The Myriad Machine

Fortunately, the other party had mentioned borrowing books from the start. Chaoyang coughed twice and tentatively replied, "I'd like to borrow a few books."

"The deposit is one hundred Ceriel. You'll get back whatever you don't spend."

So expensive! He couldn't help being taken aback by the old man's reply. Earlier, Judy had been willing to do almost anything to find Dane, yet even the reward she could offer amounted to only five hundred silver coins.

At these prices, how many residents could actually afford to borrow books?

"Do I have to pay upfront? What if you don't have any of the books I want to borrow?" Chaoyang questioned.

"If you can't borrow them here, then you won't be able to borrow them anywhere in the world." The old man's smile remained warm.

That was quite a claim.

Chaoyang wondered if he'd misheard. From what little he knew of Glorious Fortress, it wasn't exactly a major city. The continent was divided into the New and Old Continents, and the Old Continent was the heart of the world. Based on his past experience, libraries were advanced facilities that only appeared once people's basic needs were met, so the wealthier core cities were more likely to have large libraries.

This immediately piqued his curiosity.

"Here's one hundred." Chaoyang counted out the equivalent amount in silver coins and placed them on the counter.

The old man's smile grew even more kindly. After taking the money, he handed Chaoyang a key. "Then please follow me."

Chaoyang followed him along a long corridor into a hall. There were still no bookshelves or books in sight. Instead, the walls were lined with neat rows of doors.

Numbers like room numbers were marked on each door.

Hey, this looked more like a hotel!

The old man stopped in front of room 1024 and inserted the key into the lock. "We're here."

Somewhat puzzled, Chaoyang stepped inside. The room was barely ten square meters, with only a desk and two chairs. The window opposite was a pane of flat glass that didn't look like it could be opened, yet it gave off a soft light. He had no idea where the light came from.

There wasn't a single book in the room, either.

But his attention was drawn entirely to something else—a gigantic machine that took up nearly half the room. Its main body resembled a series of vertebrae hanging down from the ceiling, and it looked rather like a giraffe. Where its head should have been was an extremely complex metal octahedron. Through its oil-stained casing, he could just make out countless interlocking gears turning slowly inside.

"It seems this is your first visit to Glaic Academy." The old man had clearly noticed Chaoyang's astonishment. "Would you like me to explain how to use the Myriad Machine?"

Chaoyang nodded almost involuntarily. "Please... tell me about it."

"You can simply tell it what book you'd like to borrow. If the academy has a copy, the conveyor belt to your left will start moving. If it doesn't, the machine will query its main unit. At that point, one of two things may happen. If the main unit has a copy, the typewriter to your right will start up automatically, and you'll need to wait for the book to finish printing. If the main unit doesn't have one either, the machine will give a negative response by swaying from side to side."

V-voice queries? This time, Chaoyang was genuinely stunned!

"Do bear in mind that the charges differ depending on the result," the old man continued. "If the book is in the academy's collection, we charge only ten silver for wear and tear. If it isn't, querying the main unit costs sixty silver. Printing it will cost an additional forty silver for materials and production."

Good grief... That actually sounded pretty reasonable.

"Sir, do you have any other questions?"

He had plenty, but Chaoyang figured asking too many might arouse unnecessary suspicion. So he picked the one thing he was most curious about. "This Myriad—"

"The Myriad Machine."

"What exactly is the main unit of the Myriad Machine?"

"Another Myriad Machine, of course," the old man replied with a smile. "The machine in front of you is, more precisely, just one part of the Myriad Machine, much like Glaic Academy. Any city with an academy has a Myriad Machine. If you'd like to know more, why not ask it yourself?"

Right, he'd almost forgotten this was a library. If the Myriad Machine really was so widespread, he should be able to look up books about it directly.

"If you need any other services, ring the bell on the desk, and someone will come to assist you. In the meantime, please take your time reading." The old man gave him an elegant hand-over-heart salute, then turned and left the room.

It was time to put it to the test.

Facing the machine's head, Chaoyang spoke in a flat tone. "I'd like to borrow the Glorious Fortress Travel Guide."

The machine sprang to life.

Its spine began to expand and contract rhythmically. Chaoyang could even hear the low rumble of its joints meshing, along with the hiss of steam escaping through pipes.

This thing really could respond to his voice!

And it was powered by steam!

How was this even possible in theory?

Soon, the Myriad Machine swayed from side to side twice. According to the attendant's explanation, that meant it hadn't found a matching book.

How could that be...? Chaoyang was surprised. Had tourism not taken off in this world yet? Or should he try asking in a different way?

"I'd like a book about Glorious Fortress."

This time, the conveyor belt on the left started moving almost immediately.

A moment later, a yellowed book dropped out of the slot. Chaoyang picked it up and saw the title on the cover: History of Glorious Fortress.

"This is... incredible..."

He couldn't help murmuring to himself.

This was a fuzzy search! The Myriad Machine hadn't just understood his spoken request, it had also used the meaning and intent behind his words to select a book for him! Chaoyang knew next to nothing about artificial intelligence, but that didn't stop him from being utterly astonished by the technology behind this machine!

Of course, the Myriad Machine couldn't display a list or respond to borrowers in words, which made finding books rather inefficient. But compared to its more astonishing capabilities, those flaws seemed insignificant.

"I'd like to borrow a book introducing the Myriad Machine. Promotional material would be fine, too," Chaoyang said again.

This time, the machine vibrated for longer than before.

Nearly two minutes later, the typewriter on the right suddenly started up and began producing a book.

That also made Chaoyang realize that not one of the previous borrowers had ever asked about it.

Seriously, weren't they even a little curious about the Myriad Machine?

Could the question he'd asked have made the attendant suspicious...?

Fortunately, he'd gone out wearing a new appearance, so there was no chance anyone would connect him to the Detective. After weighing the pros and cons, Chaoyang decided to sit tight and wait for the book to finish printing.

After all, he desperately wanted to know how the Myriad Machine had been made.

This time, printing took nearly half an hour.

When Chaoyang held the freshly printed Glaic Academy Records (Fifth Edition) in his hands, he felt an unexpected solemnity.

He opened the book. A familiar line met his eyes.

"If there's anything you'd like to ask about, you can find the answer at Glaic Academy."

"That's where the world's center lies."

Chaoyang choked on his spit and broke into a fit of coughing.

Well, it turned out Judy had just been quoting the academy's slogan!