Chapter 746: Data Storage
Having worked extensively with vacuum tubes, Professor Fessenden quickly understood Charles' intentions.
He stared at the circuit laid out on the table and spoke thoughtfully:
"This is just a simple single-digit addition circuit, and we've already used dozens of vacuum tubes."
"If we attempt more complex calculations, we might need thousands—or even tens of thousands—of vacuum tubes."
"With such a massive and fragile system, even a single insect crawling inside could cause a short circuit and potentially destroy the entire machine."
(Image: ENIAC, the first fully operational general-purpose computer, used 17,458 vacuum tubes, 7,200 diodes, over 7,000 resistors and capacitors. Its processing speed would be considered negligible today—5,000 additions or 400 multiplications per second.)
Once again, Charles felt he hadn't chosen the wrong people.
He might not have Turing or von Neumann, but he had knowledge from the future. He knew the direction of development, the underlying principles, and most importantly, which paths would definitely lead to success—saving him enormous trial-and-error costs.
Add to that his ability to recruit top talent—physicists, cryptography experts, chemists—Charles had all the foundations needed to invent the computer ahead of its time.
Fessenden looked up at Charles.
"But vacuum tubes aren't cheap, General. One tube costs at least 50 francs."
This was due to limited demand at the time.
Low market demand meant limited production, which prevented economies of scale. To stay afloat, manufacturers had to increase unit prices to maintain profit.
"Don't worry," Charles replied confidently. "You'll get as many as you need. I'll fund the entire project—equipment, facilities, personnel, everything."
It wasn't a small investment.
But Charles knew it would be worth it.
This was the lifeblood of the future.
Professor Fessenden and Lieutenant Painvin lit up with joy.
The experiment's early success had given them confidence. Now with Charles' full financial support, they could see real hope.
For a scientist, nothing is more important than being free to explore the frontiers of knowledge.
After the excitement subsided, Painvin furrowed his brow.
"But… we can't seem to store the data."
"I mean, once the result is produced, as soon as power is cut, the data disappears."
"For the next computation, we have to re-input everything and recalculate from scratch."
That was the strength of Turing's original mechanical components—they didn't need memory.
Even when powered off, the "pointers" of mechanical devices stayed in place—effectively "storing" data.
Vacuum tubes were different.
Once the power was cut, everything vanished.
And early vacuum tubes were extremely fragile.
Running them for extended periods caused them to overheat, burn out, or break.
Keeping the machine powered just to "store" data was clearly not viable.
Professor Fessenden also frowned.
"If we have to manually record and re-enter the results every time, it will waste too much time and make data reuse highly inefficient. This is a real problem…"
Before he could finish, Charles offered a solution:
"We can use punched tape."
"Punched tape?"
Fessenden and Painvin blinked in confusion. They had no concept of such a thing.
A paper tape could solve this issue?
"Yes, punched tape," Charles repeated, certain.
"Paper is non-conductive, gentlemen.
We can punch a hole at the position representing a '1' to allow current through, and leave the '0' unpunched.
In this way, data can be automatically input into the machine."
Fessenden and Painvin stared in amazement.
Soon, Fessenden seemed to grasp the idea:
"And for output, the components with current would control a mechanical punch to create the holes—thus storing the data…"
"Good God, General—you're a genius!"
"This method is so simple, so effective—and most importantly, so cheap."
Painvin nodded vigorously.
"Yes. It's just paper tape. I think we could build one immediately.
Unbelievable… we're making progress so fast."
As he spoke, Painvin's face showed a flicker of awkwardness.
The truth was, all of this—these ideas—had come from Charles.
He and Fessenden were really just executors; other people could have done the same.
Fessenden felt the same.
He didn't say it aloud, but in his heart, he wondered:
"Can we really call this our invention?
Isn't it all Charles' concept in the first place?"
Charles, reading their mood, reassured them:
"Don't worry.
You both know I have many responsibilities and very little time to stay here.
You'll be the ones handling the actual development.
So, of course the patents will have your names on them too."
That was enough to put both men at ease.
Just like a company distributing shares to its employees.
Charles wanted control, but Fessenden and Painvin would get compensation.
Maybe it was the excitement of taking the first big step—but the three of them didn't stop for dinner.
They worked straight through until after 9 PM.
During this time, Charles proposed a second method of data storage:
Using batteries to maintain the current at the output end.
It could even be moved to another circuit as input—allowing quicker transfer of intermediate results.
This was essentially the principle behind modern RAM, whereas punched tape was more like a hard drive.
Same logic—completely different form in the future.
…
When they finally emerged from the lab, it was deep into the night.
Unlike Paris, the factory district remained brightly lit.
The "City of Light" had gone dark due to shortages, but the factory complex remained fully illuminated to guard against espionage and sabotage.
Armed patrols passed by regularly.
As soon as Charles stepped outside, Lieutenant Colonel Laurent came rushing from the guard post.
"General—there's something I must tell you."
Charles frowned.
What could possibly make Laurent this flustered?
He was usually the type to believe "everything is under control."
Laurent hesitated, then said:
"General Gallieni just underwent surgery…
He might be in critical condition."
"What?!" Charles felt a chill race across his face.
He glared at Laurent.
"When did this happen?"
"This afternoon," Laurent answered.
"General Gallieni didn't want anyone to inform you.
He said it was a minor procedure.
But… it may be worse than that."
"Where's the car?" Charles didn't even wait for a response—he spotted it parked nearby.
He sprinted toward it, barking orders:
"We're going to Paris—now!"
There was no need to give further commands.
Laurent had already run to crank the engine.
As the vehicle sped down the highway, Charles was overwhelmed with guilt.
How could he have forgotten?
In history, Gallieni had undergone a failed operation, and not long after—a second one.
That was what eventually drove him to an early grave, especially after his clash with Joffre.
Now that Joffre was gone…
Would history still repeat itself?
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