The American In Another World
Chapter 64: The Secret of the Beacon
February 16, 1640
White House
A figure bent over the main table in the Oval Office, leaning his head on his shoulder. A steaming cup of coffee let out a faint steam beside Lee while he procrastinated, staring at the pile of reports from the corner of his eyes. After a minute of lazy rest, he decided to finish his job and grab some coffee. All it takes is a miraculously refined sip of Qua Toynian coffee to rejuvenate it. His eyes widened warily and he immediately dove into the pile, analyzing the title of the first report.
"Proposal for the Sale of Inventory to Mu and the Mirishial Holy Empire," he said out loud. "Hgm." Although the beginning of their friendship only happened a few months ago, the quality of this friendship was outstanding. “I think it's only a matter of time..” murmured before reading the document.
The proposal, written by several economists at the Commerce Department, suggested the sale of old military equipment to raise funds to help further economic recovery and facilitate the replacement of older equipment such as humvees. Structured into dozens of segments, economists argue that it sells old planes, ships, and other, and vehicles - without computers and other valuable technology before - would be far more profitable than current plans to destroy these items for scrap metal. Despite having convincing arguments, Lee remains concerned about the power dynamics.
Money is something that is not particularly a problem now that trade relations and exchange rates have been intertwined with most civilized countries. While making a little extra money from this proposal sounds good, Lee inevitably wonders how the influx of new advanced technologies will affect Muans, Mirishials, and their neighbors. How could this affect the Gra Valkas Empire? Will they see this as a threat to their dominance, or an incentive to forge a better relationship with the United States?
The authors discuss these considerations in great detail, with experts from various universities and leading analysts pointing to the same conclusion. If the United States tasted its wealth, global politics would eventually - perhaps even very much - fall under American influence. Historical analogy with Western influences in Japan and modern Chinese initiatives with underdeveloped countries represent their prime examples. Because the Elysian status quo 'may make it right', the United States could easily depose the Mirishial Holy Empire in terms of influence. The effects of American programs have carved out the entire Third Civilization Region from the Mirishial and Parpaldian environments, making their constituent countries dependent on American goods and services.
Lee was swayed by the analysis put forth by the authors of the proposal. However, a part of her remained reluctant; she felt guilty for the wild ambition suggested to her. He felt that blatant imperialism in the proposed strategy did not reflect the American way. Still, such a power struggle is necessary and undeniably will improve the lives of the American people. If the Ravernals threat turns out to be true, then American leadership and world protection will be paramount.
His guilt was reduced to this excuse, leaving only the concerns of the Gra Valkans. He continued reading, finding that the current proposal documents had referenced more recent reports - reports he had not read. Wanting the context, he looked through the stack, hoping to find it there. After a moment of sorting through, he found her and extracted her, putting aside the proposal as he skimmed through the brief report.
Apparently, the informant who was in Mu found a close bond between Mu's southern neighbor, the Magikareich Community, and the Gra Valkas Empire. Recognizing the cultural similarities, the two countries quickly became close to each other. Within a few months, the Magikareich government terminated its agreement with Mu in favor of a more promising agreement with the Gra Valkans. This includes the technology and the establishment of the — base one of which serves as the starting point for the Gra Valkan attack on the Conshal Islands.
With this context in mind, Lee returned to the proposal. The Gra Valkas Empire was already in an attempt to establish itself as the main power of the West. With Leifor and his people under his thumb — along with the recently conquered Conshals and the newly wooed Magikareichs — the Gra Valkas Empire is already more than halfway through by dominating the Second Civilization Region. Selling equipment to Muan could not only hinder the advance of the Valkan Gra, but also bring them closer to the American embrace. The newspaper dismissed fears of the Gra Valkans' anger, stating that the Gra Valkans could not have been stupid, stupid, or suicidal enough to challenge America's superior technology. That's much more likely, they reasoned, he said,
After making up his mind, Lee took a pen from the drawer and wrote down one word on the report's title page: 'Approved'.
The next batch of reports is still small, discussing new developments around the world and upcoming mission updates such as planned explorations on the Grameus continent. Lee sorted through the short document quickly, skimming through the title and closing statement. He ignored most of them, but set aside a few minutes to notice some things that were indeed of interest to him.
Around Elysia, the American port is almost complete. The port at Esthirant, thanks to Parpaldia's relatively developed infrastructure, was completed early. The crew in the Kingdom of Topa were finishing their project, following the scheduled arrival of American troops. Construction on the Vestal continent was also the same, with bases springing up on the east and west coasts of the large island.
The ruins scattered in the southern part of the Vestal continent along with the local fear aroused a lot of curiosity. The archaeological team, deployed to investigate the discoveries unearthed by the initial survey team, had just begun their excavation. Already, they had detected traces of high-powered magical energy, reflecting the weapons used to create these ruins. This data raises concerns — concerns that Annonrial could have been involved.
The artifact – found is considered a kind of transponder because the signal pattern it emits – has been verified. It was a beacon, calling in very high frequencies, indicating long-range communication with satellites. Indeed, these beacons somehow have the ability to track and consistently send messages to large satellite networks, doing so over the past thousands of years.
“How can this thing never run out of battery?” Lee asked himself, his voice trembling somewhat from the feeling of trepidation. "Just who are we dealing with?" Extreme worry swept over him as his mind leaned towards the science fiction mind. Civilizations that can produce devices like these flares could be decades, if not centuries before. If this lighthouse is generated by the greatest fear of the Elysians — Ravernal Empire — then it is possible that even the United States is technologically inferior. Lee sighed, calmed down and threw away his nightmares before continuing the report.
The signal emitted by the beacon is highly encrypted, leaving researchers puzzled. The encryption method even suggests another scary theory: machines use quantum encryption. A growing body of evidence, as the report explains, suggests that this theory is true. Unfortunately, the overall consensus of the team working on the device signal analysis is that continuing the work is a dead end. Quantum encryption is generally theorized to be unbreakable, and the fact that quantum technology is still in its early stages reduces researchers' hopes of decoding it.
Teams move on from this, instead of analyzing what they can understand. Some data streams contain unencrypted information, which the team can isolate and assign as a series of updates. This update was then given to the department of archaeology, whose findings were included in the second half of the report. Intrigued, Lee almost jumped ahead, but instead decided to finish the first round.
From what the researchers can determine, the device uses magic gems as its power source. A reading from the Mirishial detector came off the chart, indicating the gem was at least fifty times stronger than its Mirishial counterpart of the same size. For a flare to survive through thousands of years of erosion and continuous use - despite being made of a typical alloy - is also no easy feat. This is a shocking revelation: whoever makes the device knows how to seamlessly combine magic with technology to produce an impossible miracle.
Without permission to dissect the device and analyze each of its components, the team could not have done more. They then handed the device to an archaeological team, who were studying 3D scanning for a while.
Analysts in the archaeological team are made up of renowned linguists, historians, and even some foreign nationals. A fairy named Moah from the Kingdom of Topa, along with several interested professors from the Holy Mirishial Kingdom, is flown in to understand the strange device. In an instant, these Elysians were able to translate the only inscription on the lighthouse.
Lee brought the paper closer to his face as he read the translation. He did a double take, reacting with denial to the words he had just read. Unfortunately, the translation is no longer incorrect, evidenced by extensive cross-references. "Ravernal Kingdom Property," he said out loud, reading directly from the report with wide eyes. He hopes that's not the case. He hoped that the Ravernal Kingdom was not the creator of this advanced technology. He wished the words on that page were a mistake, an accident, or at least anything else. Lowering his hand, he returned the papers to his desk and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
For the first time since their arrival in Elysia, he felt a terrible sense of uncertainty. Thoughts run wild in his mind as he considers the possible future — actions he can take to protect his people and the people of the world; actions he can take to eliminate the Ravernal threat; actions he could take to delay their return. As much as he didn't want to believe it, the evidence was there, and he had to follow through. The discovery of this beacon represents the first strong evidence that the Ravernal Kingdom existed. However, there is no such evidence for the claim that they will return. Despite this, Lee tends to believe Mirishial's words.
Regaining his composure, he sat up straight and went back to reading. It turns out that evidence of the return of the Ravernal Empire does exist, if the next set of translations is accurate. Lee rubbed his eyes, pouring drinks for himself while reading.
The team of translators determined that the previously discovered unencrypted signals were actually spatio-temporal coordinates. The coordinates consist of an alphanumeric code divided into two segments. The first segment is longer, and still outlined. However, the research team was able to understand at least some of the data, knowing that one of the numbers represented degrees and the other represented a component of the Elysia planet's speed of movement. The second segment is relatively simple and easy to decipher: it represents time. The translated value matches the oscillation of mercury ions.
Lee did not understand most of the technical details, but he understood that there was only one reason why the Ravernals needed such accurate coordinates. Fully convinced that the Ravernals were an impending future threat, he decided to prepare for war against them. He looked back at the report, seeing that there was still a small segment left.
Hoping to find more such devices, the Department of Magic Research sent data to the Department of Defense and NASA. They can find hundreds of other signals that match the readings shown by Calamique Beacon, which are spread all over the world. Some areas have a greater concentration of flares than others, with dozens of flares located on the Annonrial mainland and dozens more located in the vicinity. Some are located nearby, as close as Quila and Gahara.
“Sial...” murmured Lee. Rethinking the theory about the ancestors of the winged people, he exclaimed, “The Mirishial was right all along! I need to notify Heiden before his mission.”.