Chapter 40: The Chip

Having just acquired a new set of clone bodies and enjoying a vast surplus of consciousness-link capacity, Li Qingsong felt flush with resources. He immediately committed ten thousand clones to chip research, determined to achieve a breakthrough in automation as quickly as possible.

These ten thousand clones were organized into several major teams: one focused on capacitors and resistors, another on transistors, one on materials, one on chemical processing, and another on chip architecture—determining the specific patterns for assembling those transistors.

These tasks covered the hardware; a final group of clones was assigned to software development. Li Qingsong needed to develop a programming language compatible with his current manufacturing capabilities. After all, hardware alone was useless without software. With versatile, custom-tailored software, these chips could be adapted to a wide array of industrial scenarios.

In the cavernous laboratory, the ten thousand clones worked busily, adhering to their established research model: whenever one clone made a breakthrough, the knowledge was instantly synchronized to all the others. Under these conditions, progress on this primitive, simple chip technology was rapid.

Soon, the first batch of capacitors and resistors was produced. They were about five millimeters long and two millimeters in diameter, as small as grains of rice. The clones carefully retrieved them, installed them onto equipment, and meticulously measured their performance, constantly refining the manufacturing process and optimizing the results. After about a month of effort, the first batch of independent components meeting Li Qingsong’s requirements was produced.

In a dedicated room, the final assembly work began. Dozens of clones stood in a line, wearing magnifying goggles, holding tweezers in one hand and soldering irons in the other. They soldered these rice-sized components onto boards one by one, then used hair-thin wires to connect the parts according to the predetermined structure.

It was an incredibly grueling task. The clones had to keep their bodies tense and their hand movements extremely precise—too much solder could cause a short circuit, while too little could result in a loose connection. Moreover, it required intense mental focus. A single circuit board required soldering over a thousand of these rice-sized components, all of which had to be interconnected.

Not a single component could be misplaced, and every connection had to be exact; one mistake would render the chip useless. Consequently, Li Qingsong had to divert the brainpower of an additional one hundred clones to assist with this task, just to ensure the clones doing the soldering did not become overwhelmed and dizzy. After a full day of busy work, the first batch of several dozen "chips" was completed.

Compared to the first generation of chips in human history, the ones Li Qingsong had created were undoubtedly far more advanced. They did not rely on paper or magnetic tape for storage; instead, they used a device called a "magnetic drum." This was essentially a cylindrical metal rod coated with magnetic material, where binary data was stored as magnetized points on the surface. This meant that even if the power to the chip was cut, the data remained stored for a long time. Once powered on, the chip could read the data back from the drum. A single rod could store about 1KB of data—sufficient for the current stage.

Having finished the first batch of thirty chips and burned the primitive programs onto the magnetic drums, Li Qingsong immediately directed the clones to take these chips to a metal casting production line.

This was a screw production line. Previously, it required fifteen clones to stand guard at all times to ensure it ran smoothly. One clone was responsible for feeding materials, another for adjusting the conveyor belt speed, and a third for sorting screws of different specifications into two separate processes.

Now, Li Qingsong installed these thirty chips at various points along the line. One chip was tasked with counting the number of screws passing by per minute; after calculating the count and reading the current conveyor speed, it used internal programming to determine if the belt was moving too fast or too slow, automatically issuing commands to adjust the speed. As a result, the clone previously stationed there to manually adjust the speed could be reassigned to other tasks.

Another chip could read the instrument panel to monitor the temperature of the forging furnace, automatically adjusting the fuel conveyor speed to increase or decrease the heat. Consequently, the clone responsible for monitoring the furnace and adding fuel could also be withdrawn.

A third chip could read the output of a small weighing instrument to automatically distinguish the specifications of the passing screws, thereby deciding which subsequent process line they should be transferred to. Thus, the clone responsible for sorting was also relieved of duty.

After these dozens of "chips" were installed, the production line was restarted. Li Qingsong observed that the line, which previously required fifteen clones to operate, now needed only four—and the work efficiency was even higher than before. After all, even if clones gave their all, they still needed to sleep, eat, and rest. Chips were different; as long as they had power and remained undamaged, they could work until the end of time.

The first automated line conversion was a massive success. Feeling exhilarated, Li Qingsong immediately made his decision: "We will mechanically and scale-produce capacitors, resistors, transistors, magnetic drums, connecting wires, and circuit boards, then mechanically and scale-assemble them to be installed in every base, every factory, and every production line!"

The ten thousand clones previously responsible for chip research transitioned on-site to become workers in Li Qingsong’s first chip factory. Over the next two months, the clones built several production lines. A steady stream of parts began to flow, eventually entering a final assembly line for packaging. There, they were encased in iron shells and filled with argon gas, protecting them from dust, impact, and rust, significantly extending their operational lifespan.

A standard chip measured 10x8x3 cm and could handle basic tasks such as reading data and performing simple calculations. Beyond this, however, Li Qingsong had also begun manufacturing even larger chips.