Chapter 1432 — The Observer's Conjecture

The communication link from the Deep Blue Well was severed. The underground archive center and Ophelia's figure, which had surfaced amid the sea of flowers, receded like the tide. Bright sunlight once again shone down upon that open, vibrant place, and in the gently blowing breeze, Beyila's figure reappeared before Gao Yang, her face wearing a solemn expression.

"I never imagined the breakthrough would come to us in this form... Deep within the well, they actually stored seven-hundred-year-old data on the magic tide."

"Beyond expectation, yet entirely reasonable," Gao Xi said slowly. "If there were any place left in this world where the 'shadow' of the magic tide might survive, it could only be the Deep Blue Well... That earth-shattering explosion destroyed the Gondor civilization, but it also held back the magic tide that might have brought about the end of the world. I have considered this possibility for a long time, but I never imagined... that it had truly left its traces there."

"Do you believe Ophelia's plan can really succeed? Raising the magical power of the Deep Blue Well to an 'energy level' sufficient to simulate the magic tide, manufacturing a controlled magic-tide environment in the laboratory..." Beyila's tone carried a hint of concern. "Theoretically there is some feasibility, but the idea is truly ahead of its time, and... it always feels rather unsettling."

She shook her head and looked into Gao Yang's eyes. "Actually, I never expected you to agree to her plan. It hardly suits your usual cautious nature."

"...We may not have much time left," Gao Yang said, meeting Beyila's gaze. Before this "former Holy Maiden"—who could stand alongside the Dustly Dawn as one of the Cecil Empire's two core fighting forces—he did not conceal his thoughts. "Our civilization has developed peacefully for far too many years. Though the arrival of the magic tide seems to follow no precise timetable, it does have a rough periodicity. We must be mentally prepared for it to arrive tomorrow."

"...Is it because of the 'stars shining' mentioned in that alien signal?" Beyila asked, quietly watching Gao Yang. "You believe that message is telling us the magic tide is about to begin?"

"I cannot be certain, but it is highly likely—perhaps the motives of the civilization that sent the signal remain unclear, perhaps the signal is truly a trap, but so long as there is any possibility, we must prepare for every eventuality... 'They' sent us this message across the sea of stars, and its contents must carry some deeper meaning."

Beyila said nothing for a moment, only lowering her head slightly as though lost in thought. Seeing this, Gao Yang asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

"I am considering the 'observation' problem in the final stage of Ophelia's plan," Beyila said, raising her head. "Just as you pointed out, the key issue with this simulated test is that the essence of the magic tide is an uncontrolled observer effect on the macroscopic scale—in other words, its final stage absolutely does not permit the participation of intelligent beings. Any attempt to observe the magic tide will cause the participant to perish. That means even if her simulation succeeds, we will have no means of extracting the result... Although we are taking it one step at a time and starting with separating the raw data, we will inevitably have to face this problem."

Gao Yang's brows slowly furrowed. "Indeed, I have been thinking about this as well. The prohibition on observation during the final experimental stage is a problem almost as intractable as the magic tide itself... The only methods I have conceived so far are two. One is indirect observation—using some kind of comprehensive observation device capable of simulating the human senses to enter the experimental field and record data, which is then read by testers outside.

"The other is 'restricted observation'—using soul magic to completely freeze the test subject's mind, causing them to enter the experimental field in a form akin to a 'puppet.' According to our current understanding of the magic tide, individuals without a mind are unaffected by that oscillating field—but the puppet's senses would still be continuously receiving the influence of the oscillating field. After the test concludes, we could attempt to directly analyze the neurological and organic changes in the subject, or use high-level illusion magic to extract the 'fragments of impression' left in the subject's subconscious.

"But it is hard to say how much success either method would have, because in a sense both schemes circumvent the indispensable element of the observer—and without an observer's participation... the magic tide might not manifest any recordable properties at all. To an ordinary entity, the magic tide is nothing more than a harmless breeze—one that does not even leave a trace."

"The key question is what exactly constitutes an 'observer,' and what qualities are required for one to be judged as such," Beyila said slowly. "I have heard the concept of the 'observer' as you described it at several academic exchange conferences, but that concept was also formulated outside the magic-tide environment..."

She frowned, muttering to herself as though thinking aloud: "Does any intelligent individual become an 'observer' in a restricted environment? Then are intelligent magic puppets observers? Can both low-level and high-level intelligent puppets serve in this role, or must the degree of intelligence reach a certain 'threshold'? Are the iron soldiers under Ophelia's command observers? If we observe the magic tide through a cluster of sensors, as in your first proposal, would the testers on the other end of the sensors still be affected—would the power of the magic tide reach across space to act upon them?"

As Beyila muttered, she seemed to sink into some kind of mental loop, frowning and racking her brains in intense concentration, until finally her thinking diverged to a rather bizarre height: "The magic tide acts upon the human mind and amplifies it into the macroscopic world, so... would someone with insufficient intelligence be judged an 'observer' in this process?"

Gao Yang: "...Huh?"

"Would a simpleton be immune to the magic tide?" Beyila asked with utter seriousness. "If highly intelligent iron soldiers are observers and low-intelligence magic puppets are not, then as long as one's intelligence is lower than a puppet's, would one be immune to the apocalypse...? I remember Selena once told me that simpletons are immune to idiot magic..."

"Stop, stop, what kind of nonsense is this—you have gone off track," Gao Yang had to interrupt Beyila hastily. Although her first few questions had carried a certain air of academic discussion, what followed had clearly veered off beyond all recognition. "I think your understanding of the observer concept was skewed from the very start. The uncontrolled observer effect in the magic tide has nothing to do with intelligence. Unless one is a completely mind-frozen flesh puppet or a 'vegetative' person, I have never heard of even a simpleton surviving the magic tide..."

At this he thought seriously for a moment, then explained his view: "I believe that in the face of this specific environment—the magic tide—the definition of 'observer' should be 'an individual capable of being aware of their own act of observation.' Such an individual does not necessarily need to understand what an observer is, but they must be aware of their own existence, aware of the world's existence, and aware that they interact with their surrounding environment. Even if they know nothing of all the concepts involved in this process, so long as the above conditions are met, they should qualify as an observer under the magic tide..."

Beyila seemed thoughtful. "...So that is how it is?"