Chapter 9
Testing
4th August 1942,
Research and Development Department facility, Germania
I arrived at the facility with General Weiss and Elya. We have been informed of a minor breakthrough when Schugel was trying to improve the shielding equations of his new experimental computation orb.
After the Type 99 was launched into mass production, Schugel had immediately started working on the Type 101. As it was still in the middle stages of research, a prototype of the Type 101 wouldn't be possible for the next one or two years. If there had been a prototype available, I wouldn't have even stepped foot into the facility without confirmation that he wasn't seeking me as a test pilot.
We were led by a scientist to a viewing room, where Schugel was in. When we entered, I saw him talking to another researcher while standing in front of a large window. The window gave us the view of a test pilot in the middle of an expansive, empty field doing some fiddling with a steel box as large as a fridge.
When Schugel saw me, the mad light in his eyes almost made me flinch back. He quickly shuffled to me and grabbed my hand, which I immediately pulled back. Weiss, being the ever-capable subordinate he was, placed himself between us. Elya even stood next to me and casted a barrier spell.
"Chancellor! I could see that God has graced you with His presence once again!" He shouted.
I froze. How did Schugel know? Surely Being X didn't give him some divine revelation.
"I saw in my dreams! It must be a reward for my faith to see a vision of God Himself!" Oh good, he was just being delusional as usual.
"Schugel. What did you call us here for?" I waved away his attempt to grab my hand again. My question seemed to have brought him back to sanity somehow, as he turned back to the viewing window.
"Ah yes, I called you here to lay witness to the P-1 computation orb!" Schugel waved at the test pilot with the box. But I couldn't see where the computation orb was.
"I thought you were working on the Type 101."
"Yes, but I made an accidental breakthrough when trying to integrate electronics with the mechanical components of a computation orb." Schugel confessed. "I might have gone a bit overboard."
I perked up in interest. Electronics mixed with the mechanical components of a computation orb? If he was describing what I was thinking, this may lead to a massive breakthrough in the computation power of orbs. If electronics were fully integrated, it would be like going from using a mechanical calculator to using an electronic one. Eventually, you could add extra functions and an operating system, making it into a computer.
A computation orb that could process hundreds of spells simultaneously would make mages with dual-core orbs look like they were firing spells without orbs at all. The difference would be as wide apart as heaven and earth.
But since the electronics in this world still relied on vacuum tubes, it would be impossible to put electrical components of any functionality into something as small as a computation orb. Any electricised computation orb would be impractically big.
"Where is the orb?" I asked Schugel. "Is it in the box?"
"The computation orb is the box." He answered.
I stared back at the P-1 computation orb, which was so big that it even had handles and straps attached to it for the test pilot to lift it and even four wheels beneath to pull it along the ground. Judging by the strain on the man's face and body posture when he lifted it with both arms, it was at least sixty kilograms in weight. When burdened with such a heavy weight, he wouldn't be able to use a weapon.
"Anyone carrying that to fight in the sky either has a death wish or is an idiot." I deadpanned to Schugel. I blamed myself for getting my hopes up. I should have expected something like this.
"Don't doubt its capabilities when you haven't seen it in action yet, Chancellor. Test pilot, activate the computation orb and cast a barrier spell." Schugel spoke into a microphone and the order was relayed via loudspeakers.
The test pilot started pouring magic into the P-1 computation orb, and casted a barrier spell. This was a basic spell that was taught right after the flight spell at the mage academy. A simple protective shell that protected you from outside harm but also allowed you to fire back from inside. But instead of the barrier spell that I was familiar with, which could only grow big enough to encapsulate its user, the almost transparent barrier emitted by the P-1 kept growing bigger and bigger. Eventually it stopped growing, but the barrier casted by the P-1 had enclosed a circular area over two hundred metres in radius.
Suddenly, the new P-1 computation orb didn't seem so ridiculous to me anymore.
"Test pilot, move to the protected area for barrier durability testing." Schugel ordered. The test pilot then piggybacked the P-1 computation orb and walked slowly into a bunker built close to the centre of the field. The barrier moved with him. Schugel looked at a small blinking light next to his microphone. He then explained that the light would turn green when the test pilot pressed a button to indicate he was ready. When the test was finished, Schugel would press his own button to turn the light red, which the test pilot would understand as a signal to stop channeling magic into the computation orb and lower the barrier. The blinking light turned green.
"Mages, begin barrier durability testing." Schugel spoke into the microphone again. When his order was relayed, a battalion of mages surrounded the barrier, every single one armed with an Lmg-40.
"Begin ordinary bullet barrier durability test in 3, 2, 1." All thirty-six mages unloaded their magazine at the barrier all at once, squeezing the trigger until all the bullets had been discharged. Every single bullet harmlessly bounced off the barrier, which didn't even show signs of cracks.
I nodded approvingly. It seemed that during his search for an electricised orb, Schugel had succeeded in producing a computation orb that could protect against ordinary gun fire in a wide area. It wouldn't be very useful in a battle involving mages but would come in handy if we snuck a mage into the ranks of infantry and let them carry it with them. It would look quite conspicuous though, carrying such a large box, not to mention it would slow the mage down.
Before I could praise Schugel, he ordered the mages again. "Switch to enchanted bullet rounds." All the mages reloaded their magazines with labelled ones.
I almost called off the test. I knew what those enchanted rounds could do, having used them often to devastating effect. Each bullet packed the force of a round fired from an anti-tank rifle. I didn't want the test pilot's life to be endangered, bunker or not.
However, before I could, Schugel commanded. "Enchanted bullet barrier durability testing, fire!"
The entire battalion dumped their magazines. The impact of the enchanted bullets against the barrier and the subsequent explosions as the bullets released the spells inside them kicked up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring our sight.
I stood there transfixed and horrified. The test pilot was no more than pink mist, no doubt about it. Even I would have been seriously injured if I tanked a whole battalion's worth of firepower like that. As I was about to wallop Schugel to death for his disregard for human resources, the dust cleared, revealing the barrier still standing, albeit slightly dimmed.
My jaw practically dropped to the floor. As did Weiss's and Elya's right next to me. There weren't even any cracks on the barrier.
"Time for the next test. Mages, aim slightly upwards, do not aim at the bunker. Fire in sequential order. One second gap. 5,4,3,2,1, Fire." Schugel ordered again. Had he not told the mages to not fire directly at the bunker, I would have shut down the test right then and there. An artillery spell fired by an average flight mage could easily destroy a building.
There were obviously stronger spells than the artillery spell, but more destructive spells could only be casted by a skilled few, mostly ace of aces. A thermobaric explosion spell fired by me with the Type 95 could level a city block. An optical laser spell from Mary Sue could landscape hills.
Nevertheless, the artillery spell was the highest level of offensive that most mages could cast. A bunker like that would not be able to withstand even a single one. Let alone a volley.
The mages aimed their guns up about fifteen degrees and started to fire a single artillery spell each in clockwise order. The first spell did nothing to the barrier but tickled my eardrums. The second spell cracked the barrier. The third spell shattered the barrier completely, but did not continue to travel after doing so. This meant that only the fourth artillery spell onwards could damage anything inside the barrier.
This was a huge advancement in barrier spell technology. Assuming that the barrier could consistently withstand such damage, it would take nothing short of a full volley from a flight of mages, gunship or artillery squad to destroy what's inside the barrier. I could only take one or two artillery spells before my barrier shattered.
"What are its limitations?" I asked Schugel. Better to know the flaws of the P-1 first.
"Well, as you can see. It's heavy and unwieldy. It weighs sixty-six kilograms in total. As it has electrical components, it requires a constant source of power. If you're staying in one place, you can plug it into any electrical outlet or generator. But if you're on the move, it consumes four 9-volt D batteries every half hour. And if the barrier breaks instead of being taken down early, the electrical circuit fries and needs to be replaced. It's also expensive to make, a single P-1 costs as much to manufacture as a hundred Type 99s. Oh, and you can't use any other spells with it, only barrier spells as of now. I'm still trying to add a slow flight function."
The P-1 isn't suitable for personal protection then, unless you're willing to carry around a bunch of batteries. Nevertheless, it was a specialised computation orb with lots of potential applications.
"What about magic requirements? Do you need to be a strong mage to use it?" I inquired.
"Not at all. Even a C-class mage could use it. But it would take all the magic that the particular C-class mage has at that moment. B-class and A-class mages could channel more magic into the P-1 to increase the durability of the barrier or even repair it. But the P-1 could overheat if you keep using it for more than half a day."
So you can arrange a roster of high tier mages to constantly feed magic into the P-1 to increase the durability of its shield. As there were almost no high tier civilian mages, it would make this application of the P-1 solely a military one.
"Can the barrier size be modified?" Weiss asked.
"What you just saw was its maximum size, two hundred fifty metres in radius. It can be miniaturised, but the barrier will still be at least five metres in radius. We can't get it any smaller than that. The overall durability of the barrier decreases if you lower the size, but magic consumption also decreases. Although even at its lowest size, it could still endure a full magazine of enchanted bullet rounds before breaking."
I started to think. The P-1 was perfect for protecting large, high-value, vulnerable and immobile targets such as command centres, hospitals, supply depots, power plants and factories. I could also use it to protect government buildings like the Reichstag.
"Can the shape of the barrier be modified?" Weiss asked. "For example, changing the shape from a sphere into a cylinder while retaining the same volume." It seemed like Weiss had another idea for what it could be used for.
Schugel answered him as well. "Yes, we're even working on making the barrier be able to wrap around objects to prevent dead spaces."
"What do you have in mind, Weiss?" I asked.
"I was thinking that while you can't have mages or infantry carry the P-1 into the battlefield, what about vehicles? You could load the P-1 computation orb along with a generator on trucks, tanks, trains, ships, even planes!" Weiss explained excitedly.
That would indeed be a revolutionary application. Imagine an offensive push using hundreds of P-1s loaded onto armoured personnel carriers. A single P-1, when at its max barrier size, could provide ordinary fire cover for at least a whole division if they pack inside. Tens of thousands of troops could advance while protected from machine gun fire. While an artillery barrage or flight of mages could break P-1 barriers and devastate the troops inside, it was much better than no protection at all.
Ships could easily make use of the P-1 too. Torpedoes wouldn't be able to threaten battleships and cruisers as much. Each ship could take more damage from the enemy.
Furthermore, putting the P-1s on planes would be game-changing. While too cumbersome for a fighter plane, it wouldn't be too heavy for a bomber. Unlike before, a glancing blow from anti-air wouldn't destroy a bomber anymore. To bring down such a protected bomber, you would need concentrated anti-air firepower. Dive-bombing would become a much safer tactic.
This was the good thing about having another person's brain to bounce ideas off. My peace-loving self was thinking of how the P-1 could protect the rear when Weiss's war-mongering personality had led him to think of its use in the frontlines.
Elya then asked her own question. "Could you open gaps in the barrier at will? Like an entrance or exit for secured facilities." It seemed my spymaster had found her own use for such a computation orb. A top-secret facility could indeed use an impermeable and durable barrier.
Schugel shook his head. "Not yet, but we could add that onto its future functions."
"Can you invert the function of the barrier as well?" Elya continued.
"What do you mean?" Schugel asked.
"By making it hard to break out but does not impede a person's ability to enter." She answered.
"Why would you want something like that?" I asked. Wasn't the whole point of the barrier to protect yourself?
"You could turn it into a prison or holding facility. And if you can modify it so absolutely no sound gets out, an interrogation room as well." Elya answered honestly, a smile on her face. I shuddered, acknowledging her answer. Sometimes I was scared of her… creativity. Even Weiss looked unnerved. Only Schugel seemed to take it as a challenge.
"That should be doable." He mumbled.
"How long can you get the P-1 finalised, with all the improvements? I don't care if you have to delay the development of the Type 101." I spoke.
"Likely a year or so." Schugel estimated. I nodded in satisfaction.
"How about mass manufacturing?"
"Not feasible. We don't have enough vacuum tubes to mass manufacture the P-1. Just one P-1 computation orb needs eight hundred vacuum tubes to build, not to mention all the capacitors and resistors. We could maybe produce ten of these a year."
That was indeed a serious problem. The proximity fuses that the airforce put in their missiles also needed vacuum tubes. We will only be able to have a limited set of P-1s, to be allocated to high priority targets. There was also the glaring issue of the P-1 being so large. If only there was a replacement for the vacuum tube that could allow for electronics to be miniaturised, not to mention easier and quicker to produce…
I'm an idiot.
The transistor!
How could I forget about such a world changing invention! The transistor was not only smaller, uses less electricity and more durable, it was even easier and cheaper to manufacture. Its invention allowed for the miniaturisation of electronics and the subsequent invention of the chip. It was not an exaggeration to say it was amongst the most important inventions in the twentieth century.
There was only one problem. The transistor hadn't been invented yet. However, its invention shouldn't be far off. It was invented in 1947, if my memory serves me correctly, by an American company. That wasn't very far off. I was confident that with Germania's technological lead over other countries in the world, along with the hundreds of experts I'd relocated from the Russy Federation, I could speed up the development of the transistor by a couple years.
If worse comes to worse and Germania fails to invent the transistor, we could heavily invest in the company that eventually does.
"Have you ever thought of making the P-1 smaller and use less power?" I inquired.
"Not unless I drastically reduce the barrier strength output." Schugel admitted.
"And if within three to four years, I manage to provide you a replacement for the vacuum tube that was also smaller, more resilient and less electricity-hungry? A replacement that can be produced much easier and faster, to the point where you won't easily run out like with vacuum tubes? You could even build a conventional-sized computation orb with electronic parts." I said.
"An old man could dream." Schugel smiled wistfully. I took that as a challenge. I made a reminder to divert some of the Rus researchers, engineers and technicians I have to the R Department, and then pump them full of funding.
"Schugel, how many prototypes of the P-1 do you have in the lab?" I looked around.
"Five of them." He answered.
"Can I take one with me? I want to set up some extra security at my residence." If I could install just one at my house, it would greatly increase my security.
"Of course, I'll consider it field testing."
He was being surprisingly reasonable lately. First, he didn't force me to be the test pilot. Then he even invented a computation orb that saves people instead of killing them. The heavens must be falling soon. Perhaps Being X might even appear before me, get on his hands and knees and sincerely apologise for being such a dirtbag.
"Although," Schugel mused, a tone that sent my hairs on end at the tip of his tongue. "As someone who will be sleeping underneath the protection of a P-1, shouldn't you personally test one out yourself first?"
Fuck. I played myself.
It took half an hour of reassurance from Schugel that the test was perfectly safe, and when Elya even volunteered to come with me to cast a small shield around us, I eventually relented. As a customer, I couldn't risk bringing home a defective product after all.
I hunkered down in the bunker, hand placed on the new P-1 prototype. Elya stood next to me and casted a small barrier spell to envelop both of us. I pressed the button and the blinking light next to it turned green, like Schugel had told me.
Then on Schugel's command, I channelled my magical power into the P-1. Schugel's voice from the speaker suddenly became very muffled, as if he was speaking through a thick wall. I now understood why Schugel had to use loudspeakers earlier, it was because you could barely hear anything inside. As I poured more magic into the P-1, I eventually couldn't hear anything at all. It seemed Elya's soundproof chamber wasn't so far off after all.
I looked at the clock inside the bunker. 10:43am. Schugel had told me that I would know the test was finished when the blinking light either turned red or when my barrier was broken. So, all I needed to do was wait. I should be hearing the sound of gunfire hitting the barrier soon.
After ten minutes of waiting, I frowned. What was taking them so long? Was the test delayed? Shouldn't the light turn red if that was the case. Schugel should have installed a speaker inside the bunker as well so I could tell what was wrong.
After another five minutes of waiting and chatting with Elya, the light inside the bunker finally turned red, and I lowered the barrier. As I walked outside, grumbling at Schugel for wasting my time, I saw the mage battalion responsible for the barrier testing staring at me in shock and fear. Right, they're probably intimidated by me.
I walked briskly back to the viewing room, Elya following closely behind. When I entered, I saw that everyone in the room was staring back at me in shock. Was it such a surprise that I'd be angry after Schugel delayed the test and didn't even give me the signal to come back?
As I was about to berate the mad inventor, he exclaimed. "Marvellous! Truly an act of God's divine blessing!" Oh no, he was acting up again. Was this why he didn't give me the signal?
"Schugel, why didn't you give me the signal to return if you had to cancel the testing?" I asked, annoyed that my time was wasted.
"C-Chancellor," Weiss stuttered. "The testing is already done. Did you not hear all the spells hitting your barrier?"
"But I didn't even hear anything." That was impossible, unless the sound dampening of my barrier was so effective that it isolated me from all outside sound. But then why didn't my barrier get torn down from all the artillery spells?
"Chancellor, each member of the mage battalion fired upon your barrier with the artillery spell once. The barrier started repairing itself instantly after every spell. That's why the barrier didn't break." Weiss reported as Schugel was still cackling.
That was… indeed shocking. To have the magic power to endure a whole battalion's worth of artillery spells was something that only Mary Sue could do. But I obviously didn't have the same amount of magic as that berserker. Only Being X's Blessed - Ludwig Ernst – did. Then I realised why. The test pilot earlier must have been a C-tier mage. That's why his barrier had cracked so easily.
Schugel had really outdone himself this time. To think that he'd be able to make a C-tier mage cast a barrier that could neutralise the attacks of higher tier mages like that, even if it wasn't for many hits.
That must have been why Weiss had been so shaken. He must have realised how absurdly overpowered the P-1 was if it could make me be unaware that the equivalent of two battalions' worth of firepower just rained down on my barrier.
"It's nothing quite shocking from me, Weiss. Pick up your jaw, you look like a gaping fish." I said.
Weiss took a moment to compose himself before saying almost reverently. "Of course, as expected of the Chancellor."
Once Schugel stopped rambling about some chosen one, I got him to agree to send me a P-1 prototype next week to my home.
Bidding the research facility adieu, me and Elya flew back while Weiss had decided to stay to take care of a few businesses.
To say Weiss had been incredulous was an understatement. Today, he had just witnessed what was the closest thing to invulnerability in the modern age. One whole volley of artillery spells, even if they had been sequential, from a battalion of mages would sink even the largest of the Albish Royal Navy's battleships. It would devastate towns.
Yet the Chancellor hadn't even noticed it.
During the First Great War, the enemy of the Fatherland – the Allies – had often claimed that their Bloody Valkyrie, the berserker Mary Sue, must have been blessed by God himself to possess such overwhelming magic reserves. As someone who had faced her off before, Weiss thought it was more appropriate to describe her as driven mad by God.
Weiss tried to reason away the Chancellor's absurd feat. Perhaps the first test mage they saw use the P-1 was a C-tier mage. That would explain the difference in barrier performance. Even though that would certainly make the P-1 the most powerful defensive apparatus in existence.
As Weiss picked up the file of the test pilot and saw the word 'A-class mage', he instantly knew who was truly blessed by God.