As the news of Anaheim's conquest of India was settling down. Britannia was in full swing, preparing for war.
The data gathered in India, while not extensive, was enough to improve the Zaku; the design was streamlined, and superior models were proposed.
An upgraded version, also known as GOUF, was under development.
New weapons were in development as mobile suit developers had some idea of how strong Setanta's armour was.
Sadly… Britannia was playing catch-up game, while Anaheim was working on the next big thing.
The data collected from Ecne gave Marcus some ideas on how to incorporate the next version of the cockpit into the upcoming Gundams.
It doesn't need to be simply GEASS utilisation, the HUD-style integration and the next version of the Neural interface.
That is the future. The mech reacts as fast as thought!
That alone made Marcus excited as he threw himself to make the 3rd generation!
As the Inventor was working on Gundams, the work continued at the South Pole.
Every day, there would be more Legion Bots that would dig up more ice; at the same time, there would be more transporters that could pick up the ice.
In a matter of weeks, the city and the surrounding areas were fully dug out, and the research work began.
At the same time, the ice harvesting didn't end as Legion Bots continued with the work in the surrounding areas.
Marcus realised that he could continue with ice collection for his colonies.
He could even transport ice to Mars to assist in colonisation there.
Back to the ancient city. The research continued as Legion and the nerds continued to figure out how to power the arches.
They knew that the pyramids were the key.
But…
These constructs required something.
Then a random deep-Earth scan revealed that there are huge caverns of frozen ice under the city.
"Water…of course… they need water." Lloyd scrambled as he checked data on the laptop.
"Water is a decent conductor and quite good at radiation absorption. I am surprised that these people came up with that!" He commented as his fingers danced through the keyboard.
"You shouldn't underestimate these people. They figured out interdimensional travel thousands of years before us." Cecile reminded him of that.
"I know, that is because I was not born yet!" The nerdy scientist rolled his eyes. His reply was that he had not been born yet.
"Regardless, we need the water to melt to see if it could work. I suggest drilling and then using rods to heat it.
We already considered this style for Gas Giant moons." Nina shrugged aside Lloyd's comment as she focused on the mission at hand.
"Yes. However, we should be careful with the drills and keep the water from heating too much." Anna considered that, since this water was at the South Pole, they couldn't heat it too much; otherwise, hot water beneath the ice could trigger catastrophic events.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Though… I do wonder where the power will come from?" Lloyd pondered as he checked the data.
At that moment, Marcus strolled in with a grin on his face.
"...To answer your question, it's Earth's magnetic field that is powering this."
Just mentioning that made the Earl of Pudding's eyes widen as he realised something!
"You mean… the location! It makes sense now! This was built here because the magnetic field leaves from the poles!
Damn! Just damn!" The nerdy scientist could not believe how genius these people were!
"They built first-ever perpetual motion engine from stones!"
"Indeed. They had no idea about space travel or tectonic plates, but a version of a fusion reactor? That was possible." Marcus chuckled as he showed them what he figured out.
"Check this." One of the holograms lit up.
"They used stones that resonate differently with magnetism. They used one stone to heat up, and the heat then sent the energy upwards into the pyramids.
In other words, it's a city-scale steam engine that powers these portals. Not only that, but they even use astronomy to some extent as the stars align with the position of the pyramids and gates.
This is wild to say the least." The Inventor showed them.
"...what for?" Lloyd was confused, to say the least. Why do they need astronomy for this!?
"Precisely, what for? Maybe advanced physics is in use. Maybe that's how they use these portals? It's their GPS, I can only guess."
"Guess? Your Geass shows you!" Anna puffed her cheeks as she realised that he was most likely messing with them!
"Like I said, maybe. And it doesn't show it like that. You do realise that I need to be high enough to see how it works.
It is still human eye range." He reminded them that his Geass has something called… range! It's like being inside a building; you only figure out its shape when you see it from outside.
"...if you say so." The glasses-wearing pinkette rolled her eyes as they returned to the matter at hand.
"So magnetism resonates with specific stones, which creates vibrations that heat up and send hot air upwards into some sort of primitive receivers that then send up energy into the pyramids… but where does the energy go from there?" Anna asked as she was very curious about this.
"I do believe this is something Tesla came up with a while back," Marcus replied as he knew that Tesla was indeed a person in this timeline.
"...Oh… electricity flowing from one thing to another without copper cables." Anna realised that.
"That is a possibility. But honestly, we need to turn these things on… otherwise it will be only speculation." He replied with a sigh. All of what he said is speculation after doing simulations on similar models with the help of his AI.
All he knows is that these things could be using weird crystals for energy! After all, they have sakuradite, which has immensely assisted his technological growth!
He skipped decades of research with the help of this pink resource!
"Isn't it a bit reckless? We don't know where those portals lead." Cecile was probably the most reasonable one in the whole research group…
"I think it's exciting. Who knows what kind of resources lie on the other side of those gates?" Nina replied, her eyes glowing with excitement.
"...Yes, I understand that. But we should be cautious." The blue-haired scientist slowly nodded, but she was still worried.
"Don't worry, we won't be just passing through recklessly. I am thinking we should be taking precautionary steps, like probes, before sending any sort of personnel.
Even then, I am only thinking of doing this after we have properly functioning Gundams." Marcus reassured her, making the lady sigh in relief.
"In that case, I shall return to the colony building." Anna smiled while saying that. She needs to return to her work. Now that they have finished with 3rd-generation reactors, she is installing sections in the SWORD stations where people can enjoy… standing, instead of always floating around.
"I will continue designing better forms of drilling. This is something you need, right?" Nina asked him, and there was a hopeful look on her face.
"Yes. And I have something in mind that you could check out." He smiled at her, making her blush.
"W-What do you have in mind?" She asked while fiddling with the edges of her skirt.
"Check this out." He motioned for his hologram to pop up before going through files and sending something over.
The green-haired girl fixed her glasses before checking the data.
"...This… you want to add your geass to… drills?" She was confused by that!
"Not my geass specifically, but a part of it." He highlighted the part that he had in mind.
"Mixing artificial intelligence that could allow for pinpointing structural weaknesses for easier drilling."
"...Oh… That's!!!" Lloyd, who was noisy, was listening in. He looked ecstatic about something.
"You could do so much more than that! I already checked out Ecne's combat data! You have created something with absurd potential!" The nerdy developer got even more excited just from talking about it.
"I know. But we are not rushing this. I don't want to overload AI with something as dangerous as Geass. It can literally invade our minds. " Marcus pointed out the dangers.
"Indeed. That is why you are testing out with bits and pieces like Drills." Lloyd sagely nodded as he understood the angle of this.
"Yes. So I will be sending over the data and initial prototypes. I want you, Nina, to oversee this in the resources field we have brought over.
Let's see if we can process resources quicker." The Inventor flicked over some more files towards her.
"Understood. Please, leave this with me." Nina nodded as she received the schematics for upgraded versions of Legion bots and machinery.
It looked like a tank that had a drill for a turret.
"In the meantime, we shall continue to work on the Gundams." Lloyd smiled while fixing his glasses. He was excited when he saw that the initial frames were already developed by Marcus.
The Fusion Reactors and now the skeletal frames are done. The nerdy ex-knightmare developer was ready for the next big thing!
"You two can work on the propulsion systems. I will continue with the Cockpit." The Exiled Prince nodded as he instructed them on what to do next.
"I guess the city excavation is on hold until we have decent drilling systems in place." Anna realised that none of them would be staying here at the South Pole.
"To some extent. Even if we drill and heat the water, we could kick-start the gates. Which would lead to portal opening."
"So, what you are saying is that we should conquer the world first before we come back here?" Lloyd concluded after hearing what Marcus said.
"Precisely."
~~~
After the fall of India, the pace of Anaheim expansion somewhat calmed down a bit.
Only Cornelia was on the frontlines with her knights.
Not that there was much to fight. As Anahein took over the central parts of Asia in a matter of days. There was barely any resistance as, before long, Persia, the Persian Gulf Area, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Caucasian Mountains were under Anaheim control.
Before their eyes was Anatolia and lands controlled by Euro Britannia.
"Contact Lelouch. How long will this ceasefire last?" Cornelia asked as she checked out the map. They now control the majority of Asia. The only way for them to expand is into Africa or Euro Britannia, which is licking its wounds.
Moments later, a hologram shimmered into existence next to her.
"We don't have a specific date for the ceasefire to end. You can attack them anytime you want.
However, I suggest taking over Africa. After Father pulled out, the land is in shambles; you can use that.
Once the continent is ours, we can push from the south and take over Europe and the remaining parts of Asia."
Cornelia nodded as she looked at the simulation happening on the map.
"Fine with me. Once the whole of Eurasia and Africa is ours, we can focus on ending Britannia in one fell swoop." The Princess concluded. She read through Lelouch's intentions.
"Indeed, father will soon realise that old people should retire when they have a chance."
The older sibling smirked a bit before looking back at the map.
"What about Constantinople. We are less than 800 kilometres away from it. Don't you want to take it over by yourself?" She asked as her gaze was on the city built at the tip of Asia, where it connects to Europe… The Bosphorus Strait.
"Now that you reminded me. Indeed. I shall be there in less than an hour." With that said, he dissmised the call.
Cornelia chuckled even more.
"Guilford men are strange creatures. Especially my little brother. He has these… weird hobbies."
The glasses-wearing knight was a bit out of his words on how he should reply to such a comment.
"...I have no comments, my Princess. All I can say is that Prince Lelouch is… unique? Not everyone can do what he does." He tried to sound as diplomatic as possible.
"Hmm."
~~~
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