But at some point in his life, his curiosity had mutated into this obsessive drive to learn everything. But Silas didn't consider this drive a problem, after all every man needs a goal. His goal was just a little grand.
Moreover, Silas had already learned that to truly understand something you have to be at a level similar to it.
For example, let's say that Silas becomes able to see through space and time today and consequently no truth can be hidden from his eyes.
But even so, will Silas have a brain capable of understanding these truths? Will he have a body capable of using them to his advantage? Will he have the processing power and creativity needed to use these truths to boost his own understanding?
Or will all these secrets of the universe just look like pretty lights to him?
Silas bet that they will. No matter how much knowledge he is presented, it will be meaningless if he can't understand and comprehend it.
But it wasn't about accumulating power, but leveraging it to elevate himself as a whole. This meant that his goal in wanting power was different from most.
For example, when Silas gained complete political authority over Earth, the first thing he did was not to employ it to bolster his personal guard or amass more strength. Instead, he rewired the entire academic system - streamlining every university, think-tank, and laboratory into a single, global network.
Through that network, he used the collective knowledge of thousands of scholars to boost his own research, because that was his priority.
To achieve this goal, the path Silas had selected was - quantum mastery. This was a supreme discipline.
Fixed abilities, no matter how strong, influenced the world or force it to follow the individual's will but quantum mastery was about operating the world.
It was the difference between using a lever and being able to redefine the laws of physics that make levers work.
It was a difference at the fundamental level.
To even begin such a journey, however, required more than just knowledge or will. It required a vessel, a body and mind, capable of perceiving and processing reality on that fundamental level.
This vessel was just a tool for one to project his will onto the world. So, it didn't matter if it was an external tool or his own body.
But Silas wanted to use his body to achieve as the vessel rather than external tools.
So, next comes the undertaking of preparing the vessel. The prerequisite for this undertaking was a significant elevation of his body.
His brain must have more processing power than a quantum computer.
His eyes should be able to see particles at the quantum level.
His mind should be able to affect spacetime and become indestructible.
All in all, his body must contain the potential for manipulating the world at the quantum level.
This was not entirely possible in his previous world especially after the potential of his body was locked. So he had relied on external tools.
But this time, he hoped that he could do it right...
"Alright, the first step is to get information", he thought.
He needed to have some monetary capability before he could delve into the secrets of this world.
So, he decided, "It is currently 1998 and seeing the almost similar level of technology in this world as the previous one. Computers should have become mainstream. I'll have to confirm that but if that is true my job will be much easier.
But maybe i should get out of here first before i freeze to death", he thought. His body was already shivering uncontrollably.
He followed behind a homeless guy pushing a cart full of his belongings and reached a homeless camp underneath a bridge.
There he quickly found a broken patio chair and dragged it in front of the fire drum in the center.
He didn't particularly care about his current living situation. He had lived in the grandest of palaces and had already lost any desire he had for such vanity.
'Especially, when some guy was nice enough to give me food', he mused.
It was just a loaf of bread and some stew that was more water that stew. But he still didn't eat before he saw others eating the same things.
After all, it was always good to be cautious when you can.
After that, he found an empty broken tent close to the edge of the encampment. Enquiring about its owner from the next door neighbour, he found that the original owner had gone out two days ago but never came back.
In homeless terms, this meant that the tent was ownerless now. So, he claimed it as his own.
Lying down in the slightly torn tent with a brick wrapped in cloth for a pillow, he continued planning out his future.
Honestly, there was not much he could plan for before he gets more information of this world.
Just then, Silas heard a commotion outside. Eager to learn more information, he went outside.
But what he saw outside left him truly astonished.
He saw four people dressed in spandex handing out food to the homeless.
But what surprised him even more than their shitty costume was the fact that one of them was floating.
'this means that this world has superhumans', he thought in excitement. He was excited because it was generally easier to follow a path than carve your own.
If there are already beings that have taken the path of superhumans. Naturally, it will be easier for him to take the same path.
He then approached a relatively sane looking guy and asked him about the visitors.
To this query, the guy replied "It's just a team of new superheroes trying to make a name for themselves".
Silas could ascertain a lot of information from this sentence. In this world, superheroes are almost an ordinary existence.
Furthermore, they need the approval of the people. This probably means that superheroes are controlled and regularized by a governing body of some kind.