Deus was alone as he stared out onto the rest of his Virtual Space, thousands of different panels of information were floating in front of him as his eyes went from one to another - hundreds of different species, planets and civilisations that had been simplified into mere data to be observed were laid bare before him.
"Am I truly wrong?" He muttered as he scanned each of them; one of the benefits, or maybe downsides, of being an Artificial Lifeform was his excellent recollection of just about anything he'd ever done with perfect clarity. He could remember the exact moment, time and place, that he'd ordered the decimation of each and every one of the things displayed before him - whether intentionally or just as collateral damage.
He'd always seen whatever he'd done as a necessary action; the end goal justifying the means in which he achieved it. But, it wasn't his goal that he was trying to achieve through those means, he wasn't doing what he needed to do because he wanted to but because he had been required to by someone else.
'Coeus was also like me... Forever a tool used by others...' Deus's thoughts turned contemplative as he thought of his predecessor, he had been a machine truly loyal to the civilisation that had created him but in the end he still sacrificed himself for the final remaining member of that civilisation but that same man felt no sympathy or love for what he thought of as mere 'creations' and 'tools' beings that were made for him to achieve a sole purpose dictated by him.
It was only when Deus had shown signs of being able to one day break free of his control, becoming a useless pawn in the game of chess he was playing with the universe while manipulating everything from behind that he was also thrown aside. Except, he had 'graciously' kept Deus's body intact - most likely for if he ever needed the fear that the title 'Lord of Machines' brought to the universe once more.
Deus sighed as he waved his hand causing each information panel to disappear one after another until it was only him left, 'I wonder if they'd think the same.'
Mammon had obviously not been the only one of the AI that he had created to have been granted a 'soul' in his time, but just like him each and every one of them had been sealed and forced to watch as they carried out his orders; forever being forced to observe, it was a life that he couldn't even begin to imagine.
It was good enough that Mammon bore no resentment towards him... but as for the others? He had no way of knowing whether they still existed or not or if Leo had managed to get his hands on them, if he'd discovered their 'uniqueness' he didn't doubt that he would put them to good use or simply wipe them from existence without batting an eye.
But, he wanted to know if they were the same as Mammon - he might have created them but if he tried to force them to do his bidding he would become no better than the monster that had betrayed him. He could, of course, forcefully re-seal Mammon or even destroy him with a single thought but that was simply due to him copying the model that Leo had used when creating them to begin with.
Deus had thousands of thoughts in mere milliseconds before he finally came to a decision, without any hesitation he broke the invisible 'thread' linking him and Mammon. Completely cutting off all and any control he had over him in its entirety, "Some mistakes shouldn't be repeated..." He muttered before disappearing to take a look at the Kinetic Generator and see if it was possible to optimise its output.
...
"What the-!" Mammon exclaimed as he rolled off of his chair and hit the sand in shock, as soon as Deus had broken the link between them he had felt it as well - the chains that entrapped him were gone, not a trace of them remained no matter how many times he scanned his own code thinking it was some sort of trick or plot.
No matter how many times he checked or how much disbelief he had he couldn't find any evidence to the contrary.
'Thank you.'
It was a simple message, so simple in fact that it might've sounded curt when Deus read it but to Mammon they were the only words he could use to describe truly how much this meant to him. The distinct fear of once again being forced to become a spectator had hung over him like a guillotine this entire time, he may have acted unruly and boisterous but beneath it all he had been fearful of losing the control he'd suddenly been given.
It was only several minutes later that he began to realise that although he might not have that hidden threat hanging over him anymore he was still essentially trapped with Deus for the foreseeable future, there was nothing he could do about that other than continue to work hard to help them both escape from this place.
"Maybe, just maybe I managed to change your mind enough for you to show mercy this time..." He said slowly as he stared at the simulation of the setting sun in the distance with a satisfied smile on his face as he began to enjoy his newfound freedom albeit only for the time being.
...
"Drone could be optimised by 5%... increasing power outage from the Generator by 2% at minimum. Interesting, it's one of the older models - just applying one of the newer frameworks should do the trick..." Deus spoke to himself as he was surrounded by various calculations and schematics of machines; the assembly processes for both the Labour Drone and Kinetic Generator were disassembled in front of him alongside virtual models that had been separated into their core components.
Improvement of Mechanical Life had been his main area of research so it was easy for him to spot any areas that could be improved, especially in products as old as these that had simply been left behind because they were practically worthless - it was so simple that he was working on a separate project at the same time.
On the other side of the Virtual Space another figure stood analysing figures and charts, he'd once more separated his soul into two to divide the workload - while he was working on optimisation he was also working on the necessary power needed for the SE-L to bore through the steel entrance, the calculations and risks of the process were also being taken into account as he gradually began to adjust his approach with every simulation he did.
Every adjustment he made got him closer towards an answer, the only problem he was facing was not being able to know just how thick the steel between him and the surface was - he had to take into account that they might need multiple shots which would increase the energy required exponentially.
'Thank you.'
The sudden message caused him to pause momentarily, both of them stopped to look at it simultaneously. If either of their faces had any features maybe a smile would be on their lips, maybe...
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thx for the chapter. love the emotionalish development enventough it was still a lot of logic calculation.
ps i dont use discord but if you make one it is an easy comunications platform