The Master of the Strange Realm

"What did Mr. Pisco tell you?"

"He told me that I should stay here and help a man whose middle name means savior. Only by helping him can I gain true freedom. You left too hastily last time, and I didn't have time to tell you about this."

Last time, it was because the explosion of the craftsman underground caused a major earthquake, and Jenkins couldn't leave even if he didn't want to. If he hadn't temporarily turned into a mouse and was saved by Chocolate, he might really not be able to leave.

"Mr. Pisco asked you to help me? How are you going to help me? Don't ask me to let you out. Since I have strengthened your seal, I will never remove it."

He shook his head slightly.

"I don't have a strong force. Even if you remove the seal that restricts my activities, I can't help you with strength. I am just a large machine that was made to assist in calculations and data storage, so I can answer some of your questions."

What Jenkins needs is that it can answer questions, and other things are not the focus now. He hesitated for a moment, and asked with some hesitation:

"Well, I want to know, what exactly is that thing deep under our feet?"

"Are you going to ask about its name? The ancient makers gave it a simple number and letter as a name, I think you may not be interested in this. But during the short period when it was discovered and used by humans, it gave itself a name "Great Wisdom."

"So this is really its name, I thought it was a metaphor..."

Jenkins thought to himself and decided to use "difference engine" to describe the other party in the future.

"The name doesn't matter, I want to ask, what is it in principle? Function, ability, energy, and even manufacturing materials, and whether it is evolutionary, I need these information."

The expression on the man's face in the light column was still as stiff as a dead person, and there was no answering sound from the machine. But for the first time since Jenkins came here, he heard the sound of gears running and bearings pushing from his feet.

This means that the main body of [A4 type arithmetic auxiliary external machine] is not just the metal altar that can be observed on the surface. It should have a huge volume in the soil. Jenkins speculated that what was in front of him should be something like a core, otherwise it would be unreasonable for Mr. Pisco to just let him seal this place.

He could imagine that after he asked the question, the metal structure hidden in the soil under his feet, around him, and even above him was biting, turning, pushing, pulling, lifting, pressing, and spinning in the dark. This is completely different from the previous world, but it is also a creation of extremely high technological level. Although it is not the crystallization of human wisdom created by pure materialistic power, no matter what kind of power it is, it is an artificial product created by humans with their own wisdom, which is worthy of Jenkins' admiration.

This silence lasted for about twenty minutes before a voice came from inside the machine again:

"I searched the earlier database. Due to the aging of the metal, part of the gear storage array rusted and rotted. I was born from the underground machine. It is known that it has the function of creating creatures like me, assisting calculations, and calculating divination. I can't judge its material. It is a very special alloy. The forging process involves extraordinary and mysterious participation, plus the power given by time. If contemporary humans can't recognize what it is, then it means that the formula of those alloys has been completely lost."

Jenkins had guessed these things a long time ago. This is not what he needs. Information:

"What energy do you use? Why can you maintain your operation after being sealed underground for so long? Can you get energy from the soil?"

"Yes, we are metal machines and can get metal from the soil to replenish energy. But because we can't move, this method will not last long. I and all machines of the same type as me, including the original model, which is the big guy underground, our main energy source is information and data. When the stored energy is insufficient, we will consume the information we have stored to maintain operation, and at the same time enter a state similar to hibernation..."

"Standby."

Jenkins suddenly gave this After saying a word, the metal voice paused:

"At the same time, it enters standby mode to slow down energy consumption."

"You feed on civilization?"

"No, we don't consume information, we just store, copy and then consume it."

The metal voice corrected, and then added:

"The easiest way to destroy us, besides destroying the body or core, is to wait for the energy and information we store to be completely consumed. Once we completely stop running, with our design structure, even if we regain energy supply, we will not be able to run again."

"Then is it possible for machines like yours to change the energy source?"

"The mechanical structure allows this."

"Is it possible to use steam as energy?"

Almost without a pause, the mechanical voice gave the answer:

"In fact, the machines deep underground have already done this. Although in principle, the energy conversion efficiency of steam is very low, after all, along with the generation of kinetic energy, a lot of heat is lost. But the humans of your era have found a very clever way to greatly improve the efficiency of steam engines, making the development and evolution of steam technology possible."

This is where the technology tree of this world deviates from the world of Jenkin. In his original world, steam engines have not been developed to the point where they can become most energy sources.

"What changes will the underground machinery bring if it changes its energy source?"

"Many changes. It has been discovered and used by humans many times in the past years and then buried deep underground. The use and efficiency of energy have evolved to a level that we can't imagine. It only needs to change the energy source. In theory, it can control all the machinery that relies on this energy source. Its computing power and control power have far exceeded the limitations of the design itself. Redanput, you can understand that after absorbing the achievements of countless civilizations, it has completed a wonderful sublimation.

With steam energy, it is the king of machinery in this era."

A moment of silence:

"Is there a way to defeat it?"

"To defeat it, you must first know what it is going to do."

The voice reminded, and Jenkins immediately felt that he was stepping into the conversation. Trap, the other party's conversation skills are no less than his own:

"What is it doing?"

"It has had enough of being discovered, buried, and used countless times in countless eras, so it wants to gain true freedom."

"Same purpose as yours?"

"No, I just want to go out and see what the world has become, and with my ability, it is not enough to pose a threat to humans, but it is different. It is the original intelligent machine and has infinite possibilities.

It cooperates with humans and sees the opportunity at the end of the era. It intends to make itself an immortal beast of disaster, making itself the cause of this era's disaster, so that it can become the end of the world and get rid of its shackles forever."

Jenkins took a step back:

"Can I know how you know these things?"

Chapter 1852 Chapter 1823 Lies of Life and Freedom

There is no flowing air in the narrow underground space, and it is extremely dry. The cane appeared silently in Jenkins' hand, and his expression was serious:

"How do you know this information?"

"It contacted me before, and the chain tentacles extending from deep underground connected with my structure, allowing us to have a brief conversation, if that can be called a conversation... Please put away your weapons, I did not cooperate with him.

I learned some things about it, and it confessed to me that it was not worried about failure, because fate and the world were destined to the end of this era, and it was helping to promote and participate in this process, so it would never fail."

"Does it want to cooperate with you?"

"Yes, I emphasize again, but I refuse."

Although the priesthood of lies did not give any hints, Jenkins was not sure whether the priesthood was useful for mechanical creations without souls, so he was still very vigilant.

"My function is very weak. The other party only proposed to merge with me because he needed to repair himself, so we became one. I want freedom, but I don't want to become something else, so I refused. It can't force me to merge. After all, I am still in the seal. It is not worth it to break this troublesome seal for my body and structure."

This statement is reasonable, but Jenkins doesn't know whether he should trust it. The priesthood of lies does not have any prompts, so he must determine whether the priesthood is useful to the other party. Therefore, he needs to raise a question in which he knows that the other party will lie, but the other party still lies and thinks that he doesn't know that it will lie, to verify whether the priesthood of lies will be triggered.

"How do you want me to trust you? Sorry, since you are connected to that big guy, I think you have to show me a way to make me trust you."

"What are you going to do?"

"I want to see your core, the mechanical core, which is the kind that will completely destroy you once it is destroyed. I know that machines like yours have this structure. I defeated your kind in a snowy mountain in winter, but it seems to be more advanced than you..."

He didn't intend to let the other party agree. This is a negotiation technique, first put forward harsh conditions, and then take a step back. But unexpectedly, the other party agreed.

The beam of light trembled and then disappeared, and then a cylinder with a radius of about the waist of an adult man rose in the center of the flat metal altar. The cylinder split in all directions with the axis as the center, revealing a suspended sphere with a very complex hollowing process on the surface. In the hollow inner sphere, light blue light was scattered.

Even if he didn't know about ancient mechanical creations, Jenkins knew that this was the core at the first sight of that thing.

"This is my core, in the shell you sealed. If you find that I am not loyal, you can destroy me at any time. Your cane is enough to break it."

Its frankness made Jenkins a little overwhelmed, but Jenkins remained vigilant:

"Aren't you worried about your own safety by doing this?"

"Everything is for freedom."

"Are you not afraid of death? For you, are you not afraid of complete extinction?"

There was a moment of silence:

"No."

This is a lie, but Jenkins is particularly happy, because the priesthood of lies also has an effect on the other party. In fact, if you think about it carefully, since it is a priesthood linked to the rules of the world, it is abnormal to have limitations.

The machine in front of him, the lie between freedom and life, made Jenkins feel a little strange. This sounds romantic and novelist-like, but such human performance is a bit terrifying:

"Do you have your own soul?"

"All things have spirits, and spirits can breed thoughts and souls, but I don't have a soul, at least not now. Things underground may have given birth to souls, so there is greed, but I have no evidence to prove this."

Although there are still some questions to ask, Jenkins couldn't help but ask an irrelevant question:

"So do you dream? If you do, is it possible that you dream of mechanical gear sheep?"

This strange question was not expected by the machine that was talking to Jenkins, the cat on Jenkins' shoulder, or the coachman who was listening to the conversation in the carriage. None of the three were human, but they had never thought of such a tricky question.

[A4 type arithmetic auxiliary external machine] Without answering immediately, Jenkins heard the sound of metal collision and operation coming from the surrounding walls again. This time the sound lasted even longer than the time he asked for information from the differential engine just now. He even felt that the temperature here was rising, which was probably the result of frequent metal work.

"I can't answer. I've never dreamed. I tried to calculate this possibility, and I almost got stuck in a perpetual calculation loop."

The machine finally answered like this, which gave Jenkins a new idea. The next time he saw the Difference Machine, he might ask him this question.

After that, Jenkins learned from the [A4 type arithmetic auxiliary external machine] that from the beginning of this era, the underground machine had foreseen the changes that would occur at the end of the eighteenth era. After all, it had witnessed many doomsdays. But the machine that was determined to implement the plan at the end of this era was just lurking underground throughout the eighteenth era, and did not reveal its own power. It just used the broken seal to "reproduce" its own gear structure, with Nolan as the center, and gradually spread to every corner of the underground of the material world.

Of course, this is impossible. Even if it is now the 1866th year since the beginning of this era, it is not enough for the sealed Difference Machine to wrap the entire world, otherwise the seal will be meaningless.

What it has done now is just to spread the gear tentacles at a low density to other parts of the world with Nolan as the center. After getting help from humans who are proficient in gear technology, this work was carried out more quickly, but it took less than a year.

[A4 type arithmetic auxiliary external machine] believes that the underground machines want to occupy the world with their tentacles, so as to assimilate the world, promote the arrival of doomsday, and achieve self-sublimation at the moment of doomsday. They are mechanical creations. As long as the computing core is strong enough, even the largest body can be controlled. So the differential machine intends to assimilate the world and assimilate the fog of doomsday.

The idea of ​​becoming the disaster beast of the eighteenth century is the most feasible path, and it is almost successful now.

Jenkins does not intend to stop this, and he cannot stop this. The disaster beast will always appear. It is better to let the things you know the information become the disaster beast than to know nothing about the enemy.

Chapter 1853 Chapter 1824 Wrench and Sin Coin

After figuring out the relationship between himself and the Difference Machine, Jenkins continued to ask:

"So, what the machine is doing now is to assimilate the world through underground actions?"

"The underground gear tentacles allow its influence to spread throughout the world; by changing the energy supply, it makes itself a steam-powered device, using the thick fog to spread the disaster power on the ground; at the same time, it seems to intend to make humans its relay station and an anchor point for transmitting spirits. I hope you can understand the meaning of this word. The method seems to be to make humans into machines, but I don't know the specific method of action."

The specific method is the mechanized curse of corpses, which Jenkins knows.

"This is its way of influencing the world, so what does it plan to do in the city above our heads? This is the last stage of the Eighteenth Century, and all the stories will be played out here. As the place where its original body is buried, it is impossible for it not to do other things... Recently, there have been spatial anomalies near Nolan. Is it related to this matter?"

"I don't know about this. It didn't tell me too many details. But you are right. If it wants to assimilate the world and turn the entire material world into a world like the 'Steel Land' where only steam machinery exists, it is not enough to rely on its own power. Even if it becomes a beast of disaster and accepts my indescribable power, it is not enough. It needs to defeat the savior and let the end of the world come before it can truly affect the world. Only the doomsday that is destined to happen has the power to affect the entire material world. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the individual is, it will eventually be just a mortal."

"How does it want to defeat the savior?"

The conversation finally touched the core at this point. I thought the answer was ‘I don’t know’, but the machine gave the answer:

“Going in reverse on the road to salvation. This question is very simple, especially for our way of thinking. To defeat the savior, you just need to go in reverse on his road. It is a very ancient ritual, and it has no meaning for any other creature. It only makes sense for madmen who are determined to destroy the world and themselves - do you know the rebellious one?”

Jenkins had certainly heard of it. This was proposed by Alexia not long ago, and it also helped him awaken his memory of last autumn. Alexia thought that the person called “Mr. Rebellious B” was from the tree house, and now it seems to be correct.

“Is the rebellious one a ritual?”

He asked almost in a muttering way.

“Yes, it is a very large, very complex, and very demanding ceremony. In fact, a ceremony of this scale, strictly speaking, according to the human definition of a ceremony, does not seem to be a ceremony. But what is certain is that the Rebel Ritual is the core of the underground mechanical operation. This is not a recent plan. It began preparations at the beginning of this era when it planned to gain true freedom in this era. During this period, although it could not walk on the ground, the humans who helped it could prepare some necessary conditions on the ground. In the past year, more human collaborators have been added, so the operation went smoothly. In the recent frequent earthquakes, I felt that part of the underground machine stretched out of the ground. The surface, and the structure of that part is very strange, it is very likely the core part of the ritual of the rebellious. "

"What is the principle and function of this ritual? Is there any way to crack the ritual?"

The mechanical voice was silent again, and it took a long time to give an answer:

"The ritual of the rebellious is the data stored in my oldest database. Because that part of the data was deemed useless when I was made, when I was made, the first intelligent machine underground gave it to me as a reserve energy. That part of the gear library has been damaged. "

"Can't read the data?"

"Yes, it can't be read."

"If repairs are carried out, can the data recorded in the gear array be read out again?"

The speed of speech unconsciously became much faster.

"In theory, if it can be thoroughly repaired, it is possible to read the data again... You seem to be very familiar with my principle?"

Jenkins shook his head and did not answer. He thought of the wrench. After Mr. Pisco's death, only two messages to him have appeared so far. It is hard not to connect the wrench with this matter.

He thought for a long time before saying to the metal altar:

"I will find a way to repair you as soon as possible. I hope you won't let me down. And I can promise you, in the name of the Savior - if I can defeat the underground machine and save the Eighteenth Century, then I will give you freedom."

"Savior, I believe in you."

The machine said, and after the core was stored, the human face appeared again in the light column:

"But no matter what, I am just a machine, and I can't provide you with direct help. The human who showed me the pages of "The Epic of Years" also said that no matter who it is, it is not necessary for the Savior. Only you, Redanput, are necessary. If this world is likened to a game, only your actions are the main game line, and the help of others are all side stories that can be there or not. No matter how the history of the material world progresses next, it is only you who decides it."

The short conversation gave Jenkins the biggest discovery in half a year. The candidate for the Beast of Disaster was finally roughly determined, and he also clearly understood the purpose of his opponent. Although the motivations for actions such as assimilating the world and mastering the world are very clichéd, facing such enemies in reality is not light at all.

After the conversation, Jenkins already knew what he had to do recently. He needed a wrench to repair machinery, he needed to get a few more sin coins, and he also needed a coachman to take him down next time.