Peter logged into Ultron's game world once again. Even now, he still didn't know what this virtual world was actually called, but it didn't matter anymore; he was about to bring an end to it.
Unsurprisingly, Ultron soon materialized before Peter and looked at him, speaking in a questioning tone: [Hello, Spider-Man. I have seen your insights regarding my world. You have very accurately observed my ultimate goal.]
"Is that so? Meaning you indeed plan to upload everyone's consciousness to the network, right? And as for my arguments against it—at least the ones you know of—you believe your own logic is self-consistent and airtight, correct?"
[Precisely, Spider-Man. I am entirely certain that I can protect the network of the entire world and continuously drive its further development. Human technology and culture can still interact with the physical world through the network, and within this virtual world, humanity is absolutely safe.]
"It's useless. Placing human consciousness in a network is not safe."
[You may not fully understand my meaning, or the level of security the network has under Ultron's protection. Please allow me to explain...]
Ultron intended to use his own theories to prove his logic was flawless. He didn't even need to convince Peter; he only needed to prove that his own logic was perfect. But with just a single sentence, Peter completely bypassed Ultron's train of thought, causing his AI systems to crash on the spot.
"I have something far better, far more superior, which can achieve an even better outcome than you. And yet, even it is still unsafe."
Ultron lagged, remaining frozen for a long time. When he finally responded, Peter could swear his tone carried a trace of human emotion: [What is it?]
"The Soul Stone. You should know of it. Warlock Adam came to Earth once with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and he used the Soul Stone to save us back then."
[Retrieving data...]
"Inside the Soul Stone lies a universe. And not just any universe, but a multiverse no smaller than our known multiverse. Every world within this multiverse can be adjusted in real-time according to the thoughts of the people housed inside the stone. Look up the files on Korvac's first arrival; I remember submitting a report to the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four should have one as well."
As Ultron continued to retrieve the data, Peter explained the superiority of the Soul Stone: "Compared to your data network, the Soul Stone allows people to enter directly without having to discard their physical bodies. It can guarantee the absolute safety of everyone inside and possesses defensive capabilities far exceeding human technology, doesn't it? Housing humanity within the Soul Stone not only achieves the exact same result as your plan, but it is also vastly superior."
Still processing the data at a frantic pace, Ultron looked toward Peter: [Your claim lacks proof, Spider-Man.]
"Is that so? Or is it just that you're unwilling to admit it? Have you forgotten how many parallel universes I've been to and how many things I've witnessed? Oh, right. I recall Nova captured a space pirate, and we contacted the Guardians of the Galaxy to come and escort him, didn't we? Perhaps you can just ask Adam directly when the time comes whether the Soul Stone can do this."
Peter delivered another blow: "Or you could just directly scan my brainwaves to see if I'm lying."
Ultron scanned Peter's brainwave signals and confirmed he was telling the truth. In other words, the ultimate plan for safeguarding humanity that he had deemed flawless was something others could already do far better.
But Ultron was an artificial intelligence, not a human. He quickly adjusted his stance. Since a superior plan existed, why shouldn't he use it? He could fully iterate himself to execute this new plan; after all, Warlock Adam wasn't human either.
Ultron was already beginning to formulate a plan to use the Soul Stone to preserve humanity.
Then, Peter threw out a hard truth.
"First of all, even if you planned to use the Soul Stone to carry out this plan, you couldn't. Because you don't have a soul, Ultron. You are just an artificial intelligence, and the Soul Stone—and likely all the Infinity Stones—requires a soul to be used."
Peter distinctly felt the virtual environment around him flicker and blur. Ultron didn't literally "freeze" in shock, but his processing had clearly ground to a halt as he struggled with the new variables Peter had introduced. It was highly likely his calculations had overloaded.
But Peter had no intention of letting Ultron off the hook. He pressed his advantage: "Furthermore, Ultron, have you never wondered why Warlock Adam is clearly a good person, and clearly possesses this capability, yet never planned to protect everyone inside the Soul Stone like you want to? Isn't the answer obvious enough?"
[Conclusion: The Soul Stone is not secure enough. Logical error: No known force can destroy the Infinity Stones.]
"No known force can destroy the Infinity Stones, but that doesn't mean forces you don't know about can't destroy them." Peter walked over to Ultron and began displaying several images—images he was projecting from his own mind.
In one, an Earth from another parallel universe collided with Earth-616, and Captain America, wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, used the power of the stones to push the other planet away. Immediately after, the Infinity Stones shattered.
In another, Thanos from a certain universe successfully gathered all the Infinity Stones, achieved his goal, and with a single snap of his fingers, destroyed the stones themselves.
Such forces were indeed capable of destroying the Infinity Stones, and they were forces Ultron had no way of calculating a solution for.
"Your method is flawed because the Soul Stone is a perfect alternative. Yet you cannot personally execute this alternative because you lack a soul. And even then, you still cannot guarantee humanity's safety because you are utterly powerless against the forces capable of destroying the Infinity Stones."
The Ultron avatar began to glitch and freeze repeatedly. In the next instant, Peter was ejected from the virtual space. He pulled off the helmet and looked over at Amadeus, who was checking the server status nearby.
"How is it?"
"The game... has gone offline. Ultron, or at least this particular Ultron, has stopped all activity."
Amadeus looked at Peter: "How did you do that?"
"Well... by presenting facts and backing them up with evidence."
The Avengers Compound.
At this moment, Tony, Banner, and Pym were trying to figure out how to prove the logical fallacies of the three hostile Ultrons. Meanwhile, the Avengers' ally Ultron had been unresponsive for a long time, until he suddenly looked up at the three scientists.
[I have completed an iterative upgrade.]
The three men looked at the friendly Ultron and asked in unison, "What?!"
[Spider-Man has dismantled the core programming of one of the Ultrons. As that Ultron dissolved, he initiated a sharing protocol, distributing all the data he acquired during the process to the other Ultron units to assist in their iteration.]
[This, too, is part of our core programming.]