"Milord?!" Oslo's eyes were wide, realizing the implications.
"I have a theory in mind, but it's unclear," Althea said. "So during the meeting, please describe the functions of the buildings as deeply as you could."
Oslo still hadn't recovered and could only nod in the end. "Yes, milord."
"For now, let me tell you about the arrays I do know," she said, and Oslo obediently sat next to her. More than the prospect of learning more, the fact that it was the lord herself teaching him so closely made him the happiest.
The two discussed the arrays and functions together for a while. The more the minutes passed, the more Oslo was shaken by the new knowledge that was being introduced to him!
In such a short time, Oslo felt like he was learning so many things and he was extremely fascinated. He would also tell her some stories, buildings, and tools that had such functions, and she would be able to surmise a few things from there.
Garan arrived to see the two of them sitting so close together and talking about things he did not understand.
However, while Garan naturally didn't like another man being so close to his wife, all he needed to look at was her smile and the brightness in her eyes as she learned new things.
He stared for a while, and he found himself calming down a bit, sitting on the other free seat next to his wife.
He may or may not express the discomfort later at bed time, of course.
Anyway, the rest of the elders started arriving one by one and the meeting started as soon as everyone arrived, with Althea and Oslo promising to meet again to discuss the concept a bit more.
The Elders also looked at the blueprints in fascination. Oslo, a bit smug, gave them a detailed peek of what it was.
"The first building is the hospital," Oslo said, showing the large detailed drawing with luminous ink. When he turned it into a 3D model, everyone 'oohed' and 'ahhed' and it was quite fun.
"I studied this building for a long time before I even upgraded to a Class C Architect. It was the building we were most confident in achieving."
It went so well that they got it after a few tries.
"This is a 1000 square meter building with five floors," he said, waving his hand, and the holographic image of the building changed angles. He then expanded it, allowing everyone to see more details within.
It was absolutely fascinating.
It was a very beautiful structure with open plans and breezeways, carefully integrated with nature. It was big, but not massive—its mass was skillfully broken down by various visual elements and plants.
"The interplay of spaces would also allow for soft aesthetics, natural play of light, and maximization of natural ventilation."
Ansel couldn't help but notice a vertical block at two ends of the building. "Is that…?"
Oslo nodded. "It's an elevator."
"Yes," Oslo said, very proud. Rocky was amazing. The older man pretty much drilled into his head the basics of how it worked—especially one without the so-called electricity.
Fortunately, as someone from the city, he was familiar with the pulley system so he wasn't completely lost. It was the so-called hydraulics that took him a while to absorb.
"Interesting, Interesting," Ansel said, already thinking of how to add elevators in some other buildings.
Oslo of course didn't forget his promise to Althea to detail the special effects of the buildings as closely as he could. "This building could not only improve regeneration rates by 10-15%, but also improves mood and clears the minds of the professionals."
"This is very helpful…"
Althea nodded, noting it down. "This is just level 1?"
Oslo said the affirmative. "I can't say for sure what improvements it could get upon upgrade, but it certainly has the potential to improve healing rates by 30%, at least."
Another magic of aether buildings was that they were 'growable', hence the levels.
Of course, this was still limited by the architect's imaginations and the provisions they left in the original drawings, so there were plenty of aether buildings that might not have an upgraded version, or had a lackluster one.
"That's already very good, Oslo."
"Thank you," he smiled, walking over the next blueprint. "Next is the library."
The case for the library was quite interesting. Although it was technically a simple building, Oslo didn't have the concept of a public library.
Fortunately, there were scroll collections in his house that the concept wasn't completely alien, but it was difficult to picture at first.
However, when he absorbed what it was for—accessible knowledge for everyone—his heart was lifted, very curious, to the point he even dreamt about it.
"The Library would be filled with collections of books, a lot of which we got from your tablet, Miss Althea."
"The Library can also multiply certain often-used and non-restricted books on its own," He said. He had also studied the so-called printing press a lot for this.
"Further, people would also be able to learn better inside the library." This wasn't difficult because the Hospital had a similar passive.
The Elders admired and showered praises, though Garan commented at this time. "This is very good, but we'll need to limit access to people who contribute."
This made everyone pause and agreed in the end. "Indeed. We don't want outsiders taking advantage—possibly using the knowledge against us."
Someone took note of this, and Mathilda even added some regulations to effectively let them control and facilitate the library's use.
"And finally, the Observatory," Oslo said, heading towards their final blueprint. "It is able to see at extremely far away distances."
He had seen what a scope could do. A small one could let them see a kilometer away. Although the large telescope would still need something they called glass to create, they told him it would be tens if not hundred times more powerful than what could be held by hand.
They did not have glass yet, but the fact that he understood its functions and how it worked was amazing enough to create a magical alternative in the building.
There would also be a tube inside that could function as a telescope of sorts. In retrospect, it must be covered with magnifying arrays in order to work.
"Another special effect is the increased energy of those inside, allowing them to stay awake without health risks for a long time," he said. "We also added a large clock at the request of the team."
After everything, a clock was actually simple. He simply needed to copy the patterns of the gears, and connect it with a wind turbine above, which works much like the water wheels they had along the river.
"As for the remaining set, it has been sent to the Research Center to study."
Although he really couldn't imagine what could be extracted from them, Oslo had learned not to underestimate Alterra—especially not its research team.
The elders looked at each other with bright eyes and, after some discussion, everyone stood up, placing the blueprints on the array.
Those in-the-know pretended that the territory absorbed the drawings and decided the locations of the building by itself.
Either way, the territory was in for a treat today.