Chapter 1571: Drafting Engineering Design Standards, The Sixth Collective Meeting of the Progress Society

The issue Xia Duo discovered with this energy transmission line was not a flaw in the fundamental theory, but rather an engineering problem.

Previously, he had only considered how to add requirements, and there was some negligence in the process of translating those requirements into reality; now, after running a high-fidelity simulation, he discovered that many of his previous ideas were somewhat too idealistic.

For example, regarding the energy transmission line issue, because multiple sets of redundant systems had to be installed, the actual physical energy transmission lines had to be clearly organized into primary and secondary paths, and arranged in an orderly manner; one could not distribute the core lines involving multiple redundant systems all together.

Otherwise, it would easily lead to the scenario often seen in movies from his hometown, where a team of adventurers breaks into a spaceship and carelessly destroys a single screw (an exaggeration), causing the entire ship to explode.

Movies can certainly do this to highlight drama, but reality requires the highest possible fault tolerance; ideally, even if only a piece of wreckage remains, it should still be able to maintain the vast majority of its functions.

Xia Duo had designed it that way, and consequently, many redundant systems were created, but he had focused more on spell design and considered engineering design less.

In fact, because the Floating City is a complex, massive, and unprecedented special Psionic Creation, Xia Duo had not even finished the spell design yet!

Currently, the only thing fully completed is roughly the first phase, the "Main Construction and Repair and Maintenance System," while the remaining parts are also being explored as he goes.

And so, just after finishing the high-fidelity simulation, he discovered numerous problems, the most serious of which was the distribution of the energy lines.

Fortunately, everything is still at the starting point, and adjustments and improvements can be made in time.

Sometimes Xia Duo really wants to ask himself, is it necessary to be this pedantic? Isn't just cutting off a mountain peak and moving it into the sky the simplest form of a Floating City?

And it would still be able to serve as a deterrent.

To say nothing else, just smashing a large half of a mountain peak down would be comparable to a world-ending spell; among the nations of the Northland, besides the three countries of Cormanthor, Yierlan, and Illefarn, other countries—even Netheril—might not necessarily be able to stop it.

But even for the three countries of Cormanthor, stopping such a mountain peak would require paying a heavy price; after all, one wouldn't be foolish enough to choose broad daylight to act when smashing it down.

Furthermore, means like silencing, concealment, and Avoidance of Detection would certainly have to be employed; once it is discovered, it is almost impossible to avoid the disaster without paying any price.

Unless one knows in advance about this "Meteor Fall" tactic, in which case one could at least prepare beforehand and minimize losses as much as possible.

If one were completely unaware beforehand, it would be a tragedy; aside from relying on gods, Xia Duo really cannot think of any good outcome.

It is just that this method cannot be used as a conventional attack, otherwise, with no bottom line between each other, it is very likely to turn the Northland into ruins.

Xia Duo has always been preoccupied with the Floating City, partly out of concern that enemies might descend from the sky; ground targets are too obvious, and with clear objectives, one can only defend passively, which is truly too stifling.

Although one could build strategic-level defenses on the ground similar to "nuclear bunkers," as long as the ground-based nature remains unchanged, one remains in a passive position.

Therefore, what Xia Duo is thinking of is moving most factories, schools, the Research Institute, and other institutions up to the Floating City, leaving only agriculture, tourism, and a few functions on the ground.

This way, perhaps even the Elves would no longer be able to use environmental excuses to attack humans.

……

In the Study, Xia Duo pondered continuously while looking at the Projection, but what he was considering at this moment was not how to plan the energy transmission lines more reasonably, but whether to outsource part of the Floating City design.

Because he discovered that if he did it all by himself, there would always be some issues he couldn't account for, especially in terms of engineering design, which requires not only knowledge but also experience.

Some of the magical architectural designs in the past of Netheril did not need to consider many engineering design issues because their functions were simple; in the vast majority of cases, as long as the spell design was fine, the building would not have any major problems.

But this way, the vast majority of buildings were full of the designer's personal characteristics; if it were just the appearance, it wouldn't matter, but the internal spell design and engineering design were also full of personal characteristics, which brought great trouble to later maintenance.

Basically, for every additional Psionic Creation by a Mage, one needs to learn an additional maintenance plan.

Currently in Netheril, the penetration rate of magical equipment, facilities, and buildings is not yet very high; in the future, it can be said that there will be no purely ordinary creations, as basically everything will be related to Magic.

If there is no relatively unified standard, the later maintenance costs will inevitably drag down the development of civilization.

Or rather, the development of civilization is meant to reduce internal friction, which requires a relatively unified standard.

Whether it is in terms of spell design or engineering design!

With this thought, Xia Duo decided to compile a "Standard for Spell Design and Engineering Design for Magical Buildings and Facilities"; it just so happens that the Floating City involves every aspect, and exploring through practice is exactly in line with Xia Duo's consistent philosophy.

In any case, he never thought of using one Floating City for a lifetime; there would definitely be upgrades and replacements, and even the one he is designing now could completely be treated as a "test city."

As for the Standard for Spell Design, the Tower of Time has so far initially formed a set of standards based on the Apprentice textbooks compiled by Xia Duo; the design itself will not have major problems, and the same is true for other Mage Towers. What needs to be done next is more about standardizing the processes.

For this Floating City project, it would not be amiss to compile a "Standard for Spell Design" along the way.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo soon made a decision in his heart; he dismissed the Projection, took out a brand-new Blank Notebook, and began to break down the project and write out the project's requirements and specifications.

……

Two days later.

The sixth collective meeting of the Progress Society was grandly held in the No. 1 conference hall on the Public Level of the Tower of Time.

Attendees included 45 Formal Members, 92 probationary (formal) members, 268 associate members (Development Targets), and 412 Active Members who had submitted their membership applications to the Progress Society and were in the observation period.

It can be said that more than half of the New Apprentices are members of the Progress Society!

When Xia Duo arrived at the venue, seeing the sea of heads and those pairs of fanatical eyes, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment; a sense of inexplicable déjà vu welled up in his heart.

It was only under Dien's reminder that he came back to his senses, waved to the crowd, and then sat down calmly at the round table in the center of the venue.

Xia Duo does not have the habit of always appearing last; today he arrived neither early nor late, and the 45 Formal Members had not all arrived yet, with about half present.

However, after he appeared, the speed of subsequent arrivals seemed to have accelerated quite a bit; Xia Duo looked at the familiar or unfamiliar faces in the venue while recalling the latest information on the Progress Society members he had just seen yesterday.

Before long, all the Formal Members had arrived, and shortly after, all the other attendees had also arrived one after another.