Chapter 568 Branching Out   f(r)eeweb(n)ovel

[Organic computing, tier 1

Drawing inspiration from the remarkable complexity and efficiency of their species’ biology, the *************** combated the lack of mineral resources on their homeworld by branching computing into a different path. Instead of using silicon and metals, they discovered the ability of DNA base pairs to store information and developed a system of computing around that, creating complex and powerful computers from their own DNA. It was the final step that allowed them to become an interplanetary civilization, ruling over vast swathes of their home galaxy until they fell at the hands of the **************.

Price: 178,000,000,000sp]

[Runic computing, tier 1

*****, a former noble of a race enslaved by their technologically superior neighbors, took a side path upon his discovery of the fundamental runes that underpin all of creation. Knowing that he couldn’t trust his fellow slaves, as many quislings and traitors were among them and he had no way of distinguishing them from his loyal compatriots, he utilized his accidental discovery of runes to create something that he thought would save his species.

Unfortunately, while his skill was enough to advance computing technology far beyond even the technologically advanced ******’s wildest imaginations, his skill with other technologies couldn’t keep up and his rebellion ultimately failed. As it turns out, using an enemy’s last-generation technologies against them is not the key to successfully rebelling, a lesson that ***** learned the hard way.

However, his ingenious, and some may say epoch-making, computing advances were preserved and iterated upon by the *******. The rest of his species, on the other hand, was not so lucky, meeting their end to the last sapient.

Using *****’s runic computing technology, the ******* swept through multiple galaxies before finally falling under the weight of their own slave empire and spiraling down into extinction.

Price: 250,000,000,000sp]

Those two options were hovering in Aron’s view. Nova, seeing them through his eyes, joined him in contemplating whether or not it was worth purchasing one, both, or neither. They were each superior to the quantum computing technology the empire currently used in at least one benchmark.

Biological computing was capable of containing enormous stores of data, though its processing speed was considerably lower. After all, while DNA was remarkably efficient and compact, the process of encoding and retrieving data was positively lackadaisical in comparison to the instantaneous operation of qubits or even the near lightspeed operation of traditional silicon computer chips.

And runic computing had a much faster processing speed, but the cost of that speed was lower storage capacity. Most of the runes were taken up by core processes, limiting the data they could store. Operating a runic computer would be much like installing the GAIA OS on a computer from around -50 BE. In order to do that, it would require vast server rooms full of towering behemoth servers just to contain the operating system itself. By comparison, qubits were microscopic, and even the old magnetic storage platters found in imperial citizens’ hard drives were more efficient storage media.

(Ed note: Remember that the empire was founded in 2018, making that year -1 BE (before empire) and 2019 is 1AE (after empire). So -50 BE would be around 1968. In 1965, the Honeywell DDP-116, a 16-bit computer system, was introduced. It was capable of storing 8 kilobytes of data in a drive that measured 7x19x24 inches, roughly the size of a big shoebox. So you can imagine the number of those that would be required to store even a cellphone operating system on them.)

Aron tapped his pointer finger on the desk in front of him as he delved deep into his thoughts. The contemplation was understandable, as if he was going to branch out in his computing technology, he would definitely need to buy all of them together. Combining the flexibility of quantum computers with the speed of runic computers and the enormous storage capability of biological computers... the thought was almost intoxicating.

So why was he hesitating?

Simple: the costs were staggering. And once he went down that route, he would have to continue down it, tier after tier, with the SP cost increasing exponentially. Plus, it would delay the technological advancement of his empire, as his population would need to increase to pay the SP cost, but that population increase would necessitate more advanced technology, and so on. It was a catch .22 that would last for quite some time. And right now, he was finding it difficult to justify paying the cost out of his “emergency SP fund”. The 800 billion SP he currently held in reserve would be cut by half, and then some; it would severely limit his options when the visitors arrived, especially if they were hostile and so advanced that his current technology couldn’t handle them.

{If Project Protagonist succeeds, you won’t need the emergency fund at all. So if you’re confident in that plan, then spend the SP. Also, combining the three computing branches will render our network more flexible and less prone to a single point of failure in case we end up butting heads with aliens who can hard counter any one of the branches,} Nova said, interrupting Aron’s thoughts. If it could be called an interruption, that is; he was also considering the same things, but it was different once the thoughts were spoken aloud.

“True.” Aron nodded, then stopped tapping his finger on his desk, having come to a decision. “And besides, if I always stop myself from buying things now in the worry that I’ll need the SP for different things in the future, well... that’s a weakness I can’t allow myself, or my empire, to have. Thanks, Nova.”

He lifted his hand to the system display window and tapped on the button labeled [BUY] for both the biological and runic computing knowledges. 428 billion SP drained from his total balance and the display screen changed.

[Thank you for your purchase. Install now? Y/n_]

“See you soon,” he said as he mentally confirmed the installation and logged out of the simulation. Nova had already put his physical body into a deep sleep inside his pod and his virtual face only twisted in pain for a fraction of a second before he disappeared from the simulation and his consciousness joined his body in its sleep.

Installing knowledge from the system was an extremely painful process to begin with, even when only dealing with a single knowledge. Aron, however, had decided to buy both of them and install them simultaneously despite knowing of the downsides. It would send him spiraling into a level of pain that Nova didn’t believe his consciousness could handle without shattering, despite his thousands of (sometimes agonizing) deaths during his training in the simulation.

His choice demonstrated once again his deep trust in Nova. He was no masochist to begin with, and Nova was the only one capable of sending him into what was essentially a medically induced coma before the pain really hit with its full intensity.

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