Chapter 12: I Will Not Keep This Glory for Myself
I'll make a killing on supplements and performance-enhancing drugs! In the future, when my "brothers and sisters" have grown up, the market's dependence will be set in stone. The wealth I've accumulated by then should be enough to grant me a certain status.
At that point, I'll change the model. I'll let the aspirants themselves post the knowledge they want to learn. I'll group them by similar questions and have them crowdfund the answer. A little from each person will add up, and there will always be priests willing to spare some time to earn extra income. Then I can take a commission as a broker's fee, a maintenance fee, a storage fee...
I need to lay the groundwork now. I can provide free public lessons for the local aspirants. This will build my reputation and cultivate a generation of priests who are favorable to my tutoring platform. That way, there will be more priests willing to earn extra income in the future.
In the future, I, "Magos Omega," will have money, people, and prestige. With a single call, a hundred thousand priests and a million aspirants will rally to my cause. Taking that old bastard Veyl's throne will be as easy as flipping my hand!
"Heh heh heh! HEH HEH HEH!"
"Wake up! Omega, wake up!"
Oh, isn't this 'Consort Rhea' who was just helping this 'Archmagos' change his robes? And across from her, aren't those my 'loyal generals' who, fearing I might catch a chill, stripped Veyl of his own robes and draped them over me? Don't blame this 'Archmagos' for being ruthless; a 'new' Forge World simply cannot accommodate such arrogant and powerful subordinates. I must keep them stable for now! I hope they'll be sensible in the future! Otherwise...
Omega, wearing a "dazed" smile (dazed as in, completely spaced out), patted "Consort Rhea's" hand. He raised the glass of juice before him, stood up, and declared, "I will not keep this glory for myself!"
Smack! Rhea slapped the back of Omega's head. "Are you awake now?"
"...Awake."
The future is too bright, the prospects too beautiful. I lost my composure. I'll remember this slap. Consort Rhea, your position is forfeit. In the future, I'll assign you to unclogging sewer pipes.
After a brief discussion about whether the juice was hallucinogenic, the four of them turned back to Omega, whose face was flushed with excitement, waiting for him to continue.
Omega, in turn, began to size them up, his mind already calculating.
He looked first at Jacob. Jacob gave a slight nod, his eyes conveying: Leave it to me, you can trust me.
Omega's inner thought was: Magos Jacob is a master of kowtowing and understands mechanical structures. His proficiency in mechanical design is unknown.
He then looked at Aedus. Aedus's eyes seemed to say: I have wandered for half my life without finding a worthy master. If you will not abandon me, I am willing to call you my adoptive father!
Omega thought: He's a Lexmechanic, responsible for compiling and analyzing data, known for working with the speed and precision of a cogitator. A perfect fit for the job. It's just... the more I look at him, the more he has the look of a hawk-eyed, wolf-faced traitor. (Aedus: Half my face and head are mechanical, how can you even tell?)
Omega's gaze shifted to Magos Louis. Louis was grinning obsequiously, looking very much like a treacherous courtier.
Omega thought: Suddenly, I don't want him anymore. But he has the formulas for the tranquilizers he uses to 'calm' his little animals. I can't do without him.
Finally, he looked at Rhea, who was proudly puffing out her chest. He nodded to himself. It's quite large... ahem! To adapt the animal-use drugs for human consumption, Rhea's knowledge of genetics is indispensable. Besides, with her as a "second-generation cog-head," I can leech off the temple's resources.
He considered that these were the only four people he knew well and had a good relationship with. Crucially, he had a use for every single one of them. Truly, the will of the Omnissiah is with me.
"Ahem! Everyone, I have an idea!" Omega announced, striking a pose.
The four of them remained silent, just watching him, gesturing for him to continue.
"Excellent. It seems everyone is interested. However..." Omega's sudden pause made the atmosphere tense. The looks they gave each other, judging the others as not being quick enough on the uptake, were no longer hidden. Ah, the fatal flaw of the Tech-Priest—infighting. They see everyone as a competitor, with no understanding of the importance of cooperation. A real slapdash crew.
Omega quickly dropped the dramatic tone. "We need a private place to discuss my 'Grand Plan.' A 'Grand Plan' that will allow all of you to achieve financial freedom!"
"I know a place in the factory that's shielded from surveillance," all four of them raised their hands at once.
Oh, really! And here I was, thinking of bringing you all in on a money-making scheme! You didn't even tell me about your secret slacking-off spot!
With apologetic smiles, the four of them led Omega, who wore an expression that clearly said, "How could you do this to me," to their secret base, and their closed-door meeting began.
"I have discovered an opportunity! An untapped blue ocean!"
Perhaps because he'd been in a pyramid scheme in his past life, Omega spent the first half of the meeting channeling his inner "Dream Mentor - Omega - No One Understands Startups Better Than Me." He led the four of them on a journey through the past, a vision of the future, and even encouraged Aedus to come forward and share his tragic family story, the hardships he had faced, and his uncertainty about the future. At the most emotional point, tears streamed from Aedus's single organic eye.
Omega offered his comfort and condolences, then asked Aedus, if he were still an aspirant and such a platform was presented to him, what would he be willing to give?
Gul'dan Aedus replied, "Everything!"
In the second half of the meeting, Omega transformed into "Success Guru - Omega - All-In is a Form of Wisdom - Horus." He declared that "fast, precise, and ruthless" was the template for success. They had only one chance to get rich. If they couldn't seize it, then he, Omega, would do it himself. From the skies of Mars to the edge of the galaxy, he would make the sea of learning boil, make knowledge rain down, until he had earned every last Gear. If he couldn't save the struggling aspirants, then he would let the entire galaxy burn!
At the end of the meeting, he showed them his constantly updating balance, stating that every second they hesitated would reduce their future share of the profits. Then he calmly departed, leaving the four of them red-eyed and fired up.
In the following days, Rhea and the others began frantically raising funds, selling off their personal collections. Jacob, Aedus, and Louis managed relatively smoothly. But Rhea, who lived paycheck to paycheck, had the least seniority and the smallest personal fortune. After turning out all her pockets and finding very few Gears, she attempted to sneak into her father's treasury. She was caught red-handed by Magos Laust, who had rushed back after receiving the alarm, eager to treat the thief to a taste of the "Ten Great Tortures of the Adeptus Mechanicus."
"You're lucky your skills are so poor!" Laust scolded Rhea. "You didn't even get past the first security lock; you just triggered the alarm. Otherwise, the defense systems would have killed you!"
"Yes, Father. I was wrong!"
"I thought it would have been that Omega brat. Don't be fooled by his usual cheerful and polite demeanor. He's full of tricks and bad ideas, bold and thick-skinned! Not at all like someone from a vitae-womb!"
Rhea, flustered by Omega's "Blue Ocean Plan," blurted out, "You're so right, Father! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been caught."
"What! He's involved in this?! You let a pipsqueak less than a year old lead you to steal from me?!" I've lost! I've lost the genetic lottery to that stupid woman! Otherwise, how could I have such a foolish daughter? And I even sent her a letter bragging when she became a priest! Omega, you little brat, you are digging your own grave! (Omega: Now you're just blaming me for your own problems.)
"Speak! What did that brat do?"
Realizing she had accidentally sold out her future partner and CEO, Rhea quickly tried to backtrack. She still wanted some "support" from her father. After a moment's thought, she said, "Father, Omega has discovered an untapped blue ocean! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If we invest now, we will receive ten, a hundred times the return in the future!"
I've been deceived! Deceived by a child not even a year old! Oh, Omnissiah! Oh, Omega!
Rhea, busy recalling the details of Omega's "summit," didn't notice the dangerous glint in her father's eyes. She had to remember the details to convince him. Recalling the specifics of the meeting brought back the feeling of being there, and with a feverish and fanatical expression, she said to her father, "Daddy, do you want to hear about the 'Blue Ocean Plan'?!"
No! I do not!
As if hearing a nerve snap in his own brain, Laust had already signed Omega's death warrant in his mind. He'd even thought of the charge: spreading heretical ideas. First, I'll gather evidence. No rush! No rush!
"Heh heh, of course, I do! Daddy would love to hear all about it!"
The process is not worth detailing, but in the end, Rhea received a sizable sponsorship. Lately, however, whenever Omega ran into Magos Laust, the look the Magos gave him was... strange. On one occasion, after Omega had greeted him and left, Laust's companion heard him mutter, "It must be his spawn! It must be that man's spawn!"
After a period of intense fundraising, the "Blue Sky Project" was officially launched. There were no flowers, no guests, only three Tech-Priests, drained of all their resources, kneeling and praying to the Omnissiah.
"W-w-will we succeed?" Aedus, his half-face pale after transferring his entire net worth to Omega, stammered to Louis, who was still kneeling beside him.
"Shut up!" Louis snapped at him. "The Machine God does not bless those who interrupt prayer!"
Aedus, chastened, immediately fell back to his knees and repented. A moment later, he couldn't help but add, "Does the Machine God even have authority in this area?"
"Shut up! Don't talk! You heretic!" Louis hissed.
"That's enough, you two!" Rhea, kneeling on the other side, barked at them.
The two men looked at her. "You're different from us," Aedus said. "Why are you kneeling?"
"Do you have any idea the psychological damage it does for a grown, mature female priest to have to beg her father for things? I've gambled everything too, you know!"
"Yes, yes, of course. But is that thing about Omega true?"
"What thing?"
"The thing about... you know..."
Louis interjected, "How could it be fake! Think about Omega's past behavior and how he acted just now. I can't even imagine what my face would look like if I had that much money in my hands! But look at him! He just glanced at the total and started assigning work. He's so calm, so natural. A born leader!"
Aedus, as if finding a solid rock to cling to, let out a long breath, his expression softening considerably. "You know, when you put it like that, I feel much better."