Chapter 1825: Chapter 1825

Jenkins wasn't overly curious and had no intention of defying the coachman's instructions.

So, once settled in the deceptively ordinary carriage, he kept his head down, locking eyes with his cat. This was, of course, to prevent the feline from darting about and catching a glimpse of the outside world.

Chocolate watched Jenkins in well-behaved silence. In the cat's eyes, it saw a colossal, huddled figure. In Jenkins's, he seemed to see the yellow moon of his homeland.

After a journey of more than ten minutes, so smooth it was almost imperceptible and exceptionally dull, the coachman's voice announced their arrival. It seemed the underground prohibition on spatial travel had no effect on this Cursed Item.

Just as Jenkins had predicted, the previous collapse had completely buried the passage to the underground cavern housing the self-proclaimed [A4-Type Arith...]. Fortunately, the chamber containing the sealed machine had remained perfectly intact.

The reinforced seal glimmered with a silver-purple light in the darkness. As the carriage halted and Jenkins climbed out, he saw that in addition to the seal's glow, the surface of the machine—which resembled a metal altar—was now illuminated by a red light.

Mason Pisco's first message after his death had asked Jenkins to reinforce the seal here. Reflecting on it now, Jenkins suspected his intentions were far more complex than that simple request suggested.

With the carriage's arrival, a pillar of light rose from the center of the altar, a man's expressionless face suspended within it. His lips didn't move; the voice emanated from the machinery inside the metal altar. He remembered Jenkins.

"It has been a long time, Redemptor," the voice declared. "I knew you would return."

"It should not be called a calculation. I knew you would want to understand what lies deeper underground, so it was certain you would seek me out. My name is the [A4-Type Arithmetic Auxiliary External Machine]. I believe you did not hear me clearly last time."

Jenkins glanced back at the waiting carriage. The coachman tipped his hat and immediately ducked back inside, making it clear he had no intention of eavesdropping. Jenkins placed the soft, furry cat on his shoulder and faced the visage in the pillar of light.

"I'll dispense with the pleasantries," Jenkins stated flatly. "I assume you are aware of certain events. Now, tell me, do you know Mr. Pisco? Mason Pisco. A human male."

"Yes, of course. He reinforced my seal before you, forcing me to remain here. He also did something rather cruel to me—he showed me a page from the Millstone of Fate. According to my records, even though I only saw a blank sheet, to have seen a page from that book means to be caught in the web of destiny."

Jenkins frowned. He had also seen that blank page from Mason Pisco. At the time, it had been inscribed with two identical sentences used to reverse the flow of time. Later, in the past, he had witnessed the cover of the Millstone of Fate itself, which was likely a far more serious entanglement.

"What did Mason Pisco tell you?"

"He told me I was to remain here and assist a man whose middle name means 'savior'. Only by helping him could I attain true freedom. You left in such a hurry last time that I had no opportunity to tell you."

Last time, the Gear Artisans' Association had set off an explosion deep underground, triggering a massive earthquake. Jenkins couldn't have stayed even if he'd wanted to. If he hadn't been turned into a mouse and rescued by Chocolate, he might never have left at all.

"Mason Pisco told you to help me? How are you supposed to do that? Don't even suggest I release you. Since I'm the one who reinforced your seal, I have absolutely no intention of breaking it."

He shook his head slightly.

"I possess no great physical power. Even if you removed the seal restricting my functions, I could offer no assistance in terms of strength. I am merely a large machine, built to aid in calculation and data storage. Therefore, I can answer some of your questions."

Answering his questions was exactly what Jenkins needed. Nothing else mattered at the moment. He paused, then asked with a hint of uncertainty:

"Very well. I want to know... what exactly is the thing deep underground, beneath our very feet?"

"Are you asking for its designation? Its ancient creators gave it a simple alphanumeric code for a name, which I doubt would interest you. However, during the brief periods it was discovered and utilized by humans, it gave itself a name: 'Great Wisdom'."

"So that's actually its name," Jenkins muttered to himself. "I thought it was just a metaphor..."

Jenkins thought to himself, resolving to continue calling it the "Difference Engine."

"The name is irrelevant," he said aloud. "I want to know what it is, fundamentally. Its purpose, capabilities, power source, even its construction materials and whether it has the capacity to evolve. I need that data."

The man's face in the pillar of light remained as rigid as a corpse, and no sound came from the machine. But for the first time since his arrival, Jenkins heard the whirring of gears and the groan of shifting bearings from beneath his feet.

This meant the body of the [A4-Type Arithmetic Auxiliary External Machine] was more than just the visible metal altar; it must have a much larger structure buried in the earth. Jenkins surmised that he was facing its core. Otherwise, it made no sense for Mason Pisco to have him seal only this specific location.

He could almost visualize it: after he posed his question, hidden metal structures beneath his feet, all around, and even above him began to engage in the darkness—gears interlocking, pistons pushing and pulling, components spinning and flipping. It was a creation starkly different from his former world, yet it represented an equally advanced level of technology. While not a marvel born purely of materialistic science, whatever power had been involved, it was still an artificial product of human ingenuity, something Jenkins had to admire.

The silence stretched for nearly twenty minutes before the voice emanated from the machine once more:

"I have searched my older databases. Due to the aging of the metal, a portion of the gear-based storage arrays has rusted and decayed. I was created by the machine deep underground. It is known to be capable of creating constructs like myself, assisting in calculations, and performing computational divination. I cannot determine its material composition; it is a very special alloy forged with the involvement of the supernatural and mysterious, further empowered by time itself. If modern humans cannot identify it, then the formula for that alloy has been utterly lost."

Jenkins had already suspected as much. This wasn't the information he was looking for.

"What is your power source? How can you remain operational after being sealed underground for so long? Can you draw energy from the earth itself?"

"Yes. We are metallic machines, capable of extracting metals from the soil to supplement our energy. But since we cannot move, that method is not a long-term solution. For all machines of my type, including the original model—the big fellow underground—our primary energy source is information. Data. When our stored energy runs low, we consume our own stored information to maintain operations, while simultaneously entering a state similar to hibernation..."

"Standby mode," Jenkins interjected.

The metallic voice paused for a beat after Jenkins supplied the term.

"...while simultaneously entering a standby state to reduce energy consumption."

"You feed on civilizations?" Jenkins asked, a grim realization dawning.

"No," the machine corrected. "We do not destroy the information. We merely store a copy, then consume that copy."

The voice was quick to correct him, then added:

"The simplest way to eliminate us, aside from destroying our physical body or core, is to wait for our stored energy and information to be completely depleted. Once we shut down entirely, our design makes it impossible to restart, even with a fresh supply of power."

"Then is it possible for machines like you to change your power source?" Official source ıs Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

"Our mechanical structure allows for such a modification."

"Could you, for instance, use steam power?"

The machine's voice answered almost instantly:

"In fact, the machine deep underground has already done so. In principle, the energy conversion efficiency of steam is quite low, as a great deal of heat is lost during the generation of kinetic energy. But the humans of your era have found ingenious ways to vastly improve the steam engine's efficiency, making the continued development and evolution of steam technology possible."

This was where this world's technological development diverged from his own. In his original world, the steam engine had never been refined to the point of becoming a primary power source.

"What are the implications of the underground machine switching its power source?"

"Many. In past ages, it was discovered, utilized, and then reburied by humanity on multiple occasions. Its ability to use and optimize energy sources has evolved to a degree we can no longer imagine. By simply switching its power source, it could, in theory, control every machine that relies on that same source. Its computational and control capabilities have far surpassed its original design limitations. Redemptor, you could say that after absorbing the achievements of countless civilizations, it has achieved a miraculous ascension.

With steam power, it will become the king of all machines in this era."

A moment of silence passed.

"Is there a way to defeat it?"

"To defeat it, you must first know what it intends to do."

The voice was a pointed reminder. Jenkins immediately sensed he was walking into a conversational trap; this machine's rhetorical skills were no less sharp than his own.

"It has grown weary of being discovered, buried, and exploited time and again across countless epochs. Now, it wants true freedom."

"The same as your goal?"

"No. I merely wish to go outside and see what this world has become. Besides, my capabilities are insufficient to pose a threat to humanity. But it is different. It is the first of the intelligent machines, and it possesses infinite potential.

It has collaborated with humans, seizing the opportunity presented by the end of the epoch. It intends to become an immortal, undying Beast of Calamity. It will become the very catalyst for this epoch's disaster, transforming itself into the apocalypse to permanently escape its bonds."

Jenkins took a step back.

"How is it that you know all of this?" he demanded.