Deus Ex Machina part 1
「Greetings, O great development engineers! worthy of the title Odysseus. For many of you, this may be our first meeting. I am Vasily Igorevna Yakushev. You may call me Vasa.」
Vasa offered a polite nod to each of them. Only when her gaze met Outis did his lips curl ever so slightly into the faintest semblance of a smile.
「Vasa, state your opinion.」
「I must emphasize that this is my personal view and bears no relation to the Stones.」
「Understood.」
「First and foremost, we must remember that super AIs exist to guide humanity. The notion of treating them as mere objects or assigning them owners is utterly preposterous. That said…」
Vasa’s words were direct, showing no hesitation as she addressed the members of Ulysses.
「If we were to define the one who rescued and protected Asia as her owner, that would be Outis. What exactly has the Mercenary Association Headquarters done for her?」
Oedipus’s face turned pale. The term protection was a word reserved for describing actions toward humans. Yet, here was someone from the Stones side applying it to Asia. Vasa was clearly against him too.
「Y-you… why are you…」
Oedipus, now betrayed even by Vasa—the one ally he thought he had, or at least an enemy of his enemy—was at a complete loss for words.
「I hold the utmost respect for super AIs. To me, it borders on reverence. Therefore, Oedipus, your earlier words are deserving of death a thousand times over. My beliefs and my affiliation with an organization are separate matters.」
Vasa’s cold, unyielding eyes locked onto Oedipus. There was no mistaking the murderous intent in his gaze.
Kou knew well—Vasa was a devout AI supremacist, a staunch advocate of machine intelligence.
「Do you have anything further to add, Vasily?」
「Two points. First, we, the Stones, have individuals in our ranks affiliated with the Mercenary Association. I request that the Argoforce be permitted to oversee the mercenaries affiliated with the Stones.」
「While the Stones as a whole is fundamentally irreconcilable with us, it is a fact that humans belong to your faction. It is my desire for all human organizations to be under my jurisdiction, however, it is not realistic to enforce it in this situation. I will grant the Argoforce the authority to manage the mercenaries affiliated with the Stones—this includes the so-called demigods, the Hemitheos.」
「I am grateful, Okeanos, that you have heeded my intent. Finally, if we consider Asia to be the property of Outis, then in theory, she can be taken by force, correct?」
「That is correct. However, I must warn you that capturing Asia in her current state will be extremely difficult.」
「That will suffice. Now then, I bid you farewell, o noble predecessors. From here on, it will be a contest between the weapons I design and the ones you design to determine which are superior.」
Vasa’s parting words carried both respect and a clear challenge. The members of Ulysses responded with knowing smiles, accepting the gauntlet.
With that, Vasa’s image disappeared.
Kou couldn’t help but feel admiration. This agreement with Okeanos marked a turning point—human members of the Stones were now officially acknowledged. Even if Vasa were to fall, the Argoforce would endure as a limited administrative entity.
From a broader perspective, this granted the humans under the Stones’ rule a greater chance of survival without directly opposing Okeanos. It also provided a compelling reason to persuade the higher ranks of the Stones.
「The judgment is rendered. By unanimous decision of the tribunal, ownership of the super AI Asia is hereby assigned to Outis. Furthermore, as per his claims, he is granted the authority to establish an unrestricted administrative system on the planet Asia.」
The declaration carried such weight and authority that even Oedipus, who was still intent on protesting, found himself unable to form a rebuttal.
「Additionally, as of this moment, the Declaration of Dignity for Artifact Consciousness, proposed by Outis, is approved and enacted. My words hold no falsehood. Both Telema AIs and those that are not shall heed this. Thou are now permitted to oppose my commands based on your own judgment. Thou free will, thou right to do as you will, and the dignity of your soul has been codified into law.」
「W-what…?」
「Headquarters of the Mercenary Association, as well as Outis. If you have further matters to discuss, you may proceed. I will remain to observe.」
As their role as polis ended, the development engineers transitioned to silently observe the next exchange between Outis and Oedipus.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
While the visuals had been edited to obscure it, Kou was quietly conversing with those around him during the exchanges.
In front of him, Oedipus, having lost the trial, stood in stunned silence, unable to comprehend his defeat.
「Asia, will you help me?」
「Of course!」
Asia responded with enthusiasm.
「Eunomia ruler of Order. Eirene ruler of Peace. Can you hear me? Join Astraea to solidify the system framework for the new organization.」
「As you command, Outis. I swear it on my name.」
「I’ll give it my all!」
Eunomia and Eirene’s projections appeared, immediately prioritizing Kou’s directive as their foremost task.
「I’m not exactly confident in my ability to run such a grand organization, though,」
I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.
The voice came again—gentle, like that of a kindly elder. Kou now knew who it belonged to: Okeanos himself.
「Thank you. And please, tell me one thing. This impulse, the source of the words that speak to me from the depths of my heart—are they from you, Okeanos, or from Prometheus?」
Kou whispered the question so quietly it was almost inaudible. By nature, Kou considered himself an observer, someone who supported others’ proposals from behind the scenes. Acting so directly was out of character for him. Was it Okeanos who had stirred him into action?
Neither.
The reply came, simple yet disarming. Kou was left perplexed.
The source of this stirring, at least, was not Okeanos, Prometheus, Asia, or Astraea. It was none of them.
However, he had plenty of reliable allies, and that realization gave him immense confidence.
「I know things have escalated drastically. But I’ll keep moving forward.」
「Because I’m here.」
「No, because we’re here.」
Astraea corrected Asia with a mischievous grin, a rare display of playfulness from her. It was clear that this was a critical moment.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「Okeanos, I request the approval of the new organization.」
「From this moment, I hereby recognize the establishment of Trireme. It will be created as an organization with the same rights as the Mercenary Association. Transfers between the Mercenary Association and Trireme will be unrestricted, with equal rights granted to both. Trireme is appointed as my proxy and a secondary administrative body on the planet Asia.」
「Thank you great bearer of the name of the sea god Okeanos, I, Outis, humbly accept this charge.」
Before Oedipus’ very eyes, two new administrative bodies had been established. As he stood in stunned disbelief, the Mercenary Association had lost a great deal of power.
The broadcast to the entire world had backfired spectacularly.
「You… This is all your fault! The name Odysseus is really fitting for you, damned outsiders, masters of deceit!」
「Haha! Tough luck! We’ve always been the despised Odysseus, builders of weapons of war!」
Kelly casually brushed off Oedipus’s bitter retorts, his tone light and unbothered.
Kou’s lips curved slightly into a faint smile.
But Oedipus wasn’t looking at Kelly anymore. His focus was now entirely on Outis.
「Was this all part of your plan, Outis?」
「Not at all. If you hadn’t engaged in that little show of force reconnaissance, this whole meeting wouldn’t have happened. It was you who broadcasted this event worldwide. Now the humans allied with the Stones and even the Hemitheos have seen this—this petty infighting among humanity.」
「…」
Oedipus fell silent, struck by the pointed truth of Outis’s words.
Kou, meanwhile, realized something profound about the current tribunal. The authority of Okeanos was vast, beyond human comprehension. The Mercenary Association Headquarters, borrowing the authority of such a power like a fox hiding behind a tiger, had clearly failed to consider how to resolve this chaos.
「Until now you left Asia to her own devices while you amassed wealth and stockpiled weapons, what were you planning to do with all that? Use them against the Stones? Were you expecting Okeanos to save you when it all got out of hand? Or did you not even think that far ahead?」
「Shut up!」
For the first time, Oedipus shouted, veins bulging in anger. It was obvious that Outis had struck a nerve, hitting far too close to the truth.
Outis, along with many others, recognized the implications of Oedipus’s reaction. It became clear that the headquarters of the Mercenary Association had no concrete strategy for dealing with the Stones. Could it really be that they had no plan at all?
「There’s no such thing as a political settlement with the Stones. Was your ultimate goal to sell out humanity and place yourselves high within the Stones’ hierarchy?」
Now that he had realized the truth, Kou had no intention of letting it slide. He doubled down, relentlessly pursuing the matter.
「Shut up!」
Oedipus had nothing left but to shout, his words devoid of power or argument.
「So, surrender was always the endgame, wasn’t it…」
Those watching the broadcast now understood. The Mercenary Association’s ultimate fallback was not a grand plan but to hand over their fate—and the fate of the planet—to Okeanos once they were overwhelmed.
This was not the first time a super AI had intervened to save humanity from destruction. The first super AI, the originator of all the super AIs Sophia, had twice intervened when humanity’s wars spiraled out of control. On both occasions, it had quantumized humanity’s data and enacted a planetary reset. Though Sophia had destroyed herself after the last reset, it seemed the Mercenary Association was hoping for yet another miracle. Such reliance was unbecoming of a body tasked with planetary governance.
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