Chapter 186: Consciousness Transfer
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"As you can see, perhaps due to the effects of his genetic modification, Aleksei Sytsevich is not particularly outstanding in intelligence..."
At The Raft, watching the two bicker with each other, the person in charge explained to Harry Osborn.
Unlike the vast majority of criminals captured and thrown into prison, Rhino had only ever had one motive for his crimes: to make money.
Even his reason for undergoing the experimental modifications was simply because it came with a hefty paycheck.
"Bushwacker (Carl Burbank), real name Carl Burbank. He was originally a priest who abandoned his vows after a young parishioner died from a drug addiction. He then joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where he received training in combat, infiltration, and assassination. He is also familiar with the operations and methods of international intelligence agencies."
"Later, due to pressure from the German government, the CIA was forced to cut its budget, and Carl Burbank was dismissed from the CIA for his radical attitude, becoming a freelancer. During his time there, the agency modified him, replacing his right hand with a controllable, functional Bionic Mechanical Arm that can freely transform into various firearms..."
Scorpion: "Cool~"
Rhino: "Oh, cool~"
Scorpion: "..."
...
"Kraven the Hunter, nationality unknown. He is a crazed hunter who delights in the game of the hunt. Unlike other hunters who use guns or bows and arrows, Kraven typically weakens his prey by setting traps and lures before the fight, then subdues them. To date, Kraven is known to have hunted over ten humans, including those with superhuman abilities."
"Judging by Kraven's bone age and the wear on his tooth enamel, he is over sixty years old. However, his appearance shows no signs of aging, and he consistently maintains peak superhuman levels in both stamina and super strength, for reasons unknown."
...
"The last one, and the most dangerous criminal held in The Raft, is Bentley Wittman. Of course, we usually call him—Wizard."
Following the introduction by the person in charge, Harry and his group arrived at the lowest level of The Raft, where they saw a mysterious figure in a cell, completely encased in a special device, with only breathing holes visible on his head.
"Bentley Wittman was once a renowned scientist, primarily researching subatomic particles. That is, until he encountered an accident during an experiment. The subatomic particles he was studying connected to some mysterious dimension and were interfered with, and Bentley Wittman himself was infected by the power of a mysterious universe."
"It's worth mentioning that Bentley Wittman is one of the few who voluntarily asked to be imprisoned in The Raft. After being infected by the dimensional power, he sought out the Thunderbolts and, at his request, was locked up in this special prison. He even invented and built this energy isolation device himself while incarcerated..."
"He turned himself in?"
Hearing the person in charge's introduction, Sandman and the other criminals couldn't help but look at Bentley Wittman again.
From their perspective, they clearly couldn't understand his actions of walking right into a trap.
Standing before Bentley Wittman's cell, the person in charge reached out, about to knock on the iron door to get his attention.
"No need to knock."
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in the minds of Harry Osborn and the others.
"I already know why you are here."
*Clang—*
Right after, as they watched, the tightly sealed cell door opened, and Bentley Wittman, clad in the special energy isolation device, slowly floated out.
Most of Bentley Wittman's face was covered by the special isolation device on his head, leaving only small holes for breathing.
But Harry Osborn and the others could still feel his gaze.
Inside The Raft, Bentley Wittman slowly turned his gaze, scanning the crowd before him, and finally stopped on Harry Osborn.
At the same time, the deep voice resonated in their minds again.
"I'm in."
...
"Mr. Bruce Banner, let's briefly go over the situation..."
In a psychologist's office in New York.
The psychologist looked at the haggard Banner and spoke softly.
"According to you, for some time now, you have been having the same nightmare over and over. Can you describe the nightmare in detail?"
"I can't remember the specifics anymore."
Shaking his head, Banner held his forehead, a pained expression occasionally flashing across his face.
"I just vaguely remember being trapped in a huge iron cage in the dream, bathed in a blinding white light."
"When did this start happening?"
"It was after the explosion at Hydra Tower."
Nodding, the psychologist glanced down at the file in his hand and continued, "From what I understand, Mr. Bruce Banner, you seem to have been injured in that explosion."
"That's right."
Banner removed the hand from his forehead and nodded.
"I was knocked unconscious by the explosion and only woke up a long time later."
"Perhaps that's the reason for your nightmares. It's a common reaction. Although you've recovered on the surface, your subconscious still remembers the explosion."
Putting down his pen, the psychologist looked at Banner and continued to ask.
"Do you remember what happened during the explosion, including what you experienced leading up to it?"
Faced with the psychologist's question, Banner frowned and thought for a moment, but he couldn't recall any related memories.
"Sorry, doctor."
Shaking his head, Banner said with a look of confusion.
"I can't remember clearly."
The psychologist didn't seem too surprised by Banner's reaction. He just nodded slightly and said, "It's clear that the explosion caused some memory loss, and fragments of these memories have been projected into your dreams as subconscious images. This is what's causing your frequent nightmares."
"However, under normal circumstances, such symptoms won't last too long. The subconscious mind's memory retention is ultimately limited. Once new memories replace the old ones, you, Mr. Bruce Banner, will be free from this frequent nightmare situation."
"Also, and this is the most important point, don't pay too much attention to the content of these nightmares. If you do, your subconscious will involuntarily create associations, which is why you keep repeating the same nightmare. Every time you think about it, you deepen the impression of the nightmare in your subconscious. Therefore, my advice to you, Mr. Bruce Banner, is to ignore the content of the nightmares and focus on other things to distract yourself."
After watching Banner leave the consultation room, the psychologist glanced down at the report in his hand, then picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number.
"Everything is normal."
...
Hydra Tower, in the underground Base.
"Doctor Zola, what's the situation?"
After ending the call, Helmut (Zemo) turned his full attention back to the experiment before him.
"Everything is going smoothly..."
Doctor Zola's face appeared on the screen, his tone filled with palpable excitement.
"We have already connected Brock Rumlow's brain to the 'Consciousness Register' through surgery..."
As Doctor Zola explained, the image on the screen in front of Helmut changed, revealing the scene of Crossbones' surgery.
Researchers connected a multitude of data lines to Brock Rumlow's cerebral cortex, then injected a strange liquid into his brainstem.
'Neuro-Enhancer,' a special serum developed personally by Doctor Zola.
This serum could maximize the subject's neural activity, making his consciousness clearer and facilitating the subsequent consciousness transfer.
Sure enough, as the serum was injected, the frequency of Crossbones' brainwaves on the screen sped up significantly, indicating his consciousness was becoming more active.
"Now! Connect the 'Consciousness Register'."
Observing the amplitude of Brock Rumlow's brainwave frequency in the Laboratory, Doctor Zola quickly gave the order.
At his word, the researchers in the lab immediately sprang into action. They connected the massive consciousness transfer device to the data lines on Brock Rumlow's brain and pressed the switch.
The next second, Brock Rumlow, who had been lying motionless in the Laboratory, suddenly let out an agonized scream.
Clearly, the pain of consciousness transfer was immense, even for someone as paralyzed as Brock Rumlow.
After all, this was an experiment that directly affected the brain.
Amidst Brock Rumlow's pained screams, the consciousness registration experiment continued.
"This is the most critical step in the entire process..."
Meanwhile, on the screen in front of Helmut, Doctor Zola's expression seemed to grow a little tense.
Many previous subjects had failed at this transfer step.
"..."
Just like that, under silent observation, the screams coming from Brock Rumlow in the Laboratory gradually subsided.
"Did it fail?"
Seeing this, Helmut subconsciously frowned, thinking this consciousness transfer experiment had ended in failure like all the previous ones.
*Beep-beep, bee-bee-beep—*
However, the very next second after that thought crossed Helmut's mind...
Inside the Laboratory, the ECG monitor that had been maintaining Brock Rumlow's vital signs emitted a sharp warning, and the line on the instrument's screen representing his heartbeat flatlined with a low drone.
"Success!"
Doctor Zola, witnessing all this on the screen, cried out in excitement.
"Brock Rumlow's consciousness has been successfully transferred into the 'Consciousness Register' we prepared."
Hearing Doctor Zola's excited, synthesized voice, Helmut's frown slightly relaxed.
Meanwhile, in the Laboratory, the researchers quickly began the next phase of the experiment.
"Transferring the consciousness to the 'Consciousness Register' doesn't mean the whole experiment is over."
Doctor Zola's voice sounded again, his previous excitement reined in as he explained.
"This only means we have successfully transferred Brock Rumlow's consciousness from his ruined body into the 'Consciousness Register'. What we need to do next is connect the register to a torso via surgery and convert the brainwaves in the 'Consciousness Register'—which now represent Brock Rumlow—into the necessary electromagnetic signal..."
Following Doctor Zola's explanation, the researchers in the Laboratory moved with urgency.
They removed the 'Consciousness Register' containing Brock Rumlow's consciousness from the device and placed it into the torso of a prepared Ultron Robot.
As the researchers carefully placed the register representing Crossbones into the Robot's head, they seemed to step back, clearing the way.
On the other side, Helmut, watching this through the screen, unconsciously held his breath.
"Now, let's activate Ultron."
Inside the Laboratory, following Doctor Zola's expectant and apprehensive command, the researchers issued the activation command to Ultron.
Then, a cold, mechanical voice echoed through the Hydra underground Base.
*Bzzzt...*
"Ultron Mark III activating..."
Amidst a crackle of electricity, the eyes of the previously motionless Ultron Robot in the Laboratory flickered with red light.
"Doctor Zola?"
Hearing the Robot's cold, mechanical voice, Helmut couldn't help but ask.
"Just a moment longer..."
On the screen, Doctor Zola replied calmly.
And so, as everyone watched in silence, an unknown amount of time passed.
The red light flickering in Ultron's eyes suddenly began to change. The mechanical eye in its socket moved, scanning the people in the Laboratory, and the Robot's originally cold, mechanical voice began to show inflection.
"Where am I?"
Hearing the questioning tone from Ultron in the Laboratory—a tone that didn't belong to a robot—a clear smile appeared on Doctor Zola's face on the screen. "Success. Brock Rumlow's brainwaves within the 'Consciousness Register' have been successfully converted into an electromagnetic signal. From now on, Ultron will possess human-like thinking capabilities. Artificial intelligence? No, it is truly human. A perfect will that knows no pain, feels no fear, and cannot experience death."
Looking at Crossbones in the Laboratory, now successfully converted into Ultron, Helmut let out a long sigh of relief, but he quickly composed his expression and said to the excited Doctor Zola on the screen.
"Congratulations, Doctor Zola. I'll leave the rest to you."
"No problem."
Nodding, with a flow of data, Doctor Zola's human-like expression quickly returned to one of calm.
Brock Rumlow's consciousness had been successfully transferred into Ultron's body, but this was not the end.
Next, Hydra would subject Brock Rumlow's consciousness in the 'Consciousness Register' to thorough brainwashing, turning him into an entity truly under Hydra's control.
(end of chapter)