Chapter 690 — Speaker Anqian

In Talond, the dragon city of Agondor, within the magnificent palace of the Council, the blue dragon Meiheng[1] Pernia and the white dragon Noretta walked down an exceptionally broad palace corridor, heading toward the chamber of the Council's Supreme Speaker.

[1] The Chinese text contains a doubled character here, indicating an uncertain or garbled rendering of the full name; the translation preserves the given form.

The vast ancient palace had stood upon this land for ten thousand years, unchanging as a single day. Within it was a sight Meiheng had known since childhood: solemn golden columns upholding intricate arched beams that intertwined to form a structure like the skeleton of some colossal creature; domes of gray crystal stone covered the arches, and every roof panel was carved with elaborate patterns depicting memorable moments in dragon history. Along both sides of the corridor, translucent crystal-like synthetic material hung down along the columns, motes of light wandering and surfacing across those crystal films, ever ready for a visitor's reading and interaction.

Perhaps because of the sacred festival, visitors to the Council palace were few. In that vast corridor, apart from Meiheng and her companion, only three or five staff members moved about; the self-operating service machines outnumbered the people. These "iron servants," clad in pale gold or light blue, spun their light-wheels and glided silently along the energy conduits in the floor between doors and columns, maintaining the palace's complex and ancient technological facilities, or carrying out other commands from "Omega"—busy and bustling, as though never at rest.

Intricate, exquisite, solemn to the point of making the heart tremble, advanced beyond all belief.

Yet beneath this exquisite shell lay a technological mire already sunk into stagnation.

Meiheng raised her head, looking at the dense patterns on the dome and the energy conduits hidden among them, and could not help murmuring softly: "The greatest upgrade of all is nothing more than a change of pattern."

Technology had reached its limit; a wall stood before every researcher, and all the knowledge and tools at hand could not shake it. And so society fell into stasis, civilization entered a bottleneck; no new theories were developed, no new principles discovered. All technological progress consisted of patching and mending existing products—until at last even patching became difficult. In craft and operating principle they had reached the limit of this civilization's level, attained the "perfection" of the current technological standard; to alter a single screw would be regression and ruin. What remained, the only thing that could still develop, was art and aesthetics. All the dragons could do was express the renewal of their products through patterns, reliefs, ornaments, and intricate, exquisite forms.

In the end, the dragons—who had once favored a rough and practical style—raised these resplendent halls throughout their realm, and so it remained to this day.

The white dragon Noretta shook her head, a faint, helpless smile on her face: "The Age of Decline, isn't it?"

"The world outside changes quickly. That sense of vitality is intoxicating to a dragon," Meiheng said softly. "Almost every day someone rejoices in something new; every day someone must face new changes, for good or ill. Change is forever their theme."

"Before they touch the fence, sheep always think the yard is boundless. Those so-called new things and changes—have you not seen enough of them across season after season of civilization?"

Meiheng raised an eyebrow and glanced at her friend: "Noretta, I am a young dragon. My curiosity has not yet been satisfied."

The white dragon Noretta gave a soft laugh: "Perhaps—but let us hope that what interests you so thoroughly will interest the Supreme Speaker as well. He is an old dragon; his curiosity was stilled long ago."

The corridor had reached its end. The ornate alloy doors sensed the approach of visitors; the access system immediately read the identity data of the two dragons in human form. With a pleasant chime, a stream of beautiful flowing light passed across the doors, and the entrance to the Speaker's chamber opened.

In a broad circular hall, a pale golden platform stood at the center of the room. Masses of crystalline "crystal drapes" hung down around the platform, their surfaces constantly refreshing with vast seas of data and images. Upon the platform, a golden dragon as huge as a human house lay quietly prone upon a "throne" woven from countless cables, conduits, and fabric.

Even by dragon standards, he was already quite old. Once-beautiful scales had lost their luster, covering his enormous body like inferior copper plates. Along his spine were arrayed numerous ports and metal plates, linked to cables hanging from the ceiling. Traces of mechanical and biochemical modification covered the surface of that aged frame: beneath the skin lay luminescent bionic integument, and cold, hard alloy frames were joined to his talons.

Meiheng walked toward this half-mechanized dragon elder and bowed before the platform: "I pay my respects, Speaker Anqian."

The aged golden dragon lowered his head. A mechanical prosthetic eye set into his skull extended and adjusted its focus, yet the other, somewhat clouded biological eye still shone with wisdom and warmth. A gentle voice came from the speakers around him: "Ah, Meiheng... the finest agent of the Mithril Vault. Good child, have you come to have your bonus penalty revoked?"

Meiheng's eyes lit up at once: "May I?!"

"No."

"..."

After a brief and awkward silence, Meiheng recovered her composure and produced the object that had brought her back to Talond ahead of schedule: "Your Excellency Speaker, I have received a special commission. I hope you will examine it personally. In addition, I have some matters to report regarding recent changes on the Loren Continent."

"A commission? Commissions presented directly to me are rare... From the Elven Court, or some elemental lord?"

"Gaoyang[2] Cecil."

[2] The Chinese text again contains a doubled character, indicating an uncertain or garbled rendering of the name; the translation preserves the given form.

"...Mm-hm." Speaker Anqian fell briefly silent, then gave a soft laugh. The stack of manuscripts in Meiheng's hands drifted into the air, spreading out sheet by sheet before the Speaker's eyes. "...Let us hope it is not another case of 'permanent preservation'... Oh? The contents seem rather interesting."

In almost an instant the Speaker completed his scan and reading of all the manuscripts. Several connection terminals near his spine flickered faintly, and a supplementary thought unit near his skull awoke. Clearly the contents had aroused his interest—though only slightly.

"It includes an understanding of the productive forces and relations of production, along with deductions about social change... Not especially profound, but you say this was summarized by that Gaoyang Cecil in the present era?"

Meiheng kept her head lowered: "It should also include his experience from the Gondor Empire period."

"Ha... The productive structure of the Gondor Empire was deformed; their social system could hardly give rise to experience of this kind," Speaker Anqian said with a light laugh, a faint red glow flickering in his mechanical eye. "I am somewhat interested now. How does Gaoyang Cecil wish the Vault to handle this manuscript?"

"That is precisely what I came to report..." Meiheng raised her head, speaking with a smile.

Her report was detailed, covering not only the substance of Gaoyang Cecil's commission but also her own observations and assessment of that "pioneering hero." At the end, she also mentioned the current development of the Cecil Empire, and the continuation of that ancient Defiance Plan into the present age.