Episode 118 — Shared Knowledge, or the Closed Loop

A few days had passed since the conclusion of the Felsen Cup—or as I preferred to call it, the "Large-Scale Load Test."

Tama was curled up on my lap, letting out a relaxed "Mrow" as she shifted her weight.

I took a sip of my cola. The ice had mostly melted, but the remaining carbonation provided just enough of a kick to keep my consciousness from drifting away entirely.

(The cultural sandboxing was a success. For now, I’ve managed to trap them within a sixty-four-square grid. As long as they’re preoccupied with those peaceful calculations, I’m happy. It’s far healthier for everyone if they spend their time solving puzzles rather than running malignant files like "political schemes.")

"Mr. Zect. I apologize for disturbing your rest... but I’ve come to report a rather delightful 'emergency.'"

It was Gustav. He was holding a thick parchment letter sealed with an elaborate coat of arms.

"A delightful emergency? That sounds like a bit of a contradiction, Gustav. What is it? Did Duke Daryl realize he can't handle losing at chess and send a formal petition for a rematch?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. It seems the Duke has become completely infatuated with the 'logic' of Felsen. Look at this. He’s sent a formal request to send five of his most talented civil servants to Felsen as 'international students.' He wants them to learn everything from the ground up—Arabic numerals, algebraic formulas, and our entire administrative management system."

I stayed reclined in my chair as I took the letter from Gustav and skimmed through it. The handwriting was powerful yet humble, typical of a seasoned military strategist. It spoke of the "limitations of old wisdom" and a "thirst for a new logic."

"...I see. Duke Daryl saw the performance of our 'execution engine'—meaning Algo—and realized his own territory’s OS is hopelessly outdated. Not a bad call on his part."

"The Duke says he won't spare any expense for their stay or tuition," Gustav added. "So, Mr. Zect, regarding these students... I assume we should arrange for special lectures from Algo or Elishua?"

I thought about it for a second, then a smirk played across my lips.

"No. We’re going to have them attend the Felsen public school. Right alongside the children in the lowest-level class, starting with 'one plus one.'"

"Wait... what?" Gustav stammered. "You want the high-ranking officials of a Dukedom to sit at the same desks as toddlers?"

Gustav looked speechless. It made sense; in this world, status and age usually carry more weight than actual knowledge. But I shook my head.

"Gustav, if you skip the basics and jump straight to the advanced stuff, it just becomes a 'buggy patch.' We have to hammer the 'grammar' of this new language into them. If they don't learn at the same level as the kids, they’ll inevitably run into a critical error when they try to implement the system back home. You can't compromise on the base installation. Besides... wouldn't it be hilarious?"

Gustav let out a dry laugh and began scribbling "Enrollment procedures for international students" into his notebook.

"I suppose you have a point, Mr. Zect. It might be humiliating for them, but we’ll have the Duke’s bureaucrats learn how to write their numbers from their 'seniors'—the local children."

"It’s for the best, Gustav," I said. "Once they start calculating budgets with Felsen’s numbers, building structures with Felsen’s scales, and writing laws with Felsen’s logic... they won't be able to maintain their country without us anymore. It’s what we call 'Vendor Lock-in.' Making them dependent on our standards is a much more robust—and gentler—way to invade than using force."

(Once you’re dependent on a specific language or tool, the migration cost is too high to ever go back. I’ll fill their world with our code until they’re just another part of the Felsen platform.)

Gustav nodded slowly, looking deeply impressed by my explanation.

"Mrrrp. (And they’ll probably just be happy because the school lunches are so good.)"

Tama yawned and stretched out on the floor. Everything was going according to plan. I was just about to settle back into sleep mode when Gustav spoke up again.

"However, Mr. Zect... while everything seems to be going smoothly, one rather troublesome issue has cropped up."

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