"Little Lord Szarekh, you have again requested parley with the Asgardian High Council," the chairman said. It seemed to be Odin or Freyr—they all looked alike, though that doesn't speak to my racist nature. In short, with Asgard, whose chest is adorned with the most precious stone.
"I discovered the vault of the Ancients, the repository of their knowledge. A room created from an unknown material, with light and air coming from nowhere, and an inscription in an ancient language: 'We are the Ancients. This is the place of our heritage.'"
The Asgardians exchanged quick glances and spoke in their own language, then turned to me.
"Are you planning to sell us this knowledge again?"
"Absolutely. There's a genetic lock. It requires a person with sufficient Ancient DNA, and as far as I know, such people only exist on Earth. Besides, even if I manage to somehow 'hack' a vault built by a clearly quite intelligent race... the encryption system itself is a completely different matter. Not to mention, I don't know the genetic sequence inherent to the Ancients or their descendants. Instead of trying to hack something that could kill me, it's better to hand it over and at least get some result. Besides, you need this knowledge more, given your problems with the replicators."
"If everything is as you claim, then we'll need a carrier of Ancient DNA. Otherwise, accessing the vault will be impossible."
"Hire someone who will give you access to such a vault. Then you can erase all their memories or not. It's up to you."
"What do you want in return for providing this data?"
"I am well aware of the value of what I give. I need knowledge: first, the addresses of every gate in the galaxy. I'm sure they are in that vault. Second, a program for automatic passage of ships through the gate; knowledge to double the speed of the hyperdrive and shields. Selling me an untraceable communications system for the Goa'uld, for running an Empire made up of scattered enclaves relying only on fragmentary information coming through the gate is tedious. And naquadah reactors capable of operating twice as efficiently as my current ones. In addition, I need three exploratory probes with hyperspace drives, naturally, not Goa'uld ones. You can impose any restrictions on them—for example, self-destruct if you try to examine the internal workings. I need fast exploratory ships for scanning star systems. With Goa'uld hyperdrives, long-range exploration turns into more of a headache than real research. And finally, holographic technology."
"You are asking too much," one of the Advisors objected.
"How many? Yes, the list is long. Is it a lot? For you, it's nothing. Something you developed thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years ago. All the gate addresses? Yes, that would give me a significant advantage, but for you, it's not that important information. Will it affect the balance of power? Perhaps. If I find planets with naquadah outside the Goa'uld's interests, that would give me an advantage. But let's be honest, I've already found planets that haven't been claimed for thousands of years inside systems known to the Goa'uld. And planets with naquadah are useless without workers. It's not how many planets you have, but how many workers you have. Automatic passage of a fast-moving object through the gate? Yes, that's an advantage, considering the Goa'uld never managed to develop a similar program for their threaders. It would give my forces the necessary firepower, although I already have it, albeit in a more primitive manner of deployment. I separate the wings, cockpit, and engines from the craft—all of it rides on one machine, the wings on another. Together, they pass through the gate, after which the soldiers attach the wings to the main body. This takes eight minutes. The automatic gate entry program will speed up deployment from eight minutes to three seconds. 160 times faster. But I'm not a stupid Goa'uld, and I assume you've realized this. If I take the time, I can develop a similar program. In ten years, through joint research with the Tok'ra, we can write the necessary program and create the necessary technology. By not providing me with this technology, you're slowing me down by only ten measly years. For you and for me, that's a mere moment. And in strategic planning, it's insignificant. Communications? It will be easier for you to control me with an obvious "back door" into the communications system, and the efficiency of my bureaucracy will increase tenfold. Shields, a hyperdrive, and naquadah reactors. So, the Huttak hyperdrive speed is 0.001 light-years per second. Increasing it to 0.002 light-years per second won't change much, especially at your speeds. Exploration probes with hyperdrives also have little impact on the balance of power—no matter what I find, I'll still face logistical problems. And finally, holographic technology. It's a civilian technology with little military potential, potentially harmless. Instead, you guarantee that you're gaining Ancient knowledge, and most importantly, you guarantee that the Goa'uld don't get it. Let's be honest, I can bypass all the restrictions, I can even find a human with Ancient genes and convince them to unlock the vault. Yes, this will undoubtedly require a tremendous amount of time, effort, and even more endless time to decipher this knowledge. But it is the knowledge of the Ancients, the most advanced race in this galaxy."
I paused to let them consider the volume of data we were talking about.
"The exchange is unequal for me. But it's beneficial for both of us. By the way, if you're being really cheeky, you could make me a device. I have the general theory, but I lack the technological prowess. Don't worry, it's not anything incredibly high-tech. Essentially, I need an antigravity jump pack. You don't need me to explain how gliders work. The goal of my research was to create some kind of antigravity engine for infantry units. The problem arose with miniaturizing such a device. It's worth clarifying: I don't need a pack that can launch me into space at a couple of million miles per hour with a fairly compact inertial dampener. Ten kilometers in altitude and 320-400 kilometers per hour horizontally. Also with the ability to recharge with liquid naquadah. And let me clarify: I'm already developing a similar project, so you'll save me ten years. Earthlings are already experimenting with something similar, but they're using turbojet engines, not antigravity ones. True, they're failing, but they'll succeed in 70-80 years."
Jump packs were humanity's dream. When I died, the British apparently successfully tested similar packs, and they reached the speeds I requested. The only problem was fuel: the flight time was 12 minutes. Considering the Jaffa's poor air defenses, such jetpacks would suffice, but they would be incredibly cumbersome. Also, I'm not very good with turbojet engines; I have someone who understands them better—Porsche. But we have an agreement: I don't ask him for anything military, and he uses all his intelligence for civilian purposes.
The Asgardians began to whisper again.
"This is all?"
"No, the latter. I need a weapon, a personal weapon, one that conveys status but is also practical." I showed him the sketch. It was a staff, with a four-sided spike at one end. The tip ended in two blades, and below the weapon itself were two perpendicular protrusions. My crest was carved into it. "This type of energy weapon should replicate the staff in its functionality, but be superior in several respects. In single-fire mode, it should be capable of penetrating several millimeters of trinium or naquadah from a distance of up to 300 meters, with the reload time between shots no more than half a second. In burst mode, the range can be reduced to 70 meters, but the bursts should be at least 5-6 shots per second." My mastery of force fields isn't as great as yours, so for a melee weapon, I require the sharp ends of my staff to be coated in a force field with molecularly sharpened "edges." I've created a weapon from the ribbon device responsible for repelling enemies. I'll pass on all the data on it; similar technology should be included in the list. Naturally, the weapon must be tuned exclusively to me and have built-in hologram emitters. Oh, and some kind of stun weapon, of course; I can't always go around shooting everyone with combat gear. I'm mostly a peaceful person."
"Peaceful?" It seemed one of Asgard's High Councilors couldn't contain himself. "This weapon should have three or four types of armament, not to mention additional devices."
"It's just an infantry weapon; more Jaffa will die when they engage me in close combat. A regular glide bomb with high explosives kills more. It's a status symbol and a close-combat weapon. It's also a bit of a propaganda tool for the 'god' image. And yes, I childishly wanted just such a toy for myself. It would be a big problem if I learned to manufacture one myself and equipped all my troops with it, but we all know that some technologies are far beyond my understanding."
"We will discuss and report back, Lesser Lord Szarekh." I nodded to them. Then the broadcast ended.
I'd given them everything I had, all my plans for the weapon I desired, and now all that remained was to wait for their response. Was what I'd asked for enough? What else could I ask for? Beleskiner? It's not even funny. Asking for something that will actually benefit me is the best option. The addresses of all the gates will open the way to worlds accessible only to a select few. Untraceable communications and a hologram will allow me to rule the state from the shadows. Strengthening hyperdrives, shields, and generators isn't a colossal leap, but for my purposes, it's priceless. And the threader program—that's a whole new level. In a minute, the other side can deploy two of my squadrons, ready to strike at their scouted targets. And all the other Goa'uld will think that unseen Jaffa masters have appeared among the enemy ranks. The weapon itself? It's just a toy. Of course, it's incredibly powerful, deadly, but it's just a toy. I added it to the list so that, if necessary, the dispute will focus on it. That way, I can give it up. I don't know if this tactic will work on the Asgard, but we'll give it a try. Meanwhile, along the way, I managed to discover several planets that caught my attention. First of all, the planet with the Touchstone, the planet where, apparently, those bugs originated, and several other worlds. The planet ruled by the tyrant who seized control of the naquadah province will have to be subjugated. Isara will be displeased—seizing worlds always entails trouble, and I'll have to talk to her before acting. I'll keep the planet with the Touchstone for trading. They haven't done anything bad to me, and it would be fair to show them some respect. Theoretically, this planet could be turned into an agri-world. The Warhammer term "every world has its own specialty" isn't the most sensible approach, in my opinion, especially when the means of travel is the unreliable Warp. A skilled analyst with access to the Administratum can identify worlds critical to entire sectors and strike. Better, in my opinion, is diversification, where you eat what you grow yourself. Although, come to think of it, if these people have ideal weather for farming, why not? I'll bring in all the heat-loving fruits I can and organize production.
By the way, out of respect, I won't be bringing the Jaffa with me. They do train, though, and rightly so—more training for the god of training. Wait, I declared myself the god of magic and wisdom. I hope the Jaffa don't misrepresent my title; that would be quite awkward.
Will I really be able to hack this arsenal? Yes, I can. But it will cost someone their life. With the necessary powers under control, I can begin collecting blood. For example, for the troops stationed in Korea, they will donate it voluntarily, after which the samples will be analyzed, and the rest will be sent to the people. The descendants of the Ancients must have an anomaly, and it can be found. O'Neill was born in '52, which means in two years he will be living somewhere in Chicago or Minnesota. Of course, he must have parents who passed on the necessary genetic markers. It won't be that hard to find them, since they are Irish, and in Minnesota, they only make up 10%. True, that's 10% of 2.5 million. 250,000 Irish is a long way, but it can be found, for example, through real estate purchases or similar means. Taking genetic samples and growing a clone or a brother (using IVF), accelerating the process with nanites, won't be difficult. And then lead him to this machine. Does this smack of unethical experiments, a waste of human life? Am I ready for this? Considering that I have the option of preserving the knowledge—with Harlan's help, I can upload my personality and all my knowledge to the computer. Yes, I can do it... but I don't want to. Right now, what torments me most is what I heard, saw, and hated. Unit 731 is a monstrous manifestation of the human race, the bared fangs of a monster ready to break free. No matter how mad the bastards in that unit were, they were scientists pursuing goals. Schizophrenic goals they might have been, but goals nonetheless. Should I rejoice in the obvious benefits of such a crime that I might commit? One day, all this knowledge will be revealed to me, so it's better to throw it to the Asgardians and get a toy than to spend the rest of my life regretting the murder of an innocent being.
As for the retroviral inoculation, that's more Egeria's area of expertise, but if Beckett was able to develop it in a few months, then the Tok'ra queen is capable of doing everything much faster.
Then Isara came up to me and hugged me.
- You can take all this for yourself, right?
— Can I?
— What will it cost?
— Souls. I will become like these Units 731.
"Then it's good that you're giving it up. Think about what earthlings would do, and do the opposite."
I chuckled. It really was funny. Both instances of obtaining the library were accidental, but if they'd had time, Hammond and O'Neill would have been given a detailed explanation of how to proceed. And they would have done the opposite. The example with the Information Agency and the unauthorized missions is just right. How they retrieved a weather-control device from that planet. I can't even imagine how it works, what it's powered by, or what even goes on there. And these idiots took it upon themselves to study it. Medieval people trying to figure out how an iPhone works.
"I understand we're in a moment... but what do you think about that small naquadah planet? It's ruled by a terrible, long-lived tyrant... And another one, but only for a trading outpost?"
Isara sighed and walked away from me.
— A tyrant like you or a tyrant like Vritra?
— Like Vritra. And hey, I'm not a tyrant. I don't rule anything, you do. You're the tyrant, you stop me from taking over worlds.
- Ah, I am a tyrant!!!
— From the point of view of Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism and Maoism.
— I despise all these four teachings.
- That's right, in them you are a tyrant.
"One more word and you'll be administering the planet you capture," my wife threatened.
"Have pity on the people of this planet, don't you feel sorry for them?" I joke in response, I'm not such a terrible administrator. Maybe...
"But if everything is as you described, a Jaffa military presence will be needed, at a minimum, to stabilize the situation. However, if they rebelled in… how long…"
- 600 years.
"If they haven't rebelled against the self-proclaimed deity in that time, they're unlikely to engage in subversive activities against your troops, especially once I start changing everything. To begin with, I'll close the naquadah mines for a while and send all the 'slaves' home. I'll inspect the entire situation, analyze the overall picture using satellites, appoint a governor who will be responsible for improving the logistical state of this new domain, and I think naquadah mining will be ready to begin in about six months to a year."
"Don't worry, it seems they dumped the naquadah somewhere, on some planet. I just need to find out which one, and that's enough for me." "600 years of naquadah mining—that's a gold mine. The main thing: no one knew the Goa'uld had died, and yes, this planet is in Ra's possession. Well, no one knew because I'm in this business myself, and I need to maintain constant contact with Ra's castellan, who specifies the required extraction volume. Simply replacing a Goa'uld is difficult, but possible. I don't show up at court either, but there are scheduled deliveries, for example, of larvae for the Jaffa. Or the purchase of the Jaffa themselves. It just looks like the planet has been "lost," but it's still worth checking. Naquadah planets are rarely lost. On the other hand, Ra can afford it—the largest territory, the most professional army. They can afford to lose a couple of planets, or more.
While analyzing the information about Pelops' raid, I learned that the planet with the Mongols—Simarka—belonged to the Goa'uld Raiden and was marked "for human breeding." This was Pelops's way of marking worlds he didn't find interesting. He was doing the right thing; he was a plunderer, after all, and what was there to plunder on a planet inhabited by nomadic Mongols? There was even a brief summary: "Little Lord Raiden is trying his luck by irritating Yu." Pelops didn't have much information about him, only that Raiden had 12 planets and only had gates on four of them. All communication was via ships. The scientist marked this Goa'uld as uninteresting. Why do I think he's tempting fate? He has 12 planets, and he's pestering one of the oldest System Lords, who's been through so much crap. Either it's not Yu who's fighting the lesser lord, but one of his vassals, or the System Lord is simply watching this for fun. Incidentally, Raiden, or Reijin, is one of the deities of Japan. He is said to have sent a typhoon in 1274 that destroyed the Mongol invasion fleet. Which is possible, considering the Mongols live on Seamark. Here's evidence of a Goa'uld visit in 1274. And the last thing I can confirm is the 15th century, since that's when the "Hammer of the Witches" was produced, based on which that girl on the planet Sokara was judged.
"Wow," Isara whistled in shock. If the naquadah is still lying by the gate, and this pyramid, which took 600 years to build, isn't constantly being destroyed by an unstable vortex, then it will last a very long time. Unless, of course, someone else has discovered a giant pile of naquadah, lying abandoned. And if there are Goa'uld there, I can imagine his shock when naquadah from an unknown planet arrives there reliably once a month.
"But I wouldn't count on such a gift from the universe. It's far more cruel. For example, Pelops's data contains information about Manannan Mac Lir. This Goa'uld also wanted to improve his troops. He even succeeded. Somehow, he turned the Jaffa into living dead, like in human films. Fearless, painless, and obeying all orders. I suspect he somehow modified the sarcophagus and created such an abomination, and at the same time, the dead Jaffa of his enemies become an addition to his army."
"What about reproduction or…" A shadow flickered across Isara's face.
- You know, I prefer not to think about it.
- And why didn't he conquer the galaxy using this method?
Because such troops, while seemingly formidable, aren't all that effective. Keeping the battlefield is one thing, but if you yield, your resources will begin to dwindle. Pelops, as he wrote, said that these Jaffa aren't known for their stealth, don't seek cover, but charge head-on. And in general, their relations there are quite... cheerful. Manannan, Dagda, and Morrighan betrayed the Lord of the Systems, Balor, killed him, and then clashed over the title. Each declared himself the new ruler, but there can't be three lords from the same territory. Ultimately, Heruur seized a significant portion of Morrighan's holdings. They are all free lords.
- It's confusing.
"Each Goa'uld prefers its own cultures, and I don't even understand why. Ra favors Egyptians, Yu and Raiden Asians, Manannan Celts. There are also Aztec, African, and Hindu ones, depending on where they originally took humans from."
— Do you want to take away someone else's property?
"No. Domains must be secret. If they aren't, it's more of a headache than a resource. Constant protection is essential, so I'd prefer to wait.
At that moment, the communication stone glowed, and I activated it. The Asgard Senate again.
"Little Lord Szarekh, our terms are acceptable to us. We will fulfill our part." I nodded and immediately transmitted the gate coordinates.
"The deal is done. Oh, and may I request that the scientists who will be making my weapon accompany me? I promise complete safety. After all, they need to take my parameters into account. And say hello to Brunhilde. I'm sorry there aren't any cases we can investigate together right now."
I was suddenly cut off. O'Neill is always right, it's infuriating. On the other hand, they're busy Asgardians, and here I am with my useless information.