Free Web Novel"Natasha Petrova!"
The pointer slapped hard against the blackboard, emitting a crisp crack.
Chalk dust exploded into the air like a tiny white firework.
Natasha jerked her head up.
Her gaze shifted from the open book on her desk, "Fundamentals of Mecha Dynamics," to the stern face on the podium.
Professor Vasily.
In his fifties, his graying hair was combed meticulously, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose; the eyes behind them were like two cold glass beads.
He wore the standard uniform of an academy professor—a deep blue robe with silver embroidery on the collar and cuffs, and a badge representing the Department of Mecha Engineering pinned to his chest.
At this moment, he was staring at Natasha with those glass-bead eyes.
The pointer was still raised in mid-air, like a whip ready to strike again at any moment.
"Student Petrova."
Professor Vasily's voice echoed through the lecture hall.
"It seems my lecture isn't as interesting as that book in your hands?"
Natasha stood up.
Her movement was quick, and the legs of her chair made a harsh scraping sound against the floor.
"No, Professor."
"That's good."
Professor Vasily pointed the pointer at the blackboard.
"Since you're so focused, you should be able to answer the question I just asked."
Natasha's mind raced.
The question he just asked?
She hadn't been listening at all.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Professor Vasily stared at her for a few seconds.
Then he let out a cold snort.
"I knew it."
He lowered the pointer and turned to face the blackboard.
"It seems Student Petrova indeed hasn't been listening to the lecture."
A faint ripple of snickering sounded in the classroom.
Natasha's face felt a bit hot.
"However."
Professor Vasily picked up a piece of chalk.
"I'm in a relatively good mood today, so I've decided to give you a chance."
"I will repeat what I just said, and then I will ask you again."
"If you still can't answer—"
He turned his head, a cold light flashing behind his glasses.
"Then you shouldn't count on your participation grade for this semester."
Natasha swallowed hard.
"Yes, Professor."
Professor Vasily turned back to the blackboard and drew a crude sketch on it.
A huge, blocky iron box with treads and a cannon barrel, but it looked heavy and sluggish.
"When mechas were first designed, they weren't like they are now."
His voice returned to a calm tone, as if recounting a piece of history. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Back then, mechas were more like mobile fortresses—huge steel boxes with thick armor and cramped internal spaces, requiring at least five to seven operators to function."
He drew several stick figures inside the iron box.
"One person was responsible for driving, two for the weapons systems, one for the steam boiler, and others for communication and observation."
"They moved slowly, turned with difficulty, and had terrible coordination. Every action required the cooperation of multiple people, resulting in severe latency; on the battlefield, they were like a bunch of clunky tin cans."
Professor Vasily put down the chalk and clapped the dust off his hands.
"Until the year 391 of the Imperial Calendar, when a genius scholar from the Victorian Empire changed everything."
He wrote a name on the blackboard.
Yana Lovelace.
"Dr. Lovelace proposed a revolutionary concept. She believed that instead of having multiple people control different parts of a mecha, it was better to let a single person's consciousness merge directly with the machine."
"Her theoretical foundation was: the human nervous system itself is an extremely efficient control network. When we want to lift an arm, the brain doesn't need to send separate instructions to every muscle and tendon; it only needs to issue a 'lift arm' signal, and the nervous system automatically coordinates all the details."
"If this nervous system could be connected to the mecha's control system, the pilot could control the mecha as if it were their own body."
Professor Vasily turned around and looked at Natasha.
"And so, she designed the Spinal Probe."
"This technology completed its first combat test in 392. A new type of mecha piloted by a single person crushed three of the Usar Union's old multi-operator mechas in a border campaign. Reaction speed, mobility, coordination—it was a total landslide in every aspect."
"From then on, warfare entered a new era."
"The Victorian Empire leveraged this technology to gain a massive advantage on the battlefield. The Usar Union's old mechas were no different from target practice in front of the new models."
"Until the winter of 394, when the Usar Union, at any cost and through various means—including spies, bribery, and reverse engineering—finally developed their own Spinal Probe technology."
"Combined with the fact that the winter came particularly early that year, and blizzards blocked most of the front lines, the Victorian offensive was forced to a halt, and the front lines stabilized once more, remaining so until now."
Professor Vasily paused for a moment.
The classroom was very quiet.
Everyone was waiting for him to continue.
This time, Natasha was also listening with full concentration.
Her brain rapidly recorded every detail.
"That is the historical background of Spinal Probe technology."
Professor Vasily pointed his pointer at Natasha.
"Now, Student Petrova, my question is—"
"In Dr. Lovelace's original design, what was the primary insertion point for the Spinal Probe? And why did later improved versions move the insertion point down by two vertebrae?"
A slight commotion broke out in the classroom.
This was a relatively obscure question.
It wasn't a key point in the textbook, but rather a small technical detail hidden in the footnotes.
Most students wouldn't bother memorizing such things at all.
But Natasha remembered.
She remembered every word in the textbook, including the footnotes.
She took a deep breath.
"The original design was the third cervical vertebra, Professor."
Her voice was steady.
"Dr. Lovelace chose this position because the third cervical vertebra is closer to the brain, minimizing nerve signal transmission latency and theoretically achieving the fastest reaction speed."
"However, in combat testing, this design revealed a fatal flaw."
"The third cervical vertebra is too close to the medulla oblongata, which controls basic life functions such as breathing and heartbeat. If the probe's insertion angle is slightly off, or if it suffers an impact during combat, it could damage the medulla, causing the pilot's immediate death."
"Among the first batch of test pilots, three died for this reason."
"Therefore, in subsequent improved versions, the insertion point was moved down to the fifth cervical vertebra."
"This position is further from the medulla, significantly increasing safety. Although the nerve signal transmission latency increased by about 0.03 seconds, this cost was acceptable."
"Because a living pilot, even if 0.03 seconds slower, is more useful than a dead one."
