were running in a constant temperature envelope made of brass, and only this one end was exposed, because this end was connected to a set of gearboxes through a set of clamps, providing power output for the entire ship.

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's right," Victoria replied. "All the Vulcan Cores I know of, whether small or this massive creation known as the 'Vulcan Megastructure', use the same principle."

"What is the principle?"

"It's very simple, just three points," Victoria replied. "Do you see it's spinning all the time?"

Shangluo nodded. This was obvious. These rotating discs did not seem to have any other way of working except "spinning" itself.

"So, do you see any propulsion on this ship? No propellers at all?"

Shangluo nodded again. It wasn't until Victoria reminded him that he realized there was nothing behind the ship that suggested propulsion: no paddle wheels or propellers. It was as if the "hand of God" was propelling it as it sailed.

"Then the third one: Do you remember the original magic we talked about before? There are three ancient original magics of mankind: fire, wheel, and throwing. Then the conclusion is obvious - when it is not burning, the energy it uses to burn will be used for rotation and throwing. Simple, isn't it?"

"??????"

[Shangluo, you may think you heard it wrong. But the principle is indeed like this. ]

"No. It's really simple and clear to say. But how do we discover the 'ancient origin magic'? Is it easy to use magic?"

[That being said. But once you discover the original magic, the Vulcan Core is a technology that anyone could stumble upon at almost any point in human history. You see, when it's not burning, it spins and throws; when it's not spinning, it burns and throws; when it's not throwing, it spins and burns. And so on, when it's neither burning nor throwing, it spins like crazy, etc.]

"I think we have different definitions of 'burning'."

[Yes, this is combustion in the alchemical sense. Alchemy has a theory of 'harmonic phlogiston', which holds that the different properties of all objects in the world are the manifestation of atoms oscillating and fluctuating at different frequencies and trajectories. This is 'combustion', and what is consumed in this process is phlogiston. The core principle of Vulcan is that when an object refuses to burn, it will start to rotate! Isn't it simple!]

Victoria concluded: "So the principle can be summed up in one sentence - if you refuse to burn, you will spin! Simple, isn't it!"

Shangluo looked at the huge disc that was spinning and emitting cold air, and nodded:

"It's so easy, as easy as putting an elephant in a refrigerator. By the way, can you adjust the proportions? Does this ship also use 'refuse to burn' for propulsion?"

"It looks like that." Victoria nodded. "Generally speaking, it conforms to the chirality principle. You learned this in physics class, right? You extend your thumb and make a 'stick' gesture. Assuming that the disk rotates in the direction of the other four fingers, the propulsion direction is the direction where the thumb is pointing."

"This simple propulsion technology is really simple."

"That's right." Victoria nodded. "We once planned to put all our energy into the development of this perpetual motion machine, until..."

"Until what?"

"Until we blew up Syracuse and some other places. Because in a certain experiment, when it was not burning or rotating, the 'throw' it produced was so terrible that no one knew where it went. We only knew that it 'jumped' into the sky. We were afraid that if we got the direction wrong one day, it would penetrate the earth. So the subsequent experiments strictly maintained scientific ethics, until these giant structures in front of you were illegally built."

[Also, the Muses are now planning to restart the experiment to explore how to shut down these big guys in your hands. It may take a few more throws. They are looking for a test site. I hope they don't punch through the earth.]

Chapter 1240 Spin, burn, and then throw

"So you've actually launched something into space?"

Victoria nodded helplessly. "It's not quite right to call it a launch, because we didn't know that thing would spiral up into the sky."

"What does it look like?"

"It's a disc, just like the ones you see in front of you. It has a lot of grooves on it for the clamp to grip, and the specific shape is very similar to..."

"A manhole cover?"

"Yes, like a manhole cover."

"Does it have to be that the first thing humans launch into space is a manhole cover? Is this part of the magic? I can probably understand it. But how do you stop it from burning and spinning? You said the basic property is rotation? But I'm not spinning now."

"Spinning, like burning, is also spinning in the alchemical sense. Throwing is also throwing in the alchemical sense. You can think of it as a string. When you pluck it hard, it will fly out with a 'whoosh'."

"Then we should shut these things down as soon as possible! I'm afraid they'll stop working one day and crash into the earth!"

"Yes, Lord King of Rome. But please rest assured, as long as our bread system keeps functioning normally and the Vulcan core continues to consume the phlogiston by doing work, it will not fly out." The chef at the side bowed and said, "So I have been urging you to eat the bread. Because the inventory is really not big enough."

"Wait a minute." Shang Luo looked at the compass on his phone, "Turn around, let this ship turn around first. Now the bow is facing Jinei, right? Turn the head over and point it towards the New World. In the future, the bow of the ship must not be facing Jinei unless necessary."

"Your wishes are our orders. Turn around immediately."

"You don't have to worry too much," Victoria replied. "This ship is not yet capable of containing two basic magics at the same time. It can only contain one type - so violent ejection, violent burning, and violent rotation will not actually occur. But just in case, you still have to be careful."

[We really need to be careful. The scary thing about the Vulcan Core is that it mobilizes the original magic, and the power of the original magic has almost no upper limit, at least we can't see it, because it is to some extent the "power of creation". No one knows whether it will really enter the "zero point" at some point and then suddenly explode. ]

According to Shangluo's order, the breadboat temporarily stopped unloading, turned around on the spot and then docked.

Compared to moving forward, it was much more difficult for the ship to turn around. Shangluo could feel the shaft of a machine roaring in front of him - the speed gear was using the power of the shaft to drive the propeller.

“It can actually be reversed, right?”

"No, that's not possible," Victoria replied. "The state of the Vulcan core is set when it is cast, just like you can't adjust the polarity of a magnet at will. The only thing that can be adjusted on the ship is the rotation and throwing after the combustion is contained. The method of adjustment is the gearbox in front of you."

"It's really simple when you put it that way. The troublesome part is when casting. When using it, you just need to control the frequency of rotation and throwing."

After the big ship came to a stop, Shangluo got off the ship again. After all, there was nothing to see anywhere else on the ship.

The power structure of the entire ship is built around the series of large discs. The structure is extremely simple and can be understood at a glance. There is also a more complex reactor on the ship that uses carbon dioxide to produce starch and then processes it into flour. This is too complicated to be understood from the outside.

"Is this thing easy to dismantle?" Walking on the plank road to disembark, Shangluo asked the chef about engineering issues.

"From what we know, you can just hoist it out – but make sure you keep it rotating while you're doing it."

"What about the throwing thing? It seems to always stay in a forward 'throwing' state?"

"Yes. On the ship, we will use part of the reverse thrust system to neutralize it. If you want to install it on land, it is recommended that you stand it upright. If it is upright, its throwing will offset its own weight, which will make it easier to hoist."

"Eh?" Suddenly, Shangluo thought, "If the power is high enough, can it fly by itself?"

"At least ours can't. Although these Vulcan megastructures are huge, their energy levels are not high. Under the intended working conditions, they cannot provide a 'throw' that exceeds their own weight - of course, it should be possible under abnormal circumstances."

"Forget it, forget it. I won't consider it under abnormal circumstances. But if you put it this way, there should be a higher energy level, right?"

【what's on your mind? 】

"Shangluo, what are you thinking about? Are you planning to build some kind of flying machine?"

"Apollonia, you should know what I'm thinking."