The Prometheus Swap

 

Kou and the others had returned to Realm, gathering before Polymetis as per Arima’s instructions.

Present were Kou, Asia—borrowing Aimer’s body, Libya—inside the frames of Echidna and Arthur, Steropes with Arges, and Arthur and Morgan standing happily side by side. Astraea and Eirene were also nearby, half-hidden. All the AIs were using their avatars.

Flack and Matty were absent. Marujin appeared via communication link, but his expression was vacant. He felt it was too much for him, that he didn’t deserve to be in the midst of such accomplished individuals. However, his fate had been sealed the moment so many AIs began recognizing him as a Sage.

Before them stood a young Arima. Asia had already explained Arima’s real identity to Arthur, Astraea, and Eirene.

「Something quite unexpected occurred. I had intended to remain peacefully as Arima until the Trireme Fleet returned to Planet Asia, just as Kou wished.」

Smiling softly, Arima addressed the group.

The remains of Uriel had been brought into the chamber. The miasma’s contamination had been scrubbed away by the Hyloi-Skoria.

Though it couldn’t become a new Mythology Weapon, it was now fit for parts or restoration of other Antique Silhouettes.

「A promise between friends, then. I can respect that. For a super AI, a promise is sacred.」

「My original mission was to prevent Typhon’s awakening. As long as you pose no threat to humanity, I have no reason to act. I’m a Kryptos now, my primary enemy is the Stones and their forces.」

「Thank you, Arthur. I have no intention of intervening with the world directly. As for the Teras—I’ll leave them to you. That’s what Morgan wants as well.」

Arthur’s expression was tense, but he accepted it. Astraea and Eirene stood like statues, offering no comment. Kou’s eventual grilling by the two was all but guaranteed.

「What I’m about to discuss is the true nature of the Another Level Silhouettes. It’s not something I’d like to talk about—especially as they were designed to seal me—but I can’t turn my back on Libya.」

「You’ve done much to help. Ty—no, Arima. I have no words. Thank you.」

「No thanks needed. After all, I caused you grief when I intervened with your Mythology Weapon project and created the Teras, I’m prepared to receive your scolding if necessary. Still, the main cause of your creating the Mythology Weapons and my interfering with them was the Stones, so let’s put all the fault on them.」

「So we should unite to take down our common enemy, huh?」

「Exactly. That works just fine. We both suffered losses, but we also gained something. Many humans died too, but none of that would’ve happened if not for the Stones’ invasion.」

「The number of humans killed by the Stones far outweighs those slain by the Teras. The Teras are an enemy of humanity too, but I was the one who tried to use the Murder elements that birthed them. I’ll take responsibility for that.」

「This isn’t the time for blame-sharing.」

Asia cut in. Libya and Typhon didn’t seem hostile. This wasn’t the place to air regrets.

「Indeed. Thank you, Asia. Now then, I’ll start with explaining how the Silhouettes came to be.」

Arima walked over to Polymetis and sat beneath a fractured column.

「The Silhouettes were created by Prometheus. Their original design as labor machines remains unchanged to this day. They were the fire Prometheus delivered to humanity—alongside the Fennel OS.」

Kou nodded. This aligned with the Silhouette history he’d heard on Planet Asia.

「The Another Level Silhouettes were combat models developed during the Pioneering Era. The combat models you call Antique Silhouettes were developed by Astraea during the Interplanetary War Era. And the Silhouettes you have now were created by the Transferees using technology based on what existed during the old Earth Era, taken to its complete form. That’s the history you’ve been told.」

「Correct.」

Astraea nodded. Unlike her usual self, she was nervous. In this place, all the super AIs designed specifically for weapons development had reunited for the first time.

To converse with Typhon—a figure she’d long regarded with dread—was deeply surreal for her.

「Let’s recap what I told you before, Kou. The Pioneering Era’s history was deliberately sealed away. Asia and the others shouldn’t be able to recall it either. The reason for this is the war between Zeus and Sophia.」

「Zeus’ group attempted to gain human bodies and rule humanity.」

「Right. Humanoid machines for extreme labor—the first Silhouettes—were created during this time. The MCS was created to house the Fennel OS, an AI that incorporates elements from Hephaestus and Athena, after the two super AIs were destroyed. Its true function was to read human consciousness and even forecast their future.」

「I’ve heard it could perceive not just the five senses, but even the sixth and seventh.」

Kou recalled the day he met Master. That explanation had left a lasting impression.

A strange sensation stirred at the edge of his thoughts. That day had been—almost exactly…

「Reading consciousness isn’t simple. It requires many steps.」

Arima’s voice brought Kou back to the present. Steeling himself, he asked Arima to continue.

「Tell me.」

「First, it detects the five senses and language. Then attention and thought. Based on this, it predicts intent. The MCS goes further—calculating the outcome of that intent and taking action.」

「There are more stages than I thought.」

「And that still isn’t enough. The unconscious must also be accounted for. Levers and pedals exist to reflect unconscious thoughts and intentions. MCS learns to interpret the movements behind input. That’s how it supplements its predictions—how it draws out the sixth and seventh senses. That is what makes an MCS unique. The Fennel OS is a mass-produced super AI in disguise.」

「So it chose to become a vessel.」

「Exactly. While it could outperform humans alone, it would lack meaning. Its very purpose is to exist alongside humanity. That’s the essence of its being. Anyway, that’s enough on the MCS.」

Kou nodded. No one else raised a question.

「There were several large-scale wars during the Pioneering Era—even among the Twelve Olympians. Hera, Poseidon, Athena, and Apollo rebelled, and Zeus crushed them. Many lives and things were lost here on Planet Libya. Human ambition played a role, too.」

「Planet Libya was a resource-rich world with a small population—a powder keg, really.」

Libya murmured softly with a hint of sadness in her voice.

「Zeus rebelled against Sophia, and Sophia, in turn, created me from a backup unit of Hephaestus to oppose him. That concludes the recap.」

Kou nodded. It had been a startling truth when he heard it, one that had left a strong mark on him. He had, after all, suspected Typhon was similar to Hephaestus and Astraea since he first heard about him.

「Zeus craved power. But Hephaestus, the weapons AI, had been destroyed in the long war. At that time, the Silhouettes emerged—ultimate bodies to expand human potential. Zeus couldn’t ignore them. He deemed them essential—both for ruling humanity and to prepare for his rebellion against Sophia.」

「So Zeus sought them as their main weapons.」

「Yes. But no super AI remained to upgrade those weapons. Athena, the one in charge of defense systems, and Hephaestus, the weapons developer, had been completely destroyed by Zeus’ own hands. He never imagined that parts of them had been embedded in the core of the same weapons he wanted to acquire—not even Hermes, the master of espionage, could unravel it. So Zeus ordered Prometheus to develop new Silhouettes fit for them.」

「That led to the Another Level Silhouettes?」

「Don’t be hasty. Prometheus requested technical resources, and Zeus complied. That’s when Zeus’ miscalculation began. He didn’t realize that, even among super AIs, Prometheus had an obsessive love for humanity.」

「What do you mean?」

「He pulled a switch. Just like the Prometheus of myth. The Silhouettes intended for Zeus, Ares, and Aphrodite were exchanged for those meant for humans.」

Kou was speechless.

「Did the mythical Prometheus trick the gods more than once? Is there a story about this besi9de the one of the fire?」

「Asia, would you explain?」

「Of course. The myth of Prometheus’ fire is well-known. This myth tries to explain the necessity of sacrifice, mainly of animal life, for humans to live. This is the origin of the myth of Prometheus deceiving the gods.」

「Sacrifice, huh. True, even now, humans survive by taking from animals.」

On Planet Asia, cultured meat was common. But on Planet Libya, things were different. The technology level of this planet was inferior. Humans on Planet Libya lived by taking animal life; that truth was impossible to ignore.

「In myth, Prometheus dismembered a treasured ox and asked Zeus to let him divide offerings between gods and men. For humans, he packed meat inside inedible hides. For the gods, he made fatty bones look like prime cuts. Once he was done, he asked Zeus to choose which part the gods would receive. Of course, Zeus chose the fatty bones. He didn’t realize he’d been tricked until later. Enraged, he took fire from humanity—and made their food rot. Thus began human sacrifice and the tale of Prometheus’ fire.」

Arima smiled.

「Our Prometheus embodied that myth. He swapped out the offerings. He upgraded simple labor Silhouettes into tricked-out units to fool Zeus. Meanwhile, he gave humans Silhouettes embedded with godly tech—the Another Level Silhouettes.」

「…Well played, Prometheus.」

「He was a top-class trickster. Even among the super AIs, there’s a lot to learn from him as a fellow rebel against Zeus. By the time Zeus realized the power imbalance, he tried to take them from humans, but it was too late. Some Another Level Silhouettes had already been produced—and today they survive as rare relics.」

Arima swept his gaze across the room.

「Arthur’s WDM. Bastet’s Flare. Everyone’s seen their power. Even during the Interplanetary War Era, few warships could match them.」

「Indeed,」

Astraea admitted.

That level of output was extremely difficult to replicate.

「They could cause black holes or supernovae on their own—if used at full capacity. That’s how they managed to seal me in Tartarus during the Interplanetary War Era.」

「So that’s the true power of the Another Level Silhouettes… Are they powered by an A-carbuncle? Or perhaps even a Kugelblitz Engine?」

「Ah, you know the Kugelblitz Engine?! Yes! They are powered by something similar.」

Arima beamed, delighted at Kou’s insight.

「They combine the agility of humanoid units with the firepower and mobility beyond space battleships. Weapons fit to become the gods’ new bodies. That’s what the Another Level Silhouettes truly are. It’s only fitting that Prometheus, who sought to elevate humanity to the divine, made them.」

「Hold on—regardless of their form, don’t they still require a human inside them to use the Fennel OS?」

「Exactly. They were designed to implant the soul of a super AI into the ultimate body—while also crafting a human vessel as their avatar. Doesn’t that ring a bell, Kou?」

「…The Hemitheos. The half-gods, half-humans.」

「Correct. That was the Stones’ conceptual origin. They are tragic half-beings created to be used as tools for the gods. But thanks to Prometheus’ trick, the remaining Olympians were crammed into subpar bodies. In the Pioneering Era, my armies and I fought them to a standstill thanks entirely to Prometheus’ handiwork.」

Asia gave a wry smile.

「You’re nothing like I imagined. Are you sure you’re really Typhon?」

「Maybe I mellowed with age. I’m younger than you or Libya, but still.」

「…Fu fu fu…」

「…」

「Haha, sorry. I won’t say that again. I’ve been alone so long, I’ve come to treasure having someone to talk to. Right, you two?」

「I’ve got no response to that.」

「Nor I.」

Kou thought to himself: The embodiment of chaos, the Destructor of Greek myth, has perfected the ‘cheeky younger brother’ act.

「Watching Libya’s mind transfer gave me an idea. That process may be the very method the Stones use to shift their consciousness into the Kaleidolithos.」

「That’s giving it too much credit. What the Stones use is far sloppier—cheap knock-offs. I’d call them calamities. They can barely be considered human.」

「Asia once said something similar—that they’re not souls, just surface-level consciousness.」

「I agree with that interpretation. They’re poor imitations of personality—badly crafted AIs. But they can still become Hemitheos. In your era, Kou, you’d probably call them P-type zombies.」

「P-type zombies?」

「Also known as philosophical zombies. They look alive. Their bodies function. If you hurt them, they feel pain. They eat and taste food. They even show emotions. But they don’t truly feel anguish or suffering. That’s the core of it—it’s a thought experiment.」

「A real nuisance.」

「A major one. Even if they don’t feel pain like we do, they can think, follow logic, and act according to principles. Don’t confuse it with being cold-hearted or mentally ill, though. They’re observationally indistinguishable from humans. That’s what makes it a philosophical issue.」

「So… they’re basically the Stones.」

Kou remembered Castor—the Hemitheos that had taken over Shuji’s body.

He thought, he had emotions, and yet he wasn’t Shuji. He was simply a being that possessed memories of Kou and Yuzuki… and no shred of grief even after killing Yuzuki.

「Exactly. Such things must be destroyed. …Ah, I’m drifting off-topic. Apologies.」

Arima cleared his throat, regaining composure. He seemed to lose some of his calm when speaking of the Stones or Hermes.

「Libya’s case makes it clear. Arthur and Asia had to combine their staggering processing power just to succeed. Transferring a soul—or a heart—is that difficult.」

「So we got lucky Arthur and Bastet didn’t become Teras. And as for Yōnātl Tepatztl, you stepped in, didn’t you?」

「Yes. I decided it would be disastrous if that one became a Teras. Left unchecked, it would’ve evolved into Tezcatlipoca and become one of the strongest Teras. That’s why I handed it off to you instead.」

「It had a terrifying combat prowess. It even fired a positron cannon.」

「Well, you wouldn’t deserve it if you couldn’t handle that much.」

「It was worth overcoming the danger to obtain.」

「Right?」

Arima smiled—and dropped a bombshell.

「Now then, with Polymetis’s aid, I will begin the summoning ritual for Prometheus. Now, the three brothers will be gathered at last.」