Chapter 104: The One Cursed by Knowledge

"That cosmic communicator you brought back last time is truly a wonderful piece of technology."

"It boosted Jarvis's data transmission speed by a whole level. Now, no matter where I am on Earth, I can have Jarvis remotely deliver the Iron Man armor directly to me."

"It's just a pity I forgot to ask for your cosmic communication code last time. Otherwise, I would have contacted you much sooner."

As Tony walked down to the underground laboratory with Harvey, he started talking as if opening a floodgate.

"If you need it, we can exchange them now."

Hearing Tony's words, Harvey tapped his right wrist, and a holographic projection popped up.

"Great. But is the place you stay in the universe far from Earth? If it's too far, the signal might not be very good. Although I've reverse-engineered it, I'm still limited by materials, so there are still some shortcomings. It's better to add you directly using the one you gave me."

Tony picked up the cosmic communicator Harvey had previously gifted him from the table as he spoke.

He was highly confident in his own intellect, but the cosmic communicator was, after all, the crystallization of alien technology. The gap between Earth's technology and that of the cosmos was stark. Being able to replicate a slightly inferior version in just a few months was already impressive; completely catching up or even improving upon it was impossible in the short term.

"Either way works."

Harvey didn't mind. He tapped a few times to connect to Tony's cosmic communicator, and they exchanged signals.

"By the way, Harvey, there's something I need to get your opinion on. The cosmic communicator I developed might not be as advanced as the ones in space, but once it's popularized, it will bring in endless wealth. It will also drive the development of various technologies on Earth. Do you think I should push for it?"

Tony noticed that the name on the communication signal was "Kassadin" instead of Harvey. His eyes flickered, but he didn't press the matter, moving on to another topic instead.

"You can promote the cosmic translator," Harvey said, finding a random spot to sit down after exchanging signals. "But as for the cosmic communicator, unless Earth is already prepared to integrate with the wider universe, it's best not to promote it for now."

"Isn't Earth protected by God-King Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme? Aren't the aliens afraid to cause trouble?" Tony asked, doubts arising in his mind.

"Tony, I know you want to drive the technological development of the entire Earth and give humanity more power to protect themselves. But you must understand that once Earth begins to widely use cosmic communicators, it means sending a signal to the cosmos. It signals that Earth is ready to meet with various civilizations from different planets, which will increase the probability of them visiting. Once this signal is sent, it is irreversible. Although Earth is currently protected by Odin and the Ancient One and doesn't fear the arrival of alien races, they don't have many years left to live. Can you guarantee that Earth's technology can develop rapidly within just a few decades, entering the interstellar era to catch up with the starting point of other alien civilizations?"

Seeing Tony's expression, Harvey understood his thoughts and spoke slowly.

"Although I'd love to promise you that we can, restricted by the various materials available on Earth, it's highly unlikely within ten years."

A bitter smile appeared on Tony's face.

The technological development of Earth could be said to be incredibly fast. It took only a little over a century to transition from the steam age to modern society. The rapid advancement of human technology over the past century was the result of generations of geniuses and the efforts of countless people. A century might allow past humanity to iterate through several eras, but for a galactic civilization, a century might only be the starting point.

From the books Harvey brought back, Tony learned that the civilizations of many alien planets only formally integrated with other worlds after they had entered the interstellar era. At present, the most Earth could achieve was launching rockets and satellites to survey a few planets around it. It was still a long way off from the interstellar era.

This was also why, despite having reverse-engineered a low-end version of the cosmic communicator, he hadn't rushed to announce it immediately, choosing instead to talk to Harvey first.

To be honest, Tony also harbored a bit of wishful thinking. Although it was unlikely for Earth's technology to catch up in a short time, Earth still had two heavyweights guarding it, which could buy enough development time for humanity.

However, although Harvey didn't explicitly state how many years of life the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One and God-King Odin had left, Tony estimated it would only be a matter of decades. Within a few decades, it was hard to say if humanity could even bring back rare materials from space that Earth lacked. Even if Harvey helped bring them back, researching and manufacturing them would take a massive amount of time. Therefore, catching up with the starting point of alien technology was not something that could be achieved in a short period.

"Tony, you don't need to be too anxious," Harvey comforted him, seeing the bitter smile on his face. "Although I understand your desire to connect with the universe and frantically absorb knowledge from various civilizations to invent more things for the benefit of humanity, you still don't need to rush so much. As long as you don't meet with an accident or die in battle, you will have a very long lifespan to conduct your research step by step."

"I might have plenty of time, but Earth and humanity might not."

Tony crossed one arm over his chest while stroking his chin with the other hand, a conflicted look appearing on his face.

Ever since Harvey brought back the alien technology, Tony had basically spent all his time in the lab, except for daily meals, three hours of exercise, and keeping Pepper company after midnight. Fortunately, he had joined the Void. Otherwise, sleeping only two to four hours a day for several months would have broken his body long ago.

Seeing Tony like this, Harvey knew that for someone cursed with knowledge like Tony, the more he knew, the harder it was to find peace of mind. Those cursed with knowledge would feel anxious about insufficient firepower and potential security threats. To completely eradicate this anxiety, the only way was to resolve the issues Tony was worried about so he could truly set his mind at ease. Otherwise, no matter what was said, it would be difficult to put Tony at ease, allowing him to slowly do what interested him and live out his days in a lazy and comfortable manner.

However, this was not a bad thing for Harvey. He knew that the more Tony was like this, the easier it would be to implement his plan. But before discussing that plan, Harvey felt he still needed to wait for the right moment.

"Time will bring you everything you want. Let's drop this topic for now," Harvey said, actively changing the direction of the conversation. "How is your Iron Man armor coming along?"

"I spent over two months studying the things you brought back to me last time," Tony replied, temporarily setting aside his worries. "Because the materials you brought back are more suited for improving artificial intelligence rather than upgrading the armor's power system or durability, there has only been a minor increase in the armor's physical performance over the past month or so. The biggest improvement is reflected in its intelligence."

If Jarvis's intelligence was upgraded, it was equivalent to upgrading the intelligence of the armor itself, allowing it to execute all his commands much faster.