1004! What a magnificent flying aircraft carrier-if only it could fire a shot from the top of a volcano. Slurp, slurp.
Mosna swore she had really only gone over to assess the foreign experts' abilities.
She hadn't pulled any other stunts at all, but by the time the airship reached the Maginot Line, Mosna had become the "absolute star" of the trip.
Dozens of experts in related fields, each choosing a different race, surrounded her and peppered her with one professional question after another. They'd even gotten notebooks from the crew so they could take notes as they asked, treating Mosna like an all-powerful "wish-granting machine."
Fortunately, thanks to the Maintenance Sentinel's outrageously extensive database, she could just about handle the questions these enthusiastic foreign experts were asking.
But besides the ones asking questions, several big names who specialized in mechanical automation and artificial intelligence stood quietly to one side, studying her with a look that sent a chill down Mosna's spine.
They looked just like serial killers who'd found the perfect victim to dismember.
Ms. Sentinel was certain that if she agreed to perform maintenance on her chassis here, those few would immediately pounce with screwdrivers in hand. They wouldn't stop until they'd taken her apart and thoroughly studied every module.
Of course, that was just idle speculation. Given Mosna's current importance within Transia's system, Murphy would never allow those foreign big shots to study his "Sentinel assistant" in the literal, physical sense.
The main issue was that, given Blue Star's current level of technology, even if they really did take Mosna apart, they'd have a hard time learning anything useful.
A leap forward in knowledge and technology still required a solid theoretical foundation. Until the experts had built up their technical expertise, Mosna was far more valuable as a "question-answering machine" than she would be disassembled.
"This trip was well worth it. What a wonderful surprise!"
The big shot