If this was a system that was meant to live on its own, and I were creating it, it would be ideal to set a routine flush of the system to prevent any problems. But if there’s too many problems it would be better for it to be fixed by someone then to just flush and hope things are better. It wouldn’t be sustainable if it just flushed until complete failure. Maybe there was a tablet I was missing…

I looked at the problem translation engraving for the furnace. Right above the output cable, there was what was hopefully a final decision. If this process only happened if there was an error signal, then what where the two options before the new output? And where would the signal go?

Was it just a ‘hey service is no longer needed’ signal or a ‘return to normal’? If it was return to normal, there would have to be a non-normal functioning for it to change from. And with that there would’ve been a cable to tell the furnace’s tablet. It would’ve been like the location table, but since it wasn’t, then it shouldn’t be a ‘return to normal’ signal.

But having a signal that says to stop changing direction also doesn’t make any sense since the course would probably just be corrected if the yellow signal shut off.

Did I miss an engraving somewhere else?

I put the books back before walking along the wall. After the bookshelf the final blank return signals continued before there was a cable that came up from the ground. It didn’t have a signal running along it, and it connected itself to the left most point of a circular engraving.

From left to right there was first, what should be a reading symbol and then new pathways to different lines the number of which seemed about equal to the number of tablets in the brain. From there, there were different instructions which then ended in a completely separate cable that went into the ground.

Maybe this was the automated maintenance? And if there’s an issue it shuts off? So, if there are no longer any error signals coming in, it could trigger the standard maintenance.

If I’m right, I’ll have to come back and check when I’m done. It will be a great chance to check my work and my assumptions about how the system seems to be working as a whole.

Back at the furnace and heart room I floated above the intake tubes.

The brain only helped me decide how to check my work, well that and some ideas about how to structure the command center of any possible golems I’d make in the future. So was only slightly helpful for the challenge, but I’m not complaining.

I still had to figure out how to fix things while the system was running. If I cut off one of the tubes, then the reaction wouldn’t happen at all and the signal would change, probably make things worse even possibly hasten the return for repairs…

But the intake system wasn’t too complicated, I could just copy it. It wasn’t based on any measurement of the specific materials, just a timing thing. And the only one that needed to be fixed was the mana tube not the fuel tube.

If the length of the tube was any different, would the amount being provided change? Well, it probably wouldn’t be any less than the already incorrect amount being given currently.

So, if I just constructed a separate tunnel, and change the path while I clean the current one the reaction wouldn’t have to stop.

Yeah… that should work. It would be easy to recreate a timing engraving and just sync it up to the original one.

I took out my experimenting notebook and started planning out the command circle. I double checked the timing of things on one that was properly functioning. With the new collection of mana stones that we got as a reward several floors ago, I could easily power it without having to keep a hand on it constantly.

I cleaned up my work and redrew it to create the most efficient version of it. I took out my measuring tape to take some measurements of the dimensions of the tube. The thickness of the wall of the tube would mostly be a guess for the first one, but afterwards I could change it if I wanted to since I’d have full access to the original. With some math, I sketched out the path diversion, and the flap. All that was left to do was construct it.

And Lefty said I wouldn’t need a storage space for materials only.

I snickered.

Little brothers should really trust their older sisters more.

It came in handy now, though it kept him from getting his own storage ring for a bit since crafting them took time. But still, it was obviously worth it, always best to be prepared than unprepared.

And since it’s only a temporary bypass, the scraps wouldn’t need to last long term. Past me made a good choice.

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I went down to the ground level for space and started to morph my stored rocks into the structure of the tube. If I was installing this permanently, I’d probably put more attention into the smoothness of things and its general aesthetic but as long as the path for the opening and closing of the vent was unhindered, I didn’t see a need to do that.

I made the tubes first and then made the flap mechanism. The way I’d have it work would be two almost matching circles on the roof of the tunnel and the flap itself, these would be attraction circles. The timing command would tell the attraction to turn on and off, thus opening and closing things. I had to imbed the mana stone within the wall of the tunnel and not exposed to the inside so that it wouldn’t affect the reaction.

I took the whole thing back up and waited to time the flap so that it was running correctly well before I attached it. Once it was going, I watched a bit to make sure the timing wasn’t off since I wouldn’t have access to the mana stone later.

With the whole contraption built and the timing lining up I worked on the next part, which would be getting everything ready to do a seamless swap. That would mean having holes and blockages created simultaneously so that the broken path was blocked at the same time that the new one was opened. As well as emptying the spaces of the unfiltered air.

Once I picked a position I got to work on the circles. I attached the ones on the original pipe all to one point so the mana could be input in only one location. While the flap could be powered by a mana stone, and just run continuously, I had to control the timing of the path diversion, so I’d need to reach the input points for both sides.

After affixing my new structure to the correct points and reinforcing the edges, I put my tiny device to use once again and cleared out the unfiltered air from the tube. I resealed the holes and got into position to start the diversion.

While watching the flap, and my hands on the two input spots I waited. Once the flap closed completely, I activated my circles.

With no explosion or weird reaction, I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

Time to clean things.

I pulled out the mana that was still in the tube and placed it in a vile. Then I opened up the tube completely and got to work. With a lot of scrubbing the buildup came off and I replaced the top of the tunnel.

After clearing out the air, I put my hands back on the points. Once the flap closed, I shut my pipe off and reopened the original path.

Again, my breathe that I didn’t even know I was holding was let out.

Good, I did it. I put the excess mana into another vile before detaching my device.

I just put the excess back in the original pipe while the flap was closed so I didn’t accidentally exceed the amount for the reaction.

Well, with the first one done I went to the next ones. Unsurprisingly I didn’t get into the groove of things till the final one but at that point there wasn’t another one for me to work on.

Now I just had to do the same thing for the cooling pipe. Well, almost the same thing. The structure I’d have to create was completely different.

One that was double chambered, connected to both the furnace and heart and the water pipe.

It took quite a bit more material to do this, despite not needing any special engravings as there were no moving parts to control. And once I had everything formed and connected, but not open, I now had to figure out the timing of things.

The timing of the valve at the heart was wrong, so I’d have to go off of the furnace but that was a bit far away.

I frowned, usually my height isn’t that big of a problem but now I have to make an extension. How annoying. But I can’t make it too long because then there will actually be a timing difference and I’m not in the mood the calculate that.

I guess I’ll just have to use my staff and an extension.

So, after stacking a bit more material into a pillar to close some of the distance I finished off the engraving line and redrew an input after erasing the first one.

The position was even more awkward than I thought. My head was in the viewing port, I was upside down and my staff was in my feet connected to the input point. It took an amount of time that I’m sure would’ve had both Lefty and Dodger rolling on the floor and laughing at me before I got as steady as I could.

And once the flap in the furnace shut, I injected my mana.

No immediate issues luckily and I got out of that position and went to the tube. I checked for any leaks in the water section. There was nothing obvious, so I went to the problem area. I burrowed a small hole into the tube and pulled out the excess air mana from the reaction.

Now to just dry out the tube by warming up the air inside of it, no need to waste my own mana, if no one else was tired I’m sure we’d try to move to the next floor as quickly as possible. I drew up the correct circle, connected a mana stone, and then waited.

It didn’t take too long, and once I double checked things, I closed it up, pulled out the unfiltered air, and got back into the uncomfortable position.

It still took annoyingly long, but once I did and waited for the timing. I had done it. All of it was finished.

But to check my work I’d have to be fast. After all, if I wanted to see the signal change process, I’d have to get there pretty fast.

I destroyed my manufactured tunnel as I shoved it back into my materials storage space and shot me and Fluffy up through the tunnel and into the brain. I missed the instance of the change but the difference in the brain itself was still viewable.

All of the cables from the tablets to the problem translation wall were now lit up and blue. All the small lights along the translation were glowing a similar blue, but the yellow blinking from both the heart’s position and the furnace’s was still going.

The other difference was within the long horizontal command engraving. The input cable was a flashing yellow signal. Before I was able to even check the pathways in more detail the hum that had always been present suddenly shifted into a higher tone.

I looked around to see any differences and now all of the blue cables that were sending commands down the tunnel were green. The cables that were attached to each individual tablet was still blue, so there must’ve been a connection point I was missing that by passed the individuals.

I went back down to the furnace to see the heart stopped beating.

That was strange.

I went down to the viewing ports in the furnace and saw a new liquid filling up the cylinders.

Was this a system flush?