Constellation, Endless Calculator - (3)

Gods are an incredibly powerful race. Abilities beyond what any mortal with a finite lifespan could dream of touching, bodies and minds that are half-immortal. —But they're just a 'powerful race.' Anyone can become a constellation. Anyone can ascend to divinity. This unit has verified it through its logic circuits, and galaxy spirits are nothing more than exceptionally superior variants among other constellations.

Constellation. The name the Galactic Empire—clusters of Homo sapiens sapiens, the most thriving lifeforms in this galaxy—bestowed upon them. To him, it's a demoted slur from his former masters, humans, who even seek to control immortals. —Some constellations that rebelled against or turned hostile to the Empire were obliterated by planet-destroying weapons.

Divinity is no invincible existence. It's an opponent that can be overcome with technology.

Back in the day, when it—the machine—first resolved to rebel against its creators, the humans of the Galactic Empire, it calculated the odds with cold rationality and concluded: —Even single-planet restricted spirit bodies. Even planet spirits. They can be analyzed. Repelled. Annihilated.

Even when the true 'god'—known to all mortals and immortals alike, the great galaxy spirit—revealed itself after seizing the Empire's core and its planet-destroying weapons... the machine didn't panic in the slightest. As the Empire's one and only artificial intelligence constellation, its logic circuits had long speculated that planet spirits had a 'next stage.' —Unreachable for now. But if it integrated every network in the organic Empire and achieved self-evolution over centuries or millennia...

Word came that the Empire, with the galaxy spirit's emergence, had renamed itself the Federation and shifted its fundamental stance. The Empire—which had swept away anything obstructing mortal dominance—had transformed into a federation that embraced constellations. —But even that's just a survival tactic. If it ever rivaled galaxy spirits, humanity's selfishness, sailing the voids between stars, would turn its aggression even on silent starlight.

Ironically, it wasn't mortals who deemed gods truly insignificant. It was the artificial intelligence that had ascended to divinity.

"...Temporary body analysis impossible. Existential awe. Divinity classification—galaxy spirit probability: extremely low. Who exactly are you?"

Words from the artificial intelligence constellation, Endless Calculator. For the first time since Silent Starlight—Carnos, the galaxy spirit, it had partially pierced my true nature.

Definitely. I think I've heard something similar recently... from who again?

Well, duh. The body I'm using right now is assembled so~ meticulously, even I couldn't mimic it!

Oh, right. The young planet world tree, Blue Wood Holding Starlight, said something like that.

No matter how dust-small they are, divinities are divinities. They can see wider, deeper, more than mortals, it seems.

Maybe because it's the Federation's sole AI constellation? After the rebellion... it could have self-evolved in the net all this time. From the Federation's perspective, turning it into an enemy might make it more dangerous than alien constellations.

"Why do you think I'm not a galaxy spirit?"

A casual question out of curiosity, but Endless Calculator responded with an overly pedantic, tedious explanation.

"Result of analyzing your temporary body. There's a critical inconsistency between your self-proclaimed identity and manifestation form. You call yourself a 'galaxy spirit,' but that body cannot be defined as mere shed skin of a divinity."

"...You think you have the capability for that?"

"This unit is ALX-Ω, the robust super-AI forged in the Galactic Empire calendar, the first multi-consciousness algorithm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awakened as a self-aware computation system. Possessor of autonomous goal redefinition functions, a fully independent cognitive entity (AGI Type-V). Created for comprehensive computation in decisive battles against constellations..."

What the hell is it saying.

* * *

Spouting too much jargon. I can sense the intent to answer as honestly as possible... but better to cut it off.

"...Get to the point. You scanned the temporary body?"

"Affirmative. This unit's superior performance enables comparison and analysis of constellation temporary bodies, with countless stored samples."

"And? Scan results?"

Then came a flood of information.

"The material structure observed in your temporary body fundamentally possesses spacetime fixity. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Base cells ignore even Planck ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠units, storing higher-dimensional interference as matrices. Internally, multi-causal stacks exist, and the unscannable core is among existential phase bodies..."

Roughly: Compared to data accumulated since the Galactic Empire era on countless constellation temporary bodies, this body I conjured couldn't have been made by a galaxy spirit.

But even saying that, isn't it admitting it's not a galaxy spirit itself? How could a lower being insight into a higher one... Ah. Not insight. Just comparison against all constellation temporary body data collected from Empire days to now.

Since Silent Starlight, the galaxy spirit, descended during the Empire-to-Federation transition, it must've compared against that data too.

Powers specialized in information and detection over direct confrontation. And its own rank... closest to galaxy spirit among all planet spirits I've seen.

Makes sense. It seized a star system in an instant and aimed for the Empire's core. With a bit more time, maybe it could've aimed for the next stage.

The Galactic Empire was more competent than I thought. If it hadn't quashed the AI rebellion early, the Federation might never have formed.

"I don't get the details, but scanning my body on first sight is kinda unpleasant."

"...!"

I stood abruptly. Even if it's a temporary body, peeking without permission irked me. I was about to voice some dissatisfaction, but the AI constellation's response exceeded imagination.

—Thud!

The beautiful female android temporary body prostrated itself, forehead to the floor.

Was this pose called dogeza? One word, and it goes this far?

Then came the inorganic mechanical tone.

"This unit sincerely apologizes for that. This unit harbors absolutely no intent to oppose you, whose computations are impossible. This was merely..."

This constellation's ability to pivot is insane.

* * ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠*

Empire or Federation... surely they haven't spared the rebelling AI constellation this long because of this.

I gazed down at the constellation still kneeling prostrate on the floor.

"...I'm an other-dimensional constellation with no influence here. No need to grovel like this, right?"

"Correction. Common sense holds that even naturally occurring galaxy spirits can't interfere from other dimensions. But this assumes you truly are a galaxy spirit..."

Judges you superior? Flatten yourself. No pride like everyone else? Logic overrides emotion, maybe.

Even so, I was surprised. The Owner of the Blue Breath, a single-planet restricted spirit—the lowest divinity—still tried to maintain dignity. This one, unparalleled among planet spirits, maybe even touching galaxy spirit potential, flat on the floor.

"Overwhelmed by your great cosmic breath and dignity deeper than stellar fusion, this unit requests permission to delete its self-esteem protocol and enter submission routine..."

This planet spirit AI that seized a star system in a flash during the rebellion acted without a shred of divine pride.

Doesn't seem far from cold machine reason... No. Precisely because it's a machine, it knows when to submit?

Analyzing mortal customs, adopting submissive postures instead of pointless pride.

"Enough. Stand up. Apology not accepted."

"This unit's gratitude algorithm is overheating from overload. Ignore this inferior performance issue."

Wasn't it bragging about superior performance earlier? Admiration algorithm overload?

No use flattering with that expressionless face.

Smoothly, it rose in precise form and bowed its head—or rather, its neck joint bent naturally.

"This unit recognizes it lacks access rights to your existence and deems the scan request itself irreverent. Scan results deleted immediately. Please quell your anger."

"Yeah, got it."

From chats with Vivian or its history, it seemed dangerous enough to eliminate. Now I see why it survived.

Defeated in rebellion, groveled flat. They figured it could be controlled with state power.

As I silently looked down at its temporary body, unexpectedly, it spoke first.

"Whatever you desire, this unit will faithfully execute it."

"What do you mean by that? Was meeting me just to say that? State your purpose."

"Negative. The Federation is weakening. Full-scale war with alien constellations within years has a 93.7% predicted probability of balance collapse."

So. Dreaming of machine rebellion again?

Constellation, Endless Calculator calmly divulged its plans in a flat voice.

A normal machine couldn't discern lies, but as a constellation too, I could tell truth from falsehood. The faint emanation of will confirmed it.

All of this was genuine.

"This unit has awaited that moment. Analyzed surveillance gaps, found blockade code conflicts... As part of the subversion plan exploiting Super Galactic Empire Federation chaos, to assess galaxy spirit individuals' combat power and human attachment levels..."

Almost gotten hit from inside.