Malbus patiently explained through a holographic projection the functions of the custom-made armor designed specifically for the Imperial Guard candidate. This was a direct order from the Monarch, requiring Zero to fully understand the power armor that would accompany him for the rest of his life. Once the Mars Foundry project was completed, a portion of the personnel would return to Earth, fully brought under the rule of the Imperial Guard to specialize in producing weapons for them.
Zero knew that the Monarch had not handed over all technological reserves to Mars. If he passed the trial, the mechanists returning from Mars would be allowed to access a limited portion of forbidden technologies—especially under the supervision of the Imperial Guard, and particularly himself. In fact, Zero had already browsed the forbidden technologies brought back by the Monarch and those locked deep within Kamar-Taj's prisons. He knew that any one of those tightly secured items could destroy the world. Limited research was useful for understanding future enemies.
Even if there would be specialists responsible for Imperial Guard armaments in the future, the guards themselves had to learn to maintain their own weapons and armor.
How to inspect and maintain Uru metal power cables from the dwarf forge-world, vibranium drives from Wakanda, neural probes and pulse fiber optics from the Celestials—how to interpret error codes and identify problems. The data of a single Imperial Guard armor set was no less than that of a sky carrier. A flood of metallurgical data, mechanical models, and servo codes flowed across the screen like a waterfall, and Zero's adjusted brain quickly absorbed it all. He understood the metallurgical accomplishments behind his armor, the shock absorption system, servos, and transmission mechanisms—all testaments to the brilliance of human intellect. The exquisitely cut gemstones and the sculpted aesthetics of the armor, though beautiful, were the least important parts.
Zero discovered technologies from the Brotherhood of the Sacred Shield in the neural control system, and Stark Industries designs in the life-support and fire suppression systems. He was quite certain the Monarch had never paid Stark Industries a single licensing fee. As for the Sacred Shield Brotherhood, the Monarch had enshrined the remains of those human sages in the sanctum for public reverence. Even if they were still alive, they would undoubtedly praise the immortal city that upheld their ideals.
Malbus's mission was to make Zero thoroughly understand his armor, but Zero's enhanced cognitive abilities soon noticed something off about the hologram. He promptly posed several classic Winograd test questions—and received an unexpected answer.
"I assure you, this program hasn't violated any restrictions," the hologram suddenly shut down, then Malbus's projection reappeared—this time far more vivid.
"I know. I also know Ultron is in your hands," Zero nodded. "The Monarch has banned all improvement or research on Ultron. So the Monarch must be aware of this."
"He is. He knows everything, boy," Malbus replied with a mechanical, synthesized voice. Zero couldn't see his face, obscured by layers of scanning instruments, nor could he guess Malbus's thoughts from his flat electronic tone. "He is my Monarch. I have served him for over a thousand years. Do you think he doesn't know me well enough by now?"
The earlier Malbus hologram had been just an AI-integrated model, something like a smart instruction manual.
Even with Solomon's command, Malbus had no desire to waste his time on a guard who hadn't completed the full trial. Instead, he used a barely compliant program to fulfill his task—until Zero spotted the shortcut. Zero wasn't angry; he had encountered Malbus before and knew him to be a pragmatist. He also clearly understood that only after completing the trial would he earn the honor of being the Monarch's spokesperson.
Until then, he was nothing.
"Even if that program didn't violate the restriction, you made more than one mistake," Zero said without fear. He stood up, towering over the flickering hologram. "First, you eavesdropped on systems that don't belong to you through an instructional machine. Second, you assumed that false honor and power could make an Imperial Guard candidate bow down. I follow only the Monarch's orders—not yours."
He picked up the backup grenade rifle beside him and emptied the magazine into the instructional projection machine.
Zero took a deep breath, intending to don his armor and report the matter to the Monarch. But after a few seconds of thought, he abandoned that plan, sat back down, and continued wiping the grenade rifle components in his hands, as if nothing had happened. The smoke and the pungent scent of vitamin liquor that filled the room were merely illusions. As Malbus had said, the Monarch knew everything—especially anything that happened in the Eternal City. He believed the Monarch would make his own judgment, and until asked, he wouldn't voice any opinions.
This terrifying weapon—whose recoil could cause compound fractures in an ordinary user—had an incredibly complex mechanical structure, not to mention the data network linking it to his neuro-controlled armor. The electronic components and chips were heavily protected to prevent damage from rough use. Zero could only maintain the mechanical part; the data interfaces had to be connected to an engineering computer for diagnostics. He thought about the other children who had also become Imperial Guard candidates.
He had once been one of them.
But now, he couldn't even recall the faces of his parents. The two clearest faces in his memory were those of the Monarch and Maya Hansen, director of the biological lab and in charge of genetic modification technology. Under the Monarch's time magic, the immensely resource-intensive genetic alchemy had rapidly shown its true power. What should have been centuries of growth passed in a flash, turning him from a weak and scrawny child into a strong adult.
His body and mind had been forcibly matured, and in a short span, he had absorbed vast amounts of knowledge. Mortal girls of the Sisterhood needed power armor just to lift small-caliber grenade rifles and protect themselves from the recoil, but he could wield a standard Imperial Guard grenade rifle barehanded, firing it without protection.
He would continue to grow, becoming stronger and taller, until all follow-up surgeries were complete and he was clad in his armor.
The trial involved more than killing; the Monarch expected more from him than to merely be an instrument of violence.
He would have to go through the kinds of examinations that mortals with advanced degrees endured, read mountains of books, and extract his own wisdom—becoming the Monarch's advisor, the embodiment of humanity's future evolution. A powerful mind, a resilient body, and superior intelligence.
That was something the destruction-obsessed, servant-minded Sisterhood could never achieve—and it was the real reason the Monarch had chosen him as a candidate for the Imperial Guard. His master didn't seek destruction, but construction—though few could understand that.
Zero began to expand his thoughts.
In many civilizations' myths, gods created intelligent beings in hopes that they would understand them. So could it be that the Monarch's original motivation for creating the Imperial Guard was because artificial humans had failed to achieve that understanding? But those superstitious myths merely expressed humanity's fear of the unknowable fate and the forces of nature that controlled life and death. As an Imperial Guard, he should not hold such ignorant thoughts.
Just as the Monarch had said—gods had no right to manipulate human destiny. If humanity continued to live in fear, then the day it ruled the galaxy would never come.
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 120)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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