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The descent to the most elaborate of medical buildings available to the Olympians was a brief one, with its location close to the palace. It took their chariot naught but a minute to reach the opulent palace that housed the entirety of GULA, salvaged in its near entirety from the ancient ship. Scores of medical rooms and automated clinical procedures silently surrounded the great King, and what mortals or demigods were present bowed in opulent respect to Zeus. Yet, a single towering EMU glared upon Zeus, offering no greeting or customary bow to the fickle lord.

They were blocked before they could enter the chamber housing the GAS Core. The late Zeus had gone to it on occasion, sometimes with his clone in tow… In fact, they’d been in there only a few days prior, but Zeus quickly pushed that memory out of his mind. The important thing was that previously, GULA had never denied them entry to the core, but for some odd reason the clone was halted this time. A scent of disobedience seemed to become prominent as the EMU moved towards them with hulking steps heavy enough to crush men. The automaton blocked their path forwards, a singular white optic glaring upon the king in a silence that would become broken as a deep, modulated voice rang through the otherwise silent hall.

“Zeus,” the modulated voice began, “Your vitamin B12 has registered low. Recommend dietary change to include more fish.” There was no dramatic breaking of news to the lord, no grand discovery made apparent as of yet by the apparatus. The proclamation caused some of Zeus’s attendees to gaze at each other in confusion, but GULA made no further motion or voice as it sought acknowledgment for the previous tidbit of advice that it had crassly spouted out.

Zeus rolled his eyes at the AI’s metal puppet. “Acknowledged,” he indulged it. He spared a backward glance to his majordomo and instructed the man to ensure that he would have supplements for the B12; the thought of slimy fish made his stomach churn. “Now I want to hear your findings from the analysis on the remains that were brought to you this morning.”

“Cause of death.” Tension grew in the air as GULA processed the information, evidently still in mechanical thought. The glowing orb of its optic continuously stared upon the clone as a second passed. Finally, the machine spoke, laying out its findings in a singular word, “Suicide.” 

Silence filled the room once more, a stunning and shocking revelation out all into the consuming void. Surely, none would doubt the words of GULA, he was seldom wrong and the AI was thorough in all accounts. Yet, even still the information was hard to process and GULA, having been programmed with a modicum of understanding of human emotions registered the shock not as disbelief or bewilderment, but as grief. As if rehearsed time and time again, the monotone voice spoke with no amount of true emotion, “I am sorry for your loss.”

Majordomo Zelos had served faithfully for the better part of a century. He had gone years at a time without being fazed, and yet for the second time in just this day, his jaw dropped. He began pacing the room furiously, the other attendants bustling out of the way of his feverish steps. It almost looked as if Zeus hadn’t even registered the words. He blinked, but was otherwise a statue. Then he finally shook his head, incredulous. There was only one word. “Impossible,” he stated. No, there were two words. “Explain!”

The response was immediate. “Theory: Captain Fletcher was the only one with access to SMART nanite parameters. Nanites have gone rogue of his own doing. Ergo, suicide. Accuracy of theory; 76.6 percent.”

The robot finally moved from his perfect stillness, moving a hand to rest upon the clone’s shoulder in what was attempted to be a comforting manner. The cold metal offered no such comfort as it was clear GULA did not truly care that the captain had died. Why would he though? He was a machine, incapable of such nuance or emotion. Once more did its ridiculous words ring out to idly comfort Zeus, “I am sorry for your loss.”

An irate Zeus pushed the EMU’s heavy metal hand off his shoulder. “What other possibilities were considered?” He thought for a moment longer before blurting out, “And run a systems check; issue a function report.” Perhaps GULA was defective, or in need of a reboot.

It took a moment for GULA to respond, almost as if contemplating Zeus’ order in a single head tilt to the side. It responded in order of what had been said to it, “Other possibilities considered: Vitamin B12 Deficiency Induced Complication 1%, Cardiac Arrest 0.6%, Alcohol Poisoning 0.5%, Suffocation 0.4%, Arsenic Poisoning 0.1%.” The statement ended and the EMU took a precautionary step away from Zeus, almost calculating a level of hostility that would erupt from the Lord of the Sky. Yet, the words came defiantly, “Order denied. Requisite clearance level insufficient.”

Zeus’ eyes darted back and forth in careful contemplation of each diagnostic and its implications. He opened his mouth partway through to tell the Majordomo to take notes, but the ever diligent Zelos had already begun doing so. “What do you mean insufficient?”

Zeus seemed uncharacteristically calm. This couldn’t be actual insubordination from a [i]machine[/i]; surely it also recognized his rightful claim. This had to be just some sort of misunderstanding, some error in its understanding that could be quickly corrected. “I was the Heir and the designated successor, and now I have the throne, the titles, the name, the Key to Olympus.” He held up the golden brooch. “So grant me the same clearance level that you granted… [i]him[/i].”

“Negative. Captain Fletcher was appointed by the Board of Admirals. Captain MUST be sworn in by Board of Admirals to attain clearance,” GULA stated, speaking of topics from a bygone era that was far older than Zeus Prime, certainly not a subject the late Zeus would have shared due to its irrelevance. The machine took a millisecond of brief calculations, the modulated voice spoke once more in its monotone nature, “Data logs of acting replacement captain incomplete. Chief of Security Isaac Holcomb designated as Emergency Acting Captain. Crew vote required to replace.” At the very least, GULA offered Zeus a solution; a vote of confidence giving him power as Captain. 

They were all confounded, and Zeus was no exception. “Who in Hades is Isaac Holcomb?”