Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 450 - 449 Pandora: I’m an Innocent Good Kid!!!

Chapter 450: Chapter 449 Pandora: I’m an Innocent Good Kid!!!

"Now it’s simulating three hours after sunrise," said Richard as he lifted the lever he had just pressed and then pushed down another lever on the control panel.

"Bright!"

Following Richard’s command, the first sun began to dim and extinguish, and a second sun lit up in the distance from the first. The first sun was located at the center of a Crystal Wall, while the second sun appeared at the intersection of that Crystal Wall and another wall. If the first sun represented the east, then the second sun was to the southeast.

Upon closer observation, one could notice that the second sun was slightly smaller than the first, but it was brighter and its color had shifted from red to incandescent white.

"Now it’s simulating six hours after sunrise," Richard continued, working the control panel, "Bright."

Quickly, the second sun began to dim and a third sun lit up, appearing in the "direct south." Compared to the previous suns, this third sun was even smaller yet brighter. To simulate the most realistic effect, Richard used metal halide lamps and short-arc spherical xenon lamps—known on Earth as "artificial suns," whose light closely resembled that of the real sun.

Under this illumination, noon in Eden felt very similar to midday in the real world.

Then...

"Now it’s simulating nine hours after sunrise."

"Now it’s simulating twelve hours after sunrise."

As Richard’s voice and operations continued, each sun appeared and extinguished until finally a sunset occurred. Compared to the first sun, this sunset looked similar but its position had moved to the true west, and part of it was obscured as if sinking into the mountains.

"Now it’s simulating three hours after sunset."

Next, the sun disappeared, and faint lights started to emerge in numerous positions on the surrounding Crystal Walls, densely packed like thousands of stars. These were simulations created by Richard using low-power light bulbs. Due to limited materials, the quantity was sparse, resembling a night sky under poor weather.

"Now it’s simulating six hours after sunset."

The stars slowly moved.

"Now it’s simulating nine hours after sunset."

The stars continued to move.

"Now it’s simulating twelve hours after sunset, sunrise."

The first sun rose again.

Under Richard’s control, Eden quickly experienced an entire day’s worth of sunlight changes. Although there were many differences compared to the outside world, it was nonetheless similar.

The reason Richard set up this lighting simulation system wasn’t out of boredom; it was mainly to prepare for extended research stays in Eden.

Indeed, immersing oneself in research and concentration is the most efficient work state, but the body is the capital of revolution, and some health factors must be considered—sometimes health is more important than robustness.

Due to the special circumstances in Eden, being in the dark for extended periods, and out of sync with the outside world, repeatedly entering and exiting Eden could easily disrupt one’s biological clock.

Richard did not want to be constantly "jet-lagged"; hence, he created this simulation system of the outside world’s lighting in Eden to address this issue. Besides, it also served to use up the surplus electric power and enhance the comfort level of Eden.

Richard had always considered making Eden more like the outside world, so that during the research process, there would be no sense of oppression. The simulated lighting system was the first step, and if possible, he would like to transform more aspects in the future, even converting the entire Eden into a separate small world resembling a Half-plane.

Of course, this was a long-term goal. For now, since the objectives had been achieved, it was time to prepare to leave the island.

After all, the valuable resources on the island had been nearly exhausted, and the stocked materials in Eden were depleted during research and modification, urgently needing replenishment. Moreover, although Richard had not promised to visit Mo’er for Cat Slave Girl Heidi despite her numerous letters—and likely still writing—he needed to give her a proper explanation. Lastly, having uncovered more secrets about the Black Spirit King and the Black Spirit Empire, he needed to try and sort them out.

Thus, the next step was to leave the island quickly, sail to the East Coast port for some shopping, and then head north by boat to Mo’er.

Thinking of this, Richard exited the main laboratory, quickly left Eden, and headed to the island’s port. He planned to check the boats docked at the port to see which one was suitable for departure.

...

Just as Richard had left Eden, Pandora sneakily appeared in the main lab. Pandora’s eyes widened as she gazed at the control panel of the lighting simulation system, a spark shining in the depth of her eyes as she contemplated certain things.

Lately, she had been studying mathematics, feeling as if her little head was about to explode. She deeply regretted ever telling Richard that she wanted to learn something useful, to be a useful dragon.

If she had known it would be this difficult, she would have preferred to remain a useless dragon. It would have been much easier just to obediently follow Richard’s instructions and stay out of trouble.

But now that she had started learning and put in so much effort, quitting midway would be a disservice to her hard work, so she had no choice but to persevere.

However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to hang on.

It wasn’t her fault.

Yes, it was all Richard’s fault!

Initially, she could spin a strange machine for a few hours every day besides studying, giving her brain a rest. But for some reason, Richard had sealed up that machine, telling her that he no longer needed her to operate it and that she should focus entirely on her studies.

This was simply unbearable!

Thinking of this, Pandora felt furious, viewing her entire dragon life as bleak.

Fortunately, she had perceptive eyes that could find color in the grayness, and in the monotonous process of learning, she discovered something fun like... what was in front of her now.

When Richard was operating it earlier, she had secretly watched, sensing that this device must be great fun. Given that it was intriguing and she was exhausted from studying, and with Richard conveniently out, why not relax and give it a try?

Hmm, it’s settled then.

Pandora’s expression turned serious as she made up her mind and quickly walked towards the control console.

The next moment, recalling how Richard had operated it, Pandora tiptoed and reached out to press down hard on a lever.

"Swish!"

The moment the lever was pressed, a glow lit up, and the sun rose from the "East."

Pandora’s eyes widened, and a smug expression appeared on her face.

Hmm, it’s not that hard, at least much simpler than math, easy to learn.

So... play a bit more? Yeah, play a bit more.

Thinking to herself, Pandora pulled up the first lever and pressed the second one.

The second sun immediately rose.

Then Pandora raised the second lever and pressed the third one.

The third sun, simulating noon, rose.

Then came the fourth sun, the fifth sun, followed by the stars.

Pandora operated the control console, thoroughly enjoying herself, speeding through another entire day in Eden.

After one complete cycle, Pandora wasn’t satisfied yet. She tilted her head, looking at the control console. Her eyes roamed in their sockets, brimming with more ideas.

What would happen if multiple levers were pressed?

Out of curiosity, Pandora didn’t hesitate to press both the first and second levers simultaneously.

Soon, the first and second suns rose together—double suns in the sky.

"Ah, pretty nice, isn’t it?"

Pandora looked and nodded contently, then pressed the third lever.

"Swish!"

The third sun also appeared, forming a triple sun sky.

"Clack clack clack!" Pandora kept pressing down on the levers. Soon the fourth and fifth suns appeared, creating a rare phenomenon of five suns in the sky.

She pressed the lever again, stars appeared, both suns and stars in the sky.

Continuing to press the levers, more stars appeared, making the entire Eden extremely bright.

Pandora was having a blast and didn’t realize the brightness in Eden was too high. She continued pressing the levers. Suddenly, with a "clack" as she pressed a lever, an unknown "zzzt" sound emerged, and in an instant, all light in Eden went out.

The entire scene was like suns soaring high in the sky, being brutally punched out by an invisible fist, plunging the world into darkness.

The reason this happened was due to an overload protection that Richard had designed and installed in the circuit—when the circuit overloaded, worked too hard, or the current exceeded the designed current rating, the circuit breaker would automatically trip, creating a circuit break, thus protecting the circuit and devices.

Pandora was clueless about overload protection. After all, her math skills were only at a primary school level, and she hadn’t even touched physics. Confronted by the sudden darkness, Pandora was stunned, her body rigid in front of the console. It took her a good while to snap out of it, and she swallowed nervously, her face grim as she tried to think of a way to respond.

Should she pretend to not know anything when Richard came back, or continue pretending not to know anything?

Pandora was "struggling" when the main laboratory door suddenly opened with a "creeeak." Richard appeared at the door, a ball of oily green flames burning in one hand, wearing an annoyed expression as he looked towards Pandora.

Pandora’s breathing halted, but she managed to recover in just 0.1 seconds and quickly composed her nervous expression. Acting "completely natural," she turned as if she hadn’t seen Richard and walked towards the side, muttering to herself, "Oh, why did it suddenly go dark? So strange, never mind, I’ll just go over the multiplication table instead."

Pandora began to recite aloud, with an extremely serious expression: "One times one is one, one times two is two, two times two is four, one times three is three, two times three is six..."

While she recited, there was a sudden "snap."

"Ouch." Pandora covered her head, looking at Richard with a wronged expression, "Richard, why did you hit my head, disrupting my recitation of the multiplication table?"

"Why do you think?" Richard asked sternly.

"I... I don’t know," Pandora answered, then waved her hand "generously," "But let’s assume it was an accident. I’ll continue with the multiplication table."

"Ouch, why did you hit my head again?" Pandora was hit again and became anxious, "It’s not like I closed all the levers and broke something. Please stop hitting me."

"Uh, what did you just say? Say it again," Richard spoke.

"Um, that..." Pandora’s expression stiffened as she locked eyes with Richard for a moment before lowering her head, her face falling, "Alright, let’s just say I made a mistake, okay... Ouch!" She was hit on the head again before she could finish.

"Just accept you made a mistake?"

"Alright, alright, it was my mistake, really, so petty... Ouch!"