New chapter of Control Engineer is out! (1/2 chapters)

 

 

Incomplete

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Haaah.

I threw a crumpled scrap of miswritten stationery at the red activation magic symbol that had manifested before me. The paper ball vanished as if it had been swallowed by the way of magic emblem, disappearing into subspace. This was the result of analyzing the way of magic emblem of the magical bag. The magic art itself did not succeed.

About 50 centimeters diagonally above the red activation magic symbol that had swallowed the paper ball, another blue activation magic symbol appeared, and the paper ball suddenly re-emerged from it, flying straight toward me. Redshift and blueshift. How illustrative.

I caught the falling paper ball in my hand without any particular emotion. No matter how many times I threw it, the same phenomenon repeated itself. The paper ball vanished into subspace, yet it returned to this world almost instantaneously through the paired way of magic emblem.

To put it plainly, I had failed to reproduce the function of the magical bag. While I had succeeded in recreating the deposit and withdrawal phenomena I observed at the Adventurer Guild’s purchasing counter, I could not reproduce the actual storage function.

Surprisingly, or perhaps disappointingly, the activation magic symbols that appeared in the video recording of the magical bag’s usage were identical for both deposit and withdrawal. Moreover, the block diagram looked unnaturally divided and did not even activate at first. By “unnatural,” I mean that it was separated into two large parts with no connection between them, meaning they did not operate in tandem.

I had worked quite hard on the analysis. I was not sure whether it was a side effect of using the privilege override, but even after immersing myself in the newly activated documents and questioning Sysler AI, I could not understand it.

And yet, despite that, it eventually activated, albeit imperfectly.

What did I do?

Between the two seemingly disconnected clusters, there was a pair of lines and terminals extending toward each other, as though meaningfully.

Could it be that a connection had been lost there by mistake?

Acting on that thought, I connected them. Modifying a magic art so arbitrarily was an extremely dangerous act that could easily harm the practitioner. However, in a model-based simulation, there was no risk. I simply linked the two with a line, and the magic art activated through SimConnect without any issue. When I tested it in real activation afterward, the current result appeared.

Deposit, then instant withdrawal. What meaning did that serve?

A magical bag must not only store items but also allow retrieval at any chosen time.
That is the essence of storage. If an item instantly emerges the moment it is placed inside, that cannot be called storage.

No, this is not a complete failure. Yes, even if I could not do it now, if I could adjust the spatial coordinates between the entry and exit magic symbols, I might achieve instantaneous transference. If a human could pass through, it would be teleportation.

A phrase like “something-door” came to mind, though I did not understand its meaning. It must have come from Reo’s knowledge. Regardless, it should be tested only after animal experimentation. Perhaps I should catch an insect or something suitable.

No, I must stop indulging in escapism. Failure is failure. A control engineer must face reality more sincerely than anyone else, or else mastery over phenomena would remain forever beyond reach.

What I desired was the function of the magical bag. Incidentally, when I threw the paper ball at the blue activation magic symbol, it was repelled before even reaching it. So, it was one-way.

I also tried other disposable objects besides the paper ball, but the result was the same. Most likely, the function of the magical bag was composed of multiple magic arts, and the information I obtained from the video showed only a portion of them. There must have been unseen magic symbols, including one for retention. Without that, it could not operate properly. I had to acknowledge that.

What should I do, then? Should I approach those men and investigate their magical bag more closely?

Magical bags have existed for centuries. Their patents would long since have expired, but I prefer to avoid direct interference if possible.

Perhaps I should consult the university. After all, I am attending it for a reason.

 

—

 

“Please have a seat.” (Richard)

“Yes.” (Leon)

It was the second period on Monday, during Algebra. I was exempted from the course, so my absence was not unauthorized. The same applied to Geometry in the third period, so I had thought about returning home after lunch in the cafeteria. However, I managed to find Richard-sensei.

We were in the preparation room on the first floor of Building 61.

“So, what is it you wanted to discuss?” (Richard)

“Yes, actually, I wish to obtain the magic art formula for the magical bag.” (Leon)

“The magical bag, hm.” (Richard)

Sensei’s expression clouded.

What could be the problem?

“Is there an issue?” (Leon)

“Indeed. Firstly, the magical bag, though not a weapon, is still subject to restriction under a Ministry of Engineering ordinance that limits manufacturing for sale. Only certified individuals may produce it.” (Richard)

“Yes.” (Leon)

That much I know.

“Therefore, the standard activation magic symbol is publicly available under restriction. You may obtain it through the proper procedure. As for the magic stone, creating one for personal use rather than sale should be permissible. However, within this university…” (Richard)

Hm?

“Seven years ago, there was a student who was deceived by a dishonest merchant and produced a moderate quantity of magic stones for distribution.” (Richard)

“I see. From the way you phrase it, I assume the matter came to light.” (Leon)

“Indeed. Moreover, the items were defective, injuring their users and resulting in criminal prosecution. The student’s deception was acknowledged, and he received a suspended sentence due to extenuating circumstances.” (Richard)

“I understand.” (Leon)

“Because of that incident, anyone who wishes to create magic stones on campus must apply and receive the dean’s approval.” (Richard)

“Understood. I apologize for the trouble, but please teach me the procedure for submitting an application.” (Leon)

Through Richard-sensei, I would have Zila-sensei forward the application to the dean for review.

 

—

 

“Oh my, welcome back, Leon-san.” (Therese)

“I have returned.” (Leon)

Madam Therese greeted me just as I stepped into the entryway.

After leaving the university, I had debated whether to go hunting, but with only about two hours of daylight remaining, I gave up and returned to the boarding house.

“You are early today. Shall I prepare dinner sooner?” (Therese)

How kind.

It almost felt as though she were family rather than a stranger.

“No, please keep it at the usual time.” (Leon)

I returned to my room and sat in the chair of the living area. The magical bag was proving to be quite difficult.

Closing my eyes, I resumed my analysis from the previous day. The block diagram displayed two major clusters, arranged left and right. The left represented deposit, and the right withdrawal.

Between them, the terminals faced each other meaningfully.

If a direct connection failed, what could I place between them instead?

I tried inserting a block and reconnecting the circuit.

What about the transfer function? If the withdrawal occurred instantaneously, then delaying the signal should suffice. No, it could not be that simple, or so I thought, yet no alternative came to mind.

Well, since it was only on the model base, it should be fine. Let the function be e^(-Ls), with the dead time L set to about 10 seconds. That way, any signal traveling through the line would be delayed by the specified duration.

If that delayed the withdrawal, I would be pleased.

Activate!

Oh, not a SimConnect simulation this time.

The red activation magic symbol actually manifested. Apparently, the Possessor remained active.

“Well, no harm done.” (Leon)

Since it had activated anyway, I decided to continue.

With a casual motion, I threw one of the many paper balls I had used yesterday. It disappeared cleanly into the activation magic symbol.

Huh? Come to think of it, the other blue activation magic symbol was missing.

What? Huh?

As I puzzled over it, a few seconds later the magic symbol appeared, and after a slight delay, the paper ball suddenly shot out.

“No way!” (Leon)

At this moment, both activation magic symbols were visible.

I threw another paper ball.

It vanished. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… oh, there it is! Unbelievable. Could it really be that simple?

If the signal between those terminals is delayed, does the object remain in subspace for that duration? If I increase the dead time, say, to 3600 seconds, would the object remain there for an hour? If so, would that not be equivalent to storage in subspace? Let us test it.

How fascinating.

I changed the dead time to 20 seconds, then one minute. In each case, the paper ball reappeared exactly after the set duration.

Hmm. While intriguing, it has issues.

From a storage perspective, if the dead time is too short, the item would need to be inserted repeatedly. If it is too long, retrieval timing could not be controlled. That is a fatal flaw.

What a shame, it has seemed so promising.

Wait.

If the dead time could be made variable, it may work. However, within a dead time element, the reappearance timing is predetermined and could not be adjusted mid-cycle. I would have to use another delay-based transfer function.

K / (τs + 1).

A first-order delay system. The time constant τ could be changed. In electrical terms, it resembled a variable capacitor, a varicon.

Once my thoughts began to flow, Reo’s knowledge surfaced one after another.

I added a variable time-constant circuit between the terminals, and the setup was complete. K would be fixed at one.

That should be fine.

First, I set the time constant to ten and activated it. When I threw in a paper ball, it reappeared after about ten seconds.

So far, so good.

Next, I set the time constant to 3600 and threw another paper ball. 10 seconds passed, nothing. One minute, two minutes, still nothing.

Excellent, just as expected.

Then, I shortened the time constant, and suddenly another activation magic symbol appeared, from which the paper ball burst forth.

I had done it. Crude though it was, I had achieved a form of subspace preservation equivalent to that of a magical bag.

 

—

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