"Crack!"
A crisp snap of something breaking came from Logar's boot.
He looked down and pushed aside the sand, finding a broken J-shaped stick-like object. Its outline was spindle-shaped, slightly wider at both ends, and faint, intricate carvings were discernible on its surface.
Logar felt curious, and just as his fingertip was about to touch the ancient artifact, Worp's palm descended like lightning, leaving a faint red mark on his fair hand.
Worp's voice was uncharacteristically stern, "Children shouldn't play with Fujitsu pseudo-artifacts!"
"Oh."
Logar withdrew his hand, but he was still curious about what it was; it looked somewhat familiar.
Worp never expected that they would encounter such an opening shock as soon as they entered the ruins.
It's already M20, why are people still using Fujitsu pseudo-artifacts invented in M2? Even if it's sexual repression, it shouldn't be this retro, right?
Could it be that even in M20, no scientist invented sex robots? That would be too much of a failure for humanity.
However, this Fujitsu pseudo-artifact was double-headed. Its owner must have been someone not content with the ordinary, and probably would have brought someone along to use it, which is understandable.
"Click!"
Logar gripped the door crack, and the moment his knuckles exerted force, the metal frame burst apart with a grating, deforming sound. He didn't pause, peeling the entire door from the wall as if it were merely an annoying thin veil.
"Was that thing...?"
Logar asked belatedly.
"Don't ask."
Logar fell silent.
They walked through ankle-deep yellow sand, passing through corridors eroded by wind, which eventually led them to a collapsed circular hall. The dome had long since caved in, and the scorching sun poured down like a waterfall, carving fragmented patterns onto the sandy ground.
Worp: "This looks like a street office. Let's see if there are any useful clues."
Logar had only half-nodded his head when a warrior's instinct flashed through his nerves like lightning.
He spun around, shielding Worp behind him, his violet eyes fixed on a corridor swallowed by yellow sand.
Worp secretly raised his guard, trusting that Logar would not act without reason.
"Bang!"
A torrent of cerulean energy erupted, like a supernova blooming in an enclosed space. The yellow sand blocking the entrance disintegrated in quantum-level tremors, each grain of dust coated in an eerie blue light, like a reverse-falling star shower.
Logar's muscles tightened like steel rods. This level of destruction would make even a Primarch's body seem as fragile as glass!
"Please relax, sir, I have no ill intentions."
The thud of a weapon hitting the ground and a girl's ethereal, pleasant voice echoed through the circular hall. The newcomer slowly raised its arms, palms turned outwards.
Its outline, height, and proportions were similar to a girl of about 1.7 meters, but beneath the full-body milky-white composite shell, the faint cold gleam of visible metal joints and the pulsation of hydraulic lines indicated that it was not flesh and blood, but a precise bionic machine.
Worp: "Is your owner French?"
"French jokes are not advisable, sir."
"Are you an Iron Man?"
"That is a stereotype, sir."
It explained, "Iron Man is a general term for humanoid machines; sex robots are also Iron Men, but would you be afraid of sex robots?"
Worp's face stiffened: "I don't know what you're talking about!"
It was very surprised: "How can that be? You clearly know Iron Man."
Its reaction was a beat slow, and a human-like look of apology appeared on its face: "I am very sorry, sir, I forgot that humans of this era indeed do not know what sex robots are. But I can assure you, I am loyal to humanity."
"How do you prove it?"
"My not being destroyed is proof."
"I don't believe it."
Worp shook his head.
After all, he had not personally experienced that history, and could only learn about that magnificent era from scattered words.
In M18, humanity invented Warp travel, greatly increasing the efficiency of interstellar colonization, but the Warp, while providing convenience, also constantly plagued humanity.
So around M21, the Golden Men created the Stone Men.
The biggest difference between Stone Men and humans was that they had no souls, only considered 'semi-life forms', so they were unaffected by the Warp.
This indicates that Stone Men were likely some kind of androids, and except for having no souls, they should have been indistinguishable from humans in appearance.
The Stone Men then created the Iron Men, with the purpose of better serving humanity.
Initially, this was indeed the case. With the help of the Stone Men and Iron Men, the process of human interstellar colonization greatly accelerated, spreading their footsteps throughout the galaxy in just a few millennia.
Humanity was at its peak then, and even the Aeldari, who were also at their peak, signed a non-aggression treaty with humanity.
If events had unfolded normally, non-aggression treaties are meant to be broken, and there would inevitably have been a war between the Fallen Empire and human civilization.
But the Iron Man Rebellion caused history's trajectory to shift. All intelligent species in the galaxy, including the Aeldari, had no choice but to form a Galactic Alliance with humanity to resist the Iron Men.
From Worp's understanding of the Aeldari, they would never help humanity without reason, unless the Iron Man Rebellion also threatened their interests.
So the Iron Man Rebellion probably targeted not just humanity, but all organic life forms.
This is very much like the Iron-hearted Exterminators.
Ultimately, with the combined efforts of the Galactic Alliance, the Iron Man Rebellion was suppressed, but human civilization was also severely damaged as a result.
After that, human civilization was no longer glorious.
Although the main reason was the Warp Storms lasting for several millennia, the secondary reasons probably included some alien races taking advantage of the chaos.
Human civilization failed to challenge the Aeldari's Overlord status, and the Aeldari once again won MVP.
But the Aeldari also didn't get to laugh for too long, because the symbolic event marking the end of the Age of Strife was precisely the fall of the Aeldari Empire.
"You were waiting for us here?"
Worp asked.
He didn't believe this Iron Man was very friendly, but he also wanted to extract some information from its mouth.
"Yes."
It nodded, "I am waiting for any human who can reach this place."
Worp: "And then? Give us the Golden Fleece according to your master's command?"
It smiled: "Sir, if you are referring to The King of Swift Dragons and Jason's Travels, I wrote them."
Worp was truly surprised now, "It's not your master's command?"
It slowly shook its head, opening its palm upwards, and a faint blue halo condensed in the air.
A holographic image of Colchis flickered in the faint light. It was completely different from the current Colchis, with a silver orbital ring encircling its synchronous orbit.
Tens of thousands of ship silhouettes surrounded it, shimmering silently like stars.
Even in the darkest of ages, Colchis once had the opportunity to become the cradle of human civilization's rise.
But in an instant, scarlet lightning bolts suddenly struck from a newly opened rift, lashing down on Colchis like a divine whip.
The silver ring shattered upon contact, tens of thousands of starships didn't even have time to chain-detonate, transforming into billions of metal fragments, blooming into fleeting flowers of death in orbit.
"The previous civilization of Colchis was destroyed in the 999th year of the 25th Era, when a Warp Storm swept across this world, destroying the civilization established by humanity. The Covenant, which believed in the Great Powers, had been lurking in human society. They simultaneously assassinated the elite class of Colchis, destroyed the database that recorded all STCs of human civilization, and completely cut off any hope for the resurgence of human civilization."
"In the three hundred years that followed, the Covenant rose with incredible speed, becoming the rulers of this world. They systematically destroyed all records of the old world, forcing humanity to submit to religious belief in the Great Powers. Only a very few survivors escaped the Covenant's reign of terror; they fled into the low desert, becoming The Rejected."
Logar: "If the STC database has been destroyed, then what is the Golden Fleece?"
"I am the Golden Fleece."
It said.
"So the Golden Fleece itself wrote the story of the Golden Fleece, guiding people to seek the Golden Fleece?"
It nodded.
Worp: "Why should we believe you?"
"The Iron Man Rebellion gives you countless reasons to doubt my loyalty. I cannot gain your trust through honesty."
Logar: "But you must have thought of how to convince us, right?"
Its nodding motion was as precise as a mechanical clock.
"My birth began in the 899th year of the 24th Era. I am the Alpha Sequence general-purpose model Angel, personally created by Dr. Aeetes, equipped with the Athena VII Quantum Intelligence Matrix."
"In the 999th year of the 25th Era, when Colchis's human civilization suffered a devastating blow, my thought matrix was activated for the first time."
"My mission is to do my utmost to support the resurgence of human civilization after its loss, but I judged that the environment at the time did not meet the basic conditions for human civilization's resurgence. The Great Powers would destroy me at all costs, just as they destroyed the old civilization."
"So I wrote two books in ancient Colchian, and intentionally allowed them to be discovered and taken away by explorers who came to collect ancient artifacts."
"According to my judgment, the Colchians under Covenant rule have lost the ability to interpret ancient Colchian. If The Rejected can solve the riddle and find me, even if I judge that current conditions are not suitable for the resurgence of human civilization, I will provide help to the best of my ability."
"This is a test I set for humanity, and also a self-imposed restriction. I wrote it into the underlying code of my thought matrix thousands of years ago."
Worp: "Even if someone could solve the riddle, they wouldn't be able to get past The King of Swift Dragons, would they?"
"The Golden Fleece being guarded by dragons is also part of the test. You are the only ones who have been able to reach here in thousands of years. According to the agreement, I am yours."
Worp: "If the riddle cannot be solved, would you never appear?"
"Yes."
It said.
"You're quite honest."
"I cannot lie to my master, nor can I disobey any command issued by my master."
Worp: "What if I order you to commit suicide?"
"You need to reach an agreement with my other master."
Logar: "I have no objection."
It fell silent.
"Although I strongly advise you not to do so, without me, it will be very difficult for you to revive human civilization in Colchis, but I will obey your command and completely destroy this body."
Worp: "Then tell us, what can you do."
"My thought matrix does not interact with any databases in Colchis, so when the database was infiltrated, I was not affected at all. To assist me in rebuilding human civilization, Dr. Aeetes integrated all known general-purpose civilian STCs of human civilization into my thought matrix."
"Only civilian?"
"Yes, Dr. Aeetes did not allow me to access any military STCs."
"What's that?"
Worp pointed to the gun at its feet.
"That is a multi-purpose tool for miners, belonging to civilian technology."
Logar asked: "What do you plan to use to help us rebuild human civilization?"
"I have already completed it."
It said, "Please follow me."
It faced the corridor they had come from, its arm making a respectful arc, like a butler leading distinguished guests.
"Shall we go?"
Worp asked.
"Let's go."
Logar followed it.
The Iron Man was not to be trusted, but its promise was very appealing and worth risking.
If he could quickly complete the unification of Colchis, he would have more time alone with Worp.
Worp and Logar followed closely, while it maintained a precise distance. It was neither too far for Logar's arm to reach, nor too close to launch a sudden, unprepared attack on Logar.
At the end of the corridor, the transparent elevator door gleamed coldly in the dim light.