OBS Chapter 267 Monopoly
Chapter 267 Monopoly
When they saw the blue lines on the Mechanical Sage's body, the Eldar, Howard and the nun were all more or less surprised.
The Mechanical Sage also understood everything from the reactions of Howard and others.
"Battle Sister..."
"The Death Army..."
The mechanical monk named Viclor slowly swept his gaze over Gloria and Mei, finally stopping at Howard.
"And you..."
Howard originally thought that this was going to be another plot of proving his identity, but he didn't expect the Mechanical Sage to skip this step directly.
"What are you seeking?"
Such a straightforward question stumped him for a moment, but the nun took a step forward without hesitation and said loudly:
"The truth! And a reason!"
"I want to know the truth about what happened here and what made you make such a decision. At the same time, I also need a reason for me to forgive your stupid decision so that you don't have to die here today." The nun's voice was loud and imposing.
After the nun finished her demands and threats, the Mechanical Sage did not react but looked at Mei.
The Eldar said nothing, so the Mechanical Sage turned to look at Howard.
When they met, Howard saw clearly that the blue lines on the oil man's body were denser but also finer than those on the aliens.
On the aliens, these blue lines look like their arteries, while on the oil man's body, these lines are more like spider webs or cracks in porcelain enamel.
Howard also thought of his own words, "I just don't want any more innocent lives to die, whether human or Eldar..."
Even the alien ones.
Howard said this in his heart, but he couldn't say his last request out loud.
After listening to the nun and Howard, Vicklor slowly turned around and extended his mechanical hand towards the chip and key placed on the book.
There are also these blue lines on his mechanical hand, but the difference is that these blue lines are more concentrated on his fingertips.
The tips of the oil man's thumb and index finger seemed to have turned into something similar to the crystals on the alien bodies, and the lines became sparser as he looked further back.
A subtle electric current flowed between Vicklor's fingers and fingertips, and the chip and key placed on the book were directly absorbed by the sage and suspended in the palm of his hand.
Then Vicklor walked to the center of the laboratory with the things in his hand and placed the chip and key into the reading device.
The reading device started running and the machine made a fine clicking sound, but the chip was damaged to a certain extent, so the machine needed to repair the chip first.
The oil man also extended a slender robotic arm with an interface from under his robe and connected it to the running device.
Repairing this chip with an unknown degree of damage is a technical job. It is difficult for the ownerless mechanical program to complete this task, and at critical moments, the mechanical sage needs to do it manually.
"What do you think is the value of this planet?"
While repairing the chip, Vicklor asked everyone questions. One of his two mechanical eyes kept flashing, while the other one was still glowing with a faint blue light as at the beginning.
Now the oil man is working in two threads, part of his computing power is invested in repairing the chip, and the other part is used to communicate with others.
"Of course it's the planet's unique mineral—Kalenya metal. If it weren't for this metal with unknown potential, this uncivilized world wouldn't be able to apply for military resources at this level, and my sisters and I wouldn't be here." The nun gave a simple and straightforward answer.
Then the nun continued, "But some recent experiences have made me suspect that this planet is worth far more than this. You haven't reported its true value to the Empire at all. Only a few people know about it, and you are one of them. You know the most."
"A reasonable guess," the Mechanical Sage said emotionlessly, "but what I know is only a small fraction of the facts, but it should be enough to answer some of your questions."
After the Mechanical Sage finished speaking, the sound of a door opening was heard on the other side of the laboratory, and then a mechanical servant walked in front of everyone.
"follow me."
The voice of the Mechanical Sage came out of the voice system of the mechanical servant, but the Mechanical Sage himself lowered his head, and the shadow of the monk's robe covered his entire face.
Out of curiosity, Howard rudely bent down and glanced at the Mechanical Sage's face. Now both of the mechanical eyes of the oil man began to flicker, indicating that the computing power of this body had been fully invested in repairing the chip.
So everyone followed the robot servant, and the robot servant took them to another smaller laboratory. There were no large culture media and production machinery like in the outside laboratories. It was more like a place purely for experimental analysis.
"Do any of you know how metals are formed?"
The Mechanical Sage asked the question through the voice system of the mechanical servant.
"I remember that many metals were originally buried underground in the form of ores mixed with impurities, and needed to be mined and refined before they could be used. However, a few metals were pure from the beginning and could be obtained by simply sorting them out."
The nun was the first to answer. This was a habit she developed when she was in the monastery. During her asceticism and study, she learned knowledge at the second fastest speed among her sisters of the same period.
"The answer is not what was asked."
But the Mechanical Sage mercilessly criticized the Battle Sister's answer.
Although the Battle Sister was indignant after being criticized, she did not retort because she knew that it was useless to argue with such a mechanical brain.
After the nun was criticized, Howard also tried to answer with his shallow knowledge of physics. After all, if he answered wrong, the worst that could happen was that he would be criticized.
"As far as I know, metals are formed when the fundamental composition of matter is altered by the operation of the universe, especially by the extreme environment within massive celestial bodies. In a sense, metals are the ashes left behind after celestial bodies burn."
The Mechanical Sage nodded at this answer: "This answer is not too outrageous."
After the Mechanical Sage responded in the affirmative to Howard's answer, the nun, May, and even Esrick looked at this human in surprise.
Howard understood why they reacted this way, because in this universe, knowledge was rare and dangerous.
Even though we have entered the era of space colonization, the average educational level of humans in this world may not have improved but may have regressed a lot compared to the 3k era when Howard was born.
The knowledge ceiling of this universe is definitely much higher than that of the 3k era, but the level of knowledge popularization is far lower.
For most farmers, workers and lower-class people, it is enough for them to be literate and understand the basic usage of machines to meet their most basic work needs. It is a luxury to want to have a deeper understanding of the principles behind them. After all, a worker or farmer who uses a machine in this universe is probably not as valuable as the machine they use.
In other words, most people in this world can only know the results but not the reasons.
It's like a Warhammer joke: a group of workers thought that what was being produced on their production line was an incense burner filled with incense, but in fact it was a nanorobot maker in the shape of an incense burner.
Even the nobles in this universe mostly received an education that focused on art, religion, history, and, of course, the struggle for power.
For example, Esrick and the nun, if you discuss with them the glorious past of the empire, the glory of the God-Emperor, and the doctrines of the state religion, they might be able to talk to Howard for three days and three nights without repeating themselves.
Or you can discuss poetry, art and wine with them, and they can also talk about a few things.
But if Howard asked them what the Pythagorean theorem was, they would probably be confused.
Those who have mastered the knowledge of science and understand the deeper laws of the operation of matter are almost all members of the Mechanicus.
That is to say, in this human empire, knowledge is monopolized by the Mechanicus.