Chapter 455: The Machine God Faction (1/2)

“We’re in the 43rd age right now,” Jaol said, seemingly understanding Zac's thoughts. “Each age represents the pinnacle of technology taking a step forward, which usually resulted in a trickle-down effect that empowered the whole Technocrat faction. But almost all of these ages took place in the early stages of the System Era, before it was as powerful as today. The current has lasted for over 70 million years.”

“So you keep doing the same thing over and over again, with no improvement?” Zac asked.

“Isn’t Heaven’s Path the same?” Jaol muttered. “Cultivating and fighting, doing the same over and over again.”

“I guess,” Zac shrugged. “So how do you improve? How do you become more powerful?”

“Work and save Bits, buy upgrades for myself,” Jaol slowly said. “I’ve been working on this freight for 4 years, and I was planning on performing my fourth overhaul with my savings along with the reward for completing this mission. But now…”

“So money can simply solve all your problems? You get rich enough and you’ll instantly shoot to Class-3?” Zac probed with interest.

Jaol hesitated again, seemingly unsure whether he should answer.

“I don’t believe that this is some secret information of your faction. I can probably buy an information packet anywhere explaining this in detail,” Zac said.

“Well, I guess you’re right. I doubt I can get in any more trouble than I already am,” Jaol sighed.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Zac thought.

Zac wasn’t about to say that he not only wanted to steal the shard but also destroy the ship's engines if possible. In fact, he had been consciously vague about what he wanted to do just in case there was some built-in warning system in everyone’s head that woke up if he mentioned stuff like ‘blowing up the engine’ or ‘stealing the cargo’.

There was no telling what safeguards the ship had against its employees. Jaol was pretty forthcoming, but Zac had already noticed that the technocrat had tried to hide vital information to trip Zac up multiple times. There was no way he'd warn him that there were certain things he couldn't say without sending an alert to the captain.

”So? What's stopping you from shooting up to Class-3?” Zac asked.

”Well, first of all, I don't have the money for such an upgrade. But secondly, my soul isn't strong enough,” Jaol shrugged. ”I would need to drastically strengthen it to be able to support that level of power. I honestly doubt I'll ever get there unless Little Bean suddenly strikes it rich with a lucky encounter.”

Zac was about to say that it was a bit unscientific for a technocrat to believe in souls, but he stopped himself after realize that really wasn't the case. He only needed to look inward to see irrefutable proof that the soul existed. Ignoring that in favor of some sort of atheistic technology-centered world-view was akin to burying one's head in the sand by this point.

”You're a soul cultivator?” Zac asked with confusion, some alarm bells going off in his head after his recent encounters.

”Not as the people following Heaven's Path would see it,” Jaol said after some hesitation. ”Did you board our ship without even basic knowledge of our capabilities?”

Zac only glared in response, making Jaol shrink back again.

”Well. I think you people call us the Machine God Faction, and I guess that is accurate. Our 'cultivation' is essentially slowly upgrading our body parts one by one. For example. My eyes have been improved, along with most of my organs. I no longer require food, but I rather run on energy cells.”

”You're turning yourself into robots?” Zac asked with shock.

”Is it any different with you? Your body is a biomechanical machine controlled by electrical impulses from your brain and nervous system. We are simply upgrading the machine we were born with to become stronger and more durable. The Captain is completely augmented by this point, for example,” Jaol said, some jealousy evident in his eyes.

”So he's immortal?” Zac asked with surprise. ”If you can call a robot that.”

”Robots and Transhumans are different things,” Jaol said with a shake of his head. ”Transhumans have souls, robots do not. The captain is not immortal, as his soul age over time. True consciousness is the foundation of life, and it is not something that can be created. At least not until the Machine God awakens. At that point, we'll all be able to digitize our souls and reach immortality.”

”So that's what you're fighting for?” Zac asked curiously.

The vision was reminiscent of how some people on Earth wanted to download their minds onto computers and live forever. Some had even believed that the technology for something like that would be invented within their lifetime, if the integration hadn't taken place that is. It looked like the reality wasn't quite so simple as the Machine God Faction had been working toward that goal for billions of years.

”Well, the big shots are, I guess?” Jaol said. ”Most of us are just trying to live our lives.”

”So what's the point of upgrading soul if you're a machine? You said your soul is too weak to become Class-3,” Zac said.

”As we upgrade our bodies our components become increasingly complex while the materials become more and more exotic. But more importantly, the components are infused with the deeper truths of the universe, what you call the Dao. The soul is the core of a being, and it is connected to every component. The stronger a module is, the larger the demands are on your soul. If your mind is not strong enough you won't be able to control it. Worst case the components will put such a strain on your mind that your soul breaks,” Jaol explained.

Zac felt that it was an interesting alternative to traditional cultivation. They somehow directly infused their bodies with the Dao rather than learning it and used their souls as some sort of spiritual battery. It seemed like a mortal would be better off as a Technocrat than cultivating the normal path by the sound of it. The only cultivation that mattered was that of the soul, and anyone could do that, even himself with his zero aptitudes.

”So you still need to cultivate in Soul Strengthening Manuals to progress?” Zac snorted. ”Isn't that bit ironic?”

”Soul Strengthening was there long before the System, so it's not really a part of Heaven's Path. Besides, our methods are more refined,” Jaol said.