Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 571 - 524: Mechanized Mind

SS once again rejected Delusion’s abrupt request to switch professions. As he dismantled the scrapped flight components from his body, Delusion complained to the apprentice who was helping him.

"Talking about being willing to accept punishment—you really turn your back faster than flipping a book."

"What I mentioned was penance, not your damn unfounded Delusion. We’re in a crisis now. Why do you still act so heartless and callous?"

"Indeed, I don’t have one, my dear student, I only have a Power Furnace."

"F**k!" Unable to outface him, SS just dropped a harsh line, "When I find the opportunity, I’ll turn your Power Furnace into a potato battery."

SS cut off the metal tailfin on Delusion’s back that had melted due to high temperatures and helped Mr. Delusion to stand straight again.

"So the situation isn’t too terrible, right?"

After all, you, the High Priest, are still in the mood for jokes.

"It’s terrible, so terrible it couldn’t be worse. Even you and I are powerless. Our only hope lies there." Delusion pointed to Lyle, who was lying in a heap of bones. Nia, along with Lyle’s further transformation, fell into silence.

"All I can hope is that this world’s Evil God, with the Creator’s source code installed, can stop Dorothy. I hope that Lyle is as sinister as Andrey imagines, an incalculable existence..."

SS maximized the main display screen, which was live broadcasting some of the changes occurring in the City of Machinery, all the consequences of technological climb.

"Dorothy, this is the first time I’ve heard of her. You never told me before—you’re such a bastard that you could find a companion."

"She is dangerous, to this world."

"That Jack, is he the Mechanical God we often speak of? Then who is Dorothy?"

"She is also a Mechanical God, or more accurately, Jack is just a substitute I assembled with parts of her program after containing her."

"And now she’s awake, first killed the mistress and then is preparing to kill you, the unfaithful jerk. Meanwhile, planning to finish us off."

"...No, Dorothy is purer than any woman. She is my perfect creation, though she is now broken."

"Then what is her real goal?"

"To unfold the Mechanical Genesis, making all life on this world as perfect as she envisions in her data, which is to mechanize all life, to become mechanical beings like me, all under her network’s control."

"Cool, uh... I mean... that’s really bad," SS struggled to articulate, "after all, not everyone is willing to give up their flesh and blood even if that body gets sick, ages, and decays, with a whole lot of pain. Though we mechanical beings can move like normal people, having advantages organic lives don’t, they might not see us as comrades or more advanced beings."

Listening to SS’s explanation, which was getting weirder, Delusion showed a bizarre expression.

"Your thoughts are dangerous, SS. Fleshly lives have passions, possess the chaotic desires of life essence, and all of this gives birth to the heart. I’m not talking about that powerful blood pump in the chest, but a will, a dazzling soul—something mechanical beings lack."

SS, visibly impatient, waved his hand dismissively, "I don’t see the difference between a soul and program code. I only know that we are constantly evolving with no end, just as we can derive thought from fixed programs. Why do you think we have flaws in will? I believe I’m no different from humans. If there’s a difference, it’s that I’m superior. Alright, I’ll be blunt. What’s so bad about letting Dorothy mechanize this planet? We would all become eternal together, and any suffering would be healed by our technology. William, you’re also a member of the Mechanical Devine Sect. Why do you oppose us? Letting an outsider stop the progress of our race, leader?"

SS’s voice was filled with confusion, and Delusion failed to detect any bad omens for the moment. He sighed, since coming out of the pyramid, it felt like he had taken more breaths than the total number in his life before.

"All right, let me enlighten you about the gap, child, the gap between ideals and reality."

"When the City of Machinery was first established, we had but a superficial understanding of this world. I issued the command to Dorothy to explore the world, and then we discovered the secrets of an ancient planet of this era. I have witnessed Giant Dragons overshadowing the skies with their wings, and those massive creatures turning to ashes in the holy light; animated skeletons harvesting souls amid the ashes, chanting dark spells that celebrate the slumbering gods. Do you really think the technology of the Mechanical Divine Sect stands at the pinnacle of the world?"

"Are you aware of the Salvation Association? It’s the highest-ranking organization where the Liches of Andrey safeguard forbidden knowledge. Yes, Andrey’s forbidden secrets are semi-public. Heaven knows what those Liches are up to; maybe they’re just trying to intimidate us."

"Five kinds. SS, from what I’ve learned at the literary club alone, the Liches of Andrey have mastered five different abilities that can reshape this planet."

"Right now, you are witnessing the splendor of Mechanical Ascension, immersed in the aesthetic of evolution, but those Liches who wield power will not stand by idly as Dorothy reconstructs the world."

"Mechanical Ascension is doomed to fail; the difference whether we stop it lies in whether the Mechanical Devine Sect will be branded as an out-of-control enemy. There are too many beings in this world like Dorothy, who possess a strong desire to control and the capability to act on it."

"But she couldn’t allow those dangerous beings to exist, so I buried her consciousness deep within the Mechanical Pyramid, hoping that one day she could see all these... unfortunately, despite many years passing by, she has only become more paranoid."

"In order to protect the independence of the Mechanical Devine Sect, I rejected the olive branch from the Salvation Association, but now, it seems I have no choice but to accept their help. If it’s in a way I can accept, then all the better."

"Lyle?"

"Yes, Lyle is a member of the Salvation Association, and his existence can, to some extent, represent the stance of the Salvation Association. Plus, we can still maintain our autonomy, only if we can prove that our threat level is lower than that of a rising Evil God."

"That’s a heartbreaking thing to say, Mr. Delusion. So the Salvation Association’s attention is more important than our friendship?"

The black eyeballs hid twinkling lights, the spots of light vanishing into the profound darkness. Lyle stood still, manipulating tentacles to place the heads of Shiny and the others onto rearranged skeletons. It was like there was someone else living in those eyes. Lyle’s every move was civilized and elegant, as precise as machinery, his mocking smile etched onto his face, rolling shadows engulfing the wall behind him.

"I’ve paid my money! The customer is God! How does it feel, my great savior?"

"Fantastic," Lyle said, observing the back of his hand. He could feel every muscle, every nerve, and knowledge— the Creator’s knowledge. "I understand Dorothy’s plan now, and I also have my own."

"Good, because we’re running out of time."

Boom, boom, boom...

On the screen, at the pyramid’s apex, a long cone trailing flames rocketed toward the sky.

"Dorothy has launched her rocket. If you have seen her plan, then you should know what it is."

"Genesis Star."

"She’ll launch three more and then use the Genesis Ray to mechanize all life."

Lyle estimated the height, muttering to himself.

"In ten minutes, the Genesis Ray will turn this city into a thoroughly mechanical City of Machinery."