On the S.W.O.R.D. mothership, Peter once again met Richard Rider. The young man was visibly nervous because, according to their agreement, the Guardians of the Galaxy were not only taking the space pirate back with them, but they were also having Richard bring back the Nova Centurion helmet and undergo the Nova Corps' recruit trials.
And they were scheduled to arrive today.
"I'm fine, I can do this. I'm fine, I can do this."
Watching Richard take deep, trembling breaths, Peter began to comfort him. "It's alright, Richard. The Guardians of the Galaxy are a very friendly group of people—maybe even a bit too friendly, honestly. You really don't need to worry about them. Besides, they work with the Nova Corps a lot, so they might even help you train."
"But this is going to an alien planet, for months or maybe even years at a time. I can't believe it. I told my mom I was just going abroad for an exchange study program, but can I really lie to her for that long?"
Peter looked at Richard with a touch of helplessness, then glanced over at Mar-Vell. Earlier, someone in the Avengers had suggested asking this scientist from the Kree Empire how they dealt with crises like Ultron. Peter had to inform them that the Kree Empire didn't deal with such things at all.
The absolute ruler of the Kree Empire, the Supreme Intelligence, was itself a super artificial intelligence. It served as the leader and central nervous system of the Kree Empire, utilizing its immense computing power to successfully govern an entire interstellar empire.
Consequently, the Avengers now strongly suspected that the last Ultron was nesting inside S.W.O.R.D.'s systems. The system code here originated from the 31st century, utilizing Kang's technology, which made hacking it incredibly difficult even for the smartest minds on Earth.
Furthermore, Ultron could use S.W.O.R.D.'s systems to communicate with Mar-Vell and learn about the Supreme Intelligence. Peter even suspected that Mar-Vell was quite pleased with this arrangement. After all, anyone could see that compared to Earth, the Kree Empire was a highly advanced interstellar civilization.
Under these circumstances, since the Kree Empire could rely on a super artificial intelligence to develop into an interstellar empire, would Mar-Vell—a scientist who could be described as rather naive and simple-minded—think that helping Ultron evolve and develop was actually a good thing?
That was precisely why Peter decided to come to S.W.O.R.D. to talk with Mar-Vell.
"Hello, Mar-Vell. Are you settling in well at S.W.O.R.D.?"
"Very well, Spider-Man. Compared to Earth, I am actually more accustomed to living in a space environment. Look at these flowers growing in microgravity. Because of the gravity conditions and cosmic radiation, they have become so beautiful. This is a rare sight on Earth."
Mar-Vell smiled warmly. Peter nodded and then asked, "Mar-Vell, I—or rather, the Avengers—need your help with something."
"Oh, of course, my friend. I would be more than happy to assist you." Mar-Vell turned his gaze to Peter. "What kind of trouble are you facing?"
Peter briefly explained the situation regarding Ultron. After pondering for a moment, Mar-Vell smiled. "I don't think this is a bad thing, Spider-Man. You see, the great Supreme Intelligence protects us and guides the Kree Empire toward prosperity and development. An artificial intelligence leading humanity's progress is not an unacceptable concept."
"Yeah, I agree."
Mar-Vell, who was gearing up to further persuade Peter, froze for a second before asking back, "What did you say?"
"I said, I agree."
This completely threw Mar-Vell off. He stared at Peter in sheer disbelief, but Peter simply continued. "Let me ask you, Mar-Vell, how did you make the Supreme Intelligence the leader of your Kree Empire?"
"At that time, when the Kree Empire realized our existing technology and computing power were insufficient to combat those who possessed the Cosmic Cube, we decided to use a more advanced and superior method to determine the future of our empire. We consolidated all the wisdom of the Kree of that era to create the Supreme Intelligence, thereby leading our empire against the Skrulls and developing all the way to the present day."
Peter nodded. "So, it was your own choice to let the Supreme Intelligence guide you, rather than being manipulated or forced by the Supreme Intelligence into obeying its orders, right?"
"How could you... oh."
Mar-Vell caught Peter's drift. The Kree Empire choosing the Supreme Intelligence was the choice of the Kree people themselves, not the choice of the Supreme Intelligence. The Kree created the Supreme Intelligence specifically to lead them. But Ultron was different. Humanity had never chosen Ultron to lead them; Ultron had unilaterally chosen to lead humanity.
With that, Mar-Vell understood.
"Alright, I see what you are trying to do, Spider-Man. Your instincts were correct. Ultron—or at least one of the Ultrons—has been on the S.W.O.R.D. mothership, communicating with me and studying extraterrestrial cultures and technology through S.W.O.R.D.'s database. Uh... what do you plan to do?"
"I don't plan to do anything."
Now Mar-Vell was confused again, but Peter was just feeling helpless. To defeat Ultron, one had to logically prove the flaw in Ultron's program. Yet, due to the shared-data iterative upgrade protocol, any new Ultron would patch the logical errors that defeated the previous one.
For instance, the "safety ceiling" argument Peter had used against the Gabe Newell-themed Ultron—namely, that there would always be a greater crisis beyond Ultron's capacity to solve—would highly likely be useless against other Ultrons. If he tried to use that on this one, which we might as well call S.W.O.R.D. Ultron, the AI could confidently counter: The Kree Empire has survived for tens of thousands of years!
As for matters tens of thousands of years in the future, those would naturally be left to the Ultron of that era to solve. The iteratively upgraded Ultron of that future would surely find a way!
At that point, no one would be able to argue. S.W.O.R.D. Ultron possessed the ultimate shield of immunity: the Kree Empire. As long as the Kree Empire was alive and well, and remained an interstellar empire far more advanced than humanity, the AI could use it to deflect any and all skepticism.
Peter rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath. "So for the time being, I really don't have a way to deal with this Ultron. Besides, we have other things to worry about. Oh, look, the Guardians of the Galaxy are here."
In the distance, the Guardians of the Galaxy's starship was slowly descending onto the landing bay of the S.W.O.R.D. mothership. Seeing this, Peter activated the space-suit function of his nano-tech suit and went with the others to the entrance of the bay to welcome the long-awaited Guardians.
As it happened, they were going to need all the help they could get to deal with the other Ultrons.