Chapter 312: Chapter 308: Revised Schedule
Not mentioning how the concept of Imaginary Alchemy caused a huge stir in Langton, in the Northern Territory it didn’t actually cause much of an impact.
It’s not that the alchemists in the Northern Territory are mediocre and can’t see the power of Imaginary Alchemy, nor is it that Perfikot lacks the broad-mindedness to publicize this technology to them.
It’s simply that they have already witnessed enough of Perfikot’s abilities and weren’t particularly shaken by Imaginary Alchemy.
After all, being faced daily with Perfikot and the various outcomes she has created, no matter how shocked they are, they’ve learned to treat it with a regular mindset.
She is a monster; you cannot look at her from the perspective of a common person.
What you call miracles and feats are just mundane small matters to her.
Thus, the alchemists in the Northern Territory don’t feel much disturbance from Imaginary Alchemy; they simply continue to work carefully according to the tasks Perfikot has assigned them.
During this period, the first shelter in Fjord Town has completed its expected excavation work.
The serpentine shield machine has gone through numerous real-world tests during this time. The alchemists and engineers responsible for this project encountered many issues, but these problems weren’t particularly difficult to solve. With their efforts, they have been properly dealt with and resolved.
The serpentine shield machine itself gained several minor repairs and improvements through these issues. Some problems not considered in the original design have also been highlighted.
One could say that during this round of real-world testing, the serpentine shield machine revealed many problems; once these are solved, it can undergo a technical iteration and upgrade to Serpentine Shield Machine 1.2.
The reason it becomes 1.2 is because 1.1 was developed after Perfikot designed the serpentine shield machine, and a technical iteration was carried out during the design and manufacturing process, which led to some modifications to the serpentine shield machine.
Now, going through another technical iteration, naturally, it becomes version 1.2.
As for when it will upgrade to version 2.0...
Perfikot could use her capabilities in deduction and optimization to upgrade the serpentine shield machine to version 2.0, but she doesn’t plan to do so.
Though having her stationed in the Northern Territory means various technical issues and design problems in alchemy can be resolved quickly, Perfikot can clearly sense now that these technicians seem to have formed a dependency on her.
They have become accustomed to her solving all problems, so when faced with some technical difficulties, instead of thinking about how to resolve them themselves, they push the problem in front of her.
While they still manage simple problems or inconsequential small issues themselves, Perfikot indeed doesn’t expect them to solve particularly difficult technical challenges.
But they bring forward problems that seem difficult, yet according to Perfikot’s judgment, are issues these technicians could solve with some time and effort invested in concentrated research, which leads to some problems.
Thus, Perfikot plans to give these technical personnel more opportunities for training rather than solving all problems herself.
Although this may appear to be somewhat much lower in efficiency, there is a vast difference between a leader and a technician.
The scope of a leader should be more focused on the whole picture rather than the progress of a single research project or project.
If Perfikot were merely an alchemist or, say, the Deputy Director of the Royal Academy of Sciences, she would indeed pursue the highest efficiency in solving all technical problems.
In that case, she would oversee all research projects, monitor the progress of each project, and ensure that they achieve technical breakthroughs within her expected timeline.
If any technical difficulty or obstacle impeded the project’s progress, Perfikot would step in and resolve the problem personally.
But now, as the Lord of the Northern Territory, she needs not only to oversee the whole picture and resolve technical problems but also to cultivate a technical team capable of solving problems independently, rather than intervening personally whenever difficulties arise.
After all, no matter how capable an emperor is at leading troops and fighting warfare, once he becomes an emperor, this task of leading troops must be handed down to his generals.
Otherwise, if everything requires the emperor to handle personally, what’s the use of having ministers and generals?
To Perfikot, although she doesn’t hold the title of an emperor now, she indeed possesses the authority of one.
As the Lord of the Northern Territory, if viewed in the context of past feudal times, her role as a powerful Count of Exploration could certainly be seen as that of a new king.
The only thing separating her from a king is merely a coronation by the church.
However, Perfikot has no interest in this; power is merely a means and channel for her to achieve her objectives, not her goal and pursuit.
Her real focus is the situation of development in the entire Northern Territory and how much her real plans have advanced.
For Perfikot, up till now, her plan for developing the Northern Territory has been progressing smoothly according to her schedule, and the progress has slightly exceeded expectations, which is considered a very satisfactory pace.
But now Perfikot intends to revise the original timeline.
The reason is nothing more than the emergence of Imaginary Alchemy, which will inevitably influence and alter the current plan’s progress.
Look at Schopenhauer in Langton, who only read through Imaginary Alchemy without truly implementing the "imaginary" concept; even so, he managed to produce a new type of alloy that he had been envisioning for a long time, at least ten years earlier than he originally expected.
The terror in this might only be comprehended through personal experience.
As the one who personally brought Imaginary Alchemy into this world, Perfikot naturally understands its power more than anyone else.
Thus, with Imaginary Alchemy available, Perfikot feels her original plans are somewhat conservative.
At the very least, underground shelters can be upgraded to real dungeons, and various engineering devices built on the foundation of Imaginary Alchemy will surely accelerate engineering progress tremendously.
And different machines and materials born from fantastic ideas will surely rewrite the original construction processes.
Therefore, Perfikot understandably needs to revise her timeline to make it more realistic.
Nevertheless, while thinking about this, she also feels maybe she should set an example for these engineering technicians to let them understand the extent of what Imaginary Alchemy can achieve.
Of course, she merely plans to create the large autonomous engineering robot she’s been planning and designing all along, not some earth-shattering invention again.
To Perfikot, this level of invention is just right, providing some insight for the current technical personnel and alchemists in the Northern Territory and Empire while not being overly bizarre to dampen their spirits.