I took out the bottle and poured wine for my most loyal comrades: Isar, Egeria, Omok, McVey, Maine.
"Even though it was a minor operation, its consequences were colossal – an extra 220 years of life for people."
"People, however, are only 80-100 years old, but they are in perfect health," Egeria corrected.
"And, of course, I will share this technology with my people and allies. True, I'll have to negotiate with the Tollans for hard cash, but I won't demand anything more than what's necessary. The main thing is the use of your industrial facilities for some production."
"I don't think Kuria will be against it, especially if everything goes sensibly," Omok was clearly happy, especially after Unit 731.
"It's even a shame that the two of us weren't involved in this," the Irishman pouted. "This was purely an SAS operation."
"The fleet will be evacuating the Alkesh remains through the gate. The engines are mostly damaged; we'll have to build new ones," the former rear admiral said, collected and composed.
Taking the palace also meant acquiring production lines of personal computers that controlled the nanites, along with customizations ranging from turning a common Jaffa into a Spartan to enhancing a common human. Pelops, however, was considering the possibility of his defeated enemies kneeling before him, and that had to be taken into account as well. In some ways, I feel sorry for him: a brilliant scientist who was constantly robbed of his recognition, but I don't let that affect me. The difference between Unit 731 and Pelops is small from a moral and ethical standpoint. In practical terms, Pelops's invention granted humanity an extra 100 years of life and perfect health. Unit 731, however, added only useless facts and theoretical developments in the field of biological warfare to the treasury of human knowledge.
"We should resettle these Spartans in isolated enclaves, at least 10-15 thousand people each. Allocate a thousand of my Jaffa to each and perform a complete reforging. Although, it would be more accurate to call it reprogramming. They believe they can decide the fate of slaves, control them, spy on them for subversive thoughts. All this needs to be erased from their minds."
"The Spartans are much stronger and faster than regular Jaffa, but they were simply outplayed on the tactical field, plus the use of technology was cheating," Maine smiled. "So what do they get now? The standard course: 18 hours of training a day?"
"Yes, they'll train for 18 hours. But the standards will double," I replied with a sadistic smile. The SAS lieutenant colonel choked. "And, of course, they'll build all the training grounds themselves, as well as their homes. Having a home is a reward from me. I can't just hand out homes to Jaffa who haven't fulfilled their sacred duty. That would be disrespectful to my warriors. The Spartans will be in the dark for the first few months. It'll be the women who have the hardest time: they were administrators, and now they'll be meeting Jaffa Szarekh-level standards. By the way, Egeria, can you produce 75,000 larvae?"
Egeria, or rather Eugenia, turned away and blushed. I've already gifted 200 Jaffa women with Tok'Re-implanted pouches found on Pangar. Egeria has already made progress in creating tretonin, so it will be possible to convert her warriors to this substance. However, I'll have to figure out how to do that. Ordinary Goa'uld are simply destroyed after they grow up, otherwise there would be trillions of us by now. But given that there isn't such a thing, we maintain population control. Thanks to Pelops's knowledge, I learned where he got his larvae from—he bought them from Kronos. That same "Greek" god... The scientist I killed even complained about the prices in his personal journals, because without a queen, his super-tough troops are pointless. So I have an additional source of larvae: the main thing is to pay in naquadah, and the larvae come through the gate. Pelops didn't make any personal contact. And without informing anyone about the change of power in the domain, it is possible to maintain at least some trade.
"Yes, it's possible. But not instantly. The law of conservation of mass still applies, and I need to eat a lot," the woman replied.
"I'm not rushing anything. It's worth mentioning that our enemy truly was a brilliant bastard, and he had so many unrealized projects... To create a bacteriological weapon from nanites that would penetrate the human body, replicate, and take over their biology for a subsequent ultimatum or instant kill."
"Something like, 'Kneel before your god, or the light will destroy you'?" Isara teased.
— Yeah. But he ran into a ton of complications, because the nanites are controlled by a computer—either one as large as the one in Argos, or a small one that only affects the nanites in one person. There was the problem of delivery and maintenance. Essentially, something like that would require a computer with a range of a couple hundred kilometers, and the contamination of drinking water sources. And even then, there's no guarantee: boiling the nanites could destroy them. He ran into a ton of complications, so he abandoned the project.
- And you can reactivate it?
"Am I crazy? I've had enough of biological weapons," I said, pointing with the edge of my hand just above my head. "Let the whole concept burn in nuclear fire. Not to mention that it's taking too long. My army can capture a planet in 15 minutes."
"It was still a sabotage, when they lost their motivation to fight," Maine disagreed. "But let's get back to the nanite technology. Pelops could remotely kill his Jaffa if they upset him, using nanites. I hope that feature will be removed."
"Of course. The thing is, the System Lords' courts are full of very smart Goa'uld. They're capable of hacking the signals coming from Jaffa devices by inserting some kind of cascade virus inside. Just like Turing did with the Enigma machine when he cracked it."
"The Enigma was cracked!?" two earthlings shouted.
"Oh, right, you didn't know that. Yes, a group from Bletchley Park built a protocomputer and cracked Enigma. Every day at 6 a.m., German meteorologists sent messages through Enigma, typing "Heil Hitler!" at the very beginning. Since that was the first phrase, the protocomputer used it to adjust the encryption settings. So, it's better to create a closed system so that no signals are transmitted. The ability to "reinforce" people in combat based on tactical needs would be lost. However, a closed system reduces the risk of hacking to zero."
"What about maintenance and the transfer of accumulated information?" Omok asked. "The human body is unique in many ways, so some reconfiguration will be required."
"I think we'll be able to exchange patches, and updates can be installed over a wired connection. This reduces many risks."
"While nanite production is no problem—they self-replicate given enough carbon—then a computer is the most technologically advanced device, the production of which must be ramped up as soon as possible. This will rid my people of 90% of diseases and ensure excellent health. Infant mortality will plummet even further, hopefully reaching near-zero."
"We'll need to produce 50 million of these bracelets," replied Isara, who knew the situation. "I'll prepare all the necessary material estimates."
After defeating Pelops, I held another celebration, sending films to all my planets and honoring the Jaffa heroes who had won and given their lives in the name of victory. All those who couldn't be revived were cremated. Their names were inscribed on granite steles—more to honor the Jaffa. They enjoyed it, especially the feast, which lasted several days, and the honoring of the victorious ones with laurel wreaths. The First Cohort was the favorite, but due to the losses they had suffered, they needed reinforcements.
- Thank you.
"But please don't invade any planets anytime soon. It will ruin my budget."
People around me laughed.
"My army will be killing itself on the training grounds for another year, bringing them up to standard. I won't be conquering planets, of course, but I can conduct research. And if the Jaffa ask any questions about my activities, it will simply mean they haven't been diligent enough in their training."
"A soldier shouldn't remember his own name by the end of the training day, so he doesn't have to ask why the Tok'ra rule the galaxy," Evgenia noted ironically, drawing on her extensive army experience.
- That's the idea.
My ranks have grown to one hundred and seventy thousand souls. This figure, however, includes very young Jaffa, not yet ready for battle. It will take time to transform the female administrators into warriors. I don't diminish their administrative talent, but their place is outside of Isara's command. The Jaffa are our fighting force: their devotion to the Goa'uld is undeniable. Women, however, with their often ill-judged judgment, could disrupt the orderly administration. And treating them like slaves... that would truly be worth their destruction.
To keep both the wolves fed and the sheep safe, I've decided to integrate everyone into the army. Women undergo the same training as men, with the only difference being that they won't be involved in offensive operations. However, their skills will be very useful in defense.
Each settlement of ten to fifteen thousand Jaffa will constitute a legion. Or rather, two: a male legion for attack, and a female legion for defense. The technology is designed for both legions, so the end result will be a nation of warriors whose sole purpose is training. They exist solely to stay out of my way and to be ready to obey my commands.
They will be provided with everything they need: housing, food, sanitation, even leisure—but all within the confines of their own enclaves. My goal is to isolate them from my people. How correct is this decision? I don't know. Perhaps in forty years it will come back to haunt me. Now, at the stage of my planet's industrial development, I have no need for supersoldiers asking unnecessary questions.