8 Chapter 7

Contessa watched, lost in thought, as Rebecca and Keith entered the room.

Doctor Mother sat to her right, looking at some files, while Number Man typed away on his laptop. Rebecca quickly joined them and sat in front of them. Keith sat down next to Rebecca.

Rebecca immediately turned to them. "Have you lost any more paths?"

Contessa frowned, nodded, and replied, "I have lost Butcher, Heartbreaker, the Fallen, and Glaistig Uaine." The others grimaced in response.

Number Man sighed: "This is getting out of hand. Goliath's influence is spreading. I do not have enough data to predict it, and you can't path it; it's an anomaly that's more trouble than it's worth."

Doctor Mother asked, "What has Goliath been seen doing recently? Has it tried to leave Ellisburg?"

Number Man answered her. "So far he has terraformed and rebuilt Ellisburg and stayed on his throne. Some civilians have already decided to return and stay there. Judging from the data, they are quite happy there."

The door opened, and David entered. "What did I miss?"

No one answered him; instead, Rebecca glared at him and said, "You are late; what were you doing?"

David raised his head and looked at Rebecca with a confused and somewhat annoyed look. Rebecca was glaring at him, and the others were looking at him. He was just about to open his mouth to say something when the Doctor Mother asked another question to Number Man about Goliath. David just sighed and sat down next to Keith.

"We have noticed several effects on the population of Ellisburg," Number Man explained, "including minor genetic improvements, an increase in natural talent, and an increase in fertility."

"Increase in fertility?" Doctor Mother asked, confused. David asked, "Are there any Master effects?" "None worth mentioning so far," Number Man replied.

"There are many possible outcomes from this," explained Doctor Mother. "Do you have any idea what Goliath's goal is?"

David thought for a moment. "Maybe Goliath is simply trying to create a better human race. He believes he can create an improved version of the human race, one that is more intelligent, healthier, and more... efficient than the current one. With that, he could create an army of super soldiers."

The others pondered this, but Number Man shook his head. "He already has the Red Knights for that. It would be a waste to do that for an army, especially since there's nothing stopping them from betraying him. Besides, while everyone there seems to be affected by the improvements, the first two are only particularly noticeable in children."

"Hmm..." David thought about what Number Man had said. "If he's not creating an army of super soldiers..." He paused, as if considering what else he could say. He sighed and continued his sentence. "What else could he do? I mean, surely he's not just improving the general population for no reason. He must be up to something. Something bad." A sense of worry came over David, and he felt uncomfortable about this whole situation.

Keith laughed, saying, "You know, it's not completely out of the question that he's just doing it to be nice."

No one replied back, but they all obviously did not believe it. They had seen or done too much to believe that such a powerful being would think that way.

Doctor Mother shook her head. "We do not have enough information to draw a conclusion, so we should focus on something else." She turned to Contessa and said, "You said the paths of Butcher, Heartbreaker, the Fallen, and Glaistig Uaine have disappeared; do we know their last whereabouts?"

Number Man called up some files on his laptop before answering, "Butcher was last seen in Boston yesterday. Heartbreaker is still in Canada, but one of his daughters escaped, after which he sent one of his other children to retrieve her. The Fallen were last seen gathering in Texas. Glaistig Uaine was last seen in Birdcage a week ago before she simply left."

"Left?" Keith asked with a raised eyebrow.

Contessa started a short path and told Keith, "The only reason she was in there in the first place was because she surrendered. Since we have placed violent criminals around her, it is unsurprising to know that her power has continued to grow. Trying to stop her will only do more damage anyway."

Keith calmed down and nodded sullenly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rebecca give her a quick nod.

"If Heartbreaker is still in Canada, why is he affected? Same with Butcher?" Rebecca asked, trying to change the subject. Contessa just shrugged carelessly and replied, "Maybe they plan to interact with Goliath in the future? At this point, anything is possible."

Rebecca frowned but nodded. Contessa hid a smile; the path was complete.

David groaned and wiped the smile from her face. He turned to Number Man. "Do you have any idea what they plan to do with Goliath?"

Number Man pulled out a few files before answering. "The Fallen is rather obvious, since they think he's a baby Endbringer. Butcher might think he can take over Goliath, as foolish as that sounds. Heartbreaker's daughter might think the same, or she might want his protection. And Glaistig Uaine's reasons could range from drinking tea to killing and absorbing him."

No one seemed satisfied with this answer. Although Cauldron's goal was to protect humanity, that did not change the fact that they were all pretty controlling. With a new variable that took away that sense of control, it became uncomfortable for everyone.

Doctor Mother sighed and asked Number Man. "The tinkertech it is making, is it really safe? What about maintenance?"

The Number Man shrugged. "Thinkers are useless at analysing his tech, but our best tinkers said it is safe. As for maintenance, we caught little bugs that would enter, fix stuff up, then turn to dust. Even then, it seems it takes an unusually high amount of time for the technology to degrade."

Everyone simply sat in silence to take in that knowledge. While it may be useful for creating homes in the way Goliath is doing it, it would also be just as useful to create tinkertech armies. There's a reason why self-replicating technology isn't allowed at all.

Rebecca sighed "I think we can stop for today; I have a board meeting to get to."

She got up and said "Door me to my office". A rectangular hole in reality appeared beside her, and she went in without any hesitation.

Seeing her leave, the others did so as well, including herself. They needed to prepare.