It was another ordinary day in December, another day where Ultron hadn't caused any trouble. The other Ultrons seemed to have grown wary of the Avengers' astonishingly rapid progress, vanishing without a trace.
Peter, meanwhile, arrived at the Baxter Building. Although the former Avengers Tower and the current Avengers Compound both housed specialized laboratories, Peter rarely conducted experiments in those places; he usually preferred coming to the Baxter Building.
Truth be told, Peter hadn't accumulated many scientific breakthroughs to date. Most of his designs were created to assist his own combat capabilities—such as the multi-purpose webbing he had designed before acquiring Venom, or his multi-function belt, mechanical talons, and, most classically, the nanobots.
Of all these, perhaps only those nanobots held real scientific weight.
"Sometimes it's genuinely hard to imagine how the Spider-Men of other universes can afford such massive expenses. Synthesizing basic web-fluid alone requires such costly materials, to say nothing of the upgraded versions—though I hardly use web-fluid anymore these days. Symbiotes are just too top-tier."
Muttering to himself, Peter mixed a batch of web-fluid to balance the formulation and packed it away. Everything had to be done just in case—what if something truly happened and he lost his symbiote? Right?
As Peter pondered this, he checked on the nanobots currently undergoing testing. He still felt intrigued by Ultron's remark: that statement almost certainly didn't refer to using nanobots to construct prosthetic limbs. While a nanobot prosthetic would certainly be incredibly versatile, that was merely a basic application, not some grand "mechanical prosthesis."
"Maybe I should analyze this in conjunction with what Gospel Ultron intends to do. Gospel Ultron believes all humans possess the essence of the Holy Spirit, and the way to draw closer to the Holy Spirit is through mechanical ascension. And Ultron's so-called Gospel is his own gospel, while Ultron's so-called Lord is himself—"
Peter talked to himself in the lab, having already established that Ultron intended to spread a gospel of his own creation. But what exactly was this gospel? Mechanical ascension? Did he have some means to force a mechanical ascension upon everyone? To roll out a religion, wouldn't he first need to unify the minds of all humanity?
Furthermore, if Ultron had already revealed his plan to Peter, why had he done so? He wasn't Avengers Ultron—why would he disclose all this?
Peter sat dazed in his lab chair, watching the nanobots beside him continually morph as he mumbled under his breath, "Or could Ultron mean dispersing the nanobots worldwide? But nanobots can't alter human minds, can they? Even if they could, how many could he possibly produce? Could he cover every person on Earth? Would everyone accept it?"
At this point, Peter couldn't help but chuckle. To make all of humanity accept a single ideology, Ultron would need to be Charles Xavier—and he'd still need Cerebro.
— Wait.
A sudden loud crash startled Amadeus, who was conducting experiments in an adjacent lab. He rushed over to find Peter collapsed on the floor, quickly helping him to his feet. "What happened to you, man? Are you okay?"
"Quick! I need to go to the Raft to see Mysterio—no, no, no, please notify Hank Pym to head to Oscorp! I have to go to Oscorp right now!"
Amadeus stared in utter confusion at Peter, who opened a portal and leaped right through. Was it really that big of a deal? If he needed Mysterio for something, wouldn't Gwen be much more convenient?
Peter said nothing. He simply tracked down Norman Osborn inside his office. Seeing Peter step through a portal dressed in a lab coat, Norman looked at him in surprise. "What's wrong, Peter?"
"No time to explain, Uncle Norman. I need the design schematics for the Neural Transmission Device right now—all of them! I remember its prototype was based on Cerebro, right?!"
Norman thought for a moment, made a phone call, and then nodded. "That's right. The engineers are transferring the data to my computer now. Did something happen?"
Peter asked a different question first: "Why is it called a Neural Transmission Device? What it actually transmits is consciousness."
"To hide its true function, I imagine. The project was actually pushed forward by the AI Green Goblin. I didn't realize his goal was to hijack my body, so I left him to it until Mysterio stole it." Norman still looked perplexed, turning to Peter. "Did something go wrong?"
"Can this thing emit a wide-area signal—interfering with human consciousness on a global scale, or even controlling people's minds?"
Norman burst into laughter. "No, that's impossible. Just like Cerebro, its core function is signal amplification and transmission. Unless someone could simultaneously broadcast their thoughts to every person within signal range, it cannot control massive populations. Besides, the Neural Transmission Device was designed to be worn by the user, so its signal attenuation is significant. Even Charles Xavier could probably only cover all of New York with it."
Only three people could pull off a feat like that: Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost. But the X-Men already had Cerebro; why would they ever want this knockoff version?
Yet Peter grew visibly excited. "That's it!"
Norman looked at Peter in confusion. What's it?
A short while later, Pym arrived at Oscorp. Peter turned to him and explained the situation right away: "I know what Gospel Ultron is planning to do. He's waiting for us to eliminate the Ultron at S.W.O.R.D. first."
Pym looked at Peter and asked in confusion, "Every Ultron naturally wants to undergo an additional iteration. What do you mean by that?"
Peter borrowed Norman's pen and laid out the entire sequence of logic on paper.
Condition 1: Gospel Ultron plans to spread his Gospel of Ultron. He claims humanity possesses the essence of the Holy Spirit while he serves as the emissary of the Lord. Thus, the path to drawing closer to the Holy Spirit is mechanical ascension.
Condition 2: Ultron's so-called God is himself.
Condition 3: Christianity broadly accepts the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
"I previously overlooked this last piece of common sense, but if you factor it in, everything makes complete sense.
Gospel Ultron's Gospel of Ultron is to turn all of humanity into Ultrons. That way, all of humanity becomes part of the so-called 'God.' And since everyone becomes Ultron, everyone is rendered safe."
Pym shook his head. "That's impossible. Humanity is bound to resist, and his religious reach isn't widespread enough."
Peter looked at Norman, and realization finally dawned on Norman. "If we're talking about a super artificial intelligence, it would only need enough Neural Transmission Devices as intermediaries to continually override and transmit its signal into other people's brains."
Pym turned to Norman. "Is that feasible?"
"If the signal is strong enough, yes. It could even connect the Neural Transmission Devices to Wi-Fi, ensuring the signal reaches every corner of the Earth with a Wi-Fi connection."
Pym still shook his head. "That would require global, large-scale deployment. Ultron doesn't have that kind of time."
"No, Legion Ultron was able to deploy Mechanical Avengers across the globe, which proves he has manufacturing facilities worldwide. Gospel Ultron only needs to take over those factories. He acquired the method to control human minds from one Ultron, and the capability to deploy these devices globally from another."
Peter finally looked at Pym. "He's only missing one last thing—establishing everything required for a civilization controlled by AI. And a Kree could tell him how."
Pym and Peter fell silent for a long while. Then Norman asked them a question.
"Is this Kree here on Earth?"
"In a way, yes. Why?"
"Then his brain's memories can also be read by a Neural Transmission Device—without even needing to wear it on his head."