Chapter 253: The Mindmark Era

Noah continued observing the central research institute on Eldrath. The latest confidential report still placed successful Mindmark implantation at ten percent among suitable candidates, despite the years spent improving Vrizzik’s original machine.

The researchers had narrowed the recommended age to nine through thirteen, but even goblins within that range could suffer unstable imprints. Inside the institute, engineers were reviewing recordings of failed procedures alongside the files of subjects whose runes had remained stable.

The senior engineer stopped a recording at the moment a transfer began. "Look at the mana output. It rises halfway through the procedure, even though the operator hasn’t changed the settings. The same thing happened during yesterday’s failed implantation."

A colleague placed the records beside each other. "You’re right. The output increases just before the rune becomes unstable. Could there be a problem with the transfer controls?"

"Check the transfer controls and find out why the mana output increased halfway through the procedure. We can’t risk the same thing happening during another implantation."

The team removed the transfer assembly for inspection. Other researchers examined medical records, comparing the age and condition of successful recipients with those who had suffered complications. The first adjustments reduced some of the fluctuations, although failed transfers continued. A later version of the machine performed better during trials with prepared materials, but two living subjects still developed unstable imprints. The director instructed the engineers to review both incidents before approving another series.

During that review, the researchers discovered that the machines could begin two otherwise identical procedures with slightly different readings. The difference had been small enough to escape notice during the earlier tests on prepared materials. An engineer demonstrated it by running the apparatus several times without completing a transfer.

"Look at the output during these three tests," the engineer said. "The machine starts at a different level each time, even though we’re using identical settings."

The director studied the measurements. "Can you correct that before we resume the live trials?"

"We’ll need to modify the controls and test the machine again. The current assembly isn’t maintaining the output we set."

"Have the workshop examine it. Don’t schedule another implantation until the readings remain consistent across repeated tests."

For weeks, the workshop concentrated on reducing the variation. The next living trials showed improvement, although the scientists still could not predict every unstable response.

The government continued financing the classified program. The institute still received subjects through the security administration, including goblins who had been taken against their will. The research staff recorded the injuries and deaths in restricted medical files. Outside the facility, families who had reported relatives missing remained unaware that the government was conducting Mindmark experiments.

Noah watched the researchers work through another series of results without approaching them or influencing their decisions.

Several planetary years passed. Engineers replaced components that had produced inconsistent readings and redesigned the controls so operators could correct a transfer before the output rose dangerously. Each new machine underwent testing on prepared materials before it was used on a living subject.

The improvements took time to verify. Some worked well in one facility but required further adjustments when another laboratory tried to reproduce the procedure.

At a technical meeting, the director questioned the lead engineer about the latest machine.

"The second institute reported another unstable transfer yesterday. Have you identified the problem?"

"Yes. One of their transfer components was manufactured using the dimensions from an older design. Their machine can’t maintain the same output as ours."

"Why were they using the older specifications?"

"The workshop received an outdated drawing. We’ve already sent them the corrected measurements."

The director opened the manufacturing records.

"Check the documents supplied to the other workshops. If they’re still using the previous design, their machines could have the same problem."

"I’ll have the engineers review every assembly currently in use. We’ll also update the manufacturing instructions before another machine leaves the workshop."

The following version used standardized components and revised operating instructions.

When a second laboratory achieved repeated stable imprints with its own operators, the researchers compared its outcomes with those at the central institute.

The proportion of successes had risen considerably above the original ten percent. Serious complications were less frequent, although the staff still treated every implantation as a medical procedure requiring close supervision.

While the researchers continued their work, wealthy goblins who had learned of the longevity findings renewed their efforts to obtain the machines.

An industrialist approached an official responsible for research contracts and offered to finance an entire manufacturing workshop in exchange for exclusive access to its production.

"My factories can manufacture these machines," the industrialist said. "I’ll cover the cost of expanding production, provided my company receives exclusive manufacturing rights."

The official examined the proposal.

"The machines are still classified. Even if your factories manufacture them, the government isn’t allowing private implantation facilities."

"Then arrange for my grandchildren to undergo the procedure at the institute. They’re both within the recommended age range, and I’ll pay for their treatment."

"The research administration handles subject selection. I can’t authorize private appointments."

"Surely there must be some arrangement. The government needs funding, and I’m prepared to provide it."

"The institute has its own budget. If you wish to submit a manufacturing proposal, I’ll forward it for review. I can’t promise anything regarding your grandchildren."

Other influential families made similar approaches. Some offered generous donations to laboratories, while others sought contracts that would give them control over future manufacturing.

Their requests reached the ruler as the scientific institutions prepared a broader deployment proposal.

Several officials argued that private investment could accelerate production, but the minister overseeing the research program warned against granting exclusive manufacturing rights.

"Private manufacturers could help us build more machines," one official said during the discussion. "Several companies have already offered to finance additional workshops."

The minister examined the proposals.

"Most of those offers come with conditions. One company is asking for exclusive manufacturing rights, and another wants priority treatment for the owner’s family."

"Wouldn’t additional funding still help the research institutes?"

"It would, but if we give one company exclusive manufacturing rights, every implantation facility will depend on that company for its machines. Other qualified manufacturers wouldn’t be allowed to produce them, even if we needed more equipment for the public program."

Another official reviewed the industrialist’s proposal. "His company already operates several large factories. We could begin production sooner if we accepted his offer."

"We can contract his factories without granting exclusivity," the minister replied. "Other qualified manufacturers can produce the same approved design. That would allow us to increase production in several places instead of relying on one company."

The ruler reviewed the competing proposals.

"Allow qualified manufacturers to apply for government contracts. The designs will remain under government control, and no company will receive exclusive rights."

The minister nodded.

"What about the requests for private implantation?"

"Those families can apply when the procedure becomes available to the public. The research institute shouldn’t be reserving appointments based on how much someone offers to pay."

The decision did not immediately make the technology public.

Engineers still needed to ensure that machines produced in different workshops operated consistently. The institutes spent several more years refining their components and training operators.

A team from the central laboratory inspected each facility before authorizing it to conduct implantation procedures. Medical staff established examinations for candidates, with particular attention to the age range in which the best results had been recorded.

The number of successful single-rune implantations continued to rise.

Most eligible subjects treated by the newest machines received stable imprints, though failures and injuries had not disappeared. Fatal accidents became uncommon in properly equipped facilities, and the researchers continued investigating every serious complication.

For goblins younger than nine or older than thirteen, the results remained less dependable. The institutes retained the age restriction rather than extending treatment to adults who could afford expensive private procedures.

In the years that followed, medical researchers also continued observing goblins who had received stable Mindmark Runes earlier in the program.

Their examinations showed the same extraordinary cellular activity and reduced signs of aging recorded in the original study. The projected lifespan of approximately two hundred years remained in the reports, but it was still a prediction. No recipient had lived long enough to confirm it.

Eventually, the central institute presented its comprehensive findings to the palace.

The director brought records from multiple facilities, manufacturing specifications, and reports from medical teams that had conducted repeated implantations with the newer machines.

"How have the machines performed at the other institutes?" the ruler asked.

"The latest models are producing consistent results, Your Majesty. Three institutes have completed repeated implantations using machines manufactured by different workshops."

"And the success rate?"

"Most eligible subjects now retain stable runes. We’ve also reduced the number of serious complications, although medical supervision is still necessary."

The ruler examined the report.

"Are the age restrictions still the same?"

"Yes. We recommend implantation between nine and thirteen years old. Subjects outside that range continue to experience more unstable results."

"Then prepare the public program. The procedure should be available to ordinary families, not only those who can afford private arrangements."

The government approved production of standardized Mindmark machines for authorized medical facilities.

Approved workshops began manufacturing additional units, and research institutions trained physicians, engineers, and operators to administer the procedure.

Before the public announcement, the government separated the current medical records from the older classified archive. Reports of the forced experiments, missing subjects, and deaths remained restricted to senior officials and authorized researchers.

The announcement came after the first public facilities had been prepared.

Government representatives explained that a Mindmark Rune could be implanted within a goblin’s mind and that successful recipients showed markedly slower biological aging.

They described the possibility of a lifespan approaching two hundred years, but emphasized that the estimate had not yet been confirmed over a full lifetime.

The recommended age range remained nine through thirteen, and every candidate would require a medical examination.

News spread quickly across Eldrath.

At one city hospital, parents crowded the reception area, asking whether their children could receive the rune. Some carried copies of the government announcement, while others asked about the cost before requesting an examination.

"My daughter just turned twelve," one parent told the clerk. "Can I schedule her implantation?"

"She’ll need a medical examination first. The physician has to confirm that she’s eligible before we can schedule the procedure."

"Do we have to pay for the examination?"

"There’s a screening fee. If she’s approved, we’ll explain the implantation cost and the available government assistance."

Another parent standing nearby approached the counter with a younger child.

"My son is seven. Can he undergo the procedure, or do we have to wait?"

"The recommended age starts at nine. You can bring him back for screening when he’s old enough."

"Why can’t younger children receive it?"

"The research institute found that children below nine have a higher risk of unstable implantation. The hospitals aren’t authorized to perform the procedure on them."

The parent accepted a leaflet explaining the eligibility requirements and left with her child.

Interest did not mean everyone accepted the technology immediately.

Several families questioned whether the procedure was safe, and physicians explained that the machines had improved but could not guarantee success.

Others asked whether their own parents could undergo implantation. They were told that the current procedure was not approved for adults because the risk of unstable runes increased beyond the recommended age.

The hospitals recorded these questions and passed the most common concerns to the research institutions.

At first, the cost remained beyond the reach of many households.

The machines required expensive components, and qualified personnel were concentrated in a few major cities.

The government introduced funding for eligible families and expanded manufacturing contracts to additional approved workshops.

As more operators completed training and additional facilities opened, the cost of implantation gradually declined.

A provincial hospital administrator reported that families were traveling long distances just to obtain screening appointments.

During a meeting with regional health officials, she raised the issue.

"We’ve had families travel from three different districts this week," she explained. "Several children weren’t eligible, so their parents made the journey without even receiving an implantation appointment."

An official examined the hospital’s records.

"Can your staff conduct the initial medical screening locally?"

"We can, but we need the approved examination equipment and additional personnel. Right now, parents have to bring their children to the city hospital for everything."

"Submit the staffing requirements. We’ll arrange screening services at the regional hospitals so families won’t have to travel until their children are cleared for implantation."

The change reduced unnecessary journeys for children who were too young or whose medical results made the procedure unsuitable.

Noah observed another hospital several years later.

A goblin couple had brought their ten-year-old son for screening. The physician reviewed his medical results, explained the risk of a failed imprint, and allowed the parents time to discuss the procedure with him.

They returned the following morning, when the boy underwent implantation in a monitored room.

The transfer completed without an unusual reading, and the medical staff kept him for observation before permitting the family to leave.

"Can you still see the rune?" the physician asked at his follow-up visit.

The boy closed his eyes.

"Yes. It looks exactly like the drawing you showed me."

"Have you had any headaches or dizziness since leaving the hospital?"

"No. My mother keeps asking me, but my head doesn’t hurt."

The physician examined the monitoring results.

"Everything looks normal. We’ll schedule another examination next month to make sure the rune remains stable."

The boy’s mother leaned forward.

"Does he need to avoid anything while we’re waiting for the next appointment?"

"He can continue his usual activities. If he develops severe headaches, dizziness, or anything unusual, bring him back for an examination."

The family paid the reduced fee offered through the public program.

They were not officials, wealthy industrialists, or members of a privileged household. They had used the same authorized procedure available to other eligible families in their district.

Over the following years, implantation centers opened in more cities and eventually in smaller settlements.

Not every family chose to participate, and some candidates failed medical screening, but stable Mindmark Runes became increasingly common among younger goblins.

Researchers continued collecting medical records from recipients, examining long-term cellular activity and monitoring rare complications.

The public program used voluntary medical consent, while the earlier classified experiments remained absent from government announcements.

At the central institute, the scientists began turning their attention to questions beyond successful single-rune implantation.

The technology had originally grown from Vrizzik’s attempts to integrate industrial runes into living bodies.

Now that the Mindmark procedure had become reliable, several researchers returned to his archived diagrams and studied other rune patterns used in Eldrath’s machinery.

One senior scientist placed two patterns on a display during a meeting.

"We’ve spent years improving the implantation of a single Mindmark Rune," he said. "But Vrizzik’s archive contains other industrial rune patterns. Has anyone examined whether a goblin could retain more than one rune in the mind?"

An engineer opened the current machine’s design.

"Our machines have only been tested on subjects without an existing imprint. We don’t know how a second transfer would affect the Mindmark Rune already inside the subject."

"Could we test the transfer process without using a living goblin?"

"We can start with prepared materials containing an existing rune pattern. That would allow us to examine whether introducing another pattern causes interference."

The research director examined both designs.

"Prepare a separate experimental machine. I don’t want the public implantation equipment modified for this research."

The engineer nodded.

"We’ll use the older laboratory assembly and install a second rune pattern. The initial trials can be conducted on prepared materials."

"Make sure the measuring instruments can record what happens to both patterns during the transfer. Before we consider another implantation on a living subject, we’ll need to know whether the second rune damages the first."

The engineers brought an unused transfer assembly into the laboratory and began adjusting it for the additional rune pattern.

Researchers prepared the first nonliving samples while others compared the proposed configuration with records of previous failed transfers.

Noah watched the preparations through his planetary connection.

The scientists had begun investigating whether a mind that already held one stable rune could receive another, but no goblin had yet undergone a second implantation.