After hearing Quicksilver's remark, Dr. Zola's robotic face twisted in a faint expression of disdain. However, being well aware of his current status as a captive, he wisely chose to remain silent.
Though a staunch supporter of Hydra, Dr. Zola was no stranger to fear especially fear of death.
Had he not converted his consciousness into code and transcended into a new being, perhaps he would never have shown himself so brazenly. But after going through such a transformation and becoming what he called a "cybernetic lifeform," the fear of mortality had been dulled until now.
Now, after Shin had forcibly imbued his robotic body with a soul, Zola realized he was no longer the indestructible program he used to be. He was something entirely new, a sentient robot with a soul and only one life to live. That changed everything. The fear of death, buried deep within his original human instincts, reemerged in full force.
"He really does look like a scientist straight out of the 1950s," said Dr. Connors with a wry smile as he examined the Zola automaton.
"He is Dr. Arnim Zola of Hydra," Connors explained. "Back in the 1970s, when his physical body started to fail, he digitized his consciousness and uploaded it to a computer, effectively becoming the entity you see before you."
"An uploaded consciousness?" Quicksilver scoffed. "That's just another way of saying he was terrified of dying."
Indeed, Dr. Zola's self-preservation instincts had driven him to digitize his mind perhaps more out of cowardice than scientific ambition. It was less about serving Hydra's goals and more about clinging desperately to some form of existence.
"Uh… well, isn't everyone afraid of death?" said the robot version of Dr. Zola sheepishly. "And technically, I'm not even the original Zola anymore. You could say I'm a clone or a construct."
"Regardless," Shin interjected as he stepped forward, "your identity or past allegiances don't matter to me anymore. From this moment on, you work for me. Also, hand over the consciousness transfer technology."
"I understand, Boss," Zola replied instantly, without the slightest resistance.
"Kevin, are you sure this guy is trustworthy?" Scarlet Witch asked, her brows furrowed slightly.
"Don't worry," Shin said with confidence. "I hold the key to his mortality now. He's no longer just a digital echo of a man, he's a real soul-bound entity. If he dies, that's it. Game over. And if I die, he dies too."
Wanda gave a small nod, satisfied with the answer. Without further delay, she raised her hand and triggered her powers, teleporting the entire group back to the Oscorp headquarters.
Once there, the truth behind Connors' kidnapping came to light.
Hydra had taken notice of the regenerative serum developed by Dr. Connors. Seeing potential in weaponizing the technology, particularly for the creation of enhanced super-soldiers and beast-like warriors, they kidnapped him in hopes of forcing him to work for them.
But Dr. Connors had never been one to bow to terrorists. Despite his past transformation into the Lizard under desperate circumstances, at heart he was still a principled scientist. His initial strategy was to sabotage the serum subtly, embedding fail-safes and errors that would delay Hydra's progress.
Had Shin arrived any later, things could have taken a darker turn. Connors might have been compelled to inject himself with an unstable version of his serum to escape, or perhaps Hydra would have used him as a test subject. Either way, he would have once again transformed into the monstrous Lizard this time as a true villain. And perhaps it would have fallen to Spider-Man to confront him.
But not this time.
Shin's timely intervention had rewritten the script. The usual comic book narrative of a tragic mutation was derailed, and Connors remained human.
Meanwhile, Dr. Zola's consciousness-transfer technology was the true prize.
It was, without question, high-tier technology. The kind that could produce fully independent artificial intelligence, with intelligence levels not far from the scientists they were modeled after. With this technology, Shin finally had a way to bring his scattered team of scientists together across multiple dimensions, even across different worlds.
Until now, the researchers under Shin's command were isolated in their respective universes, unable to collaborate in real-time. Each world differed subtly, and even biological and physical laws could vary, meaning a successful experiment in one universe might yield a disaster in another.
The inability to share findings and adjust for those variables had long been a bottleneck for progress.
But with Zola's consciousness-transfer system, this was no longer an issue.
All Shin had to do now was collect a few more high-quality souls he couldn't keep feeding them pieces of his own. With each soul imbued into a cybernetic body, he could create a unified scientific brain trust capable of working together, regardless of what world they originated from.
And thanks to the properties of Homies created through the Soul-Soul Fruit, Shin could control their mortality. No matter how many digital backups a scientist made, their true essence resided in their soul-infused robotic core. If that core was destroyed, so were they. No reckless behavior, no rogue AI uprising.
Everything is under control.
…
The next morning, back in the Oscorp laboratory, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy burst through the door, their faces etched with worry.
They were immediately greeted by the familiar sight of Dr. Connors typing away at his computer.
"Professor, you're back! Are you okay?" Peter asked, his voice full of relief.
Dr. Connors turned a gentle smile on his face. "I'm fine. It was just a minor incident it's all been resolved now."
Both Peter and Gwen breathed out sighs of relief.
Before his brief disappearance, Connors had always been a kind mentor to the two young assistants. He was also a rising star in the scientific community already poised to receive next year's Nobel Prize in Biology and Medicine. As his interns, Peter and Gwen stood to gain a great deal in terms of credentials and future opportunities.
They had both feared the worst. That fear turned to quiet gratitude as they saw Connors safe and sound.
Of course, neither of them believed for a second that what had happened was just a small matter. But seeing that Connors didn't want to go into detail, they tactfully chose not to pry.
For now, everything was as it should be. Their professor was safe. The work would continue. And the secrets behind his rescue, well, perhaps some things were better left unspoken.
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