章節 92: 'Psychological Warfare'
~~~~~~In the Oval Office in Washington DC~~~~~~
President was sitting in his chair. His thumbs were swirling impatiently. He can't barely wait for that report he was waiting for! Sweat was rolling from his forehead as he was nervous and excited at the same time.
After several videos, the department responsible for Marcus Goldman's character finally has compiled enough data to create a perfect Bio!
The moment the doors opened, he asked, nearly jumping out of his seat.
"Do you have it?" The president asked with an impatient tone.
"Yes, Mr. President." The Vice President handed over the document. He looked pale as if he had heard something utterly horrible.
"What is it?" The president noticed the look and enquired.
"I would rather allow the head of human psychology to speak about this." With a hand motion, the vice president pointed at the elderly man.
The elderly man took a step forward.
The Department of Studying Marcus Goldman is dedicated to understanding him, his reasons, objectives, and his past and future possibilities. The government is spending billions on this!
"Oh? Then what are we dealing with?" President immediately asked without waiting.
"Proud Sociopath obsessed with Legacy." The old man with a blunt voice told him.
"That doesn't sound so bad." The president was quite relieved when he heard that. They can deal with that! For a second, he thought that Inventor Boy was a psychopath of some kind!
"We can give him an entire page for history books and legally allow him to have a harem if he wants." The President swiftly proposed this, but then he realised that Marcus already had a harem—no, he made one himself!
"Never mind the harem part."
The Leader of the USA waved his hand, motioning them to forget that part.
However, the pair who were visiting the man grimaced.
"Sir, I didn't mean a mere page in history when I said legacy. I meant that when we say: 'By the God', in this case, it would be: 'By Marcus'." The head of human psychology clarified this before expanding on it.
"Marcus Goldman is suffering from some sort of trauma when he was a child. He could have had some kind of close-to-death experience.
It has triggered a desire or instinct to leave a legacy. But, this is where an issue arose." The old man became quite serious.
"His technology?" The President pointed out the obvious.
"Yes, but it was inflated further by being Solomon's Successor.
Success breeds confidence, confidence breeds Pride, and Pride breeds contempt." The old man proceeded to explain what he meant by this line of development in the character of the Leader of Technocracy.
"Success most likely developed from his inventions, Confidence from the fact that they work, pride from the fact that his things work and are superior to what we have, and last and most important, in my opinion, the fact that there are no other people like him around him.
Such a realisation comes in stages.
First, he questioned why no one else did what he did. Second, he realised that he only cares about the things he develops, and no one else tries. Such things are dangerous for a boy at that young age.
The last strike before contempt developed was that he believed he only cared about inventions. It doesn't help that our world is money-driven instead of ingenuity-driven, as he wants." The elderly explained to the leader of the USA. He was particularly troubled about the last part. That trait makes Marcus quite hostile towards their world.
The President paled himself when he heard that.
"Marcus Goldman doesn't care about us at all. I see it as his pride has reached the point that only his legacy will remain if a meteorite hits us and wipes everything out. That is what it is all about.
His Empire will survive extinction events. Even if the planet loses life support, his constructs will remain.
Even when humanity dies, his technology and monuments will remain. That is all he cares about and how he builds it. I don't know how to expand on this, as this is a glorification of his legacy. Such a thing is closely related to the God complex." The elderly man finished with the summary that bio has much more and in bigger details.
"Gods…"
"No. Even they won't help us," The elderly man sighed before explaining more.
"From these qualities, we can discern everything else. His ships, AI, soldiers, and machines are all part of his legacy. That means they will obey even most suicidal requests. Trying to bribe them or using other methods is pointless.
Even if he has children, they will be part of that legacy. I can see them being genetically modified, and his family will be more like a pantheon than a dynasty, as dynasties expire after all."
"...There is nothing we can do to stop this!?" The President realised the issue! Even if he learned how he clicks, it would only make him more terrified!
"What about his parents!? He loves them!"
"They are outside his contempt hierarchy, but we will be bombarded before approaching them."
When he heard that, he could only frown before sighing in resignation. This situation was just getting worse by the minute.
"Sir. I think we can only survive the impending tragedy by addressing his legacy." The Vice President proposed, and the elderly man agreed.
"That is the only possibility. However, you have to treat this with caution. A Sociopath, a Sociopath like him, is easily triggered if you address his reverse scale.
His Pride has clouded his judgment to a specific level. As he sees things through a particular lens, he can easily see that you are trying to mock his eternal legacy by associating yourself with it.
I don't doubt he will erase us without even blinking. North Korea was just like that. Kim tried to gun down his airship with primitive technology in his eyes. The result? We all know."
"..."
"..."
What they heard sounded like they were about to gamble with their country and all 330 million people. It was a horrifying thought.
"Call a congress. We need to discuss this."
The vice president nodded at the request and left immediately. The Head of the Psychology department stayed with the leader of the USA as he still needed to speak in more detail.
He never considered Marcus to be like that. But now it made some sense to him. At the same time, he realised that even if they ran away from him to space, it would mean nothing. He might use the colonists to solidify his legacy further.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
As people around the Earth learned about Marcus' true nature, a peculiar sight greeted the workers of Roland's auto shop.
A warship casting a shadow floated over the place. A gunship carrying the Mustang's frame landed not far from the garage in the backyard.
The auto shop in question is a single-floor building with five entrances for car repairs. It was like five garages connected into one building—well, more than just five garages, as there is space for staff and an office.
The best part for Marcus is that this place has a huge yard at the back. It was full of cars in all sorts of shapes, with missing tyres or entire sections ripped out. Workers use these cars for parts to repair the ones people bring over.
The business is booming, considering Lithuania recently joined the European Union, and people are bringing cars cheaply from Germany. It was one of the reasons why Marcus went to Germany later, as he was the one who had brought those cars over.
But this was in his previous life. In this one, he can make parts, build new cars from scratch, or even create new, never-before-seen models. All that depends on his whims and mood.
"What the… that airship is stopping!" One of the smoking mechanics mumbled to himself. Does this mean Roland's kid is finally coming over? It has been ages. Now that he thinks about it. That kid was always looking at something in the distance.
Now, it kind of made sense. That kid was dreaming of space.
"I wonder what one of those brought over?" He saw one gunship bring over something.
After finishing his smoke, he, alongside other workers, walked to the backyard to see what it was.
What they saw was a shell of a car.
"That's one old thing."
Some of the workers realised what this was! This thing was one old, rusted frame! Hell, it was falling apart!
"Do you think the kid will be working here to fix this thing up?" one of the guys suggested. They are all oily boys who love cars. Some have even tuned up their Mercedes, BMW, or the expensive Evolution 9 Mitsubishi.
Japanese cars are expensive in Europe, especially for a struggling economy catching up with the more developed West.
It's a little tune-up. It's not something major! As they all have families to feed.
"Most likely, he is grounded from his garage." One of them laughed while saying that.
"D-Does that mean we will finally get our transformers!?" Another one gasped like a small kid.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I hope we do. My wife will kill me, but I don't care."
The men solemnly nodded to each other. They decided not to tell their wives the details, for ignorance is bliss.
A few minutes later, a blue fifth-class BMW arrived. Marcus has arrived at the auto shop alongside his father and the girls.
"Those boys. They left the shop like this…" The older Goldman shook his head, seeing his boys leave his shop like that.
"No worries. My warship is watching over this section of town. Not even a mouse can steal cheese from the kitchen," the teen joked as they walked to the backyard.
"True enough."
The group walked over and spotted the mechanics who were inspecting the car.
"Boss, this is a very old car. I suppose we can ship a current Mustang GT engine. It would take ages to put together something like a 66s engine," the head mechanic said as he saw Roland and Marcus walking over.
"No worries. This frame is Son's toy. He will restore it." Roland explained before getting serious.
"And you guys left the store open." He pointed out with crossed arms.
"I doubt there is a person who has the gall to steal anything from the shop with that thing floating above." The guys quickly found a way to get out of it!
"Uh-huh, now return to work." He wasn't buying, so he sent his boys back to their workplace with a hand motion.
Once they were gone, Roland looked at his son.
"You can have a spot in the yard. You can make another garage if you want." He smirked at his son.
"Hmm. I see. That could work." Marcus looked around, examining how he could build what he wanted.
One of the first things he noticed was abandoned plots of land behind the high fence.
From the looks of it, this place was some sort of government-controlled company ages ago, just like everything else was in this country seventeen years ago.
However, it was abandoned after the fall of the USSR. Now, the buildings are abandoned and will eventually fall apart.
Marcus noticed an opportunity for easy expansion, so he decided to do something about it. It was time to send a message.
[Marcus: Return to me when you finish whatever you are doing.]
A few short moments later, he got a reply.
[Latia: Understood; I will be there shortly.]
After sending a message, he then proceeded to speak with Aurora.
"Sent down the engineering corp."
[Sending. ETA 1 minute 10 seconds.]
With that done, the Inventor pocketed his phone and looked around for more.
"We can stack some of the cars one on another. The less used models could work for that." Marcus proposed that.
"It's fine. Don't worry. I am sure you can figure this out; I will leave this to you." With that said, Roland left his son to his devices. There was a smile on his lips.
Roland's plan is finally coming to fruition!
That's right! He wants those Transformers, too! He and his boys were all school kids who grew up watching the original series all those years ago. They fell in love with cars back then, so he manoeuvred his son to have another shop right here!
Now, it was only a matter of time!
~~~~~~Latia~~~~~~
The Blonde Devil momentarily panicked as she realised she had overstayed her welcome in the underworld! Her reason was that she had been using her Icarus to build some of the Astaroth things in the new devil continent.
While devils can build with their magic, the Automated Assembly lines can use a material like Sacred Gear metal en masse.
But now, she needs to return to Marcus and her job.
"Are you coming with me to Earth?" Latia asked her cousin.
"Of course! That shouldn't be even a question!" Seekvaira almost snapped at her cousin for asking such a stupid thing!
They can leave on this ' adventure ' with everything set and done in the Underworld! Once they generate enough points, they can return and improve their clans! At least, this is what Seekvaira wants.
"Good, then take us to Earth."
The officers on the bridge nodded as the vessel proceeded to move out.
The main cannons ignited and released a beam of energy, tearing the space apart and creating a wormhole.
Seconds later, they were back above the Baltic Sea.
The Assault Carrier continued to move towards the Space Tower.
"I wish he could do something about the locked space. Teleportation is far too convenient to be left out of use." Seekvaira complained with a sigh.
"And stop using magnetic graviton trains? Or gunships? Master is far too great of a weeb to stop using those." Latia knows him well enough to understand that he will never remove the restrictions.
"He could create a system that recognises souls, allowing specific people to teleport around specific areas," The Agares Heiress said.
"Then why don't you present a model to him?" Latia asked with an eye roll.
"Never thought of that." Seekvaira, with an embarrassed look, pushed her glasses up.
"So now you know. You can start working on it. While I deal with whatever things he wants." The blonde suggested to her.
"Fine with me."
As Icarus arrived at the tower, the girls looked at the finished product for the first time. They wondered where all the airships were, as only two of the nine parking slots were in use.
"The diameter of this place is quite something," Seekvaira commented as she gazed at the space centre. The spaceport was in the centre, like an island in an ocean.
The edges of the space centre had those sharp towers rising into the sky.
This area would look familiar for any Lord of the Rings fan: it is where that white mage used to breed Uruks.
Especially how deep it looked now!
"Latia…"
"Yes, I noticed. The space centre has increased its depth exponentially." The blonde nodded and pointed at something.
"That's a bridge with that tube for the trains. Just look at the difference compared to the walls. By now, this place is so deep that he can build space stations and just launch them to space."
"...So we entered the space era." Seekvaira dumbly nodded. She was still trying to grasp what she was saying to herself.
"I know. I remember the first day we met. He was hinting at this, but here we are colonising Mars, Venus, and Saturn." For a second, Latia recalled 'the date' it became after he summoned her.
If she could, she would pat her own shoulder. She didn't do that bad for being summoned by Solomon's Succesor and then bound for life.
"Now that everything is settled, I am getting excited for what is to come," Agares Heiress commented in a barely hidden excited tone.
"Heh, Good for you." Latia was happy to see her always-strict cousin showing that little girl moments after surviving an insane war against Evil Gods.
As the pair continued to talk, they eventually left the Icarus and walked into the tower's hangar, where bots and other workers were already rushing to retrofit it.
"Already more upgrades?" Latia commented the moment she walked over to the closest worker.
"We are installing magnetic railing for the runways. It's standard procedure to keep the vessels up to date, ma'am."
"Magnetic railings? Are we getting Gundams that soon?" Seekvaira swiftly intercepted before Latia could comment.
"No idea. I am doing what the command told me to do. But all things point towards big machines."
That simple hint was enough for Seekvaira as she grabbed Latia and pulled her towards the closet gunship parked in the wide hangar.
"Thanks! We are going to see Master." The Heiress waved her hand as a thanks. The blonde needed to adjust to her cousin's powerful yank.
"I can walk on my own!"
"Yeah, I know."
As the pair got into the gunship, the worker was confused for a second, so he shrugged before returning to work. They still need to install the new system.
~~~
Five minutes later, the gunship landed on asphalt in front of an auto shop. The moment they left, the gunship left them in the middle of an unfamiliar place.
"Umm…"
"Is this the right place?"
Before the girls could ask people where they were, a middle-aged man in oily clothes explained to them.
"The boss' kid is at the back."
"Oh, my thanks," Latia and Seekvaira nodded while thanking him.
As they walked to the back, the man shook his head. He took his hat off and looked at Marcus' direction as if praying for his wellbeing.
"I hope that kid survives past 20's with these many women around him. He should be going insane by this point." He knows from experience how nagging females can be.
Sadly, he has no idea that Marcus can easily create someone who will never nag him. By this point, he has already done that several times. His Quinella will never nag, only complain at specific moments.
The females know well enough how quickly the inventor can replace them.
…
…
…
As Latia and Seekvaira walked over to the back, they saw a newly built garage.
"He works quick."
"Yeah."
It didn't take long for him to have a new workplace.
But when they saw inside, they were surprised it was full of new but regular tools, nothing over the top like his Automated Assembly Line, liquid-to-solid surface flooring in his workshop, or the diamond tiles.
This garage was— a modern garage? With some high-tech!?
"Master, you look well." Latia walked in and quickly got his attention.
"Latia, thanks for arriving so quickly. " Marcus swiftly walked over to his favourite devil girlfriend. He pulled her in a hug before claiming her lips.
A long kiss later, he pulled back and gazed at her briefly before telling her what he had planned.
"I have a few things for you." He explained while pulling her into the sitting area. In this area, a trio of girls looked at their interactions with various expressions.
Sirin, who accepted her situation, started developing jealousy streaks like Quinella.
She realised there was some sort of 'camps' in this faction, factions which were gunning for his attention. It looks quite pathetic in the eyes of a Herrscher, but. It's the only way to get something that increasingly looks like Marcus' backyard.
And she was part of it. Seeing him snuggle with that blonde makes her hands twitch from frustration.
'That's it! Once we get back, I will do… something!'
Sirin and Quinella thought about the same thing!
As Latia ended up on Marcus' lap, he told her what he was thinking.
"I want you to buy some land. One for an Entertainment Dome in this city and future cities."
"Alright. How will this Dome look? I know you have rooms for these, but they are underground." The girl quickly understood what he wanted. She was pleased to learn that he plans to do more than sell phones and laptops.
Are they approaching that milestone where they can open those clinics she wanted?
"The schematics are on the Aurora Network. You can check them there. I also need some extra land behind these places."
"Sure thing~ Leave this to me."
"Oh, and those Entertainment Domes. I am planning to spread them worldwide." He casually mentioned that he changed his mind on something major.
At that moment, her eyes widened as she experienced a shock!
Worldwide? But why!? He never was willing to share with everyone!
Latia immediately got a feeling that he was planning something! She must check the overall project timeline to see what is going on.
"Why such a change? You never planned to go beyond your homeland's borders," she asked him in a slightly defensive tone. Something major must have happened for him to change his mind.
The blonde tried several times before, but now he does it without arguing.
"Well, I want to spread the greatness of something amazing." He said that and then his eyes went to Sirin for a second.
His words made the white-haired beauty widen her eyes as she made a connection.
'Is he planning to make a game about my reality!?'
"I see. In that case, leave this to me. I will deal with this." The blonde devil slowly nodded as she did what he requested.
"Good girl."
Marcus proceeded to cuddle and softly kiss his favourite devil girlfriend.
At the same time, Seekvaira, who was at the back, slightly pouted. She had forgotten to ask Latia if they had gone beyond simple kisses with Solomon's successor.
~~~~~~Later~~~~~~
Marcus slowly expanded his workshop area to fix the old-school muscle car.
The bots built another building with several special baths. Robotic hands that would bathe the car's frame. His father was very happy to have him add another service to his auto shop! Now, they can repaint cars to keep the rust at bay. It was simply absurd how rapidly his shop improved in one day.
"Aurora, scan the frame and simulate the reconstruction process. Once you're done, I want Confiscator to start fabricating items necessary for the rebuild." Marcus ordered his AI as he finished placing the tools.
[Do you wish me to add all the available upgrades to this car?] The AI asked about recently installed speakers.
"No. This car will be a genuine stock with minimal upgrades, such as force induction and NOS."
[Understood beginning the scan and reconstruction.]
A projector from the ceiling emitted a light that scanned from top to bottom and from left to right.
Once the scan was complete, a 3D hologram appeared before Marcus.
As the pieces came together one by one, the inventor finally saw a fully constructed car from 1966.
With his finger, he motioned for the car to spin. A genuine smile appeared on his face as he saw his 'baby' once more.
[I compiled data from videos, web pages, and video games to create the look this car is supposed to have] Aurora explained the rebuild process to him.
"Good. I want you to begin manufacturing aboard Confiscator. I want them in pieces."
[...All of them?]
"All of them."
[Understood, powering Assembly Lines.]
As the AI made parts for Marcus, the Inventor used his psionic powers to lift the frame and take it to the bathing building, where a selection of acid baths awaited the rusted skeleton.
Once he had placed the frame, he returned to the new garage, pulled out his laptop, and put it on a pedestal. He can track the progress on his laptop.
He made sure to get engine parts first, as he wanted to start assembling them. Around ten minutes later, a gunship arrived, and Aurora Bots brought the parts in crates for him.
The Inventor Proceeded to put these together by hand. When Quinella saw this, she was slightly confused. The beauty recalled that Marcus effortlessly put together BMW with his powers, but it could take days to a couple of weeks if he were doing it manually.
'Is he planning to spend his grounding period like this?'
But then the peaceful atmosphere was ruined by something Aurora had just said.
[Sir, United States, just send a word.]
"Hmm? I am busy. They can wait until after my grounding is over." He said with a small frown.
[I Understand, but this message is strange. That is why I am notifying.] The AI sounded confused.
"Send it over. Let me see."
Now, Marcus was curious. He heard how Aurora sounded.
On his laptop, an email popped up. The Inventor checked himself.
The email was short and right to the point. Something one would never expect from a goddamn nation! Marcus believed it was authentic because it had the eagle and the signature of the current President.
The message was simple but right to the point.
[Marcus Goldman, I would like to meet you and discuss the future of the USA in your legacy.]
For some weird reason, this triggered Solomon's Successor. His curious look shifted to an angry frown.
'Why it's so triggering!?'
He took a deep breath, walked over to the sink, and washed his hands. As he was doing that, he looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were slightly glowing purple as he was barely controlling his anger.
'They have been studying me. That much is certain: I am their boogeyman. Do they have some psychologist to analyse me?
[Sir, please control yourself.]
Aurora's voice lifted him from his thoughts. He realised everything was floating, even his three girls who stayed behind.
He took a deep breath, and with casual thought, everything returned to their place.
"Master! Are you okay!?" Quinella and Gu Yuena swiftly walked over and surrounded him from both sides.
"I am fine." He lazily waved his hand before instructing his AI.
"Tell them I will visit them in two hours."
[Understood, relaying the message]
After hearing the all-clear, he proceeded to walk towards the wide door. The sun had already set, so it was dark. Not that Marcus cared about such a thing.
"Wait! We are coming with you!" The platinum-haired assistant rushed after him. The girls are weirded out by his actions. He won't be requesting a gunship to pick him up, will he?
Whatever that message was has infuriated him. Do those idiots not want to live anymore?
As three girls proceeded to fly after him to the Confiscator, the moment they set foot in the hangar bay, the doors sealed behind, and the Assault Carrier proceeded to fly towards the Atlantic.
The vessel's crew knew they had two hours, so they adjusted the speed to last just the right amount of time.
As Marcus went to the lift, he went directly to his quarters. He needs a shower.
"What is going on!?" Sirin was the most confused. It was like someone had flipped a switch in his head!
"Psychology," Quinella explained to her.
With a hand motion, a hologram appeared before the white-haired girl.
"The United States has deducted our Master's character. They are pulling straws by this. They are willing to gamble their country by triggering our Master."
Funny enough, Sirin understood this. She knows this well! In her world, desperate actions are the norm.
"I understand."
The Herrscher proceeded to read the psychology summary Aurora has acquired from governments worldwide. She found some interesting things.
There are some very disturbing things as well. Some of it will be useful to her. It's only fair as Marcus knows everything about her while she knows only the bare bones—until now.
"And what are we planning to do? These humans are trying to manipulate our leader," Sirin asked the pair after reading for a while.
"Standard Protocol dictates extermination if enemy compromises the Supreme Commander." Gu Yuena almost mechanically recited the protocol of G.A.T
"So, Ars Almadel Salomonis is positioning for firing?" The Herrscher realised what this meant.
"Precisely, with current strength, even 1% is overkill. This canon is not meant for firing to Earth but away from Earth." Quinella explained as she motioned for the pair to walk with her towards the bridge. She needs to assume the command and prepare the troops for demonstration.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
People are scrambling to prepare! The government was in semi-panic mode. They predicted similar responses, but anticipating and experiencing were two different things. They might have been brash, but this was the right choice.
At this moment, they knew where he was. It would have been game over if left for space as they truly watch what he is doing there. But their chances were greater as long as he was on the planet's surface.
Police barricaded sections of the city as quickly as they could. Thankfully, people learned about this quite late, so they didn't have a chance to gather and form groups to observe. With police quickly in place, the National Guard was also deployed, but they will be late to the party.
As the clock ran out, the clouds were blasted apart as a dark silver warship with golden graviton projectors.
The monstrosity cast a dark shadow on the late afternoon sun above the Capitol.
Seconds later, four objects freefall from the sides of the warship, landing in a clear area prepared for them.
The government's welcoming party waited outside the capitol building. They paled from fright when they saw the four mechs slowly standing up.
'Are those flamethrowers!?'
After that, there were jet fighters who transformed midflight into Starscream transformers. After machines it was time for Mandalorians with jetpacks, and only after them were gunships, which brought Marcus Goldman over.
The gunship's side doors slide open, revealing tall and bulky golden-armoured Royal Guards with ornamented tower shields and plasma pikes.
As they spread out, Marcus Goldman emerged with an annoyed look. He wasn't dressed fancy but in a black and golden hoody with slacks. He looked more like a tourist than anything.
Behind him were his three girls, who had similar expressions to his.
"I am here. Who wants to speak with me? My patience is limited." He spoke in an indifferent voice, very different from what people saw in the videos.
"Follow us, Mr Goldman!" The middle-aged men nervously motioned to follow them.
With a snort, he proceeded to follow.
~~~
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