Steel steam and flame

Cassia sat next to the broken analysis machine again, where the white smoke column of steam continued to spurt out.

"Hello, human friend." The same electronic voice came again, and in it was a deep tiredness that even the spring rain could not wash away.

"Hello." Cassia leaned on the remains of the machine on the side and replied, "Are you the intelligence of the analysis machine? Or is it a program that has already been designed in it?"

"I am not the intelligence of the analysis machine, and of course I cannot be the program designed inside it. Have you ever seen the electronic sound of the analysis machine have emotional fluctuations?" the voice inside returned, with a hint of joy in the tiredness. It seems that hearing the answer is a very happy thing for him.

Cassia lowered her head and through the shadows of the interlocking gears, she saw the machine with a faint red light inside. It was a radio device installed in the analysis machine, used to transmit and receive information.

"Then who are you and where am I? Are you talking to me through the radio?" Cassia asked her question.

"Yes, friend, our conversation is possible through the radio here. As for who I am, we can talk about it later. And where are you? In fact, you are only in your own mind, because of the surgery , you are traveling, or wandering, in the dreamland created by your own brain." The answer to the question came over the radio.

"The reason for the operation? In other words, I am still lying on the metal table and undergoing some kind of operation. And me being here is just a dream I had while I was sleeping?"

"Yes, it can be understood that way. But there is one thing that needs to be explained. In a sense, this dream can affect you in reality. To put it simply, if you cannot escape from this dream of your own creation, you will be Bring death upon yourself." The voice on the radio sounded tired.

"You seem to know very well?" Cassia was a little wary, "Let's tell you who you are first, right? The people from the Military Academy used the computing power of the analytical machine to invade my dreams to test me, or to test me. What? Is this part of the surgery?"

"Of course, I have to admire the power of the Analytical Engine. But intruding into a dream is equivalent to entering a person's spiritual realm. In this way, it still can't do things that only God can accomplish. Even the relationship between us The connection between the spiritual world is a miracle that occurs under many inevitable conditions. As for the military school, it can be said that I have some relationship with them, but it is not a relationship like a teaching staff. As for who I am... The voice on the radio paused.

"Friend, since you ask that, you probably haven't seen any intelligent creatures other than you humans, right?" Radio asked.

"Intelligent creatures other than humans? Do you mean monkeys and gorillas locked in iron cages, or rot wolves and blood flies on the battlefield? They seem to have a certain degree of thinking, at least they can understand the basic meaning of humans. They even Being able to make corresponding hunting plans in line with human habits..." Cassia searched her mind for knowledge about other creatures.

"Friends, I mean intelligent races like you human beings, such as dragons. Have you heard of them?" The electronic sound of the radio has a sense of anxiety.

"Dragon? Sorry, maybe I have read too few books and have never heard of the race you are talking about? Or is this just something you made up, after all, there is a radio between us." Cassia did not reveal her face What emotional fluctuations, but I have started to search for everything about these two words in my mind, but the final result is of course nothing.

"Well, it seems that you are just a person undergoing surgery, and you have not yet come into contact with a little bit of the truth about your military school, or your empire, or even the entire continent." The voice inside was a bit regretful.

"the truth?"

"Yes, that's the truth. The truth that supports your military school, your empire, and all the big countries on several continents. Maybe you only know the mechanical transmission of steam and some basic uses of electricity, right?" said the radio Questions came.

"Of course, as you said, steam machinery is my strength, but electricity is not involved too much." Cassia replied.

"That's right, steam is the basis of everything. Electricity can be said to be a variant of steam power, a sublimation of steam power. And we dragons can be said to exist as another unknown force in all major In the game of the country, it always plays a role in reversing the situation at the most critical moment. This is the role of our dragons, although this is a pity for us."

"And the existence of us dragons is the truth." The voice on the radio sounded both proud and deeply regretful.

"Then am I close to the truth now?" Cassia's lips curled up, and a joking voice could be heard in her words.

"Friend, I don't expect you to believe what I say now, because I don't know your status in the military school, so whether you can come into contact with us dragons in the future is a problem. But this question When we meet here, it can be solved."

"You were undergoing surgery at the military school and were given some unknown drug. You should be sure about this, right?" The voice on the radio became energetic.

"Yes, if according to what you said, I was in my own dream, that is correct. I was indeed tied to the metal table, given some medicine, and then fell into a coma. When I woke up, I was already It's in this scorched land." Cassia replied.

"Well, I can tell you the essence of the operation."

"Essence? I also want to know what these surgeries are for, but none of them have answered my questions." Cassia was also curious.

"Actually, it's very simple. The surgery is just a simple transplant and injection. They need to replace your eye membrane, all the structures in the cochlea, and the sensory system in the nose. They also need to implant implants in the major muscle tissues of the body. Inject into the muscle tissue of another creature. Of course, the injected medicines are also various substances extracted from the blood of another creature. You can call them perfect evolutionary substances. In the end, it is inevitable to implant two to sixteen rods. The incompetent inhibitory tube also contains the nervous tissue of another creature."

"So it goes without saying that the other creature you mentioned is a dragon like you?" Cassia said.

"Of course, it's just that the word 'enslaved' is added in front of the word 'dragon'. This is exactly what I mean by regret." The voice on the radio was full of sadness.

"The essence of the surgery is these. By transplanting dragon biological tissues and injecting the perfectly evolved substances in dragon blood that have evolved over hundreds of millions of years, your surgeon's body can become a steel war machine in every aspect. .This is the power of surgery. Of course, this is already the third and fourth stages of surgery. But even in the first and second stages of surgery, your abilities can already be called monsters in the eyes of ordinary humans. ." The voice on the radio was very tempting.

"So you told me so much, you don't just want to give me a simple knowledge popularization, right?" Cassia knew that the owner of this voice had an ulterior motive.

"Of course, if you believe what I say, then everything will go smoothly." The voice was very relaxed.

"Then I believe it." Cassia replied.

"Thank you for your trust, but please allow me to say a few more words. After all, it involves our own interests. If you don't tell me some benefits, I think even if you believe me, you won't really be willing to help me. . Although I am in a completely passive state." The voice on the radio was self-deprecating.

"First of all, let me introduce you. My name is Sukarius."

"Cassia."

"Hello Cassia, I believe that if the deal between us is completed, you should be able to come into contact with real dragons soon. And because of your ability, you will have the opportunity to conquer dragons in the future. Uncertain. After all, according to the temperament of dragons, it is absolutely impossible to be friends with you humans."

"I should see these gradually in the future." Cassia tried to answer by accepting the thoughts of dragons.

"Cassia, first of all, you have been in your dream for too long. I think you can't remember how long it was?" Sukarius started to talk about business.

"That seems to be true, but since it is a dream, there should be no problem, right? After all, my sleep has not been good, and dreaming is a very normal thing." Cassia heard something unusual from Sucarius' tone The voice comes.

"Of course this is usually the case. I have already said it from the beginning. If you cannot escape from the dream, it will affect you in reality. If you are weak and die in the dream, then the result in reality will be You will never be able to sleep, or it is called brain death. This is not scaremongering to make the deal come true, I hope you can believe it." Sukarius's tone was serious, as if he did not mean to deceive Cassia at all.

"Furthermore, although you have been in the dream for a long time, in the real world, the passage of time is only fifteen days." Sukarius continued to add.