Steel and Mana

Chapter 147 – Brain Waves

It was late at night, and I was sitting in the garden, right behind our bedroom. As summer arrived, we were having surprisingly hot weather right after an awful winter. What the hell was going on? Did the climate get fucked up here too? Is this some kind of magical ozone breakage? Or was it the dead Empress's work? A magical nuclear winter?

"Uga!"

"You think so too?" I laughed, rubbing my daughter's head, who was sitting in my lap, clapping happily. Unlike her brother, who was asleep inside, nestled between Yuri, Luna, and Sasha, living like a king should, I was here, airing my thoughts out. Of course, when I woke up, the little one sat up at the same time, hugging me, wanting to come along on a midnight adventure.

"Guga!" 

"I have no idea what that means, but I agree." I answered her, running my fingers through her blazing red hair, feeling proud of my little pumpkins. Both of them were growing faster than they should... Not that I am complaining because they were not yet a year old but could already walk. Well, wobbling around like a penguin, to be honest. They were also 'talking' a lot. Okaaaay, they were not forming sentences, but for sure, the two were perfectly capable of communicating with each other. 

"Gug."

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" I laughed, beginning to tickle her, which she tried to endure before breaking into a hearty laughter. "Cheeky little girl! Don't think your daddy will let you do whatever just because you are cute, hmph!"

"Uguga! Gu!"

"Yeah, I know you can manipulate your moms more easily. A loud cry, tears in the eyes, and bam, they already stripping to feed both of you."

"Gagu!"

"And you are proud of it?" I laughed, watching her nod with hands on her hips, but then it hit me. "Wait... I understand... what you are trying to say."

"Gau." 

"How... is that... possible?"

I wasn't joking. Looking into my daughter's bright eyes, she was grinning toothlessly and happily as if I had just realized something very basic. It was not mind reading... that's for sure. It was more like she was transmitting her raw thoughts to me, trying to communicate what she meant by her babblings. Was she using magic? It was the only way I could explain what I was experiencing.

It was the first thing I told Sasha the following day, and we have been carefully trying to test it in the following days. The way the two little imps communicated with each other was making sense now. They weren't talking; they were conveying their thoughts to each other, and now they began using it on us. 

It was such a subtle thought. If we had not looked for it, we could easily have missed it and never realized what was happening. I had so many questions, but I couldn't really ask them because they couldn't put it into words and explain it. The only way we could 'experiment' was to always be conscious about it when caring for them, trying to figure out what was happening and hoping they would be able to remember it and replicate it when they get older.

Another interesting thing happened when Merlin got involved; he wasn't experiencing the same thing as we were. Of course, he didn't doubt our claims and began using his new measuring devices, which were being developed for the mech and tuned to interact with magical waves. After a handful of measurements, he came to a conclusion telling us clearly.

"They, for sure, are mages. Both of them." He explained, beaming with excitement, "The measurements show that faint magical waves do come from their bodies, but they have a specific frequency, tuned in a way so only you pick it up."

"Us?" Sasha asked, looking around, holding Arthur, who was nodding, arms crossed, wearing a proud look while Leyla was in my lap, bopping her head back and forth as if she was listening to some sick tune, entertaining herself. 

"Yes." Merlin continued, "Whatever they do, it's almost instinctual and adjusted to you—their parents."

"This means... us too?" Yuri asked, her voice trembling slightly, beaming from happiness when Merlin nodded.

"Yes! I tested it multiple times, and the waves coming off them are tuned to all of you. As for what... I can't really tell, but I am sure that is why only you can understand them."

"Brain waves." I blurted out, thinking, working to recall anything I had read about them in my previous life, but there wasn't much as it was outside of my field of expertise. "Brain waves are rhythmic patterns of electric activity generated by the neurons inside our head. They happen when we think. Several types of brain waves exist, and they can be categorized by their frequencies. There are Delta waves ranging around 0.5-4 Hz. These slowest brain waves are typically associated with deep sleep or unconsciousness. Theta waves, between 4-8 Hz, are usually present during light sleep, deep relaxation, and meditation and are active when it is about creative thinking and problem-solving. Alpha waves come in the 8-13 Hz range. They are prominent when the brain is relaxed but awake, such as during meditation, daydreaming, or light tasks. The next step is Beta waves at 13-30 Hz. These are the results of active, alert, and focused cognitive activity when high concentration, problem-solving, and dynamic thinking are happening. Lastly, Gamma waves are all above 30 Hz. They are the fastest brain waves and are associated with higher cognitive functions such as memory, perception, and abstract problem-solving." I explained in one go, quoting all my recalled knowledge, conveying nothing useful to anybody here but Merlin.

"I see, I see... I never thought about it like that! Leon, you should have told me this earlier!" He exclaimed, standing up and walking back and forth in the room.

"Sorry, I am not a brain scientist, so it doesn't occur to me, okay?" I shrugged, adding more while rubbing my head, "Also, these waves can exist side by side; it doesn't mean that our brain can't multitask."

"Yes, yes... of course!" He murmured, his voice getting more and more excited.

"What? Will you make a translator for babies?" I asked, making him stop and look at us, blinking his eyes in surprise.

"Wha-? Oh. No, I don't think it's important. I wasn't thinking about the kids."

"Gu!" Grunted both Arthur and Leyla simultaneously, pouting, getting angry, and throwing fire at Merlin with their eyes.

"But I think I got it!" He continued, gathering his stuff in a hurry, "I got to go, Leon! I think I know how to create the operation system for the mech! I totally do!"

"What the..." I sat there, watching him rush out of the room, leaving the door open.

"He really had an idea, huh?" Sasha mumbled, knowing that we wouldn't see Merlin for a few days...

...

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.....

Eventually, those few days became weeks, during which Merlin disappeared entirely from public view. I was in the factory, overseeing the construction as we moved on to creating the base of the torso when I was told he had finally emerged and was looking for me.

"Thank you, dear," I leaned in, kissing Yuri's face, who had come to deliver the news that he had reappeared. 

"Brr. It still creeps me out when you are this kind."

"I know~!"

"Bully."

"Don't steal Luna's catchphrase. How did he look? Worn out?" I asked, trying to keep the topic on track.

"Like Luna when she regains consciousness after an eventful night. If I didn't know that Elena was back in Greybank, I would have thought she had her way with the boy, sucking him dry. He looks like a mummy! Luna is making some food for the idiot because he hasn't eaten at all since being stuck in his place."

"Haaah... He can go overboard sometimes!" I shrugged, shaking my head while watching our workers. "I will let him eat, rest a little, then we can talk. It will also let him organize his thoughts, or I will not get what he made at all."

"He was erratic for sure. So? How's things coming along?" She asked with a laugh, leaning forward on the railing, watching as the heavy metal slabs were now weightless thanks to magic, and Sasha was down there, using her flames to weld them together.

"Surprisingly good. What is being made now will be the main core of the machine where our primary CC will be installed. After it's done, we can attach the legs and move them onto the torso unit."

"Are you really going to make it a hunchback?" She asked, playing with her hair, "Wouldn't it look weird?"

"Maybe, but it has its advantages. By placing the head unit and the cockpit in the chest area, we can use the space on its back and shoulders to mount weapon platforms and shoulder pads with defensive magic on them. It will further increase its defensive efforts. It won't be a fast-moving mech with what we have, so I will make it robust and strong. Something that withstands damage and dishes it out in turn. These ones won't be zooming around the battlefield. We will have our regular army for that, so think of these as monster busters!"

"Mmmh... I can't wait to bust some balls with it." She grinned, making me smile and slap her butt.

"Let's go before you get so wet that I can use your nectar to lube the machine parts in the factory!"

"Fufufufu... I did rub off on ya a little, didn't I?"

"No comment."

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......

Ultimately, it was already way into the night when I had a chance to sit down with Merlin because he fell asleep at the table the moment he filled his stomach. I can't blame him; the little genius has been working for who knows how long, maybe not even sleeping for a whole week. Well, anyway, by the time he was up, he looked like he recharged himself to 100%.

"I got it all worked out!" he exclaimed, rolling out a giant parchment with a highly complex formation drawn on it, one that was making me dizzy.

"Slow down; let me look at it first!" I raised a hand, stopping him from continuing while studying it. "Is this... self-adjusting?"

"It is based on my specialty, yes! Anyway, this is the first one I made. It is not for regular use because it is designed for a mage. I had to start with this so I could then work from here and make one that is compatible with regular people."

"Wait! So if we install this, does it mean that only a mage could control the mech?"

"Anyone else would have trouble using it, but it wouldn't be impossible. Only using its functions would be very limited. With this, just as you can feel what your kids mean or want from you, you would be in the same sync with the machine! You would feel it like you feel your body, giving you much greater control and precision, not to mention the improved response times!"

"I see. It does sound wonderful..." I mumbled, remembering how the top-of-the-line tanks were in my time. Yet, listening to his description and watching the formation, I had the feeling that this one would make them even more precise than an AI-assisted machine.

"Then, I could do more from here and came up with this!" He unrolled the second one with a similar formation that was not a bit smaller or less complex. "This is designed for regular people!"

"I can see that it has thirty CC requirements." I spoke at once, realizing the fact from the get-go. 

"It is a must. Magicless pilots wouldn't be able to control it otherwise. But I made it modular. In essence, the formation would be preloaded with all the commands needed. As the pilot controls the machine, the commands activate and control the machine, thanks to the CC. Moreover, the outside information would be processed in real time and displayed for the pilot as an image... I would call it the Imaginary! Ahaha! I was stuck while thinking about it, but then the idea hit me from nowhere!"

"From nowhere... huh?" I thought, looking at him and smiling, watching how excited he was.

"With this formation as its control unit, the input from the outside world and the pilot would be picked up instantly and transmitted at the speed of thought, allowing the mech to move and all of its inner functions to be controlled by one master formation! By this one! I made it so that this would be the brain that sends out thought waves. It is so simple; I can't believe it took me this long to come up with it!"

"Comparing the two, what would be the performance difference?" I asked, scratching my chin, flipping back and forth between the two spells.

"My estimations are that a mage operating a mech would be exponentially faster, quicker, and more reactive. Still... an experienced pilot could still match an inexperienced witch. But that needs live testing; for now, this is all but theory!"

"Not for long." I clapped, unable to wash off my grin. "We will begin building the cockpit and installing this formation into it. I will make a few design changes so the head of the mech will be interchangeable! That way, we can manufacture different ones and swap them, depending on whether the pilot is a mage or not."