kscans

Chapter 187 - Episode 5: Part 2, Information Processing Known as Prophecy

"The information 'the enemy is in the northeast' contains more information than 'the enemy is in the east,' doesn't it? It is a novel idea that it can be universally converted into the number of heads or tails on a coin, but it is also an obvious point. How does this relate to magic power?"

Maytyl was correct in what she was saying. Up until now, this discussion had remained strictly within the realm of information for humans. At first glance, it seemed to have no relation to magic power, which was, so to speak, a law of the world. However...

"It does relate. From here, I am going to reverse the current discussion. In other words, how does one 'obtain' detailed information? To use the current example, it becomes a discussion of how to 'measure' a student's exact seat location."

"Measure... isn't that just seeing?" Noel said.

"That is correct, but I want you to think about what the act of seeing actually is. To simplify, let's assume it is night. How would you see the position of a student in this classroom?"

"Someone sitting alone in a classroom at night..." Noel made a displeased face. Hahaha, indeed, you probably would not be able to see through them. A sorcerer, yet afraid of the occult?

"You could just prepare a lamp and use it to light up the classroom, couldn't you?" Maytyl answered. Do sorcerers lack romance, I wonder? Well, I do not have any either. If I did, I would not be having this discussion.

"Correct. You shine a light on it, and your eyes catch the light that bounces back. This is the true nature of the act of seeing. In other words, it is essentially no different from closing your eyes and poking the target with a 'stick' of light to confirm its position. The problem is that the precision of the information you obtain changes depending on the thickness of this stick."

I returned to the slate.

"Recall the number of coins from earlier. This time, to simplify, let's consider only a single row..."

Classroom: □ □ ■ □

"As before, to pinpoint the position more precisely, you increase the number of coins."

Classroom: □ □ ■ □
↓
1 bit ●
↓
2 bits ○　　●
↓
4 bits ○ ○ ● ○

"The observed range is all the same, equivalent to one classroom. So, 1 bit would be one large coin, 2 bits would be two medium-sized coins. 4 bits would be like an image of four small coins."

"So, it is like a row of coins capturing the information within the classroom, is that right?"

Reading a text aloud is like putting character information onto sound waves. And seeing a text means seeing light information that has captured the character information. To read it in more detail, one must capture it with more detailed wavelengths.

"Precisely. Let's replace this row of coins with light. The corresponding element is the wavelength of light. One light wave, the same width as the classroom, is like one coin. A light wave half the classroom's width is like two coins. A light wave a quarter of the classroom's width is like four coins. The more detailed the information you observe, the more coins you need to capture it with. In other words, you need to observe with shorter wavelengths."

"It suddenly got difficult..."

"Then... let me put it another way. If I relate it more closely to the word 'measurement'..." I pointed to a ruler that was standing beside the slate.

"A short wavelength is the same as a ruler having fine divisions. If one division is the same width as the classroom, you can only measure that a student is within that division, that is, within the classroom. This is the information equivalent of one coin. If the division width is halved, you can measure whether they are in the left half or the right half. If it is halved again, it becomes possible to narrow the range of possibilities even further, to the right half of the right half."

This is the principle behind why electron microscopes can see, or distinguish, finer objects than optical microscopes. In modern industry, this is also evident when 'transferring' semiconductor circuit diagrams onto silicon. Patterning with purple light allows for clearer boundaries to be specified than patterning with red light. For miniaturization, the circuit diagram information must be transmitted to the silicon surface using high-energy light, that is, short-wavelength light.

The reverse is also true. In the case of optical discs, the irregularities on the disc are read by light. If you try to read more detailed information, you need to read it with a more detailed wavelength. Information engraved assuming it will be read with blue light will have indistinguishable boundaries if you try to read it with red light.

In other words, if you want to increase the capacity of an optical disc, you need to read it with shorter wavelength light, such as blue light. The invention of the blue diode was significant in that sense.

"To measure finely, you need a ruler with fine divisions. The ruler for seeing things is the wavelength of light. Is that right..." Fulsy said, slowly savoring the words. After all, she was an expert in magic power measurement. She must have had something in mind.

"Naturally, the same applies when transmitting information. Right now, we have thought of wavelength in terms of spatial length, but I want you to think of it in terms of time. The information that can be sent per unit of time is proportional to the number of wavelengths carrying the information. In other words, if you want to send the information equivalent to one coin versus two coins, for the latter, the wavelength's length must be halved." I said.

The upper limit for the speed at which information is sent is determined by the speed of light. However, even with trains running at the same speed, the number of packages they can carry changes depending on how their interiors are partitioned.

"Finally, there is the relationship between wavelength and energy. The shortness of a wavelength is proportional to the energy carried by that wavelength. In other words, the greater the amount of information being transmitted, which in this case means density, the more inevitably high-energy the waves carrying it will be. Regarding this..."

"Magic crystals, is it..."

The red magic power of crimson Magic Crystals possesses higher energy than the red magic power of ordinary Magic Crystals. And the magic power of the Prophecy Crystal is even more so...

"So, the amount of information is the density of waves, and the density of waves is the amount of energy. That means the amount of information is equivalent to the amount of energy, right?" Maytyl said. It was a bit late to realize, but she understood well.

"Well, it is quite a departure from common sense, isn't it? However, considering how blurred an object appears when measured with an antenna, or when it appears in a crystal... umumu."

"It might connect to how, when creating finer shapes in alchemy, the magic power concentration must be high. Though, you would not notice a difference unless you tried something incredibly small, like your ballpoint pen."

Fulsy and Noel were also trying to connect it to their own experiences. The former directly reflected the current discussion, and the latter was likely similar to the topic of semiconductor miniaturization. Alright, now I can move towards the conclusion.

"I want to return to the topic of prophecy. To be frank, I do not know the mechanism by which prophecies predict the future. What I can say is that for it to work, it needs to process a large amount of detailed information at high speed."

In essence, prophecy is a simulation of the future. As I said before, its mechanism is entirely unknown. However, it is undoubtedly super high-density information processing. That, in turn, means super high-density energy.

"You said sorcery is information processing using magic power, didn't you? If we use magic power from crimson Magic Crystals, not only would the power of Rasen increase, but the activation time would also be significantly shortened, right? Well, the circuit cannot handle it, so it cannot be used, though. Could it be related?" Maytyl said.

"Yes, information processing is the acquisition, transmission, and processing of information. The shorter the wavelength of the magic power carrying the information, the shorter the processing time."

If a sorcery circuit is a CPU, then the wavelength of magic power flowing through it is, so to speak, the clock. Computers perform calculations by carrying information on the clock. The higher the clock frequency, the more energy is required to carry the information. And that result corrodes the computer circuit as heat.

The shorter the wavelength of light becomes, the more energy it possesses. Red light is relatively safe, but ultraviolet rays cause sunburn, and even shorter wavelength gamma rays cause cancer. Of course, magic power, which does not interact with most of the human body's components, cannot be equated with light.

However, within Alfina, who receives prophecies from the crystal, there is something that allows her to receive this super high-density energy. Information is energy, so receiving information means directly receiving energy.

"In fact, the Prophecy Crystal bathes its user in super high-density information. The measurement results from before prove that." I picked up the band indicated by the crystal.

"Perhaps the quantity itself is small. But each particle of that small amount of magic power... yes, each particle possesses an extraordinary amount of power. Alfina is exposing herself to that." I said that and looked at Maytyl.

"..." Maytyl did not answer me, but stared intently at the slate.

"What kind of information is the Prophecy Crystal reading with such ultra-precision?"

"I do not know that. Perhaps it is information about the magic power, or rather the places generating the magic veins, deep beneath the earth..." I said. In reality, there were still many unknowns.

"Well, I was listening, thinking you were going to tell me the secret of the Prophecy Crystal... But what you are saying now is a bit different from that, isn't it?"

"No, that is why, from the beginning—"

"Information, which should be an intangible illusion based on vague human sensations, yet you convert it into heads or tails of a coin, and then correspond it to wavelengths. I do not know what to say, but it gives me a slightly eerie feeling." Maytyl looked at the information she had first pointed to, the paper with words written on it. That was right. Dry, uninteresting rules of physics and information, which seemed to be their antithesis, were intimately connected.

"Well... honestly, as a reason for the crystal's danger, I am not convinced."

"Guh. That's..." It seems I was too abstract after all.

"Well, the story was interesting, so I will go along with it." Maytyl said that and puffed out her chest. She seemed to be conceding defeat in a grand way.

"Actually, your explanation just now gave me an idea. As Noel mentioned before, if we can somehow purify the wavelength of magic power from Magic Crystals, we could speed up and make sorcery circuits more efficient. We have Iris now, so we can easily experiment, right? As Ricardo said, if sorcery processes information by carrying it on magic power, then having uniform magic power wavelengths should directly lead to more efficient information processing." Maytyl said.

"I see."

"In that case, we might be able to proceed without even touching the circuit itself..."

"It might be strange for me to say this, but make sure to do your groundwork properly." Maytyl said.

"Ah, yes, I understand."

I needed to consult with Euphillia. I had actually been told she wanted to talk to me about something. Thinking about that night was scary, but I could not let that stop me.