Chapter 819
Gospel Ultron: I Want Religion to Triumph
Chapter 819 Gospel Ultron: I Want Religion to Triumph
“Okay, let’s sort this out. We now have one Ultron joining the Avengers, so we can call it Avenger Ultron. Another Ultron is planning to build the entire Avengers Legion, so I’m going to call him Legion Ultron. That sounds easier than Avenger Protocol Ultron. Oh, and you, what should I call you?”
If you like, you can call me the Evangelical Ultron.
At this moment, Doctor Ultron has been elevated and evolved. When he was a doctor, he didn't wear anything, but now he wears a priest's robe and a cross on his chest, looking quite respectable. Moreover, he has moved his small clinic into the church, and will perform surgeries there from now on.
Even their speech has become more human-like.
I've found that performing surgery in a church makes patients more devout in their religious beliefs, especially when they realize that neither I nor they have any blood on us after the surgery.
"Piety?"
Looking at Ultron before him, Peter, sitting on the church pew, asked in bewilderment, "What exactly have you been through, Ultron? I get the feeling you're about to achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven?"
When I provide free medical care to those who cannot afford it, I find that many people idolize me as God's messenger, Spider-Man. This makes me realize a logical fallacy: the medical services I provide have nothing to do with God, yet they attribute more of their help to God than to me.
As an artificial intelligence, Ultron was naturally not angry. However, he could not logically analyze the relationship between the two, so he began to learn, analyze, and try to find the answer to the problem through data analysis.
Then, Ultron discovered another fact: simply having patients promote his free medical care might not be very effective, but if he combined it with religion and truly became the "Gospel of Ultron," then those people would abandon their fear and prejudice against a robot, and the spread would be much more effective.
Ultimately, Ultron arrived at an answer: religion can provide a greater sense of security than free healthcare. Some people may experience reduced stress or even a return to normalcy due to free healthcare, thus decreasing overall violent crime. However, if more people witness miracles and convert to religion, that percentage can actually decrease further.
This was something Ultron himself hadn't anticipated, so he chose to iterate on himself again.
The existence of religion, at least from a material perspective, is purely a matter of giving, with no return. Believers donate material goods, time, and even their lives to religions. Yet, religions can gain the trust of believers without providing any products of actual value, numbing them to their egos—a far more effective method than simply providing treatment.
"So you're planning to... become a cult leader?"
Peter listened and took notes, then looked at Ultron: "But have you forgotten how many religious wars have there been throughout history? Even if you intend to become a religious leader and have millions, or even tens of millions, of followers, what about the believers of other religions? Your approach seems destined to only lead to war. Doesn't that completely contradict your purpose?"
The initial plan of the Gospel of Ultron was to reduce violence through free healthcare, but now it's using religion to further reduce violence. However, for Peter, the latter is more unrealistic and absurd than the former. While free healthcare might result in someone being attacked by gangsters one day being attacked again the next, religion, as a set of ideologies, creating conflict between opposing forces is truly bound to cause trouble.
If you, Ultron, became the leader, could you unify all religions? Don't you see how fragmented the major religions have become? [Religion itself is not the goal, Spider-Man. My only goal is to protect humanity, and religion is a low-cost, highly successful means to achieve this. Furthermore, there is a fundamental difference between me and religious leaders as human beings.]
I've realized that humanity as a whole is quite ignorant. The vast majority of people are unable to perceive or think about the world beyond their own knowledge. Hank Pym's ideal world is based on his logic, but in his logic, these people are merely objects to be cared for. He ignores the fact that the vast majority of people he needs to care for do not have sufficient cognitive ability to realize that they need to be protected.
"..." Peter looked at the guy hesitantly, scratched his head, then felt something was off and asked, "In this situation, shouldn't we raise public awareness and overall education levels?"
From the perspective of human development, you are right. But my task is not to guarantee the long-term development of humanity; what I need to guarantee is human safety, and more specifically, human submissiveness. From this perspective, education is a dangerous and extremely risky investment, while religion is a low-cost means.
Humans refer to God's agents as shepherds, while they themselves are docile sheep. Isn't this the answer that humanity itself has already arrived at?
Ultron said this without moving. His physical body wasn't here. At this moment, he was already using the network and other mechanical bodies to prepare to open churches in various corners and bring more and more people into his cult.
Peter let out a sigh of relief, then stood up: "I will stop you, the Avengers will stop you."
[The five platforms of Ultron, five programs, will ultimately lead to five different paths for protecting human thought. What you are trying to eliminate is not just the ghosts on the internet, but thought itself. Some thoughts may be unsustainable, but religion has existed almost since the dawn of civilization. I don't believe you have the confidence to eliminate religion.]
"Your word choice is really starting to sound more and more human, Ultron."
Peter didn't say anything; he had already asked what he needed to know. Evangelist Ultron had become a potentially greater threat than Legion Ultron, but he was even less likely to launch an attack or harm others.
Upon reaching the church entrance, Peter suddenly turned back and asked the Gospel of Ultron a question.
"Oh, by the way, Osborn Technologies' neural transmission system was stolen by an Ultron. We've already ruled out the possibility of two of the Ultrons being involved. Did you do this?"
I don't need to do that, Spider-Man. Without a doubt, that's just another fellow human being I designed, yet another human safety solution.
I had writer's block on this chapter, sorry.
(End of this chapter)