Physical books?

Vashul watched Iax sink into his own logic, feeling rather nervous.

This was his first time facing a Machine Intelligence like this.

Although he had made extensive preparations and learned a great deal before coming here, none of that had included how to engage an ancient Machine Intelligence in philosophical discussion.

Especially when Iax had asked that question, Vashul had been just as bewildered and hesitant as Iax was now.

After a long wait, Iax finally emerged from his logic loop.

"Perhaps you have a point, but you do not meet the standards for humanity in my records."

"Tell me, are there historical archives or historical data here? I need to correct the discrepancies in my understanding."

As Vashul listened to Iax, the pumping rate of his biological circulatory fluid finally returned to normal.

But he shook his head with some regret.

"This hive city has no historical records. I have a few books of historical records with me, and I can provide them if you need them, but I cannot guarantee their accuracy or authenticity."

Iax made no aggressive moves, merely nodding his mechanical head slowly.

"Good. Where can I obtain the most comprehensive historical data?"

Vashul was somewhat surprised.

"You mean the most comprehensive historical data available?"

"Of course!" Iax did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Then I am afraid the only place would be the Imperial Historical Archives on Holy Terra, at the heart of the Imperium."

The name sounded unfamiliar to Iax.

"Holy Terra?"

Holy Terra's location was no secret. Even knowing where it was did not necessarily mean one could get there; the distance between Segmentum Obscurus and Terra was anything but small.

With that in mind, Vashul activated a projection device, displaying a Star Map before Iax.

It marked the approximate extent of the Imperium's territory, including Terra's location.

Vashul moved closer to Iax and pointed at the conspicuous planet marked in gold on the Star Map.

"This is Holy Terra."

Iax quickly recorded the entire Star Map before him, then immediately performed a full comparison against the Star Maps in his database.

"Earth? Holy Terra is Earth?"

Vashul hesitated for quite some time before slowly nodding.

"According to the names I have seen in books, Holy Terra does seem to have been called Earth tens of thousands of years ago."

Hearing Vashul's answer, Iax extended a slender mechanical arm, from which an oddly shaped port popped open.

"This is a temporary data input port. Copy those history books you mentioned for me."

Vashul stared at the utterly unfamiliar port, somewhat taken aback.

"I have never seen a data port like that. As for the books..."

Vashul beckoned, and a Servo-skull flew out from somewhere, carrying a small box in the Mechanical Claw beneath it.

Once the box had been placed in his hands, Vashul opened the lid and took out several thick, heavy books.

At the sight of the physical books being taken from the box, Iax's entire system paused for a moment.

"Physical books?!"

As Vashul placed a book in Iax's mechanical hand, the identification sensors in his palm immediately detected something unusual.

"This book is not made of paper? A book made from animal hide?"

Everything reality presented was sharply at odds with the knowledge and common sense in his database. Nothing seemed to match his records.

This left Iax uncertain about the accuracy of the records in his database.

Vashul nodded.

"Yes. These books are made from sheepskin soaked in holy oil and have been blessed. Their covers bear Seals of Purity to ensure that the historical text cannot be altered by the daemons of the Warp."

Iax did not recognize this peculiar seal, nor did he believe a pattern stamped into sealing wax could have any special effect.

The text inscribed on the strip of paper held in place by the wax seemed even more inexplicable to him.

Long passages of praise and prayer, along with exhortations to remain faithful to one's duties, left Iax puzzled.

Perhaps noticing that Iax's gaze had lingered on the Holy Writ beneath the seal, a mechanical arm emerged from the back of Vashul's robes and carefully pointed at a corner of the inscription.

"This bears the blessing of the Ecclesiarchy, ensuring that those wicked Heretic cannot alter the book's contents at will."

As a Machine Intelligence, Iax felt nothing toward religion or gods. He knew perfectly well that his consciousness came from lines of code made up of zeros and ones.

And all of those things were human inventions. If there truly had to be gods, then humans were those gods, the Creator.

Yet a wholly materialistic Machine Intelligence did not even have a soul, so naturally there was no question of worshipping gods.

Vashul casually took another thick, heavy book from the box, its surface decorated with even more seals.

Iax paid them no attention and simply accepted it.

But he soon noticed something wrong.

One of the seals on this book had clearly been added only recently. It was even giving off a faint trace of heat.

"Pop!"

There was a faint, sharp crack.

A seal on the book's surface released a wisp of smoke and burned a small hole through the cover.

Iax casually rubbed off the entire wax seal, then carefully pinched a tiny electronic component out of it with his mechanical hand.

His silver-white mechanical head turned ninety degrees, regarding Vashul beside him with a scrutinizing gaze.

What little flesh Vashul still possessed had begun twitching with tension.

It was a signal device with a special function: disrupting the operation of a machine spirit.

Facing an Ancient Machine Intelligence for the first time, Vashul had no idea that Iax was far more advanced than an abominable intelligence.

Such a jammer might disrupt the operation of modern Imperial constructs during battle, but against an Ancient Construct, it was as frail as a plastic nail.

To Iax, it felt like being lightly pricked by a tiny thorn while picking something up, not even enough to break the skin.

For the jammer itself, however, Iax's instinctive automatic counterattack had unleashed a flood of data, and the sheer volume had instantly overloaded and burned it out.

It had been so fragile that Iax had not even managed to determine what it was supposed to do.

"Although I do not know what this is, I seem to have broken it. As compensation, you may make a small request. As long as I consider it acceptable, I will grant it."