The Martial Unity

The dwarves certainly had managed to conquer Sirinwel well, but they still maintained a layer of separation between their products. With Acherialis, however, it was as if the technology was the continent.

It explained why NOVA had managed to thoroughly enslave Greater Tekvoria to the extent that she did. If technology was so astronomical ubiquitous across the entirety of the continent, then it stood to reason that someone who could hijack it to the extent that NOVA did would be able to fully control every square inch of the continent. It was a level of continental control second only to that of the elves and Genora. Though not even Genora was controlled by any one entity, it was controlled by a hundred Mothers of Nature.

However, Rui’s ethereal eyes bore deep into the continent as he searched for one specific individual.

”Found you.” His eyes lit up.

WHOOSH

He teleported to the man’s location in the blink of an eye, immediately arriving at a well-lit underground facility in Greater Tekvoria. A vast array of quantum computers across the entire facility processed an enormous amount of information pertaining to a brain that hovered midair inside a chamber.

Rui’s arrival was not missed by the silvery tekvore who stood by, observing the brain.

”You—!” Argenton leaped away with a shocked expression as Rui effortlessly infiltrated the top-secret facility. ”What are you doing here?!”

”That should be my question,” Rui muttered, taking a good look at the room around him. ”What the hell is all of this?”

That was a rhetorical question; he could sense the information that the quantum computers were processing; he could sense where the inputs and outputs came and went. He quickly realized that all of the information in the laboratory pertained to the brain that hovered in the chamber.

It was distinctly familiar.

”Is that…?” Rui’s ethereal eyes widened.

”You’re not allowed to be here, Your Majesty,” the tekvore gritted his teeth. ”You’re violating the sovereignty of Greater Tekvoria by being here!”

Rui could sense his fear. He didn’t care about the intrusion as much as the contents of this facility, which made sense once Rui figured out what he was doing here.

”That’s NOVA’s brain, right?” Rui remarked with intrigue. ”Her original real brain before she transmitted her consciousness into the quantum computer.”

Argenton stared at Rui with uncertainty, still unwilling to lower his guard.

”Oh relax,” Rui huffed, raising his arms. ”I’m not here to do anything bad. I don’t need to. You’re weak, and your civilization is weak. If you think I even register you, people, as a threat, then you don’t need to worry about that.”

Rather than being reassuring, the insult only infuriated the tekvore, but only because he knew it was true. The Evolutionary Army was much more of a threat compared to the tekvores. It spoke to how much the tekvores had fallen behind in the Era of Expansion.

He heaved a deep breath. ”…Yes. This is NOVA’s brain.”

”Hmmm…” Rui walked up to the chamber, studying the brain. ”And what’s all this about? Are you trying to revive her in order to lead to a resurgence of tekvore power?”

”Not at all, Your Majesty,” the ascended tekvore denied the allegation with clenched fists, before turning towards NOVA’s brain with a wistful expression. ”…I just wanted to study the before and after of her upgrade.”

Rui realized what this was about. ”You’re trying to reach Transcendence, aren’t you?”

The tekvore directed a wary expression towards Rui, unwilling to confirm that in fear of the consequences.

”I’m not going to do that,” Rui scoffed, reading his mind. ”Like I said. I’m not here to do anything bad.”

”…”

”Sheesh, you’re a distrusting one. I don’t need to deceive you. You’re too weak to even be worth that. I would just kill you in a heartbeat.”

The insult made the man remember the futility of even trying to resist. He simply heaved a depressed sigh. ”Yes, Your Majesty. I was looking for a path to Transcendence.”

He turned back towards NOVA with a serious expression. ”…NOVA may have failed catastrophically, but… I think she had the right line of thinking.”

His eyes sharpened. ”The Technology Path is a path about harnessing technology by integrating it into our bodies. Our ancestors evolved to the Epoch of Evolution and its tribulations by piercing our bodies with external objects in a manner that was useful for our survival. That tradition, over eons, ultimately has led to a genome that freely accepts anything integrated into it. We grow stronger by mastering technology and integrating it into our bodies. It stands to reason that the final part of our body, the brain, is the threshold to achieving a qualitative improvement in power, but…”

”But NOVA tried and failed to achieve anything like that,” Rui remarked. ”True, she grew stronger, but she didn’t achieve Transcendent power. She was merely a stronger tekvore.”

”…I’ve been trying to understand why she failed to reach greater heights so that I could potentially devise a path that fixes her mistake,” the tekvore revealed with a grim expression.

Rui stared at him with surprise. ”You mean… you don’t know?”

Argenton frowned at Rui. ”Don’t know what?”

”Why she failed, that is,” Rui remarked. ”I thought it was obvious.”

”…Your Majesty, things that are obvious to you are beyond the comprehension of others,” the man almost growled.

Rui heaved a sigh, turning back to the brain with a wry expression. ”She failed because she died.”

Argenton looked like he wanted to rip Rui’s head off for what could very easily be interpreted as gloating.

”No no, I don’t mean she failed because I killed her,” Rui quickly cleared up the misunderstanding. ”She failed because she died long before I killed her, or destroyed it, rather.”

The tekvore’s silvery cybernetic eyes widened with shock. ”…What did you say?”

”Consciousness is integrated information,” Rui remarked patiently, turning back towards the hovering brain.

”Yes, you have told me,” the Argenton furrowed his silvery eyebrows. ”AI models have integrated information, which she converted into her consciousness. What do you mean she died?”

”AI is not conscious. AI does not integrate information.” Rui shook his head. ”You have misunderstood the nature of consciousness.”