Chapter 183: You Know Each Other?
October 23, 2023 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Thanks to the efforts of Agent Mike Williams, the Coast City Air Force's unauthorized research into dangerous technology was investigated and shut down by A.R.G.U.S. All related projects were canceled, the associated facilities were seized, and all research materials were confiscated.
Hal Jordan's old superior, General Shi Dong, couldn't escape the blame, while Senior Agent Mike Williams received another commendation. Orin Vale figured that with one more major achievement, or perhaps by pulling a few strings, Agent Williams's promotion into A.R.G.U.S. management was just around the corner.
Then, an amusing little episode occurred during the implementation process.
After the project was halted, during the seizure of the illegal research, the Coast City Air Force insisted that all related materials had already been handed over to A.R.G.U.S., while A.R.G.U.S. firmly maintained they hadn't received anything and considered it a refusal to cooperate. Both sides stuck to their guns, refusing to back down, and a tug-of-war ensued.
Of course, neither side knew that the focus of their dispute, the robot suspected to be from a higher civilization, was currently suspended in Orin Vale's laboratory.
From the data he copied, he had a rough idea of how Coast City had acquired this Manhunter. There wasn't much to it, really. The thing had simply fallen out of the sky sometime last year. After it landed, it had remained in a basically deactivated state. The Air Force dragged it back from the wasteland where it landed, and it was only recently that it suddenly reactivated for some unknown reason.
But now, Orin Vale was certain it was scrapped. In the physical sense.
He skimmed through the research reports from the so-called experts at the Air Force, and just as expected, they were nothing but a pile of waste paper. But you couldn't really blame them, as it was a construct from a completely different technological base. After all, the Manhunters were the creation of that group of Little Blue Men from Oa, and this particular unit seemed to have been modified by some unknown party, with technology countless generations ahead of Earth's. Aside from overpowered beings like the Old Bat and Lex Luthor, ordinary experts truly wouldn't be able to figure anything out.
Just as Orin Vale had thought, the Manhunter's design truly broadened his horizons, allowing him to begin to understand how to weaponize the energy of the Emotional Spectrum—how to design and utilize it. None of the technology from all the galaxies Orin Vale had studied before had ever touched upon this domain. It was as if a gate to a new world had been opened for him.
But he also quickly realized that a crucial part was missing.
Namely, how to connect to the Emotional Spectrum.
Although this Manhunter had been modified to store and utilize Green Lantern energy, making it an Emotional Spectrum-type weapon, it lacked the link to draw energy from the Emotional Spectrum itself. It could only absorb the energy released by other spectrum wielders and use it to counter-attack its opponents.
If Orin Vale wanted to design a suit of "Anti-Lantern Armor," this was indeed formidable technology. But if he wanted to learn how to utilize this fundamental universal energy himself, he would need more references.
"We still need to find a power ring," Orin Vale mused, stroking his chin as he looked at the content displayed on the circle of screens before him.
"It would appear so, sir. I will add it to the memo," Pal said. "Also, the prison holding the former CEO of Kerketer Aerospace has been located. Do you wish for me to arrange a meeting?"
The investigation into the Manhunter project had drawn Orin Vale's attention to this Gotham-based aerospace company. When he tried to investigate further, he was surprised to find that, compared to the Coast City Air Force, there was something much fishier about this company.
When attempting to hack into the Kerketer Headquarters' server, Pal actually encountered some resistance.
This fact itself was even more noteworthy than the data on the server. Earth's cybersecurity was basically non-existent before Orin Vale; he could go wherever he wanted and look up whatever he pleased. It was a technological chasm on a civilizational level; no firewall could stop him.
And what they encountered in Kerketer Aerospace's system was, similarly, technology that should not belong to Earth.
It was another new system, a type of completely different technology that wasn't covered by the knowledge of any known galaxy. Although it was just a simple data protection mechanism, he could tell that the opposing civilization's level was likely not low.
This was enough to attract his attention.
After some simple digging, Orin Vale discovered that the former Chairman and CEO of Kerketer Aerospace had initially refused to cooperate on the Manhunter project. But right around that time, a scandal broke out where the chairman was accused of indecent assault. The result was the arrest of the Kirkut Chairman, and afterward, all opposition within the corporation vanished.
His intuition told him there was something fishy about that case. The Kirkut Chairman might know something.
"Contact the prison and arrange a time," Orin Vale said.
"Understood, sir. And our identity?"
"As Agent Williams of A.R.G.U.S., of course."
"No problem."
"Sister Diana, can I ask what your star sign is?"
Kara asked curiously as she and Diana walked side-by-side down the street.
Diana looked at her. "Why the sudden interest in this?"
"Oh, I recently discovered that the astrology stuff I see online is really fun," Kara said, tilting her head. "I really want to know what Orin Vale's star sign is, but I don't dare to ask..."
Diana smiled. "I haven't really looked into that. But I do know a few little stories about the gods and the constellations."
"Really? Quick, tell me," Kara said, intrigued.
"You won't like it," Diana shrugged. "The books on Paradise Island record that Zeus fell in love with Ganymede, but their affair was discovered by Zeus's wife, Hera."
"Hera flew into a rage and turned Ganymede into a transparent water pitcher. That is the origin of Aquarius."
"Oh..."
Kara blinked her large, doe-like eyes.
"Hmm... well, regardless, that Ganymede... for her to get involved with a married man, that was really not good of her."
"It's 'he.' Ganymede was a beautiful young man."
"Oh." Kara blinked. "I didn't expect that."
After a few more steps, Diana stopped, her brow furrowing slightly.
Kara looked at her. "What's wrong?"
Diana didn't speak, simply pointing upward.
The sky had grown dark.
But it wasn't just overcast. Kara followed her gaze and looked up to see that the sun had been obscured at some point, with a white circle visible around the edge of a black sphere.
A solar eclipse.
"He's here again," Diana sighed softly.
"Huh? Who?" Kara asked, confused.
But then a deep male voice came from in front of them.
"Me, of course, little girl."
Kara turned around and saw a man wreathed in a purplish-black aura, wearing a well-tailored suit and a bow tie. His eyes flashed with a golden light as he stood before them, sneering confidently.
"The Sun God, Apollo," he said with a smirk. "My dear sister, this time there's no glowing giant or strange sun creature to help you."
"This time... let's end this here!"
Kara blinked her big eyes, looking from this eccentric to Diana beside her.
"You know each other?"
(end of chapter)