Episode 77 — Constructing an Optimized Network Infrastructure

The air in the living room carried a "heat" that was different from the gentle breeze of the air conditioner. Elishua, leaning forward on the sofa, and Bartos, sitting with a perfectly straight back beside her, were staring intently at the camera. The scent of mud and skin exposed to the scorching sun filled the room. What they had brought back wasn't just data inside a camera; it was a "frontline record" of a dying forest.

"Master Zect. ...I saw it. The moment those tiny ants became the village's hope," Elishua whispered, her voice raspy. A thin layer of mud still remained on her fingertips.

I said nothing and connected the digital camera she handed me to my smartphone.

*Chime.*

With the electronic sound of the loading completion, thousands of images expanded across the monitor. I swiped through the screen at high speed, burning the raw data they had risked their lives to extract into my retinas.

(I see. So this is the true form of the bug. It’s more serious than I imagined.)

The magnified monitor showed swarms of parasites burrowing into the stems of the fruit, severing the vascular bundles from the inside. And opposing them, the reddish-brown ants were clamping their jaws down without a shred of mercy.

"Alright, the sampling is perfect. ...Elishua, Bartos. You guys did a 99-point job. ...I’ll fill in that last point."

At my words, Elishua looked up. Her eyes no longer held her former vanity, but rather the light of an engineer determined to complete a project.

"What are you going to do, Master Zect? Will you use magic to increase the number of ants?"

"No, I won't be using magic. ...It’s not the numbers that are lacking. It’s the network 'bandwidth.'"

"Bandwidth?"

I opened another window on the edge of the monitor and began drawing a simple diagram.

"Listen. The ants are capable patrol soldiers. But right now, the Ern Forest is too complex for an army of ants; it takes too long for the soldiers to reach the frontlines—the orchards. As a result, the culling can't keep up with the pest reproduction speed."

I traced the space between the trees with my finger.

"If the ants have to move by walking on the ground, it takes hours to encounter an enemy. ...So, we’re going to lay down a dedicated 'fiber optic' line for them."

"A... fiber optic line...?"

"Physical string. Sturdy hemp twine or non-sticky vines will do. We’ll connect them via the shortest distance between the trees where the nests are and the trees with the infestation. We’ll call this the 'Ant Highway.'"

I pulled up a video from my search results showing ants moving at high speeds across a string.

"On a string with no obstacles, the ants' movement speed will jump several times over. Furthermore, the speed of information transfer will increase. Once one ant finds an enemy, it immediately sends a pheromone signal, and reinforcements from the home base will arrive instantly via the highway."

Elishua stared at the scene on the monitor as if being sucked in.

"Changing... will and speed... through shape itself..."

"Exactly. This is 'Optimization through Environment.' ...Furthermore, there’s one more bug we have to fix."

I darkened the screen for a moment and continued with a serious expression.

"It’s a matter of the UI—the User Interface."

"The... U-I?"

"I’m talking about the village elves. Elishua, what do the people in your village think of ants?"

Elishua frowned. "...They consider them impure, filthy insects. Abominable beings that defile the trees where spirits dwell. ...I felt the same way at first."

"That’s it. Even if we install the ants—our ultimate defense program—it’s all for nothing if the users think of them as a 'virus' and delete them on their own."

This was the greatest barrier in technology implementation: the legacy conflict known as human emotion.

"So, we’re going to do a rebranding... which means changing the name. Listen, from today on, those ants aren't ants. They are the invisible apostles that guard the forest: the 'Forest Guards.'"

"Apostles... of the spirits...?"

"Right. The way the ants stitch leaves together to make nests will be called 'Spirit Cocoons.' The sight of ants eating pests will be the 'Purification of Filth.' We’ll translate every phenomenon into words the elves can understand. ...Fortunately, you have the photographic evidence. And Bartos has his persuasive power as a knight."

I turned my gaze toward Gustav.

"Gustav. Send this project to the village as an official 'Forest Protection Program' from Felsen. This isn't just agricultural work. It’s a joint 'Security Update' linking Felsen and the elven village."

Gustav let out a deep, impressed sigh and stood up from his chair.

"I understand, Zect. We shall integrate the ants' ecology and even the people's faith as part of the system."

"Alright, the policy is set."

I leaned back deep into my chair and stroked Tama’s neck.

"Elishua, Bartos. ...Sorry, but I’m going to need you to make one more round trip. This time, you aren't testers. You’re going as 'System Engineers' to lay down the Ant Highways and install the new discipline in the villagers."

Elishua looked at her dirty hands once more. Then, she let out a quiet, proud smile, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

"With pleasure. It is my village, after all. I shall see to it that the finest work is achieved by my own hands."

"Bartos, moving out! I shall string every line without a single inch of slack!"

The two of them stood up once again. The fear of the "mud-stained suffering" was gone from their faces. A firm pride supported them—the knowledge that they were part of the process of rewriting the laws of the world.

"Mrrp. (Looks like that’s settled.)"

"I just want to finish this problem quickly so I can take a quiet nap."

Twilight approached Felsen. Carrying the blueprints for the new infrastructure, the two engineers set out for the forest once again.

There was only one step left before the Ern Forest could "reboot."

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